There's a game with a giveaway today on my author page here on FB. Hurry over, like the page, pick a number, share or tweet the post, and you could win a signed copy of a Piece of Cake mystery!
Posted by Jacklyn Brady on Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
November 10, 2015
A Game & a Giveaway!
October 02, 2015
Where it All Began
An Excerpt from A Sheetcake Named Desire
first in the Piece of Cake mystery series
CHAPTER ONE
The Mississippi
riverboat cake tilted on the table in front of me, its fondant paddle wheel
askew, gashes of lemony yellow cake gaping in its once-smooth white surface. In
the five years I’ve been working as a cake artist, this was the worst disaster
I’d ever seen. Repairing the badly damaged three-foot cake would have been a daunting
task under ideal conditions. In my current situation, the job was almost
overwhelming.
Trickles of nervous perspiration snaked down my back as I studied
the wreck from every angle. I could feel the staff of Zydeco Cakes watching me
intently as I sorted through possible ways to proceed.
First priority: stay calm. Not easy under the circumstances.
The stakes were as high as they got in the world of professional cake
decorating. The cake was due in less than three hours at the grand opening of a
new riverboat cruise line, for folks with money and influence. Failure to
deliver on time would have a far-reaching impact on Zydeco’s reputation. For a
cake artist, reputation is every bit as important as talent.
The staff at Zydeco had already suffered a blow today. I
couldn’t let them down again.
The air conditioner was cranked up to keep the work area
cool, but the intense heat and humidity of New Orleans in July still managed to
creep into the building somehow. The undercurrents of tension that ebbed and
flowed through the room didn’t help me keep my cool either.
My name is Rita Lucero, and I’m a trained cake artist, a
graduate of the French Pastry School in Chicago .
Currently wasting my fancy training by working as sous chef in my uncle Nestor’s
Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque .
So what was I doing sweating over a cake in New Orleans ?
It was the same pending divorce that had left me chopping
onions by the bushel that had brought me to the Crescent City
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I closed my eyes
and counted to ten—a trick my aunt Yolanda had taught me when I was thirteen
and angry with the world. It didn’t always work, but I hadn’t given up trying. I
needed to focus, but concentration was hard to find in a room full of tense,
anxious people.
When I opened my eyes again, Zydeco’s manager, Edie Bryce, was
staring up at me, a deep scowl accentuating her round face and the almond-shaped
eyes she’d inherited from a Chinese grandmother. To the uninformed, Edie resembles
the stereotypical porcelain doll, but I learned a long time ago not to
underestimate her.
“So?” she demanded. “Can you do it or not, Rita?”
“I’m thinking.”
“Think faster! That cake is due for delivery in less than
three hours.”
Not helpful. “Nobody’s more aware of the clock than I am,”
I assured her. “Just back off a little, okay? Pushing through this too quickly
is guaranteed to make things worse.”
Edie’s frown deepened, and impatience flashed in her dark
eyes. She muttered something under her breath and turned away, but I knew she’d
be back soon. Patience has never been one of her virtues.
I glanced around at the others, some of whom I’d known
since pastry school. The rest I’d met just a couple hours earlier, and I was
still struggling to remember their names. “We’re going to need buttercream,” I
said to no one in particular. “Lots of it.”
___________________________________
BUY THE BOOK:
Berkley Prime Crime: ISBN-13: 9780425242742
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FOR YOUR E-READER:
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May 28, 2015
Uhhh.... I Forgot
My daughter called me on her way to work this morning to tell me about a story she'd heard on NPR. It had to do with a study recently conducted on the difference between reading a book on a mobile device (specifically a Kindle) versus reading a print book.
According to the study, some readers retained less information when reading on the Kindle than other readers did when reading a print copy of the same story. Researchers indicated that the tactile experience (feeling the stack of pages growing smaller on one side of the book and larger on the other) might contribute to the ability to better retain information when reading a print book.
