May Recipe - Corn Casserole

Corn Casserole

Submitted by Karen Dupaix

 This casserole was a big hit at our Master Gardeners socials when I lived in Tooele. It goes well with ham or roast.

 1/2 cup margarine

17-oz. can whole corn with liquid

17-oz. can creamed corn

8 1/2-oz. box Jiffy cornbread mix

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

pinch of each: salt, pepper, sugar

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Melt margarine in 9" x 13" baking dish. Add all corn and cornbread mix; gently mix with fork. Add eggs; mix with fork. Drop sour cream by tablespoons in different areas on top of corn mixture; fold in gently. Add seasonings. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Put in preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes, or until mixture is firm. Cool slightly before cutting into squares. Serves 12.

May's Good News

It looks like the High Mail Advisory has passed (but please still trim your posts!), and we're glad to have all our newbies! Here's a little bit of the good news AI members have enjoyed in the last few weeks:

Nichole Giles's manuscript, Then Came Hope, took third place in the Romance Writer's of America Heart of the West chapter's Great Beginnings contest!

Several AI members (and future AI members and other cool people) placed in the 2012 LDStorymakers First Chapter Contest. Here's the complete list of winners!

Grand Prize- JoLynne Lyon for "The Truth Inducer"

Adult Speculative:

1st place-Chris Miller for "Pigments"

2nd Place-Randy Lindsay for "Under an Alien Sun"

3rd Place-Caleb Palfreyman for "The Calling of the Hopefuls"

Romance/women's Fiction:

1st place-Cindy Anderson for "Fair Catch"

2nd place-Cindy Anderson for "A Kiss in the Moonlight"

3rd Place- Cindy Anderson for "Under a Georgia Moon"

4th Place-Tasha Seegmiller for "Transcend"

Mystery/Suspense:

1st place-Steven Bohls "Compound 89"

2nd Place-Bonnie Harris "Encoded Secrets"

3rd Place-Jean Newman "Escape"

YA Speculative Fiction:

1st place-Angela Woiwode for "Rogue Intellect"

2nd place-Ilima Todd for "Remake"

3rd place-Tony Dutson for "Blood of Mars"

4th place tie-Mary Campbell for "Non-Entity"

4th place tie-Jennilyn Tolley for "Slipperage"

5th place-Steve M. Booth for "Dark Talisman"

YA General Fiction:

1st place-Wendy Swore for "Firebug"

2nd place-Jody Durfee for "Mighty Prayer"

3rd place-Cory Webb for "Landslide"

4th place tie-Bethany Kitchen for "Legends of the Otherworld"

4th place tie-Nikki Trionfo for "Shatter"

Historical Fiction:

1st place-Brenda Bensch for "Boudica's Head"

2nd place-Susan Tietjen for "Promise Me Tomorrow"

3rd place-Scott Lockwood for "The Goodman of the House"

Non-Fiction:

1st place-Lucy Armstrong for "The Naughty Wife"

2nd place-Christy Dorrity for "A Reel Guide to Irish Dancing"

3rd place-C. Michelle Jefferies for "Enchanted Etiquette"

General Fiction:

1st place-Breeann Allison for "Gregor's Hollow"

2nd place-Karyn Patterson for "The Death Show"

3rd place-David Cross for "The Penitent" (David is married to our Media Director, Ali Cross, and this is the first time he's ever entered something!)

Also at the conference, lots of our members and other friends pitched (some even without tears!) to agents and editors. Congrats to everyone who had the courage to talk about his/her work!

HIGH MAIL ADVISORY

As always, we anticipate the annual post-conference barrage to hit very soon. While we definitely want to have our newbie introductions and welcomes, we need to be mindful of our mail volume, which can be a problem for many members, either with bandwidth or just sheer overwhelm.

