Happiness Sprinkles + Book Club ZOOM Link: Things Worth Smiling About in April
Also, a call for your favorite stories!
Hello, lovelies!
It’s time for Happiness Sprinkles (my favorites/things worth smiling about this month—scroll down)!
I am also very excited about our April Book Club hangout. Feel free to come even if you haven’t read the book. (Just be prepared for spoilers.)
Book:
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Time:
Sunday, April 28th, 2024 at 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT
Book Discussion (30-45 minutes)—What makes this book tick? We’ll talk about things like whether the plot worked and if not, why not? Where was the pacing great and where did the tension dip, and why? And why do some people love Character A but others hate him, while Character B is universally adored?
Bonus Writers’ Chat (30-45 minutes)—After the book discussion, we’ll have an optional hangout to share what we’re working on, ask each other for advice on writer’s block, finding a literary agent, doing book publicity, etc.
Zoom link:
To prevent Zoom-bombing from not-nice people, the Zoom link will be at the very bottom of this post behind a paywall.
Paid subscribers get full access to our Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers, as well as our private Creativity VIP chat group.
100% of paid subscriptions go toward funding our Scholarships for Aspiring Writers (more details here)
*I want to make sure that everyone can participate in our book club, so if you cannot afford a paid subscription, please email me at evelyn@creativeinspiredhappy.com and I will gladly set you up with a complimentary subscription.
Reader Spotlight
Every week, I feature a few books or essays that you have loved or written. Here are this week’s to add to your TBR:
Want to share something that you’ve recently read or written?
Just reply to this email or write me at evelynskyebooks@gmail.com with a 1-2 sentence description. I can’t wait to hear from you!
Happiness Sprinkles: Things Worth Smiling About in April
I hope April was lovely for you! We really enjoyed watching the total solar eclipse, and of course, my French book tour was incroyable. But as always, there were many more small joys this month that I want to share:
Shōgun - Tom and I are obsessed with this show! It’s been a long time since we kept track of what day it was in anticipation of a new episode of something dropping, but Shōgun is so well done, we looked forward to every Tuesday (episodes of Shōgun are released on Monday nights at 9pm, but that’s Tom’s game night with his friends, so we watched on Tuesdays). I read the novel when I was a teenager, and now I want to re-read it.
The Gentleman’s Gambit by Evie Dunmore - I finished Book 4 in The League of Extraordinary Women series of historical romance. If you haven’t heard of these, they’re about the first female students at Oxford (fictional characters) who take on the cause of suffrage while also falling (often reluctantly) in love. You can read them out of order, but I recommend starting with Book 1, Bringing Down the Duke. Warning: these can be “spicy,” romance-wise.
Italian special edition of Damsel - My jaw hit the floor! I forgot that there was going to be an limited edition version of my book with tons of special touches—totally different cover art, foil on the naked book, custom art on the jacket…! If you’re curious, here’s a video with all the beautiful details.
Korean braised quail eggs - During our family vacation to Korea in February, we were a little obsessed with the braised quail eggs at our hotel’s breakfast buffet. I found a great recipe online, but the website seems to have disappeared now! Luckily, I took a photo of the recipe, so I’ll type it out for you here:
KOREAN BRAISED QUAIL EGGS
18 boiled & peeled quail eggs (you can do it yourself and make them fresh and extra tasty, or you can be lazy like me and buy a can of already peeled, boiled quail eggs. Or, you can just use chicken eggs, but they won’t be bite-sized! You’ll also need more liquid so that you can cover the eggs completely.)
1 1/2 cups dashi stock (I cheat and use this instant dashi powder)
1/4 soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
6 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes (optional)
Boil and peel eggs (if using fresh eggs) - here’s a foolproof way to make sure your shells always come off easily
In a medium saucepan, simmer dashi stock, soy sauce, garlic, honey, and chili pepper flakes (if using).
Once simmering, add in the peeled eggs and simmer on low for 20 minutes or until the sauce is reduced by half. Cool and enjoy. Can be stored in the fridge for 5 days. The flavor is even better on Day 2 or 3!)
