I meant to post this earlier, but I’m sleep deprived and behind my schedule.
Last night Gordon had trouble falling asleep. Normally when that happens, he turns on TV, usually something like Ancient Aliens. We listen to the magic aliens who used a vimana to fly to Antarctica and build secret pyramids, and it puts us right to sleep. I swear, that show has never encountered an ancient civilization whose achievements they didn’t belittle.
Ancient Aliens wasn’t on the table because we have watched it ad nauseum, so Gordon put on a paranormal show. Something something, weird things caught on video. Normally it’s like, “Ooo, look at this blurry footage of a bear, I mean Bigfoot. Big scary Bigfoot.” Unfortunately, last night, it was the footage of a Chinese truck exploding. It was a massive explosion, way out of proportion to any normal load.
So they show the footage 5 times, and then they start theorize about what the truck could be hauling. It could be nitroglycerin. Let’s have our expert drip some nitroglycerin onto this little pad and hit it with a hammer. Oh, look, it went boom. Let’s examine the footage again. No, doesn’t look like nitroglycerin. It could be paint fumes. Let’s get some paint fumes into a jar and set that on fire.
I am a very sound sleeper, but I am a very light falling-asleeper. Every time I drifted off, they blew something else up.
So I woke up tired, overslept, went into the kitchen, and got stuck. I don’t know if it ever happens to you, but sometimes you go into the kitchen with a simple mission of starting bread in the bread machine and unfreezing and marinading some pork tenderloin, and then somehow you have done the dishes, and washed the sink, and made muffins.
I’ve made the gluten free, dairy-free, super healthy blueberry muffins for an acquaintance who might have Crohn’s disease, and they were a spectacular fail. They didn’t rise properly, but contrary to all expectations, they are very soft. They don’t taste bad, but they are not great either. They taste a little… gritty? I’m betting on the dairy-free yogurt as the culprit. I am going to try that again, not today, and this time with a bit of vinegar. This will take some fiddling.
Then I made the regular muffins, because when I asked Kid 1’s opinion regarding whether I should put blueberries or chocolate chips into vegan muffins, she said blueberries. My husband had apparently voiced his preference for chocolate chips with a brutal yell from the study, which I didn’t hear, and then he was sad, so I made a batch of regular muffins with chocolate chips.
Before you ask, the chocolate chip recipe came from here. I made one substitution. I had a little jar of sour cream that I needed to use before it went bad, so I mixed about 1/2 cup sour cream with milk to make roughly 1 cup of liquid, added a tablespoon of white vinegar, and used that instead of buttermilk.
The fail muffins came from here. As you can see, my results are questionable. Yours might be better.
I need caffeine in the worst way.
We received so many comments from you on Regina’s story. We are so glad you liked it.
Why was it cut?
Other than having a reason to bring Michael into the fight, is it necessary to have Regina’s family history in this scene with her cousin? Consider cutting this scene completely?
Editorial note
As you can see above, the scene just kind of sat there unattached to anything. I hesitated to discuss this. I’ve been trying to less of writing process posts, because as Grandma Frida says, nobody enjoys seeing how the sausage is made and I don’t want to ruin the joy of reading for anyone, but since we had many people ask us about it, here goes.
This scene is a subplot, meaning a minor story running parallel to the main story. Typically, subplots need to start in the first 1/3 or first 1/2 of the story, so they can be properly developed. This subplot just kind of popped up close to the finale. We would have to go back and artificially try to build to it somehow, and Ruby Fever has a very large cast already.
In addition, Regina has very firm boundaries. She doesn’t get involved in House Baylor business, and we needed to maintain that separation. We can’t draw lines in the sand and then hop over them when it’s convenient.
I love Regina and Michael to pieces and would love to write a novella about House Latimer at some point, so hopefully this is not a goodbye.
In general, if cutting a scene in a novel doesn’t force you to do drastic rewrites, that scene shouldn’t be there in the first place. We dropped that scene and basically nothing changed.
Will you ever release a collection of Hidden Legacy deleted scenes and the little extras from the website?
Eh. Well, first, the scenes were deleted for a reason.
