Base Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1 jar generic spaghetti sauce
3 strips uncooked bacon

Secret Spices

red wine
maple syrup
garlic
dried shallots
oregano
olive oil
red pepper flakes

Slice the uncooked bacon into square pieces. Then, brown ground turkey with bacon in skillet. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and as much garlic as you normally would. Once it’s cooked, you’ll want to drain the fat before you add anything else to your concoction.

After I put the meat back in the pan, I add about a quarter cup to a half cup of red wine and stir that into the meat. I find that the wine takes that “turkey taste” edge off. Then, add your tomato sauce, some dried shallots and oregano. Let that simmer for about five minutes on low heat. If your sauce thickens too much, add a little bit of water to it to thin it out.

While your sauce is simmering, fill your pasta pan with water and add a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt and some herbs. Don’t be afraid to be generous with your sprinklings here. This step is totally worth it because the taste of the herbs will infuse into the noodles while they cook, which makes a cheap pasta taste like it was created at a gourmet restaurant. Once the water is boiling, you’ll want to follow the directions on the box to ensure your pasta is cooked correctly. I usually break the spaghetti in half before I add it to the pot.

Immediately after you’ve added your pasta to the water, stir your spaghetti sauce and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and about a tablespoon of the best maple syrup you can find to it. Then, turn your heat down on your sauce even lower. Once your pasta is done, you’re ready to eat my recipe for spaghetti with bacon.

The best part about this concoction, is that there’s a number of different ways you can spice this up. I should point out, however, that if you’re going to use red meat you might want to consider adding some milk to your tomato sauce instead of maple syrup. Beef tends to have a fuller flavor and you don’t want your spaghetti sauce to taste like a bacon burger. Or maybe you do? Either way, there’s a lot of variations that you can try here.

Sadly, this is not a vegetarian recipe but that doesn’t mean I won’t try a version that’s vegan-friendly. If you’re meat-free and are inspired, be sure to let me know what you’ve come up with.

Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Day One: My Pescatarian Adventures
2. Day Three: Good Karma and Laziness
3. Day 5 and Beyond: Being a Pescatarian Takes Planning

For me, I need those moments of solitary confinement even when I’m not writing because it allows my head to be clear. For a while there, it seemed like my mind was in a literal fog and I couldn’t figure out why. Worse, I felt that my writing was suffering as well. What was once fun and enjoyable turned into a literal chore. I choked up. I had stage fright. I over-analyzed and psychoanalyzed every verb, every comma, every first word of every, single sentence and I couldn’t figure out why.

So I started to detach during my off time and I turned to my favorite video games instead. Slowly, but surely, I figured out what was happening to me. (Thank you, Square Enix.) I had been so inundated with a constant stream of noise that I felt I had to either read (or respond to) each individual pixel of internet dirt. As a result, I didn’t have the chance to focus on “me” or “my work.” I was too busy focusing on things that were triggering my emotions. Mind you, several things had already pushed me in that “I’m frustrated” direction already. The noise did not help.

Noise, for me, is probably different than it is for you. I have certain topics that send me off into an instantaneous rant, turning me into an ugly troll. With warts. And smelly feet. I have other topics that are like little race cars. When I see them, I feel compelled to stick on the top of their hoods and ride them all the way through to the end. Mind you, none of the subjects I’m talking to you about here have anything to do with work or my writing. And that, truly, was the reason why I needed to disconnect. The constant bombardment of ads, news, factoids, gossip, etc. throughout my day forced me to face myself in the mirror and ask myself what I could ignore. What could I stop worrying about. What did I need to listen to versus what did I feel obligated to listen to.

For the past, few weeks I’ve been going through what I call a “noise detox.” I’ve turned off and tuned out of almost everything, only to embrace the great outdoors and hobbies I’ve abandoned. This experience has been wonderful and exhilarating. It has also opened my eyes to what truly matters to me, and I can tell you that the “noise” does not. (The same goes for drama, in general. Although, I like drama when it’s performed on the stage.)

Instead of giving in to the noise and its destructive tendencies, I am traveling sideways and shielding myself with sunlight and oxygen and my imagination. Otherwise, I can’t hear the music of my words. I don’t know if any of you have experienced something similar, but this has definitely been one of those times where I have learned my lesson well.

