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See Jane Dig! Is Now in the Editor’s Hands

See Jane Dig! Is Now in the Editor’s Hands

See Jane Dig! is now in the editor’s hands. I couldn’t be happier.

Not having to think about the fourth book in the West River Mystery Series during the holidays is all I wanted for Christmas this year. My editor won’t start working on it until after the first of the year because she wants to enjoy her Christmas break, too.

Not that See Jane Dig! isn’t enjoyable. It is!

That was not my opinion upon finishing the first draft last August, when I thought it was pure drivel. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that was not the case when I began revisions in early October.

Not that it was enjoyable when revisions began. It wasn’t!

Which is why authors revise first drafts and send them off to editors who gently point out the unenjoyable bits authors miss and suggest changes. Which sends the author back to the revising grindstone so a manuscript becomes more enjoyable. Until then I’m going to enjoy the holidays without giving Jane a second thought.

That’s a lie.

I’m already thinking about the research to be done before meeting with the editor to plot out the fifth book. But I’m not going to work on Book 5 until after New Year’s, and then it will only be looking up stuff and reading. No writing. Absolutely no writing.

That’s a lie, too.

I’ll probably start brainstorming ideas and plot points and character names the minute this blog post is published. Because letting my creative juices flow before starting a new project is almost as enjoyable as knowing that See Jane Dig! is now in the editor’s hands.

And that’s no lie.

Tapioca Fruit Salad: A Family Tradition

Tapioca Fruit Salad: A Family Tradition

tapioca fruit saladOur extended family will celebrate Christmas the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year. Grandma Josie’s tapioca fruit salad will grace our table. The recipe for this delectable family favorite debuted on this blog in January of 2012 and is making a return appearance for two reasons. First, it keeps making the rounds on Pinterest. Secon I’m still slaving over the PTSD book edits to meet the November 30 deadline so there’s hardly time to cook, much less try new recipes!

Today’s recipe comes from my mother’s mother, Josephine Newell Hess. She made huge batches of this tapioca fruit salad when her 8 children, their spouses, and her 39 grandchildren gathered for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Once she was unable to host the gatherings, the recipe was lost for many years. Finally, my sister and I were so hungry for it, we recreated the dish with help from Mom. Now we serve it at Thanksgiving and Christmas and eat it as greedily as hobbits do mushrooms.

Though the recipe below doesn’t make as big a batch as Grandma whipped up in her prime, it’s still enough to fill a large Tupperware bowl. Why make so much? Because we love to eat what’s left over the next morning for breakfast!

Holiday Tapioca Fruit Salad

1 box (8 ounces) large pearl tapioca
4 cups water, divided into two equal parts
1/2 cup sugar
1 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 apples, cored and diced
2 bananas, sliced
2 oranges, diced

The night before the meal, put tapioca in a medium bowl. Add 2 cups of water to the tapioca, cover, and let soak overnight.

Several hours before serving, place soaked tapioca in heavy saucepan. Add 2 cups water and the sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until most of the tapioca is translucent and the mixture is very thick. Pour into a large bowl and immediately add pineapple (juice and all) into the thick tapioca. Stir thoroughly. Put in the refrigerator or on the porch to cool.

An hour before serving whip the cream. Add sugar and vanilla. In a large bowl mix the tapioca, fruit, (except the bananas), and whipped cream together. Immediately before the meal, slice the bananas and stir them in, along with the nuts.

Tapioca Fruit Salad: A Family Tradition

Holiday Tapioca Fruit Salad Is Back!

tapioca fruit salad

Our extended family will celebrate Christmas the weekend between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. And Grandma Josie’s tapioca fruit salad will grace our table. The recipe for this delectable family favorite debuted on this blog in January of 2012 and is making a return appearance for two reasons: it’s making the round on Pinterest and I’ve been to busy for the past few weeks to try any new recipes.

Today’s recipe comes from my mother’s mother, Josephine Newell Hess. She made huge batches of this tapioca fruit salad when her 8 children, their spouses, and her 39 grandchildren gathered for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Once she was unable to host the gatherings, the recipe was lost for many years. Finally, my sister and I were so hungry for it, we recreated the dish with help from Mom. Now we serve it at Thanksgiving and Christmas and eat it as greedily as hobbits do mushrooms.

