Marian Allen's Blog, page 413

Gift Card and Dragons

From the Untold Press website:

Enter the pages of the Dragonthology. No single story has ever been great enough to contain the mystical, wondrous creature known as the dragon. We assembled the greatest draconian tales and put them between the covers of a single tome to satisfy your hunger for everything dragon. Seven magnificent stories, ranging from science fiction to mystery, await you within. Available at all Amazon stores. Prime members borrow for Free.

To celebrate the release of our Dragonthology we are giving away a $25.00 (USD) Amazon Gift Card!

Best of luck to you and please spread the word about our new release!

To enter the contest, visit the Untold Press Release Tour Giveaway page.

Meanwhile, I’ve almost finished my first knitting project (a big long bit of knitting — that’s the project: a big long bit of knitting), and I’m roaring for more. I found this page of simple (MomGoth raises her hand) dragon and turtle patterns! Now I need to find a page of simple phoenix and unicorn patterns, and I’m set!

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What would your main character buy with an Amazon gift card? Books? Cookware? Music? Unusual food?

MA

FROG Jam

No, this is not a new product from those wonderful folks who brought you the Crunchy Frog choccy. This is a jam from Hinton’s Orchard & Farm Market near Hodgenville, Kentucky.

Our #2 daughter and her husband stopped there on a visit to his family and brought us back a couple of jams, one of which was FROG Jam. This is made even more delightfully strange by the fact that they’re both vegetarians.

It’s called FROG jam because it’s principle ingredients are Figs, Raspberries, Oranges, and Ginger.

How does it taste? Well, to be mathematical about it:

(figs + raspberries) + (oranges + ginger) = -3

Seeds? Dear lord, you might as well eat sand with marmalade on it. But the thought is very much appreciated, especially since I know #2 daughter is, for some reason, very partial to seedy jam.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What does your main character like to put on toast in the morning?

MA

 

 

Happy New Year in Reviews

It’s also the beginning of the month, so I have a new Hot Flash for you. I’ve also put a Flashbacks tab in the Hot Flashes menu, to make it easier to navigate to previous years’ Hot Flashes.

Echelon, publisher of FORCE OF HABIT, plans to raise the price from $2.99 to $4.99. The last time I checked, Amazon had not yet bumped the price, so get ‘er cheap while you can. If you would like to see this book in print, there’s a link on the Amazon page to notify the publisher of your desire.

From the Department of Don’t Break Your Arm Patting Yourself On The Back, here are some excerpts from reviews:

“Allen weaves a wonderful story and world that will have you groaning and laughing at the antics of her characters, who each take on a life of their own within the stories.”

“A quick and delightful read. Like Marian Allen’s other book, Eel’s Reverence, this book leaves us wanting more. Highly recommended.”

“By giving the reader accessible aliens, Allen paves the way for a delightfully quirky romp through bureaucracy, inter-galactic relations and social customs. Wordplay and innuendo spice up an already tasty book – even the title is a clever pun!”

“If you enjoy Star Trek, Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide series, or any other lighthearted science fiction, then Force of Habit should be right up your alley.”

Wow! I’d like to read that book, myself! Er, I mean, there you go.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Invent New Year’s tradition for an imaginary society. You can make their New Year any time of the year you like, but justify that as their time to note the beginning of a new cycle.

MA

Religion in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Here are my notes from a panel given by Terry Bisson and my beloved Mike Resnick at the late, lamented Rivercon sf convention in 1997.

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Religion in Fantasy and Science Fiction

Panelists: Terry Bisson and Mike Resnick

Q Does religion have a valid role in science fiction literature?

A Bisson: Yes

Resnick: As much or more so than politics.

Q What is your denomination? How does it affect your work?

A Resnick: I’m an atheist. Because I’m an atheist, I don’t have to worry about being sacrilegious when I write about God, so I do it a lot. I’ve probably given God more speaking lines than most writers.

Bisson: I’m also an atheist

Q Is science fiction in recent years too apocalyptic?

A Bisson: No, it’s become less apocalyptic since the ’50′s.

Resnick: I agree. Now, TV and movies may be more apocalyptic, but I think that’s because Hollywood saw how much people like to see things get blown up. It’s a matter of special effects, not philosophy.

Q Mike, do you prefer religion as ambiance or environment in your work? How central is it?

A It depends on the piece. In some, it’s what the whole story is about. In others, it doesn’t show up at all.

Q Terry, are the morés and ethics in science fiction related more to religion or to the human condition?

A Religion doesn’t have much of a role in my books. In mine, the morés and ethics are related to the human condition.

