Holiday Baking With Editor and Writer Lourdes Venard @lourdesvenard

I welcome Lourdes Venard to my blog today. Lourdes Venard is one of the authors featured in the new release: Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing. She is a freelance editor who has recently published her own book for new authors, Publishing for Beginners: What First-Time Authors Need to Know. In addition, she is a member of Sisters in Crime (SinC) and editor of the newsletter First Draft for the Guppies, an online chapter of SinC. As a little side note, I am one of the authors sharing advice in her book Publishing for Beginners: What First-Time Authors Need to Know.

What is the name of the recipe you included in Bake, Love, Write? Could you tell us a little about it, and why did you choose that recipe?
My recipe is Guava Rugelach, my own creation. The inspiration, however, came from another author who had written a YA book that mixed Cuban and Jewish traditions. I edited her book and I loved all these foods she described—some of which don’t really exist, but which she had imagined. I took the guava rugelach and experimented until I had a real pastry.

Could you give a short quote of the advice you included in the book?
I started out as a newspaper reporter, and the best advice was to write with a specific reader in mind, whether it be your mother, a friend, or a made-up reader. I find many beginning writers seem to be writing for themselves, and not for the reader. When you think outside of yourself, you will naturally craft prose that is readable and interesting.

Use your writerly powers of description to describe your kitchen.
The kitchen itself was created with love and much thought. My husband and I designed and installed it when we moved into our home six years ago. We live in a wooded area, and wanted to bring the outside in, while also keeping the character of the house (built in the early 1900s). So the top cabinets are off-white, but the bottom ones are a dark green, and we kept part of the old kitchen—some open shelving—to keep it all in period.

Tell us about your latest release.
I wrote Publishing for Beginners: What First-Time Authors Need to Know because many of my clients are new authors trying to navigate the changing landscape of today’s publishing. Their questions often went beyond editing. As I tried to help them, I researched, read, and attended conferences. The knowledge I’ve gained over the past few years is in this book.

Buy it on:
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Here are more details on Bake, Love, Write below:
What do most authors have in common, no matter what genre they write? They love desserts. Sweets sustain them through pending deadlines and take the sting out of crushing rejection letters and nasty reviews. They also often celebrate their successes—selling a book, winning a writing award, making a bestseller list, or receiving a fabulous review—with decadent indulgences. And when authors chat with each other, they often talk about their writing and their lives. Recipes. Writing. Relationships. In this cookbook 105 authors not only share their favorite recipes for fabulous cakes, pies, cookies, candy, and more, they also share the best advice they’ve ever received on love and writing.

Learn more about the recipes and authors on:
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Amazon
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Stacy Juba

Stacy Juba has written sweet and sassy chick lit novels, mysteries about determined women sleuths, and entertaining books for young adults and children. Her books include the Storybook Valley chick lit series and the Hockey Rivals young adult sports novels.

Stacy is also a freelance developmental editor and online course creator. Sign up for her free masterclass, How to Create Your Editing Game Plan. 

Stop by her other websites and blogs: Shortcuts for Writers and Hockey Rivals.

stacyjuba.com/blog/