…months. And I’ll probably continue after that. A FAIR WARNING HOWEVER: I’m completely underwater for the coming year, so while I’m quite willing to translate for you, I can’t guarantee a fair turn of speed–you’ll have to put up with a bit of… slow answers from me, I’m afraid (novel plus snakelet plus work plus other commitments add up to a busy busy bee on this end). So What? Helping translate one story a year is obviously a tiny, symbolic gesture…

…work, that I started writing my novel again. Novels, for me, are different commitments than short stories: I can research a short story for weeks and binge-write the actual first draft in a couple of days; I just can’t do that with a novel. With novels, I have to sit down and write consistently; a little at a time for a long time. The problem, when you have a baby, is that “little” can mean three minutes before something goes wrong ™ and you have…

…Christopher Priest, Nina Allan, Félix J. Palma and many other people! The usual reminder (stolen from Kate Elliott): I go to conventions to meet people, so if I don’t look like I’m making a beeline for my hotel room to collapse, feel quite free to come up to me, I’d be quite happy to chat. As I said–I can handle Spanish, French, English (Catalan is not on the list of languages spoken, alas. I can understand it when it’s written down and that’s ab…

…Just a quick heads-up that you can now buy The Fox Spirit Book of European Monsters, which includes my story “Melanie” as well as other enticing offerings. It’s a coffee-table book with beautiful illustrations–the first time I’ve been in a book of that format–exciting! (also, if you happen to want a review copy, there are PDFs available. Feel free to email me)….

…u don’t want to scrape bits of madeleines off your mould! You’re of course free to adapt the recipe with what you want (the original one had orange blossom water, which makes for a lovely aftertaste). Madeleines Recipe Type: Dessert Cuisine: French Author: Aliette de Bodard Prep time: 1 hour 30 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 2 hours Serves: 20 The classic French cake Ingredients 150 g flour 100 g softened butter 100-130 g sugar depending on t…

…frangipane filling in the centre and spread it while leaving a 2cm-border free. Add the feve if using. In a bowl, beat the third egg until yolk and white are combined. With a pastry brush, brush the 2cm-border you just left with the egg. Roll the second puff pastry sheet somewhere separate. Here’s where it gets tricky: lift the sheet carefully with your hand, keeping it as flat as possible, and drop it on the first pastry sheet + frangipane. The…

…Pleased as punch that both The House of Binding Thorns and “Children of Thorns, Children of Water” are on the Locus Recommended Reading List, alongside a bunch of really stellar stuff. And a reminder you can read “Children of Thorns, Children of Water” for free at Uncanny Magazine! Meanwhile, I’ll go back to the grind of working on this book °_°…

…ckster Drift Nisi Shawl, Everfair Rivers Solomon, An Unkindness of Ghosts (complex discussions of the mommy and mammy stereotypes) Kong Sheng and Li Xue (dir.), Hai Yan (script, original book), Nirvana in Fire (TV series, not genre) Tasha Suri, Empire of Sand Na’amen Tilahun, The Wrath and Athenaeum series K.S. Villoso, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, Aina’s Breath Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew, Shadow Hero (graphic novel) JY Yang, The Red Threads of Fortune…

…f speculative fiction, and get bonus content in your mailbox! My newsletter is a semi-hemi-regular thing, with information on new releases, behind-the-scenes snippets, and more. As part of this, I offer my subscribers access to special extras like free ebooks (like this ebook of my Hugo Award finalist “Children of Thorns, Children of Water”), early cover reveals, yummy recipes…     First name or full name Email General Subscribers By continuing, y…

…of butter, unsalted Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a saucepan until combined. Add the lime juice and ginger juice and stir until they’re combined as well. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly (if you don’t, the eggs in the mixture will cook and you’ll have some super-funky dessert scramble) until the mixture thickens to a custardy consistency. Trust me, it is way, way simpler than it sounds. Custard is the easiest thing in the world t…