L.K. Rigel's Blog, page 32

Spiderwork is coming

[image error]Spiderwork is almost ready. These things always take longer than I think!

Enjoy this excerpt, the scene where Durga meets Khai.

And don't forget that Michelle at Indie Paranormal Book Reviews is giving away a copy of Spiderwork. (scroll down)

Meanwhile, you can now read Space Junque, the first book in the series for 99 cents!

Space Junque Goes To The Galaxy Express

Heather Massey has done a unique and interesting piece on Space Junque that focuses on the self-published aspect. The Galaxy Express is one of my favorite sites, and Space Junque might be the first purely indie book Heather has talked about there.

She's a marvelous critic, and I love what she has to say.

Jane Austen Fight Club – Reprise

Remember this? I was in the mood to watch it again…

Yep. 99 cents again.

99 cents

99 cents

99 cents

Space Junque is 99 cents… And will be until the New Year.

Yes, I am a kookoo bird when it comes to pricing. It's already 99 cents for Nook and Smashwords and at Amazon too!

The drop is in honor of a piece on Space Junque that will appear at Galaxy Express on Thursday. I'm so excited!

Sneak Peek at Spiderwork

Ooh! Michelle's post is up at Indie Paranormal Book Reviews, and it's so cool! (ha)

Go check out how you can win a free copy of Spiderwork as soon as it's released!

Free Space Junque

I'm getting excited about Spiderwork (In Flagrante Apocalypto 2)!

Yesterday, Michelle over at Indie Paranormal Book Reviews got her hands on the official cover and an excerpt -- the scene where Durga meets Khai. She'll be putting it up for her Sneak Peek feature soon, so watch for that!

Meanwhile, I'm in the mood to give away some Space Junque!

For a free copy of Space Junque from Amazon (no Kindle necessary to read it), leave your email address in the comments (or send it to me at  lkr   @   lkrigel.com ).

I'll give away copies to the first five responders.

Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter/mailing list for first notice of when Spiderwork goes on sale. Ten newsletter subscribers will win a free copy of Spiderwork!

[I rarely send newsletters. When I do, it's to announce something like a new title going live or a high-end contest like the $100 Oberon gift certificate we had a couple months ago.]

Price Perplexes Redux

Pricing is still driving me crazy. Crazier than it's worth, pardon the pun.

My indie buddies at Kindleboards swear by the 99 cent price. Heck, Victorine Lieske is on track to sell a bajillion copes of Not What She Seems this month.

But to put it crassly, a 99 cent price point just doesn't work for me. I like good cover art, quality editing, fun contests with fabu prizes. 99 cents won't pay for that.

$2.99 is less than a latte. If Space Junque doesn't entertain you enough that you'd want to buy me a latte, then it's probably not worth 99 cents either.

I did have more fun when I gave away the $100 Oberon gift certificate than when I lowered the price to 99 cents, and I think my readers did too!

So November is gone and with it my pricing frenzy. SJ is back to $2.99 — as soon as Amazon processes the change.

Space Junque Giveaway

Lynda Hilburn is giving away a copy of Space Junque at her site, Paranormality. Just leave a comment at this post for a chance in the drawing.

Also, she's featuring one of my favorite excerpts that I've never shared before.

Good luck!

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies – omg

A few months ago, I drove down to Santa Clara for a Saturday deposition (in my other life, I'm a court reporter). Desperate for a fix, I asked GPS for the nearest place to get coffee which led me to a shop I'd never heard of which says more about me than about the coffee house.

I was instantly impressed by my utter lack of cool quotient when I walked in. Ordering was problematic. No! You can't have 3 shots! You can have 4 shots or 2 shots! (Does the Soup Nazi do their menu planning?)

I ended up with four shots in 16 ounces -- but the barista promised me it would be good.

Oh.Em.Gee. Best latte I have ever had in my life.

But I digress! The other best thing evah -- I picked up some cookies that looked just like this: [image error]

Probably because they were exactly these cookies! Satura Salty Chocolates. I'd never heard of them either. I life a sheltered life!

Oh, oh, oh. So good. Turns out they are made in Hawaii and the Bay Area but nowhere to be found as far inland as I. It also turns out there is no recipe available anywhere on the internet (that I can find).

I've been thinking about these cookies ever since. Finally, in desperation, I made up a recipe -- and it turned out pretty close!

In one bowl, cream together 3 cubes of butter and 1 cup of confectioner's sugar. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla (I always put too much vanilla in stuff) and beat till fluffy.

Dry ingredients:

In another bowl, blend: 3 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup best quality unsweetened cocoa powder you can get your hands on.

Chop to consistency you like:  3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 - 3/4 cup macadamia nuts (roasted and salted ones will taste best). Add both to flour mixture and blend well.

Mix the dry ingredients into the buttercream.  Then roll the dough into logs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for as long as you can stand it. (having had these cookies once, you'll want to forego the chill and go straight to bake. DO NOT DO THIS)

When the dough has chilled, slice with a very sharp thin-bladed knife (you'll run into beastly nuts that want to divert your blade) and arrange on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

= = = = = =

And now, a word:  Treat yourself like the queen you were always meant to be. Hie thee to Sur La Table and procure parchment paper, good chocolate, and good cocoa for your kitchen. Good tools make good work!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I should work on you-know-what today -- and I will. But I might get some reading in too.

This year, my crowd has rescheduled our Thanksgiving gluttony to Saturday. But our friend from England is making dinner for us all later this evening. There will be wine tasting.

Meanwhile, I'm going to have a lazy day eating mandarin oranges and drinking lattes from my Nespresso machine. And yes, spending delicious unbroken time with Char + Jake and Durga + Khai.

Good times.