tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7867132782427322742024-02-19T18:22:50.049-08:00The Grateful YearsLe Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-84991755448310432882018-05-06T07:40:00.000-07:002018-05-06T07:40:35.133-07:00New Book; New WebsiteI am very happy to announce my new book, <i>The Breach at Briar's Burn</i>, (the 8th in the Mick Malone series) is available in paperback on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sallee+peterson&sprefix=Sallee%2Caps%2C215&crid=36VD73ACEBPCY">Amazon</a>! The Kindle version is available for pre-order now and will be published on May 12th.<br />
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When an American woman falls off her horse on a spirited
ride in the Scottish Highlands, her friend and riding partner shows up on
Mick’s front door step begging for help. But when the woman cannot be found,
it’s a race between the elements and saving the woman’s life. What Mick and
Jock discover as they search for the missing woman leads them into a web of
intrigue and murder that reaches from St. Petersburg, Russia to Washington,
D.C.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I his latest adventure, Mick and his partner Jock find
themselves at odds with two of the most powerful and adversarial governments in
the world. Do they do what’s right and “bend the law”? Or do they let a victim
become the target of deep plot against the United States? And when Mick’s cousin
and his grandmother both get involved, he and Jock must juggle all their plans
with the concern over their family’s safety.<o:p></o:p></div>
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About Mick Malone Mysteries: Mick Malone is an American
cybersecurity expert who accepted a temporary internship in international
cybercrime fighting with Police Scotland. There he was assigned to work with
Chief Inspector Jock McDuff to solve a murder at a manor house in which his
grandmother had bought a partial interest. Along with the landholding came a
title, making his grandmother landed gentry. Since then, Mick and Jock have
solved seven previous mysteries and now work in an exclusive private security
company. Their business often takes them around the globe, solving mysteries
and catching murderers. This is the eighth Mick Malone Mystery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This one took awhile, well actually, just over a year. That's a long time between books for me. It's been a challenging year, but also one of new discoveries. In addition to writing, I launched my line of designer handbags and handbag patterns, which you can find on my Etsy shop: <a href="http://sewsallee.etsy.com./">sewsallee.etsy.com.</a></div>
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When I hear people say, you should pick one thing and be really good at it, I disagree. Life is too short to be a one legged table. I think we need to cram as much into our lives as we can. And when I think I don't have time for one more thing, I cut back on my television time. Believe me, there is a ton of time there that is mostly wasted. And I am just so grateful to be healthy and able to fill my life with so much! One of the most inspirational women I ever knew of (didn't know her personally) was Tasha Tudor, a beautiful Vermont woman who built a house on the top of a hill there and gardened and painted and wrote books. She died about 10 years ago at the age of 93. One of the things she wrote was (paraphrasing here) we have a choice what we take from life, so take joy!</div>
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And speaking of doing one more thing, I also created a new website for my writing. Please take a look and let me know what you think! <a href="http://salleepeterson.com./">salleepeterson.com.</a> </div>
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Be well and take joy!</div>
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<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-47834669694734323162017-10-17T15:31:00.001-07:002017-10-27T06:17:18.680-07:00Update--Four WeeksLet me start with the good news. Four weeks into Nutrisystem and I'm down 10 pounds. Yay! But I am a little concerned. Here's how the weight loss went by week: Week 1: -7 lbs; Week 2: -2 lbs; Week 3: -1 lb; Week 4: no change. Sigh. First, let me say, I haven't lost ten pounds in four weeks in a very long time. And, showing no loss at all in the last week was a real drag. One I'm used to, to be sure, but none the less disappointing. I have ordered the second month, and while the packaged stuff came right away, the frozen stuff has yet to ship. Still sitting in their warehouse, 9 days after it was ordered!!! Someone needs to tell Nutrisystem that I regularly get shipments from a shop in the U.K. in 3-4 days. Shipments from China usually take a week. Hey, Nutrisystem, have you every heard of Amazon??? Now that they bought Whole Foods, I can get groceries from WF in ONE HOUR. And if you think Amazon is not coming after you, Nutrisystem.......WAKE UP! Does this sound like a broken record? It should. I had the same trouble last month. They told me it was due to the hurricanes in Florida and Houston. Yeah. What now? The real issue, of course is that while the non-frozen breakfasts are palatable, the lunches and dinners are really, really awful. So I switched up most of my lunches and dinners for frozen food. But now I'm out of frozen food and who knows when it will be replenished.<br />
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I confess. Yesterday, I went to the store and bought two Lean Cuisines and two Smart Ones to try to get me through this week. It's hard enough having to sit and smell real spaghetti or salmon or steak that Tom is cooking for himself and Tim, while staring at a Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese. But try doing it when you're eating a 5" cardboard pizza with three slices of mushrooms and a tablespoon of fake cheese. Oh yuck. If I make it through another four weeks, it will be cause to celebrate....(with a bottle of wine and a bag of Fritos).<br />
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In the meantime, I am trying to fill the void with the vegetables. Home made soup helps. Here's a Butternut Squash and Mushroom number I whipped up one day and then ate soup for my veggies for the next three:<br />
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I sauteed the squash and mushrooms with onions and garlic in cooking spray. Then I added loads of seasonings. Salt, pepper, thyme and chili powder. Added chicken stock and simmered for about 20 minutes. Then I pureed it with my stick blender. If you don't have a stick blender, put it on your Christmas list. It's definitely one of my top ten favorite kitchen gadgets......And since I have at least a thousand of them to hear my husband tell the story, you can see that I love it. Oh, and the soup? Very tasty and filling.<br />
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BTW, many of you have been asking where my next book is. Well, I have been working on #11 on and off for a year now. (Mostly off). I have been having a constant battle in my head and heart between the writing and the sewing. Most of this year, the sewing has won. Here's my latest craze: Halloween Hats!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBYx12SEZQh78J9J-K7QrqDqYptutzNPo7xCCkypmt6dmFP618h3mSUSD2VSEfNRRpMRkGH7Qbh1c1WjB0MBHgiJp2xF7yjyutfkgG7o-Wnw3PU07uo66inaTz1TWrKaU-Np1NJrBnC8/s1600/Halloween+Hats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBYx12SEZQh78J9J-K7QrqDqYptutzNPo7xCCkypmt6dmFP618h3mSUSD2VSEfNRRpMRkGH7Qbh1c1WjB0MBHgiJp2xF7yjyutfkgG7o-Wnw3PU07uo66inaTz1TWrKaU-Np1NJrBnC8/s320/Halloween+Hats.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I made three of them for Julie and Melissa and I to wear up at Big Basin where we will be camping the end of October. Our campsite will definitely win the Halloween contest.<br />
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Okay, well, now back to the d%$#& diet. Many times I really wonder why I'm doing this. With who knows how many missiles pointed at California, I will be really, really mad if my last days are spent eating this crappy food. Oh, sorry. I guess I need an attitude adjustment.<br />
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Anyway, the book, <i>The Breach at Briar's Burn,</i> is 50% done. I guess I'll quit whining and go finish it. Afterall.......<br />
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SALLEE??????</div>
Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-66063996465741449362017-09-28T07:31:00.000-07:002017-09-28T07:31:05.382-07:00Hang In There!I know, I know. I'm not supposed to weigh-in every day. But honestly, I do better overall if I am constantly stepping on the scale. If I were being honest with you, I'd admit that sometimes I weigh myself twice a day. Argggh. But I am now into the fifth day of my second week. (Actually, it's the fifth day, third hour, and twenty-first minute. Who said that?!?) I have not lost one more ounce. I know all the proper lines: Well, I lost a lot of water the first week and now I am actually losing real fat. My body is just adjusting to the large weight loss last week and if I stick with it, I will wake up some day soon and have lost two more pounds. Right. I also know the <i>improper</i> line: Damnit!!!!!<br />
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I really hate dieting. And I'd really like to give up and call my sister and suggest we meet at Big Bear Diner. But I have all this food in my cupboard and my freezer and I don't really feel like throwing it out....despite the fact that it is garbage day....no, Sallee....well, maybe I could just count calories on my own.....no, Sallee......You get the picture.<br />
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So I persevere. I did try a few new recipes in the last couple of days. First of all, with Nutrisystem, you get a bunch of waffles and pancakes and stuff like that. And starting this week, I also get one extra protein with breakfast. Oh, sorry, Nutrisystem calls them Power Fuels, PF. Whatever, I decided to make a Pumpkin Spice Cheese Waffle for breakfast:<br />
