Volunteering, Pearl S. Buck, Writing Advice + Holiday Fun!

Plus other authors & editors to check out!

It’s an exciting holiday month! I’ve been so busy with writing projects (book news coming soon!), hiking, holiday fun, and working with programs I’m passionate about.

One program involves my love of birds—especially raptors! I’m enjoying my time as a volunteer with the Audubon Society doing school education programs—like one here with Odin the Great Horned Owl. And I start bird handling training in the New Year (this makes me excited and nervous!). Take a listen to Odin hooting below.

And as the Lehigh County Old-Growth Forest Network Coordinator, I’ve been busy working with forest management experts and researching a forest to nominate into the Network!

My husband, Mike, and I love doing holiday shopping and events. We had quite a holly jolly time at this Christmas spectacular in Phoenixville, PA, at the Colonial Theatre.

As a writer, I’m lucky to meet every week at a secret café to write alongside my talented writing peers. Check out these authors and editors and visit their websites to learn more about them and their books and services!
Kathryn Craft * Tori Bond * Kate Brandes * Dianna Sinovic

I’ve been out so much in nature this fall that I’ve been posting videos of my nature adventures on my YouTube channel. You can subscribe and watch here! I also post videos where I read from books and share writing and revision advice. Here’s one on a favorite topic of mine—worldbuilding.

Speaking of books, it's so wonderful to hear from young readers who loved my Unicorn Island series! Ellison reached out because she was so hopeful for another book in the series as she wanted to know what happened to the characters next. I wish I could give her that, but it is fun to imagine!

I’m lucky to live not far from the Pearl S. Buck house in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, and have visited many times. You may know Pearl S. Buck as a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author, but she was also a driving force in humanitarian causes. In 1949, she also created the first adoption agency specializing in the placement of biracial children.

As an adopted child, I know how adoption can change lives—and sponsorship of children. Which is why I’m now sponsoring a child through Pearl S. Buck International and glad to share letters with them about their life across the world. If you want to know more about Pearl S. Buck, the legacy she left behind, and how you can help a child in need, visit the website and even better—visit her home for an in depth look at this inspiring woman.

Before I was adopted I was in a foster home for several months. Here I am in that foster home—where I was called “Amy”!

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

This is one of my favorite books I got when I was 11 (evident by the worn cover!) but there is a newer version, too. I snuggle on the couch and re-read this story every Christmas. It's full of wonder, mystery, history, family, and magic. When I was little, I used to pretend I was the main character, Tollie, living in a 17th century castle just like in this book. And when I lived in England as a young girl, I actually went to the Silverhill School in an old estate that looked like a castle! Here I am in my uniform.

And since many of us celebrate Christmas this month, I’m sharing my husband’s recipe for pizzelles. A recipe handed down from his grandmother. We’re not fans of anisette, used in traditional pizzelles, so we’ve modified the recipe with a pecan version.

BUTTER PECAN PIZZELLES:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup pecan meal (can make from ground up pecans)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter (very soft) plus extra stick for buttering pizzelle baker
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Instructions:
Mix dry ingredients and set aside
Beat butter with whisk until smooth
Add eggs, milk, vanilla extract and mix briefly
Whisk in dry ingredients in batches until completely mixed
Cover and refrigerate or use immediately in pizzelle baker until crispy and brown.
Tip: Take a butter stick and melt on pizzelle iron to make pizzelles buttery and crispy! Then shake powdered sugar over them once cool.

Happy Holidays to you all with whatever special celebrations you have!