November 25, 2020 · 1:56 pm

A Free Author Promo Opportunity at Long and Short Reviews

 

Winter Blogfest graphic on a blue background with white snowflakes dotting the top and sides. The graphic reads, "Long and Short Reviews Winter Blogfest. A Prize on every post! December 21-January 1."

Long and Short Reviews is a large, well-respected book review site that has been around since 2007. They are currently seeking out guest bloggers for their Winter Blogfest which is scheduled to run December 21 through January 1.

This is an amazing free opportunity for authors from any genre to meet likeminded writers and introduce yourselves to new potential readers.

Here’s what you’ll need to do to participate:

  • Write a 250-500 word guest post that is holiday or winter themed
  • Offer a small prize (for example, a free copy of one of your ebooks or anything else you choose to offer)

It’s that simple.

The Winter Blogfest is open to everyone and every winter holiday. You could write about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, the Winter Solstice, New Year’s, other winter holidays/celebrations, or the winter season in general.

In past years, they’ve published guest posts about special holiday recipes, people’s favourite memories of the season, funny stories about celebrations that maybe didn’t turn out the way the author thought they would, the history of certain holiday figures, foods, songs, etc., and so much more. As long as it’s not pure promo, let your imaginations run wild.

Participants also have the option of including links to their website, social media accounts, etc. if they wish.

Go to Long and Short Reviews for instructions on how to submit your entry and for more information. I look forward to reading your entries if you decide to join in.

The deadline to submit a guest post to this event is December 11. Spread the word!

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· 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Recipes from Fiction Books That I Want to Try

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Honestly, it’s been years since I read a book that included actual recipes in it, But I do love stories that describe food, especially when they goes in great detail about it.

All of these dishes seem simple enough to reverse engineer recipes for, so I figured that’s close enough for this week’s prompt. 🙂

A strawberry tart with whole, fresh strawberries piled on top of it. Tarts from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:

In the next moment, her eyes fell on the White Rabbit that was serving the court as a herald and was reading the accusation that the Knave of Hearts had stolen the Queen’s tarts. In the middle of the court, a large platter of tarts was on display.”

(In my imagination, they’re strawberry tarts!)

Roasted potatoes from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett:

“Dickon made the stimulating discovery […] there was a deep little hollow where you could build a sort of tiny oven with stones and roast potatoes and eggs in it. […] Very hot potatoes with salt and fresh butter in them were fit for a woodland king—besides being deliciously satisfying.”

 

A blueberry pie sitting on a wooden cutting board Blueberry Pie from Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White:

“The children ran for the kitchen. ‘Just in time for a piece of blueberry pie,’ said Mrs. Zuckerman.”

Clam Chowder from Moby-Dick: 

“However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh, sweet friends! hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuit, and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt.”

This entire amazing meal from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg:

“Idgie and Ruth had set a place for him at a table. He sat down to a plate of fried chicken, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, and iced tea.”

Is anyone else hungry now?

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November 24, 2020 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday:What I’m Thankful for

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Last year I used the Thanksgiving prompt to discuss Native American authors and books. This year I decided to share some of the things I’m grateful for.

Answer #6 mentions Covid-19, so feel free to skip it if that’s a sensitive topic for you. I’m sending virtual hugs to everyone who has had their heart broken by this awful illness this year.

1. Canadian Healthcare

I grew up in the United States in a family that sometimes struggled to pay medical (and other) bills, so it blew my mind to immigrate to a country where you can make an appointment with your family doctor (or even a specialist) without ever having worry about how you’ll afford to pay for that visit.

Canada definitely isn’t a perfect country, but I love the fact that everyone here has the ability to get that suspicious mole/lump checked out or find out that they have high blood pressure/diabetes/other chronic health conditions before those diagnoses balloon into something life-threatening and very difficult to treat. I wish everyone on Earth had this same access to decent medical care.

Drawing of the phrase Happy Thanksgiving on a wooden sign. The sign has some leaves flanking it and a pile of squash, tomatoes, and pumpkins sitting below it. 2. Jana, Top Ten Tuesday, and You

Thank you, Jana, for hosting Top Ten Tuesday. I’ve met so many wonderful people through this blog hop, and I’m grateful for all of you.

3. A Quiet, Warm, Safe Place to Live 

4. A Kitchen Filled With Food

5. Clean Clothes and Comfortable Shoes

There are far too many people in this world whose basic needs aren’t being met. I do what I can to help them and only wish I could do more.

6. My Parents Surviving Covid-19

Both of my parents caught Covid-19 this year. I am so grateful that they are still around. May next year bring a vaccine that will grind this illness to a halt.

7. The Internet 

How many of you remember what life was like before most people had access to the Internet? I do, and I’m glad we have ways to digitally reach out to one another during this pandemic. Life would be much sadder and more isolated if we were all stuck at home without it.

