Recetas de una Mujer Maya Moderna

Recetas de una Mujer Maya Moderna:

Easy Modern Mayan Recipes

by Sokky Yah

TrueBluePress
PRESS  RELEASE
1/4/2019

Now available from Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/915152.

With over 35 simple recipes made in the tradition of the Mayan in the Seye Pueblo in Yucatán, México. Also, included are a few short stories by the author about her life in the pueblo.

Included are recipes for pork chops, chicken, spaghetti, desserts, soups, eggs, sandwiches, potatoes, and salads. Find recipes for Cotzitos, Gorditas, tortas featuring chaya, corn, and vegetables. Also, included are two recipes by the author's friend, Alan van Bogegraven.

Más de 35 recetas sencillas hechas en la tradición de los mayas en Seye Pueblo en Yucatán, México. Además, se incluyen algunos cuentos del autor sobre su vida en el pueblo.

Se incluyen recetas para chuletas de cerdo, pollo, espaguetis, postres, sopas, huevos, sándwiches, papas y ensaladas. Encuentre recetas para Cotzitos, Gorditas, tortas con chaya, maíz y vegetales. Además, se incluyen dos recetas del amigo del autor, Alan van Bogegraven.

What's Next on the Blog

After announcing I was going to publish volume 2 of Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook based on my continuing experiments with cooking, I don't see another cookbook in all this because while I have expanded my repertoire, I have not elevated my cooking skills. I can still burn water.

Over the last few years, I tried to expand my cooking skills while still using a hotplate and a microwave.

I did increase my menu options to include: mug recipes, toast toppings, popsicles, salsas, crazy salads, slaws, and more.

Also, thoroughly enjoyed all the recipe and cookbook searches and research. Found a few gems like The Great Little Cookbook and Jack Monroe's cookbooks and website.

Learned to make a grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and mac & cheese multiple ways.

Got more comfortable using substitutions and spices even if I got it wrong sometimes.

While I don't have another cookbook yet, I have enough ideas to continue writing about cooking for a long time.

Plus, I am expanding my topic choices to include a Staycation series, more articles about writing and publishing, and more.

Jack Monroe, Cooking on a Bootstrap, Introduction

Early in my search for easy, frugal recipes, I found Jack Monroe, author of A Girl Called Jack, a cookbook of 100 recipes for people on a tight budget.

 

 Jack Monroe, Cooking on a Bootstrap, Introduction

 

Jack has a witty, intelligent, creative way of explaining how to make her budget recipes. Because of her style and creativity, she has become a media darling.

She has been invited onto a variety of talk shows. She has written for several publications including a cooking column for The Guardian. For example: Tips for Students How to Eat Well for £3.50 a day (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/20/how-to-eat-well-for-350-a-day-by-the-scrimping-experts)

Jack has published several more cookbooks and continues to create budget recipes on her website, Cooking on a Bootstrap.

On her website, she also highlights her experiences as a single mother living in poverty. She shows people the harsh difficulties of being poor.

"There’s nothing fun and exciting about missing days of meals, with the heating off all winter, the light bulbs unscrewed, selling your sons shoes and drinking his formula milk that the food bank gave you. Try it for a month at least, if you really want to get an idea. Two months. Two years. Unscrew your light bulbs, turn off your fridge, sell anything you can see lying around that you might get more than a quid for.

Stop going out. Walk everywhere, in the pouring rain, in your only pair of shoes, with a soaking wet and sobbing three year old trailing behind you. Drag that three year old into every pub and shop in unreasonable walking distance and ask if they have any job vacancies. Get home, soaking, still unemployed, to ‘dry out’ in a freezing cold flat. Put two jumpers on and worry about how you’ll wash them, take them off, and put a tshirt underneath. You can wear the jumpers all week, and change the tshirt twice.

Drag yourself to the cooker to pour some pasta into a pan, pour some chopped tomatoes on top, and try not to hurl it across the room when your son tells you he doesn’t like it – because there is nothing else. Nothing else at all.

I was cold, exhausted, only forcing myself out of the depths of choking depression to smile at the children’s centre workers because I was scared they can see how numb and dead I felt, how I went to bed at night tormented by thoughts of suicide. The endless self-chatter: ‘Your son would have a better life without you. You’re a drain on society, the state, your family and friends.’ I slit my wrists in the bath and horrified, came to, wailing and sobbing on the floor because I knew I’d hit the fucking bottom. Again.

You’re grateful for the tea and sympathy but you just want everyone to leave you alone and to stop asking if you’re okay. Because you’re not. You’re full of rain and heartache and anger and despair and it’s starting to seep through the cracks in the kept up appearances, seeping through the tshirt sleeve and you need to get out of there.