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I toasted the waffles in the toaster and then spread them with low fat cottage cheese (my PF) and sprinkled them with pumpkin pie spice.</div>
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I put these under the broiler. My intention was to get the cheese hot and bubbly. Maybe some color on it. But I had to pull them out sooner than that because the edges of the waffles were getting pretty brown. Still, the cheese was hot and then I poured on a tablespoon of sugar-free syrup.</div>
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It was a very satisfying and tasty breakfast. So overall, I'd give it a thumbs up. </div>
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And while we're talking about thumbs up, let me tell you the best Nutrisystem snack that I've had so far: The Chocolate Pretzels. Oh yum.</div>
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They taste so good that I went to the Nutrisystem site and I changed my next month's order to include five of these puppies. So good. And that's important, because chocolate is the most important food group if you ask me. Well, no. Wine is the most important, but chocolate is a close #2. And the two together are just incredible. I can just see me now with my chocolate pretzels and a big glass of Zinfandel.....Stop that, Sallee. Well, a girl can dream......</div>
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Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-31548964022230892272017-09-25T16:38:00.000-07:002017-09-25T16:38:00.540-07:00One Week Down!Week one under my belt. Down 7 pounds! Now, I have to say that I don't think I have ever lost 7 pounds in one week, so I am a very happy camper about that. I am also happy that my frozen food FINALLY came and so far, it's really pretty good. I now get three meals and three snacks. In the Turbo Charge week, week 1, it's only two snacks. And I now get one extra protein at breakfast. That helps too. But, as hard as the Turbo Charge week was for me, (only about 800-900 calories a day), it did prove to focus me on a few things that I think are very important in this journey.<br />
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<b>Up Your Vegetables</b>: Like a lot of these programs, on Nutrisystem you get four or more servings of non-starchy vegetables. You can have them in an unlimited quantity if you want. At first, I was struggling to get all those vegetables. I'm a one serving a day kind of gal. So I ate carrots and celery and radishes the first day and the first serving of them was good. Then I went the salad route, although salad with just vinegar or lemon juice is self-restricting too, if you get my drift. So then I got creative. First of all, the packaged food (non-frozen) that you get the first week is really pretty bad. There is some sort of processed tomato sauce that they put on 99% of the dishes in all these packaged foods that tastes really artificial, like some sort of non-toxic red glue that I guess serves to keep the five noodles from falling off the edge of your plate. And the whole meal is about one cup of food. For those of you that don't measure, a cup of food is the size of a baseball. Not a softball. A baseball. At least it's not a golf ball. But there you go. I roasted a bunch of vegetables with cooking spray and seasoned them and tossed them into my Rotini with (microscopic) Meatballs. Quite an improvement.<br />
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<b>Herbs and Spices: </b>I use a lot of herbs and spices in my own cooking. I grow most of my own herbs.I doctored everything up with herbs and spices. It makes a huge difference, whether in my own cooked vegetables or in the Nutrisystem foods, they help a lot. And now a special word about.....<br />
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<b>SALT: </b>I get it that packaged food uses a lot of sodium as a preservative. But did you ever wonder if there so much sodium in that food, why does it taste like it never met a salt shaker? The food needs salt. The food needs pepper too, but the food needs salt!!! And when you're drinking 19 gallons of water a day, I don't think most of us need to worry about retaining water.<br />
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<b>Salsa: </b>I also grow chili peppers and this year, I have been having a bumper crop. Between my peppers, my tomatoes and my first mediocre crop of tomatillos, I have been making some lip smacking salsa. And if you don't make salsa, go buy it. There are about 100 different kinds on the grocery store shelves. It can take any food from crappy to happy. Or at least burn your mouth out so you can't taste that awful tomato glue.<br />
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<b>Soup: </b>I learned this from Weight Watchers. Make a big pot of vegetable soup. It's "free". It's delicious. Ignore the fact that it's still 90 degrees outside. Winter will come, I promise. Just let them eat soup.<br />
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So, there it is. Add vegetables to everything to both bulk it up and add flavor. Use herbs and spices, including salt, and salsa and make a big pot of vegetable soup. Today I made mushroom. Yes, thank God, mushrooms are considered vegetables. And they are soooo good.<br />
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Here's this week's score for Nutrisystem:<br />
Weight Loss: 10<br />
Food: 6<br />
Customer Service: 8<br />
Shipping: 3? (Happy to have gotten my frozen food, but reserving judgement until my next shipment.)<br />
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Next time I'll post some of my recipes for vegetables and soup.<br />
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P.S. Just a side note: I sold my first handbag on my Etsy Shop. If you'd like to have a look, here's the link:<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewSallee?ref=search_shop_redirect">SewSallee</a><br />
<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-66197640919494430032017-09-22T08:49:00.001-07:002017-09-22T08:49:26.645-07:00NutriSystem? Time to Get SeriousOkay, it's now time to get serious about my weight. It's a health thing. Sure, I'd like to look better and feel better in my clothes. But the big thing is, I like to live an active life and when every joint in my body hurts, it's hard to move. And sitting makes it worse.<br />
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Please do not tell me to take tumeric, or to cut out bread or to try Tai Chi. The fact is, I am at least 50 pounds overweight and no matter how I cut the mustard, the first order of business is going to be to relieve my joints of this extra baggage. And I want to do it as fast as I can.<br />
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I have been a Weight Watcher member for at least 30 years. It's a great program for someone like me who loves to cook. But it is pretty tough when you live with a really picky eater who has a requested change to everything you cook because he only eats about 20% of the foods that farmers can put on our tables. So, honestly, I am tired of the battle of meal planning and cooking and serving. Plus Weight Watchers is slower than molasses in January. Members "can expect to lose 1/2 to 1 pounds a week'. At least that's the last I remember hearing. I went to their site to look for an update on that, but couldn't find it anywhere. And, in fact, even in the FAQs, after clicking through "more" about twenty times, it still didn't come up. Hmmm. What's the first thing I want to know about a weight loss program? How much weight can I expect to lose?<br />
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I've done Jenny Craig and was pretty successful, but it, too, is pretty expensive and not very flexible if you have special occasions where you don't need to buy 21 meals a week.<br />
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My doctor has really been encouraging me to go on the Opti-Fast program that they sponsor (but insurance doesn't cover). First thing he said, though,was that I would need to cut back on my exercise because it's under 1,000 calories a day. No, I want to move. And it's hardly any chewing (mostly shakes) and it's really, REALLY expensive. But it is fast.<br />
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I checked out Ideal Protein after a friend of mine had great success on that program. But the person who runs our local program here didn't impress me at all. And again, it is expensive, and there are no provisions for days off. When I mentioned a planned three-day vacation, she suggested that I take my shakes with me. And while you cannot have store bought barbecue sauce or salad dressing, you can buy theirs, which is, of course, extra.<br />
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So, after being inundated with commercials, I checked out NutriSystem and decided to give it a try. Good price, and while I had heard in the past that the taste of the food was pretty questionable, I'd also heard that the newer, frozen food was pretty good. So I took the plunge. and now, you're going to take it with me.😀<br />
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I received my non-frozen portion within two days of ordering. Cool!! Breakfasts: Good. Lunches: Not too bad. Dinners: pretty yucky. Although, with free vegetables, I doctored them up to be palatable. But, I was excited to be able to try the frozen food. And that's where the snag hit.<br />
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While the website is screaming at me constantly to buy more food, they can't even manage to ship the frozen portion of my first shipment out of their warehouse. It has been 8 days since I ordered it and still nothing. I have chatted with them every day (until today, when they have disabled their chat capability) and I have called them three times, each time being promised the food would ship the next day. Still, no shipment. I do seem to losing weight, though, and I will update you on that after I have completed my first week. So far, here is my rating of the program on a scale of 1-10:<br />
