Tłusty Czwartek

elizabethcaulfieldfelt Fat Thursday, food, Poland, pączki

It’s Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek) today! How lucky that we arrived in time to celebrate. I wrote a post about Fat Thursday when we were in Poland before, so if you want more details you can read that one. Basically, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday is the Polish version of Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras…

…celebrated with pączki.

Everyone in Poland is buying and eating these doughnuts today. Friends of ours bought some yesterday and gave us two. We had those with our coffee this morning (not pictured). While out doing chores this afternoon, I passed a piekarnia (bakery) that was advertising its pączki. They had only about six left. I bought a chocolate and a “rose” which might actually be raspberry.

Delicious!

Winter in Sopot

elizabethcaulfieldfelt Baltic Sea, beach, Gdansk, Poland, travel

Hello from Sopot, Poland. We left Stevens Point a week ago, and I’m finally making a post!

Sopot is the smallest of the Tri-Cities or Troj-Miasto of Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia. Sopot is historically a spa town and is now a major Polish tourist destination–in the warm months. We are the exception!

It has been a busy week of visiting friends, exploring, and getting organized. However, yesterday we had some free time and walked down to the sea, about a 15-minute walk from where we are staying. Northern Poland is experiencing a colder, snowier winter than it has seen in the past 20 or so years.

On the way to the Baltic, we passed some children sledding. Hopefully nobody slid all the way to the road.

It’s all downhill to the beach.

It’s important to remember where you enter the beach. Once you are out on the sand/snow/water, the forest looks all the same. The best route for us is entrance/wejscie 5.

With all the snow, it was hard to tell where the beach ended and the frozen Baltic began. I think we stood on frozen waves, but we saw no reason to risk walking out too far.

The cold isn’t as severe as what we get in Wisconsin. When people tell us it will be below 0 tomorrow, they are referring to Celsius. Not to show off or anything, but weather in the 20s Fahrenheit won’t keep us home.

Still, I’m eager for the snow to melt and the sun to come out. Stay warm, friends.

Best Books of 2025

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I’m a few days late with this post as I’ve been in bed with the flu. I’m feeling a bit better today so thought it was time I got it published.

I read 106 books last year and enjoyed most of them. Below are my favorites:

Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan. I recommend this as an audio book; it is a romance between two audio book narrators, written by an audio book narrator (Julia Whelan). Clever writing, fun and funny.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. This is the first book in the Invisible Library fantasy series. It’s non-stop action, with humor, clever writing, great world-building, and a bit of romance. The protagonist is a librarian (read: superhero) who must steal rare books from certain worlds to keep the universe in balance. There are dragons and fae and a whole lot of danger, excitement, and fun.

Eroshenko by Lucy May Lennox. Vasili Eroshenko (a real person) was born in 1890 and went blind as a child but led a fascinating life. This book centers on his time in Japan. Read my full review for the Historical Novels Society here.

Toto by A.J. Hackwith. This is the true story of what happened in Oz, as told by Toto, who has a lot of ideas and turns out to be a bit subversive. I’m a big fan of anything having to do with the world of Oz, and I enjoyed this unusual take on the series.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Powerful, thought-provoking story-telling that is fictional but true nonetheless. These short stories center on a group of young men during and after and before their time as American soldiers in Vietnam.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. A vastly different re-telling of the Rumpelstiltskin story. Told via three strong women living in a fictional medieval country (a bit like Poland). Incredible world-building, fast-paced excitement, some romance. Solid fantasy writing.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. The Princess Bride, but if Buttercup refused to believe that Westley had been killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts and went to rescue him. Tress is a wonderful heroine and the world-building is outstanding.

Seabird by Michelle Kadarusman. This is my only middle-grade novel on this list; its intended audience is ages 8-13 but I recommend it to anyone. Kartini, a 12-year-old of a noble family in Java in the 1800s struggles to gain agency over her life. You can read my full review at the Historical Novels Society page.

