(For those who don’t know, Erin from Floret is a venerable figure in the flower farming community. She is an amazing, astute entrepreneur who turned the fresh flower industry on its head in the United States. There are many, many contributors to the Slow Flower movement [an offshoot of Slow Food] but she’s possibly the most well-known. She’s also generous beyond belief. Her website is a rich cache of resources for anyone looking to improve their gardening skills, regardless of the growing space you might have. She’s published multiple books, all of them both useful and beautiful, and teaches about everything from seed starting to breeding techniques. She’s a treasure.)

The most intriguing part of the article was the idea of “intensive flower farming.” This method calls for careful planning (variety selection, succession planting, etc.) and if properly executed means you can pack loads of flowers into a small space, refreshing each spot with new plants throughout the season. As soon as a plant is past its peak, boom, it’s gone. Ripped out and replaced with a new little seedling that very same day. Intensive flower farming is ideal for growers who don’t have loads of acreage, so I thought, Hey, I don’t have loads of acreage, I could be a micro flower farmer too.

My husband came aboard very quickly; my pregnancy had fallen during the height of the Covid insanity, which did a number on my mental health, and I think he was just glad to see me excited about a project again. He didn’t bat an eye when I ordered absurd quantities of seed packets and dahlia tubers and seed starting supplies. I’d always been a gardening enthusiast; in high school I once scoured the woods behind my house for bearded iris rhizomes to plant in our flowerbed, and got a nasty case of poison ivy for my trouble, including a Harry Potter-esque itchy red slash from where a leaf must have brushed across my forehead. I didn’t care, though, because I got my irises, and they bloom in my mom’s yard to this day. Plants play a large role in my first novel, Kore’s Field (it’s a retelling of a Greek myth, Admetus and Alecestis, and it pulls in themes from Persephone and Hades), to the point that one negative review on GoodReads said “there was more description of plants than characters,” which stung, but I also found weirdly flattering. The idea of really diving in and trying to make a go of growing flowers professionally lit my fire like few things have ever done.

I spent the next four growing seasons refining my skills. I tried dozens of breeds and varieties to determine which ones would fare best in the brutal red clay in my pocket of South Carolina (clay soil is clay soil, no matter how much you amend it, IYKYK). I took copious notes about everything. Successions and harvesting and Japanese beetles and color combinations I loved. I made practice bouquets and learned about shoulder seasons. I bought hydrating solution and needle-nose snips, and experimented with different seed starting mixes. I learned that calendula failed miserably in my garden but atriplex would grow seven feet tall even with pinching. I grew fillers and foliage and learned the importance of a healthy mix of spikes, discs, and air in an arrangement. I filled our back room closet, and later a table in the garage, with vases from thrift stores and harvest buckets. I watched YouTube videos (Nicole from Flower Hill Farm is my favorite, another treasure!) and read blogs from flower farmers in New Mexico, Canada, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, Washington, and Oklahoma. My skills and planting space expanded with each year. All I had to do was point at a sunny patch in our backyard and my husband would cheerfully haul out the rototiller and dig it up. I didn’t want to take up our entire quarter acre yard with my project, so I took care to incorporate plants I could use for my bouquets into our landscape. (For example, when we needed to plant a hedgerow between our house and our neighbor’s new build, I ordered Summer Wine Ninebark and Brandywine Viburnum. Beautiful, and practical!) I was still working full time at my job (and had another baby in the mix) but I pretty much devoted every spare minute outside of work and childcare to the garden. It was a difficult balancing act, but I loved every bit of it.

In summer 2024 I decided I had experimented enough. It was time to pull the trigger and try selling my bouquets. Since we live off a busy road, I decided to try an honor system flower stand. In my research I’d seen it work in other places, and it seemed like an attractive alternative to a farmer’s market. Since it was my first season I wasn’t sure I’d have enough volume for a farmer’s market (spoiler alert: I 100% didn’t). Plus I didn’t love the idea of spending all day, every Saturday, hawking my flowers when I was already working a full 9-5 during the week.

I ordered 450 daffodil bulbs and 750+ tulip bulbs (those sound like big numbers but I assure you they are not) and started prepping for the spring. My grandmother kindly gave us her old refrigerator for our garage and I proceeded to stuff it full of tulip bulbs so they could chill properly before we planted them out. I started hardy annuals and biennials in accordance with my carefully refined schedule, which meant spending many Saturday mornings in January and February mixing buckets of seed starting mix in the backyard with my arm soaking wet and frozen up to my elbow. I obsessively monitored the hardy annuals I was attempting to overwinter, and was pleasantly surprised at how well the sweet peas and Cerinthe performed (tempered by disappointment when the first succession of atriplex was wiped out by a string of nights in the low teens). The neighbors probably thought I was nuts, but I was having so much fun I didn’t care.

When the first daffodils were ready in mid-March (Fortune and Cum Laude, with a few from a doubles mix) I pulled every goose-neck stem and arranged them in glass milk bottles I’d picked up at Hobby Lobby. I dragged a table out to the front yard and shaded the setup with a patio umbrella, and put out a little collection jar and a sign with my Venmo account info. Then I went grocery shopping. When I got home I spent the whole morning hovering by the window like a crazy person. I got a grand total of two customers. One was my mom, but the other was a woman I didn’t know. She had seen my jerry-rigged sign by the stop sign on our street and pulled over. She looked a little concerned as she inspected the daffodil bottles. Some were starting to open, but some hadn’t. She wanted to know if the unopened ones were going to bloom. I was nearly sweating from my nerves but I assured her they would, and she bought them. I couldn’t believe it: I was a professional flower farmer!

For the next several weeks I harvested every viable daffodil and tulip from the beds and dutifully set them out for sale. I also found ways to improve my setup. I typed up some tips for fresh flower care and set them out for the taking, along with a stack of cards where people could drop their contact information in the lockbox if they wanted to be added to my email list and find out what flowers would be available next. I made a Canva template in an old-fashioned newspaper style that I sent out each Thursday with pictures and a Coming Soon section. Then every Saturday morning I drove right up to the busy road and jammed a big sign into the grass that said FRESH FLOWERS, with our address and the hours they’d be available. I wasn’t making many sales outside of the occasional indulging family member or curious passerby, but I was still having fun.

Until…I wasn’t. For a few reasons:

The weather

Everyone with a pulse knows that farmers of all stripes are at the mercy of the weather. Even if you have big greenhouses, hoop houses, shade cloth, etc. there’s only so much you can do to control the variables. Needless to say I did not have any of these setups in my backyard. I became obsessed with checking the forecast, especially when the tulips were in bud. Tulips are notorious for ripening quickly and can color up and blow open at the slightest hint of warmth. A tulip that opens on a Wednesday cannot be sold on Saturday, so anytime that happened I took a loss. Tulips are also an expensive flower crop; some of mine ran at 50 cents per bulb for the fancy doubles. I know you’re thinking “Fifty cents!? She’s worked up about fifty cents? That’s nothing!” But these are tulip bulbs. You get one shot with a tulip bulb. Flower farmers don’t grow them as perennials because of the way they’re harvested. A flower seed, on the other hand, costs fractions of a penny in many cases and will often pump out multiple stems over the course of the plant’s life.