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Weight Loss: ? Stay tuned<br />
Food: 5<br />
Customer Service: 5 (assuming they re-enable their chat)<br />
Warehouse and Shipping: 1<br />
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Keep in mind that if I never get the food, it will be hard to stay on the program........<br />
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<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-8776211760030691962016-08-09T15:54:00.000-07:002016-08-09T16:00:14.661-07:00Writing is Easy...To paraphrase the late, great Gene Fowler:<br />
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<i>Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank (computer screen) until the drops of blood form on your forehead.</i><br />
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Of course, when he wrote that it was a blank sheet of paper. But it still applies. I did it. Today. I finally finished the first draft of my tenth book, <i>The Nature of Fog. </i>It's the third Chloe James Mystery. But this post is not about the book. With the second draft to go and all the editing it will still be three or four weeks before it is live. This post is about another book. A book that I keep coming back to time and time again.<br />
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<i>Art and Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking.</i><br />
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Let me explain. I have been having a very difficult time with this, my tenth book. This was somewhat new to me, because while writing is never easy, I've not ever been plagued with the urge to procrastinate that I have felt the past five months. I'd sit down at the computer and search for more news on the election. Or sewing. Or golf. Or new books to read, new places I want to move to, new recipes I want to cook. Anything, really, anything that could move me further away from finishing my book. And all the while a little voice in my head was asking:<br />
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"<i> Sallee, what's up with that?"</i></div>
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And while I won't ever be as prolific as some of today's contemporary writers, I'd never </div>
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struggled so much with the feeling that I didn't want to write anymore.</div>
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I don't know what it was that urged me to re-read this book on Art and Fear. I'd read it the first time when I was painting. The second time when I convinced my book club to read it. And at least on other time before I just pulled it out a week ago. And within the first twenty pages I found at least one of the answers I was looking for. I had been feeling an empty sense that my work wasn't good enough. That, for some reason, I should just pack it in, because, afterall, I'm no Louise Penny or Martha Graham. And no matter how much I try. No matter how hard I work, I'll never measure up.</div>
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Then I saw it. The one sentence that grabbed me and shook me back to my senses: </div>
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<i>Vision is always ahead of execution- and it should be.</i></div>
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What I intended to write is always going to be so much better than what I actually do manage to get down onto my computer. What I feel about a story is always going to be more touching than what I can ever say about it. What I see in life is always going to be bigger than whatever vision I can possibly share.</div>
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It is the nature of the beast. This thing we call art. But then I was reminded of what Jim Smyth, one of my painting teachers said so many years ago. The only way to get over the stalling, over the procrastination and the fear is to put as many paintings behind you as possible. Thank you, Jim. And thank you to the authors of Art and Fear, David Bayles and Ted Orland. The only way I finished the first draft was to put butt in chair and keep writing. One word after another. One sentence after another. A scene, a chapter, a novel.</div>
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My new book will be out in a couple of weeks. If you choose to read it, I hope you find it worthy of your time. But what I feel good about is that I believe it was worthy of mine.</div>
Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-29613006854377929592016-04-09T11:02:00.000-07:002016-04-09T11:02:17.687-07:00The Final Act--The Best ActMy sister, Julie, gets mad at me when I say that we're in the final act. I guess she thinks it's morbid. But the truth is, knowing this is the last act doesn't make be think about the end. It makes me remember all the things I have left to do before the end. My first two acts were sixty-three years. So, given luck, divine will, and my own common sense, I could possibly have half again as much to go. But it's not the number of years left that matter. Abraham Lincoln said, "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years." And here's the best kept secret of all. After the kids are grown, the career is done, the body starts to droop and you have to touch up your roots every bloody six weeks, then a really remarkable thing happens. Your TIME is finally your own!!!<br />
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Today I was doing a bit of sewing and listening to some of my iTunes and the <i>Sounds of Silence</i>, by Simon and Garfunkle, came on. I stopped. It filled me with the most remarkable memories of my youth. When I was young and full of dreams. It also reminded me of the times that I was young and full of despair. Wondering what was to come of my parents' world, where the almighty dollar seemed to dominate everything. Where people were still warring a half a world away. Where racism and sexism and hatred of anyone or anything different than ourselves still boiled under a seemingly calm surface. Yes, I was a hippie. And Simon and Garfunkle seemed to capture all the despair on the one hand and the hopes of young generation on the other.<br />
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Ah, what a time. And then it occurred to me that this is what is going on today in the hearts and minds of today's young people. Who is Bernie Sanders, anyway, but a modern day George McGovern? (Today, I'm a Hillary supporter, but that's another post.) We fought for our ideals back then just as today's youth are pushing the envelope for their own. And I'm sure that some people, many people, actually, will say we failed. That the world is more dangerous today. That we still have corruption and bigotry and war and hatred. But I think the world is better and getting better all the time.<br />
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These are the things in <i>my life</i> that are better. I am a cancer survivor. And although I have lost too many loved ones to this horrible disease, I actually know more cancer survivors than people who did not make it. I live in a highly diverse neighborhood where we all get along. More than get along, we watch out for each other, we share vegetables and fruit from our gardens, we visit. While we may not be best friends, we care about each other. The air in California is cleaner than it was thirty years ago, even while the highways are dreadfully more crowded. I, like most Californians have quit smoking. And while I'd start again in a minute if it wasn't so deadly, it remains one of those things that I am regularly thankful for. My son, who is gay, can get married if he so chooses. He works for a corporation, PayPal, that is making a stand for the rights of its LGBT employees. Can you believe that? <i>A corporation that actually cares about its employees!!!</i><br />
And I could go on......The world is changing and I say, overall, it's for the better.<br />
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For every point I've listed, I'm sure that the counterpoints will come rolling in. And my husband will tell you there is just no upside to getting older. I disagree! As I said, my time is my own, and that's the most precious thing of all. That, plus the fact that I have wonderful memories and God has graced me with the ability to keep making more of them.<br />
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So, younger generation, vote for whoever you must...but <i>VOTE! </i>I hope you live your dreams and make beautiful memories and someday you will list all the things that are better, not worse. Oh, but one last thing. We still had the best music ever!!!!<br />
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<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-87178009235522415202015-08-05T16:07:00.001-07:002015-08-05T16:07:21.422-07:00The Mystery in Banbrae WoodThe sixth Mick Malone Mystery, <i>The Mystery in Banbrae Wood</i>, is now live on Amazon.<br />
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When I lived in the U.K. there was a wood not far from my house, The Savernake Forest. It is famous as the only ancient forest in Britain that is still under private ownership. The Marquess of Ailesbury, the current land owner, graciously opens the forest to the public nearly every day of the year. I used to walk in that forest often and did a lot of my best thinking there. It is both beautiful and haunting, and I spent many solitary hours there dreaming of what it must have been like a thousand years ago. It was some of those memories that were the inspiration for Banbrae Wood.<br />
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The second inspiration for this book was my husband's insistence that the powers that be have invented a weather machine which is controlling the world's weather. It's a fun thing
we joke and speculate about. But when I started doing research, the technology
is not that far away. These are the kinds of things that make me love fiction.