Now, I didn't hear the NPR story myself, and I don't know my way around the NPR website well enough to figure out if there's a podcast of the story available to those of us who missed it, but a Google search did turn up this article that I read and found interesting.
Let me preface my thoughts by saying that I'm really a print book fan. I love the feel of books and love the way they look on a shelf. In my opinion, a home without bookshelves is ... well missing something important.
But I'm also quite fond of my Kindle. When it comes to moving 3,000 books from one location to another, for example, the e-reader beats the print book hands down. I also like the fact that on my Kindle I can adjust the font to suit my mood and level of eye strain. On the other hand, I prefer the feel of a real book in my hands and nothing can beat the smell of a library or book store (unless the smell is ruined by stale coffee).
But even though I appreciate my Kindle, I sincerely hope that print books never completely disappear from our human experience. But even though this study would seem to support my love of the print book, I did have some doubts about the veracity of the study I read about.
My biggest doubt arises because there's no indication in the article that all the human readers involved were equal. That makes me wonder whether the results are really proof that retention is skewed by reading an ebook or if retention is skewed by having a memory like a sieve.
No matter what device someone handed me, I would find myself challenged if asked to recall certain events from most stories/books I've read unless I was pre-warned that I would be tested later. So without warning that would make me pay more attention than I might otherwise, I would probably test poorly on recall of plot points and character names.
I know people who can talk about a novel they read years ago and mention the characters by name. I'm not one of those people. Unless the book is off-the-charts amazing, I'm not likely to remember character names ten minutes after I put the book down (and sometimes not even then.) It wouldn't matter which type of book the researchers handed me, I would bring my faulty memory with me. Someone would be wrong to assume that my inability to remember the order of story events was the fault of the device I used to read the book.
And even if everyone who participated in the study had brilliant memories, some stories resonate with certain readers and not with others. I'm much more likely to recall details from a story that touches me on some deeply personal level than I am from one that I don't personally connect with. There again, the medium I use to read the story matters much less than my likes and dislikes, my personality, and my past experiences.
I guess what it boils down to is that even though I still prefer a print book, I'm not ready to point an accusing finger at the much-maligned e-reader on the basis of the study I read about. What about you?
photo credit: DSC02792 via photopin (license)
According to the study, some readers retained less information when reading on the Kindle than other readers did when reading a print copy of the same story. Researchers indicated that the tactile experience (feeling the stack of pages growing smaller on one side of the book and larger on the other) might contribute to the ability to better retain information when reading a print book.Now, I didn't hear the NPR story myself, and I don't know my way around the NPR website well enough to figure out if there's a podcast of the story available to those of us who missed it, but a Google search did turn up this article that I read and found interesting.
Let me preface my thoughts by saying that I'm really a print book fan. I love the feel of books and love the way they look on a shelf. In my opinion, a home without bookshelves is ... well missing something important.
But I'm also quite fond of my Kindle. When it comes to moving 3,000 books from one location to another, for example, the e-reader beats the print book hands down. I also like the fact that on my Kindle I can adjust the font to suit my mood and level of eye strain. On the other hand, I prefer the feel of a real book in my hands and nothing can beat the smell of a library or book store (unless the smell is ruined by stale coffee).
But even though I appreciate my Kindle, I sincerely hope that print books never completely disappear from our human experience. But even though this study would seem to support my love of the print book, I did have some doubts about the veracity of the study I read about.
My biggest doubt arises because there's no indication in the article that all the human readers involved were equal. That makes me wonder whether the results are really proof that retention is skewed by reading an ebook or if retention is skewed by having a memory like a sieve.
No matter what device someone handed me, I would find myself challenged if asked to recall certain events from most stories/books I've read unless I was pre-warned that I would be tested later. So without warning that would make me pay more attention than I might otherwise, I would probably test poorly on recall of plot points and character names.
