1. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)

2. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

3. Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

4. Mr. Smith (Matrix)

5. The Joker (Dark Knight)

6. The Collector (Demon Knight)

7. Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)

8. Murphy (3000 Miles to Graceland)

9. The Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)

10. Jack Torrance (The Shining)

11. Carter/Cain/Josh/Margo (Raising Cain)

12. Hughie Warriner (Dead Calm)

13. Norman Stansfield (The Professional)

We’ll keep you posted!

In any case, I was thinking…what helps me be calm? What soothes me? Obviously music is a big part (duh. who didn’t see that coming?), but there are also other sounds – the music of nature, if you will. And let me just sing the praises of Grooveshark on that, because I put together a nature playlist that makes me totally mellow. Hooray!

Here are 13 sounds that soothe me. I’ll warn you, when I was writing this, I nearly put myself to sleep. Listen with caution! Do not operate heavy machinery! May cause drowsiness! Contact your physician if side effects persist!

1. Crickets and other night insects.

2. Rain.

3. Waves.

4. Buddhist chant.

5. The drone of bees.

6. Distant thunder.

7. My wind chimes. They’re pretty low pitched, very mellow. These aren’t they, but I like them.

8. Running water – like a brook or stream.

9. Wind.

10. A cat purring.

11. Frogs, especially spring peepers.

12. Rushing water - like a waterfall or fast spring.

13. Whale song. in this case, humpback.

There you have it. go forth and be soothed.

Anyway, here are thirteen corn syrup-free sweet treats I can still enjoy.

1. Fruit. Obviously. Recently, it’s been peaches from the farmers market. mmmmm.

2. Cheerwine (in the glass bottles – the cans are corn syrup sweetened)

3. Kozy Shack pudding. Tapioca is my fave, but the chocolate is outstanding, too.

4. Vosges chocolate. This is Emily’s fault. She turned me on to it. I can’t vouch for every flavor, but I know my faves – Barcelona and Red Fire – are sugar only.

5. Virgil’s Cream Soda. They have root beer and other sugar-only sodas. The cream soda is my fave.

6. Homemade ice cream. Recently I’ve been playing with exotic flavors. I put the lemongrass recipe up last week, but I’ve also done lavender. That was wonderful.

7. Dark Chocolate Kit-Kat. I know, surprise! I was surprised, anyway.

8. Juice smoothies. I like the Naked ones – Gold Machine but both DH and Munchkin are fans of Mighty Mango.

9. Martinelli’s sparkling lemonade. Who knew I’d like this so much?

10. Breyer’s Ice Cream. Some flavors have corn syrup – ones with other things like cookies or candy, especially, but also one of the vanillas. Most of the basic flavors and the fruit flavors are sugar only, though.

11. Santa Cruz chocolate syrup. The regular kind has corn syrup, so the organic will have to do. I don’t think you can have organic corn syrup, actually, because of the processing that creates corn syrup. hm.

12. Berghoff’s root beer. Sadly, I cannot find it anywhere around here. At all. I despair of ever finding it again. Woe. Woe. And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

13. Pepperidge Farm Chesapeake cookies. Dark Chocolate. Pecans. Cookie. What’s not to love?

And I hear – though I think it might be a myth – that there is sugar-sweetened Dr. Pepper floating around. Sadly, the only reliable source of this ambrosial elixir is the Dublin bottling facility in Dublin, Texas. I need to win the lottery.

What about you? Any sweet treats – non-corn-syrupy – to share?

1. Lemongrass Ice Cream (especially for Jeannie Lin) [NOTE: do NOT use metal utensils in this ice cream. It can react w/ lemongrass and throw off the flavor. Use nylon/plastic/wood/silicon - just NOT metal][NOTE2: I was skeptical, as this is technically an ice milk, rather than ice cream. However, the body is rich and smooth with the same mouth feel as ice cream. I'm a believer and will be trying this method with other variations]

Ingredients:

3 stalks lemongrass, bottom 4-5 inches; roughly chopped
3 cups WHOLE milk
3/4 cup sugar
2.5 TBSP corn starch

Procedure:

