WorldCons - World Science Fiction Conventions and more

Every year since about 1939, science fiction fans, writers, artists and more gather to honor some of science fiction's favorite authors and artists.

If you are an author of science fiction, going to a WorldCon is a great experience and a marvelous opportunity to promote your works.

In 2015, the World Science Fiction Convention will be held in Spokane, Washington, USA from August 19-23, 2015. The Sasquan SF WorldCon is the 73rd SF world convention (http://sasquan.org/)

It is at the world convention that the city for the world SF convention to be held two years out is selected. So, at Sasquan, the city for the 2017 WorldCon will be selected. Helsinki, Nippon, Montreal and Washington, DC are the candidate cities.

Kansas City, MO is the site for the 2016 WorldCon to be held from August 17-21, 2016. For more information, go to: http://kcin2016.org/

For more information on WorldCons, go to: http://worldcon.org/.

There are many other science fiction conventions around the world. They are usually smaller and more focused on local authors or particular genres like Star Trek or fantasies. See this site for listings: http://upcomingcons.com/science-fiction-conventions.

As an author, you have many promotional opportunities. These are just some of the opportunities: participate in a panel discussion, rent a table in the Dealers Room to sell your books and such, leave flyers on the various information tables, and more. But, you need to plan in advance and you need to be invited to participate in the panels.

eBook Orchard -- A New Online Bookstore

Recent controversies, such as the battle between Amazon and Hachette Books, have illuminated that royalties for the sale of an author's works are in a great deal of flux, often to the determent of the author's income.

Ted Summerfield, an author and founder of Smashwords Forum has developed a new online bookstore, eBook Orchard, for authors, to give authors more control over the sale of their works.

Blog Post
http://punzhupuzzles.wordpress.com/2014/12/20/an-ebook-store-by-authors-for-authors/

Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/ebookorchard

Twitter
@EbookOrchard

As Ted notes on his blog, eBook Orchard is in its testing phase.

Spinach and Egg Sandwich

While the picture below is of a "simple" egg and spinach sandwich, it was days in the making.

I had had difficulty making hard-boiled eggs using my own RKFNC recipe. But, I realized that the original recipe was developed when I had access to a propane gas stove top, now I have an electric stove top.

This particular stove top heat levels seem to vary from the propane gas stove top, so I reverted to my standby hard-boiled egg cooking instructions. They are easy.

Hard-Boiled Eggs Method 2

• Place eggs in a bowl.
• Place bowl on counter to let eggs reach room temperature.
• Fill a pot with water, about 2-3 inches from the top of the pot. Need enough water to cover eggs.
• Add a dollop of vinegar.
• Bring water to a vigorous boil.
• Use a slotted serving spoon and gradually lower one egg at a time into the water. Go slowly, it will help keep the egg from cracking due to the change in temperature.
• Once all the eggs are in the pot.
• Set timer for 10 minutes.
• Remove pot from burner at the end of 10 minutes.
• Remove eggs, one at a time. Place into bowl.
• Run water over eggs to cool them off.

Note: I had to run water for awhile to get the eggs to cool.

I did not attempt to shell an egg at that time.

Now, I had a bag of spinach I had bought several days before. It seemed urgent to cook the spinach before it went bad. I was nervous. I hadn't cooked fresh spinach in years. I wasn't quite sure how to approach cooking it.

After looking at various recipes. I found one on Simply Recipes.com (http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spinach/) that pointed me in the right direction. As usual, I had to adapt the recipe to the appliances and quantities I had. Here's my recipe.

Easy Cooked Spinach

1 clove of garlic, diced
1 package of fresh spinach
1 dollop olive oil

• Add olive oil to large microwave glass casserole dish.
• Add garlic.
• Cook on high, one minute in microwave.
• Rinse spinach in a colander to remove grit.
• No need to shake off all the moisture. It will be useful in the microwave.
• Add spinach to casserole dish and cover.
• Cook 2 minutes on high in microwave.
• Stir spinach.

Note: Spinach should be very wilted and moist.

So, now I had cooked spinach and hard-boiled eggs. The experiment continued.

Hard-Boiled Egg and Spinach Sandwich

1 dollop olive oil
2 slices of multi-grain bread
1 hard-boiled egg
1 serving of cooked spinach
1 teaspoon mayonaise
Black pepper
5-8 capers
1/2 teaspoon Basil

• Add olive oil to small skillet.
• Lay one slice of bread in the oil to coat one side.
• Lift bread out with a spatula.
• Add the second slice of bread.
• Place first slice on top with the oiled side up.
• Cook until underside of slice is brown.
• Flip slices, so the top slice can get brown.
• Remove slices.
• Place slices on plate, side by side, toasted sides down.
• Spread mayonaise onto one slice of toast.
• Shell, peel and slice a hard-boiled egg.
• Place slices of egg onto one slice of toast.
• Top egg slices with black pepper, capers and basil.
• Add serving of spinach to other slice of toast.
• Fold two slices of toast together.
• Slice sandwich in half.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year !!! El Sueño de Gina is officially published by The Write Place!