I recently took an online class from the remarkable James Patterson. I loved
listening to his advice and his stories. One thing he said that I will always
remember (and I'm paraphrasing, here) is that he does not write reality. He writes
about things that are possible and tries to make them entertaining. So whether
you believe that a weather machine will ever be on the horizon or not, in this
book you will meet Wanda, my version of what a weather machine might be like.<br />
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Soon I will be starting my next Chloe James Mystery. The first book in that series was published last Spring. How the Light Bends was a very fun book to write. Set on the beautiful Monterey peninsula, Tom and I spent many wonderful hours there, golfing, exploring and eating. The James' sisters will be back with another adventure this winter.<br />
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As always, thank you all for your comments and please keep them coming!<br />
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<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-45465701681277234122015-08-04T06:46:00.000-07:002015-08-04T06:46:45.872-07:00The Mystery of the Siren Seeds Live in Audio VersionThe audio version of the second Mick Malone Mystery, <i>The Secret of the Siren Seeds</i>, is live on audible.com. Again, I have had the pleasure to work with Joshua Story, who has done a fantastic job narrating the story. To celebrate, I am giving away fifteen copies for free!! To receive your free copy, please send your email address to salleepeterson@gmail.com and put "Free Audio" in the subject. I will send you the instructions and the free download code.<br />
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These codes work on Audible.com only. If you're not a member of Audible.com and you like listening to audio books (I love to listen to them while I exercise or when driving) I highly recommend them. In addition to your monthly credit, they have daily deals and regular sales where you can pick up audio books at a real bargain.<br />
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If you do take advantage of either the free offer above, or just decide to visit the audible site and join, I'd love to hear what you think.<br />
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http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=sallee+peterson&filterby=field-keywords&x=11&y=10Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-1140117864174209572015-06-29T16:18:00.000-07:002015-06-29T16:18:44.733-07:00Two Book Launches on the HorizonI have two book launches on the horizon. In July, I will be publishing the audio version of my second Mick Malone Mystery, <i>The Mystery of the Siren Seeds. </i>The inspiration for this book was actually a non-fiction book I read, <i>The Omnivore's Dilemma</i>. This excellent book, and I do recommend that everyone read it, is an eye-opening dive into just how "dirty" our food supply really is. My family teases me that I have met the enemy and it is corn. Well, no so horribly far from the truth. Add to that, the book is also extremely interesting and written in a way that keeps you turning the pages. Quite a tribute for a non-fiction book.<br />
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After I read <i>The Omnivore's Dilemma</i>, I wanted to write a mystery about a murder that was caught up in the passion of sustainable farming. Sound like an oxymoron? Trust me, it won't after you read the book. There is a lot of money at stake in companies like Monsanto, who in addition to being a chemical company is also the world's largest producer of corn seed. Figure out that one!<br />
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But <i>The Mystery of the Siren Seeds</i> is a cozy mystery and Mick Malone must figure out who wants to kill the brave men and women that are forming sustainable farming coalitions around the world in an effort to bring clean and safe food to our markets. <br />
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And the story is read by Joshua Story, a young actor that does a brilliant job of being able to switch between American and Scottish accents and bring them both to life. Joshua also re-recorded my first audio book, The Mystery of Glengarron. He is fun to listen to and really brings my story to life. I expect the audio book to be released around the middle of July. <br />
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The second release on the horizon is the sixth Mick Malone Mystery, <i>The Mystery in Banbrae Wood. </i> Coming in August, the next book in the Mick Malone series uncovers the murder of a university professor and features a weather machine named Wanda that just might bring summer to Scotland year 'round. Sound impossible? It just might be technology that is closer than you think!!!<br />
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Stay tuned for more announcements as the time draws near!Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-88046582698558461792015-04-16T16:10:00.001-07:002015-04-16T16:10:56.778-07:00Thank You for the Gift, GracieEven before I became a writer, I appreciated customer feedback. For a large part of my career, I was responsible for customer and technical support for the high-tech companies that I worked for. One of my golden rules was that I made myself available to talk to the customers. If they called and had a complaint, I would take the call as my top priority. If they left a message, I always called them back. Customer feedback is not just important. I always considered it a gift. It is a gift that someone cared enough about a product or an experience to take their own valuable time and write a letter or make a phone call to tell us what they thought of us. Even if it was a complaint, it was still a gift.<br />
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Gracie, a person I do not personally know, bought my latest book. She read my book and for that I am very grateful. But even better, Gracie sent me a gift as well. She rated my book and she wrote feedback. What Gracie wrote was both embarrassing and inspiring. She liked the plot and the characters. What she didn't like was the number of mistakes in the book. I honestly thought she might be exaggerating, that while I had no doubt there were a few errors, I didn't actually think there could be so many as to be distracting. So I started going through the text with a fine tooth comb.<br />
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Believe me, editing is not any writer's favorite thing. And when you've written the book, you read it very fast, because you know what happens next. It's for that reason that many writers hire professional editors. But that is very expensive. So I took my red pen and I printed a copy of the text and I went to work.<br />
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Well, Gracie, you were not exaggerating and I am very embarrassed. But your comments also inspired me to start going through all my books. The beauty of print on demand and e-books, is that you can update and fix text fairly quickly. So, I have completed the review of <i>How the Light Bends</i> and resubmitted the new, updated text. It is live on Kindle today and will be live for paperback tomorrow. I have also completed the updating of <i>The Mystery of Glengarron </i>and <i>The Mystery of the Siren Seeds </i>and the new text for those two books is also available in Kindle and paperback. And I'm working hard to finish re-editing the other four Mick Malone Mysteries in the next four weeks.<br />
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So, Gracie, thank you. You were right. Far too many mistakes really does make for a rather disruptive read. I appreciate your honesty and feedback more than you will ever know. And I will certainly take far more care with my new books going forward!<br />
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Cheers!Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-31085040767463400952015-03-23T07:15:00.004-07:002015-03-23T07:18:27.931-07:00Sew, Sallee: From Mending and Hemming to Actually Making ThingsThis is my new friend: A Singer 9960 Electronic Sewing Machine.<br />
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During one of our semi-annual clean-ups, my husband threw out an ancient Brother sewing machine that I had for thirty years. (And I think I bought it used.) The old machine was able to do a couple of different straight and zigzag stitches and buttonholes, if I remember correctly, although I never tried the buttonhole part. I had used it to mend seams and hem pants and that's about it. But still, I wasn't too happy when I'd learned he'd tossed the thing. Actually, he put it out on our curb with a "free" sign, something he does frequently, so hopefully it went to a good home. But what was I going to do if I needed to mend something?<br />
Merry Christmas! He bought me this new, slick, beautiful machine that does absolutely everything! It has 116 different stitches, including 30 some utility stitches and 80 plus decorative stitches. Oh, it does embroider, but only free-hand, darn! Speaking of darning? Yes, it does that too! But the question is, what is a girl who only mends and hems going to do with a machine that was put on this earth to make beautiful things?<br />
Enter Craftsy.com. I happened on this website while I was looking for sewing lessons. I thought there might be some place local that I could go and actually learn how to sew, or re-learn, rather. I did sew when I was a teenager. But that was a long, long.....well, you know. Guess what? Finding sewing lessons in a classroom with a live teacher is not so easy. There are a lot of teachers that will do on-line classes. But the great thing about Craftsy is that once you buy a class, you have access to it forever. You can keep going back again and again, and believe me, I do. And they have everything from beginner to advanced classes. The first class I took was on making a tote bag. A simple bag to take shopping. Well, simple, yes. But lined, and so I learned how to line a bag. That was not a little deal for me.<br />
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The other great thing about Craftsy is that they have kits that you can buy that include patterns and the fabric. The two dresses below were from one of those kits. The shorter, white one, is the fabric that came with the kit. The red and white striped dress was fabric I bought at Joann's and used the same pattern, but with longer hem and sleaves. I have since taken a total of nine classes, from a tutorial on different kinds of fabric to how to make bras. I'll do another post on that one. It was pretty interesting.<br />