1) Heat 2 c of milk and all lemongrass in heavy sauce pan until simmering. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes.
2) Make a slurry of sugar, remaining cup milk, and corn starch (a good, heavy whisk helps here) in a large bowl.
3) Strain lemongrass infusion into sugar/milk/cornstarch slurry. Discard solids.
4) Wipe out sauce pan and return the ice cream base to pan. Heat over medium-high heat until simmering. Simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back (i.e., drag your finger through to make a line. if the line doesn’t fill back in, you’re golden).
5) Strain again into large bowl. put plastic wrap on surface of ice cream base and allow to cool, then chill 24 hours to allow flavors to mature.
6) After 24 hours, put ice cream into ice cream freezer and prepare ice cream according to manufacturer’s directions. [side note: if you don't have an ice cream freezer, you can freeze in the bowl. Remove the ice cream from freezer every 10 minutes and whisk as vigorously as you can until mixture is frozen. the texture won't be as fine, but it'll still be tasty]

2. Easy Nachos – this is a standby dinner-on-the-fly in our house.

Ingredients:

refried beans
corn chips
Pace picante sauce
Cheese (we use the “Authentic” blend Kraft Mexican cheese w/ Manchego – awesome)
jalapenos (optional)

I’m not giving exact amounts because it’s dependent on the serving size you want.

Procedure:

1) Put a layer of corn chips down on the baking sheet of your choice. Use the amount you feel is appropriate for your appetite.
2) Mix refried beans with Pace until you get a paste thin enough to spread over the chips. (Note that you can save the bean paste in the refrigerator for later batches, too, so go ahead and use a can of refried beans and only use what you need of the paste.)
3) Spread bean paste over chips. Sprinkle with cheese (as much or as little as you want). You can add sliced fresh jalapenos if you like.
4) Bake at 400F for 8 minutes or so – until the chips are just browning on the edges and the cheese is melted.

3. Thai Basil Chicken (Note that this is a stir-fry. That means you NEED to have all your ingredients prepped and ready before you start. We used a wok, but you could use a large skillet.) (Also note that this recipe is VERY spicy. If you like, you can tone down the chilis, but it won’t taste the same.)

Ingredients:

2-3 Tbs. peanut oil for stir-frying
10-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced bell pepper (we use red)
1 lb. boneless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped, or cut into small bite-size pieces
4-6 serrano peppers, sliced
1 small kaffir lime leaf, very finely slivered (optional)
3 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbs. fish sauce
2 bunches mung bean noodles, softened and drained.
1 cup chopped fresh basil

1) Heat a wok until its surface is smoking hot. Swirl in the oil to coat the wok surface. Wait a few seconds for the oil to heat, then stir in the garlic, followed a few seconds later with onion and bell peppers. Stir another 15 to 20 seconds.
2) Add the chicken. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until most of the chicken has changed color on the outside and is no longer pink.
3) Toss in the chillies, slivered kaffir lime leaves (if using). Sprinkle soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry for another 15 to 20 seconds.
4) Add fish sauce, then stir in mung bean noodles. Toss well.
5) Add the fresh basil. Stir-fry another 1/2 to 1 minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken cooked through. Stir and transfer to a serving dish.

4. Chicken fajitas

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP lime juice
3 TBSP chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano (preferably Mexican)

2-4 bell peppers, sliced
1 onion, sliced (optional – we usually don’t bother and just increase the peppers)

1 TBSP garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Procedure:

1) In a large zip-top bag, combine Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Add chicken to marinade and allow to marinate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
2) Combine garlic powder and salt.
3) In a large cast iron skillet, sautee peppers and onions (if using). Sprinkle with 1/2 of garlic/salt mixture. When peppers are soft and starting to darken at the edges, remove to plate and keep warm.
4) In the same skillet, add chicken and marinade. Sprinkle with remaining garlic/salt mixture. Cook until chicken is completely done and sauce is thickened.
5) serve with warm tortillas, cheese (again, we use the “authentic” mexican cheese), sour cream, salsa, and whatever else you like.

5. Best. Scallops.Ever. (I’m not kidding. The key is very fresh, dry pack scallops. wet-pack don’t sear correctly)

Ingredients:

1 lb scallops
salt
pepper

1/2 c white wine
2-3 TBSP butter

2 c pasta, cooked (we use linguine, but you can use whatever long noodles you have)

Procedure:

1) get your pan really hot. Sprinkle scallops with salt and a tiny bit of pepper. Sear scallops, briefly. Flip. Sear other side. This should not take long and your scallops should just go opaque.
2) remove scallops from pan, keep warm.
3) deglaze pan with wine. Add butter and allow sauce to thicken slightly. toss pasta in sauce.
4) plate pasta and sauce. Top with scallops.

