Monday, October 31, 2011

Why Cheesecake is like Mud

I write for children,  read children's books and teach elementary age children. I've got two children living at home. You'd think I would have a good handle on describing things in a childlike way. But every once in a while (more often than I'd like to admit!) I get a peek inside the 8-year-old- psyche that reminds me just how far I am from truly thinking like a child.

My daughter and I were making cheesecake together last week. As she mixed the ingredients for the graham cracker crust, she kept asking me if the consistency was right.

"No," I'd say. "It needs to be a little wetter, so it holds together when we put it in the pie pan. But not too wet."

She sighed. "Do you mean like mud?"

Huh?

She saw my questioning look. "When you dig in the dirt, and it goes from dry to kind of damp and it sticks together in clumps."

I had to smile.

"Yes. Exactly. Make it like mud."

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Tomorrow is the launch for OPEN MINDS by Susan Kaye Quinn. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for Susan, and not just because I beta read this book and was completely blown away by the story. I'm impressed with how she has approached this book release, how she has balanced the publicity with her blogging and how organized she manages to be with everything! I could definitely learn a thing or two from her, and luckily she's documented a lot of it on her blog :)

Her launch has cool prizes up for grabs (I want that t-shirt!) and a blog hop that will reveal the story behind OPEN MINDS. If you haven't already heard about  Susan or her virtual launch or her books, you will. She's amazing.

Have a great Halloween!

16 comments:

Stina said...

I also beta read Susan's book and thought it was great. And, like you, I'm impressed how she's dealt with the publicity. I know of one self pubbed author who is spamming a writer support group I'm in, and annoying many of the individuals. Her potential sales. That's why I'm not buying her book.

Laura Pauling said...

Cheesecake is one thing I've never made!

And we can all learn some lessons from Susan when it came to organizing her launch!

Anne Gallagher said...

Smart daughter, it is just like mud. I can't wait to see what Susan has in store.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Too cute! So excited for Susan's release. I'm involved in the tour, too, and can't wait to visit everyone!

Kristan said...

Hehe, kids say the darnedest things, huh? I love the unusual connections their minds make.

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Yeah, I'm so far way from a child's mind that my daughter is constantly surprising me, hehe.

I'm really excited for Susan, too! I adored her book. :)

Bish Denham said...

Mud works for me. Congratulations Susan!

Christina Lee said...

Clear as mud, right? GO SUSAN!!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I shall never eat cheesecake again without thinking of mud. ;)
Can't wait for Susan's launch. I love reading her blog, which is interesting and thought-provoking.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Haha this is awesome! Reminds me of how I taught my 10 year old son to put the garbage bins away after they were emptied by the garbage trucks. He kept putting them in awkward angles so the car couldn't get into the drive, no matter how many times I told him where they went. Finally I said, "Line them up like soldiers standing at attention." He placed them perfectly from then on.

C.R. Evers said...

Mud. How perfect! I marvle over how my kids see things, but sometimes I think "I could never write that, no one would believe that a kid would ever say that!" :0)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

LOL. Mud . . . I love it!! And I am so, so, so excited for Susan! I'm hosting her tomorrow, too. :-)

Sherrie Petersen said...

Stina: People like that turn everybody off to the whole concept of promotion. I'm glad Susan's around to show us the right way to do it!

Laura: Come on over and we can make cheesecake together :D

Anne: Isn't that brilliant? Only from the mind of an 8-year-old.

Sheri: I'm not part of the launch day tour, but I'll be interviewing her in a couple weeks to talk about how it went.

Kristan: Don't they, though? I'll be sad when I don't have small ones around anymore.

Michelle: I love how surprising children can be. That's part of the fun of having them! And I totally agree -- Susan's book is awesome.

Bish: Kind of like a better tasting mud pie, right?

Christina: Ha! That's how I feel sometimes as my "old" brain struggles to keep up with the 8-year-old!

Tricia: Me too!! And I'm excited for Susan's launch as well. I really want to win one of those cool shirts!

Karen: Soldiers -- perfect!

Christy: I have a notebook of things my kids have said and it's usually when I use something verbatim in a story that someone tells me no kid would say that! They're so much smarter than they get credit for sometimes :)

Shannon: A whole different kind of mud pie, huh? :) I'll "see" you tomorrow on the blog tour!

Kelley said...

Love the simplicity of it. Kids just say it better some (okay, a lot) of the time :) Nice to meet you :)

Krispy said...

Mud is not exactly the most flattering description, but it sounds like it was accurate! Haha. When I read your blog post title, I though "Oh, I guess she doesn't like cheesecake?"

Happy Halloween!

Sarah Laurenson said...

Single minded of purpose and thought. Consistency is only about consistency and not about whether or not you'd eat them both.

Will have to check out this book launch and all the great organization info.

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