Category Archives: Rachel Barnard
WAAAlk for Autism Last Saturday
Saturday was autism awareness day. I supported my family’s walk for autism to help collect funds for the Washington Autism Alliance & Advocacy in my donut costume.
THE STORY:
Sensory Sensitive, Child & Teen Suitable Activities, Family Fun & Resource Fair – WAAAlk for Autism is a day for our community to come together to honor and recognize the 2,800 families and 12,000 individuals that WAAA has helped statewide. It is a day to celebrate the unique gifts that each individual and family touched with autism brings into our lives.
You can still donate to the cause! Click this link HERE to donate
All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!
What about the characters! Donuts in an Empty Field takes place in Sarasota, FL in 2008. How many of these songs do you remember from 2008?
Nichole’s Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdAjUG-eFywQgRW4ufzUCnl_w7k4y-E4
Clocks by Coldplay
Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N’ Roses
How You Remind Me by Nickelback
Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
Here It Goes Again by Ok Go
Money by Pink Floyd
Iron Man by Black Sabbath
Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Photograph by Nickelback
Call Me When You’re Sober by Evanescence
Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Umbrella by Rihanna
The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani
Rockstar by Nickelback
Paralyzer by Finger Eleven
Raspberry Beret by Prince
…
Vanessa’s Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdAjUG-eFyz-ftKjgsFSArn2x6VU5Al6
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Clocks by Coldplay
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Explosive by Bond
Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder
Here It Goes Again by Ok Go
One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve
Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles
Don’t Bring me Down by Electric Light Orchestra
Baba O’Riley by The Who
Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
The Luckiest by Ben Folds
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
Mad World by Tears for Fears
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Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.
Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.
A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
NORWESCON aftermath – pitching/panels/costumes/exhaustion
Norwescon is one of my favorite events of the year! I bought my full membership early for the early bird discount (which I highly recommend) and FreeValley Publishing had planned to have a presence like they have for the past couple of years (2015, 2014). I also sent in two of my short stories for critique from Fairwood Writers. Thursday they offered us a special “pitching” class with Jennifer Brozek, which was fun, interactive, and useful. Jennifer liked my Donuts pitch, my Donuts cover, and my Donuts title (whew).
A young adult novel about two best friends, the local food challenge, and a mysterious bucket list. The more main character Vanessa fails the food challenge, the more she takes it out on the boy she blames for her father’s death because letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
I also wrote a lovely Star Wars themed anthology pitch:
R2-D2 unit took the name Radar when he won his freedom. Successful pod race owner, he trades parts weekly at the local machine shop and falls in love with the snarky, young attendant Zendaya. But there are two problems. She’s working off a seven-year indentured apprenticeship and she doesn’t seem to like droids. The twist is that Radar owns the machine shop and she’s been selling parts under the table.
Brozek’s comment: Don’t use R2-D2
I snuck into one panel on Thursday on fat shaming and enjoyed it quite a bit. Shout out to Jami and learning about fat acceptance and the fat experience in advance of reading her upcoming novel about a fat protagonist.
I didn’t go Friday because work and I had budgeted Thursday and Saturday to go. I brought my books for the Clockwork Dragon/FreeValley Publishing table on Thursday and checked out the dealer room. I even got sized for a corset (which brought up some mild claustrophobia, even though it was beautiful).
I was nervous about parking and didn’t get there soon enough on Thursday to park at the DoubleTree itself so went across the street to the large undercover WallyPark, which turned out to be a whopping $21 for just under 5 hours. I was not happy with that bill and resolved to find a better solution for Saturday, the busiest day of the con. I ended up going to the non-covered WallyPark on the other side of the street for valet parking, which was only $14 plus tip and the two guys there were very polite and helpful. Next year, if I don’t find an even better parking area, I’ll use them.
I wore my ghillie suit Saturday for most of the day and switched to my leopard print dancer’s outfit after dinner to round out the evening. Everyone loves my ghillie suit. I was very busy with my Fairwood writer’s workshops Saturday and only went to one panel: the Art of Critique, but it was so stuffy and hot that I had to leave halfway through for cooler rooms. I wandered everywhere! I even got locked out of the hotel and had to go around the entire building to get back inside (note that you need a keycard, obviously). Hospitality is always super cool and handy and I even made use of the coat check for my ghillie suit! Thanks coat check people. You made my life so much easier.
The masquerade was not as exciting as I thought it would be. I couldn’t see above hats and hair and it dragged on too long for me, though I absolutely loved seeing the costumes. I went to the Fairwood writer’s social and the Cascade writer’s social and rounded out my evening checking out the Star Wars dance (the music was so low and only kids were dancing). I imagine if I stayed late into the night, the party’s would pick up, but as it was I was too tired to stay any longer and went home around 9:00PM. Until next year, Norwescon!
I grabbed two print books and a slew of flyers to check out.
Money Spent: $160
Parking: $37
Food: $23
Books/Souvenirs: $20
Membership: $50
Dealer Room Partial Table Fee: $20
Gas: 120 miles = $10
All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!
