LET THEM EAT SOUP!

Okay, so it’s not the best takeoff on Marie Antoinette’s infamous saying, but that was my little way of announcing that January is National Soup Month. It’s true. You can check it out on Wikipedia. In honor of this auspicious event, my January posts will be dedicated to soup, well, at least the Wednesday posts. So tie on your aprons and let’s get cooking!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 lb. fresh mushrooms – use 2 or 3 different types
8 tbsp. butter
2 small shallots or scallions, finely chopped
6 tbsp. flour
1 qt. chicken stock *
¼ cup dry sherry
2 egg yolks
½ cup heavy cream
White pepper**

Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Pull the stems and caps apart. Put pieces in a food processor. Run until chopped. The mix will almost look like a paste. Or fine dice the mushrooms by hand.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a 10-12 inch skillet. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté for 3 minutes. Set the skillet aside.

In a heavy 6-quart saucepan, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Do NOT let this brown too much or it will be bitter. The roux should be no darker than a caramel/tan.

Remove the pan from the heat. Allow to cool 10-15 seconds, then pour in the stock while whisking constantly. Return the pan to a medium-high heat and stir until the soup base thickens and is smooth, approximately 12-15 minutes.

Stir in the mushrooms and sherry. Simmer for 15 minutes, but be sure to stir occasionally.

Blend the egg yolks into the cream with a whisk. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of hot soup at a time until you’ve added ¾ cup. Reverse the process and slowly whisk the now-warm mixture into the soup. ***

Bring soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste and season with pepper.

Serve from a tureen or in individual bowls.

This recipe makes 6 bowls.

*You can substitute up to half the amount with dry white wine
**In this recipe white pepper is used for its slightly sharper taste. There is no need to make a special trip to buy white pepper. Black pepper will work fine, just use a little more.
***This may seem like extra work, but if you don’t do it the yolks and cream will curdle.

Happy slurping!

Taylor’s cookbooks, Hot Mean Wear Aprons, Date Night Dinners, Date Night Dinners Italian Style, Sizzling Summer, and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire are released by Toque & Dagger Publishing and available at all book vendors.

I spent about 15 years as a sports reporter. I’d like to say things are
getting better for women in the field, but there’s a lot of room for
improvement. 

I was
a sports reporter for about 15 years. I spent about ten years in television,
where I worked for five TV stations – anchoring and reporting – and about five
years as a print journalist. I mention this because I pay attention to media
sports positions, having given a large chunk of my life to that world.

Back
when I wormed my way into the sports world, there were few other women. In my
daily interactions, I almost never dealt with others of my gender. But, as more
women joined the ranks, I truly believed that eventually the field would become
more welcoming.

Sadly,
that hasn’t happened.

Some
of you may be thinking, “Gosh, Anne. You’re wrong. There are women
sportscasters all over the place.”

Well,
technically there are more women working in sports media today, perhaps because
there are so many more broadcast outlets when compared to the days when most
towns had just three TV stations and cable and the Internet didn’t exist. A
handful of women have even had the opportunity to share their expertise in the
booth, doing play-by-play and color commentary. But the numbers are dismal when
compared to all the sportscasting jobs out there.

Kate Scott has done
play-by-play for the Pac-12 network.  In The Ringer article
“Where Are All the Women in Play-by-Play Broadcasting?”, Scott called the lack
of women in the field a numbers game.

Most sportscasting jobs, especially the ones in color and play-by-play, are still held by men.

“If
there’s 10 guys applying for a job, and one woman, there’s more of a
possibility that a guy’s going to get hired, just strictly because of the
numbers of it,” Scott said. “Plus, many of the people in charge are men, who
may be more likely to hire other men for the job. And on top of all of that,
women need to have champions in order to succeed in these roles, or people
willing to take the risk. Hiring a woman to call a sports broadcast still goes
against the industry norms and often requires taking a chance on an unknown.
But recently, albeit slowly, that’s starting to change.”

When women do get a shot
at the booth, it’s most often to call games where the participants are women.

Most
often, the women called on to work in the booth are covering sports with female
athletes. I’m not complaining here, just stating a fact. The logic seems to be
that since women play basketball, for example, giving them a shot in the hoops
booth isn’t that great a stretch. But women who call baseball, football, or ice
hockey – especially at the male professional level – remain a rarity.

