Hi, everybody! Just wanted to give you an update on how things are progressing with the extended edition of A LITERARY PICNIC:
THE ROAD SO FAR. I’ve already finalized several recipes, including some that I thought would be really difficult. I’m loving my progress so far! Right now I’m mostly working on bread recipes, since I can freeze them for use in picnic pictures when the weather warms up. Check out these beautiful potato rolls I made:
HOW BIG WILL THE EXTENDED EDITION BE? Hopefully 50 recipes (double what it is right now). However, I may have to cut some if I can’t get copyright permissions. Four of the books I’m making new menus for are public domain, but I’m considering two different copyrighted books for the final menu. I’ve contacted the publishers, but it can take months to hear back (and I don’t know how much the permissions will cost). Fingers crossed that I hear back in time and can afford the fee!
PRINT FORMAT NEWS. I got some good news regarding printing! As you may recall, my book will be printed/distributed by IngramSpark. I thought for sure I’d have to reformat my whole book for print, since I doubted they offered an 8.5″x11″ option. As it turns out, they do! I’m so relieved! I expected to spend at least a few weeks reformatting, but now I won’t have to do that at all. 🥳
MY PIE-IN-THE-SKY SUMMER DEADLINE. Does the time I’ll save on formatting mean I’ll achieve my dream of a summer publication date? Maybe, but it’s still very uncertain. Some of you might remember that I made a menu for ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL last year because I was having health issues and craved comfort TV. My symptoms have improved but could show up again soon. My doctor has me on some new medication that may help, but I’ll need to take it easy and go in for extra appointments to monitor the situation. Since I don’t want to push myself, I’m still treating a summer publication date as possible but not exactly probable.
NEW COVER? I totally love the book’s original cover, but I’m toying with idea of having one professionally done. This will heavily depend on the cost and how long it would take. Hopefully I’ll have an update on that next month. If you know any cover artists who you think would be a good fit, share their name and website/socials in the comments!
Also check out this funny little quiche I made with leftovers from a pastry recipe!😆
I’ll post another update in a month or two,
hopefully with more pics to share! See you then!
🥳Happy New Year!🥳 I’m just popping in for a quick update about what the new year will hold for this lil blog. I also want to do a roundup of my top five favorite books from 2023 (because I read sooo many exceptional books and can’t help sharing the crème de la crème). Let’s begin!
The big day has arrived! A LITERARY PICNIC is now available! 🥳🥳🥳 I chose the first day of spring as the release date for my new cookbook because today feels like the perfect time to start daydreaming about warm weather and picnics. . . and also because Easter is just around the corner, and the Peter Rabbit menu is just right for an Easter brunch.
Time for a sneak peek of my upcoming cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC! Below you’ll find pics from the Fairy Tale menu, along with descriptions of the recipes. This was one of my favorite menus to photograph. Do you spy the sweet little fairy table in the photo above? ^.^
THE FAIRY TALE MENU
FAIRY TOAST. Traditionally prepared as buttered sandwich bread topped with sprinkles, this version features toasted brioche and mascarpone blended with three flavors of homemade jam.
RAPUNZEL’S BRAIDED PASTRIES. These sausage & thyme pastries are painted with an edible egg wash “R” for Rapunzel, but you can also use the first letter of the guest of honor at your party.
RED RIDING HOOD’S FRUIT SALAD. A medley of red fruit (along with some blueberries and plums for contrast), dressed with a pomegranate and lime vinaigrette.
ENCHANTED SWAN COOKIES. Dutch butter cookies piped to look like swans!
POISON APPLE PUNCH. A blend of sparkling cider, ginger ale, pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, and blood orange bitters.
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I’ll share some of the book’s bonus content in the weeks to come, so stay tuned!
A closeup of the fairy table. Because I just love it so much! ^.^
Last week I asked all my readers to vote on their favorite cover design for my upcoming cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC. The results are in, and the watercolor design won by a landslide! Thank you so much to everyone who voted.
Since a few people misread the title as “a literary panic” (😂😂😂!!!), I’ll make some changes to the title font, but I haven’t decided what yet. I’ll either tweak the font in Canva or switch to a new one.
A LITERARY PICNIC will be available as an ebook on Amazon and my blog on Monday March 20th—the first day of spring! I reeeally want to get the book done by then because it has a Peter Rabbit menu that is absolutely perfect for Easter.
