Motivation Monday: Chris Abani

I've decided to try to post a video, a blog, a quote, something that motivates me as a writer and as a human being on Mondays to get the week started.

"The only way for me to be human is for you to reflect my humanity back at me," Abani says in speaking about the South African concept of ubuntu.


Check out Abani's work.

And thank you Christina Lovin for mentioning this video on FB.

Coming Fully Into This Century as an E-Author

It's been a month since the announcement that Amazon has acquired the publication rights of 120 literary titles from Toby Press. My books ( Blackberries, Blackberries and Water Street) are among the titles and as one of the 61 authors affected by this merger I am excited about this opportunity to have the powerhouse of Amazon behind my work and to introduce my back list to the world of E-books and a host of new readers.

But this celebration comes after a long month of public silence and much discussion with my agent, my partner and a few close writer friends.

My friend A.J. Verdelle quotes James Baldwin frequently. To paraphrase it goes something like "A writer has hundreds of decisions to make so he/she had better get started." I think both Verdelle and Baldwin are referring to craft in this regard but I think it fits in this aspect of a writers life too. There were lots of decisions for this writer to make before I signed the contract.

I admit it. I'm old school. I think Bill Goodman, one of our local PBS commentators, has me on tape somewhere saying: "I have never read an e-book, don't want to read an e-book. Don't want my work published as an e-book..." And I've had that conversation at least a hundred times at readings, in the comfort of homes, in bookstores, in the back rooms of restaurants, over coffee, at the water cooler, Sangria in one hand, a veggie puff in the other.Those conversations always ended with me nodding my head yes but in my mind I was saying "Never!"

Well every woman has the perogative change her mind. Right? So now I'm saying "YES!" with trust and gusto. Bottom line: It makes sense to want my work to reach as many readers as possible  So ABSOLUTELY E-PUBLISH me. (As long as I have my books in bookstores too. :))

This was really a no-brainer but I had to go through the process of turning it over in my own mind. I've really never been fearful of new things when it comes to my writing. When I was first published by Toby Press in 2000, they were a new publisher that was approaching publishing in a new way. There approach was sort of the J. Peterman model for publishing. There were ads for TP books in the Smithsonian, The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and Oxford American but books had to be purchased directly from the publisher. You couldn't buy my books in bookstores until more than a year after they were released. So I'm accustomed to walking into uncharted waters with my work so once I thought about it in these terms, I dove deeply.

Amazon is poised with all kinds of new developments. They announced their new film venture  Amazon Studios one day before announcing the Toby Press acquisition last month. With today's market, I am elated that my books will remain in print and are receiving renewed life both in print and e-versions. Look for them both soon as they are re-issued by AmazonEncore in the coming new year!

And hopefully this is an omen for good news regarding my completed manuscript The Birds of Opulence which will be sent out by my lovely and talented agent at the beginning of the year.

I am so grateful.

If you want to throw a little party to help me celebrate wherever you are in the world, might I suggest a great winter Sangria. I think I'm going to try this recipe.  Or the beverage of your choice will do. Cheers!

Crystal's No Cluck Chicken and Dumplings

Of course this has nothing to do with writing but Ron and I have renewed our vows (ha!) to our bodies and have become even more strict in our vegetarianism. We have vowed not to use chemical-filled meat substitutes so I've gone crazy (a la Food Network type lunacy) in the kitchen. I swear I'm ready for Chopped: The Vegetarian War. So any how, here's my latest recipe which was wonderful for a snowy evening in Kentucky. And by the way, I am getting closer to my goal of getting a full draft of the new novel done by the end of Decemeber.

Took the photo after several bowls so the best dumplings were already in our bellies.

CRYSTAL’S NO CLUCK CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS


2 quarts liquid no chicken broth or vegetable broth

Black pepper

Salt

1 cup of diced onions, celery and carrots

1 potato

¼ cup of vegetable oil

1 T dried vegetable broth (fake chicken flavor)

1 can of cream of celery soup (if you are vegan you can leave this ingredient out)

½ cup of water



Put liquid broth on to boil in a medium to large-sized pot. Place onions, celery and carrots and vegetable oil in a small skillet or sauté pan. Cook until the vegetables are tender (for a heartier taste allow the onions to brown a little). Add dried broth and water. Add this mixture into the boiling broth and at pepper and salt to taste.



Dumplings:

2 cup flour

1/3 cup vegetable shortening or butter

2/3 cup of milk



Mix and form a dough ball. Knead a three or four times but don’t over knead. Roll out thin and cut in 2 inch squares. Drop the dumplings into the boiling broth slowly. Stir gently once the dumplings begin to form. You might want to dunk them back down into the broth with a spoon as they pop up to the surface. Your dish is done when your dumplings are completely cooked through.