And when networks do
decide to give women a chance, a closer look reveals they don’t have much faith
in the viewing public’s willingness to listen. Remember the Thursday Night Football game when Hannah Storm and
Andrea Kremer – two women who’ve been in the field for decades – became the
first female team to call an NFL game? Nice! I thought! It’s about time. But
then I discovered that that broadcast was an alternative feed, one that viewers
had to select instead of the “normal” booth team that featured Joe Buck and
Troy Aikman. That clearly showed that the folks in charge aren’t quite sure the
viewing public can handle women in the booth.

Sideline reporters like Erin Andrews are often asked to be nothing more
than a pretty face.

That leads us to the
most useless job in sportscasting, one which, perhaps not surprisingly, is
often held by women: sideline reporting. There is absolutely no reason, in my
opinion, for this job to even exist. Sideline reporters rarely talk about
anything but injuries. It would make more sense to have a medical professional
manning the sidelines than a sports reporter. “Now let’s go down to Nurse
Becky on the field!” And I’ve watched entire games where the
guys in the booth only go to the sideline reporter a couple of times. So,
what’s the point? I sense the position was created just so the networks can
brag about how inclusive they are. “Look! Wow! We’re letting a woman step onto
the field. Aren’t we great!”

Here’s
the thing. Sports broadcasting is not rocket science. So, can we move along here?
Open those doors and give some women a chance.

Really,
what would it hurt?

Here is a brief peek at Anne’s latest release.

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to the Graves Registration Service where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Praise for Your Forgotten Sons

“Although a defty crafted work of original fiction, “Your Forgotten Sons” by Anne Montgomery is inspired by a true story. An original and inherently interesting read from start to finish, “Your Forgotten Sons” will prove to be an immediate and enduringly appreciated pick.”  Midwest Book Review

“This was a quick, riveting read that really challenged me to think differently about our servicemen and women, especially those who take on the jobs that don’t get heroically depicted in the media or news…I really highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a different take on American history. I left it with a newfound appreciation for the unsung heroes.” Bekah C NetGalley 

“This is the truth. It’s gritty and painful and bittersweet – and true.  When you think you’ve read every perspective of WWII, along comes Bud to break your heart.” Bridgett Siter Former Military Reporter

“Anne Montgomery writes a strong story and I was hooked from the first page. It had a great concept and I enjoyed that this was inspired by a true story…It was written perfectly and I was invested in the story. Anne Montgomery has a great writing style and left me wanting to read more.” –  Kathryn McLeer NetGalley 

Available at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Kobo

Anne Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, amateur baseball umpire, and high school football referee. She worked at WRBL‐TV in Columbus, Georgia, WROC‐TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP‐TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award‐winning SportsCenter, and ASPN-TV as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery has been a freelance and staff writer for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces.

When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.

Learn more about Anne Montgomery on her website and Wikipedia. Stay connected on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

Some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in a pot nine days old. Remember the Mother Goose “pease porridge” rhyme? While today we may think of porridge as cereal, in the sixteenth century, “porridge” was a derivation of “pottage” or “potage” meaning cooking pot. “Chowder” also comes from the word pot, via the French “cauldron.”

However you like your soup—hot, cold, or nine days old—combining savory ingredients in a pot and letting the flavors mingle is a time-tested menu favorite.

But what if you want your soup NOW? Well, you’re our kind of person, and we have just the recipe for you. Using already cooked ingredients makes this soup a quick lunch, ready in twenty minutes or less.

Corny Ham Chowder

1 cup milk
1 can cream style sweet corn
1½ cups cooked ham, cut into chunks
1½ cups cooked potatoes, drained and cut into chunks (canned works too)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 cup (4 oz) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Green onion or scallion slivers (optional)
Salt or chicken bouillon to taste

Mix milk, corn, ham, and potatoes in medium pot. Cook, be sure to stir occasionally until heated through.

Add cheese. Cover pot and let cheese melt completely.

Serve with a chunk of hearty bread.

Bonus Goodness:
Crave added richness? Substitute ½ cup of cream for ½ of the milk.

Are you a vegetable fan? Toss in the veggie of your choice, either frozen or fresh. We like frozen carrots for the added color—and the nutrition too of course.

No ham? Smoked sausage is a nice substitute.

Bland potatoes? Mix in sweet pickle juice. A teaspoon gives the soup zing.

Need more soup? Add more stuff. The converse works too.

Fighting off vampires? Switch out the regular salt for a teaspoon of garlic salt. If you have a bad infestation, add ½ teaspoon crushed garlic to the soup and serve with a wood spoon.

