Zilla Novikov's Blog, page 10
August 31, 2024
Maej by Dale Stromberg with Vegetable Stew
Fiction To Sink Your Teeth Into, a feature normally written by professional chef Rohan O’Duill, has been taken over this month by Rachel A. Rosen, who co-wrote a book about being bad at cooking.
In Dale Stromberg’s Maej, Madenhere and Taræntlere eat meersaw-gossamy, described as a flavourful stew of “squash, aubergine, egg, and garlic.” I asked him for details about what it tastes like, and he told me they were never afraid to throw in chilies, and that “any dairy was rhinocerote milk and eggs are likely peahen eggs.” Lacking access to rhinocerotes and being vegan myself, I created a slightly less ambitious version.
Ingredients:Vegetable or other cooking oil½ cup vegetable brothOne large onion, choppedLoads of garlic, minced. I’m not here to tell you how many cloves you need. I’m not the boss of you.1 tbsp fresh gingerSpices to taste. I used about 6 tbsp of something called “Jamaican curry” that contained a lot of turmeric and allspice.1 tsp mustard seeds1 tsp thyme1 tbsp dried chilies. You probably don’t want that much but I do.Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste1 can of stewed tomatoes1 can of coconut milk (again, if you can find a rhinocerote, be my guest and try to milk it. Let me know how it goes at nightbeatseu @ gmail . com)1 can of chickpeas, drained (you can reserve the liquid to make aquafaba if you want)1 butternut squash, cubed1 Japanese eggplant, sliced2 small carrots, sliced1 large parsnip, slicedSeveral leaves kale and swiss chardOptional: 1 package of Korean rice cakes (note: if you grew up in hippie circles, you probably have an image of “rice cakes” that is unpleasant. I mean the tasty Korean ones. They are tube- or disc-shaped and slightly chewy.)
Directions:
Sauté onions in vegetable oil for a few minutes, then add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.Add spices, cook for about 30 seconds to a minute longer.Deglaze with vegetable stock.Add stewed tomatoes, coconut milk, and chickpeas, and stir to combine.Add squash, eggplant, carrots, and parsnip. If you have the frozen kind of rice cakes, you can add them now. If they’re the other kind, leave them for the last 10 minutes.Might be a good time to taste it and see if you want more spices or nah.Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover to simmer for 10 minutes.Chop the kale and swiss chard and toss that in.Cook for 10 more minutes or until vegetables are cooked.Eat hot and serve to all your friends while you plot a revolution! You can pre-order Maej while you wait.
August 29, 2024
Wrong Genre Covers
August 27, 2024
Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Sabitha: We’re here for the weird and wonderful, which is why we’ve got C.E. Hoffmanto tell us about their anthology, Losers and Freaks . C.E., what do we have to look forward to in you book?
C.E.: Losers and Freaks is a short story collection of speculative and generally weird fiction. It’s my second full-length release!
Sabitha : What inspired you to write this book?
C.E.: For my second short story collection, I chose another theme that resonates with the collective shadow, and me personally. I tackled sexual stereotypes in Sluts and Whores, and sought to do the same for the losers and freaks of the world (and in my heart) with this collection. The theme isn’t as obvious or pointed as it is in my first collection, but I still think (and hope!) the message comes across.
Sabitha : If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?
C.E.: Thank you for choosing me as your writer!
Sabitha : What books do you tell all your friends to read?
C.E.: For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide by Ntozake Shange, NW by Zadie Smith, Come and Join the Dance by Joyce Johnson, and The Grass Harp by Truman Capote.
Sabitha : How much research did you need to do for your book?
C.E.: Does living count as research?
Sabitha : What’s your next writing project?
C.E.: I’m pitching a horror novella and two more poetry chapbooks! I’m writing my first memoir and I’m editing MANY novels.
Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?
C.E.: I’m on Twtter as @CEHoffman2. cehoffman.net. Visit cehoffman.net, and buy Losers and Freaks here!
August 23, 2024
Book Report Corner
by Zilla N.
Sometimes a person is a friend, sometimes they’re the daughter of a cult leader, sometimes they’re the ideal of femininity, sitting in a room daintily eating estrogen pills. But would the ideal of femininity make a good roommate? Worse, imagine living with someone who wants to be the ideal of feminity but is, at best, a movie star with a good pout.
When Elena’s mirror shards reflect her paintings, the only face shown clearly is the portrait Zoe accidentally smeared the paint on. I’m not certain I’m making sense, but you know what I mean.
