CoKoCon is this coming weekend!
Note that this is updated from the previous post several weeks ago. I now have a signing on Sunday afternoon.
I’m attending my first in-person convention in about three years this Labor Day weekend. CoKoCon is a small con in the Phoenix area. This year, it’s at a new location at the DoubleTree in Tempe. I’ll be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and early Monday morning. Feel free to talk, ask to have books signed (which I’ll gladly do unless I’m on the run to a panel!), and generally hang out. I’ll be in a black mask, channeling my old favorite Mortal Kombat ninjas.
Panels are always subject to change; I’ll post any updates via Twitter and Facebook.
Friday, September 2
4:30pm Writing on the Spectrum
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Neurodiverse writers talk about how their unique filter on the world impacts their writing and about neurodiverse representation in books.
Saturday, September 3
10am Beth & Mike’s Book Club: The City We Became
Coronado, 10am – 11am
Michael Senft, who runs the Sci-Fridays Book Club at the Poisoned Pen, and Nebula Award®-nominated author, Beth Cato, will be leading a discussion on The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. Read or listen to it ahead of the event or come in blind, but beware of spoilers!
6pm Writing Speculative Poetry
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 6pm – 7pm
Join our award-winning poets as they discuss the craft and market for speculative poetry, and maybe even share some of their own award-winning work!
Sunday, September 4
1pm Literary Charcuterie
Coronado, 1pm – 2pm
Let’s talk about the glories of food in literature and reality and inspire everyone to scamper for the nearest cheese shop (and there are several near the hotel!)
2:30pm Signing: Beth Cato
Dealers’ Room, 2:30pm – 3:30pm
6pm Author Self-Care: Not Post-COVID Yet
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 6pm – 7pm
We’re back in person, but are we really back to normal? This popular panel returns in a world that still hasn’t gotten through the COVID times.
7:30pm Historical Fiction Meets Fantasy
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 7:30pm – 8:30pm
What is the proper proportion of facts with fiction when writing historical fantasy? What resources the perils and joys of research.
Read MoreBready or Not Original: Almond Graham Cookies
I’m a chewy cookie person. These Almond Graham Cookies fit that description nicely, being chewy, crisp, and perfectly sweet.
Graham cracker crumbs are integral to the cookies. You can buy a box and mash them yourself using a food processor or the old Ziplock bag-and-rolling-pin method or buy a container of the prepared crumbs. This recipe can be a good way to use up graham crackers you have idling in your cupboard (which is totally how I came about this recipe).
This is a fast cookie to mix up, too. For me, the longest step was sifting the almond flour, which I must do because it tends to clump badly. However, that’s also a step that can be done the day before.
Be ready to enjoy a lot of cookies. I used my teaspoon scoop for even measurements and got 52 cookies.
Bready or Not Original: Almond Graham Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
- teaspoon scoop
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup almond flour sifted
- 1 Tablespoon sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in graham cracker crumbs and almond flour until just combined.
- Use a teaspoon scoop or teaspoon to dole out dough onto the baking sheet, spaced to allow some spreading. Place a few almond slices atop each cookie.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until top is crackled. Let cookies set on baking sheet for about 10 minutes then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
OM NOM NOM!
New publications for spring!
I’m staying incredibly busy these days, and publishers are keeping busy, too. I’ve had a number of new works published of late! [Note that links to Amazon are through their affiliate program.]
Short stories
- “The Recipe Keeper,” Flash Fiction Online
- “How to Hide a Unicorn,” Untethered
- “More Than Nine,” Reinvented Heart
Poetry
- Four works nominated for the 2022 Rhysling Award and included in the anthology: long form “The Bookstore” and “Follow the Meandering Path”; short form “Field Trip to See the Mermaid” and “How to Find Yourself Again”
- “Let’s Enjoy the Stars One Last Time” and “Today,” Star*Line 45.1
- “Forget That,” Star*Line 45.2
Nonfiction
- “Joy Amidst the Sorrow,” Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving, Loss and Healing
#SFWAPro
Read MoreNew Publications Galore!
I’ve had a lot of works published in September and in recent days. Here’s the recap, and expect another post soon–I’ll have more things published in October!
