Tag Archive for: the Stiletto Gang

Clicking Our Heels: Thanksgiving – Our Special Memories

/in /by

Clicking Our Heels: Thanksgiving – Our Special Memories

Thanksgiving holds special memories for each member of The Stiletto Gang. Some are personal memories of family, some of food, and some … well you be the judge.

 Donnell Ann Bell – Sweet potatoes. It’s the only time I make them because my husband doesn’t like them.

Lynn McPherson – Mashed potatoes. And butter. That’s all.

Saralyn Richard – My husband’s Uncle Hank was a master turkey-carver. He could get every speck of turkey from the bone without hacking the meat into shreds. He also prepared sweet potato casserole that was heavenly. Many have tried, but failed to replicate his Thanksgiving gifts.
Debra Sennefelder – I love Thanksgiving side dishes. Stuffing is my favorite!

Barbara J. Eikmeier – My mother-in-law always made a fresh cranberry salad with grapes, grated cranberries, marshmallows, and dream whip. It’s sour and sweet and oh so dreamy.

Linda Rodriguez – I am not a huge fan of the United States Thanksgiving holiday, since it originated in Pilgrims celebrating a massacre of a Native tribe that had helped them, but I just consider my Thanksgiving Day a continuation of the Cherokee traditional New Year which takes place normally in late September/early October.

Debra H. Goldstein – The only Jell-O mold I like. Between the nuts, cream cheese (?), candied fruit, cranberries, and other goodies stuffed into it, the texture and the color changed so I never remembered I was eating Jell-O.

Lois Winston – I’m a sucker for great turkey stuffing with gravy, but the stuffing has to cook inside the bird for optimal taste.

Dru Ann Love – When we were younger, we would go to my aunt’s house for T-day, but the best day was having Thanksgiving on the next day with my immediate family.

Shari Randall/Meri Allen – My mother’s family is Italian so the holiday feast has always included an antipasti platter and lasagna in addition to turkey and all the fixings. I remember the first time my husband had Thanksgiving with my family – the surprise on his face when he saw the lasagna! He quickly became a convert and all these years later, I wouldn’t dream of a holiday without lasagna, too.

Mary Lee Ashford – In our family, Thanksgiving is the big family get-together with all of the immediate family. My brothers and their wives, their children, and grandchildren. When I was younger, I was the only one still at home as my brothers were much older than me. Because of that, I was much involved in the preparations for Thanksgiving and I have great memories of time spent with my mom making the pumpkin pies, mashing the potatoes, and stuffing the turkey. Because there are so many of us, we now do more of a buffet style Thanksgiving dinner with everyone bringing a dish to share.

Kathryn Lane – I’m a little non-traditional about Thanksgiving food – lamb roast is my favorite.

T.K. Thorne – A childhood memory—Tasked with bringing the Thanksgiving dessert from the downstairs refrigerator at Thanksgiving, I ended up with two chocolate pies flipped upside down on the floor. In tears, I told my mother I had ruined Thanksgiving. I will never forget her response. She plucked up a spatula like an Amazon grabbing her spear, marched downstairs and carefully scooped up the chocolate pies, (leaving the layer that touched the floor to clean later).  Upstairs, she arranged the pie mess into rough wedges on separate plates and covered each generously with whipped cream.  Nobody knew the difference.  So now, when a crisis threatens to overwhelm me, I try to channel Mom’s “warrior” mode.

 

 

 

 

 

Clicking Our Heels – Fall is Here!

/in , /by

Clicking Our Heels – Fall is Here!!!

Fall is here! It should be no surprise that each member of the Gang has a different thought about Fall.

Debra H. Goldstein – Although I hate to see the leaves drop, Fall means I don’t have to worry about keeping my white pants clean.

Shari Randall/Meri Allen – Fall has the most beautiful weather, yes? I love the changing leaves and swishing through piles of fallen ones.

Kathryn Lane – The turning of the aspen in the mountains of New Mexico.

T.K. Thorne – In addition to escape from the Alabama summer heat, I love the colors, goldenrod abloom in the fields, and riding my horse in the woods. Fall was my mother’s favorite season and I try to inhale it for her.

Mary Lee Ashford – I absolutely love fall! It’s my favorite season. I love the brisk temps, the gorgeous fall colors, and all the fall activities. When I was younger fall also always meant back-to-school and unlike some kids I looked forward to returning to school. To this day, I still get excited when they start advertising school supplies. So, give me a steaming cup of cider, a thick cozy sweater, and a bonfire and I’m content. Oh, and a book, of course!

