Welcome to February

Welcome to February

by Saralyn Richard

A lot’s going on at my house with the new book, a short-lived bout of harsh weather, and several book clubs and other author events. I have a lot to share with you this month, and I hope you find it interesting and of value. The goal of this newsletter is to communicate with you and to invite you to communicate with me. I hope you will participate in whatever surveys, contests, interviews—whatever opportunities we have to interact, either in person or virtually. At the same time, I hope you will reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns that you have. I’d be delighted. to assist you in anything related to reading, writing, or speaking. Anytime.

Meanwhile, here’s a short blogpost I wrote for Substack. I thought you might enjoy it.

Everything I know about writing and publishing I learned from my dog…..

I always wanted to be a writer, but I was way too involved in my career as a teacher, administrator, and school improvement consultant to be able to dedicate myself to consistent, disciplined writing. Finally, when the demands of work travel became too difficult, I gave up the consulting and settled into spending more time at home.

Read more here

My newest book, MURDER OUTSIDE THE BOX, has been out in the world since January 5, and I’m delighted with the feedback I’m receiving. If you have read and reviewed it, thank you so very much. If you haven’t yet read it, you can purchase the print book at Galveston Bookshop, Amazon, or directly from me. The ebook is available everywhere ebooks are sold.

One of the main characters in this Detective Parrott mystery (#4) is T.J. Bath. The character is named after a real-live friend of mine, who placed a generous, winning bid in an auction, benefitting The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston.

I’d like to introduce you to the real T.J. Bath:

T.J. was born in Kansas City, KS and raised in Chevy Chase, MD. After graduating from high school, T.J. Moved to Houston, TX to attend Rice University where he met his future husband, Dan Hawkins. In the late 1980’s, T.J. began a 25-year career in education at The Kinkaid School. The next move was to Galveston to run a small business for 10 years. It was an exciting time, but all good things must come to an end. Now retired, T.J. and Dan enjoy the theater, walks on the beach, gardening and the great outdoors. 

Another character in the book is T.J.’s wife, Kate. Kate, along with her husband, lives in the caretaker’s cottage on the property of Caro and John E. Campbell in Brandywine Valley. You might remember the Campbells from MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT. They were the hosts of the ill-fated birthday party.

MURDER OUTSIDE THE BOX begins with an abandoned baby, left on the back porch of the Baths’ house.

Kate bakes homemade bread and pastries, which she sells at a local farmer’s market. One of her specialties is her cinnamon-almond biscotti. Here is the recipe:

Cinnamon Almond Biscotti (Bis-cotti means twice-cooked.)

 Servings: 30 Calories: 99kcal

 Ingredients

· 1 cup (150 grams) Almonds, toasted

· 2 eggs

· 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp (90 grams) sugar

· 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil (olive oil or canola oil)

· ¼ tsp cinnamon

· 1 orange, zest

· 1 1/2 Tbsp honey

· 1 tsp vanilla extract

· 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour

· 3/4 tsp baking powder

· 1/2 Tbsp anise seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Scatter the almonds over the prepared baking tray and toast them in the preheated oven until lightly golden (about 7 minutes). Remove from oven and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk an egg and sugar together until the batter has become lighter in color and the sugar is thoroughly dissolved.

4. Then add oil, honey, vanilla extract, orange zest, oil and mix well.

5. Stir in flour, baking powder, and anise seeds. Mix until most of the flour is incorporated. Then add the almonds, and using your hands gently bring the dough together inside the bowl. Make sure the almonds are distributed evenly.

6. Divide the dough into two flat logs (approx 2 inches wide), arrange them apart on the baking tray, and flatten slightly. Try to make them as uniform in size and shape as possible. If the dough sticky, wet your hands.

7. In a small bowl, beat the second egg and brush this egg wash over the logs. The egg wash gives a lovely golden color, but you can skip this step if you wish.

8. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the surface is firm to gentle pressure. Do not switch the oven off as these will need to be baked again, but reduce the heat to 250℉.

9. Let the logs cool on the baking tray for 15 minutes, then use a sharp knife and gently slice them into 1/2-inch pieces. Better if you slice them on a chopping board, and be gentle when slicing.

10. Place the slices on the baking tray cut side down and return them to the oven for the second bake. Bake for about 10 minutes on each side, a total of 20 minutes.

Notes

· Storage: Italian almond biscotti keeps very well for about 2 weeks. However, humidity might ruin them, please store them in an airtight container, metal tins are the best!

· Substitutions: traditionally made with almonds, you can replace the almonds with chocolate chips, hazelnuts, pine nuts or dried fruits like figs or sultanas. The possibilities are endless. Anise seeds are a must for the classic Italian almond biscotti, however, feel free to omit them if you wish.

· Almonds: Toast the almonds to bring out their best flavor. I used whole almonds and I didn’t chop them, but if you bake biscotti for the very first time you might chop your almonds, which will make the cutting easier.

· Anise seeds: aniseed is optional, but it adds a lovely and refreshing note.

· You can easily replace white sugar with unrefined cane sugar and all-purpose flour with light spelt flour, which tastes delicious and has a nutty flavor.

I hope you enjoy the biscotti.

Now I’d like to have you take a peek at a proposed cover for the upcoming republication of A MURDER OF PRINCIPAL

To refresh your memory, here is the book description: When a maverick principal comes in with a student-centered agenda, there’s no more business as usual at Lincoln High School. And killing the principal is just the beginning…
Someone sets fire to Lincoln High and kills the new principal, and chaos threatens to overtake the urban high school. Assistant Principal Sally Pearce, originally hired to help the deceased principal revamp the culture, vows to carry on the mission. In so doing, she locks horns with fellow assistant principal, Wally Welburton, and gets caught up in gang threats, racial tensions, grievances, sexual harassment complaints, and murder.
Sally never dreamed she’d be faced with solving a mystery and returning the school to order. The odds are against her—a woman in a man’s job, a minority in a tough position. Her strong moral compass and commitment to students bolster her as she meets challenge after challenge. When a second murder happens on campus, Sally realizes she’s trapped in a cycle of violence that must be stopped—now.

Please give me your honest comments about this cover, as it’s still in draft stage, and I want to get it right.

As always, I love keeping in touch with you, and that’s a two-way street. Please let me know what you think about the things in this newsletter, and please tell me what’s going on with you. How is your winter going? What are you reading?

Until next month, much love,

Saralyn