8. Humorous Pet Videos and Gifs

This list needs something silly on it.

Humorous animal content brings so much joy to my life. When my parents were sick earlier this year, I relied heavily on stuff like compilation videos of cute baby rabbits  to distract me while we waited for updates about their health.

Purple, blue, and yellow overlapping bubbles. The largest bubble is purple and has the word Thank You written on it. 9. Front Line Workers

I deeply appreciate all of you. Thank you for working so hard to keep everyone healthy, safe, and stocked up on all of the necessities of life like food and medicine.

You are the true heroes of 2020.

10. Exercise 

A good workout does wonders for my mind and body!

11. Dairy-Free Treats

2020 has felt like it lasted a decade, so I’m sneaking one last item onto my list.

I love the fact that there has been a surge of companies offering dairy-free ice cream, cookies, chocolate bars, and more. These items used to be much harder to find, so it’s marvellous to have such a big selection of them now when I want a treat.

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November 23, 2020 · 1:00 am

Thanksgiving Dishes I Can’t Cook

American Thanksgiving is only a few days away, so I thought I’d go a little off-topic and share something that wouldn’t normally fit into the scope of this blog.

I’m a perfectly serviceable baker and cook. The food I whip up isn’t fancy and it won’t appear on the cover of any magazine, but it tastes good and gets the job done 99% of the time.

As far as that other 1% goes, keep reading.

 The Pie Mystery

close-up photo of a fruit pie with a lattice crustI grew up in a family filled with people who made amazing pies.

Sometimes I’d help them work the dough or put the filling into the pie before baking.

Shortly after I got married, I decided to start making pies on my own. They’re such a delicious end to Thanksgiving dinner.

Unfortunately, the crust on my first pie burned. This trend has continued with every pie I’ve attempted to make since then no matter which tips and tricks I use to protect the crust while the filling firms up.

It’s gotten to the point where I will buy a nice pie for Thanksgiving without an ounce of remorse for not serving something homemade for dessert.

The Revenge of the Cornish Game Hens

close-up shot of roasted birdI live in a small household, so roasting a full turkey would create far more leftovers than our stomachs or our freezer could hope to handle.

One year I thought I might roast some Cornish game hens for Thanksgiving instead of a too-large turkey.

I followed the instructions of the recipe I found online perfectly. I even set timers to baste the birds so they’d be nice and juicy.

When the buzzer sounded on our oven, I opened it and checked the internal temperature of one of them. It was a little lower than the recipe said it should be, so I left it in a while longer.

When I took them out, they seemed to be hot enough to safely consume according to our meat thermometer.

It only took a few bites for my spouse and I to realize they weren’t fully cooked. We weren’t sure what the rules were about reheating half-cooked birds and so didn’t eat any more of them.

We were lucky not to get sick from that experience! Ever since then, I’ve shied away from roasting full birds of any size. It feels safer to only roast pieces of them instead.

Now that you know my two deepest Thanksgiving secrets, which Thanksgiving foods do you have trouble making?

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November 19, 2020 · 1:00 am

In Pursuit of Justice: A Review of The Gest of Robyn Hode & Little Joan According to Alaina of Dale

Book cover for The Gest of Robyn Hode & Little Joan According to Alaina of Dale by T J Therien. Image on cover is of an arrow with a green background. Title:The Gest of Robyn Hode & Little Joan According to Alaina of Dale

Author: T J Therien

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 30, 2019

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical

Length: 83 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

The story as you know it is a lie. Discover the true origins of the Robin Hood legend in this fast paced Novella that takes our titular character back to the roots of the early ballads.

Review:

Content warning: violence, murder, and attempted rape. I will not be discussing these things in my review.

Everyone deserves justice.

I appreciated how courageous many of the characters were, especially when it came to fourteen-year-old Robyn and Wilma, the woman who saved her from a pretty dangerous situation in one of the earliest chapters. The era they lived in definitely wasn’t a kind one for women or anyone living on the margins of society for reasons I’ll leave up to other readers to discover for themselves. It was cool to see them look out for one another in an environment where drawing attention to oneself could have so many negative repercussions.

This story had a large cast of characters that I had trouble keeping track of. There simply wasn’t enough room for me to get to know everyone well enough to immediately know who they were and how they were connected to everyone else when they popped up again after not being part of the plot for a while. It would have been nice to focus on a smaller number of folks and maybe save the rest for a sequel, if such a thing is in the works.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones showing how Robyn, Wilma, and the other people who met up with them worked together to solve problems that seemed insurmountable. These weren’t the types of folks who the money or social connections to pull strings behind the scenes. Every bit of justice they hoped to seek would only come about through cooperation, a ton of hard work, and maybe a little luck as well. Those are exactly the sort of heroes I enjoy reading about.

