What's Cooking With Karen Harris?

We asked our authors to share with us some of their favorite recipes.  Be it food or drink. This is what we got.

Written by Karen Harris

My go-to summer recipe is for Black Bean Salad.  I adapted it from a 1990 Gourmet Magazine recipe, which called for soaking beans overnight and using fresh corn.  I do use fresh corn in the summer, if I have leftover ears, but canned works just fine.  It is a terrific side dish for grilled meats, tacos, grilled fish, or with chips for a quick lunch.  It only keeps about 48 hours, but I rarely find it left in the fridge that long.

Black Bean Salad

2 15oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15oz can corn kernels, drained

2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 bunch fresh cilantro, rough chopped

1 bunch scallions, diced

2 lemons, juiced

1 cup olive oil (may use extra virgin)

salt to taste

In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients.  In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice, adding salt to taste.  Pour vinaigrette over the salad, stir, and cover and refrigerate at least one hour.  Allow to sit out thirty minutes before serving.  Serves 6.

About the author: Karen Harris is a writer and editor from San Francisco, now residing in Virginia Beach.   Her story “I Have A Dress” appeared in By the Bay: East Beach Stories.  Her story “Comings and Goings” appears in By the Bay 2: More East Beach Stories.

Flying Proms

Written by Karen Harris

On June 10^th, Military Aviation Museum on Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach held their annual Flying Proms.  A British tradition that has made its way to our shores, the Proms delivers fun and excitement for aviation buffs and music lovers alike.  A wind ensemble serenaded all comers as we made our way through the gates.   Aircraft from the beginning of flight through World War II were on display in and out of the hangars, a restored WWII British/American control tower was open for touring, food trucks and drink tents did a brisk business, and this was all before the main event. The concert featured Symponicity, flights of vintage aircraft from World Wars One and Two, and a massive fireworks display.  As the evening began to cool and the sun dipped behind the trees, the orchestra played music classical and movie music while several antique airplanes flew overhead.  The biplanes and more modern fighters from both Allied and Axis sides of the wars were a sight to behold, and what a thrill to watch them taxi to the sides of the stage!  Close enough to touch a piece of history.  The fireworks gilded the lily: one display topping another, until we were certain, “This must be the grand finale!” until the next set began.  While the tickets may seem a little pricey, it is a full afternoon and evening of fun, and this event benefits a remarkable venue and museum.  

About the author: Karen Harris is a writer and editor from San Francisco, now residing in Virginia Beach.   Her story “I Have A Dress” appeared in By the Bay: East Beach Stories.  Her story “Comings and Goings” appears in By the Bay 2: More East Beach Stories.

Comings And Goings

Today we have an excerpt from "Comings And Goings" by Karen Harris.

First let's check out her blurb.

Do you ever wonder, as you walk your dog, push a stroller, or meander the shady streets of your neighborhood, “Who is moving into the corner house?”   “Which neighbor is filling that moving van?”  Like a photograph, Comings and Goings gives a glimpse into those lives unknown.

Wow!  Don't you want more with that?

Well here's a bit more,  check out an excerpt from her story.

Author Interview: Karen Harris

Have you met our author Karen Harris?

No?

If you click on the AUTHOR INTERVIEW TAB you'll find an interview that we did with her as well as a few photos.

Each of the contributing authors submitted a question for this interview.  Which makes for an interesting interview.

So stop by and check out Karen's interview.  Here's just a sample of one of the many questions.

What is your favorite genre movie and is it the same genre that you like to read?

I don’t think I responded with a movie/book genre subject.  I love a wide variety of book genres, but mysteries have been my favorite since Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys came my way in third or fourth grade.  /Currently, Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series are my go-to books.  My movie preferences are also varied, but I love foreign comedies.  Tampopo and the Taxing Woman series from Japan, and Amelie from France leap to mind. They aren’t new, but their quirky humor makes them come to mind when I try to think which type of movies I love most.  