P.S. For anyone interested in how I made the design, I layered and filtered three sets of watercolor graphics available in Canva Pro from a creator account called CreativeValuation. I then used GIMP 2.1 to do some fine-tuning to the girl in front, primarily to darken her lines so she’d be easier to see when the image is small (like when you’re scrolling through Amazon).
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I’ll share a sneak peak of one of the menus
in the weeks to come, so stay tuned!
I recently announced that I have a new cookbook coming out, and today I’m SO EXCITED to share the cover. Well, two of them . . . because I can’t choose! 😅
When I first started designing my cover, I decided to make two different versions—one with a background photograph of one of the menus from the book, another with watercolor elements from Canva Pro. I thought once I saw the finished products I’d know for sure what I wanted, but I love them both too much to choose. So I’m putting it up to a vote! Cast your vote below for your favorite cover, and if you want to vote multiple times, you can check out my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
I’ll announce the official publication date for A LITERARY PICNIC next week on my socials, so stay tuned! 😁
A couple days ago I did an interview with the Well Seasoned Librarian Podcast, in which Dean Jones and I talk gingerbread, Hercule Poirot, and my struggles with Turkish Delight. You should definitely check it out! At the end of the interview, I revealed my latest big project. Those of you with amazing memories may recall I hinted at a super secret project several months ago on Instagram. Now I’m finally ready to announce it here on the blog!
Hi, everybody! I haven’t shared an update on my latest cookbook in a while, mostly because my schedule was just PACKED. Finishing the manuscript, keeping up with my normal blog posts, homeschooling my toddler, and wrangling my 1.5-year-old (a speed demon who likes eating rocks and crayons) took every drop of energy I had. If you follow me on social media, I shared quick updates there regarding manuscript submissions and such when I had a spare minute. But now things have FINALLY slowed down! I get to read, keep a normal sleep schedule, and cook for pure fun again.
Just in time too, because now it’s time to share something BIG. Too important for just a quick twitter post. Folks, WE HAVE A COVER! My publishing team has been tweaking it for several weeks, but the finished copy has finally gone to print so I can safely say this is the official cover. Time for the big reveal!
Howdy, folks! I’m writing an extra post this month share some wonderful news!
Some of you may remember I changed my blog schedule this year to allow extra time to work on a “super secret project.” As of today, that project is secret no more. The time for the big reveal has come!!! Ready?
Today is the last day to submit entries to my cookbook giveaway! The official end time is 11:59 pm Central Time. Be sure to get your entries in ASAP for a chance to win a signed copy of my new cookbook, A Literary Tea Party, and a Tea with Tolkien mug!
I LOVE the mugs. One is green and says “Tea with Tolkien” and the other is blue and says “Lattes with Lewis”! 😀
As many of you have heard from my posts here on the blog and on social media, I’ve been working hard to get the word out about my book. However, there’s a lot of other new exciting things going on as well! First off, we’re moving! We’re currently in the process of packing and house hunting—with the hope that we’ll be tucked away in our new home before the end of the summer. We’re very excited about this new change for our family and can’t wait to find a new place.
We also have ANOTHER new and exciting thing in the works! The timing isn’t quite right to reveal the details yet, but I’m hoping to spill the beans some time in July. 😉
All that being said, I’m having trouble keeping up with my normal post schedule. And I’ve been just AWFUL at keeping up with blog comments. I’ve tried to work ahead as much as possible, but the fast pace in conjunction with my hectic schedule has created confusion and mix ups (some of you may remember two weeks ago when my Vulcan Spice tea post published a week early…before my Star Trek menu even started! Eek!!!). I was already considering parring down my Tuesday posts, but the Vulcan Spice mix up made it clear that I REALLY needed to.
For the next several months, I’m putting all my regular Tuesday posts on hold (Top Ten Tuesday linkups, reading kits, and tea premieres). I can’t give an exact end time, but it will go at least until the start of October. However, there WILL be lots of new book updates, so I’ll share those on Tuesdays as they occur. Of course, my recipe posts will continue to publish every Thursday as usual.
I’ll see you all on Thursday for my next Star Trek recipe.
It’s a fun one, and I’m happy to say the Little Mister and I are both huge fans of it! 🙂
