Josh Lanyon's Blog, page 38

Advent Calendar Day 5

Happy Holidays--and welcome to Wednesday! 

Yep, we're five days into the holiday season. I've just about finished my shopping, the tree is trimmed, the fridge is well-stocked...

Oh, so about that well-stocked fridge. Last year I gave away something called a Yule Log. It's mentioned in Christmas Coda 37 (and I shared a version of the recipe for those of you with culinary ambition in the print coda collection All I Want for Christmas).

I finally got to sample my first Yule Log last Christmas and YUM. If you love chocolate cake, you will adore this traditional French yuletide dessert.

Anyway, we're giving away another Yule Log this year. Once again you must be in the US to be eligible--sorry about that! We'll have other gifts for those of you overseas!

Share the recipe for your favorite holiday dessert in the comment section below and I will randomly select our winner. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK BACK ON FRIDAY MORNING BECAUSE SUPPLIES ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED.

And if you'd like to try baking your own Yule Log this holiday, here's the recipe!

Bûche de Noël (Yule Log Cake with Coffee Buttercream and Ganache)
(This is another really complicated recipe--you have to start a day in advance--but it's gorgeous. This version is from Saveur.com)
Ingredients
For the Sponge Cake
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan3⁄4 cup cake flour, plus more for pan2⁄3 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar, divided4 eggsConfectioners' sugar, for dusting1 tbsp. dark rum


For the Ganache Icing, Coffee Buttercream Filling, and Finishing
14 oz. 70-percent dark chocolate, finely chopped1 cup heavy cream2 tbsp. honey1 1⁄3 cups sugar, divided6 egg whites, divided2 tsp. green food coloring24 tbsp. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened1 tbsp. stongly brewed espressoCocoa powder, for dustingEdible gold dust, to garnish (available from nycake.com)



Directions
Make the meringue decorations: Heat oven to 200°. Place 1⁄3 cup sugar and 2 egg whites in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water; stir mixture until egg whites register 140° on an instant-read thermometer. Remove bowl from saucepan and beat with a hand mixer on high speed until cooled. Place 1 cup meringue in a bowl, and stir in food coloring; transfer green meringue to a piping bag fitted with a 3⁄8-inch star tip. Working on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, pipe two 1 1⁄2-inch-wide stars; pipe a 1-inch-wide star on top of each larger star, and then pipe a 1⁄2-inch-wide star on top of each middle star to form a three-tiered Christmas tree. Transfer uncolored meringue to a piping bag fitted with a 3⁄8-inch-round tip; pipe four 1 1⁄2-inch-wide mounds to resemble mushroom caps, and then pipe four 1⁄2-inch-wide x 1 1⁄2-inch-tall sticks to resemble mushroom stems. Bake meringue shapes until dry and crisp, about 2 hours. Turn off oven and let shapes cool completely in oven.
Make the ganache icing: Place chocolate in a bowl; set aside. Bring cream and honey to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; pour over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, slowly stir cream and chocolate until smooth and shiny; let cool at room temperature until set and thick, at least 6 hours or overnight.
Make the coffee buttercream filling: Place 1 cup sugar and 4 egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and set it over a saucepan of simmering water; stir mixture until egg whites register 140° on an instant-read thermometer. Remove bowl from saucepan and place on stand mixer fitted with a whisk; beat on high speed until meringue is cooled and forms stiff peaks. Replace whisk with paddle and add butter to meringue; beat until smooth, stir in espresso, and set aside.
Make the sponge cake: Heat oven to 400°. Grease and flour a 13-inch x 18-inch rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat 2⁄3 cup sugar and eggs on high speed until mixture falls back in thick ribbons when lifted from the whisk, about 6 minutes; fold in butter and flour. Spread batter into an even layer on bottom of prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 12 minutes. Place a clean kitchen towel that is larger than the baking sheet on a work surface, and dust it liberally with confectioners' sugar. Invert cake onto towel; dust with more sugar. Starting with a narrow end of the rectangle, immediately roll cake up into a jelly roll, letting the towel roll inside the cake. Let cool to room temperature.
Make the rum syrup: Bring 2 tbsp. sugar, rum, and 1 tbsp. water to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan over high heat; cook until sugar dissolves and set aside to cool.
Assemble the cake: Once cooled, gently unroll and remove towel from cake. Brush the inside with the rum syrup; allow to soak in for about 2 minutes. Spread buttercream evenly over cake; re-roll cake and set the roll seam side down on a serving platter. Slice about 3 inches off one end of the cake roll at a 30° angle; cut the other end to make it flat. Spread the flat end of the angled slice with a little buttercream and set the slice on top of the cake roll to create a "stump." Stir ganache until smooth and, using a small offset spatula, spread ganache over cake, leaving the ends of cake and cut top of the "stump" exposed. Drag the tines of a fork along the ganache, making markings to resemble bark; refrigerate until chilled.
Decorate the Bûche de Noël: Using ganache as glue, place meringue "caps" on top of "stems" to form mushrooms. Dust cocoa powder lightly over the mushrooms, and sprinkle gold dust lightly over the entire Bûche de Noël. Place meringue mushrooms and Christmas trees decoratively on and around the Bûche de Noël before serving. (There are videos on how to do this properly--I'd watch them if I were you.)

