Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Review - 101 Recipes For Preparing Food in Bulk

101 Recipes For Preparing Food in Bulk
AUTHOR: Richard Helweg
PUBLISHED BY: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1601383600
PUB DATE: 2011
PAGES: 288

It seems like the prices at the grocery store keeping increasing every week, which can be extremely difficult to put food on the table for a large family. In the book 101 Recipes for Preparing Food in Bulk, you’ll learn that cooking in bulk may help you save money. Of course you cannot just jump into this in one day, you need to plan first. You will need to plan out the proper equipment, ingredients, what recipes to use, and the needed space to preserve and cook your recipes. Do a proper inventory of your kitchen, checking for the right spices and other ingredients. For bulk cooking, it’s recommend that you have a freezer, preferably an Energy Star model so it’s energy efficient. You must decide if you have the space for an upright or chest freezer, as a chest freezer takes a lot of floor space.

Review - Glamorous Illusions

Billy Burgess books , fiction

Glamorous Illusions
AUTHOR: Lisa T. Bergren
PUBLISHED BY: David C. Cook
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6430-0
PUB DATE: 2012
PAGES: 413

Cora Diehl is on summer vacation from the Normal School in the year 1913. She returns to her families’ farm in Dunnigan, Montana only to find that her father has had a terrible stroke. The doctor tells her that her father will mostly likely not survive the night, but her father is a strong man and he slowly begins to recover. Cora finds it odd that the fields have not been planted yet, and that is when her mother tells her that because of their financial situation, which Cora was never aware of their money problems, they can't buy seeds this year.

On her sixteenth birthday, Cora had received a necklace from an unknown stranger. Knowing its value, she makes a deal in town in exchange for seeds for the fields. She never discusses the deal with her parents. With her father unable to work, Cora takes to the fields.

Review - The Complete Guide to Growing Vegetables, Flowers, Fruits, and Herbs From Containers

Billy Burgess non-fiction ,

The Complete Guide to Growing Vegetables, Flowers, Fruits, and Herbs From Containers
AUTHOR: Lizz Shepherd
PUBLISHED BY: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1601383471
PUB DATE: 2011
PAGES: 288

Having your own garden can be difficult if you live in an apartment or you just do not have a very big yard to use. With the rising cost of groceries, growing your own vegetables and fruit is becoming more popular. No longer will you have to run to the grocery store just to get a few tomatoes. The Complete Guide to Growing Vegetables, Flowers, Fruits, and Herbs From Containers is to help any newbie or veteran gardener learn how to plant in plastic, clay, concrete, wood, paper, glass, and even recycled and “art” planters.

Depending on your climate, you can leave your containers outside during the day and bring them inside at night, or just keep them inside your home, balcony, or deck. Just remember that some plants need light, so a UV light would be handy. In addition, a humidifier in the room helps too.

Review - This Land of Strangers

Billy Burgess non-fiction ,

This Land of Strangers
AUTHOR: Robert E. Hall
PUBLISHED BY: GreenLeaf Book Group Press
ISBN: 978-1-60832-299-2
PUB DATE: 2012
PAGES: 342

If you ever catch a rerun of a 50’s sitcom, you will notice how the neighbors are not strangers, kids do not argue at their parents, and the families sit around the dinner table talking about their day. Today’s kids would just laugh at the old sitcoms, probably referring to them as ‘unrealistic.’ When the truth is that today’s families have lost touch with what real relationships are.

Author Robert Hall has written a clever, funny, and realistic book titled “This Land of Strangers” that touches on the subject about the relationships in our lives. From our families, neighbors, classmates, co-workers, fellow church members, to the stranger sitting next to you on the subway, Robert writes about how our relationships is threatening our society.

Review - The Caves of Etretat by Matt Chatelain

Billy Burgess book review ,

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Paul Sirenne owns a small bookstore in Canada and is just living a normal life until his parents are brutally murdered, leaving him with one clue - H.N. His father had prepared for such tragedy and had sent Paul a note before their untimely demise. The content holds a long, hidden family secret which sends Paul to Etretat, France where a hundred year old family mystery lies within the book “The Hollow Needle” by Maurice Leblanc.

He isn’t alone on the mystery hunt as he is assisted by Leblanc’s great-granddaughter, Raymonde. Together they try to unravel the puzzle that has been unleashed before them, which takes them to the caves in Etretat’s chalk cliffs.

The Friday 56 - The Reckoning

Billy Burgess The Friday 56 ,

Rules:

Grab a book, any book.

Turn to page 56.

Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

Post it.

Add your (url) post below in the Linky at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/.

Guest Post with author Linda Juliano

Billy Burgess guest author ,

Creating a Snappy Title & Character Names

The title of a book is intrinsically important. As a reader, I can tell you the title alone has a great deal of influence over whether I take the next step and read the book flap or put it back on the shelf (or click to view the next e-book). Knowing this to be true about myself, I’m sure there are plenty of other readers who find the title to hold equal importance. So as a writer, I work hard to give my novels a title that will (I hope) capture a potential reader’s interest enough to take them past the cover and into the story.

A title has to be well thought out and connected to the story-line in some clever (if not obvious) way. In the case of “Cadence Beach”, the location plays a large role in the story, so the title was appropriate. But as easy as creating a title for this particular book was, it’s rarely that smooth and simple.

I have an odd process of creating my stories; I tend to begin with a title. For me, the title coaxes the story from my imagination. It’s not easy to explain, but I begin with a snapshot of a story idea, follow it with a preliminary title then sit back and let the story flow from there. It actually works for me, as strange as it may sound. I don’t always stick with the original title, but whatever title I choose, it’s with the intent of capturing a potential reader’s curiosity right away while offering some sense of what the story is about.