Life

How to Help

The ice and snow have melted and temperatures have returned to normal. Yesterday was 72! Mr. M and I made it through the week with only minor inconveniences—a few downed tree limbs, a loss of power for about thirteen hours, and a need to boil our water.

Others, however, were not so fortunate, and there is a great need in Texas for help and support. Here in Austin, some people were without power for four days or more while the temperatures plummeted into the single digits. The freezing temperatures combined with lack of power broke water pipes in houses, apartments, and water mains. Over 300 million gallons of water were lost to spills causing the pressure in the lines to decrease, which is why we’re all either boiling or have no water at all.

I know times are tough all around, but if you have a few extra dollars to spare here are three places in Austin that could use your help:

If you want to spread your donation across more of Texas, AOC is raising money for twelve charities via ActBlue.

Now I have to try to salvage the rest of February for writing. I don’t know where this month has gone, but I haven’t gotten anything done and it’s making me very anxious. I have another book due in the summer, and I was hoping to get a sekrit side project done, too, but that’s looking less likely. :(

I hope that wherever you are, you’re warm and safe!

Icepocalypse Meets Snowpocalypse

Central Texas has been hammered with weather this week. First we had freezing rain, which weighed down trees and snapped branches.

For those of you who live farther north, our live oak trees don’t drop their leaves in the fall like normal oak trees. Instead, they keep them until spring, when the new leaves grow in, which means when it ices, there is a lot more surface area for ice to collect.

A iced over branch of a live oak with a road in the background.

So far our live oak is holding okay, but we’ve lost two big branches from a cedar tree in the back yard and one big branch from the decorative holly-type tree by our front door. We walked around the neighborhood on Friday and it’s the same everywhere.

So we had ice, then freezing temperatures for several days, then last night, we got 4-6″ of snow. This is the second time we’ve received a decent snowfall this year, when it usually barely snows (just enough to see it falling) once every two or three years. On top of all of that, the temperature fell to single digits, which is the coldest it’s been since the 1980s.

Our snow-covered front yard, where the snow is deep enough that the grass is hidden.

The city has no infrastructure to deal with snow, so the plan is to stay home until it melts. Luckily, we went grocery shopping just before everything hit, so we’re good to sit tight.

But the house is a little more concerning because our houses are not designed to withstand single-digit temperatures. We’re dripping our faucets and hoping for the best, but there are going to be lots of burst pipes in town once it warms up.

It’s been so cold that we’re now having rolling brownouts because the power grid can’t keep up. So far, we still have power, but it’s only a matter of time until we’re hit. In fact, it’s been cold enough that our frost flowers are blooming. When frost weed freezes, the water in the plant is forced out in delicate ribbons of ice, almost like the layers of a croissant or cotton candy.

A frozen frost weed that has produced a frost flower of ice crystals.

If you want a couple more pictures of the frost flower ice, I shared them on instagram.

Overall, we’re fine, just hunkered down and waiting for warmer weather. I hope that wherever you are, you’re also staying safe and warm!

10,000 Snacks and Swoon Awards Voting

10,000 Snacks, a cookbook, by Cora, Rose, and Bob Brown

My mother-in-law gave me what is possibly the greatest book ever written: 10,000 Snacks by Cora, Rose, and Bob Brown. This is a 1937 masterpiece that reads like it could’ve been written today (but hopefully minus the problematic stereotypes/naming conventions that were popular in 1937).

This book is less about the snacks—most of which sound terrible, to be he honest—and more about the writing. The section on Equipping the Home Snack Bar is especially fun:

One of the greatest appeals of snacking is that it requires neither equipment nor etiquette. All that’s needed is appetite and a lusty interest in proving that fingers really were made before forks.

Yet your beginner, after being thwarted by an obdurate sardine can and finding it still soldered against him, though he’s whacked it on the stove and jumped up on and down on it, finally weakens, give in to civilizing science and buys a ten-cent combinations can opener, bottle cap remover and corkscrew.

[…]

The habit of acquisition creeps up subtly on him. […] After that he’s sunk and goes in giddily for hardwood cheese boards and wire baskets in which to swing his salad lettuces bone dry in the French fashion.

From 10,000 Snacks by Cora, Rose, and Bob Brown

I bet you didn’t know a salad spinner dried your greens “in the French fashion.” 😂

There’s also a whole section on popular snacks from countries around the world, including Hawaii which wasn’t yet part of the US, but my absolute favorite entry is from Vatican City:

Wine and holy wafers.