Advent Calendar Day 4

Today we're recreating one of my favorite calendar traditions and sharing holiday cocktails. 


photo from FastDrinkRecipes.comPost the recipe to your favorite holiday cocktail below and I'll randomly select three commenters to receive an audio book download of "The Boy Next Door" narrated by the always wonderful Kale Williams.

I discovered this particular cocktail last winter on Catalina Island. There's something sort of autumny about it, and maybe it would make a better Halloween drink than a Christmas drink, but whatever. It's what I'm drinking at the moment.

(You know what else I discovered last year? hot cocoa made with heavy cream, half and half and melted chocolate!!! You don't even need booze for that one--but a splash of brandy will not do it any harm!) 

Anyway, I digress.








Ingredients:
1 ounce vanilla-flavored vodka1 ounce sour apple schnapps1 ounce butterscotch schnapps 1 decorative squirt liquid caramel(optional 1 maraschino cherry UGH)


Directions:

Kind of self-explanatory, to be honest. ;-) 
Artfully squirt caramel in a martini glass.

Fill a shaker with ice. Pour in vanilla vodka, sour apple schnapps, and butterscotch schnapps. Cover the shaker and shake until chilled or you throw your back out; strain cocktail into prepared martini glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry IF YOU MUST.



This is a caramelappletinicupcake!!!! EVEN BETTER!?

Advent Calendar Day 3

Good morning! It's Monday, but that's okay. Grab a cup of coffee or cocoa. We have a bit of fresh fiction for you from the wonderful, witty Haldis Grummel. 






Bell. Book. Candle.

It was the rumble of an automobile and not the melodic jingle of sleigh bells that disturbed my enjoyment of a steaming cup of wassail and my book, surrounded by my paltry attempt to recapture my memories of Christmas magic. I indeed was expecting someone, but not yet, and certainly not by automobile. I rose quickly and started to extinguish the candles throughout the room and reaching the last one was suddenly arrested by the sight of a bead of wax spilling over the side like a drop of blood, deep dark red and viscous. I was so hungry. As I heard the slamming of two car doors, I blew out the candle and retreated into the darkness.
The front door creaked open letting in a cold December wind. A single set of footsteps approached my sitting room and a single person entered. The stranger lit a match and held it out in front of him. He noticed the candle on the table beside him, held the flame to the wick, and then lifted the candle to view the room. The sparkle of the silver thread in the dark blue bows decorating the room glittering in the candle light. Midnight and moonlight. What my life had become.
“Wow. This certainly looks fest…”, he broke off as he turned and saw he was alone. “Damn it, Mike. I guess I should have expected that,” he muttered under his breath.
I watched as the man moved farther into the room, praying that I would remain hidden from all human eyes, nothing more than the figment of a child’s imagination. I still possessed my magic from before I was turned, though I needed to replenish it every year by feeding from another Elf. I did not feed from humans.
Every year, on this night, he came to me.
And every year, on this night, I could see him. Be with him. Finally, feed from him. 
The man approached where I had been sitting and felt my still hot cup. He then lifted the book. He put down his candle and started flipping through the pages. He replaced the book and picked up my old Elf hat, the small silver bell at its tip tinkling softly in the still air. The man laughed. A small laugh very like the small bell.
Memories of my life before flooded me at the sound. Hot cocoa and peppermint and gingerbread.  Arctic winds and falling snow, reindeer and sleigh bells jingle jangle.
The entrance of the second person, most probably ‘Mike’, brought me back to the present. He was a little larger than the first man and he moved like a hunter. This man was a Slayer. I wrapped my magic more firmly around me, seeming nothing more than a far off hymn on a cold winter’s night.
 “Anything?”, asked the first man.
“No,” Mike answered, eyes sweeping the room.
“Well, this drink is still hot so he can’t have gotten far. Oh, and look what he was reading,” He held up the book again. “A Visit from St. Nicholas. I never would have thought of vampires celebrating Christmas. Just look at all this stuff. This is someone who really likes Christmas. Even if it is a bit somber.” As the first man was speaking, he had moved much closer to where I stood frozen.
“Barry!”, Mike hissed out what sounded like a warning. I had the feeling that he knew, somehow, that I was here.
“What?”, Barry asked, suddenly looking around him in fear and reaching into his coat, for a weapon perhaps. “Do you think someone’s here?” He retreated back toward the door, picking up the candle on the way.