Easter

Written by Karen Harris 

Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  The Choral Alleluias of Easter morning shatter the quiet reflections of Lent. Well, to be completely honest, we have been rehearsing those Alleluias throughout Lent.  The solemnity of the Sunday services, and the beautiful, mournful music of Maundy Thursday and the Tenebrae of Good Friday overshadow our practices until the big moment at 8:30 on Easter Sunday.  As we climb the steps to the balcony, the service opens with brass and organ.  My daughter and I position ourselves behind the rest of the family seated in the last pew to sing close to them.  The high notes of the descants fairly fly from the balcony to the chancel and back.  The white and gold of our robes and stoles mirror the Easter lilies and horns.  

Between the services, we feast at the choir buffet.  We temper our desire to eat some of everything with memories of Easters past, and the dozy sensations during the second service.  If we stayed in the balcony, the nodding of our heads would go unnoticed, but, of course, we process to the chancel, where the entire congregation would catch us napping.  And, there is the lamb, marinating in the fridge, with new potatoes, asparagus, and more, awaiting us at home.  The 11:00 service is packed, every chair in the narthex is full and latecomers stand behind them.  Somehow, though this is our second time today, the hymns seem fresh and new, even the beloved and familiar “Halleluiah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.  Family, faith, music, and joy-what more could I ask for?

About the Author: Karen Harris is a writer and editor from San Francisco, now residing in Virginia Beach.   Her story “I Have A Dress” appeared in By the Bay: East Beach Stories.  Her story “Comings and Goings” will appear in Volume II  which will be published in 2017.

Favorite Book of 2016 - Karen Harris

Writers read!  And here is one of our By the Bay 2 authors’ favorite books of 2016.


Written by Karen Harris

Book Title: Telling Secrets

Author:  Frederick Buechner

Genre:  Memoir

Setting:  Family life from the late 1930’s-present mostly in the US

Pages:  106

Publication date:  1991

Publisher:  Harper Collins

Opening Line: “One November morning in 1936 when I was ten years old, my father got up early, put on a pair of gray slacks and a maroon sweater, opened the door to look in briefly on my younger brother and me, who were playing a game in our room, and then went down into the garage where he turned on the engine of the family Chevy and sat down on the running board to wait for the exhaust to kill him.”

Favorite Passage:  It was hard to pick a favorite, so I chose one I loved for its humor and pathos:  “She excoriated the ravages of old age but never accepted them as the consequence of getting old.  ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me today,’ she must have said a thousand days as she tried once, then again, then a third time, to pull herself out of her chair into her walker.  It never seemed to occur to her that what was wrong with her was that she was on her way to pushing a hundred.  Maybe that was why some part of her remained unravaged.  Some surviving lightness of touch let her stand back from the wreckage and see that among other things it was absurdly funny.  When I told her the last time she was mobile enough to visit us in Vermont that the man who had just passed her window was the gardener, she said, ‘Tell him to come in and take a look at the last rose of summer.” 

Review:  Frederick Buechner manages to weave the difficult memories of his childhood into his unexpected spiritual journey with an ease that holds one’s attention and one’s heart.  His reminiscences are at once poignant and funny, written with a natural, lyrical flair.

About the author: Karen Harris is a writer and editor from San Francisco, now residing in Virginia Beach.   Her story “I Have A Dress” appeared in By the Bay: East Beach Stories.  Her story “Comings and Goings” will appear in Volume II  which will be published in 2017.

Chesapeake Bay Living: A Year In The Annual Trial Garden

Annual Trial Garden

Written by Karen Harris

When I mention my work as a Master Gardener, and say that I work at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, AREC for short, most folks, even locals, give me a blank look.  

If I say I work off Diamond Springs Road, where the gardens are, the response is nearly always enthusiastic, and that warms my heart.  A team of devoted volunteers tends this lovely flower garden, blooming its heart out on a busy, industrial street.  

Chesapeake Bay Living: Slover Library

Did you know thate we had a talk on June 28th at Slover Library?  We did!

We were also fortunate enough to get a tour of the library from our very own Will Hopkins.  We really appreciated the time he took to tell us the history and show us around.  It was fantastic!

I know what you're thinking.  What's so great about a dark, cramped library?  Well for one it isn't dark.  Two, it isn't cramped.  This place is huge!  I could honestly get lost in it.  It's very open and bright.  