Happy New Year 2015!!!

I am bringing in the New Year with a Dual Book in English and Spanish, Gina's Dream/El Sueño de Gina. Published by The Write Place (http://www.thewriteplace.biz/bookstore/product/56-gina-s-dream-el-sueno-de-gina).

It has been a pleasure working with The Write Place. They are a full-service publishing house. The staff are knowledgeable, talented and responsive to author inquiries and suggestions.

From now until January 8, 2015

Gina's Dream/El Sueño de Gina is 30% off in print or ebook formats.

In Gina’s Dream, Kit Brennan, SETA’s (Space Exploration Through Astronomy) Assistant Director, meets an unusual woman at a convention. She claims she is an alien. What is he to believe? What is he to do?

Kit’s co-worker sees her as a threat, first to his friend and then to humans. The co-worker seeks to discover Gina’s secrets to stop her.

Gina has broken the emissaries’ primary rule by telling Kit who she is. But, she is here to defend her world from a future invasion by humans. As Gina’s safety is threatened, what will she do to defend herself?

Caught in the middle between his co-worker’s fears and her defense, Kit has few choices but to let Gina follow her dream.

What would you do if you met an alien?

El Sueño de Gina

Traductor, Ileana Silva

En El Sueño de Gina, Kit Brennan, asistente del director de SETA, se encuentra con una mujer excepcional en una convención. Ella dice que es un extraterrestre. ¿Qué es lo que creer? ¿Qué ha de hacer?

Un compañero de trabajo del Kit la ve como una amenaza, primero a su amigo y luego a los humanos. El compañero de trabajo trata de descubrir los secretos de Gina para detenerla.

Mientras tanto, Gina ha infringido la regla principal de los emisarios diciéndoles Kit quién es. Pero ella está aquí para defender su mundo de una futura invasión por los seres humanos. Como se ve amenazada la seguridad de Gina, ¿qué va a hacer para defenderse?

Atrapados entre temores a su compañero de trabajo y la defensa de Gina, Kit tiene pocas opciones pero para dejarla seguir su sueño.

¿Qué harías si te encontraste un extraterrestre?