“I don’t know. There’s something cold,” answered Mike, sounding unsure. “But not dead cold. More like….an iceberg, or, maybe, a…a snow drift.”
Barry just stared at him for a moment. “A snow drift? Are you saying we’re here to slay Frosty the Snowman?”
I could barely hold back the peal of laughter that wanted to escape my lips. I loved that song about a snowman come to life by Christmas magic to play with the children. I missed children. Seeing their joy on Christmas morning. I missed mornings.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Mike, though he too looked like he was trying not to laugh. He failed. He laughed, shaking his head. “Ok, I admit it. I don’t know what’s here. Honestly, I can’t even tell you if the reports I’ve heard even add up to a vampire.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Barry said. “It’s Christmas Eve. We might make it home in time to see Santa Claus come down the chimney. I might even let you open your present.”
“Yeah, ok,” Mike laughed. “If this guy is a vampire, I’m sure the only thing he’ll be able to bite tonight is Santa.”
He did not know how right he was. It was all I lived for.
I waited until I heard the motor of their automobile fade into the night before I moved. The man, Barry, had left the candle on the table where he had found it and I lit a few more to brighten the room. I sat back down in my chair and picked up my book. And again froze. And smiled. I could hear sleigh bells.
I felt him appear beside me, by the fireplace. He stood there in his blood red coat with white fur trim, black belt and gold buckle. There was a twinkle in his eye, a half smile playing on his lips.“Have you been good this year?”, he asked me.
“Yes,” I answered. “I have.”
He grinned at me, unbuckled his coat and let it slip to the floor.
“Come here and get your present.”
I dropped the book and stood. The candles flickered. I slipped on my hat and  walked into his embrace to the sweet memory and music of sleigh bells.

Advent Calendar Day 2

Do you have...roughly about a minute? Here's an 1898 (that's not a typo!) silent movie called The Visit of Santa Claus. 
Enjoy! 

Advent Calendar Day 1

Happy Holidays!
Believe it or not, it's time again for the Annual Advent Calendar Holiday Extravaganza. ;-)

I've been doing the "Advent Calendar" since 2014 and it's become kind of a tradition.  The way it works is every morning through Christmas Day there will be something  posted to the blog to start your day off with a smile.

Maybe I'll share a favorite holiday song or a lovely photo or a vintage cartoon or a cocktail recipe or maybe I'll give something away. Some days we'll have fiction--sometimes a holiday coda by me, sometimes a holiday snippet from one of our talented contributors. Some days we'll have art, but one thing for sure, every day will have something for you to enjoy.

There really is nothing for you to do but show up and enjoy. It's just my way of saying Thank You.




Today we're going to kick things off with a delightful snippet of coda by Sarah Atkinson. (Thank you, Sarah!)

It had been a good few months since the feud began and each of the adversaries continued to thrive on trying to outmanoeuvre the other. The Christmas holiday season had not led to a cessation of hostilities, on the contrary... With decorations up and guards lowered, it was the time to strike.

He crept stealthily down the corridor. Breathless, his weapon held aloft,  he advanced trembling with the excitement of the hunt. This game of cat and mouse had been going on all day and he was going to end it with the perfect shot. Rounding the corner of the living room, he took in the scene: the Christmas tree decked in red and silver, the clock on the mantelpiece showing... (he still had trouble with analogue clock time), the cards strung on ribbons, and dead centre  in the room - back turned - his nemesis. His arms were wrapped around a second man, his hands concealed from view. He hadn’t anticipated finding the two of them together, though he should have remembered the mistletoe. Should he take them both out? Lowering his arm, he bit his lip while he pondered his next move. His feet, in thick socks marked ‘left’ and ‘right’, made a slight shuffling noise as he stepped back. It was enough to trigger a response. In one fluid movement, the man spun round and fired at him. A long jet of water hit Gage full in the chest. He shrieked with horror and delight.