Karen Harris, Gina Warren Buzby,
Will Hopkins & Jayne Ormerod

And it quite modern.  I was blown away when I found out you can look up books at the special kiosks.  I'm from a time when you had to search through card catalogs.  I may have just dated myself there, but that's okay.

Plus it's not just books.  They have computers and offer different classes.  I won't tell all, you'll just have to go check it out for yourself.  This place is fabulous and offers a lot!

And I absolutely love that they incorporated the old building with the new structure.  There's so much beautiful architecture downtown that I was glad they blended instead of just tearing a building down.

So if you are in the downtown Norfolk Area, I highly recommend stopping by.  And if you haven't already, get yourself a library card.

Book Signing

February 27th was your opportunity to get an autographed copy of our book.  Did you miss your opportunity?  

Jenny Sparks, Mike Owens, Jayne Ormerod, Mary-Jac O'Daniel,
Karen Harris, Michelle Davenport, Patrick Clark & Gina Warren Buzby

Not to worry!  We will have another book signing on April 30th, so mark your calendars!  More information to come on that event.

Origins Part One

Have you ever wondered where the ideas for the stories came from for By The Bay?  Did it stem from something that happened to our authors or was it just a creative idea?

Well wonder no more!  Our wonderful author, Jenny Sparks, came up with a great idea.  Why not share how we came up with our stories.  

So, over the course of the next month we will share our authors thoughts with you.

I hope you enjoy!

Big Screen Dreams: I Have A Dress

So once again we get to peek inside our author's head to see who they would cast as their characters if their story was made into a movie.  Be it big screen or a made for TV movie.  That's right we dream big here.

Everyone envisions a character differently, but wouldn't it be interesting to see what our authors were seeing in their mind's eye when they wrote their story?  So here's our chance!

And please feel free to comment below on who you 'saw' this character as.  Does your idea of who the character looks like go with who the author envisions?

Cindy

Karen Harris envisions Anne Hathaway playing Karen, Matt Damon as Clay and Debra Messing (with a pixie hair cut) as Cindy.

Karen

Clay

What do you think?

Books For The Holiday

On November 20th the East Beach Writers Guild got together for their monthly meeting.  This month we brought children's books to donate to Toys For Tots.  Books can be a fantastic gift.  From toddlers to teenagers we donated books that we thought someone else would love.

Back Row: Gina Warren Buzby, Jayne Ormerod, Jenny Sparks & Patrick Clark
Front Row: Mike Owens, Skip McLamb, Mary-Jac O'Daniel, Karen Harris, Michelle Davenport & Will Hopkins

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner This Time?

Come in!  Come in out of the rain!

With the specter of Hurricane Joaquin looming on the horizon we are so glad that you could join us for another one of our literary dinners!  I hope you had no trouble getting here.  Flooding can sometimes be an issue when we get so much rain.

I'm more than happy to tell you who all of our distinguished guests are tonight.

Anne Rivers Siddon

See those four lovely southern ladies in the corner?  That's Gina Warren Buzby and her guests.  She has invited Sue Monk Kidd, Anne Rivers Siddon and Dorthea Benton Frank.

I believe they've just been served shrimp and grits.  I wonder what they are discussing.  Maybe we can get some really good stories out of them if we let the Firefly vodka flow!

Maybe Mrs. Siddon is explaining the process of having your book made into a movie.  Now that's a conversation that I'd love to sit in on.

Karen Harris has invited St. Paul, P.D. James and Gabriel Garcia Marquez for dinner.

Author Interview: Karen Harris

Have you met our author Karen Harris?

No?

If you click on the AUTHOR TAB you'll find an interview that we did with her.  As well as a few candid photos.

Each contributing author submitted a question for the interview.  It's proving to be quite interesting.

So stop by and check out Karen's interview.

Did you know Karen has two cats?  In her words, a  small, feisty black cat named Antigone and a young and crazy lynx-point Siamese named Figaro.

I Have A Dress Excerpt

Today we are releasing an excerpt of "I Have A Dress" by Karen Harris.

But first why not read the blurb?

Sometimes, life changes in an instant. Or a series of instances.  “I Have a Dress” reminds us that love comes our way when we least expect it, blossoming from a single sentence, lightly spoken.

Wow!

Now check out the excerpt.