The rain isn’t miraculously any less wet when you don’t have a coat with a hood, or an umbrella, or three quid for the bus. That rain still soaks you to the skin, and your three year old, too." (Source: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/06/27/the-difference-between-poverty-and-poorface/)

She also criticizes how media make a game of trying to live on £1 a day.

"Poverty is not a 24 hour challenge. It is a world of endless nothing. It is depression, despair, darkness. It is having no light at the end of the tunnel, like being stuck down a well, waiting to die.There is no planning for the future because you don’t believe you really have one. There are no savings accounts, no rainy day funds, no contents insurance, no health insurance, no investment in your own self, your own health, because to invest financially, nutritionally, or emotionally is to look forward. Poverty only looks at its own feet, in too-tight shoes that let in the rain, it drags you downwards, and inwards, and I speak from bitter, horrible experience..."

I particularly like Jack's approach to creating recipes for those in poverty. She recognizes that not everyone has the same level of cooking skills or have access to various cooking equipment.

"In other circumstances, people may lack cooking facilities, in houses of multiple occupancy, student halls, domestic abuse and homelessness shelters. They may have shoddy landlords renting them inappropriate and ill-equipped homes, or their cooker may have broken and they simply don’t have the ready money available to fix it. I have readers who are literally cooking in a bedsitter, or on a camping stove. Some people have no saucepans or cooking equipment. Some people lack the confidence to try new recipes and ingredients; if you have no money or a bare storecupboard, trying new ideas is a risk – if it goes wrong, you end up with no dinner at all. (Source: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/06/27/top-5-tips-for-eating-healthily-on-a-budget-and-the-limitations/)

She also recognizes that many people are on restricted diets and/or do not live near grocery stores or farmers markets.

Initially, being a "Best Selling" cookbook author did not made life easier for Jack. At this point in time, she has not received any royalties from the sales of her cookbook. In addition, she has to fight off aggressive abusers on social media and elsewhere.

Yet, Jack fearlessly addresses how politics and government policies directly affect the poor. She continues to write articles, serve on panels, and support various charities. She calls out "Conservatives" who try and use her as an example to others living in poverty.

"...And finally – I took exception to the Conservatives holding me up as some kind of role model because, it was their policies that left me hungry, cold, almost homeless, moving house seventeen times with a child under my arm. I ended up severely mentally ill, referred to psychiatrists, and still recovering several years later. I tried to kill myself four times that I remember under austerity policies, being continuously maliciously investigated for my benefits (curiously always coinciding with me writing something negative about the local Council on my well-read political blog I wrote from the gallery of the local public meetings), having housing benefit withdrawn over a dozen times, leading to my eviction from my home, and in such horrific debt it took two books to finally emerge from the other side of it. Not credit cards or frivolity; but water bills, bounced gas and electric, rent arrears, and bank charges. I still can’t even open my own front door, scarred as I am by penny pinching pissy policies devised over £39 breakfasts by those who think nothing of spending £6,000 of taxpayers money on a dining table for their second home while loftily declaring that the poor can live on 1% of that figure for an entire week. To be used as their ‘poster girl’ for frugality by such obscene hypocrites offends me to my burned and shattered core." (Source: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/02/17/my-ready-meal-is-none-of-your-business/)

 A simple web search for Jack Monroe will illustrate many of their interests and activities. 

 

Most people are disconnected in many ways from the food they buy. Food is political.

 

 

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Monroe

 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/jack-monroe-low-cost-recipes

 

https://cookingonabootstrap.com/

 

Smashwords 2018 Summer Sale

Smashwords 2018 Summer Sale!

 July 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018

https://www.smashwords.com/books/category/1/newest/1

Smashwords authors have selected books and reduced their price from free to 75% off.

Get 25% off the eBooks by Ria Stone below:

Peg Bracken -- I Hate to Cook Book -- 50th Anniversary

"I Hate to Cook Book" by Peg Bracken

I remember when I saw Peg Bracken's "I Hate to Cook Book" because it made me feel like I was not alone in my dislike or inability to cook.

While I never mastered her bulk cooking methods, I still appreciated her approach.

I had her book in mind when I wrote "Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook" knowing there had to others who struggled to cook healthy meals for themselves and others.

So, I was sad, I was late in seeing the revised I Hate to Cook Book for the 50th Anniversary of her first cookbook.

(Source: Barnes and Noble)

So, better late than never!

Thanks Peg Bracken.

 

My Self-Publishing Experiences

Recently, I revised two publications and submitted them as ePubs to Smashwords.

I also created a PDF/a using Libre Office of the revised RKFNC to submit to Lulu to create a POD.

Then, I formatted a new publication, Budget Guest Accommodations Opportunities Marketing Report, Mérida, México in Pages, created an ePub and submitted it to Smashwords.