Another issue was that Spring 2025 was one of the longest, wettest, coolest springs I can remember in this area. Ordinarily this would have been a delight! Most years our spring weather lasts just a few weeks and then catapults us into summer. I was taking my children to daycare in fleece jackets because we still had a few mornings in the 50’s well into May. But instead of enjoying this wonderful, surprisingly cool spring I was tearing my hair out because the unusually low temperatures had brought my tender annual successions to a grinding halt. My zinnias took ages to start flowering, and I lost several dahlia tubers to rot because they were so slow to take off.

The volume

I greatly underestimated how many stems I would need each week. I kept careful count of every viable stem that I harvested, making tallies of each variety on a grid paper notepad that I took out into the garden with me, and later combined into a weekly spreadsheet. One core principle of farm stands is “pile it high, watch it fly.” People are drawn to stands that look abundant, overflowing with lush bouquets to choose from. During the tulip weeks I had buckets of bouquets on my table and they looked fabulous, but as we entered proper springtime and the tulips petered out, it looked pretty bare sometimes. On the other hand, I also struggled with…

The waste

I never had a steady stream of customers, which meant loads of flowers went to waste each week. Again, every flower farmer knows that flowers are highly perishable and a huge percentage of your crop is just going to end up on the compost pile, there’s no way to avoid it. Still, I had a hard time coping. Not just because I hated tossing out perfectly good flowers, but because I hated seeing all my effort and time and money discarded so crudely. Yes, I gave away what I could to an assisted living place near our neighborhood, but rolling up with a hundred unsold tulips that have to be put in water and distributed by an already stretched-thin staff didn’t always feel very charitable. It felt more like a nuisance for them, honestly.

There were other factors that led to the end of the flower stand, like insect pressure (Japanese beetles, thrips, caterpillars), disease (especially on dahlia tubers), money (increasing costs for fertilizer and seeds), but there was one big elephant in the garden that I just could not escape:

The time

In November 2024 I finished my historical novel The Turncoat in Carrington Park. Set during the American Revolution, it’s the story of Lottie Neall, a girl who takes a job as a harpsichord teacher in a grand Loyalist house during the British occupation, and becomes a spy for the Patriot cause. It took me nearly six years to finish, mostly because of major life events (marriage, babies, career change, etc.) but when I finally wrapped it up I was beyond thrilled. I’ve been writing since 2008, when I first began spending my free time in college scribbling out fairly terrible novels that will never see the light of day. Finishing that book reminded me not only how much I love writing, but finishing a story as well. I wanted to do it again, as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, my schedule for flower farming proved utterly incompatible with writing. As I’ve described in other posts, my best writing happens in a tiny little window between daycare drop-offs and leaving for work (at the last possible minute). We’re talking 45 minutes, maybe an hour if I scarf down breakfast while finishing my hair. Early on I was able to maintain this schedule. But once those little seedlings and bulbs matured into flowers, I found myself having to devote this precious window to harvesting stems.

For a few months it was fine. I was still learning my way, after all, and I convinced myself it would get easier in time. But it didn’t, and I grew deeply resentful. It did not help that my sales were so poor. Many mornings I found myself out there, mixing up holding solution and stripping stems and examining petals for flaws, seething with frustration. I wanted to be editing my novel or working on the next one, but instead I was pulling up tulips and cutting sweet peas that I knew no one was going to buy. By some miracle I managed to publish my book, but shortly after I realized I had officially reached an impasse. I’d poured so much cash and time into this venture but it was turning me very bitter, very fast. I had to choose: writing or flower farming.

It was an easy choice. One of the easiest choices I’ve ever made, actually. Writing won, hands down. I hated trying to market my flowers and I was exhausted of all the heartbreak and work yielding absolutely zero results. At least with a book I wasn’t having to start over every single week with fresh product. If it didn’t sell I wasn’t stuck with buckets of books in my garage, destined for the shredder. It was too much pressure and I just couldn’t cope.

Normally I’m loath to quit something I’ve begun, but the moment I decided to shutter the flower stand I felt lighter than I had in months. Years, even, because with the flower farm dream competing with my writing dream for so long I’d been stumbling around in a sort of fog, never quite sure if I should be spending my creative energies in the garden or on the page. Now I have the clarity that only comes with cutting your losses. Yes, I lost money on flowers, but I hadn’t gone into debt for it. I now spend my early morning window exactly where I want to be: typing away on my laptop. Ironically, I use that same grid notepad for tracking. It’s word count now, instead of stems.

I still watch Nicole’s videos from Flower Hill Farm, and I eagerly open every email I get from Erin at Floret. My children love watching our flowers grow and putting together bouquets for us to enjoy. I’m already looking forward to starting summer annuals in another six weeks, only it’ll be three or four trays, not ten.

I have enormous respect for all flower farmers who make a living out of it. I pray you all have perfect temperatures, rich soil, and zero Japanese beetles gnawing on your roses. Thank you for welcoming me into your world, as brief as my stay may have been. You taught me how to find joy and wonder in my work, and the importance of discipline and showing up no matter the weather. Most importantly, you taught me the true meaning of a fond (and beautiful) farewell.

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Happy New Year, everyone!

Does anyone else remember how as the calendar year progressed, magazines used to get fatter and fatter until the huge December issue arrived in your mailbox like a small phone book, packed to the brim with gift guides and recipes and makeup tips for Christmas parties (which almost always featured a red lip and sparkly neutral eyeshadow)? And then January’s issue arrived and it was approximately the same thickness as a DMV pamphlet? This newsletter is that DMV pamphlet. Mostly because:

1. I am busy.

2. More specifically, I am busy working on my next book. I took time off around Christmas and I am struggling trying to get back on that 63,000 word horse. I know that consistency is key for me, so in a few weeks I’ll be in my proper rhythm once more. But for now, oof. Pulling teeth.

New Year’s Resolutions

I don’t have any. Not because I’m too cool for self-improvement (quite the opposite, I am a sucker for a good productivity book), but because I’ve spent the last few years learning the joys of quarterly planning and I now reevaluate my goals a few times a year. Shoot, I don’t even buy a new planner in January because I’ve stubbornly refused to give up my academic planner, which runs June-July. By the way, I highly recommend academic planners. Summer is a nice, relaxing time for a reset, and I find it’s not as pressurized as the New Year New Me rhetoric flying around in late December.

Some of my goals/plans for Q1 include:

1. Maintaining my exercise regimen

2. Watching 5 movies I’ve never seen. Interstellar, The Godfather, and Moneyball are all currently in the queue. Any other suggestions?