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Anyway, I am going crazy with my new machine and really enjoying the results. And learning a lot. Usually, from my mistakes. And I am making my share of them, so my seam ripper is becoming my second best friend. But I figure it's like hitting the ball into the sand trap. The more times I have to hit out of the sand, the better at getting out I get. And the harder I try not to get into trouble in the first place.<br />
The other thing I was pretty surprised about is that there are precious few brick and mortar stores left that sell sewing fabric and notions. I live close to a Joann's which is about the best one around here. But I am finding a lot of great sources online. I'll share those links in my future posts as well.Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-10405109839461148012015-01-27T15:12:00.000-08:002015-01-27T15:15:26.892-08:00Enter: Peanut BrittleHow did I do on my 10 day No Sugar Challenge? Truth? Well, about five days into it, I found the peanut brittle. I had bought it over the holidays as a treat. But this Christmas, unlike most others, I was very disciplined about watching what I was eating. The good news about that? I didn't gain any weight over Christmas. The bad thing was I kept the unopened box of peanut brittle and one day I just happened to find it in the cupboard. Perhaps I should have tossed it then. Or never bought it in the first place. But it served a good lesson. I didn't toss it, I opened it. I ate four or five (ten?) pieces before I even came up for air and then I came to my senses. I stopped. About an hour later, I felt bad. Really bad. I don't think I got any rush from eating it, but I certainly crashed an hour later. Beside that one incident and (oh by the way) wine a couple of times like I already confessed, I did well. No sugar. It wasn't easy. But overall, I'd give myself a B- for the ten day challenge. Maybe I'm too easy on my grading system? Perhaps. But I'm not stopping at 10 days. I am going another 10. And this time my goal isn't to be perfect, but as close as I can be. After a lifetime of failed dieting, I'm going to try a new approach. At 63, there may be a lot of things about aging that are a pain, literally. But here's one that is very refreshing and almost comforting. It isn't about wearing a size 6 anymore. Its about <u>health</u>! So, my new approach is not that I'll lose weight to get healthy, but rather that I'll get healthy, and then, perhaps my body will return me to a healthier weight. And a new path, charted by doctors like Dr. Robert Lustig of UCSF Medical Center, who have fingered sugar as the poison and, as he points out, a whole host of players at the table of blame:<br />
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1.The Health Insurance Industry, who will hound you to lose weight, but not pay for the process, because they point the finger at the individual.<br />
2.The Obesity Profiteers (like Weight Watchers), who make $117B a year off of fat people. They do want some of us to be successful to hold our pictures up to the rest of us pathetic souls. But they really don't want to solve the problem for good.<br />
3. The Commercial Food Industry, who took all the fat out of our food and pumped it full of salt and sugar to make up for it. Now HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is in almost everything because it's a cheap way to get processed food to taste good. And sodium is pumped up in soda (and then more sugar added to mask the salt) to make you thirsty so you have to supersize your drink.<br />
4. The Government, who told the food industry to take the fat out to begin with and continue to blame the individual...oh, and subsidize the corn growers so they can continue to pump more sugar into the food supply.<br />
5. The Medical Community, who keeps telling us to eat broccoli, beans and wild salmon, and exercise until we drop (but in the dark, please, or we might get skin cancer). Red wine is good for you....oh, no, bad....oh, no good, really. But all things in moderation. <b><i>Reminds me of the French who believe all things in moderation, especially moderation!</i></b><br />
6. And us, the individuals, who either give up all together and become fat activists "Big is Beautiful" or just keep beating our heads against the wall, feeling worse about ourselves because we are such failures. Oh, and there's one other outcome for the individual, the saddest of all: those that go to Biggest Loser type boot camps where screaming meanies will publicly humiliate them while networks rack up the big bucks.<br />
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This is insanity. The problem according to Dr. Lustig is not the obesity. Twenty percent of obese people are perfectly healthy. On the other hand, an estimated 40% of normal weighted people are sick. The illness is called Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome is caused by our diet (which also happens to make many of us fat). And for that, there is a path to health. According to Dr. Lustig, the path is cutting the sugar and exercising, not because exercising will help us burn calories but because it will help balance our hormones. I already exercise. I will keep it up. And I will continue to cut the sugar as I continue to research this huge national (and personal) problem and try a new approach to turning it around.<br />
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<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-14230288024363907582015-01-19T06:22:00.000-08:002015-01-19T06:22:45.088-08:00Challenge; Day ThreeHow's the sugar challenge, you ask? We had friends over for dinner last night. The menu included steak, potatoes, grilled broccoli with mushrooms and salad. I skipped the potatoes, since I am already trying to cut down on carbohydrates in general. And since I love to cook and can control the menu, steak, broccoli, mushrooms and salad were all wonderful and very satisfying. I even put a little butter on my broccoli which I haven't done in twenty years, at least. My husband, however, stopped at Marie Callender's and bought a cherry pie (my favorite) and vanilla ice cream (my other favorite). Honestly, it wasn't that bad saying "no" to the dessert. But I'm only three days into it and so still very motivated.<br />
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In the last post, I recommended two books. Dr. Lustig is also featured in a UCSF TV series called: <a href="http://www.uctv.tv/skinny-on-obesity/">The Skinny on Obesity</a>. This is a seven part series, but the episodes are generally under 15 minutes each. Really, you can find a few minutes here and there to watch this. This is not just important if you are overweight. This is not an epidemic, but a pandemic, affecting all of the developed world and mostly our most precious asset, our children. I know I sound like I'm on a soapbox....well, maybe I am. And if you are not overweight, consider TOFI: Thin on the Outside; Fat on the Inside. According to the medical experts that are in the forefront of the fight on obesity, 40% of all normal weight people are getting fat on the inside. Forty percent and on the increase!!!<br />
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So was I completely successful? Well, that's debatable. I did have a couple of glasses of wine. So I looked this up. During fermentation, the sugar in wine is broken down into alcohol and yeast. The residual sugar in a glass of dry red wine is about 1 gram. Spirits is much less. So I guess martinis are in order......do I go too far? FYI, beer has no sucrose in it at all. The sugar in beer is maltose, which, apparently we metabolize just fine. Understanding how we metabolize sugars was also an eye opener, and helps explain why sugar really is addictive. According to some doctors, more addictive than cocaine or heroine. More on how we metabolize sugar in my next post.<br />
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And as for the wine? Well, I'm taking it one day at a time. I never claimed to be perfect!!Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-2933002839882954282015-01-16T09:07:00.000-08:002015-01-16T16:32:08.498-08:00The ChallengeWhat a difference three months can make. In October of 2014 there was a lot of hoopla surrounding an initiative on the November ballot concerning a tax on sugared beverages in Berkeley. I, for one, thought this a ridiculous idea. But perhaps not for the reason one might think. It's not that I don't think sugared drinks are harmful, but rather, because I thought why stop at drinks? Why stop at sugared and not include those sweetened with artificial sweeteners? And, to be honest, there is always a part of me that gets a bit concerned when we try to legislate healthy behavior. But more on that later.<br />
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In September, I read a very fascinating book entitled <i>The Big Fat Surprise</i>. Written by Nina Teicholz, a journalist, I found it fascinating and it simply rang true for me. She pointed to a lot of research that suggests that it was actually the government's push for a low-fat diet that was actually the catalyst for the obesity epidemic we face today. Her point was that as the food companies reduced the fat from our foods, they added sugar to make the processed food palatable. Because Ms. Teicholz is not a doctor or trained nutritionist, she came under some degree of criticism. So I kept digging.<br />
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Enter Dr. Robert Lustig, Chief Endocrinologist at UCSF Medical Center. Dr. Lustig, in his book <i>Fat</i> <i>Chance</i>, echos much of what Teicholz claims. Sugar is the real culprit. In his book, as well as several YouTube videos, and even a full length documentary entitled, <u>Fed Up</u>, Dr. Lustig explains the science behind the claim and why sugar is really poison to our bodies and is making Americans not only obese, but very sick.<br />
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<a href="http://www.fedupmovie.com/">Fed UP</a><br />
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Google his name. Follow the links. There are several really good summaries in video form if you don't want to read the books. But in my opinion, these two books by Lustig and Teicholz should be mandatory reading for every parent, school administrator, doctor and every person that has ever struggled to diet and exercise with minimal to mediocre results. You will now understand, scientifically, what you have known in your heart for a long time. You do not eat more than your thin friends. You are not a gluttonous sloth whose terrible habits have made you fat. You have been filling yourself with poison that has made you fat.<br />
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I am all for being responsible for myself and the outcomes in my own life. Sometimes, you need to be educated to make that possible. And the education that the government and the USDA and FDA have been feeding us has been ALL WRONG!! Now, finally, I think there is a path forward.<br />
