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Author Archives: Author Steve Hanson

About Author Steve Hanson

Steve Hanson is the author of The Dax and Zippa Series, Monsters Midnight Feast, Wizards In The West, Butterflies Don't Chew Bubblegum and The Whens. View his Profile.

The Joy Of Milk

Glass Of Milk
My son loves milk.  When he starts to drink it, his whole face lights up… he is completely focused… he smacks and savors it… there is nothing in his world aside from milk when he’s drinking.

What a great way to live!  I’m inspired by his enthusiasm.  I adore his commitment.  He is 100% zen in the moment.  The tears are forgotten.  Worries don’t exist.  He is blissed out enjoying what he loves.  His passion flood his existence.

I hope as a parent I never rob him of this mentality.

The more I watch him, the more I think babies are born perfect.

Why I couldn’t be a writer at fourteen

Kid WritingIn English class when I was thirteen, we had to write a short (very short) novel.  Here is the blurb I wrote about myself for the cover:

Steve wrote this novel when he was in the eigth grade.  This is his first novel (or long story).  He enjoys writing, but doesn’t think he will be an author when he “grows up.”

If you liked this novel and want to read more novels by this author then you are stuck.  He hasn’t written any other others.

I feel very sad when I read that self description.  I hadn’t learned anything about creative writing, but I had already told myself it wasn’t for me… even though I loved it.

As easy as it is to simply sit down and write, emotionally it took ten years to master.  I needed to believe in myself enough to follow my passion.

Writing my first book was very cathartic. It helped me over come a lot of self-doubt…. my forcing myself to sit down and write I realized I was able to.  The only person who had been stopping me was me.

So be grateful for passion. Whatever your passion is, enjoy it and never it for granted….

My first fancy dessert

Chocolate Cake
When I was 17, my parents took me to my first fancy restaurant.  I had been to places that had beautiful place-settings… folded napkins… multiple forks… but I had never been to a place that saw food as an art form.

We ate foods on sticks that shouldn’t have been on sticks.  Everything was stacked on something with a different color sauce drizzled across and a spice dusting here or there.  I was inspired.  Why couldn’t our goulash look like this?

When the waiter asked if we wanted dessert, my sister and I made the cutest, saddest, hungriest eyes we could and my parents agreed to split a chocolate souffle with everyone.

I had never tried a souffle before, but the waiter assure me it would be like a “chocolate cake”… but cake didn’t even begin to describe the bliss.  The edges were crisp.  The cake was tender and delicate.  And the center was filled with a molten chocolate that leaked out like my fork had just hit a chocolate artery.  I was in heaven.

I had never eaten a dessert prepared so artistically before.  When the waiter asked if there was anything else he could get us, I joked that I wanted the recipe for that “cake.”  He agreed and hurried off to the kitchen.

What had I done?  The conversation around the table turned to hushed inquiries about if the recipe was free or I had just added thousands of dollars to the bill.  As the waiter approached the table, my parents asked how much the recipe cost.  They happened to give out two recipes on the menu and this was one of them.  (I must not be the only person who loved that cake!).  So here is the Chocolate Souffle Recipe that almost got me seriously grounded.  I have never been able to re-create it like they did, but it is still delicious.

Chocolate Souffle Recipe

6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
4 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate
¼ cup Sugar
1¼ Tbsp Corn Starch
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together. Add the melted butter-chocolate mixture to the sugar mixture and combine thoroughly with a wire whisk. Stir in the eggs and whisk just until smooth. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 4 metal rings (about 2.75 inches across and 2 inches high) with greased parchment paper. (Alternative, use 6 smaller molds.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set the molds on the sheet. Scoop the mixture into the molds so they are two-thirds full, and make sure the molds are not leaking.

Bake on the top oven rack for 20 minutes or until there is about a nickel/dime sized center of uncooked batter.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and while holding each mold with tongs, slide a metal spatula underneath, carefully lift, and transfer to a serving plate. Gently lift off the mold and remove the parchment paper. Serve immediately.

How do you overcome adversity?

Moving Box
My wife and I live a drama-free life with stable friends because we both thrive off of peaceful environments.  But this summer we had a horrible month where everything went wrong.  Basically we had to move twice and lost a lot of money in the process.

I know this is a zero on the human tragedy scale, but I’m fortunate to consider it a bad event in my life.  I’ve struggled to move on because a part of me still wants to sue everyone possible. I know that isn’t the answer, so here are some ideas that helped me move on and find closure.

Do you want happiness or justice?  I’m upset because I still feel wronged, but justice isn’t happiness.  I could challenge a lot of this in court and potentially get some money back — but would that money bring me happiness? Probably not. The money feels important now but it’s just small change compared to a lifetime of working. Plus, a court case would draw everything out and rob me of time with my family (which is far more valuable).

