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Showing posts from July, 2018

Baking Cookies & Building Stories

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Bittersweet Chocolate Chip, Coconut, and Macadamia Nut Cookies Before I wrote my own cozy mystery, I read a lot of them. I am an enthusiastic fan of the genre. Some of my favorite cozy series feature heroines who are bakers or caterers. I do enjoy how these authors weave culinary tips and processes into their characters’ routines and storylines. Since I am not a practiced cook or baker, I had to figure out how I would satisfy this classic feature in my series. For some baking tips, I consulted my sister, a genius in the kitchen, as she whipped up a batch of Bittersweet Chocolate Chip, Coconut, and Macadamia Nut cookies. Instead of content for my end pages, I realized her tips aligned with lessons I’ve learned in my writing journey. 1.       Melt the butter before you add it to the batter to help keep the baked cookie chewy. Clarify your characters’ identities and flesh out the settings before you start writing in earnest. Once that pre