6. Breakfast Bagel of Champions

Ingredients:

1 bagel, split and toasted
1/2 oz cream cheese
1 large slice tomato
avocado slices

Procedure:

I’ll bet you can figure this out. Spread cream cheese on both halves of toasted bagel. Lay on tomato and avocado. Enjoy. I like a tiny sprinkling of salt between my tomato and avocado, but that’s entirely optional.

7. Grilled zucchini – perfect summer side.

Ingredients

2 lb zucchini, trimmed and cut into sticks
1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
1 TBSP toasted sesame oil
splash mirin (maybe a tsp?) [if you don't have mirin, substitute sherry]
toasted sesame seeds

Procedure:

1) Combine soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and mirin in zip-top bag. Dump in zucchini. Marinate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
2) Remove zucchini from marinade. Grill (or broil) until edges char and zucchini are soft but still tender.
3) garnish with sesame seeds.

8. Heirloom tomato gazpacho (Summer distilled into soup)

Ingredients

2-3 lbs heirloom tomatoes (I like sweeter tomatoes for this, but you can use your faves), chopped
3-4 sweet bell peppers (we used both yellow and red), seeded and chopped
1 large or 2 smaller cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
large handful basil, chopped
2-4 sprigs thyme, leaves only
bunch chives, chopped
1/4 c olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
dash Tabasco sauce
balsamic vinegar to taste (optional)
salt
pepper

Procedure

1) Put 1/3 of vegetables into blender with lemon juice and enough water to blend. Blend until mostly smooth. Decant into large bowl.
2) Put next 1/3 of vegetables and basil in blender with enough water to blend. Blend until mostly smooth. Add to first blend.
3) put remaining vegetables and herbs in blender with enough water to blend. Blend until mostly smooth. Decant into bowl.
4) add Tabasco, vinegar (if using), and salt and pepper to taste. Mix THOROUGHLY. Serve chilled.

Note: Use whatever herbs are fresh and available. If the batches don’t fit your blender, do what seems right. The key is to mix it up and make sure there is a good amalgamation of the vegetables and herbs.

9. Pico de Gallo – simple, spicy salsa for grilled meat.

Ingredients

3 small, ripe tomatoes, chopped
1-2 serrano chilis, finely diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (truthfully, i put it through the garlic press)
2 TBSP lime juice
salt

Procedure

Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Flavor is better if you allow it to sit for a while. You can vary proportions to your tastes.

10. Elise’s No-fail chocolate chip cookies (adapted from Toll House recipe)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Procedure

1) Preheat oven to 375° F.
2) In a small bowl, sift together flour, soda and salt.
3) Cream together butter and sugars.
4) Add vanilla and eggs to butter/sugar mixture. Combine thoroughly.
5) Gradually beat in flour mixture.
6) Stir in chocolate chips.
7) Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

11. Halloumi Bake (adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson) – this is a fabulous fall dish

Ingredients

2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″ cubes
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4″ chunks
1 large red onion, chopped into 1/4″ chunks
olive oil
black pepper
1 brick halloumi cheese, sliced thinly (no, you can’t substitute)

Procedure

1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) on large baking sheet, toss sweet potatoes, bell peppers and onion in olive oil to coat. sprinkle with black pepper.
3) Roast/bake for 40 minutes or until vegetables are dark and slightly crispy around the edges (I often stir a couple of times during baking). Remove from oven.
4) Turn on broiler.
5) lay slices of cheese over top of vegetables. Return to oven and broil until cheese softens and begins to turn golden.
6) serve and eat until you think you are going to explode.

12. Chicken in Rose Petal Sauce (inspired by Like Water for Chocolate)

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry.
salt
pepper
olive oil

1/4 cup butter
1/3 c blanched, slivered almonds
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced (again, I mash it through the press)
1/4 c honey
1 c organic rose petals, rinsed and dried, then ground into bits in a mortar and pestle

Procedure

1) season chicken with salt and pepper. Sautee in oil until golden and done through. remove and keep warm.
2) meanwhile, in small sauce pan, melt butter.
3) add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.
4) Add almonds. Cook 1-2 minutes.
5) Remove from heat and add honey and rose petals.
6) Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

13. Lamb chops – these are best grilled, but you can broil them in a pinch.

Ingredients

4-6 lamb chops, trimmed of excess fat
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 TBSP ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
olive oil
salt to taste

Procedure

1) Add enough olive oil to the garlic, cumin, salt and coriander to make a dry paste. Rub the paste into the lamb chops, coating all sides. Cover and allow to sit in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2) Knock off excess spice paste. Grill to desired done-ness.

