Good Morning! And a beautiful sunshining day it is:) Well, the week is over, the day job done for a bit and other projects have been wrapped up and safely set aside for the time being...

Time to roll up my sleeves and dive into more rewrites!  Actually, I am very excited about it. Big change from the procrastinator I'd become when I even thought about the chore of rewriting Dancing on the Edge.  I would love for you to join me in my venture. I've even added a comment box so you can put your two cents in along the way.  Please check out my progress by clicking the link below the header above.  I really have made some fantastic progress in only one weekend! 

Looking forward to hearing what you think.

D~

I'm back! Remember I mentioned that my dear departed friend, Joan, had helped me to break into the wonders of being a published author? Do you also remember that I'd pulled my first published title, a crime romance novel, when the contract at ePress-Online had run its course for revisions?  Well...

I am actively rewriting and revising that book! I am excited that my muse has returned, and I am once again motivated to WRITE! And more importantly, I once again have something to thank dear, dear Joan for.  I feel it necessary to get this book out there again for Her. She is my motivation, and I will be dedicating this republication to her memory.

Thank you, Joan. You are so instrumental in my career that Dancing on the Edge WILL once again see publication:)

For more information on the revision of this book, I will be creating a special page on this blog to follow the process. 

As always, thanks for stopping by.

D~

I've lost a very dear friend and colleague this last week. Joan McNulty-Pulver was a very instrumental part of my writing career.  We have a long history together.

I met Joan at The Writers University back in the early part of the year 2000. She invited me to help with a new digital epress they were opening up. I went on as a reader and over time began to edit. We have worked together at a ePress-Online, which handles mostly Non-Fiction, Mystery, and SciFi genres for over ten years. ePress-Online took a chance on me with my first novel a crime suspense romance, which didn't fall into any of there genre category guidelines, but that's how they are. They tested a new line with my novel but the line didn't work out for them, and I've since pulled that first novel with their blessing to place it where it might do better.

Joan will be greatly missed by many.  She was a wonderfully supportive person whose goal in life was to help writers.  I wanted to share something special Joan did for several of us just this last Christmas. My Angel is back on display in honor of my very muched loved friend, Joan McNulty-Pulver.  I think of her and all she meant each time I look at this sweet angel...

Below I've copied Joan's Obituary.  Thank you for stopping by and please do comment if you so feel moved.  Joan is very special to many people.  She will forever live on in our hearts.

McNULTY-PULVER, Joan 67, of Brandon, passed away March 7, 2011. She is survived by her children, Raymond Vidal, Alicia A. Savoie, Rodney V. McNulty, Marjorie Pulver and Frank Pulver; seven grandchildren; and an extended loving family and friends. Services will be private. Stowers Funeral Home-Brandon.
Published in the St. Petersburg Times on March 9, 2011 Email




Recipe: Roasted Potatoes with Onion

Here's a quick, yummy alternative to french fries.

Need:
4 medium red or white baking potatoes
1 large onion
Seasoning of your choice(I use Montreal Steak Seasoning or Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic)
Olive Oil

Cut unpeeled thoroughly washed potatoes into bite size chunks. Place into a large mixing bowl along with sliced onion.  Coat potatoes and onions with olive oil and sprinkle with desired seasoning.  Toss until evenly seasoned and coated with oil.  Pour out onto a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until done. Takes approximately 30-45 minutes.

Serves: 2-3 adults

Great side dish where ever french fries would be used also the leftovers make wonderful home fries!

Enjoy.

Another tasted recipe from Dayana's kitchen~

Working on some stuff right now but thought I'd post a humorus true adventure. This is sort of a Chicken Soup for the soul type of story I like to call Domestic Bliss.

Have you ever had one of those days you wondered why you bothered to put forth an effort to accomplish anything? This was my day of domestic bliss…


Let me start by setting the scene. We had a galley kitchen that opened into the dining room on one end and a breakfast bar with a pass through into the family room on the other end. My husband was kicked back enjoying Sunday football on television, and I decided to bake a cake.

I proceeded to get all my ingredients together for a Hot Milk Sponge Cake; something I hadn't made in a long time. It's delicious but a whole lot of work. I began measuring out the flour. By the way, what is it with flour? No matter how carefully you deal with the stuff, the kitchen always looks like the dusting in the aftermath of a small explosion.

Okay, I've got all the dry ingredients together and the bowl set aside. I got eggs, sugar and vanilla going in the mixer, then began warming the milk moving from mixer to stove careful not to scold the milk. I'm in the rhythm now; on a roll, so to speak.

I combined all ingredients into one bowl then poured the batter into a bundt pan, placed it in the oven, set the timer and began cleaning up the kitchen. It's amazing how one person can create such a mess in such a minimal amount of time!

The kitchen was small, so I crawled around the floor with the dustpan and brush in an attempt to sweep up the nuclear fallout of flour that managed to migrate everywhere. Finished, I started to get up but, stopped in a squat to dump the dustpan into the small trashcan I kept under the ledge of the breakfast bar. That done, I stood up and BANG! My head met the underside of the counter with a dull thud. The pain blackened my sight and a millions stars sprinkled across my vision. My husband swears to this day, the counter lifted several inches with the impact.

"God! Are you all right?" He asked coming into the kitchen concern written all over his face.

Meanwhile, I'm cursing and laughing at the same time, rubbing the knot on the back of my already aching head. I nod to assure him I'm not going to fall out nor did I think I had a concussion. After a quick hug and a small stint with the ice pack, we both went about our business. By that time, the cake was ready to come out of the oven.
I took it out and placed it on the rack to cool for about ten to fifteen minutes. You wouldn't believe what happened next…
I got the cake plate and set it on top of the cake pan so I could turn the still hot cake out onto the plate. Well… the plate somehow went AWOL and the next thing I knew the cake had taken flight. I watched mesmerized as it passed over the breakfast bar and into the family room. My husband looked as if he were watching a tennis match; his eyes traveled between my face and the airborn cake. But, he was quick to recover. He jumped up and after one-bounce rescued the hot cake from the floor on the rebound, flipped it from hand to hand and finally, landed it upright on the cake plate. I still stood in the kitchen grasping the cake pan laughing so hard tears were streaming down my cheeks and my stomach muscles ached.
To this day, we get a gut-busting laugh over that episode. I guess you can say, without a doubt, that sponge cake had bounce.