A growing passion – by Kandy Shepherd

Any one else get a kick from growing your own fruit and vegetables? In the Meryl Streep movie It’s Complicated. I lusted for her character’s perfect French style potager vegetable garden (even more than I wanted her beautiful Santa Barbara house and amazing bakery).

My own veggie plot (that's it below the dream one) is a lot

more humble—but plans for an It’s Complicated garden are engraved on the “one day when I have more time” list.

In the meantime we get an ample supply of tomatoes, peas, beans, eggplant, zucchini (and zucchini and zucchini), sweetcorn and herbs, even though they are grown in a more haphazard—and dare I say less complicated—fashion than the movie one. Lettuce is something I haven’t been so lucky with this year.

When someone (and I’m glaring here at my daughter) let her horse Toby into the garden he made a beeline for the lettuces. Lucky I adore him and can’t stay cranky for long… Oh, and he does help with the fertilizer!

I was fortunate to inherit with the garden marvelous old fruit trees: apples, pears, sour cherries, peaches and an ancient gnarled plum. But it’s a battle between us and the birds to join in the harvest! I’m prepared to share, why can’t they?

My interests tend to sneak into the books I write. Food and animals are very much part of LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD and HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. The book I am working on now also has heroine who likes to cook, and that dream vegetable garden has somehow found its way into the plot. Funny, that…

Do you have a green thumb—or the other kind? Please leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS and include your email address if you want to be in the draw.

Ending it right-Kandy Shepherd

A guaranteed happy ending is one of the things I love about romance novels. No matter what misunderstandings or differences keep the hero and heroine rent asunder, we know they will end the book happily-ever-after in each other’s arms. We can sigh happily, maybe even wipe away a tear or two, and know that all is all right for that fictional couple. We might even wallow in an epilogue showing they are still happy a year or so in the future.

As writers, we concentrate on getting the opening lines of a novel just so—but we also work hard on making sure we write a satisfying ending. In a non-romance book this might mean a thought-provoking ending or even a cliff-hanger rather than a HEA.

To get that ending right is so important. Don't you hate it when a TV network sees a blip in the ratings or gets a budget cut and ends a series before they should? I remember how annoyed I was at the rushed, unsatisfactory ending to one of my favorite television series, Gilmore Girls. We got to know and love single mom Lorelai and her daughter Rory, their friends, family and lovers. The way things ended with both Rory and Logan and Lorelai and Luke were anti-climactic after all we’d invested as viewers in their relationships. We felt cheated.

Same with one of my favorite television series, the British psychological thriller Wire in the Blood that centers around profiler Tony Hill. Not only did they write out the lead female role of Carol Jordan with just a sentence of implausible explanation but they abruptly ended the sixth series without any satisfactory resolution. Thank heaven the brilliant novels of Val McDermid (upon which the TV series was based) continue!

On-line fans were furious at the odd and abrupt ending of another of my favorites, the US version of Life on Mars (starring the gorgeous Jason O’Mara). The UK version finished off the original series in a far more satisfactory manner. (BTW it was a beautiful romance between time traveler Sam and 1970s cop Annie.)

Any books/movies/TV shows where you loved the ending or would have liked to end differently? Please leave a comment for a chance to win a signed trade paperback copy of my novel HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Include your email address if you want to be in the draw.

http://www.kandyshepherd.com

Gadgets, glorious gadgets--Kandy Shepherd

Anyone else share my addiction to kitchen gadgets? At this time of year, I find it hard to resist trawling the sales in search of some exciting new gizmo that I didn’t know I needed until I saw it marked down to “20% off the already reduced price”. Some people shop the sales for shoes, clothes and bed linen (okay, I do that too!) but each post-Christmas sale I promise myself just one new gadget.

This year, I am delighted with my brand new quiche pan—not only does it have a detachable bottom but that bottom is perforated with small holes for even heating and crispier pastry, (just like my pizza heating tray that was my three-years-ago purchase). I’m pleased to tell you that the cheese and caramelized onion quiche I baked in my new pan for Christmas visitors turned out perfect with no soggy bottom.Other favorite gadgets include: an apple peeler/slicer/corer that really works but I have to admit is a tad time consuming; a salad dressing maker that I liked so much I bought two (it isn’t quite like the photo here but you can get the idea); an amazing French vegetable peeler; and a garlic crusher with outsize holes (bought on a long-ago trip to Paris, France). Favorite of all is a set of measuring cups I bought at Disneyland while at the Romance Writers of America national convention in Orlando last year. Why have the regular kind when you can have Mickey measures?

