First, one of my favourite authors, Brumeier. All these stories get four stars (and kudos) – not five because they aren’t quite long enough to satisfy my cravings. There is a background mm focus but no explicit sex.
Second, another favourite, Small Hobbit (and her friend/collaborator Okapi). Again, four stars for the same reasons. Incidentally, these are all gen fics i.e. there is no sexual content of any kind.
This makes 1000 works on AO3 by this author – though admittedly a lot of the works are drabbles. So as a gift in honour of the occasion, Okapi wrote the following:
Last, but by no means least, another friend wrote this for yet another friend in the Lewis fandom. For anyone who doesn’t know (and it might not be obvious to non-Brits), the actor who plays Hathaway in Lewis has recently upset a lot of his fans by being extremely politically active on the far right. The author of this short story has the character in the show interview the real life persona… The result should bring comfort to those who (like me) dislike Fox’s politics and love Hathaway.
For once I can highly recommend all the short stories I found in February!
I watched Clare London reading her own mm stories on YouTube. The stories were very short and sweet – perfect for a brief retreat from real life. It was really good to have the author reading them and to see her face – I don’t often listen to audiobooks but these were delightful, mostly because of the feeling of closeness to the author. So five stars to the whole set!
I also very much enjoyed: My Lonely Valentine by Jackie Keswick ***** The story centres round a misunderstanding about a ring on Valentine’s Day and was lovely.
I abandoned three books in February. As usual, I must stress that since I only read a chapter (if that), this in no way reflects on the writing ability of the author, just on my personal taste. I hope this gives you both some idea of my preferences and also some flavour of the stories for those who might enjoy them – they were all perfectly well written.
Purrfect Murder (The Mysteries of Max bk 1) by Nic Saint
This seemed to be a cat as detective and I was disbelieving and irritated as soon as I realised the cat was going to talk to their detective partner. I enjoy animal stories (e.g. Watership down) and I like shifter stories. I quite like magical animals. Talking but otherwise non-magical animals, not so much. I believe the series is one of cosy mysteries and it might appeal to some of you.
Impossibly Fond by Tanya Chris
I have very little idea of where the plot was going. I just know there were far too many magical elements all introduced at the beginning and I felt overwhelmed. It appears to be a humorous story about a fledgling wizard. I suspect that for me, magic and humour don’t often mix well.
Don’t ever forget by MatthewFarrell
This crime story managed to confuse me almost straight away with far too many different points of view. It also annoyed me when the author described someone of 65 as old. I know 65 isn’t exactly young, but the general idea seemed to be that someone that age would inevitably be senile and in need of constant care. Rather than continue to lose my temper, I gave up.
I found a picture of mixed fruit online somewhere ages ago and Photoshopped it a lot.
Easy cooking and baking using mince and fruit to provide a series of meals.
To be honest, I find this easier than using convenience foods – less time spent reading lists of ingredients and instructions. Less time, too, finding stuff in the supermarket or online. Just make sure you have the basics in pantry, fridge, etc. Then, knowing you don’t have to weigh, measure, etc. you can go ahead and create basic dishes without much need to think once you’ve done it a couple of times.
Basic mince
I usually cook a big batch of this. Some goes in the fridge for meals later in the week and some goes in the frezzer for easy meals in the future but remember to thaw it properly or you’ll have lumps of semi frozen mince in your dinner.
Quantities are flexible.
Beef mince. This is my default but the same things can be done with lamb or pork mince, or with Quorn mince for vegetarians.
Add all or most of the following:
*Chopped tomatoes. Tinned are best but if you have some fresh tomatoes at their last gasp in your kitchen just add them as well.
*Chopped onions. I recommend wearing glasses (even if you don’t need glasses) to prevent tears.
*Chopped mushrooms (fresh or tinned).
*Chopped sweet peppers – any colour.
Again, quantities are flexible.
Also add:
*Herbs, fresh and/or dried. I like any fresh herbs but also like Italian seasoning and Herbes de Provence. Choose your herbs according to your own tastes and what’s available but try to stick to just one or two or they will drown each other.
*Seasoning. I add salt, black pepper and smoked paprika. I don’t add chili etc.at this stage because I don’t want ‘heat’ for all the uses
Throw in:
Anything you happen to want to use up e.g. leftover gravy or small amounts of leftover cooked vegetables.
Start by softening the onion in oil (any) in a large pan.
Add the mince and brown, stirring to prevent burning, then add everything else.
You might need more liquid. You can add any or all of: water, wine, a splash of wine vinegar, or the liquid from e.g. a tin of chopped mushrooms. Only add enough to prevent sticking but have some more handy just in case.
Bring to the boil, stirring. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes.
That’s it. Now you can divide it into smaller batches for refrigerating or freezing once it’s cool.
Use with:
*pasta of any kind (spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, canelloni, etc.). Serve with black pepper and grated cheese – I like a mixture of cheddar and parmesan.
*pancakes (UK type) – stuff them and grate cheese on top then melt the cheese. NB if you make the pancakes fresh and grill or microwave them once the cheese is on, you don’t need to reheat the mince. It will heat nicely inside the pancakes.
