Stepsheet about the writing process
Instead of fully writing this blog, here is my stepsheet for it:
This stepsheet written almost entirely from my iPhone on my 5 mile walk through the park.
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Portuguese Pastry Party
Hi, everyone. This is Dani, Peat’s wife. Those of you who know me are aware of my love of baked goods. French, Italian, Greek, Entenmann’s, Duncan Hines, you name it. So when Peat returned from his awesome trip to Portugal laden down with pure Portuguese Pastries, I was extremely pleased! (I mean, naturally I was pleased he was home at all, but even more so since he brought some sweets!)
So after we put Cassie to bed, we settled on the couch in front of three different delicious-looking desserts and a glass of Ginja, which is a delightful sour-cherry liqueur. (Peat also came home with a bottle of Moscatel Roxo but we haven’t opened that yet.)
We started off with the world-famous Pastéis de Belém, given to him as a gift by two bloggers who interviewed him, Margarida Cruz from Segredo dos Livros, and Patrícia Pessegueiro from Pedacinho Literário. Peat kept going on about how sweet Margarida and Patrícia were, and what a great time he had talking to them (we’ll link to those articles when they are posted).
The Pastéis de Belém were a delightful custardy-pastry sort of thing, kind of like a cross between a Napoleon and a cannoli in tartlet form. Sweet, light, and, well, custardy, which I love.
The next confections were queijadas from Casa Do Preto in Sintra. They were sort of like egg custard tartlets. Also delicious. These were picked up to commemorate his trip out to Sintra for lunch on the first day of his trip. Apparently he ate at a fancy restaurant full of famous Portuguese actors and musicians and then drove up to the local castle.
The last were Tortas de Azeitao, which are a regional specialty in Setúbal, where Peat’s host and editor at Gailivro/1001 Mundos, Pedro Reisinho, is from. They were kind of like a cross between a Greek pantespani and a rum-soaked sponge cake without the rum. Moist, dense, and sweet. Like a high-quality Twinkie, and I mean that in a good way!
So, here I am, 2 pounds heavier and wishing that I had gone to Portugal with Peat, if only for the fabulous desserts. Of course, Peat is still raving about the rest of the food, as well as how hospitable and friendly and welcoming everyone was. Maybe some day we’ll leave Cassie with her grandparents and go hang out in the Largo de Camões and get drunk on ginja with all the college kids. But only after gorging ourselves on Portuguese pastries!
Czech Out This Cover
Back from Portugal. It was an amazing trip, and as soon as I get the pictures together, we’ll post them here on the blog with links to the various interviews and events.
In the meantime, it seems Pouštní Kopí,the Czech translation of The Desert Spear has just been released, according to this article I found on Google (click here for an English translation).
They included a shot of the cover:
Like in most markets, my Czech publishers, Triton Publishing, were wise enough to know an awesome cover when they saw it, and go with the Larry Rostant painting that has graced The Desert Spear almost everywhere. Still, they added their own touches, including the wards and darkening the overall color scheme in a way I think looks really good. I am psyched to get my sample copies.
Portuguese Signing and Interview
Today at 6:00pm (changed from 6:30) Portuguese time, I’m doing a signing:
Come out and say hi!
Also, here’s a brief interview (in English with Portuguese subtitles) in which I discuss the role of fear in my books, character growth, and the movie:
Living it up in Lisbon
I have just traversed the Atlantic for my first trip to Portugal!
I’ve arrived bright and early Wednesday morning, at which time I met my Portuguese editor, Pedro Reisinho, who has set up a whirlwind week for me:
Wednesday, Nov. 10th: Arrive, settle in, sightseeing in Lisbon, search for Dani’s grandfather’s name carved into the side of a building (no joke!)
Thursday, Nov. 11th: Various interviews with literary blogs; I will try not to sound too jetlagged.
Friday, Nov. 12th: More interviews, plus a signing at 6:30pm at the FNAC in the shopping Colombo in Lisbon, followed by dinner with two fans who won an online contest!
Saturday, Nov. 13th: All day at Forum Fantastico 2010! (Also known as Fantastic Forum in English) where I will have two appearances:
12:00pm – The Mechanics of Writing Fantastic (III) – “Characters and Characterization”
7:00pm- In Conversation with Peter V. Brett, by Pedro Reisinho
**Update: Signings to follow both events**
And Sunday, I return home to Brooklyn with gifts and candies (as directed by my wife). I’m really looking forward to this trip, though I’m hoping I won’t have to be frisked by Security like I was when I came home from World Fantasy. Hopefully my new haircut will make me look less threatening.