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I am taking the no-sugar challenge and cutting out all sugar for 10 days....hopefully more, but let's start with 10 and go from there. In the meantime, check out the links in this post. I urge you.<br />
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BTW, twenty years ago the public went on a campaign to get the government to regulate tobacco. Many of us, myself included (and yes, I was a smoker), were incensed that the government was going to try to regulate what was good for us. Guess what? I finally caved and quit smoking along with hundreds of thousands of others world-wide. I am totally grateful and I am a hell of a lot healthier because of it.<br />
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Now let's tackle obesity.Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-64460272782277816712014-10-24T09:10:00.000-07:002014-10-24T09:10:41.889-07:00The Secret of Stone CottageThe new Mick Malone Mystery is now available for Kindle and in Paperback on Amazon.com. <i><u>The</u> <u>Secret of Stone Cottage</u> </i>takes Mick back to Scotland for his latest adventure<i>. </i><br />
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I had a lot of fun writing this one, including doing research on Tarot Cards (anyone want a reading?) and many of the mystical stone circles in Scotland. The more I read about these incredible man-made monuments, the more intrigued I got about what they were actually used for. It has been over thirty years since I first visited Stone Henge near Salisbury, England. And there was an even more primitive stone circle in Avebury, England, a village only ten miles west of where I lived. Next to the stone circle, Avebury is a charming village with many activities that display what life was like in rural England many hundreds of years ago. Well worth a visit if you are ever in that neck of the woods.<br />
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In the middle of the circle, is a pub, the Red Lion. The locals, here, will tell you that the stones are identical to a ring of stones on Mars, lending fuel to the theory that these monuments were built by ancient aliens. Well, honestly, there is a lot of evidence that makes this theory viable.<br />
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But back to the book. Mick and Jock are unraveling not only a current murder but also the disappearances of young women over the past twenty years. Detective Sergeant Galen Cullen joins them on another adventure, this time, based in the Aberdeenshire countryside.<br />
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Available in paperback and kindle versions. If you do read it, please let me know what you think. I am always interested in reader's feedback. Or better yet, please review it on Amazon. I would really appreciate your help to increase the number of reviews I have.<br />
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Thanks again to all of you that continuously send me good wishes. I really appreciate the support!!!Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-68208052179107229342014-10-10T21:52:00.000-07:002014-10-10T21:52:09.548-07:00Regensburg and KelheimAfter another night of cruising, and more locks, we arrived in Regensburg which is a very interesting medieval city. Another walking tour....sore feet but good for us since they feed us so well....through the narrow cobblestone streets, to see the ancient buildings and life along the river.<br />
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And of course, another beautiful church, this time St. Peter's. <br />
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We are learning much about the history and how south of the river was "civilization" brought by the Romans; north of the river were the barbarians. The oldest bridge in Germany is the Old Stone Bridge built in the 12th century. Unfortunately, this bridge is under renovation, so we couldn't cross it, but it was very interesting, nonetheless. All along the bridge there are signs of the high water of the floods of 2012, when all the residents spent months cleaning up mud after the flood. Where you see the plaster was washed away on the gate house shows how high the water was.<br />
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Near the bridge is the oldest restauraunt in Germany as well, the sausage house which is still in operation today (the green building).<br />
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After a great tour of Regensburg and lunch, we took a bus about thirty minutes outside of town to a small village of Kelheim. This was a village of very rich merchants, rich in the salt trade and breweries. After a visit to another beer garden, we took a small boat down the Danube narrows where the river cuts a deep gorge and is only 80 meters wide to Weltenburg Abbey, where six monks still live and brew beer. <br />
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Atop the hill as you sail into the narrows sits a magnificent building, Independence Hall.Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-32558410234608169692014-10-09T00:48:00.001-07:002014-10-09T05:02:04.628-07:00NurembergFrom Prague we were bussed to Nuremberg. I must say, we were not looking forward to four hours on a bus, but we were pleasantly surprised. The bus was only about half full, allowing everyone to spread out. It was very new and comfortable and the countryside in Czech Republic and later, in Germany was beautiful.<br />
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In Nuremberg, we boarded the Viking Idun for our river cruise down the Danube. If you are thinking about doing a river cruise, don't think twice. The long boats are great, rooms nice, and service and food outstanding. After a nice dinner and good night's sleep, we headed out the next morning for our tour of Nuremberg. I must say, I was a bit sobered by the ruins of the Nazi stadium and meeting halls. Our guide was very knowledgeable and told the story of how Hitler was able to influence so many young people due to the dire economic circumstances that Germany found itself in after WWI. The Nazi party and flags and symbols are all illegal in Germany today. <br />
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After a sobering start to the tour, we were taken to the old town, to see the castle and look out over this pretty city.<br />
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In the afternoon, we returned to the boat for lunch and to start cruising through the many locks in the Main-Danube Canal. It is eerie and interesting at the same time, to sail into a huge concrete lock and then have the back door close and the lock fill with water.....slowly, slowly rising to the next level. <br />
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Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-91367875146296579392014-10-07T21:25:00.000-07:002014-10-07T21:25:08.750-07:00PragueFrom London, we flew to Prague for a three-day visit before our cruise. Prague was largely spared during WWII and so much of the city is hundreds of years old. My first lesson learned, and the advice I will give is get a good guide!! We had a long, long walking tour of Prague on the first morning. More than once, during the 4+ hour tour, I thought I couldn't keep walking. But I did and I will always be thankful for that. Prague, was occupied by the Nazi's during WWII, then liberated by the Russians after the war, only to be occupied some twenty years later by the Communists, and then, again liberated in the late 1980s. Now the economy is predominately based on tourism, and Viking has a huge presence there. Some of the things to see in Prague include Old Town Square:<br />
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This includes a lovely cobblestone square with small streets and shops all around. One of the most interesting things to me was the market, which has been there since 1232 A.D. <br />
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Other must see sights are the Charles Bridge and Lobkowitz Palace. The Lobkowitz's were exciled during both WWII and the Cold War. The current owner, who was born in excile in Boston, moved back to Prague in the 1990's and was able to reclaim his family home. He and his wife are working hard to restore this beautiful palace and have opened it to the public. We were honored to be able to have a private lunch of goulash which was delicious and a private concert at the Palace.<br />
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Also a must is a walk over the Charles Bridge which is lined with statues of saints. This was the first bridge in Prague over the river Vltava and takes you from the edge of Old Town to Lesser Town which is at the bottom of Castle hill. Lesser Town floods often and you can see high water marks above the doors often on these old buildings. Here, in Lesser Town, you will find the Kafka Museum, a very sobering visit if you are interested in his life and writing.<br />
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Don't forget to include the local pilsner, very nice! and goulash, sausages or duck. Yum!<br />
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Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-1229686887188211512014-10-05T21:02:00.001-07:002014-10-05T21:04:36.489-07:00LondonOur son has been living in London for nearly three years. He works for an American company headquartered in Silicon Valley, so he does get home often on business. But we hadn't yet visited him in London until last week. What a glorious trip. I lived in England many years ago and so have wonderful friends that I hadn't seen in over 6 years. It was a great trip and we enjoyed great visits with our son and friends.<br />
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We stayed at a hotel in Westminster. The St. Ermins is a very nice boutique type hotel, and although a bit pricey it is within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, which was very convenient for my husband, Tom, who awaited anxiously the whole time we were there for an invitation to tea with the Queen. She must have been otherwise engaged, however.......Here is a pic of our hotel.<br />
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On the left, that's the hotel.....the picture on the right is New Scotland Yard which was right across from our hotel. While Tom was waiting for the Queen, I was hoping for a tour. No such luck. LOL. <br />
We did a lot of the tourist things, many of which I had done years ago, but it was even more fun this time. London is still bustling and vibrant, and there are some new additions as well, such as the Eye, which I actually did get on and didn't pass out. (I am afraid of heights).<br />
