Still alive. I have just been crazy busy with school the last couple of years, so I haven’t had much time to write. Honestly, I have been thinking a lot about why I haven’t written much and I think it is a combination of pandemic, online education and writers block. Anyway, I got my degree in Janurary so now I am taking baby steps when it comes to writing again. I do love the book I am writing right now, which is not a Portal Justicar book, but the plan is to go back to revising the next Portal Justicar book when I am done with this one.

Hopefully I will have more to write about soon.

I orginially posted this brownie recipe in 2015, but thought I would repost it since I recently tweaked it a bit more. 🙂 The recipe is based on this recipe by Gina Homolka, except with some tweaks. I didn’t like the taste the water gave it, so I switched it out. I do think that if you replace the butter w oil, in the original recipe, you can use it for brownies in a mug. 

2-4 tbsp butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

20-50 g of baking chocolate.

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

flavouring ( go wild. I have added a splash of coffee, cinnamon, etc.)

Pre-heat oven to 200 C

Melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from heat, stir in sugar, egg and cocoa powder. Add the baking chocolate, stirring until it is completely melted.

Mix until smooth, before blending in the flour, when there are no flour streaks, add eventual flavourings. Then, add the baking powder. Stir until the baking powder is blended in.

Grease a small pan , and pour in the batter. Spread out the batter so that it forms a more or less even layer.

Put the in the hot oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.

So roughly at the same time as my last blogpost, I got a phone call from the manager responsible for the reception desks at my former day job, offering me a temporary position as reception clerk. I pondered it for a couple of days, before saying yes. I said yes because of one thing: I had been applying to similar jobs. So it would be hypocritical of me to say no. Even if it is nerve-wrecking because of the pandemic.

So far I have worked there for 3 weeks, and I like it. Is it my dream job? No. But it is more fun than I thought it would be. And it is a good experience to have on a CV.

The drawback to the new job and going to work at 6 am is that I am floundering when it comes to writing. Technically I could have time to write after work, but I need to adjust to the working hours first.

So this means all the edits and type in are on hold. Instead I am poking at notes for an new idea, also set in the Portal Universe. I like the idea. It features Sylvarians which is basically elves. Fleshing out their world is also helping my brain to untangled the book order in The Portal Justicars, which is a good thing. I do have a vague notion of who the hero for one of the books will be, and maybe even the heroine. Basically I will take an “you broke it, so you will have to fix it” approach. And since I know who broke it…. I know who will have to fix it. Or maybe one of them decides to do it in an attempt to get back in good graces. Hmmmmmmm. Well, we will see.

To be honest, right now I have no idea when the next Portal Justicar book will be out.

It is a triad of live upheaval, pandemic and low sales. I definitely intend to finish the series, since I do love it. (Even if Daughter of the Dark needs another round of proof reading. But then it was released during another time of life upheaval.)

Right now, I am going to just going to focus on surviving until Jan 31st without getting sick.

Which means, reading and noodling and yoga. Oh and Time team. (Look, I like Time team, even if I wish it was a lot more diverse.)

First… I am poking at the line edits for Vanished again, since I have a desktop with a bigger screen now.

Second… I have a Patreon! Where I am a bit more active than on my blog.

Third…. I am reading all the books. I might even get around to review them.

Fourth.. Frosthold is at 13 000 words. I have no idea how long it will be.

Fifth….I am going to update my webpage, restructure it a bit and see if I can get a new banner made. *gestures at the new theme.*

I hope you have a nice Fall with lots of reading and DVD watching. 🙂

So it is less than 2 weeks left to my vacation starts… and 5 weeks until my employment ends.   So far I have applied for 15+ jobs during the last 6 months. (look, Covid-19 happened and I ended up in a funk for 3 months.)  I have had… some nibbles. A phone interview, and an in person meeting.  I have also had a lot of silence.

The combination of Covid and unemployment is that I am floundering when it comes to writing.  Everything feels meh. Meh. Meh.   Which is annoying, but not surprising since the world is a dumpster fire.  So I am making plans,  since I can do that, despite feeling a lot of despair.

Workwise… I’ll keep on applying to jobs (Duh) and probably study some short courses (yay for free education!), before applying for a 2 year course in the same field that I am working in.    

Writingwise… I think I’ll poke at typing in Frosthold, since that is way overdue, and it is something I can do slowly.  Which seems to be my speed right now.

Financewise… I have a supportive dad, but I’ll have some lean months ahead, but I have survived that before.. (Or years.)

Lastly, I keep reminding myself that floundering is better than drowning.  I sending a lot of love and virtual life buoys to everyone. We will get through this. (We might be battered, but we will get through it.)

So far, the only good thing about Corona is that the Nebulas is online. Which meant that I can attend it. Yay!

I even have a panel! I’ll discuss book covers, on the Cover Appeal panel on May 31st on 11 am-12 pm LA time.

I hope I’ll see you there!

So, my dad asked me if I want to go to his cottage this weekend, when I said no, he wanted to know why.  I just said I didn’t want to because my colon is acting up.  (Which is true.) But the real reason isn’t my colon. Or at least not, just my colon.

The real reason is Åcon. .   Åcon would have been this weekend, and I am part moping over the fact that I won’t see my friends and grieving because I have no idea when I’ll see my friends again.  Which…is understandable. We are all grieving our plans and worrying for our friends and family.

So, what are my plans this weekend?

Basically, take it easy. Maybe poke on the outline, read a bit and clean the apartment. Sit on the balcony. Just… take it easy, because we are in a crisis, and no one knows when it will be over.

¨

So after. 4 months of revising, I am finally done with the rewrite. It is 11 000 words longer than when I started, and probably has a gazillion rough spots. Which makes this a good time to reveal the cover that I have been sitting on since August. My cover designer had an surprise opening, which I nabbed. It was… interesting to give cover feedback on my phone, since I was in Gothenburg.

Anyway. Here the cover is! Isn’t it pretty?!

It should have been an easy job….

Jenny travelled to Gesse, thinking it would be an easy, straightforward job, except for the fact that her mentor Arwel couldn’t come. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

The moment she arrives, she is plunged into the search for the  missing Lady Alenia, granddaughter of the viceroy of Perrine. Together with Eric, a Royal Inspector, she is racing to find her. Before it is too late..

The more clues they find, the more questions arise, making it clear that finding the killer isn’t the end. It is the beginning on a journey that will take Jenny and Eric to the cloister of Arnesse and the secrets it holds.

And some of those secrets will have teeth.

So I was browsing Canva, and for some reason I wandered into their Instagram post category. And I found this lovely self esteem bingo card. Which is filled with gentle reminders. I loved it, but I felt that self esteem wasn’t exactly the right word, since everyone needs gentle reminders. Not just people struggling with self esteem.. So I renamed it self care bingo, and changed the colors a bit.

And here it is! Feel free to print it!