Lynn McPherson – I love the colors and the weather. Time for hot chocolate, fireplaces, and a good book.

Debra Sennefelder – Where should I start? Fall is my favorite season. Boots. Sweaters. Pumpkin everything. Halloween-themed mysteries. I could go on.
Lois Winston – The cooler temperatures, especially since I’m now living in the south. And I thought August in New Jersey was bad!

Linda Rodriguez – Fall is my favorite season. I don’t know if it’s because my birthday is in fall, or because school starts in fall, and in my childhood, school was a sanctuary and a blessed place. I love the colorful leaves, the cooler temperatures, the crisp air, the beautiful skies, and the sense of being on the cusp of something brand new and exciting that fall always brings. Fall is the traditional New Year time for the Cherokee.

Saralyn Richard – When I was teaching in the Midwest, I used to love the crisp chill in the air and the crunching of leaves underfoot, the sweet, juicy apples, and the anticipation of new relationships and experiences that come with another year back at school.

Dru Ann Love – Get to wear a coat and can use staying indoors as an excuse.

Donnell Ann Bell – Cooler weather. I live in the Southwest. Our falls are gorgeous and so are the sunsets.

Three Things with Lynn McPherson

/in /by

Three Things with Lynn McPherson
– by Debra H. Goldstein

I had so much fun playing the Three Things Game when
Shari Randall interviewed me last month, that I decided to pass it forward by
playing the game with Stiletto Gang member Lynn McPherson. Lots of good answers
and some I didn’t expect!


Three favorite foods: 
Pizza, tacos, cupcakes

Three places I’ve lived: Toronto, London, Vancouver

Three jobs I’ve had: Golf range owner, waitress, ESL teacher in Seoul

Three things I can’t do without: my family, my dog, books

Three books I love (or three
authors): Rita Mae Brown, Liane Moriarty, Vivien Chien

Three favorite places:
Thailand, New England, Paris

Three favorite hobbies: Reading, walking, watching movies

Three things I’m looking forward to: Halloween, the first
snowfall, Christmas



How about you, readers? What
are three things about you that you’d like to share?


Oh, and one of my (Debra’s) favorite things: The Girls Dressed for
Murder – An Izzy Walsh mystery written by none other than Lynn McPherson.

 

 

Untitled Post

/in /by

Watch Out – the Frying Pan is Armed!
by Debra H. Goldstein

We all know that I’m not Suzy Homemaker, but this time even
I don’t know what I did. I hope some of you out there can tell me how I blew up
my favorite frying pan.

 

As you recall, during the pandemic, I’ve cooked more in the
past year than in the previous thirty-seven years of my marriage. So far, I’ve
learned that if I see an F3 or an F8 in the digital portion of my stove, the
oven is either on fire or I’ve blown the contraption’s brain. This time,
because the stove didn’t send me a digital message that I can google, I’m at a
complete loss.

 

Lately, to make my life a little easier, and because it is
easy for me to follow simple directions that come with pictures, I’ve been
having two to three dinners a week delivered from Home Chef. They have proven
relatively easy to make and what they send seems to be of good quality and more
than enough for two bulk eaters. The only thing is that rather than broiling or
baking, many times they have you use a non-stick frying pan and a drop of oil
to make parts of the meal.

 

Okay, picture this. I’m frying two boneless chicken breasts
in a drop of oil in a non-stick pan for 5-7 minutes per side on medium heat.
Suddenly, I hear a bang like a gun being shot. I have the sensation that
something flew upward, but I can’t really say I saw it. I did notice the gas stove’s
flame leap up a drop, but nothing alarming. With the exhaust fan turned up a
notch, I continued cooking. The same thing happened again, rattling me. I
couldn’t see anything that seemed out of place.

 

I plated the meal – brussel sprouts made in another pan and
the two wonton breaded chicken breasts and we began to eat. Suddenly, I noticed
something silver on my plate. Definitely not the color of a brussel sprout or
chicken – and it was metal. Could it be a flattened bullet? I pushed it aside, checked
for any more metallic items on my plate, and finding none continued eating.
After the meal, I looked in the frying pan and saw a twin metal button. I
examined the frying pan and realized they were the caps from inside the pan
that covered the screws. They’d blown off (and probably up).

 

I’ve used this frying pan for months without being attacked
or sabotaged by it. What do you think happened and is it safe to continue using
the pan?

Clicking Our Heels: Unflappable or not?

/in /by

Unflappable or not? When it comes to their writings, here are some thoughts the Stiletto Gang members have. 

