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
Thoroughly mesmerized by this YA horror title feat Thoroughly mesmerized by this YA horror title featuring bees and a non binary hero who searches for clues to his twin sister’s death at a creepy, elite summer camp. Ryan La Sala’s prose is immersive, visceral, edible. Horror never tasted so sweet. For more book reviews, go to link in bio and click on the blog tab.
I’m looking at you, MailerLite. Today, I found I’m looking at you, MailerLite. Today, I found out that you eliminated the RSS option for newsletters on free accounts. How did I find out? Well, it certainly wasn’t because you told me. No, I only found out when my newsletter didn’t go out to my subscribers as scheduled. In fact, the ‘schedule’ button was completely disabled in my account. What did I do? I couldn’t take Nina Simone’s advice and walk away from the table without considering the costs, which would involve re-vamping my website, researching email marketing providers, moving my mailing list, learning my way around a new service and setting up a new RSS campaign. So I upgraded. Congratulations! You’ve gone from having a very happy customer on a free account to a very unhappy paying customer. One who WILL do the necessary research to change providers before upgrading again. The way that you treated me and other free account holders is shoddy and unprofessional. Do better.
Red kale grows great as microgreens. Now, I’m tr Red kale grows great as microgreens. Now, I’m trying it in jars.
Food in 5 days: broccoli, red kale, red clover, cr Food in 5 days: broccoli, red kale, red clover, crimson lentils, peas and beans.
1) At first glance, this spinach and chard patch s 1) At first glance, this spinach and chard patch seems to be doing well. 2) Not so fast! Aphids and whiteflies are big fans of the juicy leaves, too. Keeping pests under control in the indoor garden has been as much of a hassle as it has been in the outdoor garden. I’ve noticed way worse aphid problems in all of my gardens during the past few years (thanks to a warming climate). These little fiends must have laid eggs in the containers I brought inside. Crops that were once low-maintenance are becoming kinda high-maintenance. I have no room in my life for high-maintenance plants...especially since easy-to-grow and PEST-FREE microgreens and sprouts are supplying all of our salad and smoothie needs. This busy writer will continue to grow microgreens and sprouts year round and in the spring, instead of planting crops the bugs will like, I’ll plant some (hopefully) easy-to-care-for edible weeds instead. Here’s looking at you, magenta spreen, yellow and pink dandelion and calendula flowers! (Photos 3-5) The 🐝 🐝 🐝 will be happy. The aphids? Not so much.
Kale microgreens harvest. The first three photos Kale microgreens harvest. The first three photos show the harvest from a single 4”X8” takeout container. Photo #4 shows the harvest from 3 takeout containers plus one 1020 flat, stored in a mesh bag - about 1 week’s supply. Photo #5 shows the 1020 flat post-harvest, with a secondary crop of kale still growing. As an experiment, I’m going to continue growing this tray to see what happens. #6: post-harvest cleanup!
Ready to harvest. Ready to harvest.
The view from my writing chair...and a pretty good The view from my writing chair...and a pretty good working desk.
The evolution of a meal...or several. Red kale sp The evolution of a meal...or several. Red kale sprouts sown in a large 1020 tray, freshly emerged from their blackout period and ready for some light. I grow my microgreens in a window with no supplemental light and they do just fine. Red kale microgreens make a great lettuce substitute.
Mahtab Narsimhan's CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR is pu Mahtab Narsimhan's CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR is published under the Orca Anchor imprint, a line of “short, high-interest novels with contemporary themes written specifically for teens reading below a grade 2.0 level.” Good, because there’s a huge demand for well-written, accessible books for teens. One of Narsimhan’s particular strengths is her ability to draw fully-rounded, diverse characters without ever making their diversity the focus of the book. Eshana’s mom uses a wheel chair and a classmate, Tito, is nonbinary AND both are fully developed people in their own right. For 75 pages, the story is surprisingly rich with a smart and satisfying ending. For my full review of CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR plus my other 2022 children's book recommendations, click on link under bio to go to blog.
Happy New Year! I wish everyone a creative and fr Happy New Year! I wish everyone a creative and fruitful 2023.
Me, seriously considering becoming an #indieauthor Me, seriously considering becoming an #indieauthor. Like many writers aiming for a traditional publishing contract, learning about how those contracts worked was at the bottom of my list, until this year’s Penguin Random House/Simon and Shuster merger put publishing under the microscope, prompting me to do a little research on how writers who are not Stephen King are treated by these companies. What I found was a depressing array of unfair clauses in the publishing contracts offered to debut authors like me, which prompted a whole new series of questions: Would I be willing to sign away world English rights to my first book for the life of copyright...for a 6-10% royalty rate? Would I be willing to sign over all other subsidiary rights to a publishing company, even if they were not effectively positioned to use them - and never get those rights back? What about giving up all creative control over my work, including the decision to work in other genres or branch off in different directions? What about being dropped by my publisher if my book didn’t sell enough copies? (On a related note, publishers no longer do any marketing for most writers. I’ve heard that it can be the same with editing but I’m not sure how widespread this is.) Would I be alright with never being able to get the rights to my backlist titles reverted back to me, since in the digital age, books never really go out of print? For me, the question isn’t whether to choose indie publishing or traditional publishing, because obviously I can choose both. It’s about exploring my options instead of settling for unfair contracts or exploitative practices in order to get published.
Happy, happy! Merry, merry! Happy, happy! Merry, merry!
Instagram post 17975616235905828 Instagram post 17975616235905828
Salad bowl harvested...and carrot tops planted! T Salad bowl harvested...and carrot tops planted! The idea here is to have these crops act as supplements to the main crops- microgreens and sprouts. After harvesting, smaller plants move in to take over the space, producing a second crop. The cut plants will also regrow. Winter never tasted so good!
So I don’t usually post twice in a day but I abs So I don’t usually post twice in a day but I absolutely love these rescue peppermint plants. Three weeks ago, it looked like they might not make it. But now? Glorious. A good metaphor for writers, especially post NaNoWriMo. Never give up!
Indoor salad bowl...all growed up! Indoor salad bowl...all growed up!
Beautiful wheat field. (Actually, tray of lentils. Beautiful wheat field. (Actually, tray of lentils.)
Garden update: The sprouts and microgreens are no Garden update: The sprouts and microgreens are now producing enough for 4-5 salads/week (when mixed with other vegetables). Ontario has a big hothouse operation, so we can find cukes and peppers in December at reasonable prices but we’ve also used shredded carrots and cabbage in our salad mixes. The initial outlay for sprouting seeds (which can also be used for microgreens) was $45. That bought me three different 1 kg- sized bags of seed to play with. However, being the crazy gardener that I am, I supplemented my initial order with 3 more bags of seeds, so the price tag is closer to $100. I estimate that my current supply of seeds will last at least 8 months, so it’s still a pretty cost effective way of growing greens. Sprouts take about 5-7 days to reach harvest size. Microgreens are ready to harvest in about 10-12 days.
The various stages of sproutiness from a new batc The various stages of sproutiness from a new batch of microgreens.
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