But, the preparation of the revised publications took months because I struggled to format the manuscripts created in Pages, exported as ePubs, to get the format I wanted, or to convert to a docx to create a PDF/a format.

I had so many problems, I can't remember them all. But, most days, I would start out optimistically, thinking it would take a couple of hours to fix the current problems and then find myself at 10pm at night still trying to fix problems.

I tried Open Office to create a PDF/a format but never got past all the formatting errors. Then, I tried Libre Office. I finally figured it out when I formatted the revised RKFNC.

I had almost 16 versions of each manuscript in attempts to fix formatting and image problems. Conversions of previous manuscripts produced loss of formatting, changes in styles, and image disarrangements. In one conversion, I kept getting Arial microcode font which I never used.

The takeaway from these issues was the realization that even though I tried to use a clean manuscript, in some  cases, I was using a file that had been formatted for a particular use and using the same file for another format introduced errors in coding. Coding I could often not see.

When I converted BGAO from pages to an ePub format, I had fewer problems because I was using the original file even though I had revised the manuscript many, many times.

Converting the revised RKFNC from a docx using LibreOffice to a PDF/a was a little easier than creating an ePub. I did have to fix some formatting errors. But, generally, the process was fairly smooth.

For authors who only produce about one book a year, I feel that I have to learn how to use various software programs all over again.

While using Lulu was fairly straightforward, I made a few mistakes and lost some work and had to start over.

I use macbook with Pages, Word for Mac, Preview and PhotoscapeX. While I had a few other software packages just a year ago, it seems I keep losing them when I upgrade my devices. But, in general, I don't want to spend any more money on software just to produce a book.

Plus, I hope the big software developers realize their popup reminders are aggravating. I ignore them now. I delay updating my software because it means too much downtime while it reloads and often I lose some functionality in the updated software.

Below are charts I created to try and capture the elements of making choices when you choose to self-publish. These charts are incomplete as I continue to gather information. Also, these represent my personal experiences, I know others who use several of these online publishers and are happy with their services.

Because this process took so long, over that time, I began to sense changes in the eBook marketplace. Large eTailers seem to be abandoning support for free or low-cost publications. Other online publishers have increased their fees and costs.

Unless you wrote a bestseller, or are an established author, or a popular niche author, it will be hard to get eyes on your products.

While I have researched and attempted to tackle marketing, it is a huge endeavor to try and find your audience, especially, if you write eclectic books like I do.

 

Online Publishers' Customer Service -- Update

3/5/16 UPDATE: In further correspondence with LuLu, they answered my questions fully and promptly which made me happy. Lulu looks good at this point. Now, it's up to me to make sure I made a good file for use on their site.

==========

As an author, for me, good customer service is one of my primary criteria in choosing an online publisher as well as other online services.

As a Smashwords.com author, their customer service is very good in my opinion, which I appreciate.

But, in my search for a POD publisher, I have been less than satisfied with the customer service. Most send you to a "knowledge base" which is often a mishmash of customer comments and do not address specific minute details.

For example,

This reply does not address my question specifically and saying they will respond in x number of days is not reassuring. This is the type of reply I get often from various online services including Blogger.com. From my perspective, this is very unsatisfying.

I can not seem to get POD publishers to understand my request.

I want a POD publisher who will 1) host my POD (made by me) for sales and distribution from their site  2) distribute it to other eTailers and 3) make it available for download as a POD file, so customers can go to their local printer to get a copy made.

I see this as another publishing avenue as seen by the growth of the Espresso Business Machine (http://ondemandbooks.com) but even this program does not address the lack of service in many areas of the world where mail service is costly and delivery times are long. But, if local printers could produce a POD, then customers could go to them to get a print copy of a downloaded POD, much like customers do with photobooks.

I do recognize that POD file formats will vary.

Also, in some cases, using POD publishers can be costly.

I am still researching this issue.

Meet Hannah Crawford - Writer, Editor and Publication Specialist at The Write Place

Interview

Hannah Crawford

Writer and Editor

The Write Place

a small independent publisher

Pella, IA

Hello, Hannah:

Hannah Crawford
Writer & Editor
The Write Place

Thank you for agreeing to do an interview for my blog.

As a the Write Place (WP) client and self-published author, I am always curious about how the publishing side works.

WP offers a wide variety of services from writing, editing, design, marketing and more. So, I am excited about this interview.

Q. How long have you been with the Write Place?

A. I joined the Write Place in 2011 as the book division coordinator.

Q. What do you enjoy most about your job?

A. The variety of books people bring to us for publication. I’ve been able to work with authors on children’s books, poetry books, memoirs, novels, history, photo books…I’m sure there are more that I’m not thinking of right now!

Q. As a writer and editor for the WP, are there some favorite projects you have worked on and why? Were there some projects that presented unforeseen issues? If so, what were some of those issues?

