JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Jan Hinds, author of Breads: Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 8

Breads: Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 8 is a compilation of family recipes collected from five generations. The series is my effort to preserve and share these recipes so they don’t become lost.

I have also included a bread baking tutorial in the front of the book to help novice bakers to overcome. The cookbooks in this series are also peppered with tidbits from the lives of the cooks who loved these recipes enough to save them.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write “Breads (Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 8)”?

Jan Hinds: I have collected recipes for many years and often had to sift through several recipe boxes or files to find the ones I wanted to prepare. Having them as an ebook makes it so much easier to find what I want.

Then I became friends with a couple of ladies who had special family recipes that they refused to share with anyone else. Since I’ve always freely shared the recipes I loved, it got me to thinking, what if I never shared them? What if my kids didn’t want to prepare them? Would the things I love get lost and discarded?

To me when you cook and share something you love, it is a gift of love. Breads: Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 8 is my way of sending a little of my love out into the world.

JP: What sets “Breads (Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 8)” apart from other books in the same genre?

JH: One of the main features that distinguishes Not So Secret Family Recipes is the little snapshots of the lives of those who the recipes came from. The other feature is the tutorials and cooking tips I’ve included. The beauty of this family cooking is that you don’t have to be a culinary master to duplicate them. You won’t find too many cooking terms that you don’t recognize in my cookbooks.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to “Breads (Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 8)” getting out to the public?

JH: The greatest key to success of an author is the recommendation of a friend. Breads has received good reviews and has been a fairly consistent with sales on its own merit. I was interviewed by the Cook’s Corner for our local paper last spring and sent a press release to announce my first fiction book Sneaking Suspicions which is the first book in The Tharon Trace Mysteries. The press release also mentioned my cookbook series. By far though, the best success comes from the recommendations of readers.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish “Breads (Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 8)”?

JH: For the cookbook series, I have sorted through the recipes and have quite a few more planned. I enter the recipes into my computer file. I test and photograph the recipes. If the cookbook warrants a tutorial, I add that, along with any history or background about the cooks. It probably took about two months to finish Breads.

JP: What’s next for Jan Hinds?

JH: I am currently revising the final draft of Scales of Darkness (The Tharon Trace Mysteries Book 2) and plan to publish a print version of Pies: Not So Secret Family Recipes Book 1 which will include recipes from my Aunt Jeanne Kump who passed away a couple of years ago. My cousin loaned me three recipe boxes full of her favorite recipes to preserve for posterity.

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“My books are all available through Amazon.com through the free Kindle reader app. It is distributed worldwide through Amazon affiliates. I hope to have Breads available in paperback by Thanksgiving of 2014.” ~ Jan Hinds

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