3. Planting 1 new hellebore (like the one pictured above). They are the most beautiful late winter perennials, but they’re pricy so I only treat myself to one each year.

4. Making pecan sticky buns

5. Finishing the book

See you lovely folks in February.

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Goodhart’s Law aside, I found keeping a list helpful. Mostly because whenever my friends ask me what I’m reading lately, I can now consult my handy list instead of trying to sift through the deep recesses of my brain where my childhood home phone number and AOL password reside. It also spurred me to branch out and read more than just my old favorites. Though I should note that in Q4 my reading dropped off drastically since I’ve been in full on research/writing mode for my next novel. As of now I’ve only read four books since September.

So here it is, in all its glory. My 2025 book list. (*denotes a new read for me)

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The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis

*The 5 Love Languages for Kids - Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell

Off the Clock - Laura Vanderkam

Spark Joy - Marie Kondo

*Drive - Daniel Pink

The Other Boelyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

The 5 Love Languages - Gary Chapman

*Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt

Reflections on the Psalms - C.S. Lewis

*A Killing Cold - Kate Alice Marshall

Atomic Habits - James Clear

The Giver - Lois Lowry

*The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman

Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry

*The Practice - Seth Godin

*Hidden Potential - Adam Grant

*All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

*The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel

*Give and Take - Adam Grant

*Profit First - Mike Michalowicz

French Lessons - Peter Mayle

Tranquility by Tuesday - Laura Vanderkam

*The Party Crasher - Sophie Kinsella

The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

*Ghosted - Rosie Walsh

*Sunrise on the Reaping - Suzanne Collins

*Modern Etiquette Made Easy - Myka Meier

The Tao of Martha - Jen Lancaster

*Tulipomamia - Mike Dash

I Regret Nothing - Jen Lancaster

The Brightest Star in the Sky - Marian Keyes

The Boelyn Inheritance - Philippa Gregory

*The 1 Page Marketing Plan - Allan Dib

*The Anxious Generation - Jonathan Haidt

*The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins

*The 12 Week Year - Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

*The Big Short - Michael Lewis

*From Paycheck to Purpose - Ken Coleman

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

*The Lost Art of Doing Nothing - Maartje Willems and Lona Aalders

*The Twelve Monotasks - Thatcher Wine

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan - Sophie Kinsella

Shopaholic Ties the Knot - Sophie Kinsella

Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

Any suggestions for 2026?

Now that we’re past Thanksgiving, I am full throttle, pedal to the metal, ready for Christmas. And I suspect I’m not alone! In this newsletter I’ll share some of my favorite traditions and stories, and I hope you’ll share some of yours as well. I’d love to hear them!

The Food

I love Christmas food. Yes, an iced sugar cookie is delicious any time of year, but an iced sugar cookie, in the shape of a gingerbread man or snowflake, with red and green sprinkles? That is transcendant. I know the red and green M&Ms are the same as regular ones, but also…they aren’t. Same with Hershey kisses in red, silver, and green foil. Same with my all time favorite: Reese’s Bells. I actively avoid buying candy for most of the year, because it lasts approximately ten nanoseconds in my house, but at Christmastime I have to hold myself back from that seasonal candy aisle. Well done, Hershey marketing team! You win and I do not even care, just hand over the KitKats.

Every year I throw a Christmas tea party for the ladies in my family. It’s a wonderful way to spend time with some of the dearest women in my life. We drink tea and hot chocolate and eat dainty finger sandwiches. I spend way too much time trying to arrange the treats into an attractive, Pinterest worthy sprawl, only to give up and just toss it all on the table because I am not a food stylist. We play some sort of game, like trivia or Taboo, and generally catch up with each other’s lives. It’s lovely, and dare I say, elegant.

It’s also an excuse to bake an absolutely enormous number of cookies. Like, way, way too many cookies, because I can’t make myself narrow down the options. This year I’ve already gotten ahead of the game:

That’s a bag of chocolate chip cookie dough, molasses spice, and a couple of pecan sandie logs. (And yes, a bag of chicken nuggets stuffed in the ice maker bucket. It’s okay, the water line isn’t hooked up.) I also have oatmeal raisin dough in there somewhere. The only problem with this strategy is the fact that little balls of frozen cookie dough are delicious, so keeping everyone’s mitts out of the freezer, including my own, hasn’t been easy.

The Music

Who doesn’t love Christmas music? Yes, I can see how the more cheerful, earworm type songs can rub salt in wounds if you’re having a tough Christmas, which I think we have all experienced at some point (Where Are You, Christmas? is good for a cry, if you need that). So while I do love Last Christmas, and every time I hear Jingle Bell Rock I think to myself, “Everybody in the English-speaking world knows that song,” some of my very favorites are decidedly less upbeat at first glance. Or even if the tune is upbeat, the words themselves have deeper meaning. They’re more about Hope. Specifically, the hope that was fulfilled with the birth of Jesus, the Messiah:

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer/ our spirits by thy justice here;/ disperse the gloomy clouds of night,/ and death’s dark shadows put to flight. - O Come, O Come Emmanuel

No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground;/ he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. - Joy to the World

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!/ Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings./ Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die,/ born to raise the Sons of Earth, born to give them second birth. - Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (my top favorite)

I also looooove Christmas choral music. Every year around this time I dig out my St. Olaf Choir Christmas in Norway CD, and the Veni, Veni Emmanuel CD from (I think?) the Emmanuel College choir at Cambridge. (Track 2 on that one is called What Sweeter Music if anyone was wondering about the title of this newsletter. Side note: I think that recording would make a lovely wedding processional, maybe for the mother/grandmothers.)

The George

Now to one of my very favorite Christmas stories, even though it has literally nothing to do with me or my family, as you shall soon see.

Like many people of my age, Christmas morning as a child meant parents hauling out the camcorder and setting it up to capture the joyful moments of opening presents together. The oohs and ahhs and cries of excitement when the new Barbie or Grand Champion (IYKYK) is revealed. But one of my very favorite Christmas morning moments caught on video wasn’t of my family at all, but Joy’s.

Joy was my best friend in high school. She lived in a neighborhood nearby, in the coolest split level house I’ve ever set foot in. Even now, two decades later, I find myself thinking of the awesome structure of that house, which somehow packed four levels into a house that appeared to have two storeys. To someone who grew up in a ranch with an unfinished basement, it was mind-boggling.

Joy’s family had a neighbor named George. George was elderly and often rode over to their house on his Rascal to say hello, which, without fail, turned into a very long conversation. He did this a lot. As an adult, it’s clear to me that George was lonely and craved companionship, and it is a testament to Joy’s family’s friendliness that he was comfortable coming around so often. But as anyone who’s lived in a neighborhood knows, sometimes you have time to chat, and sometimes you really, really don’t. Being able to pick up those signals and differentiate between the two times is a learned art, and a key part of the suburb social contract.