Tips to reduce mail volume

• Please reply to newbie intros OFF LIST. Click "Reply to Sender" at the bottom of the message to say "Welcome, hello!" to each individual new member directly to their inbox.
• Please remember to TRIM YOUR EMAILS. One or two replies back in the chain are probably sufficient; please delete older emails that appear at the bottom of your message. They can make individual emails and especially digests crazy long.
  
• Be cognizant of your subject lines/what you're replying to. Your message will be grouped with them. (I.e. if you hit reply to send a message to the group, even if you change the subject line, your message will be stuck in with the other messages and many members might not see them.)
• Consider digest or web-only modes--see below for more of those.

Getting the Most out of Digest Mode

Our Yahoo Groups have a digest mode, which sends out emails in batches of 25, or early in the morning, whichever comes first. (For example, if 26 emails are sent in a day, the first 25 will be assembled into the digest as soon as they arrive, and the 26th will be sent in another digest at the appointed time.)

Personally, I love the digest mode. It makes it easy to follow the various conversations we have as well as manage the hundreds of messages that come from this group each month. One of the biggest benefits of digest is how it assembles the emails. It groups emails according to subject, or by what email you're replying to even if you change the subject.

Here's an example of how the digest mode groups emails (All email images from this post are from Gmail.):

Note that these are only grouped from among the 25 most recent emails to the group.

Each subject line is linked to the email clicking on the link will take you down to the email—most of the time.

Naturally, 25 messages pasted into a single email makes for one pretty long email. In the right-hand column, you'll see "Message clipped. View entire message." if you're in Gmail.

If there are parts of the email you want to read, and the links won't work, find that message and click View entire message. (Depending on how long the email is, the message is sometimes posted at the end of the email.)

Emailing the group and responding to emails is easy, too. To begin a new subject, you can just address it to [the name of our group, no spaces or punctuation, remember authors is plural] at yahoogroups.com. To reply to an email in a digest, there are options below each message:

Reply to sender will send an email directly to the person who sent the message to the group. Reply to group will send an email to the entire group—but neither of these options will "quote" the email you're replying to. You'll have to enter the subject line, and none of the messages will appear in your email.

To quote the email I'm responding to (and make sure Yahoo recognizes that my message is part of that conversation), I use Reply via web post. This link takes you to the Yahoo Group website, ready to post a reply with the subject line and quoted email filled in (you may have to sign in with Yahoo to continue):

From here you can also directly email that person--just pull down the menu by To: and the original emailer's address will appear as an option.

One note here, whether you're on digest or not—please remember to trim your emails! You probably don't need all twenty-seven emails in the conversation tacked on to the end of your message. Two or three is plenty.

It's kind of a mess when you're receiving individual emails, but on digest it's extremely unwieldy.

For example, here is ONE untrimmed message in a digest--not an entire digest, just ONE MESSAGE. Each column represents an entire screen with my browser font set as small as it will go:

Obviously, when you're on digest mode, you use the Back to Top and the table of contents to navigate quite a bit ;) .

There's one more option below each message in the digest that is also handy: Messages in this topic (5). The number indicates how many messages are in this topic. Clicking on this link also takes you to the group, but to the single message view:

There's a ton of information on this screen! The message itself is front and center (cut off on this image is the subject line, which is a large header at the top). In the blue column at right, the author of the email is listed, with an option to send a message to them. Below the email, there's the option to Reply to the email (directly to the group).

Below that, there's a list of the other messages on this subject, with date, time and author information. Each indent in this list means that the email is a reply to the one above it. Here, the second and third messages are both replies to the first message, while the fourth message is a reply to the third, and the fifth is a reply to the fourth. The message you're reading now is highlighted in blue in this list.

If you want to see this view, you can get to the group website from any (untrimmed) email from the group. At the right-hand side of the top of each email, there's a link to Visit Your Group:

And it's here that you can change your settings to digest mode. Above the group name on the group home page, you'll see a link called Edit Membership. Click on it.

Under Step 2, select Daily Digest:

Click Save Changes at the bottom, and you're done! Welcome to digest mode!