A. One of my favorite projects was the winner of our 2014 Book Contest, Lost in the Tallgrass. I loved the story so much, it was truly a pleasure to work with the author throughout the editing process.

It seems like every book project has something new or unexpected that comes up during the production process. Oftentimes this is the author wanting to add additional photos or text at the last minute. Fortunately we can usually accommodate them and still meet their deadline—but sometimes we have to remind them that it might be time to let their baby go!

Q. What advice would you give to a new author seeking to use the WP self-publishing services?

A. Keep in mind that publication is just the beginning. For your book to succeed, you have to have a solid marketing plan. This can be as much work, if not more, than writing the book itself.

Q.  What is the typical the WP production process for a self-published eBook or Book?

A. We provide a wide range of services, and not all authors take advantage of all of them. This means that there really is no “typical project.”

But just as an example: an author comes to us with a completed manuscript and wants us to usher it through the entire production process. We’d start with editing, then develop a cover design and interior design. Once the author is happy with the text and design, we’d lay out the entire book. We then send it to a print on demand printer, so the author can order as many copies as he or she wants. We’d also set it up for distribution through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and other online sites.

Q. What are some typical costs to produce an eBook?

A. It depends on the complexity and length of the eBook. I’d be happy to provide a quote for anyone interested!

Q. Are there some common misconceptions new authors have about self-publishing using TWP services?

A. The WP has been providing a wide range of publishing services to business clients and authors for many years. The WP must have gone through many technological changes as the print industry changes.

Q. What are some innovations TWP has adopted?

Technology is what makes our business possible—without print on demand, it just wouldn’t be economically feasible for many authors to publish their book.

Q.  Does the TWP participate in any book conventions or writing workshops?

A few years ago I attended the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College and discussed self-publishing with some of the authors who were attending. That was a blast!

Q.  What do you see in the future for eBook and POD publishing?

I see the technology, especially for eBooks, becoming increasingly accessible and flexible. I’m sure there is amazing technology people are developing right now that I can’t even imagine!

Thanks Hannah, it has been a pleasure working with you and the WP staff. Thanks for the interview.

WP Locations

Pella, IA and Lakeville, MN

WP Media

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thewriteplace

Twitter
https://twitter.com/writeplacebiz

Wordpress
https://bookplaceblog.wordpress.com

Tales from Indies: Smashwords Writers Anthology Blog Tour 2015

Tales from Indies:

Smashwords Forum Writers Anthology 2015

Blog Tour

Just in time for the Holidays. This free (with coupon) collection of eleven pieces, with an international flavor, includes short stories, an essay and chapters from completed works with themes ranging from science-fiction, fantasy, historical retellings, to paranormal romance.

Tales from Indies writers are: Bret Allen, John Chapman, Shelia Chapman, Şerban Valentin Constantin Enache, Julie Harris, Kell Inkston, Alan James, Ian Kotze, Jennifer R. Povey, Ria Stone, and Bonnie Turner.

New and experienced writers, join Smashwords Forum to explore and meet other writers of all ages and genres as well to gain useful tips about formatting, writing, promotion, cover art design, coding, and more.

*The Smashwords Forum is an independent website

not affiliated with Smashwords.

Tales from Indies Anthology

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/592989

Coupon: BU68H

Smashwords Forum:
http://smashwords-forum.proboards.com

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com

Follow the links for each writer and

explore the complete collection of their works.

November 16, 2015

SWF Founder, Ted Summerfield - punzhupuzzles.wordpress.com/

Introduction to SWF

November 17, 2015

Ria Stone - riastoneblog.blogspot.mx

Ted Summerfield SWF profile

November, 2015

Bret Allen - www.bretallen.info

PR

November, 2015

Julie Harris - https://www.facebook.com/julieharrisauthor/

PR

December, 2015

Ian Kotze - insanityexpressed.blogspot.mx

Article on his works

December 19, 2015

Ria Stone, riastoneblog.blogspot.mx,

Interview with Hannah Crawford, Publishing Consultant, The Write Place

December 20, 2015

Jennifer R. Povey - http://jenniferrpovey.blogspot.mx

A little history on Saturday Night at the Wonderland Club

December, 2015

Bonnie Turner - my.athenet.net/~aurorawolf 

PR


December, 2015

David Ellis - http://www.davidebooks.com/posts/review-swf-anthology-2015/
A review of Tales from Indies: Smashwords Forum Writers Anthology 2015

Websites/Blogs for other Anthology Authors

John Chapman - avestedinterest.info

Shelia Chapman -  avestedinterest.info

Şerban V.C. Enache - serbanvcenache.blogspot.ro/

Kell Inkston - kellinkston.com

Alan James - http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AlanJames