Vintage Bun
January 2009
The snow keeps falling and we are pretty much snowed in and this is in the city, not country like I wrote about in December. Luckily, we saw it coming and have plenty of food and wine on hand. A pot of Hamburger Soup, see March 2008 blog for the recipe, is cooking on the stove. I see that blog says we had 72 inches of snow for the 2007-2008 Winter. This year Spokane had 43 inches before winter started. At the end of December we had broken the record for all-time snow in one month!
Pat finds it exhausting keeping up with the snow. He says you’d be surprised how much exertion it takes to force a grandson to shovel our place out day after day.
This month I want to share this reply to questions sent Pat. I came across it when I was shredding files from 2006. Yes, eventually anything that is sent to Pat is shredded so you don’t have to worry about what happens to the letter and e-mail addresses. The same goes for those that ordered books with a credit card…it is all shredded.
These questions were used by a person who was gathering information from several authors for a speech to be given at a Young Writers’ conference in Idaho. I thought Patrick’s fans would be interested in his answers.Question 1. What was the first clue you wanted to be a writer?
I wanted to become a writer as soon as I found out what a freelance writer is. “This is for me” I said. I was a freshman at Washington State University. I was absolutely thrilled with all the possibilities. It was as if a great light had been turned on inside of me, a distinctly physical thing.
Question 2. What was your earliest remembered writing and publishing experience?
My first published piece was in the student newspaper at WSU. I had just discovered Hemingway and obviously was already under his influence. The story was about an expedition the hiking club took to Chimney Rock in Idaho.
Question 3. What part of your education helped you most on your path to writing?
My freshman composition teacher at WSU gave me all Fs on my first half dozen essays but suddenly I became inflamed with the desire to be a writer and by the end of the semester he recommended me for honors English.Question 4. Who influenced you most along your way and how?
My girlfriend and later my wife. She tells me if my humor is funny or not, and has always been supportive even when the humor wasn’t funny. Every writer needs that kind of spouse. (This isn’t true but I like it anyway.)
Question 5. What was the most satisfying piece you’ve ever written?
I can’t recall my most satisfying piece. Every piece is written with fear and pain and doubt, and when it is published and readers like it, there is an explosion of satisfaction.Question 6. What are your publications or venues for writing?
I have written 19 books and hundreds of magazine articles and stories. Over 20 stories have been published by Readers Digest, where I learned you don’t get fabulously rich from their rates, as I had previously thought, but the world-wide display of your work is great. Other publications include Sports Illustrated, TV Guide, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Saturday Evening Post, Audubon, New York Times and endless others. Books have been published by Simon & Schuster and Henry Holt and Company.Question 7. What nuggets of advice do you have for young writers in middle school and high school?
My one regret as a writer is that I didn’t start when I was in middle school. If you want to be a writer, that is a wonderful age to get started.(There you have enough information to write that essay on “your favorite author,” kids. For additional facts, refer to WHO’S WH0.)
Now to the important stuff…my mother’s recipe for cinnamon rolls that goes well with this wintery weather. Her cinnamon rolls are extra yummy:Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls
For those of you that have a bread maker, make the recipe for white bread and process it at “dough” setting. Roll dough out on floured board into a 9 x 12 inch rectangle. In the meantime, heat oven to 375 degrees and melt ¼ lb. margarine in the 9 x 12 pan. Pour most of melted margarine on rolled out dough and put ½ cup brown sugar in remaining margarine in pan. On dough rectangle, put ½ cup brown sugar and ½ cup white sugar and sprinkle cinnamon on heavy. Roll into a jellyroll starting with the 12 inch side, seal edge together and cut in 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces and place on top of melted margarine and brown sugar in pan. Cover with light towel and let rise. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. When done, turn over on piece of waxpaper to cool. Enjoy!
Stay warm and hope for an early spring! Happy New Year! Bun© 2009 Darlene McManus. All Rights Reserved.