Can’t get enough about donuts? Check out these blogs and let me know about any other cool donut centered blogs
Dunkin Donuts Behind the Beans Blog
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Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.
Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.
A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
Festival of Literature for Young Adults (Zero) in Portland Aftermath
FLYA Zero is the inception event for the Festival of Literature for Young Adults.
Facebook event info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1047694628587066/# , stay tuned for next year’s big FLYA 1 event
Portland Event! FLYA Zero at the Doubletree Hilton in Portland TODAY 03/19/16
FLYA Zero is the inception event for the Festival of Literature for Young Adults! Come on down to the Doubletree on Saturday, March 19th, 2016 and celebrate YA Lit writers and readers with us – and get the conversation going for the 2017 event!
Purchase your tickets here for just $10!
https://squareup.com/store/steampunk-filmfest/item/flya
Facebook event info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1047694628587066/#
Where: Doubletree By Hilton Hotel Portland Oregon
1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, Oregon 97232
When: 11AM – 7PM
Foodie Fridays: Happy St. Patrick’s Day with burger cupcakes!
Recipe can be found HERE
All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!
It’s time for a little excerpt from the book!
My thoughts linger on Dad, but I push them away.
I grab four soufflé sample cups and expertly fill them with our more seasonal flavors: candy cane, eggnog, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon roll. I swoop up to Nichole at her table and present the four with a flourish.
“I noticed you went right for vanilla, for a wild child that is highly unusual,” I say to her.
She drops her spoon back into her cup with a clunk. I pick up the first sample cup.
“Candy cane aka peppermint. A familiar flavor disguised as a seasonal favorite. It goes by many names throughout the year: mint, Girl Scout cookie something or other, etc., but ultimately it is recognized during the holiday season in its home as candy cane.” I hold out the miniature serving and whip it back and forth under her nose, as if scents are wafting up from the yogurt. She inhales deeply and scrunches up her nose. “Come on, Nichole, you can’t go through life as a Plain Jane vanilla. You have to branch out.”
“I branch out with everything that I do, can’t you leave my ice cream and frozen yogurt blandness alone. I LIKE vanilla,” she counters.
“Ok, well you can’t deny this next one.” I set down the candy cane and pick up the eggnog. “THIS is a classic and undeniably a favorite. For three out of twelve months it makes its debut and everyone is clamoring for it.”
“Ugh, not the pumpkin spice!” Nichole interjects.
“No! You Starbucks peon. Anyways, that’s the next one. No interrupting. I’m working on my sales pitch here.”
Nichole tips her head toward the door as its familiar tinkle brings me back to reality. Working a real job is not as much fun as I thought it would be. It’s just full of interruptions and cranky people.
Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.
Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.
A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Daddy’s Donuts
Daddy’s Donuts
Kenmore, WA
7018 Bothell Way NE, Kenmore, WA 98028
(206) 496-3670
Website: http://www.daddysdonuts.net/
Review criteria:
Most popular donut at the shop: Straw-bella
Signature shop donut: Caramel apple
Most popular US donut: glazed (not available)
2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème (not available)
Donut Hole: Only mini-donuts are made/sold
What I tried:
Daddy’s Original, Original with cinnamon sugar, Original with powdered sugar, Straw-Bella, Coco-Loco, Caramel Apple, Funky Monkey, Robot Roberta, Happy Camper, 12th Man, Tayo Tornado, Confetti Eddie, Al Capone
I’ve also tried their mocha, hot chocolate and steamed flavored milk (hazelnut)
What to expect:
Daddy’s specializes in mini-donuts that are all based on the cake donut. They are fresh and made to order. Each order takes a couple of minutes to put together. They make their own cream and use fresh fruit (organic or local when possible). You will not find most of the “typical” donuts in this shop.
Perks:
If you like cake donuts, these are the best in the area that you’ll find. They are perfectly bite sized and come out fresh and warm, ready to eat. The cream, for the varieties with cream on top, is handmade and won’t instantly melt from the warm donuts. The fruit is fresh as well. The owner combines his love of robots and donuts in this store and the place is covered in both! It’s a wonderfully fun shop for kids.
Don’t Worry:
The shop is tiny, fitting around ten people at a time. There is a bathroom on location. Parking is limited to around 8 spots. It’s right off the highway, so make sure to keep your eyes out for the little single story shop and get into the turn lane/bus only lane in time to make the sharp right. (there is no left because they are on one side of a divided highway). If you’re getting groceries at Safeway, a sandwich at Subway, hitting up the ATM at Bank of America or making a quick stop at the UPS, be sure to walk over and snag some mini donuts, you’ll be glad that you did.
My favorite:
The owner is such a sweet person. He is enthusiastic and inviting and will remember who you are! He wants the customer to be happy as much as he wants his shop to succeed. My favorite combo at his shop is the straw-bella.
Rachel Author Barnard 