Novel News

So my Google and Yahoo Ads are up and running. That's a good thing! But, I still need to increase awareness about the book. I'll keep on trucking and figure out a way to get the word out there. Choosing a digital platform for my novel definitely limits the customer base. Some people are reluctant to try reading on a computer screen, iPod/iPad screen, Kindle, etc... they want those pages to physically touch and turn.

Marshmallows!

Amazingly, I decided to make marshmallows! This was a great and wonderful task (oh yeah - yummy too). Like any good person who is willing to share, I documented the process step by step!

Here is the end product!

So if you look to the picture slides at the bottom of the blog you'll see the photos that correspond with the instructions!

START THIS PROJECT AT NIGHT OR EARLY IN THE MORNING. THE MARSHMALLOWS MUST REST FOR ABOUT 12 HRS BEFORE YOU CAN CUT THEM.

To start - put 3 pkgs of Knox in your KitchenAid with 1/2 cup of cold water. Let that sit while you continue on with the following steps.

Butter a 9x13 cake pan and then dust with powdered sugar - set aside.

In a large pot on the stove - add 2 cups of granulated sugar, 2/3 cup of Lt Karo syrup, and 1/4 cup of water. Heat to boiling - stir often - and increase temp to 240 - 250 degrees F (use a candy therm).

Once the sugar mixture has reached it's desired temperature - bring the pot over to the mixer. Turn the mixer on but keep the speed low - then slowly start pouring in the hot sugar mixture (you don't want 200+ degree sugar flying around the kitchen!) - once the sugar is all in then increase the speed to high. Mix for a few minutes until mixture turns white and starts to thicken then stop, scrape the bowl down, add 1/4 tsp of salt, and turn mixer back up to high. Keep mixing until it really starts to look like marshmallow creme - it'll keep thickening and increasing in volume - the whole mixing process should take around 8 minutes.

Once the volume has stopped increasing - add 1 tbsp of vanilla and mix for no more than one minute longer. Turn mixer off and pour contents into the prepared 9x13 pan. It'll be crazy sticky but do your best to flatten it out. Then dust a bit more powdered sugar onto the top. Place paper towels on top and let it sit on the counter overnight (or for 12 hours).

Powder the counter (or a cutting board) with sugar and then overturn the pan of marshmallows and gently pull out the contents. Cut the large rectangle of marshmallow into smaller squares using a pizza cutter! Have a bowl of powdered sugar next to you and lightly dip each sticky side into the sugar and then gently roll in your hands (like a meatball) to remove the excess sugar!

Yummy, amazing, vanilla, marshmallowy goodness awaits!

My Novel - So happy to have it out there!

I wrote a book and let it sit in my computer for awhile. A collection of key strokes and imagination and hours spent in front of the screen. A few months ago I decided it was time I self-edited again (for the umpteenth time) and figure out what to do with it. Ta-daaaaahhhh (the clouds part and the heavens open) - I'm looking for books on amazon.com one day and see the tab for Kindle self-publishing. Hey! I could do that! So I did. I have read the text so many times by now that self-editing is probably not the greatest idea... but do I have the money to hire an editor? Not so much!

I upload the book, start a website, a FB page, a twitter page, design a Goodgle and a Yahoo Ad... I'm sure there is more I should do! Self-promotion of a Self-published work is an amazing challenge... but I'm up for the challenge. What else could I do? Blogging sounded like an easy next step. But, hey - no one wants to visit a blog every day to see how my book is going. And, I have so much more going on in my life than just the book. So, lets see where this goes!