On Music Festivals

me and hs

My poor HS* probably got entirely sick of me mentioning that this song or that song was on one of my book's playlists this weekend. We were at the Sasquatch music festival in middle-of-nowhere George, Washington. The venue is situated on the banks of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, where the views rival the great music on offer.

gorge views

gorge sunset

And great it was! Some of my all-time favorite bands played, with several, as I mentioned before, being featured on book playlists that I'll be sure to share with you at some future, closer-to-book-release point. Highlights of the festival for me included The Shins, Bon Iver, Tenacious D, The Civil Wars, Silversun Pickups, Hey Marseilles, Beirut, STRFKR, Walk the Moon and the Head and the Heart. I heartily recommend both seeing those bands live and listening to their albums. Good stuff.

day two of the unwashed masses

The cows down the hill that woke us up the first morning were also a highlight, but after that it was earplugs at night all the way. Especially since our camping neighbors were . . . enthusiastic . . . teens.

our moo-cow overlord alarm clocks

I love matching songs to my books. Even more, I love hearing bands play songs that encourage an emotional response from me. This is usually amplified when I see that band live, hear the voices in the raw, revel in instrumental musicianship on stage. Compounded over the course of a four day festival weekend, I felt fulfilled and inspired, as well as entertained. Who are your favorite bands to see live? And how was your holiday weekend?

Cheers and Love from Scomerica
*that would be the Hottie Scottie, for new readers. :)

Peach Ice Cream

We're big fans of ice cream of sweets OF FOOD here in Scomerica, as well as fans of getting into the kitchen and trying new recipes (and revisiting old). When the temperatures in Seattle rose unseasonably high (we're talking the upper 70's here, folks woohoo!), we pulled out the ice cream maker, whipped up a batch, and took off to the beach for the day.

 When we got back from our sun-soaked-sandy day, this creamy, bright confection awaited us.

The recipe we used is from Allrecipes, but I've increased the amount of peach puree slightly for a stronger peach flavor and used a vanilla bean in place of the extract. Also, this recipe uses raw egg, so if you're concerned about that, look for pasteurized eggs. I admit, I did use frozen peaches since fresh aren't in season yet in the PNW, but these frozen peaces are high quality and, to be honest, have better flavor than many fresh peaches I've had in the past.

 Peach Ice Cream (adapted from allrecipes.com)

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups of peach puree
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt**

To make peach puree, peel 5-6 large peaches and puree in a blender or food processor. To use frozen peaches, thaw the peaches in a bowl, first, and puree with the juice. Measure 2 1/2 cups of puree and set aside.

In the blender, combine the eggs and sugar until the eggs are slightly foamy, approximately 30 seconds. Stir together the cream, milk, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg mixture and the peach puree.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's directions. Enjoy!

** I hear grumbles at times from folks who don't like non-quantifiable measurements. A pinch, however, is a time-honored tradition. Literally, take a pinch of salt between your fingers and toss it in the bowl. You can toss another pinch over your left shoulder for luck (or to keep bad things away or something), if you wish.

Tales From Scomerica

Scomerica. It pretty much looks like this.

Once upon a time, a man and a woman walked the blustery, snowy shores of Fife Kingdom, discoursing on ideologies, philosophies, hopes and happiness. They looked to a peninsula of pretty port town cottages and a lighthouse, waited as the sun set over the North Sea, and determined that their perfect land existed in a world they could share. And so they called it Scomerica.

Because he was Scottish. And she was American. Yeees, we are amused by our own cleverness, even if others aren't.

And so this series of blog posts is an attempt to get into the once-a-week habit, and to share random pieces of life, writing and otherwise.

Welcome to Scomerica.

To finish the story begun above, the man and the woman recently wed.

Married by our dear friend Mandy Hubbard.

Grinning like the happy dorks we are.

Surrounded by beloved family and some best friends in the world: Kristin Otts, Kirsten Hubbard and Steph Kuehn.

In typical man fashion, the HottieScottie (don't blame me, blame Mandy for that nickname) probably liked the wedding gifts best of all.

Apparently the old T.V. wasn't good enough. I assumed "turning on" was all a T.V. needed. Silly me.