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That's Big Ben, of course, on the right.<br />
We spent a whole afternoon in St. Paul's Cathedral. What a gorgeous and impressive place. During WWII, Churchill stationed artillery around it to protect it. The Germans wanted to destroy it because it is such a national symbol for England. But although one bomb did hit it, the damage was not total and the beautiful dome, designed by Christopher Wren, was saved. Probably one of the most touching parts of the trip so far, was finding my husband's uncle's name in the book in the cathedral that honors fallen U.S. soldiers from WWII. Tom's uncle, see below: Peterson, R. G. Pfc, was killed in the English Channel on Christmas Eve in 1944, right before the war ended. Incredibly moving!!<br />
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Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-57403072170840170992014-09-15T17:10:00.001-07:002014-09-15T17:10:13.964-07:00An Interview with the Narrator<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">
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Turning my first published book, <i>The Mystery of Glengarron</i>, into an audio book was easy and fun for me. But for the talented young narrator, it was a lot of work. As I mentioned in my last post, Patrick Peterson is the narrator and we collaborated via the tools available online at acx.com (an Amazon company) and email. But I was curious to learn more about him and how he works. In this interview, Patrick answers some questions about what inspires him and what it takes to be a narrator of audio books. </div>
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<b>Sallee: <span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"> </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">How did you get interested in narrating audiobooks?</span></b></div>
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<b>Patrick:</b> Ever since I was a child I have loved cartoons. Even into adulthood I am still a fan and am working toward my dream of voicing a cartoon one of these days. I have two bachelors degrees in English and Theatre so narrating audiobooks was something that would allow me to use both of my talents. Though my love of voice over and cartoons is what got me started. My teacher worked with me in setting up a demo and introduced me to various audiobook websites that I could work to be a part of.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Sallee: </b><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-weight: bold;">Do you have a dedicated studio? and, Was it hard/expensive to set up?</span><br />
<b style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-weight: bold;">Patrick:</b><span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"> I do have a studio that I built in my basement. It was fairly expensive spanning roughly $2,000 once complete for work, though I still add new things here and there for better quality. Setting up was not hard at all. Just a matter of finding a sizable room to sit in comfortably. I have a deep side closet. The room is laced with quiet brace, a material that helps to keep in sound, that I found a Home Depot. So with some dedication I raised the money and bought the materials and now I have my own private studio.</span></div>
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<b>Sallee: <span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"> </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">How do you choose which books you'd like to narrate?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"><b>Patrick:</b> Well as a narrator you have to get comfortable with rejection. I'm still working on that, but I digress, for every book I land I probably have about 15-20 auditions lost. Mostly I look around in categories that interest me, fantasy, sci fi, children's, then there are some that I learn about. I work at a library as my day job and so I have a first hand kind of cheat when it comes to seeing what people are reading. Mystery, Romance and Nonfiction are the big audiobooks, those are usually the ones that will sell. So from all those categories I pick a few from each and see if someone likes me enough to offer me the job.</span><span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"> </span></div>
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<b>Sallee: </b><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"><b> What's the hardest part of narrating a book?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"><b>Patrick:</b> EDITING!!! Most people ask me how I change voices and if i do it all together, and the answer is yes, I do switch immediately between voices, it has always been fairly easy for me, ever since I would imitate Red Skelton as a child i have been good at imitation. The theatrical aspect of standing in a room by myself and talking to my self in 20-30 different voices is the most fun I have, especially when there is a character that you just love the voice you have for him/her and whenever you do that voice you smile. (For me that character was Harry in your novel) He was just so Billy Connelly over the top!!! Editing on the other hand is terrible, my least favorite part. Aside from being only ok at it which is not fun because it then affects your performance, it takes forever. For every hour you listen to this book I listened to that hour a minimum of 6 times and editing it took at least 8 hours. Sometimes it is just very tedious. You get better as you go, but my dream is to leave the editing to someone else, walk into my or someone's studio and recording and get paid and leave. HAHA that would be awesome.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">Sallee: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">What are your long term goals?</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px;"><b>Patrick</b>: Well to be a cartoon voice someday is a big one. Also I would have to say work with the greats like Tom Kane, John Dimaggio, James Arnold Taylor, Jim Cummings, and Tara Strong, and if I kept going it would take forever, so many great talents out there that I idolize. Outside of audiobooks I can't wait to start a family and if my voiceover career takes off perhaps try to be a stay at home parent. If none of that pans out, or if it does I would like to do something with Shakespeare, his work is awesome!!</span>Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-86697292541234138552014-09-13T06:06:00.001-07:002014-09-13T06:06:48.969-07:00Producing an Audio BookThe popularity of audio books is definitely on the rise. I still read a lot. But there are times when an audio book just fits the bill. Commuting to work and exercising come immediately to mind. So it just seemed logical that I would offer my own books in an audio version. But I really didn't know where or how to start until I turned, once again, to <a href="http://acx.com/">ACX.com</a>, which is Amazon's platform for connecting authors with potential narrators and producers. As an author, list your book and the rest is easy. Really. The rest is a matter of making a few decisions, do you want to pay the narrator a fee or split the royalties? The platform even estimates the number of hours your finished audio book will be.<div>
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You can look through potential narrators and send them a note asking if they would be interested in narrating your book. At the same time, narrators can see what books are available to narrate. In my case, a narrator contacted me. Patrick Peterson (no relation) saw my book and sent me a message. Through the platform, we communicated a couple of times, settled on a price and then ACX even had all the contracts available for us. </div>
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The process was fun, at least for me. I know Patrick worked very hard on this book, especially since my books are set in Scotland. We had several initial discussions, via the messaging capability of the ACX platform, mostly about what these characters might sound like. After the first initial weeks, we settled into a routine. Every couple of days, Patrick would send a few more chapters for me to review. I must say that Patrick was a joy to work with. Any changes I requested were quickly and cheerfully completed. And all the communication and work was done over the platform. Really, within a few months, I had an audio book offering through both <a href="http://www.audible.com/">Audible.com </a>and <a href="http://amazon.com/author/salleepeterson">Amazon</a>. Easy. </div>
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If you are an Indie Author, I highly recommend you consider looking into producing your own audio book. There are several companies out there, but I do recommend <a href="http://acx.com/">ACX.com</a>. Check it out. And if you love listening to audio books, like me, here's a deal for you: <a href="http://audible.com/">Audible.com</a> is a subscription based audio book service. You pay one monthly fee and get a certain number of credits, each good for an audio book of your choice, and it is more cost effective than buying each audio book separately. But the best part of Audible is that they offer you a daily deal. Yes, you will get an email <i>every day</i>.....but, these are offers for popular audio books usually for $3.95 or less. They are a great way to build your library without breaking the bank. And they have really great periodic sales as well. For instance, they are offering their members a sale right now for hundreds of titles for $4.95. Great deals on audio books!</div>
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Oh, by the way, I was curious about what the audio book production was like for Patrick, so I asked him. In my next post, I'll share his perspective in an interview with him. He's really a remarkable and interesting young man.</div>
Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-22690251522746404092014-09-10T14:18:00.000-07:002014-09-10T14:18:00.776-07:00Self Publishing with Amazon and SmashwordsWriting a novel is hard work. But if you love telling stories and you subscribe to the B-I-C (butt-in-chair) method of slogging through it, you will eventually finish it. And let me tell you, it is a wonderful feeling, after weeks or months of doubt that you actually did finish it. I'll talk more about the B-I-C method in another post. But for now, let me just say, it means actually sitting down in the chair and writing, even if you are not sure the words will come.<br />
