Beth Cato's Blog, page 126
May 31, 2014
Sunday Quote has Phoenix Comicon next weekend
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
~Maya Angelou
May 30, 2014
Phoenix Comicon Schedule
Next weekend, I’m a panelist at Phoenix Comicon. My first time as panelist and it’s at a honkin’ huge event–some 30,000 people will attend Saturday alone! This is my schedule as it looks right now:
The Secret Lives of Debut Authors : Friday 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Science Fiction and Fantasy Poets : Saturday 10:30am – 11:30am
Fantasy that Defies Description : Saturday 12:00pm – 1:00pm
The most current info can be found at my guest page.
In addition, I’ll be stalking a lot of my author-friends (and Nathan Fillion. Because reasons.). I’ll be in steampunk attire… and at this con, that pretty much means I’ll blend in. Which is pretty awesome, I think.
If you’ll be attending, let me know! And please, come up and say hi.
May 29, 2014
Galleys! They Exist!
No, I don’t have them in my hot little hands, but my awesome editor at Harper Voyager shared the joy over Twitter this morning.
Gorgeous galleys for THE CLOCKWORK DAGGER by @BethCato and SODA POP SOLDIER by @NickColeBooks came in today! Yay! pic.twitter.com/O9ZxVXkWDM
— Harper Voyager US (@HarperVoyagerUS) May 29, 2014
If you’ll be at BEA in New York City these next few days, they’ll be available at the SFWA booth! (And if you see them there, do take a pic and send it my way! I’d love to see.)
Edit to add: Michael J. Martinez was kind enough to inform me that the SFWA booth is giving away cards that provide a free ebook download of my book, too. Huzzah!
May 27, 2014
Bready or Not: Pretzel Sandwich Buns
It seems a lot of standard buns are just… there. A thing to hold meat. They aren’t memorable or flavorful.
You want something better than a mere meat sling? MAKE THIS.
These buns are soft and chewy, tender yet strong. They can cradle juicy meat without instantly becoming a soggy mess, but they won’t break your teeth, either. That little bit of salt on the top complements just about everything. Want to use these for hamburger buns? Make big rounds. Or shape them into hot dog buns. Or as rolls that you can use for sliders, or simply slice open to add butter.
They keep great in a sealed container for a few days, and also freeze and thaw in a fabulous way.
Trust me, once you make these buns, you’ll never settle for the grocery store stuff again.
Print 
Bready or Not: Pretzel Sandwich Buns
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients1 3/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast
Topping Ingredients
coarse sea salt like pretzel salt or kosher salt
Water Bath
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup baking soda
Instructions
Mix and knead the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a smooth, slightly sticky dough. If you're making by hand, allow the dough to rise in a lightly greased bowl, covered, for about 1 hour, until doubled. In bread machine, let the full dough cycle run through.Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.
Divide the dough into as many buns as you want. About 8 to 10 will work for sandwich size, while about 12 can be done at about slider size. Shape each piece into a smooth ball.
Place the balls on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.
While that's happening, preheat the oven to 400°F and prepare the water bath for the stovetop. Bring the water, salt, and baking soda to a boil in a large pot.
Gently lower several dough balls at a time into the water bath. Cook for 30 seconds, flip over, and cook for 30 seconds longer. Using a slotted spoon, return the buns to the baking sheet.
Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut half-inch deep crosses into the center of each bun. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake the buns for 20 to 24 minutes (lower time for smaller rolls/buns), or until they're brown. Remove them from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.
OM NOM NOMSchema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.5http://www.bethcato.com/bready-or-not-pretzel-sandwich-buns/
May 26, 2014
The Latest at Novelocity
My occasional round-up of posts from Novelocity, where a bunch of up-and-coming novelists (including me!) talk books and more. Join the conversation!
- What is your favorite first line in a novel or story?
- What gets you excited about a new project?
- Cover reveal: E.C. Ambrose with ELISHA MAGUS (This cover is so cool. You gotta check it out.)
You can also follow along on Facebook and Twitter at @TeamNovelocity.
May 24, 2014
Sunday Quote just celebrated her 14th anniversary
“The book dies a real death for me when I write the last word. I have a little sorrow and then go on to a new book which is alive. The line of books on the shelf are to me like very well embalmed corpses.”
~John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel
May 23, 2014
Blurb Worthy
I have unlocked a cool new achievement in this whole “Dude, I’m a Real Author” journey. I blurbed a book. That book: Shield and Crocus by Michael R. Underwood. I was happy to get an advanced copy of the book through Netgalley and even happier when it lived up to the amazing premise.