Second, this is probably ill-advised, but I am sleep deprived, so here is what would happen if we released this hypothetical collection, even if it was at 99 cent price point. ::eyes Mod R to see if she is watching::
“I have followed these authors for years, but this is just an obvious money grab. These are not even complete stories, these are deleted scenes. They must really hard up for money that they would scam people this way. I know the description said that these were deleted scenes, but I didn’t read it because I was excited that a new book was available, and now I feel betrayed. I’ve lost all respect for them.”
And so on, and so on. At some point, Penguin Random House rereleased Kate Daniels novellas as e-specials, and we got so much hate because they were previously published in anthologies. It scarred me for life.
There is no way to make that collection available without writing a novella or some kind of new content to make it worthwhile, and right now, there is just no room in the schedule for it.
It’s very considerate of you to feel like you owe us something, but let me stop you right there. You are an artist, and nobody would dare to tell a skulptor or painter to tell him what he should create. That’s your work, your art and we are buying your books because they are amazing. How many times did I buy a book thats really bad. I can’t return it and I wouldn’t want to. But I won’t buy another one from the same author.
So please don’t feel obligated. You owe us nothing. You are writing a book and we can take it or leave it (I think you know by now that most of us will take it, no matter what you write). Just be yourself and do what you want, and forget the haters, how dare they?
Great analogy. No one asked Rodin why he’d chipped away that lump of stone from his masterpieces!
Thank you for the explanation. I hope you get a better rest tonight. ????????
Loved Regina’s story, and if you ever wanted to write a longer story I would love that and buy it in an instant. (Though of course you should write where the inspiration takes you!)
Fascinating; thank you for the insight. For my part, I always enjoy it when someone allows peeks behind the curtain of the writing process. And I’d love a novella, or anything else, that brings out the information about Michael Latimer and Regina.
The grittiness might be due to rice flour. My oldest daughter was allergic to wheat for several years before growing out of it. And my ate so much grittiness. Was there when we used ready-made flour mixes, it was there when we did the combination ourselves. We eventually stumbled upon super fine rice flour. And suddenly all the grittiness was gone.
So that might be a problem with the fail muffins.
I adore deleted scenes. I love when they are added to the back of a novel. I love when they are on a blog. I wouldn’t like it as an anthology of deleted scenes. I just can’t. But I would read the description, and I would not fault the author when I eventually bought it because FOMO. So yeah I can definitely see your reasoning.
This makes a lot of sense. I would love to read a novella about the Latimers, but in the mean timd I’m just happy we had this glance into their background story 🙂
I don’t see failed muffins, I see scones
Love the regina deleted scene.
Honestly, I LOVED knowing Regina’s backstory, but I understand why you cut the scene. It’s the kind of scene that makes me leave the EXPLICATE AT ME note in my book. It’s great to know, but it’s nothing but straight infodump. I don’t know how many words, but I know that on my Kindle it would be several pages (not necessarily applicable to a print book because, again, I didn’t count the words).
But this is why I come to the blog. So I can get the awesome backstories.
Sorry, autocorrect. The note I leave is EXPOSIT AT ME. Not “explicate”.
Thank you for explaining! Some of us love the process information. Also, you can’t please everyone, there will always be a few noisy haters out there. Now I need to go and bake some muffins. (You are the best!)
Thank you so much for the explanation!
I hope in the future there will be more Hidden Legacy books
I’ve Celiac. Gluten is my bane. And I love to bake.
Cup 4 cup gluten free flour is the best GF flour for bread making when doing gluten free items. I think it’s vegan friendly, but I cannot vouch for that 100%; I do dairy-light, not dairy free. But oui coconut based dairy free yogurt is the next best thing to real yogurt both for baking and nibbling.
Hope the re-do comes out better than the “fail” that doesn’t look bad by the way. Especially if it’s your first go for GF/vegan bread! (And the chocolate chips are probably better in the “real” muffins; chocolate can aggravate GI ulcers for people with Crohn’s or UC.)
wow House Andrews, people are NEVER satisfied….if you release deleted scenes CLEARLY MARKED as deleted scenes…and charge, gosh, a whole 99 cents!!! it’s labelled a money grab???? Did I miss a coercive practice such as ‘you won’t be able to get the next full price product if you don’t buy this?’ like really wow.
