All posts filed under: author

Food: Dinner Tonight – Craving BBQ Chicken added to a Salad of Choice

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We’ve had more rain then I remember in a lifetime here in San Francisco, and I couldn’t be happier. We needed it, wish it would be the norm every year – but we know how it goes. Ten years of drought, one year of some rain. This year of course its an exception – or – wait I think we had this much rain back in 2009?  So, yup every ten years. 🙂 Anyway, with this much rain, we’ve had to postpone the idea of BBQ outdoors. But, since I am craving BBQ, and some sort of salad today, it is happening – either in a non-stick skillet, or my indoor grill – which is an older model and a pain to clean – I have a few more hours to decide which way to BBQ – either way, this is the salad I am aiming for tonight. And…I am not changing a thing in the recipe. INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or tenders 1/3 cup barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade 2 cups fresh grilled or frozen thawed corn …

Random: I Love It When Learning Never Stops

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Strange title for a blog entry you say? Well, this morning while commuting to my day job (haha-see the pun?) I was as usual going through the things I needed to focus on/get accomplished today. Like any other day, my brain is a rolodex filled with things, and I spend the thirty minutes commuting into work, shuffling  the deck in the order I want to work through those things. Unless of course something unexpected happens the night before, requiring me to drop that deck and tend to the whatever….case in most important point-a sick doggy. I reminded myself this morning, that I never stop learning something new every day, even if it’s an old thing, it is a new learned thing. The most influential learnings for me, come from my dog, my hubs, my extended family, and believe it or not from my co-workers.  Who without being aware, manage to teach me about the most interesting of things – about character, values, virtues,  and other matters that make up this  unstable  world of ours. Which …

Location Is Everything When Writing a Novel

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Like a film set, location in books are equally important, finding just the perfect house or apartment, cafe down the street, a restaurant, hotels, and cabins, beach scenes or inland, all of it play a major role while writing–enticing the imagination. What’s funny is that I’ll stumble upon a place while exploring the world, or even in the bay area, and I’ll stop and take a picture, and take it home, download it on my laptop and arrange it in the order I want to see a story pan out. In light of this style of writing if you will, I want to share with you the four significant hotels I used in my first novel – Piazza Navona – click here to read about them and here to order the book  

words and pictures – a film for artists with passion for word and pictures

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I am an author and an artist who appreciates words and pictures, knowing how each compliments the other and both are equally important for society to exist. So I had to see the film Words and Pictures to understand how such a topic is address in film. First of all I have to applaud Gerard Di Pego for an outstanding screen write. I haven’t seen such good writing in a while for films geared towards mid-life. The best in my opinion was It’s Complicated and since then I’ve been patiently waiting for a story just as good. Second, of course I happen to be a huge Clive Owen fan,  someone who’s been waiting for the talented actor to do funny. I got a glimpse of his ability to be funny in Duplicity with Julia Roberts and since then, I have been hoping he would remove his typical black raincoat, black tie in all things doom and gloom and consider a charming, funny role. My prayers have been answered. In the film Words and Pictures, Clive …

giveaway novel – just hit like

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Since I’ve got to do my own marketing, advertising, sales pitch and whatever it takes as an indie author to get my book off the ground, I figured I’d include what’s happening at  http://mlkilian.wordpress.com – here also. A few of my friends asked, jokingly of course, if I would have any giveaways in the near future. A free book or a bookmark or…. At the time I smiled at the suggestion and it wasn’t until I travelled through England, Scotland and France this past month, promoting my book, that I decided a contest was a good idea. So, here it is. For the month of April, if you purchase Piazza Navona in e-book (online) or paperback (contact me directly for the paperback version) and write a review online for the e-book (on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, iBookstore and more) or blog, tweet, Facebook about my book, the paperback version, I will give you Part II for free. That would be two books for the price of one. If you subscribe to my blog, Facebook or …

published author – now what?

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2014 started out with me in a panicked mode, thinking very much about what I want to accomplish in the new year. Although the list is long and I am practically booked with many activities through June, I realize the most important accomplishment for me in the new year is to promote my first novel. There are lots to be done, marketing and advertising, connecting and networking. A book doesn’t become an overnight success by itself and I need to stay focused to make my dream come true. In the meantime, if you love e-books, then click Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Kobo, iBookstore, Gardners UK, and many more and consider my favorite novel 🙂 Piazza Navona. If you aren’t e-book savvy, then send me an email at mlkilianauthor2013@gmail.com so I can let you know when the paperback version would be available.  

multitasking inside my head

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I don’t need to remind anyone, that women multi-task on a second to second basis. While sitting at their desks at work, shuffling paper, their multitasking inside their heads. From what to make for dinner, to coordinating how the week would unfold. Children, homework, housework, husbands, get togethers, doctor’s appointments, grocery list, project deadlines, laundry, meetings, telephone calls and even vacation planning. So, for this week, these are the thoughts going through my head:       

reading recommends – book, nook and kindle

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I can’t believe this. I have stayed away from reading recommends because I was trying to delay the inevitable. But more and more, people are switching over to the nook, kindle and every other gadget out there as their choice for reading  materials. I get the craze, but I am sad to see the paperbacks and hardbacks slowly disappear along with mom and pop bookstores.  It was nice to stop staring at a computer screen for a few hours and be able to curl up on a bed or a couch and read an actual “book” but these are the times and those are our choices and although I am having a difficult time accepting it, I know eventually I will become a minority with the way I feel about it. Anyway, here are some interesting books I discovered while shuffling through the gadget category. Let me know if you have read any of them and what you think or if you would consider reading any of them sometime in the near future.

best books written about paris or are they?

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In reviewing the Guardian UK the other day, I came across an article with their list of top 10 books written about Paris. Of course, you know that immediately grabbed my interest, so I decided to share their suggestions in my blog and ask my readers for their opinion. Are the suggested books the best books written about Paris? Has anyone read any of the books and what you thought about it? if the listed books are truly not the best, please feel free to make a recommendation.