Engage & Inspire

Would you like to engage with me and provide inspiration for a future story? Perhaps immortalize a family recipe or story in a Deanna's Darlings cookbook. 

Use the link below to submit a family story that you think would be a great inspiration for one of my small-town/farm family books. My next series is going to center around a multigenerational farming family, specifically fruit orchards, but I am going to have lots of other farming/small-town characters, so your stories can be pretty broad. 

I will also be adding featured comfort food recipes in the back matter of the books. I am specifically looking for apple, peach, and berry recipes, but I will accept any as they will help make our reading community cookbook more well-rounded. For example, Mary submitted a cinnamon roll recipe and shared how she adds chopped nuts and apples to it. It is very simple to make, and will definitely be making it in one of the books as others really need to have this recipe.

 Each submission used will be acknowledged on the acknowledgments page. The stories will be adapted and fictionalized, and names will be changed. 

As the series nears completion (hopefully by Christmas 2025), I will be compiling the recipes submitted into a community cookbook. Each recipe will acknowledge the family submitting, their general geographical location, and include any family memory notated in the submission as appropriate. 

Family Recipes: https://forms.gle/B22C4Dvzp5fjvsD3A

Family Stories: https://forms.gle/96uhEDwKZCVVQZ776

*Note: By submitting a family story or recipe, you are acknowledging that you have rights to the story and recipe (didn't steal it from someone else or take it from another published book/cookbook), and you are giving me permission to use it in my books. No author credit or royalties will be due to the submitters or their families.