No related posts.

I often have to quash the internet myth that once you post something online — everyone will read it. Yes, everyone can read it but that doesn’t mean that everyone will.

Online reputation management can be very time-consuming for businesses, especially since they already have protocols in place to handle customer complaints and troubleshoot issues. Using Google Alerts is one way anyone can monitor what people are saying, but even that has its limitations depending upon how someone uses them and when they get around to reading the emails. Even then, there is no hard and fast rule for businesses to deal with public rants about customer service. Often, contacting customers directly opens the door to several, different types of reactions: some customers get even more upset, others expect the attention or appreciate it and many freak out about “big brother” watching them.

I understand that it’s easy to complain about things that happen in your daily life. Believe me, I really do. However, if you want an answer to your woes, if you want someone to address your concerns and listen to what you have to say, try to contact that person or business directly. If you’re unhappy with politics, write your local congressman or woman! If your coffee maker failed, then try to contact the manufacturer and get your issue resolved. Or, if you’re frustrated with publishers for not releasing digital files on time, take it up with the publisher rather than stage a “protest.” (See this article.)

Companies, from the small mom-and-pop shops to larger corporations, have systems in place to help customers. Use those channels, and you’d might be surprised not only how quickly your voice is heard, but also how much they care about you as a customer. While not every issue can be resolved, you have a better chance of getting the answer you want if you deal with the company directly.

Just something to think about.

Related posts:

1. This Is Not Another Amazon Post
2. How to Make Your Voice Heard in a Sea of Content

Halloween and White Wolf

As project manager for FlamesRising.com, every year we do something special for Halloween. Last year, we offered Halloween flash fiction from several authors including E.E. Knight, Matt Forbeck and Jess Hartley. This year, we decided to pitch a gaming-related idea to White Wolf Publishing. After some “tough” negotiations (*sarcastic*), I wrote and designed DEVIL’S NIGHT: a free Storytelling Adventure System Scene for the World of Darkness, which was released today. This type of release is “huge” for FlamesRising.com, because this is the first time we have partnered with a publisher to offer free gaming material on the site for fans. If you’re interested in reading more about the design process, check out this post entitled, “Devil’s Night: White Wolf, FlamesRising.com and your Free One-Scene.”

Today, Matt is going to be flying down to Atlanta for the International Camarilla Convention (ICC). This was a spur-of-the-moment trip that was made possible by White Wolf. With our trip to Las Vegas only a week away, we did some scrambling to ensure we had some great content for you on the site for Halloween. Special thanks to Jess Hartley who also pitched in this year. She wrote a great guest post entitled 13 Etiquette Tips for Halloween as part of her One Geek to Another series.

Upcoming Appearance at NeonCon in Las Vegas

Next week Thursday, I’ll be flying out to Las Vegas for NeonCon and…well…Vegas. I have been confirmed as a guest with Jess Hartley on the Women in Gaming panel. Even though I’m going to enjoy some time away from the computer, this will be a fun trip to reconnect with some of my friends in the industry.

Novel Revisions and Original Fiction

After I got back from GenCon, I had a panic moment. You see, I definitely want to continue writing for the gaming industry and pursue some media tie-in fiction opportunities, but I also want to leverage that with my original fiction. I have some breakthroughs on that front, and have gone back to start revising ARGENTUM. The novel isn’t coming along as well as I had hoped, and some last-minute projects have kind of taken over my brain. I know I need a vacation, which is why this trip to Vegas will be well-deserved.

Guest Posts on SFWA, Writing Groups and Crackle.com

I’ve started to expand my non-fiction guest blogging, so be sure to hop on over and read my guest posts by Monica Valentinelli on SFWA.org if you haven’t already. The folks over at SFWA.org are really doing some great things by keeping up on current events, so definitely bookmark the site and follow-up when you can. Also, I have a guest post going up on the Crackle.com site soon. I’m really excited about it, because it offered me the chance to get really detailed about a horror film, which is part of the reason why I started the Girls of Gore series on FlamesRising.com. If you enjoy that sort of detailed criticism, I recommend checking out some of Mary Robinette Kowal’s or Ken Hite’s non-fiction works.