Though the recipe below doesn’t make as big a batch as Grandma whipped up in her prime, it’s still enough to fill a large Tupperware bowl. Why make so much? Because we love to eat what’s left over the next morning for breakfast!

Holiday Tapioca Fruit Salad

1 box (8 ounces) large pearl tapioca
4 cups water, divided into two equal parts
1/2 cup sugar
1 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 cups chopped walnuts
2 apples, cored and diced
2 bananas, sliced
2 oranges, diced

The night before the meal, put tapioca in a medium bowl. Add 2 cups of water to the tapioca, cover, and let soak overnight.

Several hours before serving, place soaked tapioca in heavy saucepan. Add 2 cups water and the sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until most of the tapioca is translucent and the mixture is very thick. Pour into a large bowl and immediately add pineapple (juice and all) into the thick tapioca. Stir thoroughly. Put in the refrigerator or on the porch to cool.

An hour before serving whip the cream. Add sugar and vanilla. In a large bowl mix the tapioca, fruit, (except the bananas), and whipped cream together. Immediately before the meal, slice the bananas and stir them in, along with the nuts.

Holiday Tapioca Fruit Salad

Holiday Tapioca Fruit Salad

Today’s recipe comes from my mother’s mother, Josephine Newell Hess. She made huge batches of this tapioca fruit salad when her 8 children, their spouses, and her 39 grandchildren gathered for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Once she was unable to host the gatherings, the recipe was lost for many years. Finally, my sister and I were so hungry for it, we recreated the dish with help from Mom. Now we serve it at Thanksgiving and Christmas and eat it as greedily as hobbits do mushrooms.

Though the recipe below doesn’t make as big a batch as Grandma whipped up in her prime, it’s still enough to fill a large Tupperware bowl. Why make so much? Because we love to eat what’s left over the next morning for breakfast!

Holiday Tapioca Fruit Salad

1 box (8 ounces) large pearl tapioca
4 cups water, divided into two equal parts
1/2 cup sugar
1 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 cups chopped walnuts
2 apples, cored and diced
2 bananas, sliced
2 oranges, diced

The night before the meal, put tapioca in a medium bowl. Add 2 cups of water to the tapioca, cover, and let soak overnight.

Several hours before serving, place soaked tapioca in heavy saucepan. Add 2 cups water and the sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until most of the tapioca is translucent and the mixture is very thick. Pour into a large bowl and immediately add pineapple (juice and all) into the thick tapioca. Stir thoroughly. Put in the refrigerator or on the porch to cool.

An hour before serving whip the cream. Add sugar and vanilla. In a large bowl mix the tapioca, fruit, (except the bananas), and whipped cream together. Immediately before the meal, slice the bananas and stir them in, along with the nuts.

The Big 6-0

The Big 6-0

Today I hit the Big 6-0, and I’m doing a happy dance to celebrate. I finished the sixtieth and last devotion for my book. Since the manuscript isn’t due to the publisher until January 1, you probably think I’m doing the overachiever thing. I assure you, I’m not.

In the next couple days, I’ll do a light edit on the eleven devotions in the final section of the book and paste them into a preliminary order, something I’ve already done to the first five sections. I still have to send individual devotions from the last two sections to anyone mentioned in them so they can give approval and suggestions. The introductions for all six sections need to be written, and then I’ll paste everything into a first draft of the entire manuscript, kind of like connecting strings of Christmas lights.

But wait, there’s more. Once the first draft is all together, I will send the electronic manuscript to several cold readers. They’ll have two weeks to read it and make comments. Then I’ll consider their comments and incorporate many of them.

But that’s not all. After those changes are made, I’ll print a hard copy and edit it all by myself. My goal is to have everything done and the manuscript sent to Discovery House Publishers before Christmas. Sort of an early present to myself. Thinking about what remains to be done overwhelms me, especially since I have to squeeze in baking pies for Thanksgiving, making holiday Chex mix with Mom, and Christmas shopping.

But I refuse to worry about those things today. Today is all about hitting the Big 6-0 and doing a happy dance. Life is good!