Birthday bash - day 6! Timothy Schaffert shares a drink recipe...

Today's lovely guest is Timothy Schaffert... Welcome!

About the author:
Timothy Schaffert grew up on a farm in Hamilton County, Nebraska, and attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln as an undergraduate. He holds the MFA in creative writing from the University of Arizona. His short stories have appeared in Prairie Schooner, The Greensboro Review, Press, Natural Bridge, and other literary journals. His novel, The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters, was published by Blue Hen, a division of Penguin Putnam, and won the Nebraska Book Award for Fiction in 2003. His second novel, The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God, was published by Unbridled Books, as was his third, Devils in the Sugar Shop (2007). He has served as Editor of The Reader and Omaha Pulp, two arts and culture newsweeklies in Omaha. He is also the Director of the Omaha Lit Fest. Find Timothy online at his website, timothyschaffert.com.

From Timothy:

Dry, Dry Summer Martini

Keep a jug of Gilbey's gin in the freezer (it's cheaper than the higher-end gins, but just as tasty for those of us with gin-ruined taste buds). Put some ice in a martini glass. (Some bartenders recommend ice and water in the glass to chill it more completely; I'm no scientist, but the ice alone seems to do a quicker, more efficient job of it.) While the glass is chilling, spear some olives and/or onions. (Fancy glass swizzle sticks can maul the olive or onion, so stick with the decidedly unflashy and grandfatherly toothpick.) (I tend to prefer onions, which renders your martini into its slightly less glamorous sister, a gibson, but most people won't know, so choose your condiment wantonly.) Pour out the ice (or not... martinis on the rocks are technically served in a highball glass, but be a libertine and buck tradition), then pour in the gin. Add literally the teensiest drop of dry vermouth, for the sake of ceremony. (The foul vermouth was introduced to the martini back in the days when gin was even more foul. But now gins are of a finer blend, and require no flavor enhancer/disguiser.) (Some bartenders insist that a classic martini calls for half gin, half vermouth, an act of civil disobedience, as I see it.) Turn on some Blossom Dearie or Maude Maggart on the hi-fi, unknot your necktie, and sip.

Giveaway!
Thanks to Unbridled Books, here's a 3-pack of Timothy's books for one lucky winner! Enter if you live in the US (no PO Boxes, please). To enter, comment--martinis: shaken or stirred? Yup, Bond fan here. Alternately, if you don't drink, share your favorite Bond. I'm very partial to Daniel Craig. Then again, I liked him before he did the Bond movies... Yummm... As usual, +1 for following, +2 for sharing. Giveaway ends 6:00pm CST June 22nd.