*stuffed vegetables e.g. sweet peppers, marrow – top with cheese or breadcrumbs (steam the veg first then stuff and bake for half an hour)
*with a suet crust
*with a topping of mashed potato/sweet pototo/swede
*with rice – top with cream
For some of the above dishes you can add extra seasonings such as chili flakes, harissa paste, and whatever extra veg you have around e.g. leftover peas/beans. You can top dishes with grated cheese, breadcrumbs or cream.
Ringing the changes gives you the possibility of a lot of different dishes all from the same original pan of mince.
There’s something very satisfying in knowing you have the basis of a lot of meals from one fairly easy and inexpensive beginning.
Basic baked fruit
For this you can use any amount of fresh apples/pears and any variety. But don’t use cooking apples because they ‘fall’ during cooking and give a totally different texture. You can mix apples and pears.
Core the fruit and chop into thinnish slices. Don’t peel but remove stems while you’re coring.
Add sultanas, sugar (brown is nice but not essential) and some spices – cinnamon and nutmeg work well but if all you’ve got is a jar of allspice, use that. Ginger is a welcome addition, too.
Add some fruit juice (I usually have fresh orange juice in the fridge but apple would also be good) and a tablespoon of cornflour and mix gently, trying not to break up the fruit slices too much. Don’t go mad with the liquid. If you have no fruit juice use a small amount of water.
Cover and bake in a hot oven for about three quarters of an hour. I use a pyrex dish with a foil lid. Remove the lid and carry on baking for another fifteen minutes. The fruit will be soft and the liquid will be thickened.
You can eat this hot or cold with cream, custard or ice cream, or you can use it to make a strudel using bought filo pastry. Once you’ve made the strudel you should brush the top with milk, sprinkle with sugar and bake for about half an hour by which time the fruit filling will have had an hour altogether and will have changed a little.
So that’s at least three desserts from one lot of prep (plus the enormous effort of wrapping the fruit in filo pastry…)
You can also bake peaches, nectarines, plums and fresh figs the same way but I don’t add sultanas and I do tend to add alcohol (Amaretto is good). I halve these fruits instead of slicing them. Those pretty red plums that seem determined to stay as hard as bullets in the fruit bowl do very well with this treatment. Again, a choice of cream, custard or ice cream rings the changes and you can eat them hot or chilled. If you feel lazy you can refrain from stoning the fruit and let people take the stones out once they are served.
Enjoy! And use the time and mental energy you save to do something rewarding!
Last month’s novels were unusual in that some were extremely good, and others (which I will review later) I abandoned. For once, there were no merely good, poor, or dire books and I can really recommend all the following:
A Hope Divided (The Loyal League 2) by Alyssa Cole*****
This was fascinating. It explored aspects of the American Civil War that certainly never reached those of us who were not American. The love story of Marlie and Ewan is set against life in the confederate south. Marlie is the ‘free black’ daughter of an estate owner with an interest in medicine, and Ewan is a Unionist intelligence officer with scruples about his success. Their slow-growing romance highlights all kinds of questions of morality and identity. A really lovely book and extremely well written. The Loyal League books are on the same theme but are not a series so don’t hesitate to read this.
Other Half by Jordan Castillo Price*****
I was always going to love this, because I feel as if Vic and Jacob are old friends by now. They actually get married in this twelfth volume in the series (not counting sundry shorts) but of course they can’t do things in a normal fashion and the wedding is only part of an investigation. I enjoyed getting to know more of Jacob’s family, and it was interesting, too, to see the couple outside their Chicago city comfort zone. Highly recommended for those who enjoy ghosts with their crime stories, but you really need to read the Psycops series in sequence.
Returning Home by A.M. Rose*****
I started this shifter story without any great expectations because I saw from the blurb that it was set in the Omegaverse. However, I was soon drawn into the plot and absolutely loved the main characters, Reed and Jax. I really didn’t want the book to end. It was a standalone, so we got a happy conclusion despite some nail-biting moments. I was interested to see that the ‘author’ is in fact two people, who previously wrote fanfiction together. I think I know who they are and if so, I enjoyed their fanfiction, too.
Billy and the Beast by Eli Easton*****
This was a fabulous retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a modern setting, some actual crime (apart from the theft of the rose) and an mm romance. Billy and Aaron are fascinating characters and I thoroughly enjoyed their story. Anyone who likes a modern twist on fairy tales would enjoy this.
Love by Chance by Blake Allwood****
This was a fun read, with an mm romance set in the catering industry. Enough research went into that to give the story a really solid background and a lot of interest outside the central love story. The minor characters were well developed which is always a plus for a book that is ‘just’ a love story. A contemporary romance novel with a lot of ‘extra’ to offer.
Magnificent Devices Books 5 and 6 by Shelley Adina. Novellas ****
Another publication I was looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint. This steampunk series with strong female main characters and quirky crime is delightful. At the end of volume 6 we got a glimpse of romance for ‘the lady’ whose adventures took up the first four volumes. These two long novellas concentrated on two of her wards and I look forward to volumes 7 and 8 when I finish my self-imposed moratorium on book buying.
