Rachel Neumeier's Blog, page 362

Brain plasticity

I just wanted to share this with you because it is so remarkable. Everyone knows that infants can often handle quite serious brain damage, as the remaining part of the brain can learn to compensate for the injured part. But this?

“Woman in her twenties discovers that she was born without a cerebellum”

Wow. Just . . . wow. I would never have thought this was possible.

The staff of life –

I’ve been wanting to share this recipe for whole wheat bread with you all for a while, in case you make your own bread. I don’t always make my own, actually, but when I buy bread I generally buy it from a particular woman at the local farmer’s market. Of course it’s a lot cheaper to make your own, but sometimes you just don’t want to bother, and in that case it’s good to be friendly with people at the farmer’s market, I find.

Personally, I have never liked whole wheat bread one bit. I never buy or use regular whole wheat flour (I like white whole wheat). The exception is this recipe that has become my mother’s standard go-to sandwich bread. It has a good, light texture and somehow completely lacks the unpleasant (imo) whole wheat taste, even when you are using ordinary whole wheat flour rather than white whole wheat. I’m sure there are many similar recipes out there, but somehow this one seems to work better and more reliably than any other recipe, which is why it’s become my mother’s standard. Both my mother and I cheat when making bread, as you will see from the recipe below:

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

3 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp butter or margarine (my mother uses margarine, I use butter)

1 tsp salt

1 C warm water

2 1/2 C whole wheat flour

Place all ingredients in your handy bread machine and set for dough. Hit go. You see, I said we cheat when making bread. As you may know, when using a machine, you must check several times in the first minutes of mixing and kneading, adding a bit of water or flour as necessary, because all kinds of things make it necessary to tweak proportions when making bread.

An hour and a half later, when the dough machine beeps, take the dough out, shape it into a loaf, and put it in a greased loaf pan. Cover the pan and set in a warmish place to rise for an hour or so, until roughly doubled. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees during the last bit of the rising time. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the loaf looks golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool a few minutes in the pan, turn onto a rack, and cool completely before slicing. Unless you can’t bear the wait. Then slice a bit off the loaf while warm and enjoy with softened honey butter. (Just a suggestion.)

Okay, there you go.

Now, if your mother just gave you bread for sandwiches, or if you bought some from the nice lady at the farmer’s market, then you have time to make other kinds of bread yourself. I suggest this kind:

Icebox Butterhorns

2 1/4 tsp yeast

2 Tbsp warm water

1 C warm milk

6 Tbsp butter, softened

1/4 C sugar

1 egg

1 tsp salt

3 1/4 C bread flour OR 3 1/4 C all-purpose flour + 1 Tbsp vital glutan OR whatever kind of flour you like

Put all the ingredients in a bread machine and set to dough. Adjust dough during the mixing and kneading stage until you get a soft, sticky dough. Interrupt the kneading cycle and remove the dough from the machine (I find about 20 minutes kneading in the machine is fine). If you are not using a machine, then just combine till you get a soft, sticky dough and don’t knead extensively.

Place the dough in a well-greased bowl. Cover and put in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, put the dough on an oiled counter and roll out to a 12 inch circle. Cut the circle into 12 wedges (I use a pastry cutter). Roll up each wedge starting from the wide end. Pinch the point gently into the roll so the butterhorn won’t unroll during baking (this happened to some of mine last time). Place on baking sheets and let rise about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool on racks. Serve with eggs for breakfast, with soup for lunch, or as dinner rolls. Or just eat as a snack.

There is no obvious reason why you couldn’t spread the wedges with, oh, a pecan and honey filling, or a walnut filling, or jam, or nutella, or whatever you like before you roll up the butterhorns. I will try something of the kind next time I make them. Which will be soon, because these were really good and quite easy.

Top ten underrated authors

Nice theme from The Broke and the Bookish! Top 10 Underrated Authors in [Genre].

Naturally I am specifically happy to see Chachic’s list: Top 10 Underrated Authors in Epic Fantasy. Because, hey, fantasy. I know a lot more about fantasy than, say, contemporary YA. Though I feel like I’ve just read the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ANY genre, including fantasy. There’s nothing like a massive TBR pile + many many bloggers reviewing titles you haven’t gotten to + getting the SFBC mailings + Twitter to make it clear that you haven’t read even a decent fraction of all the books out there, of any genre.

Still, good theme. Plus, I’m biased because I’m on Chachic’s list. Instantly the whole list goes up in my estimation, naturally.

