Me, in Concert
- At March 29, 2022
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, Roxanne Writes On
- 0
Me, in Concert
Being a beginner at 37, was I strong enough to fail?
This is from an essay I wrote on parenting for the July 2002 issue of Reader’s Digest. What a crazy time of life… three homeschooled daughters, part-time admin/vet tech work at our veterinary hospital plus getting my writing career going. Also, an average of 2.5 pets per capita in our house. Five people. Do that math.
I’d forgotten how hard it was to keep at something while having more failures than successes.
It was a marvellous time of life. Part of me misses being a young mother. A bigger part of me is so grateful for the memories, and that I’m in another stage of life I love just as much.
The main message? Don’t be afraid to fail. There’s more to be learned from failures, and continued trials, from practice, practice, practice, followed by that one magical success… than there is from easy success. (At least, that’s what I hear. Easy success hasn’t been my journey.)
So have a great day, my friends. Try something new. Tell me about your wonderful, spectacular, life-affirming fails. Repeat. And when that glorious, elusive success arrives, shout it to the mountaintops!
Original essay: copyright © Roxanne Snopek 2002
Photo credit: copyright © Chick Rice 2002
All Rights Reserved
Love Notes from the Lake
If you wonder what I’ve been up to lately, this photo might explain it. Walking around the lake with Ray and Luna is a never-ending joy
The people in our new community are wonderful, too. My new next-door neighbor Ruth, in fact, is the inspiration for this newsletter. I love Ruth. She appreciates people and isn’t afraid to shout that from the rooftops.
Ruth is also a phenomenal cook and frequently asks us to “help her” by tasting her mushroom risotto, or double-crunch chicken, or blueberry coffee cake. We do her this favor because that’s what friends are for.
On her Facebook page, Ruth posts beautiful Loves Notes highlighting the important people in her life. Even though I don’t know most of these people, reading them always brings a smile to my face.
So, with a nod to Ruth, that’s what my revamped newsletter is about. Love Notes. Reminding people – YOU – what you mean to me and why.
I’ll also update you a bit on my life and my books, but honestly, that bores me so there won’t be much of it. (Also, if you want to know about that, ask to join my private Facebook reader group. I don’t post much on “regular” Facebook anymore, being more of a small group kind of gal.)
Love Note #1
My very first Love Note goes out to Kim of ReadYourWrites book reviews. Kim – Kimmie to me – has been with me from my very first book. For a writer just starting out, when no one has ever read your books before, to have someone you don’t know post that they LOVE it, well. That does something for a fragile writer’s heart. (Kim, one day when we meet in person, I’ve got a big hug for you.) Kim is more than enthusiastic and kind, however; she’s also unflinchingly honest, which is vital in a reviewer – and a friend. When she starts off hating a character of mine – and she’s hated a few – she says it. Then she says something to the effect of “… but I read the book anyway because I knew Roxanne would make it worth my while – and she did.”
Ah, Kimmie. Thank you. Thank you!
Audio Books
In other news, a year ago, Tule Publishing negotiated a fantastic deal with Blackstone Publishing for the audio editions of my books. Over the past several months, they’ve been produced, and are now all available.
Narrator Felicity Munroe does an amazing job with my Montana Home and Love at the Chocolate Shop books, as well as A Dog Called Valentine and was kind enough to tell me that recording my books helped keep her spirits up during those early dark days of Covid-19.
Three River Ranch – relaunched as Wild Sky Romance!
Finally, I’m excited to announce that my very first series is being relaunched! The series, originally titled Three River Ranch, has been languishing on the bottom shelf, so to speak, so we’ve updated and re-edited the books, given them fresh covers and new titles and they are now being released as the Wild Sky series. If you’ve been with me for a while, you might recall these stories.
If you’re a newer reader and have missed these, I urge you to give them a try; set in Montana with wild mustangs, service dogs, babies, wounded heroes, these books are dear to my heart. They launched my career, put me on bestseller lists and connected me to many, many wonderful and kind readers – like YOU! I’m glad to see them alive again and hope you’ll give them a warm welcome.
Until the next Love Note from the Lake… stay well and happy reading!
Love, Roxanne
Counter Culture
- At March 11, 2019
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Baking, Life, Roxanne Writes On
- 2
Counter culture… aka, the “thing” living in your kitchen….
As you may know, it’s been the Winter of Bread here in Chez Snopek. About a month ago, I watched a NetFlix documentary series called Cooked, based on the book by Michael Pollan. In the episode called “Air” he talked about bread. Well. If you know me AT ALL, you know I have a deep and abiding love of bread. Baking it, eating it, taking pictures of it, writing about it…
Talk about counter-culture.
With everyone so carb-conscious right now, bread is taking a real beating, so this episode was particularly interesting because it was talking specifically about fermented bread, ie: sourdough.
Which is a whole ‘nother story. Fermented breads, it turns out, are very different nutrition-wise. (Keep in mind, I’m talking about fully-fermented, mostly or all whole-grain breads.) The nutrients in the grain are more bio-available, the long fermentation process autolyzes the bran, making it more gut-friendly, and people with diabetes report that sourdough bread doesn’t cause the spike in blood sugar that regular bread does.
My spidey-senses were way up.
I’ve experimented with sourdough before. I’ve done the “friendship bread” thing, but those are loaded with ingredients like instant pudding and sugar, not what I’m interested in.
This, as Michael Pollan describes it, is the real thing. Whole grain flour and water, left out at room temperature to colonize with natural yeasts and bacteria from the air, until it ferments into a culture that can transform a sticky mass of flour, water and salt into those crisp, tangy, crusty, chewy loaves we all love.
A culture. That sits on the counter.
Until it becomes this: sourdough fruit and nut bread. Yeah, baby. Now that’s worth getting up in the morning for.
Then I read more. Oh, there’s lots to read about sourdough. It’s an Internet rabbit hole that a baker like me could get lost in for day after delicious day, and I have. Stick with me and I’ll tell you about it. Or you could give one of these books a try.
I made my starter according to directions from The Il Fornaio Baking Book: Sweet and Savory Recipes from the Italian Kitchen. The fruit bread recipe came from Artisan Sourdough Made Simple: A Beginner’s Guide to Delicious Handcrafted Bread with Minimal Kneading.