Anyone who loves the original Robin Hood tales should check out The Gest of Robyn Hode & Little Joan According to Alaina of Dale.

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November 18, 2020 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Funniest Things That Have Happened To Me

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Wooden sign with polka dots and the words "did you smile today?" written on it I can’t wait to read everyone else’s stories! This is one of those WWBC topics I’ve been looking forward to all year long.

Story #1

My extended family is interracial and multiracial. Various versions of this conversation have happened multiple times over the years, and I hope I always see the amusing side of them.

(Yes, I do share relevant details with medical professionals or friends. I simply choose not to explain the intricacies of my family tree to every nosy stranger in the world).

Them: Who’s that person?

Me: They’re my <cousin, etc.>

Them: But they’re Black! <Cuban, etc.>

Me: They sure are.

Them: Okay, I get it. You’re biracial.

Me: No, I’m Caucasian.

Them: Are you sure about that? I mean, you do have curly hair.

Me: Yes, white people have curly hair, too.

Them: So are they biracial then?

Me: Nope. (Well, not in most cases).

Them: I’m confused. Are they your real <cousin, etc.>?

Me: Yep.

(repeat ad infinitum).

 

Story #2

This happened at the end of an exhausting holiday shift right before Christmas at a retail job I had years ago. Normally, I would have been much more responsive, but my brain was fried from the long hours, rotating shift work that made it impossible to get enough sleep, and frantic workflow for retail workers in the weeks and months leading up to Christmas. This customer had been inspecting our pans for a few minutes before she waved me over.

Customer: Excuse me, do you sell adamantium* pans?

Me: Sorry, we don’t sell them.

Customer: Do you know where I can adamantium pans?

Me: I honestly have no idea!

*That is to say, the fictional metal alloy used to coat Wolverine’s skeleton and claws in Marvel comic books. (And I still have no idea what she meant or why anyone would want to make baking pans from that material if it really existed).

 

 

Story #3

The most recent story of them all. A few years ago, I noticed a weird-looking mole slowly growing bigger on my body and decided to ask my dermatologist to take a look at it.

The dermatologist asked me a few questions about the history of the mole and then brought out some specialized tools to peer more closely at it.

He was silent for a moment and then exclaimed, “your mole is bland!” It looked a little odd,  but it wasn’t cancerous like I’d feared it might be.

I still chuckle at this memory ever so often. My name is Lydia, bearer of bland moles. Ha!

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November 17, 2020 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d Name a Pet After

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

What a fun topic! I also decided to include the species I’d use the name for, and I tried to cover as many different types of pets as possible.

The titles in parentheses will tell you where I found these names if any of them are unfamiliar to you.

a white maltese puppy sitting in a field of grass1. Cujo (Cujo by Stephen King)

I think it would be amusing to give this name to a small, friendly dog.

2. Bunnicula (Bunnicula by James Howe)

For a rabbit, of course!

3. Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)

Honestly, this would work well for any species.

4. Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Okay, so sparrows aren’t generally kept as pets. I’ll bet a budgie, finch, or canary would be well-suited for this sort of moniker.

5. Simba (Lion King)

A big, fluffy cat might appreciate this name.

6. Rocky (the film Rocky)

I’d bet there are lizards, turtles, and other cold-blooded pets out there who would fit this name perfectly.

7. Tinker Bell (Peter Pan)

A spider or large, intimidating dog named Tinker Bell would be delightful.

two bunnies eating daisies while sitting on a tree stump8. Elsa and Anna (Frozen)

The vast majority of rabbits are happiest when they live in bonded pairs (or larger groups). If I had two or more rabbits, I’d pick names for them that matched the same theme.

9. Moana (Moana)

This seems like a nice name for a fish, turtle, or other aquatic pet.

10. Remy (Ratatouille)

Last but not least, we can’t forget rats, mice, hamsters, and similar furry friends. Remy seems like a great name for them.

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November 16, 2020 · 1:00 am

Why I Bounce Between Soft Sci-Fi and Hard Sci-Fi

This is a response post to Louise’s Why I Prefer Soft Sci-Fi. 

photo of galassia star. Let’s start this conversation off with some quick definitions.

Hard sci-fi is a sub-genre of science fiction that focuses on hard sciences like physics, math, chemistry, or astronomy that ask and answer objective questions.

That is to say, there is only one correct answer if someone asks you what the square root of nine is.

Soft sci-fi is a sub-genre of science fiction that focuses on soft sciences like sociology, anthropology, or psychology. They include a mixture of objective and subjective questions.