So, it’s Christmas morning of either junior or senior year, and Joy’s family is gathered around the Christmas tree in the lowest level of their cool house. They’re opening presents at a leisurely pace, mid-morning sunlight streaming gently through the window, when suddenly they hear a faint, disembodied “Helllooooo!” and the whir of a Rascal from the driveway right outside.

It’s George!!!!

All of them, without hesitation or exchanging a single word, HIT THE DECK. Diving to the carpet in perfect synchrony, waiting in agonized silence for the threat to pass, like someone had just thrown a grenade. (Yes, I know, elderly gentlemen just wants to share Christmas greetings, but see the aforementioned suburb social contract. I think most people would agree that unless an explicit invitation has been extended, Christmas morning is family time.) A moment passes, and then they all get up and ease back into their chairs with nervous smiles.

Fortunately, Joy’s family had set up a camcorder on a tripod, and were therefore able to unwittingly capture this amazing scene. When she showed it to me I laughed so hard I thought my lungs would explode, and I watched it over and over. The way they all make that unplanned dive to the floor is perfection, an outstanding example of the power of physical comedy. To this day it makes me laugh whenever I think about it. It’s one of my favorite Christmas morning memories, even though it isn’t mine.

(I should also add that George was fine. I’m sure he Rascaled over later in the day at a more socially acceptable time.)

Farewell, 2025

I hope all of you have an amazing Christmas with your family, and I look forward to finding out what 2026 has in store for us. It’s going to be great!

Happy reading,

Caroline

After six months of blogging on a different platform, I’ve decided to move over to Substack. The idea was to shift to a monthly, standard newsletter format instead of weekly blog posts; plus I really like the ease of this platform. I’m not exactly the most technical of folks and I need to keep things as simple as possible. My last website platform was a simple drag and drop setup, but it was soooo sloooow. If you have experience building websites outside of WordPress, you probably can guess which one I’m talking about. I’m excited about this move!

And yes, I know Substack is technically a social media platform (it likes to pretend it’s not, but it is) but never fear! I’m sticking with newsletters. I don’t see myself using Notes very often, if ever. I know myself and the desire to scroll is so difficult to resist. If keeping my engagement low reduces my ability to be discovered on here, so be it. I need to spend my time writing actual books, not monitoring likes and comments.

Writing Practice: Writing a series

As I make progress on my current project, I’ve discovered the joy of the series. Some of my favorite series (Harry Potter, the Shopaholic books, The Chronicles of Narnia) have books that I reread again and again. Sometimes in order, sometimes not. I love the sense of depth and continuity that comes with a series. I love meeting new characters or seeing old favorites from new perspectives. When the last Harry Potter book came out I was 19 years old, and when I finished that book I weirdly felt like my childhood was truly over, since I’d essentially grown up alongside Harry as those books came out. I also love the anticipation of the next story. Even if I’m reading it again for the tenth time, I get excited knowing there’s another installment waiting as soon as I reach the last page.

So, I’m pleased to say I’m working on a companion for one of my books! I don’t call it a sequel because the protagonists are different, but it’s a continuation of the first volume. It’s been a lot of fun and a great challenge for me. It’s a very different story structure from its predecessor, which I think adds great variety and helps distinguish the two books. I also don’t like feeling locked in to a certain format or protagonist, so the freedom to go in a slightly different direction while also continuing a story I love (with cameos from some familiar faces!) is lots of fun. Taking on new perspectives is a blast for me.

Off Topic: Thanksgiving Cooking

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! I’m not going to get into the debate over whether it’s okay to put up Christmas decorations or listen to Christmas music pre-Thanksgiving (my take: I’ll occasionally listen to the music and even start unpacking the decorations pre-Thanksgiving, but decorations don’t go up until afterwards). I do think, however, that Thanksgiving food has no problem holding its own. For the past few years I’ve made a turkey using a Martha Stewart recipe and it is amazing! I do cut out the fresh fennel (mostly because I can never find it at the grocery store) and reduce the fennel seeds in the rub by half. Since you break it down into pieces before roasting, it’s a great recipe for anyone intimidated by the idea of roasting a whole turkey. I also appreciate that most of the work can be done in advance. You can break down the bird, make the stock, and leave it all in the fridge overnight. This also greatly reduces the chance of accidentally roasting a turkey that isn’t entirely thawed. I love this recipe and intend to use it for many, many years.

Dressing is my absolute favorite Thanksgiving food. Last year I made the Cook’s Country Louisiana style dressing and was blown away by how delicious it was. It’s also handy if you want to make it ahead of time, since it can be frozen for up to a month before baking (yes, mine is already in the freezer waiting for the big day).

Some of my favorite side dishes to cook are green bean casserole, macaroni, cauliflower gratin, and sweet potato casserole. Yes, that last one is basically a dessert, but who cares.

Then it’s on to dessert. There’s usually a pretty big spread at our gatherings, and there are lots of November birthdays in my family so you can count on at least one cake present. Last year I found this pumpkin cheesecake recipe in a Southern Living magazine I had on hand, and when I say it’ll knock you off your feet, I am not kidding. Everything about it was perfect: the creamy, not too sweet filling; the ring of candied pecans sparkling like jewels around the edge; and the praline-style topping that I wanted to pry off and nibble in the corner of the living room until it sent me into a sugar-coma. 10/10 recommend!

I hope you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends! I am so blessed to have all of you in my life.

I remember being a kid and hearing people say I was a perfectionist. It was usually with an admiring tone regarding my grades or schoolwork, though it’s possible I just didn’t understand what that meant, because I was a kid. Maybe it wasn’t meant as a compliment at all. Nowadays, if someone called me a perfectionist I would not take it as a compliment, simply because I have spent years trying to overcome those tendencies. I like the term recovering perfectionist because so far, those tendencies haven’t entirely gone away. I also loved in Adam Grant’s book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things he also refers to himself as a recovering perfectionist! Resisting the impulse to be the best, be perfect, and never make mistakes is something I have to work on a lot. Some days are easier than others.

In particular, I find that writing lends itself easily to perfectionism. The drive to craft the perfect sentence, to edit a manuscript again and again to the point that the words turn into one big blur, the constant questioning: Is it good enough? Am I truly finished with it? Will anyone like it? Is it actually garbage? These are all pressure points for the perfectionist. I’m generally eager to start working on a new book once I have the idea, but inevitably the self-doubt creeps in and I start wondering not only will anyone like it, but is it as good as the last one I wrote? Probably not! is the answer I’ve started giving myself. And that’s okay! The point is to put those blinders on and keep going.

When I was writing The Turncoat in Carrington Park, it had been years since I’d finished writing a book, much less publishing one. I questioned myself nonstop. I fell into all those negative self-talk traps, saying things to myself that I would never say to someone I didn’t like, much less a dear friend. Most of this was rooted in perfectionism. The idea that if I didn’t get it exactly right the first time, I had no business doing it. I don’t know the exact definition of perfectionism, but in my experience it’s less about achieving the perfect outcome than it is about the immense pressure I put on myself to get something right from the first attempt. This is ridiculous! And I know it’s ridiculous! If someone gets a new skill perfectly right on the first try it’s probably a fluke! Plus, the obsession with always getting things exactly right on the first attempt sucks all the fun out of basically anything. It’s hard to relax and enjoy yourself when all you can think about is the scoreboard.

