Game of Books
Buy our all new reading journal!
Author

Christie

Browsing

Episode 23, Season Finale: Trivento Malbec and Into the Black Nowhere

By

Episode 23 of Game of Books podcast is the Season 1 Finale and I don’t think it will disappoint. We had a blast sharing wine, food and a great mystery book.

Meg Gardiner’s latest thriller in the UNSUB series, Into the Black Nowhere, was quite a ride. Inspired by the creepy serial killer (is there any other kind?) Ted Bundy, rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix faces so many challenges in her pursuit of the killer that I guarantee you will be up late turning the pages.

Cathi and I had so much we wanted to share that it was a good thing she chose a wine that we both enjoyed. The Trivento Malbec met both our tastes, our budgets, and was available both in South Dakota and south Florida.  It was my turn to guess the tasting notes, and it turns out I’m not very good at it. I should have just chosen hints of mocha, since that is tops in most of my favorite wines.

All good things must come to an end and such is the case with Season 1 of Game of Books. In the meantime, you can listen to any of our episodes that you missed. Stay tuned … we have tons of exciting ideas planned for Season 2!

You can also find other episodes and subscribe right on our website!

You can also listen to Game of Books podcasts on Apple Podcasts (Itunes), Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

Join our conversation at Facebook and Twitter @GOBwriters!

by

Wednesday Update: The Season Finale

By

This is my last Wednesday update post for a while since we are taking a little break over the summer. This is my last chance to impart great wisdom on this road to publishing or more likely commiserate on its challenges. For some reason Donna Summer’s song “Last Dance” started playing in my head. Not sure where that came from but it is distracting from my main objective … finding some good parting words.

First, how about:  “Let’s all have a great time doing some fun stuff.” So writerly of me, I know, but it did change the tune in my head to “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett, GoonRock. You have to watch the video … starts out like a thriller but will have you laughing and dancing by the end. I like to pick out which dancers in the end I’m most like. Definitely not the contortionist … but maybe Cathi, with her yoga moves. Seriously though, if you start out every day watching that you are bound to do some fun stuff.

I have no idea where I’m going with this post but if I keep up a musical mantras then my next words are “Smooth sailing through the rough parts.” The song that comes to mind now is “Smooth” by Santana ft. Rob Thomas. A perfect sound to groove over the waves with, both figuratively and literally … I do live in the “Yachting Capital of the World.”

Honestly, I could  probably go on all day with this but at some point someone would alert the authorities that I need to be committed.  So keep listening to whatever soundtrack gets you moving, and if you need a break you can always listen to one of the 32 episodes of Season 1 of Game of Books podcast.

See you in a couple months!

by

Monday Food: Skittles? Absolutely

By

Skittles are food? Absolutely.  In Cleaning the Gold by Karin Slaughter and Lee Child, it was the only thing we saw GBI agent Will Trent eat. And Will Trent is no slouch so we can’t discount Skittles might be a sleeper super food. The main ingredient is sugar, which I concede is not the most nutritious of foods, but there is a substantial amount of Vitamin C, so who knows.

Joking aside, Skittles definitely are rock stars in the candy world. During our podcast last Friday I give some other fun Skittles facts. We also talked about a recipe for Skittle-infused wine that uses a Moscato wine. If you make it, you can use the Seven Daughters Moscato, which Cathi and I drank during our Skittle talk.

On Episode 22, we talk about a lot more than Skittles, check it out!

by

Monday Food: Sushi

By

On last Friday’s Game of Books podcast, we talked with Carla Norton. She not only lived in Japan for a while, her current book in progress is at least partly set in Japan. I say partly because I realize spy novels tend to cover a lot of ground … and it isn’t out yet so I’ll have to wait to read it to know for sure.

Regardless, when we asked Carla our favorite food-related question (Which of your characters would you have a meal with and  what would it be?), she said she’d share sushi  and sake with the spy in the new novel. I love sushi and sake! But being from south Florida, I didn’t grow up knowing much about either of those. And even now I don’t make sushi myself, or sake for that matter. However, should you be inclined to try, I found this pretty comprehensive list of the top sushi making kits on a beautiful site called Food Shark Marfa. I have no idea what a marfa is, but the food shark marfa knows its stuff.

Anyway, to clarify, I did have homemade sushi for my first taste. In my twenties I would frequent the docks across from my apartment to get my fresh fish right from the boat. One day a fisherman suggested I eat the tuna raw that he was selling that day, since it was so fresh and caught from deep waters. “Makes good sushi,” he said.  I had no idea if that was smart (no google back then), but I tried it with some soy sauce and yum! I was as hooked as that tuna was, thankful that neither one of us was cooked.

