May 2016 Newsletter
Vol. CLXXIV

Gentle Readers:

How are we in May? HOW!?!? Didn't we just flip our calendars to 2016? Yikes. Add in I just had a birthday, and I'm feeling the year(s). It's been a busy one, for sure, and the time flies a bit faster when you're running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Not that I'm speaking from personal experience.

FIELD OF GRAVES is coming out next month, and I'm so pumped! Since we've last spoken, not only has the book gotten a Spring Okra Pick—it got a starred review in Publishers Weekly!! Woo hoo!!! This is the very first book I ever wrote, the one I shoved in a drawer when it got rejected all over New York ten years ago. And look at it now! It goes to show you, folks: never give up. Never, never, never. Believe in your work, your dreams, yourself—you never know what the future may bring. So. If you're interested in reading my first little novel, you can pre-order it on the right.

Because you are my newsletter peeps, I've promised you exclusive treats. And treats you shall have: if you'd like to read the original NO ONE KNOWS ending, the one I wrote before my publisher and I edited the book, ask Amy to send it to you. Email her here. I'd love to hear which ending you prefer.

Events

Are you near Chicago? I'm going to be there for BEA May 12–13! I'll be floating around, looking at all the pretty books, and I have a few of signings, too. Interested? Here are the details.

Get Thee to a Bookstore

After winding down the NO ONE KNOWS train, I was able to get a bit more reading done. If you enjoy escaping into new worlds, may I suggest V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic series? She's gonna be the next Neil Gaiman, y'all. Here's my list for this month.

A GATHERING OF SHADOWS ‐ V.E. Schwab
PAPER TOWNS ‐ John Green
LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE ‐ Jessica Knoll
WATCHING EDIE ‐ Camilla Way
WILD ‐ Cheryl Strayed
THREE WISHES ‐ Lianne Moriarty

If you’re on Goodreads, friend me, and follow along. I’m always interested in what you’re reading, too!

May Contest

The May contest is live now: enter to win a signed hardcover edition of WHAT LIES BEHIND, a small paper notepad, and a $10 online book store gift card to Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million OR iBooks (winner's choice).

Enter here to win.

May Recipe — J.T.'s Special Piccata Sauce

(makes enough servings for 6 meals)

I am a fiend for excellent piccata sauce. It's the capers. I love them, in all their salty, briny goodness. Add them to lemon, and BOOM—something special happens. Piccata sauce is one of the easiest to make. You literally can get away with lemon, butter and capers, heated and reduced, if you only want a taste of bliss. If, though, like me, you crave a flavor explosion, the recipe below is based on a meal I had at one of our local Nashville establishments, Bria. I had it over shrimp with broccolini, and it's spectacular. But piccata will go over any white meat: fish, chicken, even pork, and even works with pasta alone. A little angel hair topped with piccata will make you a brilliant dinner. Here's my re-creation of the deliciousness I had the other night. I made enough to fill several mason jar—some I froze, and the others, we ate with gusto. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
• 1 generous cup white wine
• Juice from 4 large lemons
• 1/2 of 3.5 oz. jar of capers, with juice
• Small pinch of thyme
• Large pinch of rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/4 cup roasted red pepper, diced
• 3/4 stick butter (about 6 tablespoons)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, whisk together all ingredients (except butter, salt, and pepper).
2. Bring mixture to a roiling boil, then turn heat down to low and simmer for thirty minutes; sauce will reduce by half.
3. After mixture has simmered for 15 minutes, begin adding butter in three stages, allowing the mixture to thicken after each addition.
4. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Spoon over fresh proteins, vegetables, pasta, your dog.....
6. Store extra sauce in mason jars (it reheats beautifully on the stove). Just shake it up to make the fats break apart—they will solidify in the fridge.

That's it from me! Enjoy May flowers, graduations, Memorial Day cookouts, and all the happiness that comes with this season, and we'll talk again soon.

xoxo,

*If you're interested in printing out my recipes, you can do that here.