“Gotcha!” said Kit, grinning triumphantly

Kissing the Old Year Out...

This will most likely be the last general info update of the year because tomorrow begins the annual Advent Calendar! :-)

It has been quite a year! And although writing is always a precarious business--and it feels especially precarious at the moment, given the very latest changes on Amazon--I'm feeling mostly satisfied with what I managed to accomplish in 2018 and very much looking forward to 2019.


Patreon has been a big factor in my restored equilibrium. While I can't survive solely on those monthly donations, they've more than once made up the necessary difference in my book earnings--this month is a case in point. Patreon has allowed me to produce new product (the audio for In Other Words...Murder and Green Glass Beads for example(s)) when I really didn't have the funds. And, crucially, my Patreon income allows me to advertise, which is no longer an optional strategy. It's definitely been a learning curve though, and moving forward I will most likely structure my Patreon like a high end subscription service so that (depending on tier) members receive everything I produce during the year as well as the extras and bonus items. I think that will be simpler (and more rewarding) for everybody.


Print . Well, it turns out that pulling all my print books out of Createspace and off Amazon was not necessary. WHOOPS! All that was really required was to take everything out of expanded distribution and then do expanded distribution through IngramSpark. So my old print backlist has been restored to Amazon. We're currently going through one title at a time and reformatting, changing covers, updating back material for IngramSpark and expanded distribution channels (so the Amazon titles will also be updated). The goal is to have this completed by the end of March.

Our first print title is Seance on a Summer's Night (the novel I did for Patreon) and you can order it right now right here.



Audio . I produced a number of audio books this year. The first experiment with going wide was In Other Words...Murder which can be purchased at Nook and Google Play and Scribd and Audiobooks.com as well as the usual places. You can purchase "The Boy Next Door" through PayHip and "Halloween is Murder" through Payhip.  Green Glass Beads will be going up hopefully before Christmas! I have to be honest, so far the results of going wide have not been encouraging. For example, if you search In Other Words...Murder on B&N, the audio book does not come up. It's only available on the Nook. I'm not ready to throw in the towel, but my audio needs to earn out, and going wide so far seriously reduces the chances of that. Yikes.





Ebooks . This year saw the release of The Magician Murders , Murder Takes the High Road , In Other Words...Murder, and Seance on a Summer's Night . The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out comes out December 18th. All in all, more than double what I managed to produce last year!

The first projects scheduled for 2019 will be The Monuments Men Murders, my novella for the Footsteps in the Dark anthology, Blind Side, (Dangerous Ground 6)  and the first book in the new Bedknobs and Broomsticks trilogy I'm writing for Patreon, Mainly by Moonlight.

I haven't talked much about this last project yet, but it's going to combine mystery and paranormal and romance. A bit more romance (and sex) than usual, in fact. I describe it as Adrien English meets McMillan and Wife meets Bewitched. (Okay, I need to clarify that because Cosmo Saville is NOT Adrien English and John Joseph Galbraith is NOT Jake Riordan -- I'm referring more to the intimacy of the characters and their relationship than the actual characters, if that makes sense).

Here's the initial blurb:


Though they’ve only known each other a couple of weeks, San Francisco's first openly gay Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith is all set to marry antiques dealer and (little does John know) witch Cosmo Saville in a big, society wedding—until Cosmo is arrested for murder after being discovered standing over the body of longtime rival dealer (and witch) Seamus Reitherman.

I start writing that next month and hope to have the entire trilogy finished by the end of 2019. Fingers crossed because there's already a LOT planned for next year.



Anyway, a good year. Not every plan came to fruition but a very productive year overall. And still some good stuff to come!

See you tomorrow for the beginning of the annual Advent Calendar! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the things I love best about the Thanksgiving holiday is the way it has slowly evolved from being about Pilgrim Fortitude (and the moral and ethical complications that go with all of that) to a day where friends and family gather together to simply give thanks.

Given the state of the world, I think taking a day to simply focus on what is good and right in your life--and humbly giving thanks for that--is beyond price.

The Attitude of Gratitude. It's a good thing.

May you always have more to be grateful for than not.

Let Me Count the Ways

Today is Patreon's official Celebrate Your Patrons Day.


Creators were encouraged to find special ways to say thank you to their patrons. I made a bunch of little goofy videos to share on various social media platforms



AND I made sure to complete Seance on a Summer's Night on Saturday, so my patrons could enjoy it this weekend.

I've had my Patreon account for just about 11 months now. There are things I love about Patreon and things I don't love, but on the whole I would have to say it's been a great success.

