Beth Cato's Blog, page 81

Poetry Publications, Translations, & an Award Nom

The past few weeks brought a small flurry of new poetry publications, a double feature podcast of my stories, the discovery of three of my Nature stories translated into other languages, and the astonishing honor of my story “Headspace” from Cats in Space as a finalist for WSFA Small Press Award!

Translations

– “Human is Late to Feed the Cat” translated as “Hungry Cat” in German at Spektrum (Nature Magazine)

– “Bread of Life” in Arabic at Arabic Nature Magazine

– “Post Apocalyptic Conversations with a Sidewalk” translated as “My Friend, the Walkway” in German at Spektrum (Nature Magazine)

Podcast:

– Far Fetched Fables No. 119 Beth Cato double feature: “The Quest You Have Chosen Defies Your Fate” and “Cartographer’s Ink” read by Geoffrey Welchman and Martin Reyto

Poems:

– “The Box of Dust and Monsters,” Devilfish Review

– “Keep This Mystery,” Zetetic

– “The Mermaid, On Display in Phoenix,” Spirit’s Tincture Issue 1 (click on the cover image to read online for free)

 

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Important Post at The Mary Sue

Breath of Earth has been out for over a week and it seems people have actually acquired the book and LIKE IT. It makes me especially happy that readers are vocal in the adoration of Fenris–he often gets more mentions than my main character, Ingrid!

On the subject of Fenris, I have an article online at The Mary Sue: Writing Fenris: Why We Need More Trans Heroes in Genre Fiction. I’m humbled and honored to speak out on this subject because I do come from a position of ignorance. I read, I write, I learn.

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Bready or Not: Cardamom Coffee Pound Cake

Eat your morning coffee in this luscious Cardamom Coffee Pound Cake!

Weird fact: I actually considered skipping the glaze on this because I figured it would be a delicious cake on its own. What was I thinking? The glaze makes this cake.

My husband’s workplace lives on coffee. He brought this loaf cake and it was consumed almost instantly. Apparently, the loaf was practically divine when paired with a hot cup of coffee.

This recipe has coffee going on all over the place, too. Espresso powder is in the cake batter. Brewed coffee is infused in the baked cake, and is also the primary liquid in the glaze. Plus, it uses one of my favorite spices: cardamom. Which happens to be perfect along with coffee.

Modified from Relish Magazine.

Bready or Not: Cardamom Coffee Pound Cake





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Coffee and cardamom embody this loaf cake with spicy magic. This isn’t merely a “coffee cake,” as in a cake to eat with coffee–it has coffee laced into every layer. Start your morning off with a caffeine-sugar wallop! Modified from Relish Magazine.

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 cup plain/vanilla low fat yogurt, Greek yogurt, or sour cream
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon espresso powder dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1/3 cup mild olive oil or vegetable oil
For coffee infusion:
1/4 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup white sugar
For icing:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
pinch of cardamom

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to act as a sling across the wide part of a 8 1/2 by 4 1/4-inch loaf pan. Grease the pan well, press in the parchment paper inside so it sticks up on either end, and grease the paper as well.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon cardamom. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine yogurt/sour cream, 1 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, hydrated espresso powder, and oil; whisk well.

Gradually stir in flour mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in the middle of the loaf. Let it cool in pan for 10 minutes then lift out by the parchment and place on a wire rack over a sheet pan. You can reuse the parchment by placing it beneath the rack to make the next clean up stage easier, too.

While the loaf is still warm, use a chopstick or skewer to poke deep holes all over the top and sides. Use a saucepan to heat up the 1/4 cup brewed coffee and 1/4 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly spoon the coffee mix over the cake, giving the liquid time to soak in; use it all, with the excess dripping into the pan below.

When the loaf cake is completely cool, make the icing. Combine sifted powdered sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons brewed coffee, and pinch of cardamom. Stir until smooth. Add more sugar or a touch of coffee (or milk or water, in a pinch) if needed for consistency. Drizzle glaze over cake.