In addition to guest blogging, I’ve been attending some local events for writers, too.

So That’s Life in Crazytown

So that’s what’s been going on in my neck of the woods. There’s a lot I can’t talk about, but let’s just say that I’m very excited about the next, few months for many reasons. First, “the day job” at my wonderful employer Musicnotes.com sheet music picks up as we head into the holiday season. It’s going to be frantic-but-fun as we ensure that we fulfill song requests for our customers and provide them with a great experience. Outside of work, I’m looking forward to the snow and cold weather. There are some long, wintry nights ahead and I’m definitely ready to sit in my writer’s cave and get some projects done.

The Favor I Need to Ask

Because I need to focus on paying gigs, I have to be more selective about my non-paying opportunities and time spent on social media. Please, please, please keep me updated with what you’re all up to. I enjoy reading about my fellow authors and game designers, and I hope that you have wonderful news to share as well.

Well, that’s it for me. Back to making brownies in the shape of ghosts and getting reading for another music-filled day. Take care!

Related posts:

1. Three Non-Fiction Releases about Gaming
2. Oh, the Writer’s Life for Me… With Beer? Negative Self-Talk?
3. What to Expect from Gaming and SciFi Conventions When You’re Speaking

What I’ve learned is that forming an offline writer’s group is a lot harder than it looks. I’d like to share some of the things I’ve internalized over the past, few months with you.

1. Writing Groups Seem to Work Better when There’s a Tight Focus – Because the physical act of writing is often extremely solitary, I didn’t want to create an exclusive “fiction” or “non-fiction” group. Initially, I thought that because there’s often writers (like myself) that do both non-fiction and fiction, a generic group might allow people to network and grow in the areas that they wanted to write in. What I found was that the group needed a tighter focus. We’ve had many different people come to the different writer’s groups; but everyone seemed to be interested in something that I wasn’t prepared to provide. Some wanted a workshop sort of a scenario, with a more professional (e.g. paying dues) structure that offered support for professional (e.g. established) writers. Others wanted a casual environment where leads and other opportunities happened organically, with less of a structure. This experience taught me that even though I had the best of intentions for creating a more generic, more people-oriented structure, it would have been more successful if there was an outline and an agenda that I could offer people up front. This also brings me to my next point…

2. You Can’t Please Everyone – I’ve learned that no matter how much I want to try to offer a group where there’s a little something for everyone, in reality that’s pretty darn close to impossible. Writing as a career is so broad (almost too broad) that it’s perfectly normal to have two, very successful writers who have experiences that have nothing to do with one another. A romance novelist, for example, may have something in common with another novelist, but not with an editor for a business journal. Query letters might be necessary for fiction and non-fiction, but they aren’t for people who are employed full-time in a company. Throw in writers who have never published an article or a short story, and it’s possible the group ends up not finding anything to talk about without prompting.

Realizing that I couldn’t offer a group that would mean something to everyone was a very, difficult lesson for me to learn. Add my own “wants” and “needs” on top of that lesson, and I found myself facing one, inevitable truth…

3. There’s Only So Much of “Me” to Go Around – It is no secret that I’ve been restructuring my long-term writing goals. I have a limited amount of time to work with, because I have a “day job” that I am committed to, which means that I need to be extraordinarily disciplined and aware of my time away from work in order to remain professional and achieve my goals. I would like to point out that I am exceptionally fortunate that my team supports my fiction-and-game writing efforts outside of work; many of my fellow team members are writers or have other creative endeavors as well, too.

I had initially envisioned the writer’s group to be something that just took off on its own, so that I could fit in into my schedule without creating a lot of prep time or additional time sinks. What I found was that because the organic nature of the group didn’t happen as well as I had hoped, I realized that I needed to dump more time into the group to nurture it along. Unfortunately, I had a situation where I was prepping for other conferences and I couldn’t devote time into it. Because of that, the group is a lot smaller than I had expected. Sure, if I had put more time and effort into it I’m confident that I would have been able to help it get off the ground, but that’s time I didn’t (and still don’t) have. Part of it, too, is that LinkedIn (which is where I first started this group) didn’t meet all of our needs, either. That thought segues into my next point…

4. Functionality Online is Key to Offline Organization – Facebook has “events” that allow you to see whether or not people are attending. Those invites are great for booking invitations. LinkedIn also has “events,” but they’re not part of a group’s functionality, so you have to send people to a separate location to sign up for the event. Group emails (like Google or Yahoo! groups) can work, but since they’re separate from where the group’s info might be located, they can be limiting and they also need to be monitored.