This is NOT like mobile video gaming where it is really really really difficult to progress levels without buying those in-game level ups, or else spending a LOT of time — 4-8 hours+ grinding at some task.
I regret that you are scarred by such….opinions…but the vast majority of we, the BDH, appreciate all that you choose to release.
peace,
I enjoy your “sausage making” process as its always interesting.
I understand your reluctance to publish the deleted scenes as much as I would love to read them. Please remember that negative comments are a teeny tiny minority compared to the vast number of positive comments and much love from the BDH. ????
I have Nalini Singh’s collection of deleted scenes & short slices of her character’s life. I don’t remember if she charged, but I would pay $1 for a collection of your stories. People…????
I often bake vegan cakes/cupcakes etc. Unsweetened applesauce works really well. It is also not gritty which some egg replacers can be depending on what you are making. I have not tried it in muffins only because I do not typically make muffins. Bananas also work well for sweet taste and binding consistency in many baked goods to use in place of eggs.
However much Baylorworld side fic you find time to write will be eagerly devoured in my household. Thank you.
People are so weird. Any published material, solo or combined, is a gift! Enjoy it! If you already have the anthology, don’t buy it again, or do because now it is all combined in one book! I’ve combed through the back catalog of favorite authors for deleted or added scenes and done the work to put them in a personal folder and even have combined them for reading on my personal ereader, and it’s a LOT OF WORK. I’m happy to pay an author to do it for me!
Too bad, I loved the Latimer family history. It’s these little moments within the big moments that make your stories so satisfying. The family history also explained much concerning their secretive head of security and her animator wife–a piece of the puzzle slid into place for me with an audible “click.”
I look forward to more Michael-time someday.
Hi! I have celiac and bake gluten free. If the muffins are gritty just let the batter rest 30 minutes. GF flour takes longer to absorb liquids.
As far as the hate mail goes, I am reminded of the scene in Pixar’s Ralph Breaks the Internet, where Ralph is told, “Never read the comments!” That’s one of the reasons you have ModR (sorry ModR) – she can move all the hateful email to a sealed folder. Once a month you can look at the sealed folder, see its size (not its contents), sneer at it, and delete it without looking at it with a clear conscience. And take ModR out to dinner occasionally or send her a nice little present as compensation for HER having to look at it.
It seriously isn’t worth your time and emotional effort to dwell on (and hardly worth ModR’s!). Chill and write. And if you want to put out a compilation of deleted scenes with no new material for $0.99, name it “Not Otherwise Publishable Scenes (I Warned You!)”
I would spend $0.99.
I have something like, unfortunately, that but definitely don’t show it to Ilona once a month.
And I already get oh so many treats from House Andrews! ????
+1 darn tootin’
My sister, the Tiramisu Expert, once tried the lower fat Mascarpone, thinking it might help some of us older…..er, more mature and waistband-expanding members of the family. Tasted like crap. So it will always remain Full Fat Ahead!!!
(And damn the Canolli!)
I love the books – every single one in all the universes. I also love the blog and your comments about life and cooking. I think the only thing you owe us, your readers, is to write the best stories you can, they way YOU want to write them. You don’t owe us explanations for your decisions to include or delete scenes.
LOL! I do this often too. Is it presuming to much think this is part of how Arabella came to be? I love the BTS insights. So share what fits your mood, I don’t think reading about your process is off-putting at all. It just shows how much WORK and SACRIFICE it takes to bring your creations into being. Best Wishes from CA.
Hi !
I eat (and bake) gluten free, and usualy a gritty result is caused by too coarse rice flour, or not enough liquide to hydrate the gluten free blend.
The batter must be a thick liquide, and you can let in wait for 1/4 h to 1/2 h before baking to help hydrate the floor.
Or, you can go on this site : https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-blueberry-muffins-bakery/
She is magic, and explain everything.
I hope this is helpfull !
***Pyrane***
I would read your grocery list …..
