Beth Cato's Blog, page 91

Tucson Festival of Books 2016

‘Tis the season! Book Festival season!

Next weekend I’m attending the Tucson Festival of Books. I have two panels on Saturday the 12th, both followed by booksignings:

[The Penguin Book Truck at the 2015 Tucson Festival]

Writing Heroes of Diversity

We need more diverse books! These authors delivered.

Integrated Learning Center Room 130 (Seats 143, Wheelchair accessible)

Sat, Mar 12, 10:00 am – 11:00 am

SciFi / Fantasy / Horror

Signing area: Sales & Signing Area – Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)

Panelists: Austin Aslan, Beth Cato, Jon Proudstar

Kick-Ass Women of Sci-Fi

Writing strong women characters in a traditionally male-dominated genre.

Optical Sciences 410 (Seats 150, Wheelchair accessible)

Sat, Mar 12, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

SciFi / Fantasy / Horror

Signing area: Signing Area – Flandrau BookStore (Science City) (following presentation)

Panelists: Beth Cato, Jeffe Kennedy, Yvonne Navarro, Judith Tarr

I’ll be at the LA Times Festival of Books in April, too–more info on that soon!

#SFWAPro

Bready or Not: Slow Cooker Verde Pork Loin

Since March is all about green, let’s start off the month with some colorful meat! This verde pork loin recipe, originally posted at the Holy Taco Church, creates delicious and versatile protein.

My slow cooker is one of my best friends, a friend that cooks up loads of food to feeds us for days. It works miracle when I’m writing on a deadline. This meat recipe reminds me a lot of posole, that luscious green Mexican stew.

This dish, though, focuses on the meat. This lets you be flexible. You can eat it on a plate with a vegetable side. Or on a salad. Shred it in tacos, burritos, or in a nice oozy quesadilla. Throw it on a Mexican pizza, or load it on nachos.

With good, tasty meat, you can find your bliss in many ways.

Plus, this is great to freeze in a larger dish or in personal portions. Make it last as long as possible!

 

Bready or Not: Slow Cooker Verde Pork Loin





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This slow cooker recipe takes minutes to prepare and makes a delicious pot of green, shredded pork. It’s awesome in taco shells, tortillas, salads, quesadillas, enchiladas, Mexican pizza, etc. Freeze leftovers for later enjoyment!

3-4 pound boneless pork loin (shoulder works, though it's much fattier)
1 15-16 ounce jar salsa verde (green salsa)
cumin
salt
pepper
yellow or white onion

Slice onion and place it in bottom of crock pot. Trim excess fat from pork and place it atop the onion. Sprinkle with cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour the full jar of salsa over the meat.

Cook in crock pot for 8 to 10 hours on low, or 4 to 5 hours on high. About 30 minutes before eating time, shred the pork. Make sure it's all submerged in the sauce and keep on warm setting until meal time.

This verde pork is awesome in taco shells, tortillas, salads, quesadillas, enchiladas, Mexican pizza, etc. It makes for happy leftovers, too.

OM NOM NOM!

 

 

“Beat Softly, My Wings of Steel” is up at PodCastle

I’m delighted to have a story included in Artemis Rising II, a month-long celebration of female and non-binary authors in genre fiction across all three Escape Artists podcasts. My story is in PodCastle, and it’s one of my favorite stories I wrote last year: “Beat Softly, My Wings of Steel.” It’s a tale of strong women and war pegasi.

Listen to it over here!

 

 

#SFWAPro

Sunday Quote Grinds On

“Writing is like the life of a glacier; one eternal grind.”

~ John Muir

Bready or Not: Chewy Chocolate-Stuffed Cookie Bars

Do you like chocolate chip cookies, the kind that are soft, dense, and cakey? Do you like chocolate? Oh boy. Do I have the recipe for you.

These babies are rich, indulgent, and made to pad thighs. Did I mention they are tasty? Yeah. These are chewy in the best kind of way.

I prefer using milk chocolate chips, but you can tailor these to your taste buds. Go semi-sweet or dark. Mix them all up. Be crazy.

The filling in these bars is rather like a ganache, so it will soften a lot if it’s at room temperature or warmer. I found they kept in the fridge really well in a sealed container.

They keep well in your belly, too.

Modified from Recipe Girl.

Bready or Not: Chewy Chocolate-Stuffed Cookie Bars





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Simple to make. Divine to eat. These are diehard chocolate chip bars–rich, lush, and chewy. Store sealed in the fridge for days… if they last that long!

CHOCOLATE FILLING:
2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

COOKIES:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking and/or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

For the chocolate filling:

Place the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 40-50 seconds, watching it the whole time--condensed milk can turn to lava if you're not careful! Stir well, and heat again if necessary; the chocolate chips should blend in. Once that happens, add the vanilla extract and stir in. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

For the cookie bars:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, overlapping the sides to make it easy to lift out later. Spray foil with nonstick spray or rub with butter.

