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Two Day Refried Beans
Homemade refried beans require little effort, but do need a nice long simmer on the back of the stove.
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Book Review: Blood Calls
At first glance, you might think Blood Calls is a vampire novel, but you’d be wrong. At second glance, you might think it’s the story of a boy and his dragon, but you’d…
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A California Fairy Tale
Once upon a time there were six little cousins. The eldest, most wisest of them all was Sherrie the Trailblazer. Successor to her throne was Sharon the Serious. Following down the line of…
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Literary Festival at Fantasy Faire
This weekend, I will be making various appearances at the Fantasy Faire’s Literary Festival, a benefit event to support the American Cancer Society. My avatar, Ceejay Writer, will be representing me at the…
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Which Came First? The Chicken or the Pen?
As much as I’ve always loved the original rustic chicken logo created in 2009 by a friend, I felt it was time for an update. Even though I’m not an artist, and clumsy…
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The Weekend Left A Good Impression
It’s been an extraordinarily rainy weekend. Rainy and windy, which means that all the windows facing south and east are providing a rather impressionistic view of the world. This hazy, beautiful view inspired…
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A Typical August Country Weekend
We’ve only lived in Casa de Caribou 2.0 for about 5 months, but the grounds are already being cultivated into useful, productive, pretty land. Here’s my progress from the last few days, as…
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Sweet and Sourdough
I love my sourdough starter. I’ve been maintaining it for a couple of decades now. Even when I neglect it, old Beastie always springs back to life when I pull him from the…
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Potato Salad My Way
This is my favorite way to make potato salad. I know I break the rules by dicing the potatoes before cooking them, but really, why should I mangle a soft, warm, potato when…
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Chaise-ing The Blues Away
For those tuning in late, we moved in late February, and have been doing a lot of landscaping and home decor work ever since. For the first time in my life, I have…
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Cowboys Are Forever!
A longtime friend of mine writes gay romance books. What I love about his writing style is the hope and optimism of his stories – even when the characters are scared, depressed and…
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Caribou Country Chamomile Wine
For the brave and foolish fun lovers out there, here's my favorite wine recipe.
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Book Review: Field Guide to the End of the World
This seems to be my month for reading new-old books. “S” by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams looks precisely like a 1949 well-worn library book and is filled with… well we don’t have time…
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My Influential Authors
Over in the Book of Faces, I was tagged by my delightful friend, author B.G. Thomas to play the Influential Authors Game. Basically, I am to list 15 authors who have influenced me.
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Book Review: The Opening Bell
As a kid growing up on the outskirts of Los Angeles, I can’t say I ever watched wrestling, but I also didn’t *not* watch wrestling. It was often part of the background of…
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Speaking of Disappointing Politics and Snowstorms
William Henry Harrison gave the longest damn inaugural speech any president’s ever given, on March 4th, 1841. For an hour and forty five minutes a 68 year old guy shouted at a crowd…
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Æther Salon: Transcript of Publishing Salon
Last month I gave a talk at the Aether Salon in New Babbage, a virtual steampunk city in Second Life. There was a record crowd of avatars representing published writers, hopeful writers, and…
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Smile? Okay!
When I was in 6th grade, I thought it would be fun to ride my Flexy Racer down one of the steepest streets in my hilly suburb. It was great fun! I sat on…
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Push It Forward
Indie writer J.B. Garner writes about superheroes, but he is a bit of a superhero himself. In his blog, Musings of a Starving Author, he not only talks about his own books, but…
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Book Review: The Book Of Speculation
I have to admit that I first became interested in The Book Of Speculation after learning from Goodreads about her over-the-top method of submitting her debut manuscript to publishers. As if writing a book…
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Book Review: Do Clockworks Dream of Gear-Toothed Sheep?
A dear friend’s dream just became a reality. As we all know, the best dreams come true not so much from sleeping as from hard work. This author has put in the work. I’ve…
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Seattle Stories: Learning To Adult
This is going to be personal and probably a little maudlin. By way of explanation, a younger relative of mine is on the cusp of one of life’s greatest adventures – waving farewell…
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The Life Cycle of a Loaf of Bread
Life Stage One: Fresh bread! It doesn’t matter what type of bread it is, as long as it’s a loaf you love. Around this house, we always have a loaf of classic soft white…
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Mary, Maria, Murray, no, MARK! Wait. Jim.
“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That’s cute, Shakespeare… now, can anyone tell what those other names actually are? Did you just…
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Schroedinger’s Rat Lives!
I wrote the first draft of Down The Tubes in November of 2013, for NaNoWriMo. I had such a great time, too! I loved my concept, utterly and completely. I’ve always been fascinated…
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Misrembered Quasi Italian Peruvian Salsa
A million years ago, I enjoyed a 'Peruvian Salsa' as made by an Italian. Long story. I loved the stuff! I've held it in my memory for many years, and never wrote it…
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Book Review: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua My rating: 5 of 5 stars I love eBooks and buy a lot of them. HOWEVER, I followed the advice of friends and…
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I’m A Contender!
45 of 267 books officially cut in the first round so far in The Great Self-published Fantasy Blog-off – And The Flight To Brassbright is still in the running. Even if the book…
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Gears, Beards, and Beers
(Image belongs to the Facebook Capitol Steam group) Good times do not get better than this. I had such a wonderful time last night! Here’s a highlight moment: As I was pausing in a…
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Book Review: The Robot Scientist’s Daughter
The Robot Scientist’s Daughter by Jeannine Hall Gailey Mayapple Press Paperback, 9781936419425, 82pp. Publication Date: March 1, 2015 It’s hard to resist a book with the title The Robot Scientist’s Daughter. Those four…