– “Your Cat” at Daily Science Fiction. A tear-jerker about time travel and cats.
– “Shared Pain” in Nature. A story for those of us who deal with chronic pain.
– A story based on the letter H in the new anthology G is for Ghosts, just released on Tuesday, and available for purchase everywhere! My story features airships, floating islands, and spirits who just want to get home.
– Southwest Review Volume 106, No. 3, a prestigious literary magazine, just published my poem “The Exorcist Does a Consultation and No More” in their Halloween issue.
– Star*Line 44.3 includes my poem “Out of All the Experiences.”
– Issue 2 of Black Cat Magazine is available for free download, which features my poem “As if My Anxiety is at Last Depleted.”
– “But You Mustn’t Look Back,” a poem co-written with Rhonda Parrish, in the October 1st issue of The Dread Machine.
#SFWAPro
Read MoreBready or Not: Shortcut Overnight Sourdough Starter and Soft White Dinner Rolls using Sourdough Starter
It’s easy to make sourdough bread even if you don’t maintain a sourdough starter thanks to the shortcut on Bready or Not today. Use this Shortcut Overnight Sourdough Starter with any recipe, or to make the accompanying recipe for Soft White Dinner Rolls using Sourdough Starter!
A lot of people maintained a sourdough ‘mother’ during 2020. A lot of people no longer do. Maintaining a starter takes effort, and it’s easy to forget to feed or discard as necessary.
That’s why these recipes today are so great. With a day of planning, you can whip up 1 cup of starter. Use it to make rolls, or anything else that requires 1 cup of starter.
Then, ta-da! You get delicious bread, and without the fuss of a starter.
These rolls are fantastic, too. My husband declared them to be about the best homemade bread ever, which is really saying something.
Bready or Not: Shortcut Overnight Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- large jar or medium bowl
- plastic wrap or towel
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a jar or bowl; make sure the starter has room to grow, as it will double in size! Cover with plastic wrap or towel, and let sit at room temperature overnight. Use in baking the next day.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Soft White Dinner Rolls using Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- kitchen scale
- basting brush
- 2 cake pans or rimmed baking sheet
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 2/3 cup milk or half & half warmed (no higher than 110-degrees)
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (half stick) melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup sourdough discard about 8 oz
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more if needed
Top
- olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together yeast, sugar and warm milk and let sit for a few minutes to activate. Add the cooled-down melted butter followed by the sourdough discard, salt, and cornstarch. If using a stand mixer, switch to a bread hook as the flour is added, a cup at a time, adding more as necessary to reach a soft, workable consistency. The dough should no longer be super-sticky and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Continue to knead for another 5 minutes using a mixer, or up to 10 minutes by hand.
- Add some olive oil to the bowl. Rolls the dough to coat it completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel to let rise until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours; this will take longer if the starter was cold.
- Cut parchment to fit in two 9-inch cake pans or for a rimmed baking rim. Apply nonstick spray on pan and paper.
- Turn out the dough onto the counter and punch it down. Use a kitchen scale to weigh the dough, then divide it into 16 equal portions. Keep a saucer with some water in it nearby to dab in fingers to smooth the dough into a round–the dough may be sticky! Set in prepared pans, giving each roll some space to rise again.
- Cover rolls and set in a warm place for the 2nd rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.
- Preheat at 350-degrees. Bake for 11 minutes, rotate pans, then bake for another 11 to 15 minutes. The tops should be golden; a digital thermometer discreetly plunged into a middle roll should be over 190-degrees.
- Immediately brush melted butter over the tops. Let cool at least 10 minutes before eating. Leftover rolls keep well sealed at room temperature or in the freezer, but they must be eaten hot.
OM NOM NOM!
Come to the Online Book Club Meeting this Sunday!
On Sunday September 19th, my collection Red Dust and Dancing Horses will be discussed in a virtual book club meeting on Facebook that is conducted by the wonderful Madame Askew. The event will happen at 4:30 MST. Buy the book ahead of time (if you don’t have it already) and join in on the discussion! I’ll be there to answer questions.
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