Greetings! Some updates on my schedule.

Unfortunately, I’m no longer offering my Story Ideas That Sell workshop. Last fall I had a long think about what direction to take my career, which meant ruling out projects that pull me away from my goals. Teaching was one of them. Sorry folks! But I’ll continue posting at the Renegade Writer blog, and in the next few months, I’ll be giving a teleseminar with the fabulous Linda Formichelli on — ta dah! — idea generation. Details TK.

So, that new direction I mentioned. I’ve been working on a book proposal for the last few months, and I’m really, really, REALLY psyched about it. The book’s topic is one that’s close to my heart; the proposal itself was actually a lot of fun to write. Yeah, you read that right … fun! (If you know anything about me, you know that I rarely describe writing as “fun.”) My agent sent the proposal out last week, so keep your fingers crossed for me, okay?

I continue to write for the Boston Globe (I just reviewed the honkingly huge Cuisinart Elite food processor), and Kiwi Magazine just published a story I wrote about all-natural food colorings and flavors. I’m working on another piece for them about a topic near-and-dear to my heart. Let’s just say it’s raw.

As for speaking engagements, Smith College (my alma mater) invited me to speak on a freelancing panel at “A Century of Women in Type: A Conference for Smith Women in the Media” on March 25-26, 2010 in Northampton, MA. I was honored by the invitation, as I’ll be speaking with the Smith alums Gloria Steinem, Wendy Kaminer, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Andrea Cooper (a freelancer I admire greatly), among others. Yay!

Till next time.

My, how the winter has flown by. I’m weeks away from my India trip and in the midst of getting all my immunizations updated. This a.m. I finished my typhoid series, and tomorrow I head back to the doctor for my next round of rabies and hepatitis a/b shots. I’m starting to feel a little like the family dog! Then there are all the prescription meds I have to take along with me. My husband took one look at the immunization and prescription list and said, “You won’t catch me visiting a country where I need shots to get through immigration.” Haa! To be honest, I’m most worried about mosquitoes when we’re cruising the Kerala backwaters. It’s not malaria season in south India, but mosquitoes seem to think my blood is sweet and tasty. I’ve stocked up on repellents with the highest amount of DEET allowed.

I’ve also just purchased a new Nikon digital SLR camera. Once the current slew of assignments are off my desk, I hope to get out and play with it, as I need to take magazine-worthy photos for an assignment when I’m in south Asia.

Nothing much going on except that I’m swamped with work, which is, of course, a good thing. I recently got named as a contributing editor at Clean Eating magazine. When I picked up the premiere issue on the newsstand a month or so ago, I literally gasped when I thumbed through the pages. It’s a stunning magazine, filled with such gorgeous pictures of food — and I was so proud that I’d developed many of the recipes, including the main recipe feature. In the January/February issue of fresh, which you can pick up at Hannaford markets in the northeast, you’ll find my recipes for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.

Right now, I’m working on some stories for an inflight magazine, as well as some recipe development projects for fresh and Clean Eating. Oh, and finishing up two long-overdue-to-my-agent book proposals. Tomorrow I’m speaking to a food writing class at Boston University about how to write a great pitch letter. My Boston Globe editor is teaching the class, so I’m pretty flattered she asked me to speak!

Till next time! [db]

Check out my week-long food blog at eGullet. I’ll be blogging until Sunday, January 20.

It was a busy summer! As I try to keep up with the glut of tomatoes and chili peppers from my garden, I can’t believe the season’s over. I wrote quite a few pieces for the Boston Globe food section — see my clips page for links — and have another story coming out on 9/26/07 about goats, my new obsession. One story I’m quite proud of … it was about a Concord couple who raises pasture-fed chickens for meat and eggs. The story led hundreds of people to call or write to them about buying their birds … they ended up selling all their chickens for this year and have a waitlist for people who want birds in 2008! I also wrote many food/recipe features for fall magazines, some of which are hitting the stands this month. I did a Thanksgiving dinner story for Oxygen‘s November issue, and ended up having to test the recipes during one of the hottest weeks this summer.

But it’s not all work … I spent Labor Day weekend in LA visiting a dear friend I haven’t seen in awhile, and we went to my husband’s family reunion in Iowa in August. It was held at his great-grandfather’s homestead, which is still in the family — moreover, the reunion has been held every summer since 1918. I thought that was pretty cool! Now we’re off on a family vacation to Munich for a couple weeks, then it’s back to Boston to start planning my November March 2008 trip to India.

In January, my co-author and I are starting a series of e-courses taught through our Renegade Writer website. We are so thrilled with the instructors who are teaching them — they’re tops! Check out our blog as well, which we update fairly frequently.

This month’s Oxygen magazine features my story on healthy grilling, along with three recipes I developed. The food stylist did a fabulous job making my dishes look yummy. (I never get photogenic grill marks on my chicken breasts, let me tell you.)

Later this fall, a new magazine called Clean Eating will hit the stands, and I’ve been commissioned to develop 13 recipes for the first quarterly issue.

I’ve got a couple pieces scheduled for the Boston Globe food section this month, a short piece running in the “short orders” section on June 6, and another longer piece scheduled for June 13, along with two recipes I developed. I’m also reporting on a couple other pieces for them this month: details and links TK.

The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock is doing well — in fact, we just got a royalty statement and we’re pretty close to earning out our advance. Yay royalty checks!

That’s all for now, folks.

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to NYC. Whew! We packed a lot in in three days, including a lunch with one of my editors.

But the big trip news: I’m going to India in November! It looks like I’ll be there for about two weeks, give or take a few days, and yes, I’m going for work. I’ve got some really cool stories I’m working up (including one that will make my friends and family gasp with its daring), but if you’ve got travel tips to share, I’m all ears. I’ll probably be in Mumbai, maybe Delhi, and I hope there’ll be time for a trip to Goa or Kerala (that’s where my favorite Indian food can be found).

Right now, my new favorite book is Lonely Planet India. Can’t wait!