Jennifer Becton's Blog, page 9

One of the most interesting aspects of participating in the Holidays with Jane series is getting to know and work with other writers. We all came together because of our love of Jane Austen’s novels, and each of us wrote stories based on all six of Austen’s books.

We all started with the same source material, and yet, every story is unique. Each writer focused on different aspects of Austen’s works, different characters, and different themes.

So with the release of Holidays with Jane: Thankful Hearts, I thought it would be fun to meet some of the writers and get to know them and what makes their take on Jane Austen unique.

Jennifer says: Hi Cecilia, welcome to my blog. Can I just tell you how cute your profile pic is?

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a pop culture and food fanatic which is why I spend way too much time eating, watching television, and reading books.  You can read more about my young adult and regency romances at ceciliagray.com.

What is your favorite Jane Austen book to read?

I go back and forth between Persuasion and Emma, depending on whether I want deep angst or bubbly wit.

What is your least favorite Jane Austen book to read?

Northanger Abbey. I know it’s clever and works on many levels…but I just can’t get on the Tilney train. (Apologies to all the Tilney groupies!)

Jennifer says: Henry Tilney is no Frederick Wentworth, but he’s better than Edmund Bertram, surely! Maybe it’s just me. Perhaps we should have a Tilney vs. Bertram throwdown.

Anyway, now that we know more about you and your Austenesque preferences, tell us about your writing process.

Do you write an outline? Are you a planner, or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Lots of planning. So much planning. Probably overplanning. Most of my series have overlap and integration, so I have to be OCD about the process. For example, my new sweet regency romance series, Kiss A Belle, follows five sisters as they find love, and each story has the same parties, events, and conversations from different points of view. The spreadsheet is unimaginably overdone.

Where and when do you do the majority of your writing?

Beggars can’t be choosers.

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I hate to take issue with Nancy Kelley’s assertion that pie is the best food on the table for Thanksgiving. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to side with stuffing.

Stuffing is buttery and full of carbs. What’s not to love about butter and carbs? (As Melissa Buell pointed out, butter is an integral part of Thanksgiving.)

Plus, stuffing is surrounded by controversy. Controversy makes everything better, right?

People cannot decide whether it’s called stuffing or dressing.

According to the AJC, it comes down mostly to location: where the dish is cooked AND what region of the country the cook lives in.

Stuffing: cooked inside the turkey
Dressing: cooked outside the turkey

That’s the way I also understand it. However, much like using the term Coke to refer to all soft drinks, Southerners apparently call it “dressing” no matter where it’s cooked, and Yankees call it “stuffing” whether it’s in the bird or not.

The debate also hinges partly on ingredients. In the North, stuffing is made of white bread, and in the South, dressing is made of cornbread. But again, this varies by region. Any bread-based dish cooked to serve alongside poultry is called by both words.

So really, stuffing and dressing are interchangeable, it seems, in most parts of the US. But why? Well, according the aforementioned article, Southerners objected to the harshness of the word “stuffing” and decided to call it by the more polite moniker “dressing.”

In my house, we eat stuffing, not dressing. It is always cooked inside the bird and made of white bread. But I imagine that Emma would serve the more politely named “dressing” for her feast in my Holidays with Jane: Thankful Hearts story, “Thanksgiving on Hartfield Street.”

But no matter how a politely named a side dish she serves, nothing will prevent the disaster Emma’s holiday weekend will become. In fact, her incessant meddling causes Addy (Harriet) to hatch her own cunning plan, which not only threatens to ruin the entire Thanksgiving celebration, but reveals the secret loves of both sisters’ hearts.

I hope your Thanksgiving includes both pie and stuffing and as little drama as possible.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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I was not a fan of The Walking Dead’s season 6 cliffhanger that left viewers in suspense about who Negan killed. I wasn’t really looking forward to the season 7 premiere because I felt manipulated. Plus, I’d read the comics. I knew it would bloody. In fact, the episode was so gruesome it had not one, but two warnings of graphic violence. So if you’re squeamish, don’t watch. Read the spoilers.

