Sunday Quote prepares for a family visit
Read More“No two persons ever read the same book.” ~ Edmund Wilson
Going Big Time
I had a big ol’ pile of links the other day and today I return with even more. I mean, whoa. The attention this week. My mind is all…
Review of Clockwork Crown at NPR.org. …”Although Crown operates on a sprawling scale, it’s impeccably paced and compact, making for a potent conclusion to Cato’s rousing steampunk tale as well as a study in how less can be so much more.”
My post at John Scalzi’s Big Idea: Healers are heroes too, darnit.
Over at Bookish I have a list of five diverse steampunk books.
The Hook: The Clockwork Crown at Alex Shvartsman’s blog.
Wednesday morning I was interviewed by Professor Terry Lovell at KYCA out of Prescott. For a limited time, you can listen to that here. [Note: I was SO NERVOUS doing the interview but I made it through! I think I earned a piece of the Triforce for that.]
The wonderful David Nilsen at the Greenville, Ohio, Public Library invited me back to the Fourth & Sycamore blog with an interview and excerpt.
Wag the Fox interviewed me at Heavy Is the Steampunk That Wears the Crown: an interview with Beth Cato, author of “The Clockwork Crown.”
Romantic Tension in The Clockwork Crown at Coffee Time Romance.
Bready or Not: Tunnel of Fudge Cake (redux)
The Clockwork Crown is out! YAAAAAY! Now here’s the cake to celebrate. THE cake. The infamous Tunnel of Fudge Cake.
I originally posted this back in May 2012. I figured that for this splendiferous occasion, it deserved a repost. This is one of the most amazing cakes I have ever encountered. I mean, LOOK AT IT.
You just gained five pounds by looking at that picture. I’m sorry.
To quote my original post:
As you can see, it’s a bundt cake. It cooks up and creates its own middle layer of fudge inside. When the cake is fresh, it oozes out in an amazing way. After it has been in the fridge, honestly, it tastes even better. The middle solidifies so it’s like there are two layers of fudgy frosting, one on the inside and one on the outside. You also have this whole mingling of textures thing going on: cakey chocolate, fudgy chocolate, chocolate glaze, walnuts, chocolate, chocolate, chhhhhhocolate.
If you don’t like nuts or have allergies–sorry, this cake really does need them. I think they provide some scaffolding for the massive quantities of chocolate.
I can add some experience from making this a few times, too. The leftovers are easy to handle. Line a small pan with wax paper. Slice the cake however you want and place the pieces on the pan. Freeze them. Bag them. When you want to serve a slice, remove from freezer and zap it in the microwave until it’s as thawed or hot as you want.
Recipe is adapted from Relish Magazine, and originally in Bundt Cake Bliss by Susanna Short.
Bready or Not: Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder sifted
- 1 3/4 cups white sugar
- 1 3/4 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 cups walnuts or pecans, chopped
Glaze:
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder sifted
- 2 - 3 tablespoons milk or half and half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan. One option is to melt 1tablespoon butter, mix 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder into it, then brush the sides of the bundt pan. Or use nonstick spray or butter and sprinkle flour or cocoa powder into the pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine flour and cocoa powder and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and mix thoroughly. Stir in flour mixture by hand until well blended. Gently stir in nuts. Batter will be thick and rather mud-like. Spoon all of the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is set and the edges begin to pull away from sides of pan. Do NOT use the toothpick test. You don't want the center to solidify with this cake.
- Cool cake upright in the pan on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours to allow fudge to set. Invert onto a plate to cool thoroughly. Make sure the cake is completely cool before you add the glaze.
- To prepare glaze, combine sifted confectioners' sugar and cocoa. Add 2 tablespoons milk. Mix thoroughly, and add more milk if needed to create a smooth but pourable glaze. Spoon glaze over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides.
- This can be eaten fresh but is even better after being in the fridge overnight. The chocolate flavor deepens. It can also be frozen in slices and thawed/warmed in microwave.
- OM NOM NOM and take an insulin injection.
Release Day! I am Everywhere!
YOU GUYS. The book is out and through the miracle of the internet I have duplicated myself to be on All the Web Sites to promote the release. Actually, all these links are proof of months of work but that’s all really boring to talk about. There is so much love out there because I’m totally ignoring the haters as much as I can. My feelings are so deep and complicated, I can only express myself in cat gifs.
Ahem. That done, here’s the full proof of my presence everywhere!
First of all, today I have an Ask me Anything on reddit/Fantasy! Drop by and ask me questions. There’s also still an open topic on Goodreads where you can pose questions for the Sword and Laser broadcast.
My friend Lauren the Flute recorded a gorgeous rendition of “Pure Land” from the Secret of Mana soundtrack in honor of my book’s release!
Guest blogs:
My Favorite Bit in The Clockwork Crown: Gremlins at Mary Robinette Kowal’s site
Special Needs in Strange Worlds: Beth Cato (THE CLOCKWORK CROWN) on Sensory Overload
Seven Reasons to Read (and Write) Steampunk by Beth Cato at Bent Over Books
Picture association with Clockword Crown author Beth Cato at Sara Dobie Bauer’s Blog
My Superpower: BAKING at Skiffy and Fanty
The Most Wonderful, Agonizing Secret: Waiting to Announce a Book Deal at David Walton’s Blog
Interviews:
At Kings River Life. Also includes a review and a giveaway for Clockwork Crown!
With the Qwillery
SF Signal interview!
Wheeeee! Book! Buy it! Pretty please?
The Clockwork Crown is Out!
Today’s the day! The Clockwork Crown is out! This is the second book in the Clockwork Dagger Duology.
What’s it about? Where can you buy it? Well…
Narrowly surviving assassination and capture, Octavia Leander, a powerful magical healer, is on the run with handsome Alonzo Garrett, the Clockwork Dagger who forfeited his career with the Queen’s secret society of spies and killers—and possibly his life—to save her. Now, they are on a dangerous quest to find safety and answers: Why is Octavia so powerful? Why does she seem to be undergoing a transformation unlike any witnessed for hundreds of years?
The truth may rest with the source of her mysterious healing power—the Lady’s Tree. But the tree lies somewhere in a rough, inhospitable territory known as the Waste. Eons ago, this land was made barren and uninhabitable by an evil spell, until a few hardy souls dared to return over the last century. For years, the Waste has waged a bloody battle against the royal court to win its independence—and they need Octavia’s powers to succeed.
Joined by unlikely allies, including a menagerie of gremlin companions, she must evade killers and Clockwork Daggers on a dangerous journey through a world on the brink of deadly civil war.
Amazon Barnes & Noble Powell’s Books-A-Million Poisoned Pen Changing Hands Mysterious Galaxy
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