This is excellent served with mashed potatoes or white bean mash and green beans.

Do you have this experience at Wikipedia? I usually go, find the info I want, find a link to a more reputable source, and move on with my life. I can see how the site can function as an endless-possibilities “Choose Your Own Adventure” tale, though.

So an experiment for me. Because it’s so hot on the east coast this year, and our site is so smokin’ itself, I grabbed the first fire-related link I saw, which happened to be an entry about 2010 Russian Wildfires (I’m embarassed to admit it didn’t occur to me Russia might experience wildfire disasters).

From there, a link to the term Siberian High caught my eye (not what I expected at all).

And then I clicked off to Arctic Dipole Anomaly, which is a very brief article followed by a very long list of fascinating-looking links. I picked 2010 Eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull (which I remember hearing about but like everything unrelated to my current WIP, went in one ear and out the other), which led me to the 1783 Eruption of Laki (another Iceland volcano).

From 1783 I click ahead to 1816, the Year Without a Summer (clearly not this year…ugh), which, according to Wikipedia speculation, led to the invention of the velocipede.

And…that’s where I jumped ship and clicked away from Wikipedia, finally landing at The Velocipede Museum, concluding a pleasantly no-charge excursion.

Where has Wikipedia taken you lately?

Tad spent the week in Tennessee, not in a third-world country.

The writer in me immediately started asking questions. Poor Tad, staring back at me as I asked, What do you mean, they didn’t have running water? Didn’t Marie go to school? Could she read? Did her parents work? Were they living on a farm of some sort? What kind of personality do you develop if you have no exposure to the world beyond your parents? What is her life going to be when she’s 18 or 25? Where is she going to meet someone to share her life with?

Ten years. Never in her entire life had Marie been behind a student desk, written a book report, or had a friend (according to Tad, no neighbors). Tad couldn’t help with my speculation – he just shrugged at my questions, with “I don’t know” kinds of answers, and told me he didn’t ask questions because he wasn’t there to judge, he was there to give her water. (I felt a need to explain my questions as writer curiosity, not snooty judgement.)

From a human compassion standpoint, I’m stunned and humbled (I’m not allowed to call myself “poor” ever again) and so very grateful for people like Tad who decide to leave their comfortable lives and their straight-into-college futures in order to join an organization like the Peace Corps, which is where Tad is bound provided his application is approved. (I’m grateful people who go to school and learn trades; giving of yourself in order to help better someone else is a remarkable thing regardless.)

From a writer standpoint, I’m fascinated and excited. I want to write Marie a fairytale prince and a life like the life I’ve known, complete with praise from educators and the jealousies and friendships of other kids. I want to create a person who’s lived life this way in the 21st century (because that’s where she’s been, her entire life) and really discover the kind of person she is, what inspires her imagination, how she releases curiosity.

From a reader standpoint, I desperately want her to have a hero and a happy ending no matter how humble it might be. Maybe Tad can go back to Tennessee in 10 years when Marie is an adult. He could scoop her up and carry her off and present her with her first sunset witnessed from the perspective of a Carribean beach bungalo instead of an Appalachian mountain trailer.

What a remarkable source of heroes and heroines I’d never even thought of before. If you want to discover them, too, here’s a link to Peace Corps Journals – a whole collection of blogs by people like Tad.

*delivered = dug the trenches, put down pipe, installed plumbing, rewired electricity, etc, to get water from a creek on the side of a mountain to the trailer that housed this family.

In honor of that historic signing, here are thirteen facts about nuclear weapons and nuclear policy.

1. The only country to ever use nuclear weapons in a war is the United States.  The US dropped nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

2. There are two types of nuclear reaction: fission and fusion. Fission splits the nucleus of the  atom, thereby releasing the energy. Fusion compresses the atoms and creates heavier elements by fusing lighter elements. These reactions are stronger, and in current weaponry, something of a misnomer, as most “fusion” bombs derive most of their explosive force from a secondary fission reaction (that is, the primary fission reaction sets off the fusion reaction which sets off a secondary fission reaction).

3. There is no theoretical limit to the size of a fusion weapon. By chaining reactions together, the load is limited only by the delivery system.

4. The USSR detonated a 50 megaton device, the largest ever detonated. To give some perspective, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was approximately 13 kilotons. That is, the Soviet device was nearly 4 million times the size of the device dropped on Hiroshima.

5. Originally, nuclear weapons were delivered by standard bombs out of long-range bombers. Only with the development of missile technology were pilots removed from the chain of custody.

