Greetings, Friends!

I hope the new year finds you well. I'm currently working on a sequel to The House That Cleans Itself called The Kitchen That Cleans Itself. To that end, I'd love to get your answers to the following questions when you have a moment.

1. What "kitchen mess" problem in your house would you love to find a solution for? (For example: Dishes that pile up in the sink, mail and other papers that end up all over the counter.)

2. What activities take place in your kitchen that aren't food related? (For example: Kids doing homework at the kitchen table.)

3. What solutions have you found that help your kitchen stay cleaner? (For example: I keep a package of granite wipes in an easily-accessible drawer.)

Please send your responses to mindystarnsclark@aol.com, or simply post as a comment to this blog.

Thanks so much!

Update

Recently, a Consensus member wrote to ask some follow-up questions about the results of one of my inquiries. It struck me that she probably wasn't the only one who was intersted in how I end up using the responses that I get from y'all. Therefore, in the future I'll try to post pertinent follow-up info on previous questions here, though sometimes, of course, the follow-up won't show up on this blog for a long, long time. (Sometimes, there can be a year or more between my asking y'all a question and the release of the book that the question was for.)

For today, I'd thought I'd let you know how I ended up using your answers in my latest mystery, Secrets of Harmony Grove:

1. I put out a call for clever advertising slogans and their related products. What a hoot! This one set of responses alone reminded me of what an incredibly creative group of people you are. I had so much fun with that. The "winner" came from Julie Koehn, who suggested a women's clothing line of sporting wear with the slogan, "In It To Win It." In my original plot outline, the slogan was more prominent than it ended up being in the final version of the book. I tend to overwrite with every book and then have to cut for space, but at least it made it in there.

2. I had also asked for suggestions in creating Harmony Grove. Though, again, I got a ton of clever replies, in the end I decided to simplify things by basing the entire grove on a single literary reference, the epic poem Metamorphoses by Ovid. I hope you've had a chance to read the book, which came out in October, and that you enjoyed the prominent part that the grove played in the book.

Y'all cannot imagine how much I appreciate your efforts on my behalf and how very useful your responses are to me.

Thanks again for ALL of your help.

My New Poll

Greetings, Consensus Friends!

Today's question is primarily for those of you who are familiar with my nonfiction book The House That Cleans Itself. My publisher and I have been talking about coming out with a series of books based on the HTCI principles, showing them in action in certain rooms, areas or categories, such as The House That Cleans Itself for the Kitchen, or The House That Cleans Itself for Newlyweds.

These books would be smaller (and less expensive) than the original, offering practical suggestions and solutions on a more specific basis.

For example, The House that Cleans Itself for the Kitchen might deal with how to handle the following:
- counter clutter
- cabinet organization
- food storage
- piles of papers
- homework at the kitchen table
- the kitchen that also serves as an entryway
- items that migrate there from other rooms
- trash and recycling
- large appliances
- small appliances
- bulletin boards/refrigerator magnets
-and more.

And The House that Cleans Itself for Newlyweds might discuss what to do about:
- too much furniture
- not enough furniture
- geegaws, keepsakes, and mementoes
- compromise and negotiation
- learning to live with each other's cleaning styles
- dividing the household chores
- setting up stations
- how to share a bathroom
- organizing hobby areas
- when there's not enough closet space
- how to acquire new furniture and other items the House That Cleans Itself way
-and more.

Given the above, I'm trying to decide what rooms, areas, or categories these various books should focus on. To the right, you should see a poll that I have added to this blog. Please take a moment to cast your vote(s), clicking on as many as apply.

If you can think of even more great ideas for books in this series that aren't listed in the poll, please post those as a comment here or email to me at mindy@mindystarnsclark.com. I also welcome requests for specific problem areas that you would like to see addressed, such as how to keep under-the-sink cabinets organized or what to do when you have too many books/Legos/mail order catalogs/etc.

Thanks so much for your input! This poll will remain open until Sept. 15th.

Blessings,
Mindy

Consensus Question for Gardeners and Tree Lovers

Hi Consensus friends, it’s time to put on your creative thinking caps.

In my next book, one character plants a large grouping of trees as a memorial to a woman he loved very much. As I am not exactly tree-savvy, I need help choosing the trees that he puts into this grove. I need trees that not only could grow in Lancaster County, PA, (zone 6) but that could also in some way be symbolic of different elements of her life. For example, he includes Spruce and Maple because she played the violin (which was made from Spruce and Maple.)

Already-determined elements that could be symbolized in tree form include:
• her birthplace (Germany)
• her race/religion/ethnicity (Jewish)
• a memory of something from her childhood (in Europe)

Variable elements (I haven’t decided on yet) that could be symbolized in tree form include:
• the color of her eyes
• a hobby she had
• a favorite place she liked to visit
• a pet
• something about her personality
• and so on

Aside from a few specific details, I’m still in the process of creating her and can incorporate almost anything about her or her life that would make sense and correlate well with a tree.

If you have any suggestions for trees in this memorial grove, please let me know! To answer privately, email me at Mindystarnsclark@aol.com. If you would like to answer publicly, feel free to post your response as a comment to this blog.

Have fun with it, and thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Mindy

Status: OPEN (Your replies are still needed.)

Greetings

This blog is for members of Consensus, which is author Mindy Starns Clark's online advisory board. Click here if you would like to sign up for Consensus and join the fun! If you are already a member of Consensus, there's nothing extra you need to do to participate.

Periodically, questions will be sent to the Consensus loop and posted here by Mindy; responses can be answered privately to the address specified in the loop email or publicly to this blog as a comment.

In general, comments will not receive a reply from Mindy, though she will read each comment and appreciates them all very much.

Thanks for your assistance--and enjoy!