Marshal Zeringue's fun blog, My Book, the Movie, asks authors "If they make your book into a film, who should play the lead roles?." Today's entry features my answer, despite the fact that . . . well, in seven books, I've never (no, not ever) described Maggy Thorsen, my main character. Yikes . . .

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I suppose since Maggy was my earliest fictional creation--and a first-person one, at that--I saw her. as my alter ego. And who describes themselves in dialogue? ("Hi honey, I--your petite, red-haired wife, with the scar on my left knee--am home!")

Accidental omission or not, I admit I'm intrigued by the idea of readers deciding for themselves what Maggy looks like. But ... how do you cast a movie centering around a character even the author knows inside, but not out?

Well, what facts do we have? Maggy, in her mid-forties, quit a public relations job to open a gourmet coffeehouse with two friends, but only after her husband left home--and Maggy--the day their son went off to college. She loves red wine, craves caffeine and, on occasion, runs a mile or two.
Maggy's funny, cynical and very, very human. Not everyone's cup of tea--or, more to the point, coffee. The woman's a non-cozy hero in a cozy series. She has hard edges and, even now in Book Seven, they haven't been smoothed over.

So cast a comedic leading lady in the role, say Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts? Only problem: Maggy is not the star of her life--especially in her own mind. She's just scratching by, her humor coming more from friction with the outside world. A little ticked, Maggy's much more Katherine than Audrey on anybody's Hepburn-scale . . .

To read on: MY BOOK, THE MOVIE: Sandra Balzo

Dru Ann Love was kind enough to ask me to guest post on her blog dru's book musings.

If you don't follow Dru, you should. It's a great way to get a feel for authors and their books, because Dru asks the authors to write about, you guessed it, a day in the life of their protagonist. 

Mine starts: 

"I started my day with a big lug in my bed and fully intend to end it with a hot, steamy shower.

"It’s not as romantic as it sounds . . . "

Yeah, it never is, is it?  For more on Maggy's day, visit Dru at:

http://notesfromme.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/a-day-in-the-life-of-maggy-thorsen-by-sandra-balzo/

Southern Writers Magazine is asking authors to guest post on the subject of "gifts" this month.

My post is up today and is about the Gift of Mystery. Hope you'll check it out. Here's a teaser, but the whole post can be found at: 

http://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/12/gift-of-mystery.html

Thursday, December 15, 2011

 

Beautiful day here in South Florida, though I've spent most of it inside updating my website. Happily, I've finished--without throwing the computer across the room--and am now contemplating what's for dinner.

Bone-in country spareribs sounds good and even though we may do them on the grill, I have a great recipe suitable to any climate. AND, since it contains caffeine--Coca Cola, in this case--it's one of the recipes I'm including with my Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse ebooks this month. Here 'tis...

Country-style spareribs

OK, I know it's not coffee, but it IS caffeine. And this is the easiest, best-tasting rib recipe I've ever made.

I first heard about this equal-parts Coke and ketchup wonder-sauce from a caterer years and years ago. It's also great with Italian sausage (grill 'em first and then finish cooking the sausages in the sauce--amazing and so easy when you have company!).

One package country-style spareribs

12 oz Coca Cola

12 oz. ketchup

Boil ribs for 50 minutes, then transfer to a baking pan. Combine Coke and ketchup and pour over the ribs. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour in 350 degree oven. Remove foil, bake another 45 minutes.

--Sandy Balzo

Triple Shot, the seventh book in my Maggy Thorsen Mystery series was released today here in the U.S. 

Seven books--I can't believe it. Seems like just yesterday I was writing Uncommon Grounds. That first draft had nothing but dialogue--I couldn't figure out how to make the characters move. Second draft, everybody was "sauntering" and the like.

Luckily (or not), it took me six years to find a publisher for that first book, so I had plenty of time to learn. UG was finally aquired in 2004 by Tekno and the legendary Marty Greenberg, for Five Star, bless them.   After that first book took six years, I've written another eight books in the last seven years--all of them published by Severn House.

Severn and their lovely people are in the UK--Surrey, England, to be exact. My books come out there, first, and follow in the US three months later.  The hardcovers are sold mostly into libraries, so if you have trouble finding them at a bookstore, you may need to ask the bookseller to order them (and continue to stock them, I hope, I hope! :-) or they're always available online.  Trade paperbacks come out about six months later and the first four Maggy books are available as ebooks, with more to follow.

Speaking of ebooks, I can't believe how much the publishing industry has changed since Uncommon Grounds was published. We're all trying to find our place in this new digital world and I, for one, am excited and honored to be part of it.

Cheers!

Sandy

On Triple Shot...

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: In Balzo’s stimulating seventh Maggie Thorsen mystery (after 2010’s A Cup of Jo), over-the-hill TV star Ward Chitown plans to do a show about a shootout in Brookhills, Wis., in 1974 between the FBI and the Mafia that left six dead and a fortune missing. Titled The Treasure of the Brookhills Massacre, it’s to include a Geraldo Rivera–type hunt for the lost money. Meanwhile, Maggy’s business partner in the coffeehouse Uncommon Grounds, Sarah Kingston, who owns Kingston Realty, is worried because someone is killing real estate agents. An underground room beneath the coffee shop, a secret tunnel, a missing real estate agent, Chitown’s entourage, and a gaggle of rich, spoiled “Brookhills Barbies” provide plenty of grist. Maggy’s boyfriend, county sheriff Jake Pavlik, supplies romance and support as Maggy’s penchant for being an “intermeddler” lands her in trouble again. This amusing, well-written entry should win Balzo more fans. (Dec.)

