Table of Contents: From Breakfast With Anita Diamant to Dessert With James Patterson - a Generous Helping of Recipes, Writings and Insights From Today's Bestselling Authors (9 page)

Tsar Fedorski

SELECTED WOEKS

Escape!
(2011)

Not My Daughter
(2010)

While My Sister Sleeps
(2009)

The Secret Between Us
(2008)

Family Tree
(2007)

Inspiration
My greatest inspiration is real life, which hit me in the face with my mother's death when I was eight. The fairy tale ended for me then, but it wasn't all bad. Without a mother, I became a more self-reliant, confident person. I had faced the worst and survived.

Not all people do, so what makes some of us survivors and some not? This is the back story of each of my books. I write about family crises, subjecting my characters to upheaval and then watching them cope. Do they make it? Most do. I absolutely believe in that silver lining.

What real life occurrences have inspired books of mine? Well, 9/11 inspired
The Summer I Dared
, in which three survivors of a ferry accident have to deal with why they've been spared. The death of Grace Kelly of Monaco inspired
The Secret Between Us
, which involves a car crash and a lie that takes on a life of its own. The idea for
Not My Daughter
came from news of a high school pregnancy pact in Gloucester, Massachusetts, but my writer's mind went past the girls to their moms, and the good mother issue became the focus of my book.

Readers Should Know
Readers should know three things. First, I don't write romances. Yes, my very first books were in that genre, but I haven't written a romance in nearly twenty years. I wasn't the best romance writer; my books were too realistic. I only built a following once I left the genre.

Second, I couldn't produce a book without Post-its.

And third, I keep learning. I've had the privilege to work for the last four years with an editor who truly edits. She has taught me how to keep my prose fresh and my pacing swift. Each book is stronger, better written than the last. This means the world to me. I do believe life is about growth — both in my characters and in me.

Readers Frequently Ask
The one question nearly every book group asks is whether I write from personal experience. The answer is no … and yes. Though I've never based a plot on my life, I often use snippets of familiar people or events. For instance, I've never lived the dramatic arc of
The Secret Between Us
, but the protagonist, Deborah Monroe, has been shaped by a perfectionist father she adores. I know about fathers like that because mine was one.

Likewise, I have neither been pregnant at seventeen nor had a child who was, as in
Not My Daughter
. But I am an avid knitter of hand-painted yarn, just like the moms in my book.

Since my publisher wants a book a year, I typically finish one and quickly start on the next. But after completing
Not My Daughter
, I was mentally drained, and absolutely beat. At that moment, the only story I wanted to write was of a woman who was so tired of being so busy that, on a whim, she just walks away. Leaves everything. Vanishes.

That's my fantasy. I'd never actually do it, but to watch a character do it would be fun. What do you think?

The Lone Influence on My Writing
Honestly? I was never an avid reader. Nor did I ever think to be a writer. I was kicked out of Honors English in high school because I couldn't keep up. So I remember few of the books I read back then that might have influenced my writing.

Except, that is, Laura Ingalls Wilders Little House on the Prairie series. I remember reading every one as a child and being totally immersed in another life and time. Though I don't do series work myself, I try to make my characters similarly compelling so that my readers, too, will be immersed.

Makes 6 servings

The protagonist in
Not My Daughter
, Lily Tate, is seventeen and pregnant. This has not gone over well with her mom, Susan, who, as a seventeen-year-old mom herself, wanted better for her child. After a long, hard struggle for education and respect, Susan is now principal of the local high school. With her own daughter pregnant, though, parents are questioning whether she is the best role model for their kids.

Lily hadn't anticipated that her mother's job would be at risk. In a gesture of conciliation on a day when Susan has worked late doing damage control, Lily makes dinner. She knows that her mom loves Crab and Corn Chowder, and though Lily doesn't eat seafood much during her pregnancy, she makes a pot.

Have I ever made Crab and Corn Chowder myself? Never had to, since Captain Marden's fish market is seven minutes from my house. We buy it by the quart, my husband and me, and make a dinner of it.

That said, I was thrilled when the Captain agreed to share his recipe. Sinfully smooth and savory, his Crab and Corn Chowder is one of the shop's biggest sellers. Come the time when I can't get there — perhaps a snowy day or one when I'm at the lake, three hours away — this recipe will be a nifty thing to have.

Note:
A double boiler works best to avoid burning the chowder, but you may cook soup in a large soup pot or saucepan in place of a double boiler.

1
In a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Add margarine to pan, and sauté onions in margarine and bacon fat until translucent. Remove onions with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2
Add flour and cornstarch to make a roux; stir into bacon fat and margarine slowly over low heat until mixture thickens and is bubbly.

3
If using a double boiler, fill the bottom half full of water. Bring water to a boil over medium heat. Pour milk and cream in top of the double boiler and add the corn cob. Place gently over boiling water; upper pan should not touch the water. Stir for 10 minutes over medium heat. Do not let the liquid boil.

4
Remove cob and stir in roux as needed for desired thickness. Add diced bacon, onions, corn kernels, potatoes, crab meat, salt, pepper, and parsley. Stir and heat through. Add chicken stock (to add flavor and thin chowder if desired) and/or cayenne pepper sauce for flavor.

Makes 8 servings

I'm a sucker for comfort food. I mean, it's not just that I like certain foods, but that they do bring comfort. When I'm feeling lousy, a fried egg on toast gives me a lift; I swear it does. On a cold, rainy night, there's nothing like Sloppy Joes to drive away the chill. And macaroni and cheese? That's comfort food any time.

What makes comfort food comfort food? In some instances, it's food from our childhood that reminds us of home. In others, it's food that is just fattening enough to be a splurge when we need to break the rules. In still others, it's food that has traditionally been associated with relaxation, celebration, or encouragement.

Hot mulled cider represents satiation and warmth. It fills us up, body and spirit, and this is exactly what the Snow family in
While My Sister Sleeps
needs in those final pages of the book.

This family has lived a nightmare. Its thirty-two-year-old daughter — the oldest of three children, an elite marathoner, and the star of the family — has had a massive heart attack and is on life support. Her powerhouse of a mom is paralyzed, her dad takes his usual backseat, and her brother is preoccupied with marital woes. Molly, the baby of the family at twenty-seven and, up to that point, very much a background person, is the only one who can speak for Robin. But the voice that comes out offers surprises, and, for that, comfort is needed.