Galeophobia and Banana Cake

HANK:  Galeophobia? A bête noir cake? A Scattergories challenge?

More about our new Reds! So much to find out…

I confess--I am singing impaired. Honestly, if I sign a song, you might have no idea what it is. Ingrid and Jenn—give us the scoop. 

Can you sing? Play an instrument?

Ingrid

INGRID: I have a decent singing voice and performed in musicals in my younger years.  My sister Lisa and I used to perform our own version of “The Donny and Marie Show.”  She, very graciously, was Donny.  I never studied an instrument, but another sister, Erika, was a wonderful piano player (and singer), so I grew up listening to lots of classical piano music.

JENN: I'm a singer. The rest of my people are musicians. With Hub being a professional guitar player and our sons following his lead, the frat house is a very loud house! I’m actually the backup singer for Adele. She just doesn’t know that.

HANK: Yeah, I’m backup for EmmyLou. Who is equally oblivious. How about food? Are you a good cook?  What’s your specialty?  Or if not—what’s your downfall?

INGRID:I can cook certain things well, but I am not an enthusiastic cook.  I cook because I need to eat, and I try to eat healthy foods, which often requires that I cook them.  I do love to eat, and I like flipping through cookbooks.  If only I had a personal chef!   I prefer baking to cooking and make a delicious Swedish apple pie.  My baking downfall is the amazing banana cake from the Silver Palate cookbook; that recipe never turns out right, but I can’t figure out where I’ve gone wrong! 

JENN: I'm a baker. Since I write a cupcake bakery mystery series - cupcakes are a specialty. Regular food cooking is meh. Clearly, I'm sugar motivated.

HANK: I won’t even ask about your TBR piles..tottering TBRs are a hallmark of us all. But what book are you reading right now? (I’m reading Duplicity…J)

JENN: I'm rereading Postcards from the Edge with The Princess Diarist up next. Yep, I'm taking Carrie Fisher's passing pretty hard. She was a brilliant writer

INGRID: I’m reading the ARC of “Burning Bright” by Nick Petrie.  I really enjoyed Nick’s first book, “The Drifter,” and it’s been great diving into the next installment in the series.  Nick and I are doing a couple of events together on my upcoming book tour (in Scottsdale and Houston,) and I look forward to picking his brain about his engaging but enigmatic character, Peter Ash.

HANK:  What’s the one thing no one besides your family knows?

INGRID: I polled them, and they seem to think that only they know I’m a mean Scattergories competitor.  This is true. 

JENN: I suffer from galeophobia (fear of sharks). I blame Shark Week.

HANK: Well, now we know the difference—Ingrid’s a scuba diver! But still, as we know, wary of sharks.  Final question for today. Mine is: “You never know.”

What’s your motto?

INGRID: In college, my best friend, Davenie, and I had a motto that has served me well: “You look good, you feel good, you do good.”  This is why I don’t work in my pajamas.  Nor do I wear an evening gown, but I also try to look like I made an effort.  I think it signals to my brain—and the world—that I mean business!

Jenn

JENN: "Never give up and never, under any circumstances, face the facts." Ruth Gordon said it, but it's been my motto for decades.

HANK:   Oh, um, okay. Off to change clothes.  But I am great at ignoring the facts—in fiction, at least.  And we are so happy to have you all here…new Reds, and the new friends we are making. Hurray!

My turn to have a giveaway today—introduce yourself! Tell us where you are! And one commenter will win the first in both my series: Agatha winner PRIME TIME and Mary Higgins Clark Winner THE OTHER WOMAN!

So introduce yourself, not only to us, but to each other—Jungle Red stalwarts—you, too!  And tomorrow, I’ll announce the winner.

Tomorrow—a very special kind of food.  Will you like it?

Friday: YOUR questions to new Reds Jenn and Ingrid.

Saturday: a big giveaway.

And Sunday: our dear Kaye Barley. Aw.  Wait ‘til you meet her!

Okay—eager to hear from you!