You are Here by David Nicholls. Two people meet walking a trail in Northern England, going from coast to coast. It’s nice to see romances with older people (late 30s, early 40s). This isn’t a purely “romance” novel but light and humorous and makes you want to walk across England.

What the Tide Leaves Behind by Malcolm MacDonald Woods. I was lucky to do a book swap with this author at a local book event. Ireland is both the setting and a major character in this novel about a young man trying to find who he is and where he belongs. A dog is involved. Phenomenal writing and story. If you only read one book on this list, buy this one. It’s an indie-published book and is so very good.

Slow Horses by Mick Heron. The streaming series is good but as predicted the book is better. I’ve got the next book in the series on hold. An extremely funny, well-crafted, MI-5 crime novel series. If you didn’t know about it, you do now.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. During the pandemic, a woman is telling her adult daughters, who have had to come home, about her short-lived relationship with a movie star before he became famous. It’s slow-paced but in a calm, easy way. Patchett has top writing chops.

Well, I hope I’ve given you some book ideas for the new year. Writing this post has worn poor-sick-me out, so I might take a nap. Toodle-loo.

A Busy Author Weekend

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I have two book events this weekend:

Saturday, Nov 8, 9am-3pm. Holiday Fest at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 600 Wilshire Blvd, Stevens Point, WI. I’ll be there selling my books with more than 50 other creative artists, a bake sale, soup and salad lunch, door prizes, and more! Come join the fun.


Sunday, Nov 9, noon-3pm. Children’s Book Festival at the Burlington Public Library, 166 E. Jefferson St., Burlington, WI. I’ll be there selling my children’s novels with a whole crew of Wisconsin writers of children’s books.

Get your holiday shopping done early! I hope to see you soon.

AI email

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For the past few months, I’ve been getting about three to four of these emails a week. They are sent to me because I’m an author. Some are confusing–they appear to just want me to validate my email address, like this first one:

Hello Elizabeth,
How are you? I believe your week is going well as desired? I was wondering if I could find any of your books listed on Goodreads and Amazon?

Who sends an email like this? It’s from a name I don’t know. The English is a little off. If this person really wanted to know if I was on Goodreads or Amazon, wouldn’t they check those sites? I delete these emails.

The more annoying emails are the ones sent by “book marketing” people pretending that they have read and loved one of my books and wanting to discuss the book with me:

What I love about Wilde Wagers is how it takes Wilde’s razor-sharp wit and spins it into a weekend of disguises, cucumber sandwiches, eccentricities, and mayhem. It’s rare to find a historical novel that balances romance, comedy, and mystery while still feeling like pure escapist joy. In a world that feels too heavy most days, your book offers exactly the kind of reprieve readers are craving. As someone who has spent years teaching and nurturing stories, it makes perfect sense that you’d create a novel where laughter and cleverness carry as much weight as suspense and romance. I especially admire how you lean into the absurd without losing charm, something that not only entertains but reminds readers that even in chaos, delight has value. I’d really like to know more about you, Elizabeth, what you most want readers to carry with them after they’ve closed Wilde Wagers. And I’d love to help you bring this witty, escapist romp to the wider audience of readers who are yearning for clever stories that make them laugh out loud and escape the gloom.

At first, it might seem like this person has read my book, but the use of the exact vocabulary from my book summary and from reviews of my book show it is AI-generated text. I’ve made the mistake of engaging with a couple of these emailers. I was so sick of getting these emails that I responded to someone telling them I found their use of AI rude and insulting. They replied, assuring me that they were a real person (but not addressing the fact that they hadn’t actually read my book and had used AI to find me and write the email.) If I were going to hire someone to market my books, I wouldn’t use someone who uses AI so lazily.

I’d love to hear what AI is doing to your in-boxes.

Mark Your Calendars

elizabethcaulfieldfelt author, books, Fairy tales, Mobius strip, reading, release party, Snow White, writing

The release party for Snow White with a Twist will be Saturday, May 3, 2pm, at Bound to Happen Books, downtown Stevens Point. The book will be available, beginning next week, but the party will be in May.