After, we went to New York and Philadelphia to see art and parks and melt in unseasonably warm weather. Also, to visit more of the best friends money can't buy and completely forget to take photos of/with them. So Kody, Sarah G., Phoebe, Alison and EVEN MY OWN EDITOR AND AGENT (who are the best people in the biz no joke): You look amazing. Beyond epic. In the pictures in my mind.

When Scomerica and New York mix.

A dose of history in Philadelphia.

The Rodin Museum. An homage to my favorite sculptor.

 And then we came home.

So, what else happens in Scomerica? When the weather is nice, we do things like garden and walk and air out the tent in the backyard. We traverse Scomeria's national boundary and play tourists in Seattle and make funny faces for the camera. After all, the wisdom of all the ages basically comes down to this: 

When you find someone as weird as you, marry them.

And finally . . . spring.

It's my favorite season when I'm embroiled in it and the weather's lovely, as it has been the past week. When it's raining or winter or summer, I become fickle and autumn is my favorite. At spring's best, everything is blooming outside, we've got the garden planted with summer vegetables and our floppy dog keeps trying to eat the ripened strawberries off the plants when we're not looking. Today, as I was finishing up some writing, I looked out the dining room window and realized there's a lilac tree tucked away between two other bushes. Almost three years in this house and I'd never noticed it before! I immediately went out and gathered a few fragrant stems. The house smells delicious now. Fresh flowers in the house never fail to make me smile. I surround myself with them as often as possible. But I can never decide which types i like best.

What's your favorite flower?

The lovely Pam Witte featured a number of Lucky 13 authors, including me, on Ink & Angst today. I was honored to share some thoughts on writing, publishing and my process.

Love and Cheers from Scomerica

Complex Chinese

Lots of fun things happening with NOBODY BUT US, and today I get to share the news that my book will be translated into Complex Chinese!!!!!

April 9, 2012
		International rights: Children's		Complex Chinese rights to Kristin Halbrook's NOBODY BUT US, to Liz Chang at Ecus, in a nice deal, by Gray Tan at The Grayhawk Agency on behalf of Jacqueline Murphy at FinePrint Literary Management.

When I first got the news, it was all

*jawdrop*

Because . . . CHINESE. HOW COOL IS THAT????? I cannot WAIT to see my story in characters I can't even begin to read, haha.

Guest Post Over at The Lucky 13s

Hiya party people!

I had the chance to get together with Marissa Burt and chat her MG fantasy, STORYBOUND. The book comes out TODAY (yay!). Head over to The Lucky 13s blog to see an interview I did with Marissa. We talk heroes and villains, writer's retreats and MG fantasy. Fun stuff.

A Very Important Conversation about Women

When I was in graduate school, becoming increasingly disenchanted with the hoops, frustrations and red tape of public education, I considered switching my degree to Geography so I could study populations. I love all sorts of population studies, but my real passion was on populations of women and children and, even more specifically, women and children in poverty. I wanted to know the whys, hows, and wheres of this issue, as well as wanted to help brainstorm solutions, provide advocacy and influence lawmakers.

My life took other twists and turns to get me to where I am right now, but if I did ever go back to grad school, I would still pursue this path, I think. In any event, Tavis Smiley, who I've enjoyed listening to for years and years, recently hosted a conversation about women and poverty at New York University.

I would rarely ever recommend putting aside your YA reading for a time, but in this case and in this time when women are being brutally attacked politically, I think this conversation is so important to women, men and allies of both (yup, that's everyone) that we should all set some time aside to give it a listen. It is full of information, innovation, questions, possibilities, statistics and opinions. Maybe a bit of hope, too.

Did you know, for example, that of the over 1billion people in poverty around the world, 70% of them are women? Or that of all the Fortune 500 companies, only approximately 3% offer on-site daycare? Take a few moments to learn more from this revealing conversation: Made Visible: Women, Children and Poverty in America.

Kody's AMN Cover Reveal

If the title doesn't intrigue you, perhaps that partially hidden expression will. This looks, to me, like the PERFECT book to relax with at the beach or on a blanket at the park. Now just need the good weather to come along.

Kody's also giving a copy of the ARC away. If you haven't seen her post, head over to check out the details, then come back to leave a comment here for an extra entry. Good luck and happy reading! :)