So… I’ve now finished reading How to Eat by Nigella Lawson, and I have a bit of a dilemma. I love Nigella Lawson’s style and her no-nonsense approach to cooking; and her advice and general tips, but… but the book itself has very few recipes I can use, mostly because so much of what’s in it requires either milk, buttermilk, cream, and/or alcohol, none of which my digestive system can bear (I do butter and cheese fine, and small quantities of milk…

…clearer. A few tidbits: “The Vermillion Seal” is of course a reference to official and/or personal seals and the colour of the ink used with them. You’ll notice that Sarah has a Galactic name; compare with Minh Ha’s niece, Hanh, and you get a glimpse of different ways to assimilate. And “Cygnus” is all I could come up with in the way of planet names 🙂…

…Just very, very busy… (not with writing, in case you had any doubts. Mostly %%% RL). Working a bit on the novel though progress is damnably slow. So far have three main characters, cool worldbuilding, and no plot whatsoever….

Hahaha yes, that one. The H and I are pleased to announce our big collaboration for 2013–a little Snake baby! Expected release date: mid-September. We expect said collaboration to be a bestseller, at least with friends and family 🙂 Unfortunately, this means that my public presence activities for 2013 are going to take a severe hit. I’ve pulled out of a bunch of things and rescheduled a bit. Among the casualties are my BSFA interview in May, and W…

…nd truths that repeatedly destroy them, which makes them feel all the more realistic, and is fertile ground for the writers to extend storylines by showing us the cost of crimes (it’s also interesting to see that the investigation’s attempt to keep the family in the loop end up causing more harm than good). My sis wants to watch The Bridge next; I might steal her DVDs… Next week I shall be at Eastercon, where I have a nice program shaping up (and…

…ew On a Red Station, Drifting. Aka wow.   This is an extremely political story in every sense of the word: on a macro scale of fighting for one’s beliefs in impossible situations and within the microcosm of the domestic, the individual—this dichotomy not really a dichotomy at all, as the micro and macro often intertwine in an inextricable tangle. This is a beautifully realized story and the characters, plot, theme and writing are expertly crafted….

…still dominate the bookshelves, but Japan, China and India (to take three examples) also have thriving sff traditions. The panel look at the trends outside the Anglophone and western worlds. Rochita Loenen-Ruiz moderates Aliette de Bodard, Stephane Marsan, Sarah Newton and Gillian Redfearn. Saturday, 17:00, Rowan, “Motherhood in SF and Fantasy” Where are the mothers in our depictions of future societies and fantasy worlds? Very often absent or ig…

…nder 2 hours; I understand now why making this (and making dumplings) is a communal activity! We also got to try out my in-laws’ Philips Airfryer, which deep-fries food with a minimal amount of oil: in this case, the H kindly brushed all the rolls with frying oil (which was some work :p), and we then studied the problem of how to adapt the recipe to an Airfryer. First attempt was dumping rolls in the Airfryer basket and cooking them at 200°C for 2…

… because I need to be held accountable for actual word count… “What is it?” Xavier asked. Selene raised a hand to silence him–seeking the origin of the magic. Young, and desperate; she’d almost forgotten how that tasted, how bittersweet it all was, that mixture of bewilderment and pain that came just after the Fall. West–in the ruined blocks that had been the Great Department Stores and the Great Hotels before the war, their names like a litany…

…Illustration (click to zoom)   Isn’t it pretty? Art courtesy of Richard Wagner (and many thanks to Andy Cox as always). “The Angel at the Heart of the Rain”, my sort-of-magical-realism piece about war and refugees, will be out in the May issue of Interzone….