I plan to have some kid activities and free Mobius-strip bracelets to accompany the first books sold. It should be a fun time. I hope to see you there!

Pre-Order Now Available

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You can pre-order Snow White with a Twist from your favorite retailer. Both print and e-book are available and will ship on March 22 or 29, depending on where your order. Why the two dates? I guess I messed something up, but I’m too tired to figure it out. It doesn’t seem all that important. Hitting the NYT best seller list seems unlikely. Here are a few links:

Bookshop.org (and support your favorite local bookstore)

Barnes and Noble (so they don’t go out of business)

Smashwords (ebook only; a great independent publisher)

Amazon (If this is where you shop, click the link. If you input Snow White with a Twist in the search box, it isn’t coming up because ?!!??!?)

Book Release Party

If you live locally, stayed tuned for information about the book release party. Bound to Happen Books will be the location with a date to be determined. April, yes, but which day??? Announcement to come! I want to make sure I have books in hand. A book release party with no books just wouldn’t be the same.

Read an e-book week

elizabethcaulfieldfelt Adele Hugo, author, books, e-books, reading, Smashwords, Syncopation, Wilde Wagers, writing

Get my e-books this week for $1.49 !!

I recommend buying them from Smashwords, a great small company that does its best to compete against the large, monopoly-ish e-book company you all know. But, if that is where you buy your e-books, I’ve also reduced their costs there (as, per their monopoly agreement I can’t sell my book for less anywhere else.)

Wilde Wagers: at Smashwords and at amazon

Syncopation: A Memoir of Adèle Hugo: at Smashwords and at amazon

Smashwords has a lot of other e-books available for free or reduced prices this week, so shop around and support us small-time writers.

Unfortunately, Snow White with a Twist isn’t yet available. Stay tuned!

My Newest Book

elizabethcaulfieldfelt author, book covers, books, children's books, e-books, Fairy tales, fantasy, Mobius strip, reading, Snow White, writing

Cover reveal! I’m excited to announce my next book and its beautiful cover, designed by the talented Thomas Hardy. This middle-grade fairy tale-retelling will release on March 29. Intended for children ages 7-12, this is the Snow White story you know–with a twist!

Stay tuned for information about a book release party!

Feeling powerless?

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Today is Trump’s second inauguration, and I’m upset about it.

I’ve spent the past few weeks feeling powerless and thinking of ways to make a statement about how I feel. One thought I had was to dye my hair pink, as a sort of permanent pink pussy hat. I went as far as making an appointment, but then I thought more about it and canceled. It would be empty symbolism that doesn’t help anyone.

Instead, I decided to volunteer at a food pantry. Trump may not be the reason so many people are experiencing homelessness and food insecurity right now, but his policies of cutting taxes for the wealthy, eliminating the welfare safety net, and other pro-rich, anti-poor aren’t going to help those people any time soon.

If you, like me, are disgusted with our current political situation, here are some things you can do:

  1. Run for office!

Lots of people complain about “the government” but in the US, we are the government. Regular people like you and me can become politicians. If not you, reach out to your sibling or child or neighbor. Encourage good people to run for office! I happen to personally know several Wisconsin politicians, and they are amazing and wonderful people.

Lots of people say “all politicians are the same,” but this is not true. It is a way of dismissing the idea that anything can be done. While it is true is that right now our national government is filled with greedy, power-hungry egomaniacs, we can look toward a better future. What can we do? Encourage good people to run for office!

This can start small and local, such as school boards, county council, state reps, etc.

Don’t want to run for office but still want to make a difference?

2. Volunteer!

The need in the US right now is great. Homelessness, poverty, illiteracy, suicide, health care, domestic violence, … and so much more.

Reach out to a church, school, hospital, social service agency, or contact your local office of the Red Cross, the Humane Society, the United Way, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, or any other non-profit organization and find out what you can do to make a difference.

Don’t sit at home and grumble about what is wrong. Be a part of making things right. You’ll feel less powerless and be making a difference.