Juliana Aragon Fatula – I’m unflappable. Ha. Bullshit. I am overwhelmed by life and writing is my escape. I create a world where I escape and then I visit there whenever I need to be in my head and not my heart.

Julie Mulhern – I’m unflappable.

Debra Sennefelder – I wish I was unflappable. Having multiple deadlines due within the same time period overwhelms me. So far, it hasn’t happened often but when it has, I felt the pain. And it made me grateful for my time management skills.

Paula Benson – Letting the fear of it not being good enough convince me not to start.

T.K. Thorne – I tend to go off in too many directions-projects-commitments at the same time and that often feels overwhelming.

Robin Hillyer-Miles – Dialogue. I write too formally. I keep forgetting that people use contractions when they speak.

A.B. Plum – Ensuring I’m writing characters who are different from each other. Writing humor is often a challenge—one I like b/c I especially like sarcasm.

Kathryn Lane – Unflappable?! Everything overwhelms me until I get my arms around it.

Debra H. Goldstein – I’m in a dither until an idea hits, but once I’m in the zone, there’s no stopping me.

Sparkle Abbey:
Mary Lee Ashford: It varies. I love the writing part and even more I love the revision and polishing part. The characters are what I love the most. I don’t love the first draft and so sometimes slogging through that ugly first pass feels overwhelming to me.
Anita Carter: I wish I were unflappable. If anyone answers that they’re unflappable, I need to chat with them to get some advice. I hate the blank page and I hate the beginning when there are too many options. I can get bogged down in thinking about plot options.

Lynn McPherson – The middle of the book, first draft.

Shari Randall – Beginnings are the worst!

Dru Ann Love – Writing a musing without giving away too much of the details. Also, writing a musing for every book I read because then I won’t read. I have to pick and choose which book to do a musing.

Clicking Our Heels – Looking Forward – Seasonal Preferences

/in /by

Clicking Our
Heels – Looking Forward – Seasonal Preferences

As we practice
social distancing and are limited in our interactions outdoors, we thought we’d
tell you which seasons we love – and are thinking about. We also want to tell you
how much we care about you, our readers, and hope you are staying safe and
well.
Julie Mulhern – I
adore autumn-the colors, the crisp air, the bright blue of an October sky.
Juliana Aragon
Fatula – Spring because of gardening and growing plants from seeds gives me a
kickstart on life. Seeing baby deer being born on my front yard under my Aspen
grove opens my eyes to the mystery of the circle of life. Rain, wet earth,
birds singing, the magic of creation.
Debra H.
Goldstein – Summer. The warmth of the weather; the fact that people want to get
together; the joy of being at the beach or in the water; the fun of seeing
children learning to swim; the relaxation everyone feels.
Dru Ann Love – I like
Autumn – because it’s not that cold nor too hot and no allergies to deal with.

Robin
Hillyer-Miles – Summer! I like it hot. I love to have a dribble of sweat
slipping down the center of my back.
Debra Sennefelder
– Hands down, autumn is my favorite season. I love the child in the air, cozy
sweaters and comfort food. It’s a beautiful time of the year.
A.B. Plum – I love
spring because of the rebirth, literally, of the natural world. I don’t mind
the rain because it feeds the plants and around here, ensures the racoons and
possums and other critters won’t die of thirst or come into my backyard looking
for water.
Kathryn Lane –
Spring is allergy season for me. Fall, especially in the mountains, is sheer
beauty – the golden foliage, wildlife passing through on their way to lower,
warmer territory, and the warm days and cool nights. Pure bliss.
T.K. Thorne – I love
spring, but it doesn’t love me. One of my favorite writing places is my front
porch, and I love when it gets warm enough to do that. Nature things happen
there, and I can spend hours in my rocking chair, but I pay the price with
allergies.

WHY READING IS LIKE CHOCOLATE

/in /by

by Kay Kendall

 

Reading is
similar to chocolate. It tastes luscious to most people, but not to all. These
days, however, we know through research that chocolate is a healthy thing to
eat.

Scientific
researchers have likewise come up with reasons why we should read. Here

is a curated list of reasons scientists say
reading should be done—not only for our enjoyment and increased knowledge, but
for our mental and physical well-being.

So next time you feel remorse when
you’ve spent all day reading a favorite new book, just remember these reasons.
Then POOF! Your guilt should vanish. Getting swept away by a compelling story
line or character in a wonderful book is not only entertaining but also is good for you.


Which of these reasons resonate most
with you? I’ve picked two faves. I’ll tell you mine if you’ll tell me yours!
How about it?

