GOOD TIDINGS

AND: A Recipe!

Every morning I wake up thinking about whatever vivid dream I was just having, hoping that I can cling to that dream space long enough to fully remember every detail. It takes somewhere between ten to thirty seconds for my thoughts to come to a screeching halt as the weight of dread settles itself on my chest, and the reality of the world eventually consumes my whole body. What a wild time to hope for good things like a book deal or basic human rights! News seems to get worse by the second! I’ve abandoned almost all my social media accounts except for my author Instagram and Bluesky, and I’m wildly appreciative every time a book review, new podcast episode, cat video, or celebrity/UFO conspiracy hits my timeline. I’m devouring these tiny blips of escape.

Reaching out to people one-on-one is helping, though it feels like the conversation is either short lived as there’s not much (or too much) to say, or the topics I need a break from eventually come up. Which, obviously, isn’t a bad thing. We’re all feeling it (Confused about those who might not be feeling it) and need to let it out. It’s pulling me back to the early pandemic days where nothing felt normal and I craved a normal conversation. Everything circled back to COVID and empty store shelves and no toilet paper or baby formula and working from home and polarizing levels of safety concerns between friends/family and and and and and….

I try to write, and I’m making SOME progress on BOTH novels (huzzah chaos!), but as the day goes on, my general hope for the world starts to fade, taking with it the dreams I have for my debut novel that’s out on sub. Okay, not ALL the dreams because I can literally see this book and its (hypothetical) amazing cover in my hands and on bookshelves and I will not let that fade. Maybe this particular dream isn’t fading it’s probably just like, slippery. (Cue wet dream joke that I’ll keep to myself)

BUT… I do have some good news!

I got my first anthology invite/acceptance. I am thrilled that a very personal and weird story of mine found a home with Stars and Sabers Publishing in the Of Dread, Decay, and Doom anthology. It totally made my week! I’m so grateful they loved the story and I can’t wait for you to see it. Their lineup is incredible, and you can check out how to support their current project HERE. 

Obv I have no chill about it.

AND…I thought maybe I’d share a few other things that are helping me feel better at the moment:

• Cutting all ties with the Zon (Small exception made for authors/indie presses that might only have their books available to purchase there) because fuck Bezos. No Prime, KU, or Audible. It feels great to remove myself as one of the 180 MILLION Prime subscribers. Everything I would buy regularly is available elsewhere and I’ll happily go elsewhere at this point.

• Also, Bookshop now has ebooks and I’m also really enjoying Libro.fm and pleasantly surprised to see their prices are comparable to Audible, with their sale prices and selections being better than Audible IMO.

• Sarah Gailey’s Love Letters: Reasons to Be Alive series of essays and art. I’m living for this right now. Check it out and also sign up for Stone Soup if you haven’t already.

• The She Wore Black podcast and book club. Agatha Andrews picks some of the best books for the book club AND there’s a monthly Zoom chat with the author of that month’s read for Patreon supporters. Last month’s chat with Megan Bannen was such a treat.

• Transgressive Horror with Emma E Murray (podcast episode) on Books in the Freezer. Stephanie and Emma had me laughing out loud. It was such a blast hearing them straight up cackle over extreme topics. 10/10, wildly entertaining episode.

• Trevor’s recent Sley House Presents interview with Amal El-Mohtar was also excellent. I love when author interviews take on a life of their own and flow into a wonderfully candid conversation. This one was just so so good. My copy of her newest book The River Has Roots finally arrived and I’m waiting for a day that I can give it my undivided attention.

• I was THRILLED to see Sophie White’s interview on the Talking Scared podcast because I am a huge fan of her work. I first discovered Where I End when it originally came out a few years ago and it’s brought me so much joy to see so many people reading it now. I also appreciate the discussion about Sophie’s other work as she’s got an incredible range that includes a cookbook, essay collection, and some rom coms. I love it all.

• Yes, I’m getting caught up on podcast episodes and I don’t care who knows it.

• I am extra excited about a new magazine called Goblins & Galaxies

• It’s my birthday month and I love my birthday. Gonna use it as an excuse to order even more books than I usually do.

• I know this isn’t a food blog but I created a new chili recipe and so I’ve included a pic and recipe below because it was fucking delicious and I want to share it. I do apologize for the pic as I hadn’t considered that I might actually post the pic + recipe (obviously would have put in some effort had I thought of this when I made it), so it doesn’t look as phenomenal as it tasted. I AM VERY SORRY AS FOOD PICS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AND I FEEL ASHAMED BUT I AM NOT MAKING THIS AGAIN FOR ANOTHER TWO WEEKS AND I DON’T WANT TO WAIT TO SHARE THE RECIPE

• Also I’m sorry not sorry for pulling a typical food blog trick and making you read the whole damn post before getting to the recipe hehehehehehe

  
  

KATRINA’S DELULU CHILI RECIPE

MAKES 1 BIG ASS POT (that my husband and I had no problem devouring by ourselves over the course of three days, so, not sure how many actual portions that is)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. ground beef

• 1 lb. ground pork

• 1 white or yellow onion, diced

• 5 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 packet Lawry’s brand Chili Seasoning

• 1 packet Cholula brand Chili Garlic Taco seasoning

• 2 regular sized cans whole tomatoes (I used 2 pint jars of homemade canned tomatoes. Sorry, not trying to go all Ina Garten here)

• 1 (11 oz) jar sweet red pepper relish (plz just trust me)

• 2 cups chicken stock (+ more if it gets too thick)

• 1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained + rinsed

• 1 (15.5 oz) can black chili beans

• 1 (15.5 oz) can red chili beans

• 2 TBSP white vinegar

• Salt + Pepper, to taste

  
  

INSTRUCTIONS

• Brown the ground beef and pork in a heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven in a little bit of oil on high heat.

• Add onion and garlic, saute until fragrant, stirring regularly.

• Add seasoning packets, coat everything well.

• Add the tomatoes, relish, stock, and beans. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, then let simmer, partially covered, on low for 30-45 mins or until desired thickness, stirring regularly to keep from settling at the bottom/burning. (I usually wait to add much salt until the end as the flavor will intensify as it reduces). Add more stock if it gets too thick.

• Add the white vinegar at the very end, stir just until combined.

• Season to taste

• Enjoy with whatever chili fixins you like.

It’s easy. It’s tasty. Hope you enjoy it.

That’s it.

Goodbye.

(Please take care of yourself and remember to keep calling your senators)