Press & Such

Lately the cookbook has been getting a lot of good press. Or at least, press. I find it sort of odd (but not at all surprising) that most reviewers -- and God bless them for even noticing my little ol' cookbook, it means so much to me -- keep bringing up the "weird" stuff that's mentioned in the cookbook, like "grilled tree rat" and raccoon, etc, instead of the recipes that make up the bulk of the cookbook-- the scrumptious desserts served at The Capitol, or the bread baked at Peeta's bakery, or the filling stews (made with relatively 'normal' ingredients). So I just wanted to say to anyone considering the cookbook, MOST of the recipes are incredibly easy to make, from picking out the ingredients to removing them from the baking pan.

Anyway, here's some of the things that different publications have had to say:

The Hunger Games Fireside Chat - Savanna New reviews my cookbook. Of all the articles out there, I think she's the only one who has actually cooked something FROM the book-- and she does an amazing job, too! Thanks Savanna! :)

The Wall Street Journal - I actually owe writer Alexandra Alter a carton of wine. Her article -- which landed on the front page of the WSJ this past Thursday -- is what got the cookbook suddenly noticed by most other presses.

Boston Globe - If only I could find a hard-copy of this newspaper to check if it made it in there, too!

Boingboing.net - This got me tons of street cred with my 'nerd' friends.

Flavorwire - I read flavorwire everyday, so opening it up on my computer to discover my cookbook on there was a huge surprise and delight.

However, one of the most thrilling moments of all occurred earlier tonight when my boyfriend and I hit up our local Barnes and Noble. As a lark, I decided to check if they had my cookbook in stock. I really didn't expect them to. And then, low and behold, by the childrens' section I found this display:

I was so excited I had to take a photo with it, giant oversized sweater and all:

So yeah, today was awesome. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family (and hopefully readers). Thank you all.

Baking/Cooking Blogs

Since I am most well-known for writing The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook (available now on Amazon and at all major book retailers), I thought I'd list a few of my favorite food blogs.

First, there's Smitten Kitchen. I've been viewing this blog for ages now. While I mostly tried her desserts, I've recently ventured in to trying out some of her non-sweet dishes and man oh man, they're just as amazing. I really like Smitten Kitchen because she patiently explains how to do things. And the photos are amazing.

Speaking of amazing photos-- and basic culinary creativity, of which both these blogs have tons-- let's check out Sprinkle Bakes. Sprinkle Bakes is the most gorgeous dessert blog I've ever seen. I want THIS to be my wedding cake.

Both Smitten Kitchen and Sprinkle Bakes have cookbooks out which I plan to purchase immediately.

An Old Blog Entry To Start The New

Below is a guest-post I wrote for my old high school's library blog.

When I embarked upon my middle school Prep education in the fall of 1997, I had two measures for success: having a million friends, and publishing The Great American Novel. As Prep had less than a million students, and I had yet to learn the difference between effect and affect, these were lofty if not impossible goals.

Still, they were mine, and the publishing goal especially I kept close to the chest, like a warm blanket I could snuggle on those cold Californian nights when I was crying over the chromosome chapter in my AP Bio textbook or the fact that I had not been cast in my dream roll in the all-school musical. This too will pass, I told myself with each passing year,and one day I will be published.

The creative writing teacher at the time, Mrs. Leidenthal, wisely told me that if my only reason for writing was to be published I’d never become a good writer. This was sound advice, so of course I ignored it. Every short story I wrote for every class, I set aside to send off to a literary magazine. I was so cool I signed my name at the end of each submission with a purple sparkle gel pen. Of course, if I heard back at all, it was your standard rejection.

College came, and while I never found my college English classes as difficult as, say, Mr. Vaughn's Honors American Literature class, my writing improved with age. Beloved writer and mentor Aimee Bender (check out her work!) spent many hours helping me improve my craft, and while T.C. Boyle called one story of mine a great disappointment, he praised my second effort. I learned to manage rejection with much more elegance and much less bitterness than I had at Prep. As I spent hours considering the harsh reality that most of my stories would never see the light of day, I remembered how to enjoy writing for writing's sake. And then I started to get published.

This is no fairy-tale. The best things I've ever written have been rejected hundreds of times, while stories I word vomit out in the span of seconds enjoy some moderate success in often unknown online publications. The story I am still most proud of I wrote in elementary school (it was about seven cats that go shopping). Taste is fickle. People, no matter how proficient the prose, will reject you for reasons you might never understand. This fact is not just part of being a writer, it's part of life.

Indeed, while I have a cookbook out, and I am beyond thrilled and grateful for such luck, I am still far from my goal of writing and publishing the next Great American novel. I may attempt to write it, I may become distracted by other projects. Yet, I know Mrs. Leidenthal-- and all the teachers at Flintridge Prep who echoed her message-- were right. Captivating writing, perhaps even great writing, the writing you read in the books we play watch guard over here at the library, is not accomplished by some child with the singular goal of publication. It is accomplished when the author has something to say, without regard to whether one person or a million reads their words. I struggle with this constantly, I think all writers do, but this is the best piece of advice I can offer any and all the writers at Flintridge Prep. If you sit down and write that essay, that poem, that short story simply because Mr. Bachmann or Mr. Meyers requires it, you're not going to write anything worth reading. But if you write even a paragraph because you have knowledge or an opinion to impart, you're on your way to a good -- if not downright interesting-- piece of prose.

Now if only that helped me on my goal of making a million friends. Current Facebook Friend Count: 674.