Have you read my new book?

Check out my new book is, published and available on Amazon. 

The idea started when my husband and I had a wooden boat on Grand Lake. Our boat was a day boat and we took day trips to the lake to enjoy it. But we heard the stories of what happened down there after we left. And we wondered about the history of our old 60s Chris Craft and wondered what it's stories were. From those wonderings came this book.


I'm very proud of "On the Dock: A Tale of Grand Lake." It's gotten some good reviews.


Susan Vineyard brought Grand Lake to life with this delightful love story. Dive into this novel on any beach or dock, or just read it at home snuggled up, and the pages will take you there!

Cookbook Authors Unite!

I want to write a cookbook. I've wanted to write a cookbook for a long time. And this time I'm going to do it.

One of the first steps on this quest is to create a Facebook Page for fellow future cookbook writers. We can help each other and share what we learn and tips and things. It's not really for recipes also those are welcome too!  

But anyway, here it is:

2015 Cookbook Authors

My recipies will be simple, delicious recipes with no processed foods and no red meat. Fairly low carb. Lots of great veggie recipes. Not too many ingredients. Food that keeps you alive and well and enjoying life. Food you can live with, in more ways than one.

What 200 Calories Look Like

I have to share a post I ran across today out at BoredPanda. It shows how much of different foods constitute 200 calories. Currently, I am trying to eat only 500 calories a day for two days a week and this list will be SO HELPFUL to me.

This link is for a slide show to click through.


I will only post a few here, but you can go to the blog here to see the entire list.

Canned Pork and Beans (186 grams / 6.56 oz)

Grapes (290 grams / 10.2 oz) (I've been told 30 grapes = 100 calories. Is that incorrect?)

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (54 grams / 1.9 oz) (Almost worth it. I have a thing for Jelly Bellies)

Canned Tuna Packed in Oil (102 grams / 3.6 oz) (who eats it packed in oil?)

Bailey’s Irish Cream (60 ml / 2.02 fl oz) (Actually love this stuff!)

Salted Pretzels (52 grams / 1.83 oz)

Coffee in Australia: A Flat White

Have you tried them at Starbucks yet? I heard they're serving them now. Back home in the States, I always drank my coffee black, but coffee over here is STRONG. Good, but strong, so I started ordering flat whites and they grew on me.



I wasn't sure exactly how they were made until I started to work. The company where I work has an awesome coffee maker. Maybe I'll do a video later showing how it works. But, basically a flat white is half espresso and half steamed, frothed milk. 



I only drink them on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays because Tuesdays and Thursdays are my 500 calorie a day days. And I only allow myself one a day, about 10 a.m. Unless I'm doing something at noon, sometimes. Then I might have it earlier.  

Is This Really Fantasy Today? OH NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

"Characters that are not believable can easily annoy readers."

When I saw this sentence in an article I was reading this morning, I realized that annoyance was exactly what I had been feeling last night as I started and quickly discarded about five ebooks.

One, highly recommended, started out very bloody, but I stuck with it. But then, in the middle of the first chapter, the author threw in so many ideas, so many characters, so much stuff that made no sense, that I just wanted to throw the book against. the wall. Can't do that with an ebook, but I did quit reading it. I kind of figured out that the first few pages had been a throwback...I think...but it was way, way too much work for me. And I like complex books. That make sense.

Another started out OK on the first page but by the third, suddenly, hordes of zombies and vampires were overrunning the place. No thanks. 

I mean, I love fantasy and science fiction. But, please. Another one was so gamer that I just had to put it down (virtually). I can handle a little gamer, but not a totally gamer book. Not me.

The last touted itself as in the vein of Tolkien, R.R. Martian and other writers I adore. I was ready for that one! Bring it on!  But, no, no. Those great writers understood sentence structure. And didn't bring down several dozen giant intelligent wolves in the first few pages, then skin them all to sell their hides in the next town. I mean....

So....I decided to work with Goodreads again to try to find some good books. Maybe, hopefully, that will solve the "What to read" problem.

But, I have to wonder...if I attempt to write fantasy, and I do want to....am I too old fashioned? I cut my teeth on Heinlein and Asimov. I am not a gamer. I really don't like zombies. Some vampires are interesting (Anne Rice). I even have a story idea that might edge around a zombie. But it's about someone who grew up in the Caribbean with Voodoo. And that element would just be color, kind of in the shadows, so to speak.

So what is going on with Fantasy right now? Can this mature woman still write stuff that will sell? That's the question that's bugging me today as I search for a good read.

Making the Head of an OOAK Doll

Here's the first sculpt a face tutorial. http://www.dollmakersdream.com/sculpt-a-face.html

This is the first one I'm following. Others say to sculpt the face separately from the head. I'm not sure of the difference. Part could be for incorporating separate eyes. Or maybe to use a harder clay for the head and a more translucent clay for the face. Or it could have to do with how the hair is attached. I have a lot to learn!!

I am using this picture for the model for my first doll-the mother. I will emphasize her dimples, slant her eyes more, and give her very big ears. After all, she is an elf.

This link for drawing a woman's face could come in handy for proportions too.
http://sharenoesis.com/article/draw-face/84

Another tutorial for making a head based on a Styrofoam ball. Warning. It's in Portuguese. http://oficinademodelosdid.blogspot.com.au/2008/09/como-montar-um-rosto-em-biscuit.html

This tutorial starts with a skull to create the head, and beads where the eyes are going to be. Then he creates a face on top of the skull. http://madsculptor.blogspot.com/2011/10/alice-work-starts.html

I haven't used any of these techniques yet, so i just don't know which is going to work for me.

Once I get this head started, I think this Fairy head tutorial will really help me. http://www.sculptuniversity.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63:fairy-face-tips-free-tutorial&catid=38:freebies&Itemid=75



I haven't see anyone talking about putting the head on a stick yet. I wish I knew...


This is a video tutorial of making a man's head, but it does discuss baking a piece of clay on a wire Armature and using that as a start. hummm.  This link is to six consecutive videos on the subject.

Determining Size of OOAK Doll

The first thing to do is to decide what size your doll will be, then determine what size the head will be.
This tutorial will help you with these calculations.
http://www.dollmakersdream.com/female-anatomy.html

"Dolls seem to vary from 6 to 18 inches, so I need to figure out a scale for my dolls. I'm going to use 10." That seems fairly standard, I want the big enough to be able to add a lot of detail, but not huge. First, I plan to make three. A mother and her two daughters. So the mother will be 10." The older, tall daughter will be 11" and the younger, buxom daughter will be 9." I'm starting with the mother.

"You can't really say that a female doll will be 6 inches or 12 inches tall, because every doll can be a different size. So instead, we will measure in "head lengths".

Depending what you feel is the ideal body proportions the female body can be 7 heads tall, 7 1/2 heads tall or 8 heads tall."

For this first doll, I'm going to use 7.5. http://www.dollmakersdream.com/female-anatomy.html

That means my heads should be 1.3" tall, an easy number to remember.