For example,

Some science fiction fans have a strong preference for one of these sub-genres over the other. I prefer to bounce around between them and nearly every other type of science fiction that doesn’t include romance for the following reasons:

The Lines Between Them Are Blurry

Many sci-fi stories include elements of both hard and soft science fiction. They might start out describing how scientists in that universe discovered a safe, fast, and effective way to travel between solar systems only to switch over to describing how that technology changed every facet of human culture over the next few millennia.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having strong preferences on either side of the spectrum, but I’ve discovered so many amazing books and authors that I would have otherwise overlooked if I’d been strict about only wanting to read hard or soft science fiction.

I Need Variety

While sci-fi is the genre where I spend most of my reading time, I also enjoy reading fantasy, horror, mysteries, historical fiction, non-fiction, and many other genres.

I’m happiest when I can bounce around between different types of storytelling no matter which genre I’m currently reading. After finishing a hard science fiction adventure, I might be in the mood for a memoir, a light fantasy adventure, or a book of poetry next.

It’s even better when the same book can smoothly move between different genres and maybe even mash up some themes that aren’t normally woven together.

Each Story Has Unique Needs

Some sci-fi stories really do need to have the science behind them explained in detail in order for anything else that follows to make sense to readers who aren’t already well-versed in the branch or branches of science that are being explored there.

Other sci-fi stories use spaceships, aliens, or new inventions as a backdrop but can share the meat of their plot with the audience even if no one knows the details of how alien physiology is different from human physiology or how that new invention came into being.

I definitely do agree with Louise’s point about hard science fiction being something that often works better in film or TV show form. While I enjoy reading about new technologies or inventions, it’s amazing to see them come to life in a scene.

Do all of you have preferences for hard versus soft science fiction? If so, what are they?

 

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November 12, 2020 · 1:00 am

Flickering Hope: A Review of Richard Rex & the Succubus of Whitechapel

Book cover for Richard Rex & the Succubus of Whitechapel by Seth Tucker. Black and white image on cover is of a large house on an overcast, winter day. Title: Richard Rex & the Succubus of Whitechapel

Author: Seth Tucker

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: January 25, 2013

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Historical

Length: 27 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

A murder in Whitechapel is not uncommon, but the state of the body requires someone more adept at unusual crime than Scotland Yard. Richard Rex, agent of the Queen, must track down this supernatural killer. Can he find it before it claims more victims?

Review:

How would you fight a monster whose speciality was hunting down folks just like you?

The world building was so well done in this story that after a few scenes I assumed I’d accidentally wandered into the middle of a series. While this didn’t seem to be the case after all, I was still impressed with how much detail the author packed into what this supernatural version of London was like as well as what his characters had been up to months and even years before the first scene began. It was thrilling to learn about this world. At times I forgot I was reading altogether because of how absorbed I was in what might happen next!

My first impression of Richard also turned out to be incorrect.  He felt a little too good to be true when I first met him, and I briefly wondered if he was exaggerating his kind deeds to the audience a bit to win us over. I soon realized that his wholesome image was legitimate. While he was a certainly a man of his time, especially when it came to how he interacted with people who didn’t share his station in life, those scenes only endeared me to him more. He wasn’t a perfect man by any means, but he was an admirable one.

The ending was everything I hoped it would be and more. I enjoyed the way Mr. Tucker tied up all of the important loose ends in this case while also leaving room for a sequel. Based on how much work he put into creating Richard and the other characters, my fingers are crossed that someday I’ll get to read more about them. There certainly seemed to be plenty of material to work with when it came to the lives they’d built so far as well as the hopefully wonderful things that might await them in the future.

Richard Rex & the Succubus of Whitechapel was a rollocking good time. If anything in this review tickled your fancy, do give it a try!

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November 11, 2020 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Movies That Were Better Than the Books

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A wooden bowl filled with buttered popcorn I have three answers for this week’s prompt.

Several other WWBC participants are also fans of Lord of the Rings, so I might horrify some of you a little by admitting that I think the films based on them that came out in the early 2000s were better than the books.

J.R.R. Tolkien was a wonderful storyteller, but he could be longwinded at times. This was especially true when it came to his descriptions of settings. I’d much rather see a windswept hill or an ornate hall in a castle than read pages of descriptions about every little detail of them.

As much as I liked the original novella version of The Shawshank Redemption, the details and character development added to it when it became a feature length film made it even better. Stephen King had the opposite problem that Tolkien did here. He didn’t spend enough time describing things in this novella for my tastes. 

Honestly, I want to lock King and Tolkien into a room together and have them rub off on each other a bit. 

My final answer is Children of Men by P.D. James. The novel spent a lot of time focusing on the psychological burden faced by all humans on Earth once we stopped being able to have babies.

It worked well for the original form, but this story became even more compelling to me once the thriller elements were added. I’m saying that as someone who generally enjoys introspective fiction! There does come a time when characters need to step away from their ruminations and spend more time directly dealing with their problems.

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