Beth Cato's Blog, page 127

Sunday Quote has four months until novel release

“But isn’t it exciting? Aren’t they really living people? This is when I am glad that I am or try to be a writer–the growth and flowering of something I seem only to plant and nurture for a while.”

~John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel

Return to 1906

I’ll be scarce online for the next while. I have resumed work on Breath of Earth, my 1906 alt-history steampunk novel. I haven’t worked on it since last October. It ended up on the back burner because of the contract deadline for Clockwork Crown (the sequel book for Clockwork Dagger). As I’m now waiting for my revision letter, this is a good time to switch steampunk worlds.

I’m in what I’d call later stage revisions on BoE–I’m way past the rough draft, but I’m still engaged in world-building tweaks that are threatening to break my brain.

That’s why I’m doing this post right now, you see. I need a rest or my brain will burst.

 

These kinds of revision are daunting. Honestly, I’ve been scared of this book for months. I feel a lot of pressure to get the history as close to accurate as possible, even in an alternate version of Earth, and the book delves into heavy racial issues. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. I’ve probably read somewhere near 40 books in research, with a physical stack waiting to be read and I don’t know how many more on my iPad. I didn’t work on the novel for over six months, but I didn’t stop reading for it.

My deadline to finish this is right near the beginning of June, and I already know I’ll need to read the manuscript over several times. Plus, there’s general life stuff to distract me, like the fact my son only has one week of school left. *whimper*

Good thing I love this book, though I kinda hate it right now, too.

 

 

Bready or Not: Cardamom Toffee Coffee Blondies

My modified version of this recipe came about because I misread the original name on Pinterest. It was “Cardamom Coffee Blondies,” but at first glance I thought it said “Toffee.” Which sounded really good.

Once I read the recipe, I knew I had it in my power to make these with coffee and toffee. That’s because I had a bag of Heath Bits with Milk Chocolate stashed in my fridge.

The flavors here play very well together. You have the lovely flavor of cardamom, the sweetness of toffee, the touch of chocolate, and the incorporated espresso powder. It sounds like a lot, but it works.

The texture is amazing, too. These are soft, chewy, and keep well for several days at room temp or in a closed container in the fridge (a necessity in Arizona, alas).

 

Print
Bready or Not: Cardamom Toffee Coffee Blondies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping Tbsp instant espresso powder
1 heaping Tbsp ground cardamom

2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 bag of Heath bits with chocolate (or chop up some Heath or other toffee bars)
For the top
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Prepare a 9x13 pan by lining it with parchment or aluminum foil and applying butter or nonstick spray.
Cream the butter, espresso powder, cardamom and sugars together until fluffy; this takes several minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet, mixing just until combined. Add the bag of Heath Bits last.
Spread the thick batter into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips across the top and gently press in.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle passes the toothpick test. Don't over bake! Let cool a while before cutting.
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A is for Apocalypse: Cover Reveal + Giveaway

If you’ve read some of my short stories and poetry, you’ve probably noticed I write a lot about the apocalypse. My weird little brain had obsessed about the subject as long as I can remember–the first dream I remember from age three was about the world being destroyed in a flood, and the only safe place was Food King. (That Food King was razed in 2001. My hometown is now doomed.)

Since I already write a lot about the end times, I was really excited to be invited to the A is for Apocalypse anthology. It was the perfect match. I was assigned the letter D.

Here is the awesome cover. The book is set to come out this fall!

What do you get when you take twenty-six amazing writers, randomly assign them a letter of the alphabet and give them complete artistic freedom within a theme?

A is for Apocalypse

A is for Apocalypse contains twenty-six apocalyptic stories written by both well-known and up-and-coming writers. Monsters, meteors, floods, war–the causes of the apocalypses in these tales are as varied as the stories themselves.

This volume contains work by Ennis Drake, Beth Cato, Kenneth Schneyer, Damien Angelica Walters, K. L. Young, Marge Simon, Milo James Fowler, Simon Kewin, C.S. MacCath, Steve Bornstein and more!

A is for Apocalypse

Edited by Rhonda Parrish

Poise and Pen Publishing

ISBN-13: 978-0993699016

ISBN-10: 0993699014

Cover Designed by Jonathan Parrish

The editor is also hosting a Rafflecopter giveaway for three books! The info on that, from Rhonda:

I’m giving away three ARC copies of A is for Apocalypse (tour-wide). These are physical copies but I am willing to ship them to anywhere in the world. The Rafflecopter draw will run from May 12th to May 19th. On May 20th I will choose three winners and email them in order to get their shipping address. Anyone who doesn’t respond by May 27th will forfeit their prize and I will choose a new winner to receive it.

Enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Timeline to Publication

Last year, when I was still in the Cone of Silence regarding my book deal, my friend J. Kathleen Cheney posted a timeline of her books in the midst of the publication process. For a while now, I have wanted to do the same kind of thing for my books. I finally had that chance.

2013

February 22nd: verbal contract

not allowed to discuss the book deal in public at all; told very few people

July 3rd: received two-book contract to sign.

July 16th: deal announced in Publisher’s Marketplace. I then shouted it from rooftops.