So here’s the thing. It’s not the deaths that got to me. Yes, they were horrible and sad. But what interests me is who stands up and keeps fighting. I loved that Abraham’s last words to Negan were “Suck my nuts.” He remained a fighter to the end. And I loved that Maggie was the first person to stand up and say she planned to fight.

For me, The Walking Dead is not a show about about those who die; it’s about those who try.

What did you think of the premiere?

 

Click here to catch up on last week’s installment.

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The Next Installment of Dead Inside will become available October 31!

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Click here to catch up on last week’s installment.

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The Next Installment of Dead Inside will become available October 2!

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That awkward moment when you realize you have feelings for the “wrong” person and try to share them.

But it all comes out totally wrong.

Two different genres. Two different settings. Two similar confessions. And two totally different outcomes.

Who botched said it better?

Consider the original confession from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice:

Now check out how well it went for Michael and Jan from The Office:

Eerily similar, right? Jan IS Mr. Darcy! Am I right?

So who botched it better?

Take our poll

Disclaimer: I do not own a $1,000 espresso machine, and I’m not a trained barrista. I suck at using a steaming wand. (Think exploded milk everywhere.) These techniques work for me and produce a decent microfoam, which is the key to a flat white. Coffee snobs avert your eyes.

I’ve been posting about the glories of the Flat White in the last few months. Someone [Hi, Jakki!] asked on Instagram how I made this delightful beverage at home. So I’m sharing my recipe.

Being a multitasker, I thought I’d combine the Flat White recipe with the current Holidays with Jane Fall into Austen promotion. It’s Mansfield Perk approved.

See. There’s a seal and everything. (If you don’t understand this joke, go download Holidays with Jane: Trick or Sweet for free on Kindle.)

Anyway, Starbucks describes a Flat White as:

Bold ristretto shots of espresso get the perfect amount of steamed whole milk to create a not too strong, not too creamy, just right flavor.

Let’s break that down: a ristretto shot is a short shot of espresso. Stop pulling before the espresso turns that light umber color at the end. This produces a sweeter shot.

Whole milk is specified. Whole milk seems to be the key to producing microfoam. In my experience, milk with less fat produces more of a meringue-style foam above the steamed milk. There are two distinct layers: foam and steamed milk. In a flat white, the goal is to achieve one layer of rich, thick milk. You want tiny, little air bubbles evenly dispersed throughout the milk. The finished product should be a single layer of shiny milk.

The milk should have teeny tiny bubbles and a shiny surface.

But whole milk? Ugh. I hear you. I’ve tried to save calories and use skim, but you just can’t get a decent microfoam with anything but whole milk. I find the the PET brand whole milk produces the most consistent result. Maybe that’s just me.

Supplies

Espresso machine or espresso creating device of your choice
Milk frother (You can use the wand, but I prefer this frother. I also use it for the French Drinking Cholcoate recipe I’ve raved about.)


Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
double shot espresso
sweetener of your choice, optional (I use 1 tsp of Sugar in the Raw.)


Method

Warm your mug. Seriously. Fill your mug with hot tap water and set it aside. It’ll keep your beverage warm longer.
Start your milk frother. I use the low heat setting with the frothing disc on my Capresso frother. It heats the milk but doesn’t overwork it.
Pull your espresso shot. Be sure to dump the hot water out of your mug first!
Add sweetener. I like to add it to the espresso. It seems to distribute evenly, and I’m not agitating the foam by stirring the drink too much after the milk is added.
As soon as your frother stops, add the milk to your espresso. Don’t wait! Time is of the essence. If you allow your milk to sit idly by, the micro-foam bubbles will rise to the surface, and you’ll end up with steamed milk/foam and not micro foam.
Enjoy.

If you don’t want to make your own, you can win a $10 Starbucks gift card and a copy of our upcoming Thanksgiving collection, Holidays with Jane: Thankful Hearts (courtesy of Indie Jane Press).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to download a free copy of Holidays with Jane: Trick or Sweet for free on Kindle.

 

Click here to catch up on last week’s installment.

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Thank you for reading this SnapStories installment of Dead Inside by J. W. Becton.

 

The Next Installment of Dead Inside will become available October 2!

Get notified when each new SnapStory becomes available!

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Leave me a comment! What do you think of this installment of Dead Inside?