OM NOM NOM!

 

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Sunday Quote is frazzled after release week

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

~ Terry Pratchett

Breath of Earth excerpt, links, and interviews

Release week. It is always crazy, but this week has been especially so with WorldCon, travel woes getting home, a migraine, and family visit. I’ve been preparing for this for months (thank goodness!) and now that work is suddenly visible in the form of guest blogs and interviews all over the place.

Excerpt:

– A bit of banter between Ingrid and Cy is featured at USA Today’s Happily Ever After.

Reviews that made me squeal:

– NPR.org reviewed Breath of Earth, saying: “Cato’s exhaustive research of the time and place gives the book texture and grit, and she hasn’t whitewashed what was a very problematic chapter of America’s history… It may take place in an alternate universe over a hundred years ago, but it deals with the issues of xenophobia, racism, sexism and anti-immigrant hatred set against a backdrop of perpetual war, a situation that feels familiar today. Rather than taking a soapbox stand, Breath of Earth makes its points as a witty, charming adventure yarn — one that’s only as escapist as you want to be.”

– The B&N Scifi & Fantasy Blog: “While the set-pieces are often spectacular and fantastic, the world- building is the real show-stopping effort. This is not just a dirigible ride for the fun of it (though it is fun), but a journey with meaning and purpose.”

Nice mentions:

– Included in The Verge’s list of best science fiction and fantasy books coming out in August.

– Highlighted by among B&N Bookseller’s Picks: The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of August 2016.

– Included on Goodread’s 7 Great Books Hitting Shelves Today.

Interviews:

– Beth Cato faced her fears to level up with third novel, ‘Breath of Earth’ in the Arizona Republic; interview with Michael Senft

– Lock Up Your Batmans: Interview with Beth Cato at Smashed Picket Fences

– MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape interview on Breath of Earth

– Tuesdays with Lexie: Beth Cato

– A Breath of Earth by Beth Cato: interview with Ingrid Carmichael

– Beth Cato talks changing history and more in ‘Breath of Earth’ with Hypable

– Breath of Earth author Beth Cato talks historic San Fran earthquakes and … foxes? with Sara Dobie Bauer

Guest blogs:

– John Scalzi’s Big Idea: Breath of Earth

– My Favorite Bit: Breath of Earth, with Mary Robinette Kowal

– Kitsune and the Game of Kitsune-Ken for T. Frohock’s Folklore Thursday

– 5 Things Beth Cato Learned By Her Third Book at Dan Koboldt’s site

– Unlikely Influences: What Beth Cato Learned About Magic by Living Through Earthquakes

– Rewriting the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake at Alternate History Weekly Update

– Geomancy in Breath of Earth at Mighty Thor JRS’s SFF Blog

– Researching the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

– Book Bites with Fran Wilde – Shokupan (Milk Loaf Bread) from Beth Cato

– Katherine Harbour’s The Awesomeness of… series with: The Awesomeness of Home

– Cookies and a Book: Earl Grey Shortbread and Breath of Earth with Beth Cato

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Bready or Not: Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze

CAKE + PIE MONTH continues with another dose of maple–this time in the glaze atop this tender cinnamon-filled bundt cake!

If you don’t have maple flavor around, worry not. This cake will be just fine if you use vanilla extract instead. You could always add more cinnamon into the glaze, too, just for a spicy boost.

I love using sour cream in cake batter like this. It creates such a tender, moist texture. You can always substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream, too.

I spied the original version of this recipe in the Arizona Republic one morning. I knew I had to make it… but I also knew it needed some modifications. How could it be called a cinnamon coffee cake if it only had one teaspoon of cinnamon? Nope, nope. And of course, I had to give it a maple glaze.

If you’re getting burned out on maple (*cough*blasphemy*cough*), worry not. Next week, I finish off Cake + Pie Month with Cardamom Coffee Pound Cake! Unlike this week’s recipe, the pound cake actually includes coffee in the batter and in the glaze.

But, you know, I think this week’s recipe has a mighty fine glaze as it is.