We've never quite hit goal, but we've come within spitting distance several times. That's not really even the point though. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that because the money does absolutely matter. Most months I've folded it right back into my writing business so that I could invest in more product or better product, but once or twice it's been a lifesaver. Frankly, it will be a lifesaver this month because Amazon has been fooling around with the algorithms again and I've been hearing authors across the board talking about seeing anywhere from 30-40% decline in sales. Yikes! (I'm afraid to look at my numbers, to be honest.)

So thank you, Patrons, for the cold hard cash. It is much appreciated.

But what has proved even more valuable is something harder to define. My productivity is back (THANK GOD) but even more of a relief: my creativity is back. Tenfold. My confidence is back. Yes, part of that is getting healthy again. But part of it is simply the validation that comes from having readers willing to...invest in me.

That sounds wrong because all my readers are willing to invest in me, given that they buy all or most of my books. And I'm beyond appreciative of that. It's kind of the point of everything--not to mention how I pay my bills. The bills like my mortgage(s) and our health insurance (currently $1800. a month and going up to $2100 in January) and Marlowe the Mutt's bullystrips. The essentials. ;-)

But there is something inspiring--literally inspiring--having readers willing to chip in a little (sometimes a lot) extra simply out of a love of the stories and their own generosity. In fact, that's even something I struggle with a bit. I keep feeling that it needs to be quid pro quo, but Patreon is not designed for that. It is not intended to be a marketplace where goods and services are purchased.

Every single dollar I receive is a gift--and I receive and appreciate it in that spirit. No one has to donate a single extra cent to me EVER. So how can I be anything but grateful for having already received so much?

(I mean, I do certainly try to make the rewards worthwhile--I want people to be enticed by my wares--;-D, but my patrons are actually the ones who frequently remind me that I am not running a grocery store.)

Anyway, we're all figuring Patreon out in the age of subscription services, and it may be that Patreon will eventually evolve into a high end kind of subscription service. I'm just encouraged and energized by the process--and very grateful to everyone who has been part of it.

So this is me saying thank you to all my patrons, past and present--and even future. Even with all the uncertainty in publishing these days, I feel surprisingly calm. I'm excited, engaged, energized for what is to come in 2019--and each and every one of you is a big part of that.

Something Wicked Good This Way Comes

One of the best parts of this year--and I have to give a big chunk of credit to my Patreon group for this--is my newly restored creative energy.

This has been a good year for me. By the end of  2018 I'll have published five new novels, produced a slew of new audio books, compiled several boxsets and collections, launched a successful Patreon, attended my first GRL, taken back control of my print backlist...  So, yes, the most productive year in, um, years, but it's also been a really inspired year. Not that I've had time to put every single new idea into action, but a surprising number of projects are at least in the beginning phase--and although it's still really, really early--we don't even have our cover art yet!--I want to announce one of those upcoming projects now.

Footsteps in the Dark is an anthology of original contemporary M/M Mystery-Romance novellas by seven of my favorite authors in the genre:

 LB Gregg Nicole KimberlingJosh LanyonDal MacLean
Z.A. MaxfieldMeg PerryCS PoeS.C. Wynne  

Eight original stories with plenty of suspense and romance and at least Happy For Now endings.

Expected release is May 2019.

There really has not been anything like this in M/M Mystery, and I'm hugely excited about it. I'll keep you posted--I can't wait for the cover reveal!

What's Black and White and Read--Uh Oh!

As previously warned, most of my print list is now pretty much unavailable as we begin the process of moving everything from Createspace/Amazon to IngramSpark.

Why are we making this change? Because, generally speaking, bookstores do not--and will not--stock Createspace books.

Why would this be the case?

A - Most indie print titles don't sell enough to make it viable for bookstores to stock them, and B - Most bookstores view Amazon (Createspace) as their mortal enemy.

Why am I complicating life for readers by turning to IngramSpark when most of my print titles will be sold online anyway?

Because I refuse to hand over complete control of my writing career to the Zon--even if it means taking a financial hit in the short term. Or even in the long term. I just won't do it.

When will my print backlist be available again? Hopefully by the start of 2019 everything will be moved over and back into circulation. We've already started moving titles, but the holidays are coming and life gets complicated. Not just for me personally, but for the entire publishing industry.

So I am sorry for the inconvenience (I've been warning this would be coming for the past three months) but the good news is I have not abandoned print, and if all goes well, my print titles will actually be more widely available and possibly even less expensive.