Welcome, Marsha A. Moore. She's thankful, too.

Thanks lots for inviting me to be here today, Ginger. 

It’s incredibly hard to decide what I’m most thankful for since the list shifts from month to month, year to year. But, health, mine and of those closest to me, will always be at the top. I’ve lived through many troubled years with my own health issues, or cared for loved ones who suffered. Fortunately, all those who I hold most dear are in good health. There is no greater blessing. 

Beyond that, I’m thankful for new opportunities which have fallen my way in 2010. Trying my hand in the world of publishing has brought me many new friends who I’ll cherish for years to come. So many amazing authors I now count among my friends. Most I’ve met through writers’ organizations: RWA’s Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter; Savvy Authors; Writing.com; Florida Writers’ Association. But the group I’m most grateful for is the MuseItUp Publishing community. I can’t begin to express how much I’ve grown through that fellowship of authors under guidance of publisher Lea Schizas.

Thirdly, I’m grateful our house is now as my husband and I envisioned when we bought it a year and a half ago. After that much time enduring construction crews, we celebrated with our first vacation in three years—a week in the Florida Keys. Mind you that was not a major trip since we live in Tampa, but appreciated just as much as if we’d traveled across the country. This past month I’ve been thankful:

            I subscribed to “Florida Travel + Life” magazine, so when we were finally set free, we knew the stops to make a fun trip;

that publication recommended a great fresh fish dive in Key Largo called The Fish House;

we were able to find our fav recipe from that restaurant online, Fish Matecumbe;

and my husband and I recreated the magic of our vacation in our own kitchen, which I’m happy to share today on Ginger’s blog. May it bring you a taste of the Keys and its happiness. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Fish Matecumbe

1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
1 (8-ounce) jar capers
5 shallots, peeled and chopped
5 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 lemons, juiced
1 cup olive oil
8 individual Mahi Mahi fillets
Salt and pepper

Serving suggestion: rice

To a medium bowl, add all ingredients except fish and stir to thoroughly combine. Refrigerate until ready to use; it is best to let flavors blend for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat the broiler and position the oven rack so that it is at least 4 inches from the broiler, but no more than 6 inches.

Place fish fillets on a baking sheet and then season fish with salt and pepper. Place under the broiler and cook until done on 1 side. Watch carefully, as it may only take a couple minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish fillets and the proximity to the broiler. Remove from broiler and turn each fish over. Top each fillet with about 1/2 cup sauce. Return to the broiler and cook until fish is done on the other side and fully cooked through in the middle. If you are unsure about doneness, cut into the center of 1 fillet; it should be opaque. (You can cover up the cut with the sauce.) Serve with rice, if desired.

Recipe from The Fish House
Key Largo

Tears on a Tranquil Lake, 2/1/2011 & Sea Glass and Sand Memories, 6/1/2011 - MuseItHot Publishing

Welcome, Marsha Moore

Thanks, Ginger, for allowing me to be here on your blog today. Since this month your focus goes in-depth on Muse authors, I thought I’d tell more about how I came to be a writer. 

The story of how I ended up writing fiction is at least circuitous, if not interesting. My path evolved from my initial desire, entering college to be liberal arts major. I would have been perfectly content as a dual major, fine art/English. But, my parents seemed to want me to be employable, so they steered me toward science. I didn’t complain, since I did enjoy biology and chemistry. I’m the sort who loves learning. Many topics fascinate me. 

After four years, I ended up with a Bachelor of Arts in biology with a minor in English. There are no longer programs for B.A. in Biology, only B.S.  In order to gain my unusual degree, I took extra summer terms to make time for my diversions of art, American literature, contemporary cinema, art history, philosophy, and so on. My fellow organic chemistry students thought I had a few screws loose, relishing writing essays for my literature classes. To me those were the perfect balance for physics and biochemistry. 

From there, I entered dental school at The Ohio State University, studying to be a dentist. For four years I did well, too well to understand why I didn’t like it. So, during my senior year, after passing my national dental boards, I decided this was not my destiny. I had learned a lot, but it was wrong, unbalanced for my creative needs. I sacrificed completing that goal in order to be “hirable” for a public school teaching position. An inexperienced teacher with an advanced degree isn’t too marketable. After a year gaining teacher certification, I went on to teach high school biology, anatomy, and ecology for seventeen years. Aside from early morning hours and tedious faculty meetings, those years were good ones. I enjoyed meeting challenges presented by different students. So many faces and personalities still travel with me as cherished memories. 

During those career years, creativity was put aside for family goals. I eventually reached out to my love of writing, but not fiction. Instead, I chose to write non-fiction reviews for music forums and eventually for a couple major record labels. In that process, I frequented music websites. One had a fan fiction thread which caught my eye. As a lark, I joined in and the story flourished with a faithful following for at least a year. One of those readers turned out to work for a major publishing house. He urged me to consider writing fiction professionally. Of course, I thought he was crazy. After a few more months of his encouragement, I started crafting stories for publication, joining writing groups, and learning about fiction writing skills. I was totally swept away and never looked back. 

Some days I feel I owe a lot to that devoted reader’s advice, directing me along this path, and other days it seems I’ve only drifted full circle, back to the direction I initially wanted to follow. Either way, I’m grateful life presented me with this road. 

You may learn more about me and my writing at http://www.marshaamoore.com