Seriously, though, this makes me immediately think about who I would put on such a list.

Which makes me pause briefly to define what Epic Fantasy is. For me, Epic Fantasy implies: big scale; possibly a longer timespan; probably multiple pov; and detailed, well-thought-out, consistent, complex worldbuilding. As far as I’m concerned, this kind of worldbuilding is an inextricable part of Epic Fantasy.

I would say I actually write high fantasy, but not epic fantasy (so far). I would say that Lindsay Buroker’s EMPEROR’S EDGE series is not epic fantasy, because the stories are more personal and smaller scale and also because the worldbuilding, while fun, has not created the kind of detailed, well-thought-out, consistent world that defines epic fantasy. (I would call this series adventure fantasy, if I had to pick a term for it; the equivalent of space opera SF).

Then as far as I’m concerned, you divide Epic Fantasy into these three categories: High Fantasy / Gritty / Grimdark. I’m not interested in Grimdark, so when I pick underappreciated authors, they are all either High Fantasy or Gritty. (As far as I’m concerned, Grimdark Epic Fantasy is overappreciated.)

Now, first: A Handful of Well-Recognized Epic Fantasy Authors so you know I know they exist and they are great, but I can’t put them on a list of Underrated Authors:

Tolkien — because, hello. I was talking about this with Craig last night and he pointed out that one unique thing you see from Tolkien is the insertion of a personal story into an epic fantasy. I think this is true. If TLotR was largely about Frodo and Sam, and all the other stuff was just around the edges, then it might be good fantasy story, but it would not be an Epic Fantasy. But I think that adding the personal plotline to the epic plotline is what drove the popularity of the story.

Guy Gavriel Kay — not so much for his earlier work; I particularly have in mind his UNDER HEAVEN and RIVER OF STARS.

Brandon Sanderson — I haven’t read much by him (I have some of his waiting on my TBR pile and in audio form), but I think it’s clear he’s writing epic fantasy, right?

Robin Hobb — no question; her books fit every part of my definition.

NK Jemisin — she doesn’t have that many books out, and I might change my mind and say “High fantasy but not Epic”. Not sure. But either way, she is not underappreciated, having hit the well-known category right out of the gate.

Scott Lynch — I just read his REPUBLIC OF THIEVES, as you may recall, and though it’s only his third book, it’s plain he’s writing excellent Epic Fantasy — on the gritty side, but definitely not Grimdark. But I think he must count as well known; he has 1700 reviews for REPUBLIC.

Daniel Abraham — He has 630 reviews for THE DRAGON’S PATH, plus I just think he’s well known. He’s one of those authors whom I like, and yet . . . somehow not enough to keep going with his series. But definitely Epic and very well written.

Brent Weeks — he has a lotof reviews on Goodreads for the first book of his Night Angel trilogy. Wow, now I feel inadequate.

Now, with that out of the way, how about this as a list of Top 10 Underrated Authors of Epic Fantasy. Some of these authors have about 200 reviews for a particular book on Goodreads, but nobody comes close to breaking a thousand (for the books I checked). But they’re all really good.

Sherwood Smith — the INDA quintilogy is clearly Epic Fantasy, and definitely worth reading.

Kate Elliot — I haven’t read a lot by her, but enough to know she is writing fine Epic Fantasy.

Elizabeth Bear — I have read exactly one of her books, but RANGE OF GHOSTS made me a believer.

Martha Wells — You all know Wells is one of my favorite authors. The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy is clearly Epic Fantasy.

PC Hodgell — I have read some of her Kencyrath books, and for me Hodgell is like Abraham — I like them, I really do, but not so much that I have ever read the whole series.

And possibly CS Friedman — I haven’t actually read anything at all by Friedman, but her Coldfire trilogy, sure looks Epic to me. And I’ve heard a lot of good things about this author. Not sure I can really declare she’s underappreciated without, you know, reading some of her books. Say: Suspected Underappreciated Epic Fantasy Authors.

Now, let me reiterate: there’s no way to read everything and I know I’ve read only a small fraction of the great epic fantasy out there.

So: Anybody have an author who ought to be on this list? I’ve only got six. Who are four more?

Finished!

At least for now, I am done with KERI. I mean THE WYVERN KING. Or whatever its title turns out to be.

Sent it to my editor this morning. One week before the deadline! Not bad, all things considered.

Whoosh, gone, out of my hands. I always feel like I should have done a bit more, fiddled around, tweaked here and there. But at some point you just have to call it done and send it off.