6. Nuclear fallout is arguably as deadly as the initial blast. Have some fun playing with this interactive fallout map.

7. Though the Partial Test Ban treaty was signed on this date in 1963 by the US, the UK and the USSR, the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty wasn’t signed until 1996.

8. The Reykjavik Summit in 1986 saw a moment of interest. According to a participant, at one point Reagan and Gorbachev agreed to dismantle their entire nuclear arsenals, only to be pulled back by their respective advisors who did not favor this plan – since the US and USSR were not the only ones with nuclear weapons. Wouldn’t you have loved to be a fly on the wall for that discussion?

9. The only country to fully renounce independently developed nuclear weapons is South Africa.

10. During the BP oil spill, a Russian paper suggested using a nuclear weapon to cap the well. Since Russia has used this tactic successfully in the past as a fast answer to massive spills of the same type, some energy experts agreed with the suggestion.

11. There are currently 9 states currently considered nuclear states.  These states are the US, the UK, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.

12. There are several states which, at one time, possessed nuclear weapons but do not any longer.  These states are South Africa, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Ukraine, Canada and Greece.

13. And the thing that spawned this post: A video depicting every known nuclear explosion.  This is very, very cool. It takes a while to watch the whole thing, but it’s worth it. It breaks it down chronologically and by nation while placing each explosion on a world map. Very, very interesting.

Workshops-wise, I’ve decided I prefer the online format. I’m getting much more for my $30 than I got for my $475 at RWA Nationals, partly because I learn better from the written word than from the spoken word. And partly because I’m not missing out on one workshop by choosing to participate in another – I can multi-task, jumping from topic to topic, whereas the physical event would leave me committed to one room and one room only.

The virtual bar’s not quite as hopping as the Nationals conference bar, but if I had as many real drinks as I’ve consumed virtually, I’d be passed out in my Disney hotel room missing everything anyway.

Some highlights from the NGTCC:

I won something! Soul Stealer by Kimberly Troutte won’t get bent up in my suitcases on the return flight.

I’ve gotten to chat a teensy bit and soak up authorial goodness from Joey W. Hill and James Buchanan and while I haven’t participated in the steampunk workshop, I’m happy to have it all saved for future reading.

From the Savvy Authors Symposium:

I haven’t won anything yet, but I have hope.

I started the event with an a.m. chat presented by Rory Miller, who just might be my new Internet and hero research obsession. Can’t wait to get my hands on his book MEDITATIONS ON VIOLENCE and I’ve already penciled his next workshop on my calendar.

I learned three words that have totally made my week: “erotic category romance.” Thank you Laurie Saunders, editor of Black Velvet Seductions.

And I’m not, but I might after lurking on the “What Kind of Private Eye Are You Writing?” workshop hosted by two working PIs.

Additionally, I’ll be able to go back and peruse workshops on muse-feeding, series-building, deep POV, pitching and blurb writing…in general, well worth the money to me.

Best part? I haven’t had to wear shoes for anything.

Spending a few days haunting the Savvy Authors Symposium has inspired me to sign up for a few more workshops coming up, including undercover op info, how to make book trailers, and…something else I know I paid for but don’t remember. They have an interesting and diverse lineup and I’m already picking the workshops I want to participate in as distant as November 2011.

Neither the NGTCC nor the Symposium are over quite yet. I’m off to make the most of the last couple days.

Yeah, not so much. The Carver family decided they had a bigger story than I had in mind. Too much time passed, then Ethan’s sister Collette (All the Women in Pearl) finally gave up her perspective. After that, while waiting for baby brother James to start talking, I found a few people connected to the Carvers had some passion of their own to explore (Interlude in Pearl).

When, a year after I wrote Collette’s story, James still hadn’t talked, I really began to worry I’d have to leave the whole thing unfinished. I’d brainstormed and outlined and created three different women for James but he didn’t want any of them. No, instead of Astrid, instead of Lily, James wanted Max.

Once I said “fine” to Max, All the Secrets in Pearl fell out of my brain over the course of two weeks (thank God). Last Monday, I signed the contract and picked the cover art, and hopefully soon, I’ll have a release date.

In the meantime, my friend Seeley has launched a new blog, Naked Romance, and the inaugural nakedness belongs to Ethan. I hope you’ll click over for a teensy excerpt and to say hello to Seeley – and I hope you’ll check back during the next month or so for more information about the release of All the Secrets in Pearl.

While you’re at Naked Romance, look around and send Seeley an email. If you’re a writer, your mantitty could be up next!