If you’ve ever read a postmodern novel and thought, that was cool but what if instead of cis masculinity this book was about trans femininity, Love/Aggression is the book for you.
August 20, 2024
Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Zilla: Full disclosure—I read Lonnie Busch’s science fiction thriller Cargo Hold 4 and I absolutely loved it. I don’t want to say too much, because the mystery is part of what makes this horror so compelling. So Lonnie, tell us a bit about Cargo Hold 4 —but no spoilers!
Lonnie: Several years into a multi-decade deep space mission, a team of eight scientists—four women, four men—explore a dwarf planet near the Kuiper Belt and inadvertently bring aboard a stowaway, which is desperately trying to escape from Cargo Hold 4. Or so the crew believes.
Zilla : The alien is a science fiction horror masterpiece, mashing up elements of frogs, bees, and plenty more. What inspired it?
Lonnie: I honestly don’t know. I’m what a lot of writers call a “pantser,” meaning I “write” by the seat of my pants. In other words, I don’t plot out the story. Cargo Hold 4 came out of nowhere. I’m trying to get my latest book, Project Übermensch, ready for publication, and I keep hearing in my head, Cargo Hold 4, Cargo Hold 4, like a mantra. I ignore it as long as I can, until “something” in Cargo Hold 4 starts beating on the huge yellow metal hatch, and I can see the big yellow hatch, and these enormous dents pushing out (which is what I animated in my book trailer.)
So, I start writing, and when I get to finally revealing this thing, I realize I may be done. Nothing’s coming but worn-out tropes from years of too much TV and moviegoing. I ease forward and wait for something to emerge, and it does, and it’s super creepy and I go with it, trying to learn what it is, and what’s going on. There is always a risk with the panster approach of writing a lot of pages and ending up nowhere. But I’m used to that from my background in painting and working on sculpture. Just part of the creative process. I’m okay with it.
Zilla : It’s not just the alien though–plenty of the characters have their own dark secrets. Who is the real monster, the aliens or the humans?
Lonnie: Yeah, that was so cool, how organically it developed. Once this thing was kind of revealed, I started following what I imagined this crew would do, how they might react, how I might react, pitting reason against morals, navigating the conundrum they found themselves up against. I tried to be as honest as possible about the potential eruption of human emotions and choices, no matter how dark it got. As you know, it got pretty dark, way darker than I imagined.
Zilla : I really enjoyed the science tidbits you sprinkled through the book. Do you have a scientific background?
Lonnie: None. My older brother had a telescope when we were kids, but that was about it. But the first moon landing happened when I was 17 years old in 1969. That had to have affected me, I suppose. However, I believe many of the ideas I had about the journey, sprung from a reasoned approach to what might be needed for extended space exploration. I wasn’t ready to concede to “replicator-type” devices like Star Trek, as I didn’t see the mission that far in the future. And I’m glad I didn’t. The idea that came to me for their food and supply problem became a huge plot element. I hadn’t planned that. I think one thing that really spurred my ideas around the mission was reading about Voyager 1 and 2 and the Hubble telescope. Those articles debunked many misconceptions I had about space. Voyager 1 and 2 are still out there, still traveling into deep space after decades. Voyager 1, launched in 1977, is still sending data back, and is expected to keep sending it back until 2036! And Voyager 2, also launched in 1977, is the only spacecraft ever to visit Uranus and Neptune, and is now in interstellar space. That’s wild to me.
Zilla : Thanks for sharing your story and your process. Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?
Lonnie: My books are on Amazon—go to this link for Cargo Hold 4. I’m still in the baby-steps stage as an indie author. My first novel was published by Blackstone Publishing, The Cabin on Souder Hill. I had an agent, a nice advance, a sweet two-book deal, and it seemed like after twenty plus years of writing I had finally arrived. But no. When The Cabin on Souder Hill didn’t fly off the shelves, Blackstone terminated the contract for the second book. Not long after, I ended my relationship with my agent when she seemed less than enthusiastic about my novel, All Hope of Becoming Human, which has won numerous awards and done pretty well. The audiobook for The Cabin on Souder Hill is now an Audible bestseller with over 3400 reviews, but that’s most likely due to Sarah Mollo-Christensen, the narrator. She has an incredible voice and a massive following. So, yeah, the short answer, just Amazon. But it’s cool. I like the KU aspect. I can reach a lot of readers I might otherwise not reach. All Hope of Becoming Human was just accepted into the Amazon Prime Readers Program, though I’m not sure when it will be available there.
People can find all my books, as well as links to my social media, on my website. They can even sign up for new release news and shout-outs for review readers there. I always welcome review readers!