Grandma Frida might not be talking for every on this one – I love seeing how the sausage was made, it’s fascinating. Please don’t stop telling us about your process completely!
Question for Mod R: is it possible to purchase autographed copies of Fated Blades?
Hey A,
At the moment the only signature copies come from bookplates (because pandemic), so they would only be available from stone and mortar bookstores that House A ndrews are doing events with.
There is an event with Grace Draven in the works so Bank Square Books might have a few bookplates, worth giving them a try and asking them? The bookplate won’t be automatically attached, but if there’s a note section on the order or you can give them a call, it might work :).
Ok. Still really liked the deleted scene, but if it didn’t work in the book, it didn’t work. You’ve fought with RF too much to have to try to make it work. I love the characters in HL especially
Cornelius, but Michael Latimer has also always been interesting. So, any glimpse of them, even a deleted scene. I will enjoy. Thanks.
As someone who was not here for the e-novella rerelease drama, I was happy to be able to purchase them standalone as I got into the KDU (no offense to the other amazing I’m sure authors in the anthologies).
And actually, I was recently hoping the novellas were available outside of the anthologies in e-book form too, so I could listen to them standalone!
Also, I am all onboard for more House Latimer content (Idk how a single scene could make me crush on a fictional character so much, but here we are) ????♀️
Edit: audiobook form** too many thoughts overlapping as I type
I love see the snippets and deleted scenes in your blog. They’re like random tasty treats that seem to appear on some of my worst days. So please, please don’t stop posting them. And I love all the behind the scenes information regarding the writing and publishing world…but then I love making sausage too.
Forgive me if this suggestion is redundant.
The failed muffins, probably needed Xantham gum.
When I first started trying to bake gluten free items, everything was gritty.
Trial and error brought me to the point where I now add a couple of tablespoons of Xantham gum to all gluten free recipes ???? and it makes an enormous difference.
I’ve bought novellas that were part of an anthology before. I appreciate it when the author notes that it was part of said anthology with no edits or with edits/updates.
I haven’t tried this specific recipe yet, but I’ve had good luck with other recipes from the Gluten Free on a Shoestring site, and I love how she gives lots of options for adjusting the recipe for different dietary needs.
https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-blueberry-muffins-bakery/
Very nice of you to make muffins.
Gluten free flour tends to be gritty. For best outcome let Gluten Free Batters set 20 min before baking. Also weigh the flour not measure as usual.
Please tell me you watch Helen Rennie cook on YouTube. Delightful to watch and learn. In case you don’t, she is from Russia and her recipes are amazing. Every time I watch her, I think of you.
Thank you so much for the explanation . I was one of the people wondering why the scene was cut , but what you said about subplots etc…made a lot of sense.
I did really like the characters so I hope someday maybe it will turn into a novella .
When a deleted scene is as complete and explaining as this was, can you put it at the end of the book, identified as deleted scenes?
Great suggestion Ms. Kim. They probably can’t though for some obscure legal reason. Still heres to hoping… 🙂
I’ve seen that in other author’s books. In particular, I saw something like that in Nalini Singh’s Heart of Obsidian (Psy-Changeling series). The deleted scenes were a nice treat. 🙂
First – you sound as exhausted as I feel (moving, been packing for days and days it seems and my back is telling me no more – but I must – so here I am on my break enjoying your blog – thank you for yesterday’s AWESOME deleted scene BTW).
Second – who are these people that hate on you for releasing a small book of short stories? I hate having to dig out where all of the short stories are and buy all of those anthologies or magazines. I’ve bought new books not realizing it was a bunch of short stories, some of them I’d seen and was DELIGHTED to have them all in one spot.
But I understand. But I’d like a word with those folks’ managers…..
Haters gonna hate.
I love novellas and deleted scenes in between fully formed stories because some days you just need a little bit of something wonderful to keep from running screaming back to bed. But, after a certain point, heaps of hate upon your head makes keeping the rest of us sane a losing proposition!
So, thank you for the occasional tidbit to make my world a happier place, not having them all in one place is just fine by me. Gritty muffins after all that effort is no fair, and coffee makes the world a better place. With naps. Naps between coffee is key.