That’s it; that’s the entire entry. :dies laughing:

And, of course, the book doesn’t forget your pets. After all, it takes a lot to get to 10,000 snacks.

Though dogs should be seen and not heard, they will occasionally yap for a little between-meal surprise. A bit of toast or pretzel from your tray, and if it’s a dachshund, and occasional sip from your mug of beer or a pull at your pipe will be appreciated.

Why do only dachshunds get beer and tobacco? No one knows! It was stated as a universal truth and then they moved on to some new pet, like snakes, ant eaters, and lady water buffalos. I sense maybe this section was a little tongue-in-cheek. 😉

There’s also a section with favorite snacks of famous people. I didn’t recognize a lot of the names, but Eleanor Roosevelt prefers hot dogs, Betty Grable prefers Spanish hash, and Ruth Zuckerman (listed as “the gal who typed this book”) prefers southern fried chicken with sautéed sweet potato slices. I’m with you, Ms. Zuckerman.

While the snacks don’t sound great, they are a fascinating look into life in 1937—at least life in NYC, because I doubt the rest of the country was eating fresh oysters with any regularity. I’ve very much enjoyed thumbing through the pages and finding some new turn of phrase or type of snack pretty much every time I pick it up.

Finally, before you go, the final round of the Swoon Awards is open for voting for a few more days. Thanks to you all, both Chaos Reigning *and* The Queen’s Triumph made it into the semi-finals! Thank you so much! 💕 If you feel like voting again, you can vote for up to three books this round, which makes a very difficult SFR category (so many good books!) a little bit easier. :)

Happy Book Birthday to Blood Heir!

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews is out today!! I haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet, because by the time it was done with copyedits, I was too deep in deadline hell to pester Ilona for a copy. But now it’s waiting for me on my Kindle, and I’m so excited to read it tonight! I’ve been in a reading slump since turning in New Shiny, so I’m hoping this breaks me out of it. :)

From award-winning author, Ilona Andrews, an all-new novel set in the New York Times #1 bestselling Kate Daniels World and featuring Julie Lennart-Olsen, Kate and Curran’s ward.

Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.

Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name—Aurelia Ryder—drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.

If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she’d ever loved could threaten everything.

One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.

Read an excerpt on Ilona’s site!

Get your copy!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Google Play | Kobo | Bookshop


We had snow last weekend, which is always fun, especially when you can stay home and not drive. Mr. M and I spent an hour outside checking out the wintry change. Kids were playing on impromptu sleds, mostly plastic storage bin lids and water equipment (boogie boards, pool inflatables, etc) because we don’t get snow often enough for real sleds.

We made a few snowballs, but didn’t throw them because it was the wet, heavy kind of snow that turns snowballs into deadly ice missiles. It would’ve been great for building forts, though, and we did see quite a few snowmen, including this little guy who had a carrot nose and everything.

This week, I’m working on the site. I’m planning to update the theme in the next few days, so if you see any weirdness, that’s to be expected while I work out the bugs. The change shouldn’t be too drastic, but the site is overdue for a little cleanup.

I hope you all are staying warm and healthy! The first week of 2021 was a little rough, but I remain optimistic that the rest of the year is going to improve. I hope. 💕

Merry Christmas!

Our gas-log fireplace with a fire burning for the first time. A tile hearth and the very edge of our lit Christmas tree.
Our fireplace works! Who knew?

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! This year has been a little rough (massive understatement), but I hope you are enjoying some peace and happiness as the year draws to a close.

This is the first year we’re not visiting our family for the holidays, and I think it would be a lot rougher if I hadn’t been on deadline this month. But I’ve worked for 25+ days straight, so time sort of lost all meaning.

BUT…

THE BOOK IS DONE!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Well, the rough draft is done, as of about 8:30 last night. It still needs some pretty serious edits, but at least I made it to the end. Everything else can be fixed, so huge weight lifted. If you’ve been around for a while, then you know that writing this year has been super difficult for me. At the beginning of December, I wasn’t sure I would hit my early January deadline because I needed to write so much.

But I did it!

I wrote nearly 44k words this month. For comparison, in November, when I was also super worried about the deadline, I wrote 12k. (You can see why I was worried.)

I’m chalking it up as a Christmas miracle.

We don’t have any big plans today, since it’s just Mr. M and me, but we bought some nice steaks for dinner, and now that the book is done, I’m going to enjoy a day off. Edits can wait until tomorrow.

I hope you and yours have a good day, and if you’re not seeing family this year to keep others safe, know that your kindness and generosity is appreciated. 💕

Happy holidays, and I wish you all the best in 2021!