Once upon a time there was a mother/daughter author duo named Helen and Lorri, who wrote as HL Carpenter. the Carpenters worked from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories was unreal but not untrue. Then one day Lorri left her studio to explore the land of What-If, and like others who have lost a loved one the magical place lost much of its magic. But thanks to family, plus an amazing group of wordsmiths named Authors Moving Forward (AMF), the magic is slowly returning.

First,
I want to wish my followers a very Happy New Year! We finally made it into the
mid-20s, and sooo much has happened in the last five years. A pandemic knocked
us flat on our butts, and made us take stock in how we were living our lives.
Though there was a lot of pain, suffering, and heartache, there was also
tremendous growth and change too. People worldwide were starting to find their
voices, and not put up with the outmoded ways of the ‘old guard’ anymore. From
Black Lives Matter to Iranian women refusing to wear their hijabs, the world as
we knew it changed before our eyes. And I changed too.

During
this past year (2024) I realized that there is no ONE way, only YOUR way, and
what’s best for YOU. I wrote a post last year about being true to yourself by
staying in your lane. You can find it HERE.
I decided to pull out of the hustle culture in 2021, feeling as if my
electrical circuits were on all the time and ready to blow. I had to slow down
and choose to do the necessary inner work. This ‘writing career’ that I
put my blood, sweat, and tears into was not what I thought it would be. So, I
experimented with Facebook ads, running them for 10 days at a set price, then switching
that ad out for a new one for the next 10 days. I did this consistently for
almost four years. My reach got larger and larger, topping 19 million at one
point…then something happened. The ads didn’t seem to have the same reach
anymore starting in the winter/spring of 2024. Even the book sales never
reflected the amazing reach I garnered, and I discovered a lot of spammers had
infiltrated my Author Facebook page feed. Augh! I had to quit cold turkey on
those ads. I changed lanes and looked into doing Amazon ads, but got a sticker
shock with the amount of money to run these ads: about $300-$500 per month.
Wait, what?

I
did the math. It seemed like the whole book marketing industry was rigged in
their favor—just like going to a casino and finding out that the house always
wins—so I stepped away, pulled the plug on advertising, and took back my power.
It felt rather weird at first. Like a boat adrift with no port to dock at or no
destination to sail to. I kept showing up though. Shared, Tweeted, and LinkedIn
my book series ads faithfully every week. Blogged every Monday. Worked on, and
finished, Sticks and Stones, the
third installment in Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls teen psychic mystery
series. Submitted this book to my publisher, and then took a well-deserved
break for the summer and fall, and enjoyed the time e-biking with hubby, and
hanging with my family. The weather applauded my decision, and I took full
advantage of relaxing on our patio, and sipping on my favourite brand of single
malt scotch. Wink.

Then
came the death blow at the end of this past December that changed the
trajectory of my author life. My publisher, Mirror World Publishing announced
that they would be closing their doors at the end of this year. My heart sank.
I succumbed into grief. I’ve been here before, so it’s not my first publishing
rodeo. Still, there was also so much emotional investment with this publishing
house too. Ten years worth. Though, I completely understand their reasons for shutting
down, and if I’m honest with myself, I’ve probably been living in my
comfort zone for far too long. Sigh. Guess it’s time to stretch my wings, and
see what the next chapter looks like for me, as I affirm every morning: “Everything happens for me, and through me,
not to me.”

On
a positive note, I did manage to get a refreshed book trailer done for The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of
Atlantis to replace the outdated versions on my website. Care for a peek?
Click the link below… 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oczrgVYJo6proAJqRTyPuOdbsfdhNYPk/view?usp=drive_link

So,
what’s next for me personally? I’m on the list for a knee replacement this
year, which should be happening in the late summer or early fall. Hubby and I
will also be celebrating our 40^th Wedding Anniversary in August,
which is a huge milestone for many couples these days. Unfortunately, we can’t
make any plans or book anywhere to go because of my impending knee replacement.
We’ll just have to give ourselves a vacation raincheck. On the happy news
front, we’re expecting another grandchild in the late spring! Woohoo! As for my
author life’s future, it’s going to be determined by the choices I make, and
actions I take within the next six to twelve months. No pressure, right? LOL! I
kind of feel like I’m visiting my fictitious town of Fairy Falls, and waiting
for the unexpected to happen! Wish me luck in my uncomfortable endeavors!

How was 2024 for you?
Any milestones? Did you need to take a welcome break from all the craziness
we’ve endured the past five years? Have you been in your comfort zone far too
long? Would love to read your comments! Cheers, Happy New Year, and thanks for taking
the time to read my blog. I appreciate you!

