Wisdom's Kiss (81 page)

If you don't have canned pumpkin, you can make your own puree with a pie pumpkin (not the jack-o'-lantern kind! They're for carving, not eating). Bake the whole pumpkin on a tray in a 375°F oven until it's pooped, scoop out the guts, throw away the seeds, and strain the guts through a food mill.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Boil the water. Arrange twelve 6 ounce unbuttered ramekins in a large roasting pan.

In a large bowl, barely microwave the butter. Whisk in the eggs, then stir in buttermilk and pumpkin purée. Stir in sugar and salt to dissolve.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and stir well.

Stir fruit into pumpkin mixture. Distribute batter between the twelve ramekins.

Combine cinnamon and sugar; liberally sprinkle on each ramekin. Pour up to 6 cups boiled water into the roasting pan so that the ramekins rest in a water bath. Slide pan into oven. Bake until tops are golden brown and firm, 25—35 minutes. Serve warm or room temp. Ramekins last several days in the fridge and can be microwaved as needed.

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I've never had much patience for pitch letters. You know, the whole "you must say_using_examples in_paragraphs to sell your manuscript." I say: focus on the book. If it's good, it will sell; if it's not, a one-page letter ain't gonna help. Sorry. That said, one does have an obligation to offer one's work to potential buyers. Below is the original
Wisdom's Kiss
pitch letter that I sent to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since Margaret, my editor, had worked on (i.e., improved/honed/made readable...) my four previous books, we have a comfortable working relationship, and the letter has a chumminess not found in first-time correspondence. I tend—surprise, surprise—to be pretty informal in all my writing, though, and I don't think it's inappropriate for "business" prose to reflect the personality of the writer. Just don't overdo it.

***

25 September 2009

Hi Margaret!

You may have heard rumors that I'm working on a new book—I've been using it as an excuse for tour-prep negligence—so I suppose I should fess up and admit it outright. It's still in the larval stage, with a working title of "Fortitude, Wisdom and Tips," and I'm very excited about it.

The book is a sort of sequel to
Princess Ben
—or, as I've dubbed it, a "consequence of
Princess Ben,
" which is much more charming and
PB
-ish. It begins sixty years after
Princess Ben
ends as Ben is escorting her granddaughter to her wedding in neighboring Farina. There they discover they're pawns in a plot to take over Montagne, the granddaughter finds her true love in a circus acrobat, and they encounter a heartsick maidservant with the gift of prophesy, a Doppelschläferin cat, and the usual garnish of eccentrics and cads. Anyone who's read
PB
will get the inside jokes (such as when a teenager complains that old Grandmother Ben was doubtless perfect when she was young), but that book in no way determines this one, which is very much a standalone work.

The format is as important as plot and characters. I guess I'd call it an epistolary novel, which is to say I'm telling the story with diaries, memoirs, encyclopedia entries, letters, biographies, even a stage play (!), all woven together into a narrative. It is SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE, and my intent is that it will end up almost like a puzzle, where readers can either sift each entry for clues or just skim along enjoying the ride ... Kind of like
Princess Ben,
now that I think about it; younger readers devour the story, while older, more curious types look up definitions and savor the prose.

At the moment it's around 40, 000 words, and I'm very much looking forward to revising while I'm on tour. I've attached a first stab at flap copy, which as you know I compose for inspiration even if (as in this case) it's pretty mediocre. Any port in a storm.

Cheers!

Catherine

***

"Fortitude, Wisdom and Tips"

Princess Wisdom, known as Dizzy, longs for a life of adventure far beyond the staid old kingdom of Montagne.

Tips, a soldier, longs to keep his true life secret from his family.

Fortitude, an orphaned maid, longs only for Tips.

These three passionate souls might just attain their dreams while preserving Montagne from certain destruction—if only they can tolerate each other long enough to come up with a plan. Tough to save the world when you can't even be in the same room together.

Magic, cunning, and one very special cat join forces in this hilarious, extraordinary tale by the author of
Dairy Queen
and
Princess Ben.

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