Anyway, though I am fairly sure she will like it — she approved the first six chapters, after all — I imagine that I will be doing some fiddling and tweaking later after she has a chance to look it over. She is a perfectionist. Which I like in an editor, btw.

So I’m taking a couple days to finish Lindsay Buroker’s EMPEROR’S EDGE series. About which, let me say:

The Emperor’s Edge — self contained

Dark Currents — self contained

Deadly Games — self contained

Conspiracy — WHOA MAJOR CLIFFHANGER HERE

Blood and Betrayal — finishes the Conspiracy arc, so these two books together are self contained

Forged in Blood I — MAJOR CLIFFHANGER, obviously, because otherwise why would it have a (I) after the title?

Forged in Blood II — last book.

I’m just starting Forged in Blood II and I must say, I have really enjoyed this series! Yes, Sespian (the Emperor) does become a more interesting character. Yes, we do have another good female character join the gang. In some ways I think Buroker really hits her stride in Conspiracy. These are all fast-paced adventure stories; they work well at the duology length that we see in #4/#5 and #6/#7.

Every book utilizes one secondary pov in addition to Amaranthe’s; the Forged in Blood actually gives us Sicarius’ point of view for the first time. I think this works really well, and in fact much better here at the end than it would have earlier in the series. I particularly love Sicarius’ interaction with Sespian. He has such trouble with normal human interaction!

Okay, next for me: after finishing the Emperor’s Edge series, naturally I have my other revision project waiting: KEHERA. I will need to write a couple short scenes at the end and make sure the plot flows through that section and revise the last chapter AND THEN go back to the beginning and run through the whole thing one more time. Then it will go back to Caitlin, who wants to see it again before she sends it to a particular editor she has in mind for it. Always exciting when your agent has a Plan for a new manuscript. Anyway, that’s why I am kind of in a rush to get this finished. I think I can get this done before the end of the month. After which, regardless of any other pressing jobs waiting for me, I am taking October OFF. I have been working pretty much nonstop since the beginning of June, so, yeah, I’m due for a break in here somewhere.

Although someday I must finish up those Black Dog short stories and get ‘em formatted for self-publishing …

Update: Also, Caitlin reminds me that I meant to try to finish revising a partial for the OTHER manuscript I owe Random House, before the end of the month. I have it! 100 pages of a different story! But I should do a little revision before sending it to Michelle. So, okay, a) revise KEHERA (biggish job); b) revise THE WHITE ROAD OF THE MOON partial (smallish job, as I recall). Before October.

Seriously, I am going to NEED a break.

You *were* traumatized by Old Yeller, right?

Because all right-thinking people agree that dogs shouldn’t die at the end, yes? Did you notice how in the (fabulous, beautiful) movie UP, not a single dog died? Because even the bad-guy dogs got little parachutes? Naturally, because dogs shouldn’t die even if you drop the human bad guy to his death without a qualm.

So! Heidi Frederick says something of the same thing over at tor. com, in her column about SPIRIT’S KEY by Edith Cohn.

Spirit’s Key is the poignant tale of both a girl coming into her family power and her relationship with a much beloved dog. Edith Cohn’s solution to the much feared dying dog issue? Bump him off before the book even begins — genius!

In other words, a ghost dog! I agree, that sounds like a clever touch.

Heidi doesn’t declare this MG title is flawless, but she does declare that it’s charming — and that there’s no need to worry about the dog. I’m sure I would have loved this story when I was a kid. I probably would have liked it’s possibly oversweet ending, in fact.

My favorite MG dog story: DOG’SBODY by DWJ. Also my favorite story by DWJ. I still can’t believe you can cram the Wild Hunt, sentient stars, and a dog story all in the same short book and have it work, but DWJ managed.

I also like this note from Heidi at the end of her post: Heidi Frederick is known to dock one star rating for every dead dog. Sky didn’t count. Read more at her blog, Bunbury in the Stacks, or send cute dog pictures to her on Twitter.

She doesn’t know how many cute dog pictures I have available, though!

Best bread pudding. Also, best apple dumplings

I finally remembered to get this recipe from my mother! You don’t have to go to Kentucky to get really good bread pudding, because here, this is it: excellent old-fashioned bread pudding. This recipe turns out to be from a very old and tattered Betty Crocker cookbook, btw.

Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding

3 to 4 C slightly stale firm cubed bread (Mom and I like firm bread pudding and always use a generous 4 C.)

