You may be a Literary Genius and just not know it...

I love odd little literary news items. There was a big one that occurred over the last weekend. Charlotte Bronte's little tiny 4000 word 'magazine' sold for almost a million dollars in England.

I guess she wrote six of them. Four are in the care of a Bronte museum in England, and one is still missing. The museum bid for the hard-to-read hand-written book, but was outbid by a French museum by 20,000 pounds.

Charlotte was only 14 in 1830 when she wrote the books to entertain her younger siblings. I have to wonder if she had any clue that her childish scribbles would later be fought over by two countries and be so valuable. I read comments on one of the articles about the sale, and the British seem to be very upset. What appears to grate on them the most is the fact that it was bought by the French, and it will be taken out of Bronte's native country.

Charlotte later went on to use one of the 'magazine' scenes in her novel Jane Eyre, one of the greatest novels ever written.

Switching gears-

A couple of days ago, I was watching a news segment on Earnest Hemingway's home in Cuba. If you read his biography, you will find that Hemingway was a tortured individual. He suffered illnesses, wars, plane crashes, electroshock therapy for depression, and eventually shot himself in 1961. He had the advantage over Charlotte Bronte of being recognized for his work, both good and bad. He won a Pulitzer, and eventually a Nobel Prize in Literature, but it took him as many bad reviews to get there as good.

Again, another legend, though from a completely different perspective.

The news anchor wandered through Earnest Hemingway's home with his grand-daughter Mariel, and they paged through an old manuscript. It was hand-written, heavily scribbled on, and, they remarked, definitely not ready for release to the public. There was too much profanity.

I guess what interests me the most is the dichotomy between the author's journeys, and how they ended up being two of the most well-known authors in history. It's heartening to know that they started out EXACTLY the same way I have- wanting to write.

I believe we have legends in our midst right now, recognized and not, that have changed the writing genre as we know it. Maybe someday WE'LL be the legends. We just have to perservere and write the very best work we can.

What author do YOU admire most for their work in the genre?

Thanks for stopping.

Recipe for Bacon Bark...Don't wrinkle your Nose!

Ok, I don't normally post recipes here, but I felt for the better good of Woman kind, I needed to post this. It's quick and easy, and people will DEMOLISH it!
The holidays are wonderful. Family, friends, presents, get-togethers. But with all that fun comes stress. I always stress more about the food I need to take than the actual traveling out of state to see family. What am I going to take to the Christmas party/ Thanksgiving dinner/ family get-together? My husband actually gets pissed at me because I stress so much.
This can be made the day before you leave, though, and travels perfectly.

NUT mixture-

• 1 cup pecan halves
  


• 1 cup walnut pieces
  


• 1 cup almonds
  


• 2T Maple Syrup
  


• 1/4 cup brown sugar, plus an extra sprinkle
  


• 1t. Pumpkin Pie Spice
  


• 1/2 t. Paprika
  


• salt and pepper
  
  

Bacon mixture-

• 6 strips uncooked bacon (I used 3 strips of extra thick bacon)
  


• 1/4 cup brown sugar
  


• 1/2 t. Paprika
  


• salt and pepper
  

Stir all of the ingredients in the nut mixture until everything is coated. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dice the bacon into small cubes. Mix all of the bacon ingredients in a bowl, then spread onto a non-stick cookie sheet. Cook 8-10 minutes, until the sugar is bubbling. Remove from oven and add the nut mixture, stirring thoroughly. Place back in the oven for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Serve warm or allow to cool, then break the nuts apart.

I served it the next day. After it cooled, I just threw it into a plastic container and packed it away. Super easy, and the men will absolutely love it. I made this for Thanksgiving, and had people calling me for the recipe as we left.

Enjoy!