Category: Food for Storytelling

Total 8 Posts

Review: Angels Among Us

“This short romance novel by Catherine Greenfeder has it all; romance, mystery, murder, angels, intrigue, friendship, and love. We meet the protagonist, Kay Lassiter in the prologue, when she is only thirteen years old. Here, in a foreshadowing of what is to come, we learn that she has “visions” and “the sight.” These attributes come full circle later with the introduction of Eviance, an angel, who manifests as a pivotal character in the story. The book is replete with interesting characters, such as Sir Roderick Divine, whose presence reveals a back story that fuels the current murder plot. Twists in the plot develop and keep the reader guessing as layers of the unexpected are added and the novel makes its way to a surprising and satisfying conclusion.”

Marion Goldstein

 

Available from Draft2Digital,  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords

Food for Thought: What’s Your Character Eating?

 

When I’m writing, I sometimes snack. Not always a good idea, but it’s “food for thought”, or so I tell myself. I’ve noticed that when writing about a character in one of my stories, I include the types of foods which I enjoy.

For example, in Angels Among Us, Kay Lassiter, a stained glass artist who happens to be psychic, is entertaining her brother and a friend with a dinner that included homemade soup, bread, and a blueberry pie. I enjoy baking bread and blueberries whether in a dessert, a scone, muffin, or plain.

I’ve also mentioned my favorite Mexican cuisine of beef or chicken enchilada, tacos, and flan in Sacred Fires.

Whether consciously or not, the foods used are ones which I’ve enjoyed, and mealtime is essential to bringing the characters together, thus furthering the plot.

I haven’t yet tried peanut butter pie which is a real dessert and savored by Georgina Claythorne and her boyfriend and fellow ghost hunter in A Kiss Out of Time, my young adult novel. However, I enjoy peanut butter enough to try using it in a pie.

Here’s a cool recipe for “No Bake Peanut Butter Pie” from Kasey Schwartz.

Please see the link.

What’s the point of this? I think that when writers create our characters, their stories, their interests, hobbies, ideas on life, and tastes in food come into play. To me it makes the characters more human and the fictional story more real. Plus, it’s fun to bring in.

Have you any favorite foods? Send me a comment for a favorite food, and I’ll consider it for my next story. Thank you.

Writers on Writing

 

There has always been that need in me to write. I will never forget my teacher Mrs. Seguine at Public School 23 on Staten Island who helped me with not only adjusting to a move from a parochial to a public school for fifth grade but also planted the seed for me to become a writer.

She’d given the class an essay assignment. I don’t remember the topic. All I remember was that I took my sweet time to write my best and I was the last to hand in the paper. A couple of kids in the class snickered at that, but Mrs. Seguine quickly put a halt to their snickering when she said in her firm but kind voice, “That’s okay. Catherine will be a writer someday.” So, when it came to writing school papers, I took my sweet time to turn in my best. I filled small notebooks with poetry and scribbled stories when I could.

I’ve done writing professionally as a copywriter, a publicity assistant, and as a writing teacher. I’ve written and published five books with three in the works and several in boxes in my closet.

Writing is often a solitary occupation. Lately, I’ve been meeting with fellow writers to discuss what we do and how we do what we do. That is why I found it necessary to reach out and make connections over time with other writers. I’m involved with three writing organizations, a critique group which meets on a bi-monthly Zoom, and staying in touch with other writers via emails or social media.

Recently I went to the annual Writer’s Digest Conference in Manhattan. I think that W.D. did a great job providing workshops, keynote speakers including award winning authors Beverly Jenkins, Marlon James, and Tiffany Jackson, a book fair, and safety provisions during the pandemic. The three day event offered opportunities to learn, to refresh and reflect, and to connect with others. Even though I’d heard a lot of the same information before, I also heard information which motivated and encouraged me. In particular I enjoyed listening to Susan Shapiro on “How to Sell Your Book  – No Matter What Genre – Without Going Broke”, David Corbett on characterization in his workshop “Misguided Desires and Misbegotten Yearnings”, and Jeff Somers “Learning to Love the Downside”. The event included a pitch session where writers had timed three minute intervals over one hour with agents representing diverse genres.  I stood on a line with close to 100 other writers. It proved a bit daunting, but it also energized me. While we stood around, stepped up to potential agents, and did our best to pitch our creations, many of us cheered one another on. That bit of courtesy and the positive comments drove home the point that we understood our struggles and our dreams for our writing. It felt great!

I’m looking forward to more conferences, author events, and being on author panels in the future. I’m also looking forward to meeting more writers and to getting more of my writing published!