There is a reason you are the best authors ever, and little snippets of life, muffins, and writing magic are it!
Ilona I’m so sorry people are ugly about things you try to gift to us in the BDH. Most of us can understand what you are releasing but if a few ugly people (behavior wise) make you feel bad please do not do it. Life is to short to deal with haters. We love you guys. Hang in there and thank you for all you are able to do.
While i understand scheduling and such. And fully respect you not wanting to the deleted scenes thing. I do want to give you another perspective. I am sure you guys are familiar with Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller chronicles, if not, check it out. He did a novella that isnt a story. It follows one character around her day to day and describes places mentioned in the series. Thats it. No climax, no twists, no protagonist/antagonist. just simple descriptive imagery. I love it. He also prefaces the book that its not a story. ????
Ooooh.
Here is what Patrick’s main series looks like as of now.
The Name of the Wind (2007)
The Wise Man’s Fear (2011)
The Doors of Stone (in progress)
Patrick hasn’t released a novel in his primary series since 2011, 11 years ago.
Here is what we release since 2011. It’s not all of it. I got tired.
Magic Dreams 2011
Magic Slays 2011
Magic Tests 2011
Magic Gifts 2011
Fate’s Edge 2011
Silver Shark 2011
Of Swine and Roses 2011
Gunmetal Magic 2011
An Ill Advised Rescue 2012
Retribution Clause 2012
Steel’s Edge 2012
Magic Rises 2013
Clean Sweep 2013
Magic Breaks 2014
Magic Steals 2014
Burn For Me 2014
Magic Shifts 2015
Magic Stars 2015
Sweep in Peace 2015
Magic Binds 2016
One Fell Sweep 2016
White Hot 2017
Wildfire 2017
Magic Triumphs 2018
Iron and Magic 2018
King of Fire 2018
Diamond Fire 2018
Sweep of the Blade 2019
Sapphire Flames 2019
Sweep with Me 2020
Emerald Blaze 2020
Blood Heir 2021
Sandra 2021
It’s great that Patrick is comfortable enough to deliver a tour of his world instead of an actual novel or novella. I assume this must have been a free story for the fans.
However, we prefer to make sure that we deliver an actual story that you would enjoy, especially if we put it on sale. The reaction of BDH to a story without a plot but with a price tag would be WTF and rightfully so. 🙂
As to writing something like that for free, there are so many stories we already give away. The entire Innkeeper series is free to read right now. I do feel that’s probably enough. 🙂
Alert! Anne Bishop has an excerpt two chapters long on her website for Crowbones! So much fun while we wait for Ruby Fever.
Anymore deleted scenes?
… No.
I can’t remember if I’ve done muffins specifically, but I’ve had good luck in general with the Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flours and mixes. They usually come out tasting good and with a good texture.
I’ve also found that substituting mashed bananas for eggs works well — I love doing pancakes that way. Of course, that assumes the consumers like bananas.
The best gluten free cookbook is How Can It Be Gluten Free by America’s Test Kitchen. Volume 2 includes a lot of dairy free recipes as well. Friends are continually surprised that cookies and cakes that I make from it is gluten free. The breads are by far the best gluten free breads that I’ve had.
Title it “Deleted Scenes”, then if someone complains you can point out it says what it is right on the cover. This isn’t going to satisfy everyone – but then, you can’t, really!
I’d certainly spend $.99 for it…
I grew up in the era of Bambi. If you can’t say something nice… all of the negative comments these days are getting on my last nerve! You are the talent! You write, we buy what you write, we read it and are extremely grateful!
Loved Reginas scene very much because it was amazing background where I’d previously wondered what had happened.
Reading your explanation gives a context, and another glance at how your books evolve through all stages until release.
Thank you for sharing both the scene and the fascinating insight.
I really enjoy the posts about your writing/editing/plotting processes. Please feel free to describe your sausage all you like. *
Now I want Kate’s sausage recipe. . .
*This post only indicates reader interest and in no way is a demand for specific author product. 😉
Just a comment from my small corner but, I liked the Kate Daniels novella reader release. Thank you for your explanation. You know, power naps are a wonderful thing when night sleeping has been miserable.