A Place of Execution by Val McDermid****
I like this author’s writing, and was intrigued by a story that took place near where I live (The Peak District). It also took place over my own adult lifetime here so felt particularly personal with references to events like the Moors Murders. The final icing on the ‘cake’ was the use of my father’s name for one of the detectives. However, I did not empathise with any of the main characters so found myself less than invested in the final outcome. Still, it’s a clever and fascinating detective story, beautifully written as usual.
The Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd****
The plot was so intriguing I found myself thinking about it whilst doing other things, but I didn’t like the style. Ackroyd jumps from one p.o.v to another, using different techniques for each to tell the tale of a serial killer in Victorian London. Clever, but jarring. The story is not that of Jack the Ripper, but it has echoes of it and the location and society are brought vividly to life. The story is chilling, as the identity of the murderer begins to dawn on the reader, and the whole effect is deftly manipulated and written. It stayed with me for some time and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a ‘different’ crime story, historical or otherwise. For me personally, I would prefer Ackroyd to stick to non-fiction which I think he does superbly.
The daffodils in the header picture are currently flowering in our garden.
My Living Fae series (urban fantasy/mm romance/family saga, four volumes) and my Skilled Investigators series (fantasy/crime with an mm subplot, six volumes) are half price on Smashwords this week (7-13 March). That’s $1.49 each for full length novels. The same 50% reduction applies to my twisted legend novellas (Lord of Shalott, and Silkskin and the Forest Dwellers) and collections of sci fi and fantasy short stories (Beating Hearts and Three Legends) which are on sale at $0.99 each. No need for coupons – these will be automatically provided at checkout.
You can read an interview with me (with pre-covid short hair) and see all my books here:
The image is an enlarged version of the social media icon ‘rainbow eye’ by ‘celticfire’
Documentaries:
Stonehenge: the lost circle revealed***** BBC2 with Prof Alice Roberts. This is on iPlayer for eleven months and is well worth watching if you’re in UK. A new approach to Stonehenge suggests the source of the inner circle of bluestones in West Wales. Roberts on archaeology is always worth listening to.
Monty Don’s American Gardens***** BBC2.The series is probably available on iPlayer. This was a kind of eye candy with beautiful gardens, but it was also a fascinating tour of the US seen through some of its most famous gardens.
Adrian Dunbar’s Coastal Ireland***** The two programmes were on Channel 5 so will be available on My5. Dunbar makes a good presenter. He is very relaxed, clearly loves his country, and listens carefully to the local experts he interviews. I’m looking forward to the new season of Line of Duty later in March.
Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure: Dementia Choir at Christmas**** On BBC. Last year Vicky took us through a fascinating experiment to see how music affected dementia sufferers, particularly those who were comparatively young. This was a follow up programme and although I cried and loved what happened I was disappointed that we only saw a couple of the original singers. That suggests the rest might have deteriorated beyond interview, but it would have been good to know something about them. Another brilliant presenter whose return to acting in Line of Duty will be welcomed (along with Martin Compston whose work I enjoyed last month in the dram Traces).
Drama
Deliver Us***** Danish crime – Scandi very noir on All4. A group of people in a small town wants to rid the community of a psycopath. The series explores the way people can descend into irrational or hateful actions when sufficiently provoked. Fascinating, dark, and gripping.
The Fall*****Irish (Belfast) crime, about as noir as the Scandi stuff. I was impressed by the filming and direction, especially the way scenes were cut so as to mirror the behaviour of the criminal and the police e.g. in bedroom, bathroom, car, etc. I was less impressed by Gillian Anderson as the lead investigator and thought she was badly cast, too glamorous for a UK detective superintendent. I don’t usually like crime stories where I know the identity of the criminal (in this case a serial killer) from near the beginning, but this totally hooked me. All three seasons of it (and yes, three seasons’ worth of one crime) are available on BBC iPlayer.
Bullets**** Finnish crime (terrorism and intelligence), also on All4. This is, if anything, even darker than the two other series mentioned. It is set in Finland with Finnish actors, but with some characters from Chechen and Russia. There are, for that reason, some sections in English though the bulk of the series needs subtitles. The filming is very dark but then it’s winter in Helsinki. It is also quite gory and at times I had to close my eyes.
Death in Paradise. Series 10.**** A relaxing change from all the Euro-noir! Death in Paradise is cosy mysteries with gentle humour set in glorious Caribbean surroundings. I like the way that although there is a seconded British policeman in charge of the station, Caribbean characters get plenty of opportunity to make their mark, especially as competent police as well as friendly locals. The deaths in question occur near the beginning of each episode and there is the comfort of knowing all will be solved within the hour. This season, there was a two-episode mystery which felt quite strange.
Music
Johnny Cash: Live in concert***** I really enjoyed this. We watched it on Channel 5 but there are similar shows all over the place. I have most of the songs on Spotify and on CD but it was great seeing them sung live.
Jay's World 