Note that when you switch to or from digest mode, Yahoo doesn't keep close enough track of this, so you might miss a few emails, or see them twice.

Getting the most out of web-only mode 

Web-only mode means you only receive special notices from the group in your email, and the rest of the messages you can read when you visit the group page on Yahoo.

Head on over to our Yahoo page and click on messages (left side bar). At the top you'll see:

Messages: Simplify | Expand   (Group by Topic)

Click on GROUP BY TOPIC. This puts your messages in a forum style format. 


Now click on a topic. You can expand ONE message or ALL of them by clicking on EXPAND at the top of the page. You can also click on SORT BY DATE to the right and either have the newest message first or the oldest. 


AND the best part is the little blue REPLY button at the bottom of each message, making it easy to reply to each one.


Thank you for understanding as we grow and take on new friends! We hope mail levels will reach normal sometime in June. 

April Recipe (sorry it's late!)

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
by Karen Dupaix

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 Tablespoons, divided
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened


1/2 cup caramel topping

Combine all ingredients for streusel topping in a small bowl. Mix with fingers to thoroughly combine. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter iwth pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 Tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

Happy Conference!

We're so excited to get together during the conference. Be sure to put face with the online names we know so well and say hello!

We know that many of our members can't be with us today, and we miss you and think of you often. Especially as we watched this:


Music:

Getting the Most out of Attending a Literary Conference

We're reposting old favorites on conference prep as the LDStorymakers conference gets underway. Enjoy!

By Joshua J. Perkey

Conferences can be great fun and an excellent way to improve your craft—but that depends a lot on how your approach. Before anything else, though, there is one thing you need to consider: what do you want to gain out of attending the conference? There are many goals, and all are laudable. It depends on your needs. Think about the following ideas, then consider what it is you want to accomplish.

Ok, time for some specifics. Here are some things to think about to have an awesome conference experience:

1. Networking. Conferences are a great way to meet people. Let’s face it, writing is a solitary craft, but perfecting that craft requires feedback; marketing that book or magazine article requires knowing who to send it to; and keeping yourself sane requires talking to real people—face to face—from time to time. Here’s a little more on this one:

1a. Meet people. Talk to other authors. They are engaged in the same work you are and trying to do the same thing you do. They want to find the best way to share their thoughts and stories, and you’ll find more support than you ever expected. Don’t be afraid to make new friends. The odd thing about this business, and contrary to what we may intuitively think, the more we network and help each other, the more likely we all are to be successful. Expanding relationships expands the possibility of getting noticed.

1b. Meet agents and editors—but be polite and respectful of their time. They come to conferences expecting writers to approach them, and they are prepared to engage you. But they are real people, too. Just be friendly, and you’ll be amazed. I once had a 2 hour conversation with British literary agent Ian Drury just by saying hello. He was funny, engaging, and a pleasure to talk to and learn from.

1c. Come with your pitch prepared, and share it with as many people as you can. This is the time to practice. Ask other writers for feedback. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it gets better. Two years ago I rewrote my entire pitch after a couple of experienced writers heard it and provided requested suggestions—and it was much, much improved. Just don’t shove your manuscript in front of anyone. Editors, agents, and other writers may be interested in your work—but they’ll let you know if they want to see it.

1d. Bring business cards, and don’t skimp here. This may be your one chance to make an impression. It’s worth a few bucks to look classy and professional. And ask others for their cards. It’s still the number one way at conferences for sharing contact information, including websites, blogs, and email.

2. Improving Your Craft. Conferences are built around workshops and classes. Take a peak beforehand and see what meets your needs. Don’t worry about missing a particular class. Make friends and share notes with others, or find the presenters you missed online. They may be willing to share some of their presentation with you later.

3. Marketing. You’ll learn the latest trends and what pitfalls to avoid—and you’ll learn where to go to find more information. And the more people you meet, the better you’ll be at marketing.