(PR crédito: Google Traducir)

~~~~~

Gina’s Dream began as an idea after reading several research papers, in the early 1990s, where basic life functions were being manipulated for singular purposes without regard for the universe’s ecosystem.

Several characteristics run through Ria’s stories. Characters confront moral dilemmas with honesty, truth, fairness, self-responsibility, compassion, common sense, respect for science, curiosity, hard work, and optimism. Characters question the status quo. Spirituality, dreams, faith, and a belief in contributing to community and society to improve the lives of others now and in the future are underlying themes.

Category: Fiction

Genre: Science-Fiction/Romance/Predictive Fiction/Social Commentary

Audience: 12+ Adult 

Length: Novelette

Language: English/Spanish

No illustrations

*Pen Name

Contact:

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RiaStone

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitsBitesBooks

Blog: eBooks & More (http://riastoneblog.blogspot.mx)

Amazon: Author Page

Email: Ria.Stonemail@gmail.com

Honey Peanut Butter & Chocolate Balls

Here's the peanut butter ball recipe I was looking for.

Honey peanut butter & chocolate balls
(Adapted from: http://www.whatscooking.fns.usda.gov/recipes/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/honey-milk-balls)

Servings: about 16 (depends on size)

1/4 cup honey
2 heaping tablespoons  peanut butter
2 heaping tablespoons dry milk, low-fat/non-fat
2 heaping tablespoons chocolate mix (cocoa milk mix)*
1/2 cup cereal, crushed+
1 dab of olive oil

*My cocoa mix is a mixture of Chocolate Ensure and a powdered cocoa milk mix.

+I used bran flakes.

Mix honey and peanut butter.
Gradually add the dry milk and  cocoa mix.
Stir mixture. Mixture will be very stiff.
Chill to make "dough" easier to roll.

Add dab of olive oil to one palm, rub palms together, to make it easier to roll the "dough."
Take a small amount of mixture and roll between palms.
Roll ball in crushed cereal.
Sprinkle some cereal over ball.
Roll in palms again. (optional)

Place finished balls in small container.
Cover when done.
Chill until firm.

Notes:

These peanut butter balls are best when "frozen."

I am going to try the same recipe but coat the balls with different types of crushed cereal and make some with crushed cookies.

Update:

I made more peanut butter balls with three types of cereal.

The winner is Choco Krispies. They were tasty and crunchy. I will skip the crushed cookies for now.

My 1st Three Course Meal and More...

Cooking is so frustrating for me.

I had been planning a casual get together for about six friends and I wanted to attempt my first 3-course meal.

I researched recipes for days, several days, many days.

I tried to develop a menu with appetizers, a main course, a side dish, a salad and dessert to be served buffet style.

I settled on stuffed cherry tomatoes, tuna & bean bruschetta, and cucumber topped with cheese and grated carrots for appetizers.

I thought I would make a slow cooker stew as the main dish but changed it to meatloaf at the last minute because I did not want to deal with soup bowls.

The side dish was going to be pasta, a fall back dish.

Oh, and there were no cherry tomatoes at the store and the cheese topped cucumber slices was abandoned due to lack time and energy. That left blue-cheese stuffed olives and tuna & bean dip as appetizers.

A salad of onion, tomato, and cucumber slices with cheese cubes was another fall back.

Dessert kept changing because on my first grocery shopping trip the store did not have whipped topping in a container (spray can only). I settled on peanut butter balls.

I had selected so many recipes and saved them on various devices in various ways (email, bookmark, photo, reading list) that finding the one I wanted became a problem, more frustration. Solution was to email the pertinent recipes to my mobile and flag them and then delete the ones that I would probably not use.

Well, I had to get a loaf pan for the meat loaf and I got a 7 x 5, not a 9 x 5, so I tried to reduce the recipe and failed. I cried so much cutting the onions, I couldn't see what I was doing with a very sharp knife.

Waiting to see if the first mini-meatloaf comes out before I go forward. I cooked it too long, while it was tasty, it was dry. Luckily, I had accidentally made too much loaf mix, I had enough for another batch.

And all I could think of was, I am not ever doing this again!

I reduced the cooking time from 15 to 10 minutes in the microwave. This time I also added the tomato sauce topping I forgot on the first one and this one came out great!

Then I tried a new recipe, Vegetarian Nut Loaf. I should have tried it first when I wasn't so tired. I forgot to cut the recipe in half, then half way through I tried to cut it half by dividing the half-done mixture into two bowls while attempting to finish one-half.

The thing was pink because I used colored bar nuts.

It just came out of the microwave. It is still pink. It is crumbly but tasty. I have enough mix for probably three more loafs. If I make another one, I will add another egg and maybe another cheese. (Note: only used one pkg of cream cheese and one egg).

While I bought a sharper knife thinking I would be able to "mince" onions and such better, all it did was make cutting onions more dangerous. I never got past dice.

Ok, it's late and I am tired. I thought making the hard-boiled eggs would be easy. Something went wrong, maybe I cooked them a minute or two too long, or maybe because I was using eight eggs contributed to this disaster. The eggs were overlooked and so hard to peel I lost two eggs because most of the egg came away with the shell. I salvaged six eggs but cut myself in the process and could not stop thinking of all the illnesses you could get from eggs.

I couldn't find my original peanut butter ball recipe and took a chance on trying to remember how it went. It was another failure, I tried to salvage by making a "peanut butter" pie topped with crushed cookies. As another attempt to make a dessert, I tried Stove Top Coffee Cake, but I could tell I was done because I forgot to grease the pan and I suspected it will turn out to be just one big pancake, I think I tried it before.

I still have to make the tuna and bean something and peel the cucumber etc.

Dread, dread, dread....

Ok it's 3:00 pm and I am exhausted/ The frig holds three ground beef mini meat loafs, 1 nut loaf, 1 plate of deviled eggs, 1 bowl of pasta, 1 bowl of salad and a stone top coffee cake.

It was funny. After it was all done and the table was set, I did not feel so bad.

I had three disasters, the Vegetarian Nut Loaf (a bit dry and still pink),  the peanut butter balls became a pie. The Stove Top Coffee Cake was ok (next time, I will use a different pan and more baking soda).

I managed to salvage the deviled eggs instead of 16 halves, I had 12 and they were tasty but next time I need to remember to cover them in the frig.

Please ignore the Mercado/Discount/Mom's items/Recycled mix & match table settings.

While everyone enjoyed the meal, there was plenty left over. I had made two extra mini-meat loafs, so I was eating meat loaf and pasta for a week.

While it was both a disaster and a success, I now have a good fall back main dish -- mini-meat loaf.

Scary Halloween Wedge Salad and Maryland Redmon Fruity French Toast

On a recent family visit, all my family are good cooks, so at meals, I struggled to contribute. Usually, I set the table.

On Halloween eve, I tried my "use what you got" approach. So, I scrounged the frig and cabinets and came up with "Scary Halloween Wedge Salad."

I used what was left of a head of lettuce and quartered it with a large knife. I placed each wedge into an individual bowl. Then, I added some sliced olives and cherry tomatoes. Found some avocado, added some slices of that, too. Then sprinkled on some goat cheese and grated carrots on top. Seasoned it with grated black peppercorns, a few sliced hot peppers and a little lime juice. 

Everybody liked it.

Then one morning, I tried the same approach. I made "Maryland Redmon Fruity French Toast."

French toast is probably one of the easiest meals to make. I used multi-grain bread slices. I broke three eggs into a bowl and added a dollop of milk, then with a fork stirred and whisked the mixture thoroughly.

Then, I dipped each slice into the batter and placed them in a skillet with melted butter. I cooked the slices until they were very brown on both sides. Then, I removed the slices and placed them on a individual serving plate. I put a dab of butter in between two slices. Then,  sliced strawberries and bananas were added on top. Then I sprinkled some fresh blueberries on top and on the plate. Serve with syrup.

Everybody liked it. Hurray!