As my blurb line says, “The book is fast-paced, especially impressive considering the amount of world-building. The fight is desperate. The tyrants are villains in the truest sense. Superheroes + Epic Fantasy = Awesomeness.” —Beth Cato, author of Clockwork Dagger
The book is out June 10th from Amazon’s 47North imprint, in paper and ebook. It’s one of my favorite reads so far this year. Do check it out.
May 21, 2014
Cover Reveal: FAE
Isn’t it weird how you can wait months and months for things to happen, then everything happens at once? That’s how it’s ended up with these anthologies and cover reveals.
I’m delighted to show off the cover of FAE, which includes my story, “The Cartography of Shattered Trees.”
Meet Robin Goodfellow as you’ve never seen him before, watch damsels in distress rescue themselves, get swept away with the selkies and enjoy tales of hobs, green men, pixies and phookas. One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother’s fairy tales.
Fairies have been both mischievous and malignant creatures throughout history. They’ve dwelt in forests, collected teeth or crafted shoes. Fae is full of stories that honor that rich history while exploring new and interesting takes on the fair folk from castles to computer technologies and modern midwifing, the Old World to Indianapolis.
Fae covers a vast swath of the fairy story spectrum, making the old new and exploring lush settings with beautiful prose and complex characters. Enjoy the familiar feeling of a good old-fashioned fairy tale alongside urban fantasy and horror with a fae twist.
With an introduction by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, and all new stories from Sidney Blaylock Jr., Amanda Block, Kari Castor, Beth Cato, Liz Colter, Rhonda Eikamp, Lor Graham, Alexis A. Hunter, L.S. Johnson, Jon Arthur Kitson, Adria Laycraft, Lauren Liebowitz, Christine Morgan, Shannon Phillips, Sara Puls, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.
Fae
Edited by Rhonda Parrish
• Release date: July 22, 2014 (ebook and paperback)
• Genre: Fantasy / Horror
• Length: Anthology, approx. 250 pages
• Trade paperback: $14.95; ebook $7.99
• ISBN-13 (trade paperback): 978-0692207918
• ISBN-10 (trade paperback): 0692207910
If you’re on Goodreads, please add the book to your want-to-read shelf. Or how about this–enter to win one of six copies of the book!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Fae
by Rhonda Parrish
Giveaway ends June 19, 2014.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
May 20, 2014
Bready or Not: Korean-Style Ground Beef
Holy cow. You’d think all cows are holy with how beef costs have gone up, and it’s supposed to get worse through the summer.
That’s one reason why I like this dish. It uses lean ground beef (which has still gone up 50% in price the past few years…) but enables me to do something different than the standard taco filling. It’s also cheaper than the flank steak you typically see used for home versions of Korean or Mongolian-style dishes.
This doesn’t taste like teriyaki, but has a sweet, savory flavor that goes fabulously with the meat.
So if ground beef goes on sale, don’t go for the tortillas. Pick up some extra rice and make this instead!
Recipe modified from Elizabeth Bryant.
Print
Bready or Not: Korean-Style Ground Beef
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder or 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
diced green onions
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add in sesame oil and garlic, stir, then add in the hamburger and brown it. Drain most of the fat.Add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper, and red pepper. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors.
Serve over rice or noodles, and top with green onions.
OM NOM NOM!Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.5http://www.bethcato.com/bready-or-not-korean-style-beef/
May 19, 2014
Career Day
Last week I took part in Career Day for 6th-8th graders at my son’s school. This was my first time doing any public speaking about writing, and for an age group that’s known to be a tough but honest crowd! I spent four hours straight talking to four different groups of students.
A few things that stood out to me:
- they loved it that I mentioned anime and video games, and that I encouraged them to use fan fiction as inspiration and practice. I saw lots of friends whisper and nudge each other when I said that. A big part of my talk was that anything that uses imagination isn’t a waste of time–and that the video games I loved at their age inspire things in my books even now.
- they wanted to know about all the work that went into the creation of my book cover. I hadn’t even planned to talk about this, but the host teacher brought it up and it interested every single group.
There was another common question they asked: “Who’s the guy on the cover?” Not a single person asked about the woman. I love that they connected with Alonzo, the rare dark-skinned guy on a book cover. It makes me want to shake the book industry and say, ‘SEE?!’
We need more books–and book covers–that reflect our diversity. Kids needs to see more strong characters who look like them.
- talking about the apocalypse makes me cool. Me, cool. How crazy is that?
- they always asked how old I am. I don’t mind saying that I’m 34.
- one girl had the most gorgeous purple hair. I am still in envy of that hair.
After each talk, I had several students stay behind to tell me about what they wrote and ask me some questions. This meant everything to me. When I was their age, I would have walked on hot lava to talk to an author. I saw myself in them, and it made me happy for the future.
