Conflux

Well, Conflux has been and gone and it was great fun! I had never been to Canberra, so that was an adventure in itself. And if eating a salad in the airport counts, I have visited Adelaide as well. So now I have been to every capital city in Australia. I am so well travelled. Next stop, get myself a passport.

Mostly for me the weekend was about supporting Alisa and Twelfth Planet Press, and getting to catch up with friends! And late nights…oh the late nights. #Iamold

By far the greatest majority of my time was spent in the Dealers Room, but I quite like that, because nearly everyone wanders through at some stage or another, so I get to see everyone.

I don’t tend to do panels, so my one contribute was organising the awards ceremony. I wanted something fun and engaging and the awesome Deb Biancotti provided all that. She did an amazing job.

Congratulations to all the winners! It was wonderful to see some of my favourite fandom people being honoured.

And the trophies themselves this year were stunning! Lewis Morley did a beautiful job on them. Most years I am a bit meh about the trophies, (although squeaky octopii were definitely cool) and I have never been particularly sad that I don’t do award worthy things….but oh, I badly coveted this year’s edition. And then some people actually got TWO of them! So not fair! (It is really…Tansy, Kaaron and Kathleen all deserved to win their categories!)

I thought I had people convinced about me being all sweetness and light, but Sean the Blogonaut saw through me when it came to the Ditmars…because I utilised my underworld contacts to procure myself a Blackmarket edition.

It’s so, so pretty sitting in my cabinet.

Add a comment May 4, 2013

My Crazy Cupcake Adventure — Love and Romanpunk

Thousands of years ago, Julia Agrippina wrote the true history of her family, the Caesars. The document was lost, or destroyed, almost immediately. (It included more monsters than you might think.)

Hundreds of years ago, Fanny and Mary ran away from London with a debauched poet and his sister. (If it was the poet you are thinking of, the story would have ended far more happily, and with fewer people having their throats bitten out.)

Sometime in the near future, a community will live in a replica Roman city built in the Australian bush. It’s a sight to behold. (Shame about the manticores.)

Further in the future, the last man who guards the secret history of the world will discover that the past has a way of coming around to bite you. (He didn’t even know she had a thing for pointy teeth.)

The world is in greater danger than you ever suspected. Women named Julia are stronger than they appear. Don’t let your little brother make out with silver-eyed blondes. Immortal heroes really don’t fancy teenage girls. When love dies, there’s still opera. Family is everything. Monsters are everywhere. Yes, you do have to wear the damned toga.

History is not what you think it is.

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2 comments February 2, 2013

My Crazy Cupcake Adventure — Nightsiders

In a future world of extreme climate change, Perth, Western Australia’s capital city, has been abandoned. Most people were evacuated to the East by the late ’30s and organised infrastructure and services have gone.

A few thousand obstinate and independent souls cling to the city and to the southern towns. Living mostly by night to endure the fierce temperatures, they are creating a new culture in defiance of official expectations. A teenage girl stolen from her family as a child; a troupe of street actors who affect their new culture with memories of the old; a boy born into the wrong body; and a teacher who is pushed into the role of guide tell the story of The Nightside.

Nightsiders by Sue Isle is a collection of four stories set in  a post apocalyptic Perth. It’s a world where the sun is vicious, and the few remaining residents move around at night time in order to survive.

When I was trying to determine what kind of cupcake would embody Nightsiders, I automatically went to lemon, because of the sun, but I wasn’t quite happy with that as a choice, because it felt too fresh, which I didn’t think represented the feel…not the writing isn’t fresh, it is. It’s n awesome book! Rather it was the whole “lemon fresh” thing I had an issue with. Until I realised that making Scorched Lemon Meringue Cupcakes would be perfect.

I have a very easy, basic cupcake recipe that works well as the base, and as an added bonus it’s gluten-free.

