Listen to a free short story

Let me read you a story. A story of summer as I remember it. A story about possibilities, compromises, and growing up.

To hear the whole broadcast and more from Nebraska writers, visit the Platte River Sampler on KZUM.

Nebraska Book Festival

Join me and fellow Nebraska authors on April 25 for the Nebraska Book Festival at the University of Nebraska Omaha Weitz Community Engagement Center. Free and open to everyone, the festival provides workshops and readings and the chance to talk with a few of Nebraska's recently published authors. I'll be leading a morning workshop to help new authors prepare for the opportunities and challenges of self-publishing, and I'm excited to share what I've learned. 

Here's the festival's preliminary schedule. Hope to see you there!

Tangled now available with bonus content

Whew! It's been a busy couple weeks. In the process of working 12+ hour days--drawn in so deep I sometimes forget to eat--I've rediscovered my passion. The harder I work, the happier I am.

One immediate result of that work: Tangled is now available on Smashwords. The Smashwords edition will also be available soon at Apple ibooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and more (check your favorite online seller or libary, and I will post links when I have them, as well). This edition includes book group discussion questions and a sneak peek excerpt from Gates the Hours Keep.

Update, you can now find Tangled at:

Kobo
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Oyster
Scribd

Have you been sleeping well?

You have? Well, I can fix that.

If you've been waiting to buy The Taking or Tangled, your patience has paid off. Right now both Tales of Malstria books are on sale for only 99 cents in the US and 0.99 at Amazon UK.

Not sure whether to give them a try? Here's what readers are saying:

What's Sambocade, anyway?

Since readers have asked me about food, clothing, and places mentioned in my books, I thought it would be fun to share sources of inspiration and research from time to time. Today, I'm starting with food.

I come from a family of big-eaters. If we had a family crest, it would show a double-dip ice cream cone with the motto, "There's Always Room For Ice Cream," emblazoned just beneath it. Food wasn't simply nourishment, it was a central part of our family culture. So, ever since childhood, I've been interested in cooking and recipes.

Interested does not equal skilled.

As a girl, I began collecting cookbooks. Authentic Mexican food, Christmas cookies from around the world--anything involving food that represented other cultures or eras. I would read through the recipes, alchemical formulas promising culinary gold. If a cookbook had pictures, I'd thumb through them again and again, dreaming.

I cooked nothing. Nada. Nichts.

Well, I grew up. I left home. I cooked. Culinary gold, it was not (nor is it now, after years of practice).  But, my fascination for the alchemy remains. One of my favorite experiments is trying the foods my characters are eating.

While writing Tangled I went through a baking phase. In the months between finishing grad school and finding a full time job, I baked (and ate) a different cheesecake every week. I was baking so much, I even wrote my baking self a cameo appearance in the book. I got pretty good at baking cheesecakes. Trying my hand at sambocade (an elderflower cheesecake) seemed only natural.

from British Library, Lansdowne 451,  f. 6 

I used the modern sambocade  recipe from A Boke of Gode Cookery. I bought rosewater and elderflowers just to make it. Having no food processor, I blended the ingredients manually. (That's more medieval anyway, right?) I popped it in the oven, baked it, checked it, baked it some more. What I eventually pulled out of the oven was black around the edges and still jiggly in the middle. I'm no fan of jiggly food, but for the sake of research, I persevered.

I ate it. All of it. I eat my mistakes with true commitment. I eat my mistakes alone--you can only ask so much of your friends.

It's been a decade almost. I remember mouthfuls of char and bland bites of crusty not-quite-cheese over cottage cheese curdles. By week's end, I faced the sambocade with dread.

Alas, I took no photos. Just as well, I suppose. If you'd seen my version, you'd never have wanted to try sambocade. If you're curious what delicious sambocade would look like, check out this one from Fromage Homage. Almost makes me want to try again.

Happy New Year

It's the last day of 2014, and tomorrow I'm kicking off the new year with something I never imagined doing--a radio broadcast. My short story "The Screenhouse" is one of the works featured on the New Year's Day episode of The Platte River Sampler. Listen live on http://www.kzum.org at 6pm central if you want to catch my reading and interview.

If you've missed the previous episodes, you really are missing out. I just got caught up this morning, listening to the podcast from Christmas. Poetry, plays, fiction, and essays in styles as diverse as their creators showcase Nebraska's talent. I'm thrilled to be included among them.

Last summer the fortune cookie in my Chinese take-out promised, "Your fondest dream will come true within this year." I suppose it has. What dreams will the new year bring? 

Happy New Year to you. And may we all find something worth seeking in the months to come.

UPDATE. Here's the podcast in case you missed the live episode:

Platte River Sampler #5: The Screenhouse by Traci Robison; Poetry of Steve Gains; Poems of L. Adkins; Story of a Depression era shooting; Poems of Jules Rolf

Listen to the end to hear my friend Jules' nature-inspired poems. Her "Following the Ground Ivy" is one of my favorites.

December flurry

Ah, December--the busiest time of my year coincides with onset of hibernation urges. All I want is a nap and a cookie (double chocolate, please), but there is, indeed, no rest for the wicked. Here's a quick rundown on what's new.

Last week KZUM broadcast the debut episode of "The Platte River Sampler," featuring creative works penned and performed by Nebraskans. Listen live online Thursdays from 6-7 pm central. If you miss an episode and want to catch up, here's the podcast listing.

Round 23 of SPARK collaborations is going up. Contributors have through Friday to post their work, so be sure to check back for new additions.

As for myself, I have been eating too much, exercising too little, and chipping away at two works in progress. (Full disclosure: I've also been watching a few episodes of American Horror Story: Coven on Netflix. Gotta have some guilty pleasures, don't I?)

All in all, I've been feeling a little like this cat:

"Kittens and cats: a book of tales" (1911)

How many people and bandages do you suppose were involved in getting that cat in a fur coat? My guess is half a dozen of each.