BOOKLIST: Missing Mafia money and murdered female real-estate agents mix in the seventh in Balzo’s Maggy Thorsen series. As always, the intrepid Maggy, co-owner of Uncommon Grounds coffee shop in Brookhills, Wisconsin, lands in the midst of the action. When a dreadful odor leads to the discovery of Brigid Ferndale’s body near the coffee shop, Maggy’s business partner, Sarah Kingston, finds herself under suspicion, since Brigid (the third real-estate agent killed in a week) was an apprentice with a company that had just filed a complaint against Sarah. As Sheriff Jake Pavlik, Maggy’s lover, investigates the killings, a past-his-prime Chicago newsman turns up in town, looking for money presumed hidden after the 1974 Brookhills Massacre, a shootout between the FBI and the Milwaukee Mafia that left three dead on each side and millions in cash apparently gone. Despite irritating Pavlik with her probing, Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare.

I love all things caffeinated, which probably comes as no surprise since my mysteries are set in a coffeehouse. Now through New Year's, my Maggy Thorsen Kindle e-books will feature a bonus: a sampling of my favorite simple (very necessary for me!) food and drink recipes.

Here are a couple of them:

(download)

Click here to download:

please-pass-the-caffeine-eggnog-lattes-and-more-xrBnbkAHylfmIpahuxcn.zip (72 KB)

Eggnog Latte

1 shot quality espresso

10 oz steamed eggnog ("lite" eggnog works best for frothing)

Cinnamon and/or nutmeg for dusting

Combine espresso and steamed eggnog in a latte mug. Dust with cinnamon and nutmeg and enjoy with good book :-)

--Courtesy of Elaine Perez

Beef or Lamb Roast with Coffee Gravy

Serves 4-6

1 boned, rolled leg of lamb (5lbs) or

1 flank steak (3-5 lbs)

Rub:

2 tsp instant coffee

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp dehydrated onion

1 tsp orange peel

1 tsp paprika 

Mix rub ingredients and pat on meat until covered. Place in a plastic zip lock gallon bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hrs.

Roast in slow oven (325F) 25 min per pound. Remove from oven 45 min before done and drain off and reserve pan drippings, leaving just 6 tbsp. Cover and return meat to oven until done.

Sauté mushrooms and onions in the reserved drippings, removing them to be served with the roast. Use those same drippings to make your gravy, but for part of the water, substitute one shot of espresso with sugar & cream to taste (or a cup of fresh brewed quality coffee, also with cream & sugar to taste).

--Courtesy of Norene Serpe

Tips from the Grounds floor . . .

· Cinnamon and nutmeg round out the flavor of coffee, softening and smoothing its sharp edges.

· Ginger, cardamom, pepper and citrus highlight the sharpness of coffee and heighten its flavor.

My fiance and fellow mystery-writer Jeremiah Healy and I are speaking at the Broward Library this afternoon (Thursday, Nov. 3) at 2 pm. Our subject is You, Me and Our Imaginary Friends: Living and Working with Another Writer.

It's the first time we've presented the program, but I think it'll be blast. Unexpected, too--most likely for all of us!

Jerry and I have been together for over three years now. He's a far more experienced writer than I am, with 18 books and more than 60 short stories published. I've learned an incredible amount from him and it's been great fun living with another writer. (A pain, too, since sometimes I'm the immovable object and he's the irresistable force. And vice versa . . .)

While I think my strengths are characters and dialogue, Jerry's are plot and structure. He's a better story-teller than I am, but I bring added humor and warmth. It's a good match.

The second part of my article, Writing the Killer Series, just hit the stands in this month's issue of Southern Writers Magazine.

The  article discusses eight major decisions that a writer needs to make before sitting down to begin the first book of what will become--fingers crossed--a series.  In this second part, I cover things like:

• Location: Fresh meat delivered to your door
• Timing: Rip Van Winkle vs. Dorian Gray, your choice

Susan Reichert, editor of Southern Writers, says she got so much out of the article that every writer needs to read it. High praise!

Click on the cover image below to see a sample of this month's issue, including my piece:

Just got off the phone with my publisher and we've decided to feature coffee-related holiday recipes with my ebooks for the next two months! I want to pair a coffee specialty drink with a holiday treat (think cookies, cakes, all nature of wonderful things, including savory dishes). For a double caffeine hit, the treat could also have coffee or espresso in it! (do we sense a theme here?)

My problem is that I'm both on a diet and a deadline, so chances of my coming up with these recipes without scrapping one or both are slim (diet joke) to none. 

So, here's my plan! If you have a favorite holiday recipe that fits the bill, give it a title that ties into one of my Maggy Thorsen mysteries and submit it to me at Sandy@SandraBalzo.com . If I choose your recipe, I'll attribute it to you, ala:

Maggy's Espresso Brownies

Courtesy of  [Your Name Here]

. . . and send you one of these adorable little totes made from the actual bags coffee beans are shipped in:   

Now go forth and concoct . . .