There is joy in being an absolute beginner, in learning something totally new from scratch. It gives you respect for the people who have already have that skill, usually hard-won from years of practice, and it’s humbling. Now that I have children I have a brand new appreciation for being an absolute beginner, because I see them learning new things every day. I would never berate them for mistakes the way I berate myself, or at least the way I’ve berated myself in the past. First of all, that would be cruel, and second, it would kill their desire to learn anything new at all. So many times while I was writing I would tell myself that even if nothing ever came out of this, at least one day my kids would be grown and could say, “Well, Mom tried something!” That is its own accomplishment.

The way I personally beat back my perfectionism with writing is by telling myself, “It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be great. It just has to be done.” There is time for editing later. This isn’t brain surgery. No one from NASA is depending on my writing to launch a space shuttle safely and successfully. I’m writing books. I’m an entertainer. Framing my writing that way has been so helpful and truly valuable for silencing the (mostly made up) noise in my own head. Typos are going to happen, and it is okay.

Do you struggle with perfectionism? What strategies have you implemented to help yourself relax and not treat writing or other hobbies like a life and death situation? (If you’re not a perfectionist this might sound outrageous, so I’d love to hear your relaxation strategies too!)

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• Having a plan. Note that I didn’t say “Having a flawless plan” or “Having a tried and true plan.” Because I didn’t. I didn’t have book signings lined up, or even local media appearances or big social media announcements. I did, however, open my calendar and write one task per workday in the 30 days leading up to the book’s release, as well as the 30 days after. These tasks could be as simple as “work on website” or “buckle down on book two.” There were also some very specific tasks like “tell X about the book” and “send message to Booksprout readers.” This gave me the satisfaction of checking off one item each day - or if I didn’t do the thing, reevaluating and trying to decide why I’d ever said I’d do it in the first place, or if I was just chickening out. I did chicken out a few times. Okay, several times. But I checked off about 70% of what I set out to do, which meant the launch happened smoothly and on time. This was a big win for me!

• Using an ARC program. I went with Booksprout, because I had never used an ARC program before and I had no idea what to expect. I tried for Book Sirens but they rejected me (I never found out why). Booksprout was great! I only had one taker for my ARC, but she left me a fabulous review and I am so thankful for her. I learned a lot on how to run an ARC campaign and who knows, maybe next time I’ll have more readers. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

• Chilling out. The last time I launched a book I was dead set on making this my full time career. I wasted a lot of money and took a lot of stupid risks in an attempt to make that happen. This time around I had a full time job so I wasn’t worried about trying to pay the bills with this one book. The very thought is kind of laughable. Instead it was basically just my attempt to put my little hobby out there, and start laying the foundation for the kind of writing career I want to have one day. I know from experience now that the odds of striking gold on one book’s release are not good. Especially without a huge publishing house’s marketing budget behind it. I know now that the keys to success are volume and consistency. If I put out a book every year (maybe two books someday?) and build a nice backlist, that will be the key to my success, not some viral blowout of one book. Doing it this way takes time, but it also gives me great practice and allows me to write the kind of things I’m interested in, without being beholden to a publishing house. Would I love to be traditionally published one day? Sure! But I’m not there yet, so slow and steady is the way to go for now.

Have you ever launched a book, or another creative endeavor? I’d love to hear about your experiences!

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I wrote in a previous post that my most productive days are when I start my day with writing, instead of waiting until later (What Time of day do you write?). I thought I would take a few minutes today to expound upon that. In the manner of all those Get Ready With Me videos that are so inescapable these days, here’s my Get Ready To Write With Me routine. This is only on weekdays, mind you, and doesn’t apply to holidays or sick days/teacher work days, etc. I’m also a human being and sometimes I get sick, my kids get sick, or it’s just one of those days where time gets away from you and things just don’t pan out.

6:00 a.m. - The alarm goes off. No snoozing! If I hit the snooze that is the death knell for my morning. I also keep my phone on the opposite side of the room so that I have to get out of bed to turn that sucker off. I don’t go as far as setting up an annoying sounding alarm, but it’s blare-y enough to get me out of bed real quick. I spend the next ten minutes doing the first required tasks of the day (contacts, washing my face, getting dressed for work, making the bed).

6:10 - At this point I am 90% of the way ready for work and it’s time to wake up the kids and help them get ready for school/daycare. Thankfully their breakfast is provided at the school so I don’t have to worry about getting food on the table at this point.

6:30 - I do my makeup and either read a book or two with the kids, or gather any last minute things that I need to take in the car (wipes, treats for class parties, etc. IYKYK) and I start making “Ten minutes until we need to go” type noises. Depending on the time of year, I am sometimes more relaxed about getting out the door on time. Our neighborhood is surrounded by schools so during the school year it’s crucial to get out the door on time so we’re not stuck behind a bus.

6:45-7:15 - Drop off, then back home. I am not exaggerating when I say I walk through the door, kick off my shoes, hang up my purse, then march straight to the bedroom to boot up my laptop. My husband is usually eating his breakfast at this point so he gets a quick hello, but I am officially On The Writing Clock now.

7:15-8:00 - This is when I do the bulk of my writing for the day. If not the bulk, numbers-wise, it’s still the most important 45 minutes I’ll spend on the book. I am laser-focused and can usually crank out between 300-400 words on an average day. Some days are much better, some are much worse. But even if I just get 100 words down, that’s still huge. It sets me up to come back in the afternoon or during my lunch break and finish the 1000 or so words I have as my daily goal. Seeing it written out like this (”Only 45 minutes?!”) makes it look so pathetic, I know, but this is truly how I get my writing done. This is how my books are written! I have a full time day job! There is no other option! Working this way helps me get about 5000 words down per week (a good week, that is, with no hiccups), and at this point in my life I’m extremely thankful to have this setup. I start winding down at about 8:00 so that I have enough time to eat breakfast, do my hair if I’m feeling extra motivated, and get out the door for work. Maybe one day I’ll have hours and hours to spend writing each day, with no other employment obligations, but not yet.

What is your writing routine? I’m always eager for productivity tips!

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So I spent way too much worrying, waffling, and getting back in shape for the publishing process. This meant I spent the first half of the year doing very little writing. This is not good! It’s a generally accepted piece of writing wisdom that as soon as you finish a book, you should immediately start writing the next. Maybe not immediately. Definitely take time to celebrate, or a longer hiatus if you need it. I usually give myself about a month to rest and reset my brain. But that’s not what happened this time. It’s been nearly a year since I finished Turncoat and I still haven’t finished another book.

