An awesome event yesterday at Eckerd College culminating in a panel discussion on writing and publishing. Panelists are pictured: Arielle Haughee, JC Gatlin, Dr. Chrissy Jackson (moderator), and Chris Coward. Many thanks to Chrissy for the invitation. Wonderful to see everyone!
Who doesn't love free food? Fascinating speakers? Please join me for a dazzling experience in literature Saturday, March 29, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 at the Lewis House at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. Speakers will explore literary-related topics from Shakespeare to AI, and generative AI will bring famous authors "alive." I'll be on the authors' panel discussing the challenges of getting published in today's challenging landscape. The panel will be moderated by none other than Dr. Chrissy Jackson. Other panelists are Arielle Haughee and JC Gatlin. Lunch, wine, & cheese reception included. This is a FREE public event, but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, so don't delay: Register Here. This promises to be a delightful excursion. Hope to see you there.
Here we go: another easy, healthy, time-tested recipe from Kara. Here we have the humble cornbread. It took a friend from Texas to show me cornbread doesn't have to taste like bad yellow cake. A few simple tricks, and—voila!—spectacular. Try it plain with soups, beans, beef, chili, or chicken. Or crumbled in milk (appalling thought, appealing reality). Enjoy!
Here's a salad that goes with just about any menu. It's easy and healthy. Best of all, virtually everyone likes it. Kara says: Enjoy!
Meatloaf, the next recipe from our starter kit. My neighbor and I "invented" this one, drawing from her favorite recipe and mine. At first, we were hesitant, as in Stovetop chicken-flavored dressing in place of breadcrumbs. Preposterous! But the result was moist and flavorful, even without pork or sausage. My favorite part is the onions, which carmelize as the loaf cooks. If you're so-so about the humble meatloaf, you may be surprised by this one. "Kara" shares it with love.
As promised, here's the second recipe in the starter pack. In Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse, this dish is one of the Kara's (one of the book's characters) specialties. No straining through cheesecloth or any of those messy steps. This creme brulee is as good as any. No, better.
Do you like to cook? Do you like to eat? Maybe you prefer pondering what our universe really is.
Cooking and exploring the fabric of our universe are two of the subjects in this blog series. In this first post, we're taking a glimpse at both.
Cooking!
It is my pleasure to begin this blog on a fun note: eating! Sounds like a strange topic for a speculative fiction author to tackle, but if you've read Perpendicular Women, you know that Kara, one of the characters, cooks. Well! Readers have asked about the dishes she prepares. You ask. I deliver.
Above is the first installment of the "starter pack" of four recipes. All of "Kara's" dishes are healthy, easy, and time-tested. I'll send out three more in the coming days.
On a related topic, beginning March 1, "Kara" will launch a recipe newsletter. If you'd like printable recipes delivered to your inbox once a month, let me know through the Contact tab on this site. (I do not share my contact list.)
Geeking out (a little)
The subtitle of Perpendicular Women is "Adventures in the Multiverse." Way back in 2010 when I wrote the story that would become PW, most people hadn't even heard of the multiverse, and many who had considered the hypothesis to be "out there." They'd say, oh, what a fun thought, how convenient for storytellers, but really?
No more. With Willow, the multiverse hypothesis is hot. Willow is a new quantum chip from Google. A super, super, incomprehensibly powerful quantum chip. According to Google, in a test, Willow did a computation that would have taken the world's fastest supercomputers some ten septillion years to complete. (Willow reportedly did it in under five minutes.)
The question is: how? Some physicists propose that the chip may be tapping into the multiverse by interacting with other parallel/perpendicular universes. Others propose alternative theories. Speculation rages, and if the needle on this debate moves, I'll let you know, right here.
And now, back to cooking. Enjoy this recipe and more to come.
Till the next post, may your universe treat you kindly,
Chris