The Pepper-Pot is a collection of fantastic short stories and recipes by a group of Vermont writers. I was lucky enough to join them and pitch my story into the mix called “A Bittersweet Land.”

And if you aren’t convinced by one of the contributors saying you should check it out, have a gander at a few reviws from Amazon.com:

“Southshire Pepper-Pot is a tasty book, filled with delicious stories to be munched on slowly with a glass of wine. This is just the kind of book I love to discover and savor with recipes that top off a full-course meal of literary victuals”

Bill Morgan, Beat Chronicler and author of I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Alllen Ginsberg and Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression –Bill Morgan, author

“Southshire Roundtable has given us a tasty literary treat, a rich menu of deliciously seasoned prose and poetry that will satisfy the appetite of all who enjoy a good read. The short stories are delicious tales inhabited by people we immediately empathize with as well as by unique characters who appeal to our fascination with the strange and mysterious. The essays too are remarkably diverse nostalgic pieces about local places served side by side with insightful accounts of such faraway locations as the Middle East and Key West. The talented writers represented here are proof positive that literature of the first order is alive and well in our area.”

Lea Newman, Bennington, Vermont; Professor Emerita, MCLA and author of Robert Frost: the People, Places and Stories behind his New England Poetry and Growing Up Italian in Chicago –Lea Newman, Professor Emerita, MCLA

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“More to the point, most books don’t start as books. They evolve from humbler efforts such as magazine articles, doctoral dissertations, even op-eds or blogs. If you find yourself saying “I could write about a book about it,” start by writing something far shorter. If you can’t get that published — as an op-ed, for example — you’re not ready for a book. Correction: you may be ready, but an agent or editor isn’t going to pay much attention to an entirely unpublished writer.”

Download the introduction here: Introduction to Theology For Everyone in Postmodern Times.

A complete proposal is available upon request: 802-375-2575 or edcyzewski (at) gmail (dot) com.

Well, a lot actually. For one thing, Stephen King is not limited to horror. He’s a very, very funny writer. I began reading this book in bed on Tuesday night and soon found that I was on page 60 without even realizing it. The candid stories of his childhood adventures are laugh-out-loud funny. I also see myself in a lot of the awkward writing and school newspaper stuff that he was involved in.

The most important thing I’ve learned from King is optimism and persistence. He simply loved to write, and that is enough. He worked all kinds of jobs and still kept at his writing. The nail on the wall that held all of his rejection letters soon was replaced with a large stake. And still he wrote novels, novellas, and short stories.

It’s also fascinating to learn about another writer’s habits and where he finds his stories and characters. If anything, I have learned from other writers, including King, to observe people closely.

For example, I had a waitress today who has to be perfect for a book some day. She joked with customers, shared that she double-majored in theater and physics, and someone brought up SM with some French folks at the table next to mine. Then she dropped their brownie.

Ah, the old adage: truth is stranger than fiction. You just can’t make up stuff like that.

Originally published at www.inamirrordimly.com.

Technorati Tags: stephen+king - on+writing - writing - fiction

Here are his recommendations. For the full list, click here.

Guy Kawasaki

Kawasaki is a well known venture capitalist, speaker, blogger and author. He was also the first evangelist for Apple’s revolutionary Macintosh. His book Rules for Revolutionaries was very important in the formation of Resonate and his book, Selling the Dream was the seed that got the Resonate Greenhouses started. We asked Guy what books he would suggest for people starting non-profits with very little money. He didn’t list his latest book, The Art of the Start but we will for him.

1. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
2. Uncommon Genius by Denise Shekerjian
3. If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
4. Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
5. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore

If anything, Stephen gave many of those present a reality check into the publishing world. Even after publishing several fairly successful books and working through a very prominent literary agent, Stephen found that one can hardly live off the royalties of a book deal. In addition, he shared just how hard it is to find an agent or a publisher as a new writer. His company, the Public Press, provides an alternative format that is fairly cost effective and enables new authors to launch from a fairly good position. I took notes on the meeting and hope to share some additional tips in the near future. One tip that I need to share off the bat is that Stephen said he prefers to work with independent book stores who will rarely ever return purchased books. Unfortunately Borders and Barnes & Noble are known to ship back unsold books.

The anthology is “an eclectic mix of prose and poetry full of whimsy, humor, reflection, wonder, along with a mouth-watering collection of recipes sure to inspire the cook or baker in us all.” Though I’m no chef, I had a fun time sharing my first experience with Turkish coffee while studying in Jerusalem. Included in the story is a recipe for Turkish coffee, something that I typically would prefer to leave to professionals!

Technorati Tags: anthology, writing

Though the title is somewhat provocative, the subject material is essential for every business, especially non-profits to consider. Non-profits cannot afford to miss out on blogs. Since they rely so heavily on relationships, service, and donations, there is no such thing as too much trust or too much communication.

Technorati Tags: naked+conversations, blogging