Place the butter and both sugars in a large bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture until everything is well incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Place about half the cookie dough in dollops in the ready pan. Gently smooth it out to cover the bottom. Pour the cooled chocolate over the dough. Top that with the remaining dough in dollops; don't worry about covering the whole surface.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is just golden brown. Cool completely. Use the foil to lift it out of the pan to cut. Store in a sealed container in the fridge, as the middle will soften at room temperature.

OM NOM NOM!

What a Nebula Nomination Is

I originally posted this on Facebook, and it had such a good reaction that I decided to post it on my blog as well, as I know some family members subscribe to my blog feed. The TL;DR version: Wings of Sorrow and Bone is a Nebula nominee in the novella category. This is a HUGE deal.

A full list of this year’s nominees can be found here.

 

I was asked what a Nebula nomination really *is*. It’s comparable to an Oscar nomination, I suppose.

Within science fiction and fantasy fiction, the Nebulas (voted on by members of SFWA, a professional writers’ organization) and the Hugos (voted on by supporters and attendees of the annual WorldCon) are THE biggest awards, followed by others like the Locus Award, World Fantasy Award, etc.

Being a Nebula nominee is a huge deal. It’s the kind of thing that gets mentioned on book covers and in reviews (it can also lead to book deals and reviews). It’s high validation from my peers. Go look at Wikipedia at the works that have won these awards–I bet you’ll recognize names and titles!

 

#SFWAPro

Sunday Quote tries to do her part

“It’s not about adding diversity for the sake of diversity, it’s about subtracting homogeneity for the sake of realism.”

~ @MaryRobinette

Nebula Award Nominee! Life Goal = Achieved

Wings of Sorrow and Bone is a Nebula finalist. I’m gobsmacked. I’m thrilled. I’m terrified.

You see, being a finalist like this has been a life goal of mine since I was a teenager. I even mentioned this on my old blog back in July 2012, during that difficult period after my first book didn’t sell and Clockwork Dagger was almost ready to go on submission to editors:

Within five years, I’d like to have a story or novel make the shortlist for a Hugo or Nebula. I’d also like to have a poem up for the Rhysling Award.

This week I confirmed that, for the second consecutive year, I have a poem nominated for the Rhysling.

Then this. The big one. The Nebula nomination. I actually made my goal a year before my deadline. How funny is that?! I guess the next goal should be to actually win a Hugo or Nebula at some point.

Wings of Sorrow and Bone is available at all online retailers for just 99-cents. Check it out–it seems people actually like it!?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play | iTunes

#SFWAPro

Cover reveal: “Final Flight: A Clockwork Dagger Story”

My final (for now) Clockwork Dagger story has a cover! This is out on April 26th and is already up for preorder for just 99-cents!

Oh yeah, it also includes the first chapter of my new novel Breath of Earth. *squee*

Another breathtaking short story from the author of The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown, set in the same world…

Captain Hue hoped he was rid of his troubles once Octavia Leander and Alonzo Garrett disembarked from his airship Argus. But he was quickly proved wrong when his ship was commandeered by Caskentian soldiers. He is ordered on a covert and deadly mission by the smarmy Julius Corrado, an elite Clockwork Dagger.

Now Captain Hue must start a mutiny to regain control of his airship, which means putting his entire crew at risk—including his teenage son Sheridan. As the weather worsens and time runs out, it’ll take incredible bravery to bring the Argus down….perhaps for good.

 

 

#SFWAPro

Bready or Not: Apple Cinnamon Cake

I mention every so often that apple pie is probably the favorite thing of both my dad and my husband. This apple cake now rates right up there, too.

This cake is easy to put together. The most time-consuming thing is peeling and chopping the apples. The cake bakes up dense, soft, and full of cinnamon and apple flavor.

One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s easy to parcel out leftovers–if you have any. Cut the cake into pieces, freeze each separately, wrap in waxed paper, and place in freezer bags or plastic containers. Thaw pieces in fridge, and eat them cold or warm up in the microwave or oven (the latter being the family preference).

This apple cake is great whenever. Serve it for breakfast, snack, or dessert. It’ll make your belly happy any time of day.

Modified from Apple Squares at Julia’s Album.

 

Bready or Not: Apple Cinnamon Cake





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These dense, luscious apple cake squares are perfect for breakfast, brunch, snack or dessert! Use firm baking apples like Granny Smith. Leftovers can be frozen in pieces, and once thawed, can be eaten straight from the fridge or heated in the microwave or oven.

3 medium apples, peeled, cored, & chopped into small chunks
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9×9 square pan with foil and apply butter or nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, toss peeled and chopped apples with cinnamon and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together the white sugar, vegetable oil, sour cream/yogurt, and vanilla extract until it's smooth. Add the eggs.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is just mixed.

Pour half the batter into the ready pan. Sprinkle half the apples evenly over the top. Pour the remaining batter, smooth it out, then add the remaining apples.

Bake for about an hour. It will pass the toothpick test when done. Cool completely and store covered in the fridge.

OM NOM NOM!