Mango cashew salad

This is a succulent, fresh salad to serve as a compliment to chicken or fish. a bounty of ripe mangoes Mango cashew salad 1 large, ripe mango, peeled and cut into small pieces 1 small apple, preferably a tart variety, washed, cored and cut into small pieces 2 green onions finely minced 1 orange, peeled and sectioned 1/3 cup whole cashews zest of one orange juice of one orange 1/4 cup olive oil 3 tbs….

Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel JoyceMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Rachel Joyce has written a novel which, despite its improbable premise, quickly gathers the reader into a story both uplifting and shattering. On its most basic level The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is about a man who receives news of an old friend who is dying, and decides upon a whim to walk a ridiculous distance to visit her on…

The would-be jurors

Recently a colleague from SFCanada posted a link to a review site which published an article, entitled Is genre fiction creating a market for lemons, about the rise of self-publishing and the proliferation of reader reviews. Despite being intelligently written, I’m afraid it hit the Taz button for me. You know, the Taz — Tasmanian Devil, the misunderstood growly beastie. Why? Well, here’s why: I am heartily weary of this discussion, that somehow self-publishers, or small…

Maple ginger chicken drumsticks

Recently had another Sunday kitchen therapy day. Had a quantity of chicken drumsticks in the freezer. Had a hankering for something slow-roasted, sweet and savoury. Came up with this concoction which turned out to be schmecking good. light to dark maple syrup Maple Ginger Chicken 1 1/2 cups dark maple syrup (don’t use pancake syrup) 1/4 cup lemon juice zest of one lemon 1/4 cup teriyaki 3 cloves garlic 2″ fresh ginger 1 dried chilli…

In pursuit of the perfect novel

Over the years I’ve read my fair share of how-to books on the subject of writer’s craft, scoured magazine articles discussing the particulars of writing scintillating dialogue, taken workshops with established authors in the hopes of finding the formula for creating that perfect novel. There are quite literally thousands of books on the subject, from the dos and don’ts, to world-building, character-creating, genre writing, motivation, and every facet and nuance you can imagine, some written…