The Fairytale Mother
Once upon a time two lives intertwined…
A broken heart.
When Andrew Krenshaw’s wife goes missing, terror becomes desperation as he is forced to cope with a world of uncertainty where he has suddenly become a single father, an unfortunate celebrity… a potential murderer.
A hopeful heart.
Melanie Tull has everything she ever wanted in her life… except perhaps love. Her husband is absent and demanding all at once. Her home, a shell of perfection with a cold center. Her life, busy yet vacant.
… Herein lies the tale that binds them.
Buy: Kindle / Paperback /B&N (coming August 8th)
About Heather
After a childhood spent living in various northern states–New Jersey for half of that (South Jersey, exit 4, to be exact)–she struck out on her own. First stop, Atlanta, Georgia. After attending GA Tech to study Industrial Engineering, she settled down in a small town outside the city where she has remained ever since. She keeps house for one husband, two sons, and a thankless dog (who she adores anyway). Her loves: books, bacon, bargains… heavy metal, Christmas movies… a great pair of jeans… and anything cheesy. The four dirtiest words she knows: wash, cook, dust, iron.
Website http://www.heathermuzik.com/
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Half-Baked
I was recently asked the question, “Do you bake?” Fairly simple, right? Except I balked… Do I say yes with caveats? Is all baking created equally? Is it the intent that counts rather than the execution or result?
Okay, let me rewind for a moment and first say that I understand that I am here because of my book, The Fairytale Mother. I haven’t lost my marbles completely. Yet. I guess this baking question just got me thinking about the Princess Elsa stories in the book. She is the idealized portrait of everything that makes those of us who don’t measure up in the kitchen feel about yea-big (a pinch, if you’re measuring). Princess Elsa is baking perfection incarnate. A superhero. Her spectacular desserts are able to turn giants into gentlemen and soothe the crankiest troll or orneriest ogre… Considering I have teenagers around, such power could come in handy…
But I am not so endowed.
I would love to be as good as Princess Elsa and countless other nonfictional bakers out there, whipping up masterpieces with nothing but the elemental basics about—a smidgen, a dash, and all that other from-the-heart and off-the-cuff stuff. But I’ve seen what I am capable of and it isn’t pretty. I have made things from scratch. Completely from scratch. Like make-my-own-buttermilk kind of scratch. I just think that dessert should be gasped at in glory and wonder, not in abject horror.
I am not a master baker unless it is a master of unusually flat cookies and cracked cheesecakes. I am just a mom who bakes sometimes—sometimes a little and sometimes a lot. And this mom is so thankful that when push comes to shove, Betty Crocker and the Pillsbury Doughboy have her back, because even when I am not baking what is on the box, I like to use recipes that start with a boxed mix of some sort. That is my baking style. Part easy, we’ve-done-most-of-the-work-for-you; part interesting twist—a cake mix base for cookie dough, or baked brownies mixed with cream cheese for gooey cheesecake goodness. It turns out that the products of such shortcuts are just enough to provoke elusive smiles out of my stubborn teens. And that is enough for me. I mean, I’m not battling ogres here… and I can’t even think of the last time I crossed paths with a troll.
So whether you’re into baking or want to be into baking, whether you bake once a week, a year, a decade, or every third Thursday without fail, I hope you find a little bit of Elsa in you… from the box or from scratch. And I hope you get moving and enter the giveaway for a shot at Princess Elsa’s “Tame the Enchanted Beasts” Baking Basket—there’s some seriously cool baking stuff on the line here, yo.
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My favorite fairytale character is Rumplestiltskin. Thank you for the giveaway!