How does the adversity affect you now?  All of this was hard at the time and made for a stressful month, but it doesn’t affect me now.  I can choose to be happy now.  I still have a lovely family, friends, job, roof over my head, etc. 

What do you love to do?  What dreams do you have?  What excites you?  What makes your life feel fulfilled?  When I think about these questions, each of them becomes a concrete path to long-term happiness.  Whenever I feel myself dwelling on last month, I try to focus on my dreams instead.

What “unhappiness triggers” are around you?  I had letters, bills, documents, notes pertaining to that month and every time I walked passed them they reminded me of the whole ordeal and my mind jumped into an endless loop of despair…  so I buried them deep in a box.  I don’t want to be constantly reminded of that month. I replaced that stack of papers with a picture my wife had drawn for me.

I hope these ideas can help because they were useful to me. But mostly, I hope the adversity in your life is as painless and fleeting as mine was.

I rediscovered Baby Steps while dancing

Ruler
This week while dancing, I started at one end of the room with tiny (like an inch or two!) consistent steps.  At first I didn’t think much about them… I had finished a whirlwind of chaotically quick songs and was ready to catch my breath.

I was surprised when the song ended because I was almost at the other side of the room.  How did that happen?  I had been staring at the floor and barely moving my feet!  That’s when the power of “baby steps” really sunk in.  Unclimbable mountains are conquerable as long as you focus on the tiny step at hand… instead of the great distance to the other side of the  room.

For me, this will change how I approach writing.  I sometimes get overwhelmed by the thought of creating a whole new book from scratch, so I drag my feet (and get a lot of household chores done!).  However, now I am energized to keep giving it my best every day.  I don’t need to write a whole book today… just an inch of it… and before I know it the other side of the room will be within reach.

Remember to use your five senses

Double Rainbow
Great news! We all have five senses, so why do we forget to use them?

I’m amazed how often I pound down my dinner without even tasting it, drive to work without stopping near a grove of red maple leaves, or turn on background music without realizing it’s on.  (That last one might be for the better considering it’s Yanni.)

Our senses are our only immediate connection to the physical world, so it’s a shame we don’t use actually them…. I think it’s because our brains run a muck.  They tell us we need to get to places faster or that it’s more efficient to pick up food that doesn’t even taste that good.  That way we can focus on what the brain wants us to do more.  We’re so busy listening to our brains that we forget about the beautiful world we live in.

I’m sick of it.  The last year, I have started to follow my senses.  I have slowed down and eaten a peach with my eyes closed so I could really taste the juice.  I stopped and watched a double rainbow on the drive home.  I went hiking and heard the crunch of the Earth below me.  Not only does my time feel more meaningful and ceremonious when I listen to my senses, but I feel more relaxed.  I feel more in sync with what it means to be a human.

So cook your favorite meal, eat it at your dining room table and put your fork down throughout the meal… let me know what you think….

What we can learn from peek-a-boo

Peek a boo
My son has just started to sort of play peek-a-boo.  As an adult, it’s hard to believe he actually thinks I vanish when I pull the blanket over my face.  (And what a scary world it must be if everything disappears forever when you turn your head!)

But peek-a-boo got me thinking about a hard time in my life after college.  I had moved to a new city.  I was unhappy.  I was lonely.  In many ways, it felt like all of my friends — my whole world in fact — had disappeared.  The only time it would reappear was the weekend when I would drive a few hours to see old friends.

I may have learned that objects exist when I closed my eyes, but emotionally I hadn’t mastered the game of peek-a-boo.  I felt happiest on the weekends when I was back with familiar friends and places.  It was hard for me to keep that joy and positivity the rest of the week when the blanket was pulled over my head.

Peek-a-boo has made me realize that friends and family are always there to help… and that you’re rarely alone when communication is so easily accessible.  You just have to remember to have meaningful, real conversations — not status updates about the toast you had for breakfast (which happened to be a bit dry, by the way).

What to do when loosing hope about writing

Cash Register
Sometimes I look at my writing career compared to JK Rowling or Tolkien and wonder, “What’s the point?”.  When we started indie-publishing, I figured books just flew off the shelf — you just had to finish them.  I’ve been surprised by how much work it takes to get the word out about new books (but I’m glad I didn’t know how much effort it took or I may have never started).

In the pit of marketing despair I always realize that I’m am upset because I was excited about writing for the wrong reasons.  I love writing because I love to write…. I think of all the happy memories writing in the Wellington Library, my black lazy-boy chair and now with my son sleeping on my lap.  That’s why I write… and that’s also why you should do anything.

If you tie your happiness to goals you don’t have much control over (like getting everyone to like you), then you’re bound to be miserable.  But if you tie your happiness to things you can work towards (like deciding to write every night), life becomes a lot more enjoyable…. and it’s much easier to get through the harder times!