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If you are an Indie (independent) author, now is when your phase 2 begins. Get the best editor(s) you can. You can pay a professional, but for most full length novels, that's going to cost you around $1500. Not the best decision before you've sold your first book, unless you happen to be sitting on a pile of cash. And it will also be the first of many obstacles that may make you toss in the towel. DON'T!!! Enlist the help of two friends and ask them to read it and give you honest feedback on the story. Did you leave a character hanging out to dry half-way through? Did you call a character Sue for the first half and Sally for the second. Believe me, these things happen. Don't ask them to do the spelling and grammar editing, but if they like to point them out when they see them, all the better.<br />
Then, turn your book over to Word for spelling and grammar.<br />
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I actually took an online class on self-publishing and I highly recommend it!! You can find them at your local college or at <a href="http://ed2go.com/">ed2go.com</a>. I learned a ton about kindle formatting, MSWord editing and also book covers. My class was $99. It was the best investment I've made yet in self-publishing.<br />
The writing and editing can all be done before you decide to publish it yourself, and if you do, which company to use.<br />
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I publish first with Amazon. They have tons of tools to help you. If you publish with <a href="http://createspace.com/">createspace.com</a> (Amazon's paperback publisher) first, you can use their cover designer to make professional covers that can be used with both the paperback and as an image for your ebook. They will step you through the whole process, including getting your ISBN (id number for books, essentially). Then once your book is approved, they will also take care of the Kindle version for you.<br />
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They are the world's biggest bookstore and nearly the world's biggest everything store now. People shop there. You can also take advantage of their lending library and their subscription service if you enter into an exclusive deal with them. They pay authors well, pay on time, give you reports and tons of visibility into your sales and your rank. They have an author's page and will link to your blog. And they have a lot of marketing help if you search for it and follow the suggestions. They also recently bought an audio book company and now audio book production is also fairly easy. (More about that in another post.)<br />
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Smashwords is the second company I have published with. The biggest advantage of Smashwords, by far, is that they distribute to nearly all other ebook sellers, including B&N, Apple, Sony, and the smaller or international companies. They also have a list of resources of professional companies that will edit and format your book as well as do the cover. These services are reasonably priced, but certainly not free and, again, can be financially restrictive before the first book sells. The biggest disadvantage that Smashwords has vs. Amazon is eyes on your title. Through Amazon, by book sales have been good. Through Smashwords, practically nil.<br />
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So if you're new to this, and you want to self-publish, I would recommend Amazon as your first partner!! I personally think they are great!Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-71988285780832935422014-09-08T11:17:00.000-07:002014-09-08T11:17:20.012-07:00Why I Chose Independent PublishingWith the debate raging between Amazon and the big publishing houses over ebook publication and price, I thought I'd weigh in on why I chose independent publishing.<br />
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First, let me get the big question out of the way....Did I have any traditional publishers interested in my work? Honest answer: No. I didn't even try to find a traditional publisher. Question 2: Are you afraid of rejection? Honest answer: Yes. And I'm too old to deal with the mashugana (how do you spell mashugana, anyway?) MESHUGANA: a crazy person. I don't know what the plural is, so if you know, please pass it on!<br />
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The honest truth is that I didn't set out to publish a book. I set out to write one. To finish it. Writing a novel is a journey and it's really easy to give up half-way through. I know. I have a whole file of half written novels. But finishing one was on my bucket list. And now that I'm living my last act, it was time to start crossing things off my bucket list. Or at least try to cross more off than I add to it. So I wrote a whole book, and finished it, and it was pretty bad. But the characters came alive for me. And as I finished the first book, the characters' stories had just begun and I wanted to tell those stories. So I shelved the first one, and started the second, which eventually became <i>The Mystery of Glengarron</i>. And when I was almost done with it, the next one started materializing in my brain. And that's the way this series is coming together. I want to know them and live vicariously through them and see how their lives unfold..<br />
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At some point, during the writing of the second book, I started considering publishing. I looked into some traditional publishers and I did some research into self publishing. It all boiled down to my list of pluses and minuses. Traditional publisher: editing and marketing. A publisher has editors that will make sure your book is nearly error free. I say nearly, because I have read books from big publishers that do have spelling or typo errors. But for the most part, they are not plagued with the occasional punctuation or spelling error that self-published books often have. (My own included.) The biggest advantage is that big publishing houses have big marketing budgets and they will use part of that to market your books. That means more sales for the author. The big questions here, though, are how much does the author really get? (Usually around 16%) and how much marketing? And marketing for how long? (A small window of opportunity). The other disadvantage is that the publisher will usually print a small run (around 4,000) books for a new author and if they don't sell, well, sayonara. Book out of print and they still own the rights.<br />
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In self-publishing, the author retains all rights. For most markets, the author gets about 70% of the sales in e-book royalties and 40% for paperback and audio. These numbers refer to self-publishing with Amazon. There are companies that will publish your book for a fee (usually several hundred to several thousand dollars) and they will take smaller cuts or none at all.<br />
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I chose Amazon for all my books and am piloting three of them through Smashwords, an ebook company that distributes to most other ebook formats. The advantages of using these companies are that the book never goes out of print. The other advantage is that I will continue to collect royalties for my books until 70 years after my death (that is, my heirs will) when my work becomes public domain. That was a big deal to me. The disadvantages include that the author has to do formatting and cover art work themselves (although Amazon has some good tools that help here). Editing requires bugging friends and family to help read the books and having a good understand of the editing capabilities of Word. The big disadvantage is that the author has to market his or her own work. Not so easy and it takes time away from writing. But it is a learning experience. In the next post, I'll discuss the pros and cons of Amazon vs. Smashwords.<br />
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As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts or questions.<br />
<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786713278242732274.post-71113892654931903332014-08-22T14:42:00.000-07:002014-08-23T05:42:40.959-07:00The Mystery of Glengarron now on Audio!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
While commuting on Cal Train some months ago, I met a woman that was knitting a blanket. I commented on her beautiful work and only then, as she smiled at me and took an earbud out of her ear, did I notice she was listening to a small iPod she had clipped to her lapel. </div>
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Graciously, she thanked me for my compliment. When I apologized for interrupting her music, she told me that she was listening to an audio book and that she always enjoyed her commutes on the train knitting for her family and friends and listening to books for herself. I told her I am an author and she became quite interested and we talked for a long time about my books and other authors we both like. Before I knew it, we had gotten to San Francisco and our commute was over. While I never knew her name, she gave me some of the best advice I've ever gotten as a writer. She told me I should put my books on audio for people like her that love to read but just don't have the time or really want to be able to listen to books while doing other things. (In her case it was knitting. In mine, I discovered, they're great for listening to while exercising.)</div>
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So here it is! The first Mick Malone Mystery, now on Audio via Audible. com or Amazon:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49CpXH11aKd91SrVS1aPkRlgZkBjKUhxOeTQDkQi32FH5GndPZWGY5KgBA-ls78diUZ7uAlWf7hUn8TkARqyulq8NqaVxH-P4Vw0z5IdfUtzHtMI90tEXF_GqyTDtai145K84qtxMjQc/s1600/Presentation1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49CpXH11aKd91SrVS1aPkRlgZkBjKUhxOeTQDkQi32FH5GndPZWGY5KgBA-ls78diUZ7uAlWf7hUn8TkARqyulq8NqaVxH-P4Vw0z5IdfUtzHtMI90tEXF_GqyTDtai145K84qtxMjQc/s1600/Presentation1.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
Link:<a href="http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mt_conten_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=Sallee+Peterson&x=0&y=0">The Mystery of Glengarron Audio Version</a><br />
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If you're not already a member of Audible, you can get the audio book free with a trial subscription. I love Audible and they have great daily deals if you listen to a lot of audio books like I do. Or if you go to my <a href="http://salleepeterson.com/">Website</a> I am giving away free copies to the first 25 people that contact me. Just email me and I will send you instructions to download the audio version. Okay, enough advertising.<br />
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To the lovely woman on the train that gave me such wonderful advice, I thank you sincerely. And thanks to all my readers for all your continued support.<br />
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<br />Le Potagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05070847461711774761noreply@blogger.com0