Forthcoming anthologies to preorder
This is a rough time for the publishing industry and authors, period. Many bookstores are closed or operating in different ways. New releases are not getting much attention. Readers have other priorities for their time and money. Authors are struggling to focus, promote, and write. The actual publishing process is in a bad way, with warehouses closed because of sickness and paper imports from China greatly curtailed.
I want to highlight four forthcoming anthologies that have preorder links available. If you can’t budget to buy new books, you can always request your local library to carry them. And always, reviews on places like Amazon and Goodreads are a huge help.
First up, on May 26th, Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas is released by Tyche Books. PIRATE CATS. This is an anthology all about PIRATE CATS. How awesome is that?! A release day party will be held on Facebook. Find out about that here and participate in the event for a chance to win door prizes.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats will be released in print and ebook on July 7th, 2020. (Release was pushed back a month.) I’ve had stories in a lot of Chicken Soup cat books, but this will be my first story about my ‘new’ cats–with this one all about my brilliant ginger trickster, Finn.
Also out on July 7th: The Book of Dragons will be a beautiful, fully-illustrated (by Rovina Cai!) hardcover release from Harper Voyager, edited by Jonathan Strahan. I’ve already read it in galley form, and let me tell you the blunt truth: this is one of the most solid anthologies released in recent years. It includes my first solicited poem, “Make Me a Dragon.” I wrote it while very angry. I am betting a lot of people will relate to the mood.
On October 20th, Titan Books will release the Escape Pod Science Fiction Anthology. The table of contents for this book blows me away. I’m still stupefied that I was invited to take part. My story is very much a signature Beth Cato kind of thing, science fiction with a dose of fantasy plus a cantankerous felizard (that’s part feline, part lizard) that threatens to steal the show.
#SFWAPro
Read MoreBready or Not Original: Cookie Butter and Jelly Bars
Cookie butter and Jelly Bars! These things are soft and chewy, creating a whole casserole dish-worth of luscious goodies.
As often as I’ve advocated for cookie butter on Bready or Not, it seems people are always discovering it for the first time. Lucky you! It’s essentially pulverized cookies in spreadable form.
You can find generic versions or Biscoff brand at places like Walmart, Target, and Sprouts, and Trader Joe’s is famous for their Speculoos jars.
In these bars, cookie butter adds incredible softness and amps up the cookie flavor. That’s right, it has this weird ability to make cookies taste more like cookies.
Use whatever jelly or jam or preserves you want. Try not to spread it to the very edge, as it can be very sticky on the foil, even if it’s well-greased.
Bready or Not Original: Cookie Butter and Jelly Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups creamy cookie butter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 13 ounce jelly or preserves or jam, about 1 1/2 cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a big bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping bottom of bowl as necessary. Follow up with the eggs, vanilla, and cookie butter, until blended.
- Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder.
- Spread about 2/3 of the batter in the prepared pan. Spread the jelly but not quite to the edges. Dollop the remaining dough all over the top.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the surface is golden and not jiggly, with the middle passing the toothpick test.
- Cool completely at room temperature or in the fridge. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board to parcel into bars. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers, either in the fridge or on the counter.
OM NOM NOM!
New publications to start off May
The publishing industry slogs onward, rejecting works with as much fervor as ever… with the occasional acceptance offered for variety. Plenty of things are still being published, too. Here is my latest:
Podcast:
– “Clouds Gleam Across Her Eyes” (reprint) was read by Tina Connolly at Toasted Cake as part of the Run of Hope
Poetry
– “The Girl Who Survived” in Mirror Dance
– “he scores” co-written with Rhonda Parrish in Star*Line 43.2
– watch me awkwardly read my previously-published “Wayfaring King” in Cuttlefish Poetry Reading, Episode 2 over on YouTube
#SFWAPro
Read MoreBready or Not: Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars
April’s lemon theme lingers into May with this week’s luscious Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars.
These things rely fully on lemons, no bottled lemon extract or flavor required. Get a lot of lemons. You need 6, maybe 7 medium or small lemons, or 4 giant lemons. Better to have leftover zest or juice rather than not enough.
This dough is incredibly fun to work with, too. Thanks to the cornstarch with the flour, the result is soft and pliable like Play-Doh.
Most recipes I post that include glaze require the baked good to be completely cool first. Not so here. Make the glaze as soon as the dish is baked and put it on promptly. That means the glaze melts a bit after it’s spread on top, fusing with the bars.
With so much lemon infused into these bars, these things ends up smelling so summer and fresh, and the taste…! If you love lemon, these shortbread bars are totally for you.
Bready or Not: Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup finely shredded lemon zest from 4 giant lemons or about 6 large lemons
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract use clear extract if available, as regular will tint glaze a bit
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 300-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.
- In another bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon zest. Using fingers, break apart the zest within the sugar to distribute the threads and release the oils. The result should be more yellow in coloration and quite fragrant.
- In a big bowl, beat together the butter, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla extract until it becomes creamy, scraping bowl as needed. Gradually mix in the sugar and zest. Slowly work the flour/cornstarch mix into the big bowl. The dough should become pliable and cling together, until it can be formed into a ball.
- Press dough evenly into the pan. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Immediately make glaze. Stir together everything to form a thick, spreadable glaze; thicken with more sugar, if necessary, or add extra lemon juice or water to loosen it. Spread glaze over bars.
- Cool completely, stashing dish in fridge to speed process if desired.
- Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container, with waxed paper between stacked layers, either at room temperature or in the fridge. Keeps for at least 2 days.
