I LIVE.
I survived World Fantasy Con and had an absolute blast. I managed to complete a Poem-A-Day and make slow progress on my Clockwork Crown copyedits even during the con, which made me feel like a real writer. Fun fact: real writers are also sleep-deprived.
The good news is that I mailed in my copyedits Sunday morning. Now I have a back log of other smaller projects to get done before I start work on a Top Secret Project that has a very tight deadline. It doesn’t look like I get to slack off for the holidays this year. I must do All the Things.One of the nifty things about being at a convention is that you get told about good news. I knew I had a reprint story that had been requested for inclusion in Twelfth Planet Press’s Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2013, but the full Table of Contents was announced the day I was mostly offline as I flew cross-country.
So I was pretty gobsmacked to find out I’m sharing the book with Neil Gaiman. And my story follows his. Gulp.
The full ToC:
Selkie Stories Are For Losers – Sofia Samatar
By Bone-Light – Juliet Marillier
The Myriad Dangers – Lavie Tidhar
Carpet – Nnedi Okorafor
I Gave You My Love by the Light of the Moon – Sarah Rees Brennan
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides – Sam J. Miller
The Minotaur Girls – Tansy Rayner Roberts
Not With You, But With You – Miri Kim
Ghost Town – Malinda Lo
December – Neil Gaiman
An Echo in the Shell – Beth Cato
Dan’s Dreams – Eliza Victoria
As Large As Alone – Alena McNamara
Random Play All and the League of Awesome – Shane Halbach
Mah Song – Joanne Anderton
What We Ourselves Are Not – Leah Cypess
The City of Chrysanthemum – Ken Liu
Megumi’s Quest – Joyce Chng
Persimmon, Teeth, and Boys – Steve Berman
Flight – Angela Slatter
We Have Always Lived on Mars – Cecil Castellucci
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The book should be out in just a few weeks! Pretty darn good note to end the year on, I think.
Read MoreRead More“You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two.” ~Hayao Miyazaki
I’m picky about my pound cakes. I like them moist. They should be soft, cushy, and spongy. Dry pound cakes? Bleh!
This pumpkin bundt cake is everything a pound cake should be. It’s tender and delicious without being sweet. The secret to the softness here is an entire box of pudding mix poured into the batter. Just as with cookie recipes, that pudding mix makes everything tender and chewy.
A slice of this cake doesn’t need anything to accompany it. You could serve this for a breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It keeps covered in the fridge for at least four days. I can’t vouch beyond that. It was all eaten.
Modified from Pumpkin Pound Cake at Sing for Your Supper.
Read More“You have to be ready to take a fair amount of criticism and rejection. For most writers, you can work for years, and then even if you sell it it’s like you threw it down a well.” ~George R. R. Martin (from August 2014 interview along with Robin Hobb)