Hello ,
It's raining hard in Bellingham. No worries. I'm safe and dry at Boundary Bay Brewery having an oatmeal stout, salad & bowl of smoked salmon chowder. Days like this, I love my job. Wish you were
here! When you have a book come out, everybody asks, "Is your publisher sending you on a book tour?"
The answer is, no. I'm not nearly famous enough for that, but I did put together my own little tour, with plenty of perks, including great food and meeting terrific people. Plus, my husband took the week off to come along and be chauffeur and tech specialist, for which I've been very grateful when my power point glitched.
The week started with a lovely and delicious feast of Filipino food, thanks to the women of a Spokane book group. Peggy Enders invited me to speak to the group about PURE GRIT. Anita prepared the food. She is from the mountain region of Baguio, in the Philippines, the area of Camp John Hay where two Army nurses were captured during WWII.
Anita was at the stove when I arrived, making the Pancit Bihon, which is rice noddles fried up with soy sauce, sugar snap peas, carrots and chicken. It's served with wedges of lemon, adding a tangy citrus flavor.
Also on the menu was a tasty bok choy dish, lumpia (Filipino spring rolls), mango, and
pineapple.
Dessert was fabulous, and I had seconds. Filipino Sweet Sticky rice is easy to make as it contains just four ingredients, rice, brown sugar, coconut milk and coconut cream. Recipe here...
Next stop on the book tour was the Veteran's Hospital at American Lake in Lakewood, WA. I was delighted to speak at a Nurses Appreciation Day lunch there, and meet the dedicated men and women who
serve with skill and compassion every day.
Tuesday night I visited Parkplace Books in Kirkland, where I had the honor of meeting Dr. & Mrs. Robert Welsh. Dr. Welsh's father was a Navy doctor in the Philippines in 1941, who was captured with the navy nurses featured in PURE GRIT. Unfortunately, he did not survive the war, but was killed while being transported to Japan on an
unmarked prison ship that was hit by US bombs.
Wednesday I enjoyed visiting with 6th, 7th & 8th graders at St. Mary Magdalen School in Everett and talking about the research and writing process. Thursday: Nurse Appreciation Lunch at Puget Sound Veteran's Hospital. I know you could have been reading any number of things for the past few minutes, so thank you for reading my newsletter! I will be grateful from the bottom of my heart if you also take a moment to share this newsletter with another reader who might
be interested. Have a great weekend! I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe below anytime with a single mouse
click. If you'd like to get your hands on a copy of PURE GRIT, here's the place! If you'd like a signed copy and I'm not coming to your neighborhood soon, e-mail me and I will send you a personally signed bookplate. To find out more about my books, how I help
students, teacher and librarians, visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com. My best, Mary Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. |
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