Space Junque Goes To The Galaxy Express
Heather Massey has done a unique and interesting piece on Space Junque that focuses on the self-published aspect. The Galaxy Express is one of my favorite sites, and Space Junque might be the first purely indie book Heather has talked about there.
She’s a marvelous critic, and I love what she has to say.
Jane Austen Fight Club – Reprise
Remember this? I was in the mood to watch it again…
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies – omg
A few months ago, I drove down to Santa Clara for a Saturday deposition (in my other life, I’m a court reporter). Desperate for a fix, I asked GPS for the nearest place to get coffee which led me to a shop I’d never heard of which says more about me than about the coffee house.
I was instantly impressed by my utter lack of cool quotient when I walked in. Ordering was problematic. No! You can’t have 3 shots! You can have 4 shots or 2 shots! (Does the Soup Nazi do their menu planning?)
I ended up with four shots in 16 ounces — but the barista promised me it would be good.
Oh.Em.Gee. Best latte I have ever had in my life.
But I digress! The other best thing evah — I picked up some cookies that looked just like this: 
Probably because they were exactly these cookies! Satura Salty Chocolates. I’d never heard of them either. I life a sheltered life!
Oh, oh, oh. So good. Turns out they are made in Hawaii and the Bay Area but nowhere to be found as far inland as I. It also turns out there is no recipe available anywhere on the internet (that I can find).
I’ve been thinking about these cookies ever since. Finally, in desperation, I made up a recipe — and it turned out pretty close!
In one bowl, cream together 3 cubes sticks of butter and 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla (I always put too much vanilla in stuff) and beat till fluffy.
Dry ingredients:
In another bowl, blend: 3 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup best quality unsweetened cocoa powder you can get your hands on.
Chop to consistency you like: 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 – 3/4 cup macadamia nuts (roasted and salted ones will taste best). Add both to flour mixture and blend well.
Mix the dry ingredients into the buttercream. Then roll the dough into logs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for as long as you can stand it. (having had these cookies once, you’ll want to forego the chill and go straight to bake. DO NOT DO THIS)
When the dough has chilled, slice with a very sharp thin-bladed knife (you’ll run into beastly nuts that want to divert your blade) and arrange on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.
= = = = = =
And now, a word: Treat yourself like the queen you were always meant to be. Hie thee to Sur La Table and procure parchment paper, good chocolate, and good cocoa for your kitchen. Good tools make good work!
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving!
I know I should work on you-know-what today — and I will. But I might get some reading in too.
This year, my crowd has rescheduled our Thanksgiving gluttony to Saturday. But our friend from England is making dinner for us all later this evening. There will be wine tasting.
Meanwhile, I’m going to have a lazy day eating mandarin oranges and drinking lattes from my Nespresso machine. And yes, spending delicious unbroken time with Char + Jake and Durga + Khai.
Good times.
Flaming Dove by Daniel Arenson
I just finished a huge project in my day job. By “huge” I mean it will pay enough so that I can take the next few weeks off work entirely to finish Spiderwork!
For everyone waiting impatiently, here is a treat — Daniel Arenson’s Flaming Dove might be just the thing for you.
I hate pitches that start with “what if” — but for this book, it’s perfect: What if the battle of Armageddon came and nobody won?
Laila’s mother is an angel. Her father is a demon. As the war between angels and demons endures, the external conflict matches the one raging in Laila’s mixed blood.
Divine or damned? Soldier or spy? If Armageddon couldn’t end the struggle, what can?
I haven’t read Flaming Dove yet — though it’s in my Kindle — because it feels too close to the world of In Flagrante Apocalypto and I fear cross-pollination, ha. But it’s getting great reviews.
From Amazon:
This was an absolutely fantastic book. I really really enjoyed it. I loved it so much I kept quoting it to my wife. Beelzebub was one of my favorite characters.
Beelzebub! Man, if I weren’t deep in Spiderwork I’d be all over this one!
Red Adept Reads Space Junque!
Now this is very cool. Red Adept, one of the premier review sites for ebooks, is starting a new feature, presenting the opening of books in audio form — and Red read Space Junque as her first book!
Space Junque Goes To 100 Stars Or Less
What a lovely surprise! Being an obsessive author, I check SJ’s reviews over at Goodreads from time to time. Today I came upon a review which is cross-posted at 100 Stars Or Less.
She liked the book, but again the complaint that Space Junque isn’t long enough. It’s a novella! (to quote Zoe Winters, ha)
But now I’m wondering if it shouldn’t have been a novella. Maybe someday I’ll put out an extended version, a second edition.
When I can find the time. (<– joke)
Vote at Red Adept
Red Adept is having a contest over at her fantastic review blog.
Don’t know about Red Adept? Read this interview with Simon Royle for the story!
But back to ME.
There’s a fun contest going on among authors and readers over at Red’s site. The entrants have posted eulogies and obituaries of characters from their books or books they like, and we need you to vote on the best one.
Personally, I thought #2 was lovely. I’ve actually started on DA Boulter’s Courtesan (promise to self: As soon as Spiderwork is out, take a week to read some books!) and it’s great!
However! It’s war now with another contestant, Jason Letts, a/k/a foreverjuly, putative “king of the internet”. Boo! Vote for #5, not #3!
Space Junque Goes To Indie Paranormal Book Reviews
Space Junque received a lovely review from Indie Paranormal Book Reviews. Michelle is a close and careful reader, and I was so pleased that she enjoyed the novella. From the review:
Space Junque is action-packed from the beginning. There is always something going on to keep your interest. The paranormal aspect starts to come in about halfway through the book when we meet the goddess Asherah and this is where my interest definitely picked up. I still enjoyed it up until that point, but what can I say? I like my paranormal. Did I get my shapeshifter? Yeah, sort of, just not quite what I expected. I’m still trying to figure them out.
Heh-heh.
This is the problem and the prize with Space Junque. The series, In Flagrante Apocalypto, is about the world after everything changes, but Space Junque happens during the change, when things go from normal to paranormal. Though Space Junque’s central events happen while the main characters are in orbit, the series doesn’t go to space again.
Spiderwork, Bleeder, and the two novels I’ve planned after Bleeder take place in the changed world after the apocalypse. The people remember the old world inundated with technology and things like space flight, but that world exists only in memory. In the new reality, the veil between physical and metaphysical is tenuous. Things cross over.
Especially the shapeshifters.
Becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Winters
I bought Zoe Winters’s new guide to independent publishing because I buy all her books. I thought I’d pick up a few tips — after all, Zoe is among the most successful indies today. She must be doing something right!
I was wrong. I picked up way more than a “few” tips.
This won’t be a long review. It’s an easy decision to make: If you want to publish independently, buy this book. The $2.99 you spend will save you an exponential amount in mistakes avoided, even if you never sell a book.
But the thing is, if you read this guide it’s more likely that you will sell books. Zoe shows you how to ensure that you have a book worth buying in the first place, and then how to let people know about it.
Part motivational, part practical, and all necessary. Though I’ve already published one book I’ll be referring to it again when Spiderwork comes out. I’m glad I bought Becoming an Indie Author.
Ode to Iain Glen
Oh, my.
Iain Glen – who I adored in Wives and Daughters and is wonderful in anything and everything — is going to be in Game of Thrones.
Now, I will admit that I have never read the Martin opus. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to drool over the HBO production coming up. I have no idea if the character Iain plays (Ser Jorah Mormont) gets killed off right away. Hope not!
Author Photo
This is me.
What you expected?