1.
Reading is an effective way to overcome stress.
Researchers at the University of Sussex found that reading relaxed the heart
rate and muscle tension faster than other activities often said to be
de-stressors—for example taking a walk, listening to music, and drinking tea.
Note that the research was done in England, a bastion of tea drinkers, so this is
really saying something shocking.

 2. Reading exercises our
brains. As our bodies need movement to be strong, our brains need a
work out too. Reading is a more complex activity than watching television and
actually helps establish new neural pathways.

 3.
Reading helps maintain our brains’ sharpness. Neurologists
who studied brains of those who died around age 89 saw signs of a third less
decline among those who stayed mentally active with reading, writing, and other
modes of mental stimulation like puzzles, as compared to those who did little
or none of those activities.

 4. Reading may even ward off Alzheimer’s disease. Adults who pursue activities like reading or puzzles that involve the brain
are less likely to have Alzheimer’s disease. Intellectual activity not only
grows our brain power but also strengthens brain against disease.

5. Reading may help us sleep better. Reading before bed is a good
de-stressing habit, unlike watching flashing electronic devices or television
that cue the brain to wake up.

6. Reading self-help books can ease
depression. Reading
books that encourage people to take charge of their own lives can promote the
idea that positive change is possible. A control group that had “bibliotherapy”
combined with talk therapy was less depressed than another group that did not
read self-help literature.

7. Reading helps people become more empathetic.
Spending time exploring an author’s imagination helps people understand other
people’s points of view and problems. Researchers in the Netherlands performed
experiments showing that people who were “emotionally transported” by
a work of fiction experienced boosts in empathy.

8.
Reading can develop and improve a good self-image. Poor readers or non-readers often have
low opinions of themselves and their abilities. Reading helps people understand
their own strength and abilities, hence growing better self-images.

