A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

Shirley's Cuppa Joe as I see it The character in my book, Sonja, enjoys gourmet coffee creations. She would love to turn her Victorian style coffee shop into a modern West Coast coffeehouse. She dreams of purchasing a state of the art espresso machine. She even takes an off season job at a well established coffee shop in a ski area to better learn the business. Well, I can open a can of Folgers with the best of them, but do I really know how to make a caramel macchiato? No. Cappuccino? Uh-uh. Anything that requires measuring, tamping, steaming, or flavoring? Absolutely not. Organic Life Coffeehouse and Bakery But I do know a good cup of coffee when I drink it. And…I know how to do research. I started with the internet. I was able to learn quite a bit about coffee beans, coffee grinders, and espresso machines. But how does it all come together as a business? For that I decided I needed to visit a coffeehouse. The internet was good for that, too. While ...

If you are a regular visitor to my blog you will notice I did not title this one Word Count Wednesday. I promise I will give the word count at the end as usual, but I wanted to take this opportunity to answer some of the questions I have received about writing a novel. In particular, I have fielded questions from friends, acquaintances, and readers of my blog. Many are interested in writing a novel or short story themselves. Hey, we all have a story to tell, right? My purpose in creating the blog was to a) learn how to blog, b) share the journey with others interested in the process of writing, and c) to hold myself accountable to the commitment I had made to write every day. Well, I am learning a bit and the blog does serve to hold me accountable. I hope my musings have helped some who are interested in the writing process. Now though, I feel compelled to address three very specific questions for those of you who really want to write but can’t seem to get...

I prefer not to read trash so I certainly am not inclined to write it. That’s not what this blog is about.  This is about writing. Someone recently asked me how I keep up the writing. Do I ever just “not feel like writing?” Sure. I was trying to think of a good metaphor to explain my writing schedule. I could compare it to exercise. You just do it on a regular basis, inspired or not. In fact, I have often treated my writing as an exercise. For example, I looked at the topics Chicken Soup for the Soul was going to publish and wrote a story for the next three titles. I sent them in and the result? I had a story published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive in October 2012. It’s called “The Roller Coaster” if you’re interested. Not a bad exercise. I often write out short devotionals taken from my daily Bible reading. These provide not only an exercise in writing for me, but help me make sense of what I am reading. (By the way, don’t read Prover...

This is the best ever brownie recipe for a light fluffy brownie. Ideal cake style brownies to split while they are still warm, fill with ice cream, and top with chocolate syrup. My aunt shared the recipe with my mother who shared it with me. My whole family likes these so it made sense I would share them with the main character of my book, Sonja.  Who knows? Maybe she will serve them one evening at Shirley’s Cuppa Joe.     Brownies with Ice Cream Preheat oven: 350 degrees;   Grease/Spray a 9x13 cake pan In a large bowl mix: 2 C. sugar 1 ¾ C. flour 1 C. shortening 4 eggs ½ C. milk (sometimes I add a little more because I think it makes them fluffier) ½ teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon salt 6 Tablespoons cocoa Mix well and pour into the greased pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly before slicing and filling with vanilla ice cream. Top with choco...

I appreciate books that give me a glimpse of the uniqueness of a place or time. I read John Grisham’s Pelican Brief and feel like I am in Louisiana. I read Lawana Blackwell’s chronicles about life in 19 th century England and I catch a glimpse of a time and place long gone. (Though I do tend to crave a cup of tea.) Since I chose Door County, Wisconsin as the setting for my novel, I wanted to bring a piece of the Door County culture into the book. In the story, Sonja (my main character for those of you new to the blog) has fallen for a young man. She met him in Colorado and now he has come to Fish Creek where Sonja lives and works. She takes him to a fish boil. So what is a fish boil? Well, read this excerpt and see what you think about this Door County tradition. “A fish boil isn’t just dinner,” Sonja explained to Damon. “It’s an experience. That’s why we have to get there early.” The restaurant was a little less than a mile away so they walked down Main ...