That said, I am working on something, and when I get closer to the end I’ll share more details. Just wanted to drop a quick note so you know I haven’t stopped writing :)

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I wrote earlier about my passion for cut flowers, and how much I love gardening. Now we’re entering Fall and I thought I’d give a little update.

All the zinnias, celosia, gomphrena, basil, and other heat-loving annuals are slowing waaaaay down and starting to go to seed. I’ve bagged several of my favorites so I can use the seeds next year (I had great success with my zinnias I grew from saved seed this year, and I’m looking forward to trying out some new varieties) but I’m also planning to let lots of them self-sow. This is in large part due to laziness. I know the zinnias will send up loads of volunteers next spring if I let them, and I’m assuming some of the others will as well.

I also wrote previously about my dahlias and how disappointing they’d turned out this year, but I’m pleased to report they’re actually thriving now! I couldn’t believe it either. This was my first experience with raised beds and I learned a lot. Mostly, that dahlias planted in raised beds require tons of water. Tons. Of. Water. As in, getting out there every single day and watering those beds until they’re soaking through. This year I tried some new varieties and my favorites have been: Boom Boom White, Linda’s Baby, and Ivanetti. Center Court, Day Dreamer, and Great Silence have also performed well, though I think my favorite will always be the unparalleled Diana’s Memory. I did lose quite a few tubers to rot - not the ones in the raised beds, but the ones planted directly in the ground - thanks to the fact that we had basically no rain in July, and then a deluge in August. I’m also toying with the idea of overwintering the tubers in the ground this year instead of digging/dividing, a task I usually take on around Thanksgiving. It is a lot of work and if I can make it an every-other-year task instead I would welcome the break gladly.

This is the first year in a long time that I haven’t had tulips or daffodils to plant. I love tulips dearly, but they’re pretty pricey this year and the fact that I grow them as annuals (as do other cut flower growers) means replacing the stock every single year. And for daffodils, last year I planted about 450 so I have plenty that will come back in the spring.

Other than that, I’m kind of looking forward to a break from yard work. There are still leaves to rake and mulch, perennials to move, and general cleanup, but I enjoy all of that. I love observing the changes in the seasons and the way the year’s rhythms shake out differently each year, but still manage to feel familiar.

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All that backstory to say, I hope you enjoy this soundtrack as much as I do :)

Kore’s Field Soundtrack

1. Page 47 (from National Treasure: Book of Secrets) by Trevor Rabin - Alyce’s Theme/The Song for the Blooding

2. Willows by Vanessa Carlton - The Song for Chapters 2 & 3

3. River Lea by Adele - Alyce’s Song

4. No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature by The Guess Who - Adam’s Song

5. Treat Her Like a Lady by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose - The Song for Chapter 7

6. Hard Sun (from Into the Wild) by Eddie Vedder - Adam’s Second Song

7. The Voice by Celtic Woman - Kore’s Song

8. King and Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men - Alyce’s Second Song

9. The Lady is a Tramp performed by the caste of Glee - The Song for Chapter 18

10. Royals by Lorde - The Song for Chapter 20

11. The Wandering Kind (Prelude) by Josh Groban - The Harvest Song

12. No Light, No Light by Florence + the Machine - The Song for Chapter 25

13. Let Love In by The Goo Goo Dolls - The Song for the Games

14. Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen - The Song for Chapter 27

15. Because He Lives (Amen) by Matt Maher - The Song for Chapter 30

16. Real by Nichole Nordeman - The “Roll Credits” Song (If this were a movie, even though it’s a Christmas song)

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I believe few things have the power to spark the imagination like a good book. A great book will entertain, challenge, and delight its readers. It may even transform them! My goal is to write exciting books that are difficult to put down, the kind you can’t wait to tell your friends about, and leave you breathless until the very end.

AI Pledge

Artificial Intelligence and LLMs (language learning models) such as ChatGPT may have their place in business and leisure. However, I believe that stories are written for people, and are intended to be enjoyed by people. Because of this, I pledge to never use any generative AI or LLM for any part of the writing process, including brainstorming, plot planning, dialogue, or characterization. That is a serious promise. Any book with my name on it was written entirely by me, full stop. I refuse to engage with the woodchipper/slop bucket that AI companies seem so intent on shoving in our faces.

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In addition to vanity, I’m also aware of the many, many mental benefits to exercise. It’s amazing what hopping on my treadmill and walking for 20 minutes can do for my mental clarity. I sleep better, I feel more optimistic and hopeful, and my mind is just...quieter. We bought that treadmill on Craigslist a few years ago with the plans of eventually moving it to the garage, but it’s still in the back room. I know myself very well and I’m concerned if it’s relegated to a separate place altogether (it’s a detached garage) my already-whisper-thin motivation for using it will vanish. Out of sight, out of mind. So for now, it stays.

I use my treadmill for the most boring activity imaginable: walking. There was a time in my life when I enjoyed running, but that time did not last long. I managed to do exactly one half-marathon about ten years ago and decided I was pretty much done with running. I prefer walking because:

1. I don’t actively hate it. This is more important that you might think. I used to think of exercise as a punishment for my body that I had to suffer through. I was a total clock watcher, just counting the minutes until I could be done and do something else. When I finish a walk, whether it’s one mile or five, I usually feel energized and gratified, rather than depleted. People may argue the merits of one exercise or another, I say the best exercise is the one you will do.

2. It helps me think. This is related to the first point, because every moment isn’t filled with dread (unlike when I’m running or, heaven forbid, doing burpees), but it deserves further discussion. When I’m on the treadmill I’m either listening to music, which helps me brainstorm or make plans for whatever book I’m working on, or I’m listening to a podcast or whatever inspirational youtuber I’ve recently come across. It helps me feel productive. Two birds...you get it.

3. The aforementioned mental benefits. When I’m walking or doing any other exercise, I am flooded with a profound sense of gratitude for my body and the amazing things it can do. I also sometimes feel guilty for the times I’m lazy and treat it poorly, but let’s concentrate on the gratitude. I find myself thanking God for basically every system in my body. My bones are amazing! They withstand the impact of each step and support my whole body! I love my muscles! They’re not super sculpted but they can still do stuff! I love my lungs and how my blood carries oxygen throughout all those muscles! And thank you for keeping my digestive system in check so I’m not holed up with stomach flu right now!

Over the past year I’ve also taken an increased interest in strength training. I grew up in the 90s, when cardio was king and most “weight lifting” videos for women featured fitness models twirling 5 pound weights around. And I did those videos for many years without (much) complaint.

As I’ve gotten older, however, I have started to read more about the benefits of training with heavier weights. And let me tell you, between seeing older female relatives suffering from falls and the resulting loss of independence, and getting older myself, I’ve had the fear put in me big time. So last fall I started looking on youtube for some more challenging strength programs for women. And that’s how I found Caroline Girvan.