So, here’s to your hours and hours ahead of guilt-free reading! Enjoy!
 ~~~~~~~

Meet the author —
Kay
Kendall is a long-time fan of historical novels and now writes mysteries
that capture the spirit and turbulence of the sixties. A reformed PR executive
who won international awards for her projects, Kay lives in Texas with her
Canadian husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. 
Her book titles show she’s a Bob Dylan
buff. Her second mystery, Rainy Day Women, won two
Silver Falchion Awards at Killer Nashville in 2015.

Visit Kay at her website
< http://www.austinstarr.com/>

or on Facebook
< https://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor>

Back to Basics by Diane Vallere

/in /by

I’m delighted to have Diane Vallere, prolific writer and past-president of Sisters in Crime’s national board guest blogging for me today. Diane juggles well, but occasionally even she needs to go back to basics. – Debra
Back to Basics by
Diane Vallere
It
should come as no surprise to learn that fiction authors sometimes have
conversations with our characters. I once set up several chairs in my living
room for each of the suspects in my then-work-in-progress to interview each
character about his/her motives for murdering the victim. Silly? Yes. Made the
neighbors doubt my sanity? Sure. Effective? Absolutely. I zeroed in on the
killer and wrote the ending. But PANTY
RAID gave me a different problem. I couldn’t even find the story.

A
few background facts for context: 

1.    
I’m
a pantser.

2.    
I
start with a title and the loosest of concepts.

3.    
PANTY RAID is book 8 in an
ongoing series.

Heading
into the first draft of this book, I knew it would feature the lingerie market,
and it would take place in Paris.

My
routine is to work Monday through Friday and write 2500 words/ day, but after
weeks of working on the draft, I admitted there was a problem. I told one of my
writer friends that my character was not cooperating, and my friend suggested I
ask her what was wrong. I did, and details of that conversation are in this YouTube video. But the separate issue that I didn’t address
there was this: I tried to plot that book.

We
pantsers hear it all the time: you can write faster if you plot and know where
you’re going. I’m always interested in improving how I do things, so I invested
in a plotting course and gave it a shot. I even went so far as to break down
four favorite movies into bullet points to better understand their structure.
And still, I trudged, word by word, with a manuscript that was filled with “GO
BACK AND CHANGE END OF CHAPTER 2” and “SOMETHING HAPPENS HERE—WHAT???”

I
went for long walks. I dictated plot points into my phone. I deleted and
rewrote and have entire sections of a manuscript that I love but that didn’t
fit with what came before or after them. Of the seventeen days I spent working
on that draft, I only hit my word count goal on three. 23,922 words of garbage.

On
March 22, I stopped working on that draft.


On
March 23, I had a conversation with my character.

On
Marcy 24, I started writing a new version of PANTY RAID and bumped my daily
word count goal to 3,000.
On
April 15, I wrote The End.

In
those nineteen days of writing, I discovered a whole story I never expected to
tell. And I exceeded my new word count goal eleven of the nineteen days.

Do
I regret trying to plot? No. If I hadn’t tried to, I’d never know my system
works for me. Do I hate knowing I have a file of 23,922 words of a story with
parts I love that may never get used? Yes. It goes against everything in my
Capricornian nature to abandon projects mid-way. Is there a lesson in there?
Absolutely. Sometimes you have to give up control in order to end up on top.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After two decades working for a top luxury retailer, Diane Vallere traded fashion
accessories foraccessories to murder. In addition to the Samantha Kidd Style
and Error Mysteries, she is responsible for the Madison Night Mad for Mod,
Sylvia Stryker Outer Space, and Lefty Award-nominated Costume Shop and Material
Witness series. She started her own detective agency at age ten and
has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since. 

LINKS:

ABOUT PANTY RAID:

When amateur sleuth Samantha Kidd is assigned to cover the
lingerie show in Las Vegas, her excitement is more visible than panty lines.
Events in her hometown have made her a celebrity, and a romantic getaway with
fiancé Nick Taylor is timely. But when a lingerie model—engaged to a college
friend of Nick’s—is found dead outside their hotel room, their escape turns
brief. Cheeky designers, high class hookers, and secrets from Nick’s past that
don’t add up make this gamble her most dangerous one yet. When push-up comes to
shove, Samantha bares everything in order to save her future.

BUY LINKS:

The Times They Are A’Changin’ for The Stiletto Gang

/in /by

The Times They Are A’Changin’
for The Stiletto Gang
by Debra H. Goldstein

The times they are a’changin’
is both a song refrain and an accurate description of The Stiletto Gang. Happily,
all the changes are for the good.

Today is both a beginning
and an end for me and the Gang in that instead of personally posting twice a
month and being responsible for Clicking Our Heels, I will only be handling
Clicking Our Heels and the second Friday of the month post. Not a big change
for me or for Linda Rodriguez, who now will only post on the first Friday of
the month, but a positive change for you in that you’ll have the opportunity of
getting to know Shari Randall and Teresa Thorne on the third and fourth Fridays
of each month.  (don’t forget our other
newbies, Judy Penz Sheluk and Diane Staresinic-Deane). In fact, mark your calendars for this enhanced line-up:

Judy
Penz Sheluk- 1st Monday
Julie Mulhern – 2nd Monday

Paula Gail Benson – 3rd Monday
Dru Ann Love – Every other 4th Monday
Short story writers – Every other 4th Monday
J.M. Phillippe – 1st & 3rd Tuesdays
AB Plum – 2nd Tuesday
Diana Staresinic-Deane – 4th Tuesday
Clicking Our Heels (group post) – 1st Wednesday                           

Bethany Maines – 2nd & 4th Wednesdays


Kay Kendall – 3rd Wednesday
Sparkle Abbey – 1st Thursday
Juliana Aragon Fatula – 2nd & 4th Thursdays
Cathy Perkins – 3rd Thursday
Linda Rodriguez – 1st Friday
Debra H. Goldstein – 2nd Friday
Shari Randall -3rd Friday
T.K. Thorne – 4th Friday

I’m proud we’re such a diverse gang. For me, the
members of this blog are so impressive

that I am constantly challenged to write
at the highest level possible because they all do. For you, it means exposure
to different thoughts, cultures, genres and writers you might not readily come
across. I hope you enjoy this mix of writers as much as I do.     Debra

Clicking Our Heels is Moving – and swag for your thoughts!!!!!!

/in /by

Clicking Our Heels is Moving — and swag for your thoughts!!!!!!


Beginning in November, Clicking Our Heels is moving to the first Wednesday of every month! 

We know you’ve gotten used to finding out what we all have to say about different topics on the last Thursday of the month, but now you’ll get our wisdom during the first week. We’ve got a few topics up our sleeves, but leave a message in the comments about things you’d like to know.  If your topic is one we use this year, Debra promises to send you a treat (not a trick, but a treat).

We’re excited about some of the changes members of the Gang have experienced….and we’ve written about them.  New books, new homes, new family members, and new pets, to name a few we’ve shared with you. We even updated our logo from a red stiletto to a gold one (any thoughts on that?)  What’s most exciting is there’s more to come! 

We’ve been sad to see a few members of the blog leave, but we’re excited about the new gang members joining us in November.  Stay tuned!!!