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2 comments August 3, 2012

A Trifle Treat

In case you don’t know this, I’m not one to walk away from a cooking challenge, so when Deadlines, the new imprint from Twelfth Planet Press, announces a Trifle Competition, to celebrate the release of A Trifle Dead by Livia Day,  well, I had to give it a go.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I do some work from Twelfth Planet, so  I won’t actually be submitting my recipe, as I don’t want to cause any issues for Alisa.

(ETA: I just realised how that sounds. It’s not that there’s an expectation that I will win, rather, since allegations of impropriety have been levelled at both Alisa and myself in regards to awards and competitions, I figure it’s better to remove myself and not leave either of us open to those types of allegations.)

My trifle starts with a raspberry jelly with a wild hibiscus flower set, not in a shot glass, but a long stemmed liqueur glass.

It’s then topped with a delicious vanilla custard. Now, I don’t say delicious lightly, as I’m not generally a custard person but I kept finding  excuses to test this custard, and then I had to fight The Boy for the leftovers.

After letting the custard set I placed a circle of Delicious Death chocolate cake in the glass. Then I placed a ring of chocolate cake on top of that to make a well, which I filled with a raspberry coulis.

Not being a huge fan of cream on its own, the glass was then filled with a cherry brandy syllabub that I had let separate, and topped off with a maraschino cherry.

And let me just say YUM. I don’t do trifle. I have never yet met a trifle I like. Until now. I will be making this again, and chances are I will probably partake of it.

Also, totally gluten free.

Add a comment July 31, 2012

Should I warn my parents about a possible auton attack…?

Yesterday while shopping at Target Geraldton I ran across a familiar figure acting as the door greeter.

Add a comment June 24, 2012

My Crazy Cupcake Adventure – Salvage

Seeking to salvage their foundering marriage, Melanie and Richard retreat to an isolated beach house on a remote Queensland island.

Intrigued by a chance encounter with a stranger, Melanie begins to drift away from her husband and towards Helena, only to discover that Helena has her own demons, ageless and steeped in blood.

As Richard’s world and Helena’s collide, Melanie must choose which future she wants, before the dark tide pulls her under … forever.

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2 comments June 17, 2012

My Crazy Cupcake Adventure

This is one of those “It seemed like a good idea at the time” stories.

The Crazy Cupcake Adventure really began several weeks before Continuum 8, when Alisa and I were discussing what to do for the Twelfth Planet Press hour. In a moment of (insert adjective here)ness, I suggested themed cupcakes.

It was always going to be easier to make the cakes at home and transport them over frozen and unfrosted.

The challenge was going to be in decorating 300 cupcakes in a hotel room.

The tools I took:

The tools I didn’t take:
EVERYTHING ELSE!

There were items I had packed, but when we reached the airport we discovered we were significantly overweight and had to do some quick and judicious culling, so in Melbourne I had to Make Do.

And of course, one of the tools I couldn’t take on the plane was my blowtorch. Fortunately Alex had recently acquired one so I was able to borrow that for some extreme cake decorating.

The day started at 7:30 when I went in search of Coles, which was hidden deep underground with no signage. So I, um, may have gotten a little lost. I procured most of my ingredients and Alisa later did a second foraging expedition to get the final ingredients, and some painkillers to knock a blossoming migraine on the head.

On top of operating with one solitary bowl, I had to find ways to soften butter and cream cheese to a temperature that wasn’t akin to a snowball on Mount Everest. I solved this by having the ingredients in my bowl and warming the bottom I the container with the hair dryer that the hotel supplied. it worked a treat! Except when I blasted the air into the bowl and ended up snorting a face full of icing sugar dust. I was tired and migrainey, okay!

Eleven and a half hours after starting, with ten minutes to spare, I finished. A quick shower and dress and I was able to swan into the party which was in full swing.

Nine minutes past seven I walked in and over half the cupcakes were gone! This is (one of) the reasons we don’t have many photos. And it is an awesome reason to not have many photos!

6 comments June 13, 2012