Y’all, if you want to see rapid progress with strength training, please check out her videos. She has an app now, but I have no experience with it, I just stick to what’s free on youtube. Her library is extensive and I love the format of her videos. No distracting chatter, no patronizing “bubble butt” talk, just solid workout programs with an emphasis on proper technique. I found myself rapidly progressing from using 5 pound weights for every exercise to 20 pounds in some cases (mostly lower body and back). I still use lighter 8 pound weights for some shoulder/lat/delt stuff, but the point is I have learned my body is capable of far more than I ever guessed. A year ago the thought of using 20 pound dumbbells for chest presses would have been HILARIOUS. Now it’s standard procedure. If you’re new to her, I highly recommend her 24 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar program. You don’t have to do it for a solid 24 days, obviously, but it showcases the variety of her workouts and gives a good taste of her format. They’re also shorter, most clocking in around 20 minutes with a few ab workouts that only last 12 minutes.

Do you have a specific workout routine? Does it help you with creativity or mental clarity, or are you one of those odd people who exercise just for the fun of it? And if you’re a CrossFit person, could you please explain the appeal to me, lol?

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1. Kate Middleton

2. C. S. Lewis

3. Madeleine L’Engle

Anyone who’s talked to me for more than five minutes knows that I am deeply passionate about gardening. Specifically, cut flower gardens. In this post I’d like to take a few minutes to share some of my favorites from this summer!

Zinnias: I’m a big fan of the Queen series, so I planted the usual Queen Red Lime, and Lemon Peach varieties. I also tried out the Oklahoma series for the first time this year (salmon and white). They were the first zinnias to bloom for me and they’ve cranked out flowers like crazy. I also managed to snag a packet of Johnny’s new Ballerina zinnias and...oh my goodness, they are everything I dreamed they would be and more. Some are classic ballet shoe pink, while others are a lovely, milky cafe au lait color that’s just dreamy. Last year I tried out seed saving for the first time and I look forward to multiplying my supply of these gorgeous flowers!

Sunflowers: For years now I’ve been a devotee of the Procut series, and they did not disappoint this year. Early in the season I planted Procut Peach and White Nite. Procut Peach fared a little better (insects really love to munch light-colored sunflowers, I’m sure there’s a scientific reason for this, but I don’t know what it is) but as the season went on I transitioned to starting more fall-y colors, like Procut Red and my top 100% favorite: Procut Plum. Since we have a nice long growing season around here I’ll be starting the Red/Yellow Bicolor for those October bouquets. In years past I’ve direct seeded my sunflowers, but this year I started them in trays. This runs counter to lots of advice I’ve read, since they supposedly resent root disturbance. I’ve had zero problems with this! In fact, my germination rate has been much higher using the trays (and soaking the seeds 24 hours prior to planting), and planting out the more mature seedlings means they’re less likely to be eaten by rabbits. True, it is a pain, especially since they get rootbound in the trays so quickly, but it’s worth it to me.

Gomphrena: This is my favorite summer filler flower. It’s adorable and tolerates heat really well. It’s also super productive and the blooms last forever (you can dry them too, and they retain their color beautifully). The Audray series is my favorite, but this year I tried Strawberry Fields for the first time and I am smitten.

Amaranth: Coral Fountain, to be precise. In the past when I’ve planted amaranth it’s grown into a small tree, so this year I was intentional about planting the seedlings closer together - about 8 inches apart - and pinching once they were about 12 inches tall. They’re still incredibly productive, just with a much more manageable stem size.

Basil: My favorite summer foliage, because it grows so easily around here. Cinnamon is my favorite, though this year I tried the Mrs. Burns Citrus Basil as well. I love the lemon basil scent! It’s magical! But I find it flops more easily when harvested for bouquets. I’m still in the trial-and-error process on it. I love basil because it’s so fragrant, you can pack loads of it in a small space (I plant mine about 5 inches apart) and the stems grow nice and long. It’s also nice having fresh basil around for cooking! The main reason I planted herbs in my flowerbeds years ago, before I even started pursuing cut flower gardening, was my growing irritation at paying for herbs at the grocery store when I had the space to try growing them myself.

And my big fail for this summer...

Dahlias: I love dahlias. I know, I know, they are so trendy and I got all caught up in the trend when they exploded into popularity a few years ago. I am so boring, I know. I’ve spent summer after summer experimenting with different varieties and trying to identify the ones that can thrive in the heat and clay soil around here. I’ve learned to divide and store them over the winter, and tinkered with proper support and water supply. But this year I made the well-meaning but ultimately horrible mistake of planting them in raised beds and it’s been a disaster. They should be lush jungle plants by this time in the summer, but that has not been the case! I thought I was doing the right thing! Everyone says drainage is vital for dahlias! Sigh. It’s a learning process.

Any gardeners out there, or flower enthusiasts? What’s flourished (or failed) in your garden this summer?

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Until I pull it together, here are some things I do to improve my writing skills:

• Using a thesaurus. And I don’t mean a thesaurus online, all sleek and efficient. I mean a crumbling Roget’s printed in the 60’s. When I’m in the editing phase of a project I keep that thing within arm’s reach at all times.

• Studying sentence structure. Not just basic grammar and syntax (though I do firmly believe that knowing the rules is essential before breaking them), but how paragraphs are laid out on the page. It also means paying attention to how dialogue is organized, speech tags, etc. I found that once I started writing, the way I read books completely changed.

• Reading books by people who are much better writers than me. Iron sharpens iron, and when I read books that challenge and excite me, it makes me want to raise my game for my own sake, as well as the sake of my readers.

• Paying attention to my own emotions when reading or watching movies. This sounds super corny and hokey, but it does help me. I love it when I’m completely caught up in what’s happening in a book or movie, and I try to identify what’s so captivating. Is it a nonstop plot? An amazing setting? A particularly complex character? A fantastic will-they-won’t they romance arc? I want to dissect everything. A great story can transport me like nothing else, and I want to provide that experience for others!

What are your best tips for improving writing skills? Even better, what have you tried that doesn’t work? I’d love to hear it!

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It is so easy to wait until you feel like you have something to write before you sit down to write. It’s tempting because you actually like you’re doing yourself a favor in waiting until the whole scene or plotline or whatever is played out in your head before you start recording it. Don’t want to waste time, right? It’s a mistake, though. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down to write with nothing more than a snippet in my head - and I mean something really small, like a fragment of a conversation or an image from a scene - and in the process of writing it, the next scene or conversation or whatever unfolds as I go. It’s not always perfect and there have been plenty of times (so. many. times.) where I have cut out literally thousands of words from a book because I thought they were great before but now they simply don’t work anymore. But I wouldn’t have reached that point of knowing what I want to write and really refining it over time if I hadn’t just made myself start.

