Ellie@Home by Nicole Kapise-Perkins

I'm behind in formatting this summer's list, as last year I had it ready to go on Memorial Day. I will post it for real tonight (I hope!) but for now, here's a list of some faboo-sounding titles as reviewed by Graham Joyce via The Guardian : Graham Joyce's top 10 fairy fictions From Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus to Alan Garner's The Owl Service, Graham Joyce chooses his favourite books in which the Fair Folk find themselves in fresh landscapes Still from the film Pan's Labyrinth Photograph: 1996-98 AccuSoft Inc 1996-98 AccuSoft Inc/PR Graham Joyce I'm very careful to avoid the "F" word. They don't like it. And anyway, I've stepped away from the obvious "retelling of fairytale" candidates. Recasting fairytales has become a publishing sub-genre in itself, and has been done both well and to the point of entropy. More interesting are those works where the structures of fairytales are abandoned but t...

not that I ever should have left, but sometimes those repeated rejection letters and emails just get to me, and I take a break. Tonight I submitted three stories to three different magazines within one publishing group. I shall keep them nameless at present, but will venture to say that this publishing group has a hugely successful readership, and publishes for several age groups. Hence, three different magazines. (They publish more than three, but those were the only ones my work was appropriate for. At present, anyway.) Tomorrow I'll print another to send via snail mail (yes, some publishers do still accept hard copy. Amazing.) and in coming days will try to finish and subsequently polish a historical romance I've been working on for a couple years now so I can get that off into the ether as well. And for the record, I do not read romance, historical or otherwise. Anyone that knows me will tell you that not only do I not care for it, I LOATHE it, and think it is a waste of ...

     I have just started reading Ruth Finley's The Lady of Godey's: Sarah Josepha Hale, and though I find the writing style a bit outdated (published in the 1930's), Sarah Hale herself is an incredible figure in American history. All I knew of her was that she was the editor of the Godey's Lady's Book magazine for forty years. I did not know she embraced educational reform, women's equality in both the workplace and education (she was one of Elizabeth Blackwell's most ardent supporters. Don't know who Elizabeth Blackwell is? For shame. America's first lady doctor, she is.) as well as a successful author, among many, many other noteworthy achievements. Essentially, she was one of the first (respectable) professional women in America.      Widowed just before her fifth child was born, Sarah Hale remained a single parent, saw one of her sons off to successful military service, though he died very young while in service; her second son became a succ...

I simply must share these culinary dee-lites with all of you, as they are simple to make and 'oh-my-goodness' yummie. Enjoy! Last night's dinner: One-Pot Creamy Spinach Peanut Lentils Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 Ingredients 1/2 Tbsp Coconut Oil 1/2 Cup Onion, chopped 1 tsp Garlic, minced 1 Cup Lentils 2 13 Oz Cans Reduced-fat Coconut milk * 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Natural peanut butter 1 Tbsp Coconut sugar 1 tsp Paprika 1 Tbsp  Fish Sauce Juice of 1 Large lime Pinch of red pepper flakes Pinch of salt (optional) ** 1 Large bunch of fresh spinach Chopped peanuts, for garnish OPTIONAL serving ideas: Rice, Quinoa, Cauliflower rice etc. *** (I served mine with brown rice and a side of roasted Brussels sprouts. Yum) Instructions In a large sauce pan, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic and cook until lightly golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add in the lentils plus 1 whole ...

Modern Mrs. Darcy is such a fun blog. Anne's posts and updates are great. And she gives us gifties. Like this reading journal.: http://modernmrsdarcy.com/2015/05/printable-reading-journal/ As a rule, I’d rather be reading  than recording what I’m reading. But I do it anyway, because I love having a record of what I’ve read, and what I want to read. While Goodreads  is nice, I have a soft spot in my heart for paper. I like to touch, browse, and jot notes in the margins. Besides, there’s nothing worse than intending to read, grabbing your phone or your laptop to plug in the book you’re about to start, and falling down the social media rabbit hole. 20 minutes later you forgot why you got online in the first place and you forgot all about your book. (That can’t be just me.) There are great reading journals on the market ( this is my favorite), but ready-made journals lack flexibility. Blank books are nice, but some of you (and that includes me) need a tem...

   I have made a new friend. She is intelligent, witty, observant, and sadly, deranged. She is also dead.    On a recent trip to the Montague Bookmill I found a copy of Jean Strouse's Alice James: A Biography. I know who Alice James is: she is the sister of author Henry James ( Portrait of a Lady ) and William James, considered by many to be the father of modern psychology. So why is this sister worthy of a biography of her own? Because she is (was) an incredible person: she was an avid writer of charming, witty letters to friends and family, letters that allow her personality to shine; her diaries (published in 1964) show a woman of deep, complex thought who saw, heard, and processed everything around her; finally, she taught history from 1873 to 1876 for the Society to Encourage Studies at Home , a Boston-based correspondence school for women founded by Anna Ticknor. So how is it that this person has been shrouded in shadows through history?    The firs...