Linda Browne

Writer, Middle Grade, YA, Historical Fiction, SFF

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Bookcase Bizarro

September 21, 2021 / lindabrowne

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lindabrownewriter

SFF/Historical Fiction writer and container gardener

lindabrownewriter
Rhubarb and road. Rhubarb and road.
We had to cancel our planting plans for the farm t We had to cancel our planting plans for the farm this summer because our car died. Thanks to dear friends, who loaned us their car, we were able to make it up, not in time for planting but in plenty of time for French toast. With Ontario maple syrup and peaches.
Bookcase Bizarro is back with four more KIDLIT boo Bookcase Bizarro is back with four more KIDLIT book reviews, including Angeline Boulley's WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED. (Spolier: It's a good one.) Subscribe to get picture book, middle grade, YA novel and graphic novel reviews delivered straight to your mailbox each month. Click on link under bio.
My kit for planting a July (!) garden at the farm: My kit for planting a July (!) garden at the farm: -trowel and gloves -seed starting mix -planting cells -a bottle of my trusty sea kelp fertilizer -seeds (3 kinds of chard, Italian dandelion and komatsuna) I’ll raise the seedlings first and then transplant them, as the garden is a 15-minute walk away from where we’re staying. I’m also going to plant a bunch of supermarket-bought scallions, as these grow to a ridiculously large size. We usually harvest the leaves, and leave the bulb to grow. I also made an insane amount of granola - future fuel for the gardener.
Our folding canoe... unfolded and rebuilt, ready f Our folding canoe... unfolded and rebuilt, ready for this summer’s adventures.
My father drew a mock orange bush in our backyard My father drew a mock orange bush in our backyard when I was a kid, during the brief spell when it was sunny enough for the bush to produce flowers. Lily of the Valley, lilacs and mock orange ushered in an intoxicating scent-scape that became the smell of summer for me. It was a smell that imprinted itself on the pages of the books my best friend and I read together in my backyard or on her lilac-festooned front porch. It combined with the sharp green pungence of cut grass to fill up my room on breezy afternoons. Until the trees grew in and shaded the mock orange bush so much that it stopped blooming. Still, that triad takes me back to my childhood like nothing else, and reminds me of my father’s stubborn, hopeful gardening efforts.
Garden update: The first three photos are from my Garden update: The first three photos are from my partner’s rescue garden (@allisonglamouron). The next 7 photos show the backyard garden sprouting a nice crop of weeds, some of which are edible (dandelion and lamb’s quarters). I won’t be growing anything in the backyard this summer. A friend with a farm has offered me space in her garden, so that’s where I’m heading! As I’ll be planting in July, I’m going to focus on various types of chard, komatsuna, scallions and Italian dandelion. I’d also love to plant garlic come the autumn. Until then, I’m happy to eat delicious weeds along with my sprouts.
It's been far too long since I posted a bookstagra It's been far too long since I posted a bookstagram review. My reading has taken a distinctly non-fiction turn over the past month as I continue to conduct research for my new publishing business, Crooked Mile Press. So it was an excellent time to re-read Firekeeper's Daughter (by @angelineboulley). This time, I strapped on my headphones for the audiobook version (which is terrific). Daunis Fontaine is a typical would-be freshman, struggling with where to go and what courses to take. She's also a hockey player, whose semi-pro career was ended by an injury. When she witnesses a horrific murder, she's approached by the FBI, who are investigating a meth smuggling ring with ties to Daunis' own Anishinaabeg community of Sugar Island, near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Daunis agrees to work undercover for the FBI and quickly spirals down a rabbit hole of shadowy connections, tribal council politics, and violence in her own community. Who can she trust when it seems like anybody could be involved? I especially loved how Daunis runs her own parallel investigation to the FBI's in order to protect her community and retain her own agency. She's well aware of how damaging and unjust outside law enforcement can be in indigenous communities. Sugar Island and its residents are so vividly evoked by Daunis, that I felt as though I'd been there and met everyone in the community. Daunis and her friends blew my mind with how wisely they navigate their romantic relationships (heterosexual). These women definitely DO NOT wrap their lives around men AND THEY ARE STILL IN THEIR TEENS! Yes, there is hope for humanity. Although my niece is not quite 3, this book belongs on her future bookshelf. I want her to be able to distinguish the difference between love and need so she can live her own life surrounded by good people, just like Daunis. VERDICT: I'll be re-reading this one forever.
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What happens when you decide not to grow a garden What happens when you decide not to grow a garden and the weeds give you a garden anyway? You make pesto! This batch includes overwintered parsley, chives and sorrel, lamb’s quarters and dandelion.
On this morning’s walk, an unexpected patch of t On this morning’s walk, an unexpected patch of trilliums.
Fire at the farm on a cold, rainy night. Pure bli Fire at the farm on a cold, rainy night. Pure bliss.
For the first time in over 20 years, I've decided For the first time in over 20 years, I've decided not to plant a garden. I've just pivoted to indie authorship and formed my own company, Crooked Mile Media, to publish my own work. I'm planning to launch my first book, SHADOW APPRENTICE, next spring. The learning curve is high and it's taking up all my creative bandwidth. Does that mean I'm saying good-bye to gardening FOREVER? Of course not. Here's what I'm doing this season: I will continue to grow sprouts. They are easy, low care crops that are ready in 5-7 days. I will be helping my partner take care of her amazing rescue garden. (Today's photos are exclusively from that garden.) I'm toying around with the idea of growing 4 pots of herbs that can we can pack into the car when we go away. (But will I grow from seed or - gasp!- buy transplants?) Finally, a friend of mine with a farm has offered me space in her garden. These crops will only get watered every other week (more when we are there). Swiss chard and Italian dandelion, I'm looking at you! This year, I'll be growing sprouts, potted herbs, Swiss chard, Italian dandelion...and a publishing company. How about you?
Walking past other people’s gardens. Walking past other people’s gardens.
And the final result! And the final result!
Second rise (2 hours). The loaves are very sticky Second rise (2 hours). The loaves are very sticky and elastic.
Bread baking day around here. Or rather, bread fe Bread baking day around here. Or rather, bread fermenting day. These loaves will ferment for 12-18 hours at room temperature before shaping and baking. Come back tomorrow to see the results!
This delicious mango slaw was great with fish, but This delicious mango slaw was great with fish, but you’ll discover some equally delicious KIDLIT reads in Bookcase Bizarro, my monthly newsletter, which drops tomorrow. Click on link under bio for new reviews and author bragging.
Perfect day. Perfect day.
I don't know how Sara Pennypacker creates such ach I don't know how Sara Pennypacker creates such achingly beautiful contemporary upper MG fiction, book after book. Stella loves living with her great-aunt Louise on Cape Cod but she doesn't like Angel, the foster kid Louise has taken in. When disaster strikes, Stella and Angel must team up to keep child protective services at bay and to keep on living in the only home they know. That means managing - and cleaning - a suite of rental cottages all by themselves for the entire summer without any help - and without any adults noticing. I love MG reads that involve kids running their own businesses but Pennypacker infuses this particular venture with a desperation that brings Stella and Angel's plight to life with a scary immediacy. I put on this one to listen to while spring cleaning and couldn't turn it off. Adults, do yourselves a favour and read this. Really.
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