I use most of my gadgets (except for the avocado slicer.) But I have to confess to a shelf full of beautifully colored silicon bakeware that I am just too chicken to use in a hot oven even though I’ve been told over and over it is guaranteed not to melt…

Like me, the characters in my books are interested in cooking (Maddy in LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD is a chef-turned-magazine food editor; Serena the heroine of HOME IS WHERE THE BARK is a hopeless cook who tries very hard). At the moment, I am writing a character I want to be a gadget collector like me, but she is a trained chef and keeps telling me to please just give her quality, perfectly sharpened knives. Sigh… guess the gadget-collecting-character might have to find a home in a different story…

Do you have any thoughts on kitchen gadgets—maybe on one you could not be without or one that’s a waste of kitchen space? Please leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Include your email address if you want to be in the draw.

http://www.kandyshepherd.com

White lies and whispers by Kandy Shepherd

I love writing fiction and I love reading it. I know you do too, or you wouldn’t be visiting this blog. As a writer there can be no greater fun than to make up stories and people my plots with characters conjured from my imagination. And I love escaping into the fictional worlds created by other writers.

But what about that other story we spin at this time of year? You know, the one about the jolly, white-bearded gentleman in the red suit who parks his reindeers on our rooftops while he slides down the chimney to deliver presents to those of us who have been very good all year.

As a child, I fervently believed in Santa Claus and have no memories of the day of disillusionment. Not so my daughter. When she was eight years old she confronted me with an angry little face. “The kids at school say that Santa Claus isn’t real, is that true?” I hesitated. Her scowl grew deeper. “Tell me the truth.”

So I did. She howled her outrage and betrayal that we had lied to her. That the rest of the world was in on the conspiracy to fool her. No matter how we explained that the Santa story was a lovely thing that made Christmas fun for children, a wonderful tradition started by St Nicholas, about the spirit of giving and sharing, all she could see was our dishonesty.

She stomped away, leaving me and my husband staring at each other with mirrored “what have we done?” expressions on our faces. We had fallen into celebrating the Santa thing with her without even thinking about it. When she queried the number of department store Santas, we thought about telling her the truth. When she asked tricky questions about the logistics of simultaneous around-the-world present delivery by flying-reindeer-drawn sleigh we thought about telling her. Instead we found ourselves getting deeper and deeper into the white lie of it.

But we loved the Santa story—the whispers and the tip-toeing around the house on Christmas Eve as we delivered Santa’s bounty. The kick my husband got out of creating a masterful reindeer bite out of the carrot we left out beside the milk and cookies. We smothered our giggles and reminisced about our childhood Christmases. And we loved the look of wonder next morning on her face when she discovered Santa had visited.

But our daughter was right. White lies are lies all the same. And we had no rejoinders. Especially when she stomped right back into the room. “If Santa is a great big lie, then what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy?”

Do you have any Santa experiences to share? Any special holiday traditions? Please leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of my latest novel HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Include your email address if you would like a chance to win.

http://www.kandyshepherd.com

Mermaids and misstarts—Kandy Shepherd

When my daughter was 4 years old she knew she was going to grow up to be a mermaid. She grew up to be a good swimmer but now as a teenager she’s thinking she’d like to be a dietician. Yesterday she did a barista course and now she’s wondering about hospitality. (See below what she made her dad this morning--I think she might have a future in coffee!)

When did you know what you were going to do in life? I can’t remember not wanting to be a writer. As soon as I could form letters with my pencil, I was scribbling stories and wanting people to read them.I had my first short stories published when I was 21—and then got diverted into magazine journalism. Hey, I got to write and I got paid well—what wasn’t

there to like about that? Answer: I wasn’t writing fiction. And that’s what I really wanted to do. My dream never went away and now I have two contemporary romances, LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD and HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS, published by Berkley Sensation. I still work freelance as a magazine editor and get to write fiction too—I’m so lucky to be able to work in both my worlds.

