Because we all deserve healthcare. Check out HealthCare.gov for more information on 2017 open enrollment. Even better, eight out of ten people who enroll through HC.gov get financial help!
The Affordable Care Act protects people with pre-existing conditions, covers adult children on their parents’ plans until age 26, provides access to preventative care coverage, and more. It covers aging joints and catastrophic illness if you’re older, and if you’re young and healthy and devil-may-care, well… Obamacare would also cover you if you’re just riding your motorcycle down the street and get T-boned by a car. Just saying:p
Happily, I’ve had two stories accepted this month. I’m particularly pleased on both fronts: one story is a bit peculiar, a flash of magical realism that may not fit into a convenient category, but (hopefully) captures the essence of an emotional experience. The second story is a rollicking sci-fi romp that’s one of my favorites, but its length (it started life at ~12,000 words) made it a hard sell. I’m delighted to have found homes for both stories!
I’ll post specifics when they are available, but celebrating is always fun. Yay!
Here’s hoping that you have things to celebrate this weekend too:)
Writing is hard, almost all of the time. It’s been said before, but imagining a new world, reducing it to marks on a page, and sending it out to be reconstituted by another person is a lot like a magic spell. (Or mind control. Or sea monkeys, but hopefully more realistic;) It takes concentration, and focus, and clarity.
All of those things seem to be in somewhat short supply these days. There’s a lot going on in this world. And I fear that I have been neglecting you, fair readers.
So here’s what I’m planning to do: post more. No crazy promises I’m sure to break, like a post every 23 hours and 59 minutes, because let’s get real. I’m aiming for success, not self-recrimination:) And if a photo or quote is what I’ve got for the day, fine. With luck, it will cheer, inspire, amaze, or similarly affect you as it has me.
Because when it comes right down to it, isn’t that what it’s all about?
Slate has invited ten writers to envision the possibilities of a Trump future. As Ben H. Winters, author and the editor of this series explains, “fiction has a special power to clarify, galvanize, prophesy, and warn.” Writers include Héctor Tobar, Ben H. Winters, Nisi Shawl, Saladin Ahmed, Lauren Beukes, Jeff VanderMeer, Kashana Cauley, J. Robert Lennon, Edan Lepucki, and Elizabeth Bear.
Because as the motto says, it’s best to be prepared.
Tor.com has put together a selection of its short fiction from 2016. If you’re interested in an e-book of same (rather than reading the material online) it’s available free for the next few days.
We are very excited to offer a free download of the 2016 edition of Some of the Best from Tor.com, an anthology of 25 of our favorite short stories and novelettes from the last year. Readers worldwide can download the ebook for free by signing up for the Tor.com Publishing newsletter from midnight EST on January 10th until 11:59 P.M. EST on January 17th.
I’m slowly getting back into a writing routine after the holidays. Writing is hard work, and of course glucose is critical to brain function. That means I have an excuse to bake:)
I worked up this cookie recipe for a friend who is gluten-averse. It’s based on a recipe from MasterChef Australia contestant Harry Foster and produces rich chocolate cookies with a satisfying cake-like texture.
Brownie + Cookie = Brookies
350g [12 oz.] 70% dark chocolate
45g [3.17 T.] butter
80g [8.5 T.] cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
50g [~¼ C.] chocolate chips (more or less as you like; I use three chips per cookie)
225g [1 C.] superfine sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).
2. Melt dark chocolate and butter in the microwave on low (30% works for me). Stir and set aside until lukewarm.
3. In a medium-size bowl, combine remaining ingredients and beat until light and fluffy. Add cooled butter mixture and mix until combined.
4. Scoop ~1-inch balls onto cookie sheets.* Gently press chocolate chips into the tops of each ball.
5. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Let cool two minutes before transferring to rack.
Makes ~33 cookies.
* If your butter-chocolate mixture is too warm, it may look and act more like batter. Pop the bowl into the fridge for a few minutes to chill and you should be able to scoop as needed.
I’d show you a photo of the cookies but, well, I ate them all. Instead, here are some pretty examples of other lights in the darkness.
Happy Monday, everyone! I’ve got a new flash fiction piece out today: “Close Enough” is free and available now from the good folks over at Sci Phi Journal.
If you have ever wondered what you’d do if a question of moral ethics became more applied than theoretical, or if you just like a good revenge tale, this story might be for you.
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