Palon’s novella is coming along, though I’ve had to put it to the side while editing Book Three, doing some beta reading, and dealing with some health issues. There are never enough hours in the day, are there? Book Three is a third edited, though, and while it’s quite challenging, I’m also really excited to show it to the world.
Obviously, I’d planned to be a lot farther along by now, but “no plan survives contact”, and all. I’m trying to learn to give myself grace–pushing through health issues doesn’t work, and it’s not like I can control it, after all. What I can control is not stressing myself out about what I can’t control, and focusing on productivity when I am able to be productive.
Hopefully by the time I send another newsletter, Book Three of the Children of the Nexus series will be on its way to my dream team for their critiques, and Palon’s story will be nearly finished with that round of edits.
What have I been reading?
In the meantime, I’m trying to finish my r/Fantasy Reading Bingo card, too. I’m reading Marlon James’s Black Leopard, Red Wolf and also Trudie Skies’s The Thirteenth Hour for a book club read. I’m enjoying both quite a lot–incredible worldbuilding, though extraordinarily different from each other. I’m really enjoying Trudie’s storytelling, and the storytelling in Black Leopard, Red Wolf is fresh and interesting. So far, I highly recommend them both.
Next in line for me (according to my library) is The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker, which I’m also looking forward to. This is a Japanese underworld Reaper sort of story, according to its blurb, and it looks so cool.
While I’m finishing my r/Fantasy bingo board, I also have my eye on another bingo board for a reading community I’ve really enjoyed. The Oasis is a SFF reading Discord, and beyond reading bingo, they also do buddy reads and author chats. It’s just a really cool place to hang out, so if you’re looking for reading buddies, definitely check them out.
Newsletter freebie
I want to get into the habit of including a worldbuilding detail or short story in each of my newsletters, and this time, I want to give you a recipe. I’m planning to create a whole bunch of these recipes and collect them in a Rinaryn and Kamalti cookbook, just for fun.
So, today I present to you:
Rinaryn dessert dumplings
Dough:
• 3 cups (625g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup milk or half & half
• up to 1/4 cup water
Instructions:
• In a large bowl with a sturdy spoon (or in a mixing bowl with dough hook attachment), mix together flour, salt, egg, and milk (on low speed). Once the mixture is mostly combined, add half of the water.
• Knead the dough until elastic ball forms for about 5-7 minutes, add remaining water as needed. Dough should be nice and soft.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes (or up to 1 hour).
• Cut dough in halves or thirds. Roll out the section of dough until it’s the thickness of a fingernail. This dough can get stiff as you work it!
• Cut into circles with 2.5-inch round cooking cutter.
• Place about 1/2 tablespoon of your favorite jam in each round and pinch the edges together into desired shape.
• (If you’re making a big batch, you can put excess shaped dumplings on a sheet pan and freeze for about ~2 hours so they’re solid, then pour into a zip-top bag for storage. When you’re ready to cook them, thaw first, then proceed to the next step.)
Now, choose your cooking method:
• Steam atop foil pricked with holes over a cooking grill (or in a steamer basket) above ~2 inches of boiling water for ~10 min
OR
• Pan-fry in oil at 350 degrees F for ~2-3 min until outside is golden brown
Serve immediately and enjoy.
Alternatively (or if you have excess dough), try Rinaryn fried bread
Dough for this is the same as above, rolled out to 1-3 fingernail thicknesses.
Cut into squiggles or rectangles, under 3 square inches
Pan-fry in oil at 350 degrees F for ~2-3 min until outside is golden brown
Serve on a plate or trough with jam, honey, and/or chocolate (optionally, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar immediately)
If you try these, let me know how you like them!
I still have signed copies of Windward, Between Starfalls, or Let Loose the Fallen in stock here! They make great gifts to friends, family, and even libraries.
SPFBO Authors Promo
It’s no secret I support other authors, especially indie authors, and I’ve really enjoyed participating in Mark Lawrence’s Self-published Fantasy Blog Off. There are so many interesting stories to read and cool authors to meet from SPFBO, and so I wanted to give them a shout out. Below is a collection of SPFBO books from various years–not just this last one. If you’re looking for some new reads, definitely consider checking them out.
