Friday, November 30, 2012

Augusta Scattergood's Interview With Me And A Recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake

This picture is of Augusta Scattergood at the launch party for GLORY BE at Inkwood Books.

 I am feeling a bit like a rock star because Augusta has posted an interview with me on her blog. She thinks THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL  would make a good selection for a mother/daughter book club. One of the questions she asked is what kind of food should be served at such a gathering.

In honor of Augusta's interview, I'm going to post my granny's recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake! 

Ingredients: 2 sticks butter (room temperature), 1/2 cup Crisco, 3 cups sugar, 5 eggs, 3 cups cake flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla

 Preheat oven to 325. Cream together butter and Crisco. Add sugar gradually until well blended. (I use a hand mixer). Add eggs, one at a time until blended. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Add to the batter, alternating with milk. Stir in vanilla. Grease and flour bundt pan and pour in the batter. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes in pan before flipping onto a cake plate.

 Chocolate Frosting 1 box powdered sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup Crisco, 1 tsp. vanilla, water (less than 1/4 cup)

 Stir together sugar and cocoa. Put in Crisco. Beat it with a little water and vanilla until desired consistency.

I would be honored to send signed bookmarks and do a free SKYPE visit with any book club that reads THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Amazing Timothy Decker

THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL not only has beautiful cover art, but an image that I adore on the title page and on the pages that separate the years. The book takes place from 1922 to 1924. A friend of mine says the illustrations remind her of The Little House books. Timothy Decker drew the images and you can see more of his art here.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

My Blog and Website Overhaul

Please excuse the appearance of my blog for a couple of days. To celebrate my forthcoming novel, I'm treating my blog and website to a facelift.

I can't wait to share the new site which will have a book trailer, updated content, a curriculum guide for teachers, and a brand new look!