Here are the links to Game of Books podcast Corks and Conversation #9: Carla Norton:

by

Wednesday Wisdom

By

“Buckle up, and know that it’s going to be a tremendous amount of work, but embrace it.”

–  Tory Burch

With the end of May, as the days go from the warmth of Spring to the heat of Summer, I find that I need some encouragement to attack all that I have ahead of me. And when I look around at my family and friends, I think they could use it to. Here’s the quote that reaches out to me and hopefully touches you as well.

by

Monday Food: Fish and Pesto

By

On Last Friday’s episode of our podcast you can listen to our our discussion of Harlan Coben’s latest novel, Run Away. Even though thriller’s aren’t often known for their gourmet meals, I was able to recreate one that was mentioned in this book.

Of course, Harlan Coben used the meal as a tool during a discussion between two characters to give us an insight in their nature. And of course, I took it a step further as an inspiration for dinner after the podcast. Listen to the podcast to find out more about the origin of the name of the Dorado fish … or the Cadillac Eldorado … or maybe both!

I grilled some Dorado, known in south Florida as Dolphin (the fish not the mammal) and served it with some Parsley-Walnut Pesto inspired by a recipe I found on Clare Tansey’s Kitchen website. Served it with a glass of Clos du Bois Pinot Grigio that we drank on our podcast.  Cathi was able to guess some of the tasting notes on our podcast! Can you?

Listen here:  iTunes                    Spotify                  Google Play Music

by

Elaine Viets – Corks and Conversation #8

By

It was another fun and informative episode of Corks and Conversation with best-selling and award-winning author, Elaine Viets. Did you know that she has a mystery for every mood? Ice Blonde is her most recent dark mystery and she also has a collection of short stories, Deal with the Devil and 13 Short Stories.

Cathi and I enjoyed Fat Bastard Pinot Noir while we recorded the introduction. Fun title, cool label, and tasty red!

You can listen to Game of Books podcasts on Apple Podcasts (Itunes), Spotify, and Google Music, as well as here on our website.

by

Wednesday Update – Writing on the Road

By

I am happy to say that this blog is actually happening in time to post on Wednesday, our previously agreed upon day, instead of my last two Thursday Updates. I’m writing on the road. Well not literally “on the road” since that would be hard to do while driving. I am actually on the Atlanta leg of the trip … after a week in various parts of North Carolina (see the dogwood picture above). I will have to make it back to south Florida in time for our podcast later this week, but it has been fun seeing family along the way. And Mother’s Day was spent with my mom and my daughter, which is a bonus.

So here is the update … I have not been as productive as I thought. Best laid plans and all. I’ve determined that my lack of discipline has reached new heights. I am blaming it on my bad sleep habits and late night novel reading. Some books are just too hard to put down! Our Game of Books podcasts have led me to some amazing and prolific writers. I’m never at a loss as to what to read, which has been a major distraction. I plan on buckling down as soon as I get home and maybe first should be one of the planners that Cathi loves so much.  I need to organize my time better, making writing a priority. After all, this book won’t write itself.

Now, with the weather a beautiful 73 degrees and sunny, I think I will be inordinately proud of myself for getting this blog written and go outside and play!

by

Episode 20: Alamos Malbec and Saving Meghan

By

Episode 20! Cathi and I are still talking and drinking wine from our upside down locations. I think though, right now, we have oddly similar climates. South Dakota is warming up and turning green and south Florida hasn’t hit the summer sizzle.

This week we shared a glass of Alamos Malbec and found it to our liking … you know how we favor the reds! Grab a glass when you listen to this episode … unless you are driving or exercising when you listen then sip while you listen the second time.

We discussed Saving Meghan by D. J. Palmer and it was one of our favorite thrillers. Full of twists and turns with a psychological aspect that we found fascinating, we are now Daniel Palmer fans. We plan on going back and reading his other novels, when we can fit them in. Or maybe we can listen to his music while we are writing.

You can listen to Game of Books podcasts on Apple Podcasts (Itunes), Spotify, and Google Music, as well as here on our website.

by

T. Jefferson Parker – Corks and Conversation #7

By

On this week’s Game of Books podcast, we had a fun time talking with T. Jefferson Parker while at Sleuthfest 2019 … as you can probably tell by our picture.

He is such an inspiration and as his lovely wife attested … The Last Good Guy … which coincidentally is the name of his next book that you can pre-order now for an August release. The previous book in this series, The Last Vengeance, is available now and is a great read!

We enjoyed a Bordeaux wine – Chateau De Camarsac. A delicious inexpensive French wine with an interesting description!

You can listen to Game of Books podcasts on Apple Podcasts (Itunes), Spotify, and Google Music, as well as here on our website.

by