4. You’ll Get Energized. Conferences always, always get me excited about the craft. Go because you’ll want to be better and do more and make a difference in your own writing and in the world you engage in.

5. Pick a Conference that Meets Your Goals. There are a gazillion conferences. Ok, not that many, but there are a lot. Many of them target a specific genre, and some might be better for you than others. Research online and ask others where they would attend. Then evaluate your goals, go, and enjoy. In the end, it’s not just about getting published. It’s about enjoying the experience of story and the craft and meeting others engaged in the craft.

6. Most important of all, relax, have fun, and enjoy the time you have!

Joshua J. Perkey is a member of Authors Incognito. He works full time for the Ensign magazine. For more about Josh, check out his blog at joshuajperkey.blogspot.com.

Marketing in Social Situations

We're reposting old favorites about preparing for the conference as we all do the same! Enjoy!


By Don Carey

Years ago, my wife and I moved to a town far from home. We were fresh out of college, and missed the friendship of people our own age. When another young couple moved into the ward, we were eager to invite them for dinner.

They accepted, although with a bit of hesitancy. Our dinner went okay, but this couple was very guarded the whole time, and it wasn't until the evening was wrapping up that they finally seemed to relax.

A few weeks later, they invited us to share dinner at their house, and they seemed like two totally different people—open, relaxed, and eager to be friends. During dessert, they explained their earlier behavior.

"We've had three other people invite us to dinner since we moved here, and every one of them was only interested in selling us a multi-level marketing plan."

I think each of us has experienced this--that person with one goal: SELL! Most of us, as this couple was, are turned off by that approach.

Yet for many authors, successful marketing requires us to pitch our books to as many people as possible.  So how do sell your book without becoming "that guy?" As I see it, the secret is a balance of preparation, initiation, and genuine interest.

Be prepared with pitches for a variety of situations. When talking about Bumpy Landings, I'll mention the flying angle to some, coming of age to others, and the romantic elements to the rest.

Nearly every conversation migrates to a point where you can naturally mention your book. I went home to Hawai'i in February, and as I traveled around, I would invariably run into people I knew. Their question was always the same: "What are you doing here?"

My answer was easy: "I'm here to do a book signing." Then they would ask about my book, and it was time for my pitch.

It’s a little different talking to strangers. I’ve needed to leave my comfort zone, take the initiative, and strike up a conversation. This can be hard for solitary creative types like us. The secret is to ask people about themselves, and show a genuine interest in them. People love talking about themselves, and if you are willing to be a listener, they will usually open up.

When I’m on a plane, I like to ask my seatmate if they’re headed out or home, and a little about their occupation. They will usually ask the same of me, and the answer I have prepared is, “I’m a full-time computer programmer and a part-time writer.” Often, just mentioning that I’m a writer will entice them to ask more, and in no time I’m giving them one of my pitches.

Learning to talk to people like this has not been easy, but as with any skill, the more I have practiced, the easier it has become.

With a little preparation and initiative on your part, the next person you talk to may just become your new biggest fan.

Don Carey is the author of Bumpy Landings, and a member of Authors Incognito. Find out more about Don: http://www.blogger.com/goog_568283098

The Essentials on How to Prepare for a Pitch Session

We're reposting some older goodies on preparing for the Conference. Please enjoy!

by Danyelle Ferguson

Many Authors Incognito members are signed up for pitch sessions during the  Storymakers Writers Conference.  For some, it’s their first time pitching to an agent or editor. Just the thought of being in the same room with a highly sought after agent or editor is stressful enough for any writer to sweat through his freshly applied deodorant. To lessen some spine tingling nerves, I have compiled my tips for a smooth-as-possible pitch session.