Modified from Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake in the Arizona Republic, March 16, 2016.

Bready or Not: Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze





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Use a bundt cake pan to bake up an easy and delicious coffee cake! The cinnamon flavor sings through the tender cake and perfectly complements the maple-infused glaze. Modified from Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake in The Arizona Republic, March 16, 2016.

For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon milk or half and half
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor (or substitute vanilla)

Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Use nonstick spray with flour to thoroughly coat a 9 or 10-inch bundt pan, or use extra butter and a liberal dusting of flour. Discard any excess flour.

In a large bowl, beat together the 1 cup butter and the sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla and sour cream.

In a smaller bowl, combine the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly combine the two bowls; don't overmix. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread so the top is even.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick deeply inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes on wire rack, then flip the cake out of the pan to completely cool on the rack.

When the cake is completely cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and maple flavor (or vanilla extract). Add more milk, if needed, for desired textured. Set cake on a serving plate and dribble glaze all over top of cake.

OM NOM NOM!

BREATH OF EARTH is out today!

Today is the day! Breath of Earth is officially out in the world. YAAAAAY!

Alt history. Steampunk. Magical creatures. Cataclysmic earthquakes. This book has it ALL. (FYI: If you want to join the Fenris Fan Club, contact Lexie Dunne. She’s president.)

You can buy the book anywhere. If you request it from your local bookstore, that’s awesome because they might get extra copies. All the usual places around the internet are stocking it, too! Trade paperback and ebook, whatever suits your fancy.

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Powell’s
Books-A-Million
Poisoned Pen (the place to get signed copies!)
Changing Hands
Mysterious Galaxy

Thank you for your support. Really and truly. I hope you enjoy the book!

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Breath of Earth signing at Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ tonight at 7PM

Breath of Earth is officially out tomorrow, but if you’re in Scottsdale tonight at Poisoned Pen Book Store, you can get your copy a day early and get it signed, too! They’ll have my Clockwork Dagger books as well–or you can bring copies you already own. I’ll be happy to sign them.

Rumor has it there might be cookies available.

You can find out more details about the event here. If you live far away, you can even order signed copies and they’ll ship’em right out!

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Sunday Quote releases a new book in 2 days

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Breath of Earth: Creating a new map of 1906 San Francisco

This post is part of a series on the research and worldbuilding for my new book Breath of Earth. The first part, on actual film footage of San Francisco before and after the quake, can be viewed here. 

 

Countdown to Breath of Earth‘s release: FIVE DAYS.

When modifying a map, it’s sure nice to have a template as a base. Many historical maps are available online, but it can be quite a challenge to find ones that are high res. I was lucky when it came to my research on the city of San Francisco. It was such a large, famous city–and there is so much interest around it before and after the earthquake–that I was able to find a fantastic high res map at a genealogy website.

Breath of Earth is alt history, but I still want it as accurate as possible. That meant I also wanted cable car lines to drive down the correct streets. I found maps to depict that as well.

I took my base map and printed it across six sheets of paper. I mounted those together on a poster board and had it laminated at Fed Ex Kinkos. The lamination gave me a surface on which I could use dry erase markers.

This is when my brain almost broke.

See, my base map is at a very weird angle. It actually views San Francisco from the southeast–and the streets aren’t at the correct angles, either. ARGH. I had to try to combine these two maps while not giving myself a migraine. I also referenced Google Maps quite often to help me orient myself.

Once that was done, I had to figure out where to place other landmarks in the book like the Cordilleran Auxiliary, Cy and Fenris’s workshop, and the houses of important characters like Ingrid and Mr. Sakaguchi, Warden Calhoun, and Warden Thornton. Again, Google Maps–especially Street View–were essential here, and as I edited as well. If Ingrid was described as walking uphill, I wanted to make sure she was actually walking uphill! I also added an important element of my book world: airship mooring masts. I blocked off important neighborhoods like Chinatown, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, and the Barbary Coast.

This map has adorned my office for over three years now.

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