Q Is there a set of precepts that hasn’t been done and needs to be done?

A A set of precepts should be used only if the author feels a need to use it. If it isn’t meaningful to the writer, or if the writer doesn’t make it meaningful to the characters, it’s just a gimmick. And the reader knows it’s just a gimmick.

Q Would you say that science fiction and religion are alike, in that each involves “suspending disbelief to gaze at the impossible”?

A Resnick and Bisson in agreement: There’s a fundamental antagonism between SF and religion, because religion is about immutable truths and SF is about breaking through accepted “truths.” Anything that accepts any religion as true is, by definition, fantasy and not sf, because it posits a being whose existence cannot possibly be proved.

Q What is the role of religion in sf and fantasy?

A Resnick: It has a valid role, but it isn’t all-encompassing. It’s a tool for the writer.

Bisson: It’s rarely the subject in sf. Usually a device.

Resnick: “Religion says, ‘The truth shall make you free.’ Science fiction says, ‘Doubt sets people free.’”

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Me, again. If you’ve read much of my writing, you know that I think religion has a large part to play in science fiction as well as fantasy. Religion and science are each about immutable truths; the truths are just different. They’re both about understanding the world and our place in it. And, although many followers of religions hold that religion’s truths to be beyond doubt, I don’t consider a religion that claims to have a lock on the immensity of an Ultimate Being worth its salt. And people’s uses and abuses of religion are certainly fact.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Invent a religion. Not one that’s supposed to be silly.

MA

#SampleSunday – Anthology Announcement

I’ve posted excerpts from this story before, so I’ll just link to those (excerpt #1 and excerpt #2) and cut to the announcement:

DRAGONTHOLOGY is soon to be alive!

How awesome is that cover? Pretty damn awesome, that’s how! Here is the publisher’s blurb:

Enter the pages of the Dragonthology. No single story has ever been great enough to contain the mystical, wondrous creature known as the dragon. We assembled the greatest draconian tales and put them between the covers of a single tome to satisfy your hunger for everything dragon. Seven magnificent stories, ranging from science fiction to mystery, await you within.

The Case of the Bloodstone Dragon by G.L. Jackson

A washed up has been, Private Investigator Clark is down to his last $100. That is, until the night a mysterious femme fatale walks through his door weaving a tale of intrigue in hope of recovering an artifact steeped in mystery and danger. What follows is a raucous ride through a little known human and dragon history, played out on the streets of New York City.

Unto the Breach by Jason Andrew

Jonathan Heller uncovers an unusual secret during one of the bloodiest campaigns of World War One in the middle of horrific trench warfare.  Can he convince an ancient dragon that humanity is worthy of life during their darkest hour?

The Dragon of Sullivan Hall by Marian Allen

A dormitory full of fun loving female students, an angry red dragon with a litter full of hungry whelps, and a particular student of Irish descent. This won’t end well for the dragon.

Egg Hunt by Jay Wilburn

A lonely smuggler must make decisions he never dreamt possible in the darkness of space to elude capture and protect his precious cargo of dragon eggs. When one of them hatches, it threatens to damage his ship. Can a person change enough to save a ship, a dragon, and himself?

The Clan by Troy Lambert

Dragons return to the earth and humanity enslaves them with the last remnants of technology of their dying race. Now the technology of old is fading. Will the dragons be able to rise again? Will the humans declare war, or will a peaceful solution be found? It all rests in the hands of an ancient dragon, and a lowly shepherd and his clan.

Dragon Seeks a Wife by Sandra Graves

What happens when a dragon falls ill and is told he will die in a year and a day unless he finds his one true love? The only thing a dragon can do. He sets out on a quest to win the hand of the perfect mate for a dragon–the daughter of the king. Aided by a Quetzal bird sorcerer, he begins his quest. An old fashioned fairy tale with a Meso-American twist.

Darkness Taken by J.A. Campbell

In a land where children are warriors and the only adults are mythical creatures, all are called to fight the Darkness. Til and her dragon partner, Heliodor, complete the perfect Welcome Ceremony, but their joy is short lived. The Dark has slain a unicorn and taken her foal back to the Darklands. Can Til and Heliodor venture where none go and rescue the young unicorn?

www.untoldpress.com Be there, or be a four-sided equiangular thing!A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What do you think of when you think of a dragon?MA

#Caturday – New Cat and Free Books

Here is my new cat. Our youngest grandson made him for me for Christmas. So far, he and Katya are ignoring each other, and that’s the way I like it. He’s smiling, flat, and made of brown Play-Doh, so his name is Happy Brownlow.