The next big piece of advice I have is to keep everything. I mean literally everything. Were you completely in love with an idea for a book, and then two pages in realized it was actually half-baked and has zero potential whatsoever? Keep that file. I have almost two decades of complete garbage saved in a folder on my computer because I refuse to delete anything. That folder, innocuously titled Book Stuff, is the home of every writing attempt I’ve ever made, from brainstormed word vomit to polished manuscripts. Also, whenever I start a new book, I start a separate document called “[working title] extra stuff” so that I have a specific dumping ground for anything I need/want to cut. Very often the text that’s cut stays cut forever, but not always! When that happens it’s good to know you’ve tucked it away in a safe place so it’s ready in case you need it again. It can also come in surprisingly handy for future books. C. S. Lewis gives similar advice in one of his essays, and I’ve experienced the same in my own writing. I imagine it’s much easier for me, what with word processors and all, than it would have been when dealing with typewriters and such. I am just about the least techy person I know, but even I know that text files take up almost zero memory space, so keep those files. Your future self will thank you, I’m sure of it.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

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Cooking is one of those hobbies for me. I started in high school with a passion for baking, but over the years it’s expanded into legit cooking. You won’t see any pictures on here of things I cook since my kitchen is a real, human kitchen, and not some professionally lit studio kitchen, but I think I’ve practiced my way into the title of Home Cook. I’m very fortunate that my husband is an enthusiastic eater who likes 99% of the things I make. In fact, I told him point blank the first time I cooked for him (white chili, with chocolate mousse for dessert) that if I ever cooked anything that he didn’t end up liking, he had to tell me or else I’d probably make it again, and then we’d be stuck in this cycle of well intended dishonesty. Seriously, if you don’t like the stuffed peppers, just tell me! I’m not married to the recipe!

My top favorite cookbooks all come from the America’s Test Kitchen brand. For years I would sit every Saturday and watch their shows on PBS, diligently noting their techniques. I love how their recipes often explain the science behind what works and what doesn’t, and their extensive testing methods. It is very rare (and often user error) when one of their recipes doesn’t work for me. The biggest driver in differing outcomes is that I have an electric stove and they cook with gas. Most of the time it doesn’t make a different, but for things like rice or fudge I have to following my own notes on cooking times. I highly recommend their Cook’s Country TV Show Cookbook, Baking Book, and their classic Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook with the pears on the dust jacket.

I also have a binder, where I keep recipes I’ve cut out from magazines in plastic sleeve protectors. These range from Cook’s Country (their magazine has recipes not always featured on the show), Martha Stewart recipes, and some from Bon Appetit when I subscribed several years ago. Many of these are so familiar I almost have them memorized, and only refer to the recipes for cook times. The Cook’s Country crockpot barbecue pulled chicken recipe I have pasted in there is a current favorite.

I am not one of those moms who lays out a perfectly curated home cooked meal every night for her family. I work full time so that’s not happening. And even if I did have the hours to spare I’m not sure I’d want to spend them on that every day. My children definitely eat more chicken nuggets and fish sticks than I would like (though not the homemade chicken nuggets I occasionally fry up! Oh no. They want the Tyson’s. My husband and I don’t mind, though. More for us!) and if I bake bread from scratch, it’s probably because I need to use up the bread flour before it expires. I’m big on make-ahead meals and saving leftovers for dinner the next day. But on a Saturday or holiday or just a long weekend, I find it extremely satisfying when I’ve planned out a meal and managed to time it so that all the components are ready at the same time. Like when the roast chicken finishes its resting period within minutes of the biscuits coming out of the oven. And if there’s homemade ice cream (preferably the toasted coconut ice cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz) in the freezer for later? Even better.

Do you cook at home? If so, are you a baker or grill-master, or something else? If you don’t enjoy cooking, what are your favorite restaurants you find yourself seeking out again and again? Let me know! I’m always on the lookout for good food!

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I think it’s a common experience for writers to find their stories going in a direction they didn’t anticipate. I know that’s how it is for me. Loads of writers map out detailed outlines and are so in tune with their plots and characters that there are no surprises. Either I am not so skilled, or my brain simply doesn’t work that way, but the changes in The Turncoat in Carrington Park were so numerous that I can’t list them all here.

Warning: This list contains spoilers!

When I started this story in 2019...

• Lottie’s name was Iris. I still actually love the name Iris for her, but I couldn’t find it on any lists of girls’ names in the 1700s. Not a single one. I considered leaving it and explaining it away with a “mother was a countrywoman, it was her favorite flower” bit, but ended out changing it.

• Margery’s name was Sandra. This was just a placeholder until I could find something better.

• Benjamin’s name was Sterling Powell. Again, I couldn’t find evidence that Sterling was a common name in the late 1700s. That normally wouldn’t bother me, but similar to Lottie, I didn’t think having a distinctive, unusual name would be a desirable/realistic quality for a spy.

• Benjamin was originally a British redcoat. Changing him to an American colonist was a tough move that required an enormous amount of rewriting, but in the end it made him a more complex character and I’m so glad I made the change.

• Lottie could read. I decided to add her illiteracy to underscore her feelings of powerless and marginalized position in her family, and it served as a unique obstacle for her to overcome (and plays a big part in the story’s climax, as you know if you’ve read it). At that time period, most urban women of her class would have been taught to read, so the fact that she couldn’t would have been considered shameful and something to keep secret. That she could carry that secret (among others) and ultimately overcome it gave deep insight into her character. It also showed the importance of being able to read during a conflict when so much information (and propaganda) was distributed in print.

• Lottie played the violin, not the harpsichord. I changed it because I realized that no matter how many youtube videos I watched, or books I read about the history of the violin, I did not know how to play the violin. What I originally approached as a fun new challenge quickly became a nuisance. So in true “write what you know” spirit, I changed her instrument to the harpsichord since I play the piano. This was a big motivational push for me, since at the time I made this change I was struggling to find time to write, and I wanted to make it as frictionless as possible to get words on the page.

• The story was originally set in Philadelphia. Changing this, again, required loads of rewrites. Setting the story near Philadelphia was crucial since that’s where the actual winter occupation took place. I looked at tons of old maps of the city, watched tourism videos, and learned a lot about the city’s layout before I decided to pull the plug. Making Luntley as a fictional “sister city” gave me more freedom to tell the story without the constraints of dealing with real historical locales and people who lived there.

• The ending. I wrote, or at least started writing, about four different endings before I settled on the one I ultimately published. It was very important to me that it have a lively, unfinished business type air to it, similar to the movie Master and Commander. I love the ending of that movie. It could have easily wrapped everything up in a nice neat bow, but they threw in that last twist and sent it shooting off in a totally unexpected direction. I think it shows great skill and restraint on the parts of the filmmakers, and I wanted the end of my story to have a similar feel. You could also argue the ending has a bit of Jason Bourne flavoring, and I’m okay with that too!

Have you ever started a book that ended out veering off in a totally unexpected direction? Or have you ever made big changes to your plot/characters/setting that you weren’t sure about? How did it turn out for you? Let me know in the comments!

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