Want S’more Fun In Your Season?

We’re trying something new, and we invite you to, too.

Three of us — Alena, Julie, and I — put together a cookbook for s’mores.

“Hold on,” I hear you saying. “S’mores? How can anyone need a cookbook for that? That’s like needing a recipe for boiling water.”

Oh, but I guarantee you haven’t seen s’mores like these.

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Sharing A Light: Giftmas Blog Tour

Giftmas 2017 fundraising blog tour

Today I’m joining Rhonda Parrish’s Giftmas blog tour! (You remember Rhonda? Editor of Fae, Scarecrow, Corvidae, Equus, Mrs. Claus, the alphabet anthologies, and more?) For ten days or so, fourteen writers will share seasonal thoughts to raise money for the Edmonton (Alberta) Food Bank.

Oh, and prizes. We’ll also share prizes. Because giving is a part of Giftmas.

Last year we raised over $500, so please, join us this year? All donations go directly to charity, nothing passes through grubby writer hands — and Americans get extra value, since donations are in Canadian dollars! ;-) Continue reading

A Chocolate Coffin

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Chocolate.

That’s a very literal title.

After all, I wouldn’t lie to you.

It’s no secret that I have a thing about the classic Universal monsters and gothic tales. Nor is it a secret that I have a small problem with chocolate. And so I was absolutely delighted to receive this chocolate coffin. (Or casket, really.) Continue reading

A Star Wars Roundup

English: Opening logo to the Star Wars films
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Okay, okay, I know this is the third time I’ve mentioned Star Wars in the last two months. But it’s been kinda everywhere, y’know? And I just wanted to do a round-up of some of my favorite cultural references, from music to electric cars to party food.

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Roast Chocobo – Geek Feast Blog Hop

Geek Feast Blog Hop

Today I am participating in J.L. Mbewe’s Geek Feast Blog Hop, sharing fandom-inspired recipes. As we are presently between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when oven-tender fowls are traditional fare, I thought I would share a time-honored family recipe for chocobo. (Don’t miss the contests below and the fundraiser, as 100% of So To Honor Him royalties this week go to charity!)

Sephiroth’s Favorite Roast Chocobo

photo courtesy PicJumbo

As the holiday season of marathon eating begins, we think not only of the loved ones no longer with us (all of them, from Aerith to Zach) but of the family and social gatherings where we will gorge ourselves on our favorite recipes. One which has been a repeated hit is Sephiroth’s favorite Roasted Chocobo.

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Halloween Candy & Risk

English: A PayDay candy bar, broken in half. C...
But where is the razor blade?!  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So in Orphan Heirs & Shades of Night, Robin reflects upon the real and imagined dangers of Halloween, including the popular fear of tainted candy. However, Robin says, the risks are actually quite low, as there has never been a confirmed case of Halloween candy poisoning.

Every year, parents are lashed into a panic by hyberbolic warnings of trick or treating dangers. Alternative candy-grab events are promoted, at shopping malls or store parking lots. (I’m really not sure how accepting candy from a stranger at a shopping mall is significantly safer than accepting candy from a neighbor on your street, but whatever makes you happy.) But the risks are somewhat overstated. Let’s look back on this last Halloween and see how we did.

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Irvington Eats – a Robin Archer Gastronomic Tour

So Orphan Heirs & Shades of Night comes out Friday, and it’s set in Irvington. I’ll let Robin tell you about Irvington:

Back in the nineteenth century, a town was plotted outside of Indianapolis, which of course has since swallowed it, and it was called Irvington, after Washington Irving. Yes, that Washington Irving, and because his most famous tale is perhaps “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the community seized on Halloween as its patron holiday.

Irvington’s Halloween Festival is now over a week long, the oldest and largest in the country, and it features not only the ghost tours and costume parades and seasonal film screenings you’d expect but also roller derby and scholarship competitions and anything else which sounds fun.

This was a really fun setting to use, because not only is Irvington generally bonkers about Halloween and the supernatural (in a good way!), which is great for an urban fantasy, but Irvington has some fabulous local eats where I could send Robin and Jimmy. I mention only two by name, because you can only name so many restaurants in a novella before it looks like paid placement (it was not), but you really ought to know about these two.

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