Sidetracked, Swamped, Astounded, and Distracted

Ok, the bad news is production of another volume of Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook has been suspended. The project got sidetracked by health issues including food allergies.

The good news is El Sueño de Gina (the Spanish version of Gina's Dream) is in progress at the publisher, theWritePlace (.biz). Projected publication date is late November.

Some of the things I learned while writing Gina's Dream is I need alot more practice writing action scenes, plotting, and developing characters. I just could not make my bad guy mean enough to scare anyone. Plus, I learned that while I thought I could write some "steamy" sex scenes, I could not let the public read them, especially my family and friends, just could not do it.

For a brief moment, I thought I could write a "romance", instead, I wrote a cookbook, the first volume of Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook.

And I am astounded by the depth and breadth of the marketing efforts needed to promote a book. I have spent almost a year pursuing various marketing efforts for Gina's Dream including: holding a book launch party; trying promotions; writing articles for other websites; tweeting; emailing select "contacts" to introduce Gina's Dream; writing and rewriting press releases; joining various "book/writers" websites; contacting relevant media; going to science-fiction conventions; researching reader demographics; and more. Every day I wake up and realize there are 100 new outlets to contact.

More good news, Mocktails, a short collection of recipes for non-alcoholic cocktails, is with a few beta-readers and will be printed locally by November 2014. But, unless I figure it out, because Mocktails is image-intensive, I will not be able to publish Mocktails on Smashwords.

Also, I found a Mac expert at ComuniMac  and he solved some major problems I was having with my devices. What a relief!

Ok, the good news/bad news is I am swamped with ideas to research and articles to write.

Plus, I am distracted by my need to inject some other kinds of "fun" into my life, liking going to the beach, or a concert, or a play. The good news is I am back to taking walks and exploring more areas of town.

Along the way, I met many wonderful people. My beta readers are fantastic. The authors and writers I met online and in-person inspire me. I continue to learn and appreciate something new everyday.

A Balticon Blog 2014

Friday 23, 2014

Late lunch in the Hunt Valley Grill with a Maryland Crab Cake sandwich and Malibu "something", a drink with rum and pink grapefruit drink. All very good.

I was hungry that is why the food came first.

At my first glance at the program, there is Guest of Honor, Brandon Sanderson, along with many Goh's like Ghost of Honor, Robert Jordan, a well-known Sci-fi writer who passed away in 2007. I was surprised by the Artist Guest of Honor, Halo Jankowski, he specializes in Tattoo art.

Ok, what is Balticon, it is the Baltimore Science Fiction Society's annual convention where science fiction fans and others come to appreciate all aspects of science fiction from writing and publishing, to artwork and costume construction, to movies and movie making, to songs and so much more.

Oh, just the highlights that caught my eye and my tastes. They are playing the Wizard of Oz and old Bewitched TV shows as well as Iron Man, Frozen, Gravity, Soylent Green, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and much more.

A lot of new writers are displaying their published books like Grig Larson's Trolley and Space B!tch, and Jhada R. Addams's Devil's Gambit.

Part of the registration package included a huge paperback by GOH Brandon Sanderson's The Way of  Kings.

I like science fiction but I come from the days of Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Ursula Le Guin, Spider Robinson, Orson Scott Card, Ray Bradbury, and so many more. I do not recognize a single name here but I hope to get introduced to some new great writers.

Tech issue, the minute I landed at BWI, I have had innumerable tech issues, now in the hotel grill, on the hotel internet, I am getting warning messages "can not save." But, after each message, if I try at least three time, it finally saves. Later, the connection kept dropping. So frustrating.

Just now reviewing the program events and there are many programs I am interested in and many I probably won't make because you just can't do it all.

Sampling of programs....

A Virtual Tour of the Universe
Space Weapons
42 Reasons Why You Should Write for Young Adults

More to come.

An eCookBook has been Born!

Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook has been published by Amazon.

A Cookbook for Non-Cooks?

It's no secret, I can't cook. But you gotta eat, so over the years I have developed some "simple" recipes to create a variety of menu choices other than peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and a bag of potato chips for dinner.

As mature Expat living in Mexico, I enjoy life and work on writing all those stories and books I put on hold. Also, as a print addict, former typesetter with some journalistic training, and booklover, I have found the world of epublishing an exciting adventure and an education. Who has time to cook?

Review by: Ted Summerfield on Dec. 20, 2013 :     
Ria has crafted a wonderful cookbook of flavourful and quick recipes for chili, salads, stews and other mouthwatering fare.

Ria included some personal stories in her cookbook, making it a treasure to read compared to some dry, "just the cooking facts" cookbooks I've read.

As an added bonus, you don't need to know how to cook to make any of these recipes. There are no weird ingredients found only at some artsy-fartsy, high-brow, high-priced, food emporium, just simple, easy to create food.

This collection of easy recipes is for non-cooks who feel like an alien in the kitchen.

Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook provide ideas for a variety of sandwiches from PB&J to Dagwood Sandwiches, and simple recipes like: Tomato Salad and Coleslaw.

Yet, with a skillet and pot with lids, a microwave and a crock pot, you can make most of the recipes in RKFNC.

Among the recipes are some basic ones like a spaghetti recipe with suggestions for a variety of toppings that can be used elsewhere.

Personal stories are included with some recipes as I navigates some of the Dangers! of cooking.

There are crock pot recipes like Two Bean Corn Chili and Pork and Pineapple Chili. Ria's Basic Skillet Recipe is for the more adventuresome. RKFNC has a few recipes using leftovers.

The egg, a beautiful product of nature, is used in many ways. See recipes for: making an omelet or using hard-boiled eggs for sandwiches or egg salad, or adding an egg to fried rice.

Try Ria Stone's Microwave Small Dish Cake! In addition to recipes, I promote my first eBook, Gina's Dream. Take a peek at the Bits, Bites & Books Café's menu for other ideas.

RKFNC is not a dieters cookbook. Olive oil is used in almost everything and cheese is a frequent ingredient.

As I writer, I see food everywhere.

Find Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook on Amazon and other eTailers.