Regardless of the tools I’d need to facilitate group communication, I’ve also realized that because not everyone spends the same amount of time that I do online, they might not “see” something I post for a few days, maybe even a week. I feel that I should have figured out what tools I needed to use before I started up the group; and I should have established some sort of communication structure beforehand. So what’s the lesson here?

5. It’s Best to Plan Before You Form a Writer’s Group – From researching established writer’s groups to figuring out how the group will function in the long-term, I’ve learned that starting a writer’s group does require time and special loving care. In my opinion, the tools that you need to create a writer’s group are:

Going forward, I’m still going to offer something for the existing group and see where it goes. It’ll be structured around a more “social” idea, though. Once a month I’m going to offer a chance for people to network, either through dinner or a cocktail hour. Then, on a quarterly basis, I’ll have a workshop or learning experience of some kind. For fall, I’m going to toss out the idea of attending a lecture that might be invaluable for people who want to learn how to get published in fiction.

Even though I’m not sure how things will progress for the group, I’m learning to move forward in a new and positive direction.

Related posts:

1. Bridging the Online to Offline Connection
2. Looking for Publishing Advice? Why Offline May be Better.
3. Small Press Publishers: Creating Smarter Business Plans

Part of what started the hiccup for me is when we were given a freezer full of organic meat. I’ve had a hard time with processed meats before, and the rest of my family eats meat. While we tried to have a vegetarian meal here or there, we’ve been supplementing our diet with probably the most organic meat you can get.

In a way, falling off the vegetarian wagon has made me feel a bit guilty. I really want to make the choices for that healthier lifestyle, but time seems to be my enemy. In theory, it’s great if you can stick to a shopping list and have a clear cut schedule, but in these gorgeous summer days that seems to be a luxury for me.

In a way, I feel like the hiccup makes me more determined to get back to a better integration of fresh vegetables and tofu. Already, I’m trying to plan my meals this week now that I’ve been getting caught up on all the little things that seem to distract me from focusing on good eats.

Thank you to everyone who have supported my efforts to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my diet. Really appreciate your kind words as I move toward better (and healthier) eating habits with my crazy schedule.

Related posts:

1. Day One: My Pescatarian Adventures
2. Day Two: Soy, Portions and Mac-n-Cheese
3. Day Three: Good Karma and Laziness

This morning started off okay, I had some apples with a little bit of peanut butter, which is one of my favorite snacks. By the time lunch rolled around I was pretty hungry, but the mushroom/lettuce/cheese pitas (that were made for me) ended up being not enough protein for me. I was full, but I was fading fast even though I only had two cups of caffeine.

So I did what I normally do when I’m “crashing” and got a small protein bar to tie me over until I got home. I was still pretty crabby, but dinner ended up helping. I’m making sure that I limit my pasta portion in comparison with my veggines and get a brand with protein in it.

Not sure whether or not this is because I was eating too much protein and now I’m scaling back or what, but it’s something I definitely need to keep an eye on.

Related posts:

1. Day Three: Good Karma and Laziness
2. Day Two: Soy, Portions and Mac-n-Cheese
3. Day One: My Pescatarian Adventures

Not sure about you, but I find that quite amusing.

Since I had the leftovers from last night, I thought I was going to make it through to the salmon and mashed potatoes dinner I had planned. Then I gave up. Why? Sheer laziness… My other option was vegetables plus tofu. Even though I got some tofu sitting in my cupboard, I am an amateur when it comes to making and preparing tofu. Anything soft crumbles and ends up reminding me of flan and feta cheese. Which pretty much meant that I hit the “I’m lazy I don’t want to make vegetables + grains” wall.

