Chapter 1: Flammkuchen, freezing, and fundraising emails!

Helping you get your week off to a great start!

Goooooooooooood morning, afternoon, or evening, wherever you might happen to be!

I’m a little nervous this week because on Saturday I’m supposed to be participating in the ‘Coupe de Noël’—an open-water race in Lac Léman. In winter. In Geneva. I’ve never done it before, but hopefully the once-a-week dips I’ve been doing will help me get through it. Pray for me, please!!!

Publishing in a series

I found this week’s Substack post on book series by Laura Portwood-Stacer to be a thoughtful and thorough introduction to publishing your book in a series. I’m generally a fan (several of my books have been published in specific series), but it does help to know what you’re getting into beforehand.

Flammkuchen

Think of this as Alpine pizza. That’s basically what it is: a cracker-thin crust covered in crème fraîche, bacon, and caramelized onions. That’s one way to do it, but you can also chuck some Gruyère, rocket, or (my favourite!) freshly shaved truffle on top. Yummmmm…. And it’s surprisingly quick and easy to make!

A good laugh

I don’t know about you, but I’m heartily sick of getting political fundraising emails. I get them from multiple parties (how?!), but they all have the same weirdly chiding, pleading, desperate tone. So if you’re sick of them too, check out Meghana Indurti’s New Yorker ‘Daily Shouts’ piece on ‘Nancy Pelosi’s Last Fund-Raising Email’.

As ever, thanks for reading. This is a reader-supported publication, and the best way to support it is to become a paid subscriber (either at $5 per month or $50 per year). If you’re really feeling generous, and you’d like access to the archives, the ‘Things That Worked’ series, the ‘AMA Q&A’ series, and regular feedback on your own writing, as often as you like, you can become a Founding Member ($150).

Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful week!

VB,

M