1
cup grilled chicken, shredded fine

Preheat
the oven to 350° F.

In a kingdom held
together by secrets and lies, the truth could heal—or destroy.

The queen is dead. But the
damage Elizabeth Rostoff leaves behind to lives, hopes, and relationships lives
on.

Amazon Buy Link

Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website.

Blame the Icelanders
for this one. Upon hearing about this holiday tradition, as well as being an
author, I was excited to write this article. Jolabokaflod literally translates
into ‘Christmas Book Flood’. Sign me up for that deluge! It’s the Icelandic
tradition celebrated on Christmas Eve to give and receive new books as gifts. There’s
also the gifting of chocolate in this celebration, and let’s face it—who
doesn’t want to receive books and chocolates for Christmas? *Holds hand up
high, waving frantically* So, how did this unique tradition begin? In truth,
the true origin of Jolabokaflod is unknown, but there are a few theories floating
around in cyber space.

Theory One: It’s believed that this tradition started in the 1930s with a
book club called The Reykjavik Library Foundation. Since
Icelanders must deal with long dark winters, the Foundation wanted to encourage
their people to read more during this time. Hence, Jolabokaflod was established
as an annual event to coincide with Christmas Eve, so people could exchange new
books to make their winters more bearable.

Theory Two: Jolabokaflod a.k.a. Christmas Book Flood began as a way to
promote literacy in Iceland. There was a study done from the 1800s that found
only 50% of Icelanders could read. That’s a big chunk out of a relatively small
population! So, again to encourage people to learn how to read, the tradition
was initiated. Hey, what a better place to bundle up in a cozy blanket by the
fire with a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine, and read a book?

Theory
Three: During World War 2, paper was one of the few items in Iceland not
rationed. This allowed for the continued publishing of books and printing of
newspapers. As a result, Icelanders habitually gave books as gifts for the
holiday season.  

In addition to these theories, Iceland has a long history of being
well-read. Apparently, this started in 1786, when their first library was
established. Since there were no schools, the general population had very few
opportunities for education. A library opened the door for Icelanders to become
self-taught, and this love of learning has continued on. Today, there are
numerous lending libraries, and it’s estimated that a whopping 97% of all
Icelandic households have at least one book. Fun fact: Iceland is the first
country in the world to be recognized for having achieved ‘full literacy’. Wow.
Take it from someone who used to be a tutor at her local literacy chapter,
that’s a huge accomplishment!

Today, Jolabokaflod is a beloved tradition in Iceland’s culture.
On Christmas Eve, families gather together to exchange new books, and spend the
evening reading them. Nothing is off the table when it comes to giving books as
gifts, including novels (all genres), non-fiction, cookbooks, children’s books,
graphic novels, and even text books. It truly is the perfect way to celebrate
the holiday season and connect with loved ones. If you’re looking to bridge
this Icelandic tradition in a small way, then why not create a Jolabokaflod
gift basket for an avid reader you know? All you have to do is select various
books catering to the recipient’s interests, then add some cozy items such as a
comfy blanket, chocolate, candles, mugs, and hot chocolate mix. Trust me, it’s
the perfect holiday gift for your book-loving buddy.

So, if you’re still searching for a special way to spend the
holiday season, why not give this Jolabokaflod tradition a crack or create a
gift basket for the reader in your life? Even if you don’t live in Iceland, the
winters in the northern hemisphere can get awfully chilly and brutal. And if
you happen to live in the southern hemisphere, there’s definitely a beach book
with your name on it. Wink. Wherever you live, have a happy and safe holiday
season, readers! Cheers!

BTW – If you’re looking for a last minute holiday gift, may I suggest you ride the Icelanders’ tails, and purchase a book for the reader in your life? Here are some great book gift ideas and the buy links:

The
Last Timekeepers Time Travel Adventure Series:

The Last
Timekeepers and the Noble Slave, Book #3

MIRROR WORLD
PUBLISHING
׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

The Last
Timekeepers and the Dark Secret, Book #2 Buy
Links:

MIRROR WORLD
PUBLISHING
׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

The Last
Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, Book #1 Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD
PUBLISHING
׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

Legend
of the Timekeepers, prequel Buy
Links:

MIRROR
WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀

Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls
Teen Psychic Mystery Series:

Lost and Found, Book One Buy Links:

MIRROR
WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀

Blackflies
and Blueberries, Book Two Buy
Links:

MIRROR
WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