He’s my very most favoritest present! He’s going to live in my office, I think.

ALSO: my soon-to-be publisher, Hydra Publications, is having a 20-book giveaway, none of them mine, alas, but mine will be available soon. Meanwhile, enter the giveaway and get some super-duper reads!

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character gives a hand-made gift. Is it received well? Poorly? How does it make the giver feel?

MA

What to Do When You’re Sick

Charlie and I went to the doc yesterday and got medicine, but it did not magically make us entirely and instantly all well. That’s just wrong. This is America!

So, having failed to get entirely and instantly all well, here is my list of what to do while I wait.

5. Sleep. Yeah, good luck with that. Between coughing and snoring, that ain’t workin’ out too well. But one can try.

4. Eat chicken soup, tuna fish, and/or crackers.

3. Drink Ginger Ale. Nothing better. When I’m sick, I’d rather have Ginger Ale than a hot whiskey toddy, and that’s saying a lot.

2. Call people so they can hear how bad you sound. Not much point being sick, if nobody knows it.

1. And the number one thing to do when you’re sick:

COLOR!

My favorite thing to color when I’m sick is pretty lady dresses, although somebody gave me an activity book, just for the sake of variety. The more colors available, the better. I have a box of 96. If you know of a larger collection, please let me know.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go finish this Barbie princess dress.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What does your main character do when he/she is sick, if he/she can indulge?

MA

Christmas Crud – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Ah, Christmas! When nobody wants to miss the party, so everybody comes home with whatever diseases everybody else is carrying!

~cough! snort! wheeze! ah-ah-ah-CHOO!~

So have yourself a merry little incubation period. I’ll probably feel better long about Epiphany. Meanwhile, I’ll be here every day, unless we have like a freakin’ blizzard and lose power or something wintery and jolly like that.

FORCE OF HABIT is still free for Kindle today. Go get one. A book, I mean. You don’t need a Kindle; you can download a free Kindle reading app. ~honk~

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character catches an irritating virus from another character.

MA

Guest Post – Saltfish and Ackee

No, that isn’t a comedy team, it’s a recipe. As promised, Alexander Charlemont is here today with a Jamaican vegetarian dish. He explains what Saltfish is, but not Ackee. So here’s a link telling about Ackee. You’re welcome.

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Today, Marian was gracious enough to allow me to do a guest post for you guys, and I thought there would be nothing more appropriate than to share with you Jamaica’s national dish! Ackee and Saltfish.Saltfish is what we in Jamaica call ‘Cod fish’. Now if fish isn’t apart of your diet as a vegetarian, that’s ok! All you have to do is take out the fish and make Ackee!Without further ado, Ackee and Saltfish [Codfish]:

Ackee & Salt Fish

½ lb cod fish1 dozen ackees4 tbsp cooking oil1 onion, chopped2 plum tomatoes, chopped¼ scotch bonnet pepper

Method

1.       Set cod fish to soak in two quarts cold water for three hours. Flake salt fish to remove the bones and set aside

2.       Boil ackees until firm and discard water

3.       Heat oil and sauté’ onions

4.       Toss in ackee and stir in tomatoes and Scotch bonnet pepper

5.       Serve with roasted breadfruit

I hope you guys enjoy this dish! It’s usually served for breakfast but really any time of the day is good!

One Love,

Alexander Charlemont

www.vegetarianmagic.com

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Thank you, Alexander! I hope you’ll visit again, sometime.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Who does your main character go to for cooking advice?

MA

Merry Christmas and False Advertising

MomGoth has a couple of Christmas surprises for her sweet little baby angels!

First, my fabulous long-time pal and co-conspirator … I mean, critique partner, Jane Peyton, has consented to contribute Tuesdays With Jane posts. So, any Tuesday I can hold a poniard to her gullet and force one out of her, you’ll have the benefit of her wit and wisdom.

Second, a new internet acquaintance of mine with the super name of Alexander Charlemont, is posting a vegetarian Jamaican recipe here tomorrow. I’ve added his site, Vegetarian Magic, to my blogroll under Foods. Check it out!

Okay, false advertising: Jane gave me some body lotion the other day. The label says I should rub the lotion onto my body “until it is completely absorbed”. I’ve been rubbing it on my belly several times a day, but I’m still as fat as ever. I think I’ll sue.

Meanwhile today, it being Tuesday, I’m posting at Fatal Foodies with a recipe for a lovely light soup.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: An old friend and a new friend come to visit at the same time.

MA