Do you believe in things that go bump in the night?

All I can say is as of late there are some strange things going on in my usually quiet little house. Well, quiet except on the weekends when my sons, daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren visit. :)

A few months ago around one o'clock in the morning, my husband and I were sitting in the living room watching a late night movie. All is peaceful, so peaceful we smell coffee being brewed. I should say creepy because neither my husband nor myself had made coffee. We decided to investigate. The closer we got to the kitchen the stronger the smell. You guessed it. No coffee, and about that time I sure could have used it.

A week later, a drawer, which is impossibly difficult to open, slid open by itself. That same week, I was outlining my newest novel on my plot board in the living room. I'd filled one half of it with sticky notes. Different colors. One color each for my heroine, hero, villain, romance arc and suspense plot. I left it in the living room for the night. The next morning I got up to find all my stickies on the opposite half of the board.

It seems that each time my darlin' plot and critique partner, Connie, comes over for our weekly, bi-weekly get together, her computer shuts down without explanation--without warning.

At least it's a harmless ghost, although a bit messy.


Do you believe in things that go bump in the night? Have you had unusual, unexplained things happen to you?

Happy Halloween!

Recipe of the week - Creamed Corn Casserole

The next several weeks I'll be posting recipes great for Thanksgiving, and brrrr, baby, when it's cold outside.

Creamed Corn Casserole

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Mix eggs and sugar together.

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1 can evaporated milk

1 can whole corn (drained)

2 cans of cream corn

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 lb melted butter

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

To fragment or not to fragment

I personally think fragments are necessary to achieve a certain tone, for emphasis, or to break up monotonous narration and introspection. But when I write a fragment, my old English Lit teacher from years and years ago, (did I mention years ago?) is preaching in my ear at a very high pitch. She really needs to step down from my shoulder. She's killing it. No, actually, she's trodding on my creative juices. I'm not saying I go overboard, because I don't and am aware of when I do it and why.

And one line paragraphs... I love them--when they're necessary. But that's a totally different blog post. :)

We speak in fragments, don't we? Or am I the exception rather than the rule. When you read, do fragmented sentences pull you from the story? Stop you flat? (My bad, a fragmented sentence, but I couldn't help myself. :)) Do you write with fragments? Why and when do you use fragments?

Recipe of the week - Seafood Newburg

Serves 4 to 6 (I won't mention the calories. :))

Ingredients

1 pound frozen shrimp, cooked and coarsely chopped      *Scallops can be used as a substitute
4 to 8 oz. crab or lobster, thawed, drained, and diced
2 tablespoons of sherry (yum)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 stick butter = 6 tablespoons
1/3 cup of floour
2 cups half and half
1/2 teaspon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mix the seafood with sherry, lemon juice, and nutmeg. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; blend in flour then stir in the half-and-half. Add salt and continue cooking and stirring until thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. Combine beaten egg yolk with heavy cream. Add to the sauce, stirring constantly. Add cheese. Continue to cook, stirring, untill well blended and cheese is melted. Add the seafood with its marinade. Heat thoroughly, about 10 minutes longer. Serve over patty shells, rice, or toast points. If too thick, thin with a little milk.

I add chopped green onions to the top for flavor and garnish.

Story development and dreams

Or should I say nightmares...

A lot of people, writers, critique partners and readers alike, ask me where I come up with my story ideas. Sometimes I feel silly responding that my plot ideas come to me in my dreams. Or should I say my nightmares. I write romantic suspense and romantic thrillers, and I have to admit my villains creep me out into the earlier hours of the morning.

If I'm lucky, real lucky, my story will play completely (well, almost) out through my mind after a few nights with little or no sleep. I've tried meditating before I go to bed, but my villains are impervious to the fact that I need rest. After a short fight, they convince me, or at least they think they do, that I can survive on little sleep and that I can sleep when they do. Afterall, they have a backstory to exploit and a story to tell. :)

What type of villains do you like to write or read? Do they keep you up by demanding an audience or making you too frightened where you can't sleep at all? Leave a comment and tell us about your favorite villain, crime, and what drew you to that special villain?