September 6th: revision letter arrived. Deadline of October 31st.

the big edits; in my case, deleted 10k of 100,000 word book

October 15th: edits mailed in.

November 11th: editor accepted my edits.

December 10th: copyedits arrived, due 23rd.

these are nitpicky edits to clarify things, correct typos and inconsistencies

December 17th: turned in copyedits

Through December and January: back and forth regarding book cover details

2014

January 1-31st: wrote 83k book 2 rough draft

January 29th: page proofs arrived for book 1, due Feb 11th

page proofs are the book formatted for the actual book, but printed on standard computer paper. Only small changes allowed; mostly for typos and formatting, making sure italics are right, etc.

February 4th: mailed page proofs

February: edited book 2 draft, add another 10k

February 20th: found my back cover copy on Goodreads

February 21st: sent in dedication and acknowledgment for book 1

March 3rd: cover posted online

March-April: book 2 critiques, followed by more rounds of revision

April 14th: submitted book 2 to my editor (deadline was June 1st)

September 16th: The Clockwork Dagger to be released

September 2015: The Clockwork Crown to be released

Sunday Quote extends Happy Mother’s Day wishes

“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.” ~David McCullough

New Kitchen

My Book Deal kitchen renovation is done! Again, this involved three stages:

- undercabinet lights (which you’ll see in the first “before” pic down there

- backsplash tiles the whole length of our long counter

- boards to cap our cabinets on top, which are visible from the stairs

BEFORE

See? Very plain white. I had a few potholders and decorative things up before, but it never really gave the room atmosphere. The kitchen really needed a sense of grounded space because the ceiling in there is about 30 feet high and the space is shared with the living room and dining room.

AFTER

Ta-da! I’m so pleased with how everything turned out. The tile is tumbled green marble 2×2 and we used mocha-colored grout. We’ve lived here since 2008 and the kitchen has always been my space, but now it really feels MINE.

Maybe if I sell another book, I’ll upgrade my stove…

Broken front page

WordPress very happily notified me that it upgraded its version this afternoon.

I not-so-happily discovered that the body of my index page is now coming up as a 404 error. (Thanks again to my dear friend Rhonda for letting me know; it’s never fun to be the bearer of sucky news like that.)

The good news: the data is still there. I can see it when logged in. The rest of my site’s content is still present for visitors as well. There’s just some incompatibility issue with my theme that Elegant Themes will need to fix to get my main page working. Tech support knows and I am grateful for their aid.

In the meantime… enjoy the site, just try to ignore the ugly entry way.

Bready or Not: Soft Batch-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I grew up, I ate a lot of grocery store cookies and junk. Stuff that makes me shudder to think of now–those cinnamon rolls with spackle for frosting, and those cheap frozen pizzas with cardboard crusts and pseudo-pepperoni bits.

But there was some good stuff to be found, too… like Keebler Soft Batch Cookies. As I grew older, Soft Batches became the clear chocolate chip cookie preference for both me and my brother. Chips Ahoy were too crunchy (though they did come out with a soft version in recent years). Soft Batch is well… soft. Chewy. The texture is amazing.

Want to duplicate them at home? Want to know the secret? Corn starch. That’s right. It’s the miracle ingredient.

I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times, doubled it from the original, and added a few tweaks. Don’t limit yourself to chocolate chips. Add in whatever you want (chopped candy, chopped Oreos or other cookies, M&Ms, whatever–just don’t go over that 3 cup limit or you’ll have problems with structural integrity.

Structural integrity is very important. Chocolate chip cookies are serious business.

*One more note. This dough is great to make and freeze. You can freeze it in a large lump, wrapped in wax paper or parchment and kept in a freezer bag, or shaped into tablespoon-sized balls (freeze them on a cookie sheet and then bag them). If they’re shaped, you can take them straight from the freezer to the oven. Just add a few minutes to the cooking time.

Recipe modified from Picky Palate.

 

Print
Bready or Not: Soft Batch-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups chocolate chips (or other filler)
extra sea salt or turbinado sugar, to sprinkle on top

Instructions

Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, which takes several minutes in a mixer. Add eggs and vanilla. Next slowly mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and the chocolate chips.
You can make them straight away, but texture is thicker if the dough is chilled for several hours or overnight. Cover with plastic wrap if it will be in for a while.
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Scoop the dough onto parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little extra salt or turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake for 10-13 minutes, watching for desired coloration. Let them cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to rack.
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HarperCollins and Harlequin

Interesting news emerged on Friday–HarperCollins is acquiring Harlequin from Torstar. My two-book deal is with the Harper Voyager imprint. I have no idea if this will impact me, but it seems inevitable that some restructuring will occur. Both publishers have romance lines and they also have imprints that focus on urban fantasy/speculative fiction (Luna from Harlequin, and Voyager for HarperCollins). It will be a matter of waiting and seeing what happens.

One thing that is clear–the name combinations aren’t as funny as the ones that resulted from the Random House and Penguin merger last year. Random Penguin/Penguin House, etc. Though HarleCollins doesn’t have a bad ring to it…