What's Cooking With Jamie McAllister?

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 Jamie McAllister

This versatile recipe, courtesy of Jamie and James McAllister, is a snap to make. Pair it with chicken or fish for a healthy side dish.

Quinoa-Veggie Pilaf

Ingredients:

1 cup white quinoa

2 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp. butter

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

Directions:

1.) Add chicken broth and butter to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add quinoa and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, over low heat until the quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, approximately 15 minutes.

2.) While the quinoa is cooking, chop the red onion, red pepper, and green pepper. 

3.) Add the quinoa to a serving bowl and mix in the chopped veggies. 

4.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately as a warm side dish or place in the refrigerator for a cool summer side.

About the author: Jamie McAllister is the author of “The Mermaid” in the upcoming anthology By the Bay 2: More East Beach Stories, to be published in 2017. She is a freelance writer in Virginia Beach. For more information about Jamie and her work, please visit her website: www.mcallisterwe.com 

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.

What Are You Up To?

Wonder what's going on with our authors since the release of By The Bay 2?  Well here's what's going on with Mike Owens!

Mike Owens, of East Beach Writers Guild, announces the publication of his new novel, SCREWED, a torrid saga based, in part, on the lusty adventures of Defoe’s 18^th century tale, MOLL FLANDERS.

“Her employment resume includes stints as stripper, madam, and courtesan, all unseemly, but all paying well above minimum wage. Now she’s a fugitive with fifteen million in a secret Swiss bank account and a pack of killers hot on her trail.”

SCREWED

Available from The Wild Rose Press

www.thewilderroses.com

www.mikeowens42.com

Where's Patrick Clark?

Written by Patrick Clark:

The book signing has come and gone, so we've asked a few of our authors what they've been up to since.  


Where is Patrick Clark (and what has he been doing this summer)?

First and foremost, Patrick has been working closely with the editors and graphic artists at Koehlerbooks Publishing in advance of the release of his debut novel, The Monroe Decision.  If you’re interested, you can check out Patrick’s web site at www.patrick-clark.com for more information about the book, including the release date and how to purchase a copy.

But, Patrick did take some time out to travel and make a trek that, in his words, “pushed me harder, physically, than anything I have ever done before.”

See if you can guess where Patrick was. (Don’t cheat by looking ahead.)

Favorite Books of 2016 - Elizabeth Kimball

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

Book Title:  Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

Author:  Mary Norris

Genre: This book fits in many genres: Nonfiction, memoir, language/writing, humor, and reference.

Setting:   

Format:  

Pages: 240

Publication date:  April 6, 2015

Publisher:  W.W. Norton & Company

Opening Lines: “Let’s get one thing straight right from the beginning: I didn’t set out to be a comma queen. The first job I ever had, the summer I was fifteen, was checking feet at a public pool in Cleveland. I was a “key girl”—“Key personnel” was the job title on my pay stub (I made seventy-five dollars a week). I never knew what that was supposed to mean. I was not in charge of any keys, and my position was by no means crucial to the operation of the pool, although I did clean the bathrooms.” 

Favorite Passage: “The Oxford comma refers to the Oxford University Press, whose house style is to use the serial comma. (The public-relations department at Oxford doesn’t use it, however. Presumably PR people see it as a waste of time and space. The business end of these operations is always in a hurry and does not approve of clutter. The serial comma is a pawn in the war between town and gown.) To call it the Oxford comma gives it a bit of class, a little snob appeal. Kids use it (or, rather, “reference” it) on their Twitter bios and their match.com profiles to show that they have standards. Chances are that if you use the Oxford comma you brush the crumbs off your shirtfront before going out. The British get to have it both ways: they deride us Americans for our allegiance to a comma that they named and then rejected as pretentious.”  

Review: To be successful, writers must write well. I have always been fascinated by grammar, punctuation, and usage rules, and I have many dry reference books on my bookshelf. When I first stumbled across Between You & Me, I was immediately captured by the humorous description of the author's own experiences in the copy department at The New Yorker, her use of historical examples, and the way she snuck rules on writing into stories and anecdotes. I quickly realized this was not a dry reference book—it was a hilarious conversation about why we write the way we write—and I found myself learning as I laughed. 

In the chapter on spelling, she explains why The New Yorker copy department only refers to Webster’s Third (or “Web 3”) after exhausting any references in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (“the Little Red Web”), and “Web II” (Webster’s New International Dictionary (Unabridged), Second Edition). Dashes, she says, “like table forks, come in different sizes, and there is a proper use for each.”  I particularly enjoyed the chapters on commas (Chapter 5: Comma Comma Comma Comma, Chameleon), hyphens, and the apostrophe. In one illustration about hyphenating two words to form a compound, she opines “I like the hyphen in ‘high-school principal’ because there actually is such a word as ‘school principal,’ and if the school principal is high she should be escorted off the premises and given a TV series.” 

It’s not all grammar, punctuation, and the author’s experiences, though. She also discusses the use of profanity, gender, and pencils. 

No writer wants to be caught making foolish errors that distract from the plot and leave the reader with a low opinion of the author. So if writers must learn the rules, why not do it with a bit of humor?

About the author: Elizabeth S. Kimball is the author of “The Gatlins Come to East Beach” which will be published in Volume II of By the Bay: East Beach Stories in 2017. 

What Are You Up To?

Written by Gina Warren Buzby

Having finished the "book release" for our newest anthology, the East Beach Writer's Guild moves forward with promoting past, present and future books.  

Being a part of this group has been so rewarding.  I am in the middle of shipping out copies of both "By The Bay and By The Bay 2" to family and friends.  

Thank you all for ordering 
through me, Facebook and Instagram. The set of books is ideal to have in your guest room, give as gifts and take on vacation.  There are stories for everyone.  And, all of the profits go to literacy charities!

About the author: Gina Warren Buzby is the author of “Plein Mysterious” in By the Bay: East Beach Stories.  Her next story, “Plein Blackmail” will appear in By The Bay II: More East Beach Stories, to be launched in spring, 2017.  Gina is also one of three writers that collaborated on a story in the upcoming anthology.  The story is titled “The Proposal”.  Gina is (and writes about) a professional fine artist, working out of her Norfolk, VA studio.  Her website is www.GinaWarrenBuzby.com.