So instead of fabulous mashed potatoes or a salad, I’m writing this with my smoothie in one hand and a deep regret. Was doing pretty good on low caffeine until about 6 tonight, then *poof* and now I’m over-energized…

Today was pretty challenging in that food prep does take a bit of my time. I’m swamped the next, few nights so I know I need to make a concerted effort but still…feels like there’s a bit of “work” involved to me. Sandwiches and turkey burgers were a great stand-by when I was eating meat, but now I have to think about it.

So note to self: need filling “finger food” I can stock if I’m lazy. And yes, that does happen even in my world from time-to-time. Everyone needs a break.

Related posts:

1. Day 5 and Beyond: Being a Pescatarian Takes Planning
2. Day Two: Soy, Portions and Mac-n-Cheese
3. Day Four: Protein Bars and Peanut Butter

I knew that there were a few people at work who were vegetarian (or who knew folk who are) so I asked around a little bit for some advice. The big topic of discussion was the “evils of soy.” Really? I had no idea? While I’m not one to form an opinion without reading multiple sources, I was surprised that a few people agreed relying on soy solely as your main source of protein was bad. I’m not going to be able to do that anyway, but I thought it was pretty interesting that this is the first time I’m hearing about it. I’ve been drinking Silk soymilk for years because milk and I no longer got along. Might be worth reading more about, but if you have resources or links on the subject I’d appreciate them.

Besides the soy discussion, I’m consciously trying to move toward better portion control. Funny thing is, I slow down when I’m eating vegetables so I’m wondering if the inhale of carbs has something to do with my habit for over-sized portions. Of course, there might be another culprit for that — caffeine. I know I drink way too much and I’m quite addicted to the stuff, but darn it all! This is my last vice. So, as part of this experiment I’m going to consciously cut back to three cups of coffee a day and stick with the “no soda” option. We’ll see how long this lasts.

Wanted to make sure I had lunch for tomorrow that consisted of something other than soup, so shared salad and homemade mac-n-cheese. The mac-n-cheese recipe I have comes from the book pictured here: The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. I have to say that I get a lot of use out this particular cookbook, because there are recipes in here my meat eater will gladly indulge in. There are two recipes for mac-n-cheese here with variations for vegan vs. not. One is a milk-based sauce, the other is tofu-based. I haven’t tried the tofu-based one yet, but am keeping that as an option since I have issues with cooking tofu.

The true test of this pesca-vegetarian journey is going to be the next few nights, which look like they’re pretty busy. Until next time…

Related posts:

1. Day Three: Good Karma and Laziness
2. Day 5 and Beyond: Being a Pescatarian Takes Planning
3. Day One: My Pescatarian Adventures

For everyone else? Here’s my summary of Day One.

Most Restaurants Suck

My restrictions are: no sugar (or corn syrup) and no meat, except for fish. Little caffeine and no “straight-up” dairy. Human-size portions preferred.

Going out to eat is an exercise in insanity, because it is virtually impossible to find edible menu items with those restrictions. For beverages, I pretty much have to stick to water. Few places offer alternate, caffeine-free and no sugar beverages (even the sushi places), so water it is.

We went to a local restaurant, and there were only two things on the menu that would be considered vegetarian. For fish options, there were only dinner items, so I was out-of-luck on that front.

I almost postponed the start of my adventures due to a lack of choices. (Thank heavens for friendly reminders.) While I wasn’t unhappy with my choice, it seems like eating out might be a chore.

Why do Grocery Stores Keep Veggies Wet?

Built a menu list from a bunch of recipes we had on hand and went grocery shopping to support my adventures. That part was pretty easy, but the veggie shopping was disturbing.

While my grocery bill was less than what we normally spend, there are a lot of “shower sprays” that continually wet down the vegetables making them “look” fresh. I have a few veggie storage containers I got from Tupperware that work really well to store veggies over the long-term, but I’ve had a hard time using up the veggies before they go bad. Is the constant watering the cause?

This might mean more frequent grocery shopping just for vegetables. We’ll see how that shakes out.

On to Day Two…

Related posts:

1. Day 5 and Beyond: Being a Pescatarian Takes Planning
2. Day Three: Good Karma and Laziness
3. Day Four: Protein Bars and Peanut Butter