2 C milk

1/4 C butter, melted

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg

1/2 C raisins (which neither Mom nor I would dream of actually putting in, but there they are in the recipe.)

Place bread cubes in a 1 1/2 qt baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients sans raisins and pour over. Stir in the raisins if for some reason you feel raisins would improve the bread pudding. Place baking dish in a wide flat pan of hot water (ideally 1 inch deep water) and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, until a knife an inch from the edge comes out clean. Serve warm, room temp, or cold. You can certainly serve this with whipped cream or ice cream, but I like it plain. In fact, I like it plain and cold for breakfast. Thus my statement earlier that Real Desserts can also serve as breakfast and that fudge and other candies can’t really be considered desserts.

Okay, while we’re on the subject of old-fashioned but excellent desserts, here is my my mother’s recipe for apple dumplings, which is also from Betty Crocker, although she does not follow the exact recipe. I’m going to give you her variation. These apple dumplings are substantially better than most you can get in restaurants. Her variant includes more syrup than indicated in the recipe and, as you might imagine, she makes her own pastry.

Mother’s Apple Dumplings

8 medium tart apples

2 C sugar

4 C water

6 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2/3 C sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter

Enough pastry for 2 two-crust pies

Combine 2 C sugar, 4 C water, 6 Tbsp butter, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Peel and core apples.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out pastry a little less than 1/8 inch thick and cut into more or less seven inch squares. Set an apple on each pastry square. Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon and fill the apples with this mixture. Put a dab of butter on top of the sugar mixture for each apple. Bring up the corners of the pastry square and overlap edges, dampening and pinching them to seal. Carefully lift each dumpling and place in baking dish. Pour hot syrup around dumplings (not on top of dumplings). Bake four 40 or 45 minutes until pastry is nicely browned. Serve warm with syrup and, if desired, whipped cream or ice cream.

Again, I like these at room temp for breakfast the next morning.

If you’re following Vlad Taltos –

I am definitely still a fan of Steven Brust’s Taltos series, despite the epic fail that was TECKLA.

If you are, too, then here’s an excerpt of HAWK, over at tor.com.

I’m not going to read the excerpt because I don’t need a teaser. I expect I will buy the book when it comes out, in October. This bit from the back cover copy makes me pretty sure I’ll like it:

For years, Vlad has run from one end of the Empire to the other, avoiding the Jhereg assassins who pursue him. Now, finally, he’s back in the imperial capital where his family and friends are. He means to stay there this time. Whatever happens. And whatever it takes.

Sounds very promising!

Spacing after periods

Nice post about the one-space-or-two controversy over at Book View Cafe! Deborah Ross takes the words right out of my mouth:

You have got to be kidding me, right? Of all the things you could worry about in writing — characters, plot, theme and metatheme, moral center, rising and falling tension, use of language, etc. — you’re obsessed with this?

YES TO THIS.

Good God above, hasn’t everyone realized by now that you can do a find and replace to change all the . space space to . space, if that makes you happy? That your editor or any copy editor can do this in less time than it takes to type this sentence? (This is exactly the point Deborah is making, too.)

I can’t imagine anybody wasting time worrying about this. If your fingers, like mine, are trained to hit the space bar twice after a period, fine. It is ridiculous to spend time trying to retrain your typing reflexes. If you need, for some reason such as ebook formatting, to switch from one style to the other, do it at the end. If you send a manuscript to an editor and they don’t like your formatting (or font, or whatever), I am pretty sure every editor in the universe knows how to fiddle with your manuscript to make it match her personal preferences.

The things people worry about, honestly.

Okay, rant over.

If every state had an official dessert, what should your state choose?

Asking the important questions, that’s me.

But really, come on, shouldn’t every state have an Official State Dessert? I mean, it’s only right, don’t you agree?

The rules of the game are good, I think. Only one state can claim any given dessert, no single state gets to claim apple pie or chocolate chip cookies because those are nationally iconic. That sounds fair.

Okay, Missouri gets (obviously) Gooey Butter Cake, which in fact I do not like because it is far too sweet for me.

I would actually be glad to trade with Kentucky. I’ve never posted a recipe for bread pudding, because who needs a recipe for bread pudding? But it’s a quintessential comfort food for me. I particularly love my mother’s bread pudding.

Living in the future: electric skateboards

Electric skateboards, really?

Actually, my favorite are the electric skates. Last item, so you have to click through the ten “weird and wonderful electric vehicles”.

Incidentally, whether they are powered or not, calling a skateboard a “vehicle” stretches the definition beyond what I think it can take.