And even if everyone who participated in the study had brilliant memories, some stories resonate with certain readers and not with others. I'm much more likely to recall details from a story that touches me on some deeply personal level than I am from one that I don't personally connect with. There again, the medium I use to read the story matters much less than my likes and dislikes, my personality, and my past experiences.
I guess what it boils down to is that even though I still prefer a print book, I'm not ready to point an accusing finger at the much-maligned e-reader on the basis of the study I read about. What about you?
photo credit: DSC02792 via photopin (license)
January 23, 2015
Ode to My Favorite Childhood Reads
I'm really not a short-story reader. Not a novella reader either. I don't even like really short novels. You won't find a book that's only 50,000 words long on my bookshelf unless someone has given it to me as a gift. Whether or not I'll actually read it is kind of a crapshoot, depending on my mood.
I don't know why I'm not a fan of the shorter story form. I'm well aware that it takes talent to write short and succinct. I'm not denigrating the short story or trying to say that people who like short books are wrong. Frankly, sometimes I wish I enjoyed shorter books. But whatever the reason, they're just not something I choose to read.
The only exception to this "rule" of mine are children's books and stories. Among my favorite books of all time are the Childcraft books my parents bought when I was a kid. The set consisted of 15 volumes, and I loved them all, especially Volume 3, "Folk and Fairy Tales," which was filled with great stories that led me into a lifelong love of stories and the written word.
My favorite story of all from that book was called "Tom Tit Tot," a retelling of the classic Rumplestilskin. To this day, if open one of the books I can hear my mother's voice as she read the stories to me.
A few years ago, a writer's group invited me to speak and presented me with a copy of "Tom Tit Tot" (an Essay on Savage Philosophy in Fairy Tale) by Edward Clodd published in 1898. The book contains the story and then explores variations and influences on the story. It's one of my more treasured possessions.
But I digress ...
I've read some of the Childcraft stories to my granddaughters and I love sharing these beloved stories from my childhood with them -- but even though I do my best, I have to admit I don't do the stories justice. Nobody can read these stories better than my mother did.
For all those reasons, these books will always have a special place in my heart.
What are your favorite books and stories from childhood?
________________________________________________________________________
Jacklyn Brady is a national bestselling author. She lives on the Gulf Coast and writes the Piece of Cake Mystery series set in New Orleans. The series features cake artist and trained pastry chef, Rita Lucero. Rebel Without a Cake, book #5 in the Piece of Cake Mystery Series, is available now!
Jacklyn loves to hear from readers. Connect with her on the web: Website | Facebook | Twitter
The only exception to this "rule" of mine are children's books and stories. Among my favorite books of all time are the Childcraft books my parents bought when I was a kid. The set consisted of 15 volumes, and I loved them all, especially Volume 3, "Folk and Fairy Tales," which was filled with great stories that led me into a lifelong love of stories and the written word.
My favorite story of all from that book was called "Tom Tit Tot," a retelling of the classic Rumplestilskin. To this day, if open one of the books I can hear my mother's voice as she read the stories to me. A few years ago, a writer's group invited me to speak and presented me with a copy of "Tom Tit Tot" (an Essay on Savage Philosophy in Fairy Tale) by Edward Clodd published in 1898. The book contains the story and then explores variations and influences on the story. It's one of my more treasured possessions.
But I digress ...
I've read some of the Childcraft stories to my granddaughters and I love sharing these beloved stories from my childhood with them -- but even though I do my best, I have to admit I don't do the stories justice. Nobody can read these stories better than my mother did.
For all those reasons, these books will always have a special place in my heart.
What are your favorite books and stories from childhood?
________________________________________________________________________
Jacklyn Brady is a national bestselling author. She lives on the Gulf Coast and writes the Piece of Cake Mystery series set in New Orleans. The series features cake artist and trained pastry chef, Rita Lucero. Rebel Without a Cake, book #5 in the Piece of Cake Mystery Series, is available now!
Jacklyn loves to hear from readers. Connect with her on the web: Website | Facebook | Twitter
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