What about you? Did you always want to pursue a certain career or role in life and single-mindedly set your path on getting there? My friend Emma wanted to be a ballet dancer from the time her little legs were strong enough to glide her around the room. Through hard work, determination and talent she achieved that dream.

But a dancer's life is a short one. Now she teaches ballet and Pilates and is content to still be in the dance world if no longer actually on stage. (Oh, and she’s just about to become a mother which is also another dream role for her!)

Or did you find what you wanted to be only after a few misstarts? My friend Kim wanted to be a schoolteacher but wasn’t encouraged in her dream. This year she is going to graduate as a schoolteacher, having fitted in her studies around a full-time job and three children. Another didn’t-get-there-straight-away is Patrick, a former high school teacher. Now he’s a farrier, shoeing horses and enjoying being his own boss. Then there’s Louise, who started out a nurse and ended up managing a housing construction company—and her six kids!

The heroine of my latest novel HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS, Serena Oakley, barely made it through high school. She dropped out of college. Flitted from one job to another. Beat herself up for not being able to stick at anything. Then finally found her ideal career—running her own doggy day-care center. But just as she’s finding success, her business is threatened by a series of identity frauds. Enter my hero, Nick Whalen. Nick knew one thing for sure—he wanted to get out of the small rural community where he grew up and was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps as a farmer. He ended up as an FBI agent and by

the time he meets Serena he’s a private investigator in his own business—and tracking Serena down as his prime suspect.

I love talking with people about how they got to where they are—their first job, their worst job. I’d love to hear about you. Did you have a dream you never gave up on? Or maybe you found your career/role almost by accident. Please leave a comment for a chance to win one of two prizes—a signed copy of HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS or a HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS T-shirt (my covers make cute T-shirts!) If you want a chance at the prize, please include you email address.

http://www.kandyshepherd.com

Pet party patter - Kandy Shepherd

Do you celebrate your dog or cat’s birthday with a party for them? I have to admit that I don’t—though my pets get their favorite treat meal, maybe a new toy, and extra cuddles and hugs on their “special day”.

Lots of people take pet parties to the next step, though. When I Googled “dog party” I was amazed to see more than 66 million results. That’s a heck of a lot of doggy party favors; doggy party treats; and doggy party venues.

What really surprised me were the more than 47 million results for “cat party”. Kitty parties? Not for the cats in our family! Miss Tabitha endured being dressed in doll’s clothes and wheeled around in the dolly stroller when both she and my daughter were little. But would she or our other two cats put up with the indignity of party hats and fancy dress? I don't think so.

Dogs are more obliging and also, perhaps, more sociable. The pictures I’ve posted on this page are from the day when my friend Kyle kindly had her dogs Cobber and Kaylee, with their friend Sampson, test the pup cakes from the recipe on my website. (The heroine of my first novel LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD is a chef and she creates baked goods for dogs. ) The doggy guests started off on their best behavior until greed took over and Samson snuffled more than his fair share. These cute photos really sold me on the idea of puppy parties.

So I had a lot of fun with a doggy birthday party in my July release novel from Berkley Sensation, HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Heroine Serena Oakley runs an upscale doggy day-care where posh puppy parties are a regular event. PI hero, Nick Whalen, thinks dogs should be fed on table scraps and kept outside. Working undercover, he finds himself setting up a party for a pack of pampered pooches. Poor Nick—they say authors should torture the characters in their books and taking part in the puppy party is definitely torture for him.

Do we always know the actual date of our animals’ birthdays? If they’re rescues, we might have to hazard a guess or celebrate on the day we found them or brought them home from the shelter. It’s easier with horses. They have an official birthday: January 1st in the northern hemisphere and August 1st in the southern hemisphere.

Of course the very best thing about the birthdays of dogs, cats or horses is that they are very forgiving if their birthday happens to slip your mind!

Do you have a pet birthday story to share? I'd love to hear it. Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Please include your email address.

http://www.kandyshepherd.com

Thanks to Sampson’s owner Chris for the photos.