August 19, 2024
Cold Blooded: a science fiction novella by Rohan O’Duill
“Don’t mistake my silence for weakness. No one plans a murder out loud.”
You can pre-order Cold Blooded on Amazon, or you can get a free advance reviw copy in exchange for an honest review. Or both!
August 16, 2024
Zilla on This Book I Read
What’s more exciting than our very own Zilla Novikov on a podcast? Zilla Novikov on a podcast talking about Cascade by Rachel A. Rosen! And along the way, about the climate catastrophe, Brexit, anarchist cooking, and more! You can listen to it on the Beyond Cataclysm website, or wherever you subscribe to podcasts.
August 13, 2024
Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Sabitha: In the bright days of summer, sometimes we yearn for the dark, the mysterious, the thrilling … so today we have David Kummer here, to tell us about the newest book in his series of psychological thrillers, The Silent Forest . David, can you introduce us to these books?
David: My books are psychological thrillers and mysteries. I love to dig into fear and memory, the thin line between the two, and especially how those emotions play into group dynamics. This series is about a family in a rural farm town called New Haven. Here’s the blurb:
In New Haven, everything is changing. And there’s no going back now.
It’s been weeks since Allison went missing, and everyone has given up except for Kaia. New Haven mourns their dead as she keeps looking. And now, she’s starting to find answers.
As the unsolved cases pile up, a new discovery in the forest offers hope. But it also threatens to unbury all of New Haven’s darkest secrets.
For the Woods family, it will take everything they have. For Kaia, it’s the last chance.
There are some shadows you can’t keep underground.
Sabitha : What inspired you to write this book?
David: This book really started with the idea of a haunted house, but I wanted to do something new and exciting with that idea. I’ve read so many cliched haunted houses, so I wanted to play around with every aspect. And also, I love putting my own familiar settings into novels, so the “safe” Woods family lives in a house very much like my grandma’s, like a little piece of myself added to the story.
Sabitha : What book do you tell all your friends to read?
David: The Little Stranger is my favorite book I’ve ever read, and it’s so underrated. Besides that, I always enjoy Mark Edwards, as he’s consistently great, but I’m trying to branch out more and read different types of psychological thrillers.
Sabitha : Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
David: Oh, yeah. All the time. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but one of my books has a beloved character who ends up dying, and it tore me up to write. But you’ll never know when, ‘cause I ain’t saying which book! (There might be multiple, to be honest… I love killing off characters.)
Sabitha : Who did you imagine reading your book as you wrote it?
David: This book is really about family and love, in the face of terrible danger and awful events. But I always imagine my dad reading my book, because he’s always my first reader. Over 2,000 people read The Misery House, so hopefully even more enjoy this one!
Sabitha : What’s your next writing project?
David: I’ve gotta finish this trilogy first, and I can’t wait for that, because I’ve got a super secret project up next… It’s already half written, and it’s calling my name.
Sabitha : Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?
David: I’m all over the place! You can find me on any of these sites, and please do, because I love to chat with readers! I’m on Twitter, Facebook, my blog, Instagram, my Amazon author page, and Goodreads. The Silent Forest can be found on Amazon and Goodreads, or Bookshop if you want to support local bookstores.
August 8, 2024
Wrong Genre Covers
August 6, 2024
Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Sabitha: Sabitha: We’ve all had times when life feels like it’s more than we can deal with—Candi Usher certainly has. Her life story and wisdom can be found in her newest book, When Life is Lifing. Candi, can you tell us a bit about your book?
Candi: When Life is Lifing is a compilation book. It contains my 3 books I’m Still Standing Here, My Forever Angel, and Delusional: When I Lost My Mind in Love. These are my life stories. The things people don’t want to talk about because they feel it’s embarrassing, or because they just feel like it will never change.
Sabitha : What song belongs on your book playlist?
Candi: If I could choose a song for my book, it would be “How Can I Ease the Pain” by Lisa Fishcer. My life has been painful. But it doesn’t define me. It shaped me.
Sabitha : How much research did you need to do for your book?
Candi: There wasn’t much research needed for my books, as therapy was my research of myself. I learned things I never realized. You never know what you look like until you see yourself through someone else’s eyes.
Sabitha : Who did you imagine reading your book as you wrote it?
Candi: If I could have anyone read my book, it would be other women who have lived the life I have like Oprah, or Taraji P Henson.
Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?
Candi: My book is on all book platforms. The main two are my website www.mscandigirl.com and www.amazon.com/dp/B0CY9BYN74.
