Shifty Magic by Judy Teel: Guest Post & Giveaway

Judy Teel Guest Post:

FEEDING YOUR CREATIVITY

One of the problems with writing four to eight hours a day is your brain runs out of steam. That’s because the food it needs is glucose and after a while, especially if you forget to stop for lunch, your “little grey cells” as Agatha Christie’s famous sleuth Hercule Poirot would say, stop working for you.

A delicious way to stay powered up—

Have I got the food for you! Never fear, I’m not talking about frying up some flounder. Fish is great if you like it, but it won’t spark your creativity the way complex carbs can.

Nope, for super-charged writing, I’m talkin’ cookies, my friend. Yummy, warm-from-the-oven, cookies. Oatmeal to be specific.

Below is a recipe that not only provides your brain immediate fuel, but also longer term power, protein, and even that all important type of fat for your brain: omega-3s.

So, get out your mixing bowls and turn your oven to 350° F, because here we go!

Judy Teel’s Brainiac Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients--

·         ½ cup shortening

·         ½ cup natural sugar (not white, but still in crystal form)

·         ½ cup packed dark brown sugar

·         1 egg

·         ½ tsp vanilla extract

·         ¾ cup all-purpose flour, or gluten free flour

·         ½ tsp baking soda

·         ½ tsp salt

·         1 cup rolled oats, or gluten-free oats

·         ½ cup chopped raw walnuts

Put it together—

In a large mixing bowl combine the shortening and both types of sugar and mix into a creamy texture. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the wet ingredients and blend well. Fold in the oats and walnuts. If you use an electric mixer for the oats and walnuts, be careful not to over stir and pulverize them. 

For uniform cookies, I prefer to use a melon ball scoop to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets. I’m obsessive like that. A spoon is fine. Heck, use your fingers if you want. Whatever you choose, get some blobs of dough on the cookie sheet and place them about one inch apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly brown. Move to a cooling rack (or not, just have something cold to drink handy!).

Start some tea or coffee while you clean up your mess. When the cookies are cool, arrange some on a plate, grab your drink and get back to work.

With yummy brain food like this within reach, the ideas will flow like a river and you’ll have the stamina to keep up with them!

What’s your favorite way to stay motivated and working when you write?

Links used:

Brain fuel: http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/carbs.html

Judy Teel: http://judyteel.com

BLURB:

...some people will do anything for revenge.

A tough PI struggles to track down a vengeful serial killer only to discover that the murderer holds the key to her secret magical heritage.

Book One in the YA13 paranormal/mystery series Dangerous Magic by Judy Teel. "Expect action, on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense, and the perfect touch of romance."

Excerpt:

Resting my right hand on my gun, I poked the yellow button of my office door’s remote with my left index finger. My muscles tightened for action as the thick metal barrier swung ponderously open with a long-suffering hiss of hydraulics.

Cooper’s curious gaze swept over me and around the room. Wizard’s attention swept over Cooper. When the two of them locked eyes, the Were tensed and the cat started purring. Wizard rose to her feet and arched her back in a luxurious stretch, her focused attention never leaving the Were.

He was dressed for work, which in the FBI world meant black slacks and shoes, crisp white dress shirt, black jacket and a tie. The tie was bright yellow with a picture of Bugs Bunny on it.

He narrowed his luminous silver-green gaze on my cat, and then landed it back on me. “You should check your video readout before opening the door,” he said with that kind of authoritative sternness that inspired people like me to do the opposite.

I frowned at him. “What do you want?”

“To hire you. But first I need your alibi.”

“It’s too early for alibis,” I said, taking a sip of coffee to cover my surprise. As far as I knew, I hadn’t done anything obviously illegal. At least, not lately.

He glided into my office in that graceful, menacing way Weres had, and I buzzed the door closed. Despite looking barely old enough to buy a beer, Cooper radiated energy and purpose like the sun did heat. As the door clicked shut, he filled the space making the bread-box size of my office feel more like a matchbox.

His expression sobered as he eased himself gingerly onto one of the spindly folding chairs. “Where were you last night between the hours of eleven and one?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I live in North Carolina with my boisterous family–husband, three kids, a dog and a geriatric bunny–and yup, I’m Southern so occasionally I let a “y’all” slip out. Maybe more than occasionally.

I love my job and dedicate as much of my time to writing as I can. When I’m not doing the weaving of the adventurous and romantic tales, I’m running errands, driving people around (or crazy depending on your perspective), and generally pretending I’m a grownup.

When I was fifteen, I knew I wanted to be a novelist–wanted to write for Harlequin actually. But the calling to tell stories came a lot earlier than that, I just didn’t know what it meant.

I had a lot of growing up to do before I could manage it, though many would claim the growing up part didn’t take--you know who you are--but I finally have my dream job.

Life rocks—so should the books you read!

Webpage: http://judyteel.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudyTeelBooks?ref=hl

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/judyteelbooks

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008K8WHHI

Shifty Magic for Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shifty-magic-judy-teel/1115409891?ean=2940016703961

Shifty Magic for Kindle: http://amzn.com/B00CXQ7EOE 

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