Amanda Helms

Category: Miscellany Monday

  • Miscellany Monday: NaNo Begins

    It’s a bad sign when I hit writer’s block on the first day. Seeing as I prewrote this post on Sunday, when it goes live I should be a Monday-night write-in, hopefully with a better clue of what I’m doing than on Day 1. Though I did at least hit my 1667 quota, if not…

  • This isn’t going to turn into a baking blog, I swear

    It’s a bad sign when I miss my exit because I’m thinking about this recipe. I love King Arthur Flour, both their products and their recipes. I can’t recall a single failure from following their recipes, and though I think I make a pretty good baker, I seem to consistently get the most praise with…

  • Why I missed my Thursday 300 post

    (I trust my readers are title-readers, but if not, go back and read it. Done? Okay.) I had a cold and was traveling to Abilene, TX, for my five year college reunion. That’s why. The following came about while waiting in the airport Friday morning (I was supposed to arrive in Abilene Thursday night, but…

  • Babblings about character development

    As I’m currently fighting off a cold/potential bronchial infection and therefore find myself disinclined to pursue nonsedentary activities, I’ve been reading that vampire book set in WWII that I mentioned buying my last Miscellany Monday post. So far I’m wishing I’d gone for Keri Arthur or Kelley Armstrong. Or that I’d even decided to spend…

  • A trip to the bookstore and blatherings about genre

    Saturday afternoon I bounded from my car and to my local Borders with my $5 Borders Bucks print-out folded semi-neatly in my purse. I always have a sense of when joy purchasing a new mass market paperback for a total of $2–3 and change. A sign in the window drew my attention just as I…

  • A post about fall with numerous footnotes

    I have a love/hate relationship with fall. Actually, “hate” is too strong. Even “dislike” is a little too far on the negative end of the shades of meaning scale. It’s more accurate to say I have a love/mild regret relationship with fall. Fall brings pumpkins. Pumpkins means pumpkin pancakes (try the ones here*), pumpkin ice…

  • Torn allegiances

    Some might consider it counterproductive for my first real post (I don’t count my last one) to contain a confession that I haven’t been writing for the past, hmm, eight months or so when my site is ostensibly devoted to promoting my writing career. What can I say? I live dangerously. As dangerously as one…