Danyelle’s Essential Guide to Pitching

• Research the Editor or Agent. I’m not telling you to stalk him or her. I’m just saying go to his website, look to see what books he represent. If he has a blog, become a follower and actually comment on his posts. Wow. Amazing to think something so simple could make you stand out from the other conference attendees, but it can. If he has a newsletter, sign up for it. Pay attention to what the agent or editor is communicating so you can comment on it when you meet up. “John, I enjoyed your post about killer query letters. That one query about the yellow dog was hilarious. I can see why you liked it.” You may think it’s schmoozing – and it kind of is. But what it shows is that you take your writing career seriously and you took time out of your day to find out about the person you were meeting with. Agents and editors get tons of pitches from people who have no clue what books they represent or their preferences. Be a writer who stands out right from the beginning.
•   Choose which book you want to pitch. You can’t walk into a pitch session and say, “I have five books I want to tell you about . . . “ Choose the manuscript you think is the best match for the editor or agent you are meeting. You should take a second book to pitch, but only share it IF and ONLY IF the editor or agent asks if you have anything else in the works. It’s important to be prepared, but at the same time be respectful of his time. 
•  Write out the pitch. If you don’t know how to draft a pitch, go check out a bunch of book cover blurbs – you know, the description and hook on the back cover. In fact, this is an excellent thing to do before writing your pitch. Go to a library or better yet – a book store. Why is a book store better? Because they have all the current best seller’s in your genre prominently displayed. Read all of their back cover blurbs. THIS is what you want your pitch to look like. You also want it to be about that same length. A pitch should take 3 minutes max. I know it sounds painfully short, but three minutes is a lot of time.
•  Practice the pitch. Say it in front of the mirror, to your kids, the dog, or your neighbors. Call your writer friends on the phone and practice introducing yourself and transitioning into your pitch. Practice. Practice. Practice. Then practice the pitch out loud at least ten more times. While you’re pitching, if you stumble on words or a sentence seems awkward, then change it. Fine tune your pitch so that it’s easy to say and flows off your tongue like you don’t even need to think about it. Your goal – to pitch your book to 25 people (okay, I guess the dog counts too – but only once!). If you do this, I promise you will feel so much more comfortable when you’re actually sitting in front of the editor or agent.
•  Cheat Sheet. Write your pitch onto 3x5 cards to take with you to the pitch session. Then, just in case you do get super nervous, you can refer to the notes. Remember, being prepared is one of the keys to a great pitch session.
•  Dress for Success. First impressions are a huge factor. How you show up and act represents the kind of public figure you would make, too. Dress professionally. It doesn’t need to be a suit and tie, but definitely business casual for the guys. No jeans, please. Ladies, slacks, skirts, or dresses are all fine. Again, dressy casual or business casual.
•  45 Minute Prep. I usually leave my conference classes 45 minutes before the pitch so I can change into fresh clothes, freshen up my hair and make-up, run through my pitch three more times, then the most important detail, kneel to pray. Take a few deep breaths, then go for it!
•  Arrive Early. Be sure to get to your pitch session at least ten minutes early. I usually shoot for fifteen. This way if someone didn’t show up or they are running ahead, everything can continue running smoothly.
•  Be Friendly. I can guarantee you are going to be a nervous wreck. I’ve pitched to Lisa Mangum twice and we’ve become good friends. But still, whenever we first see each other – whether it’s for a lunch date or at a conference – I get this initial surge of “ACK! She’s THE editor!”  Remember that the agent and editor are both real people, with real lives. They have bad morning breath just like we do.  =)  Smile, shake hands, and be the nicest version of you.
•  End on a Good Note. No matter how the pitch session goes, be sure to leave on a good note. Thank the agent or editor for attending the conference and giving the attendees an opportunity to meet with him. You can also leave your business card, in case he might decide to contact you later.

After the pitch session, you’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief . . . and realize the experience wasn’t quite as daunting as you had built up in your head. In fact, it was awesome! My one last tip is to save a little piece of chocolate as a reward for surviving your first . . . or thirtieth . . . pitch session.

Danyelle Ferguson is the Authors Incognito Activities Director. To learn more about Danyelle, visit either her blog at www.QueenOfTheClan.com or her website www.DanyelleFerguson.com.