A sci-fi adventure only A Stone’s Throw Away

Had to wrestle with myself on this one. I vowed from the first that if I didn’t like a book I wouldn’t write about it. Well, okay, I did like it, but with a serious caveat. I’m an old-school grammarian, you see – one who likes agreement between subject and predicate, words used according to their meanings, misspellings at a bare minimum (there’s always going to be one or two…), and logical sentence structure. If author Carl Lee ever did take basic high school English Comp, he must’ve slept all the way through it. Worse, this narrative showed no signs of an outside editor. (My editor would’ve totally torn her hair out.)

But maybe that’s just me. A Stone’s Throw Away has garnered, at last count, twelve rave reviews on Amazon.

And I’ll tell you why.

It’s one hellavuh story. It moves. It’s got a great premise. The science is credible and meticulously well thought out. There’s danger, suspense, and unexpected twists and turns all over the place. So even though I had to drop back a few times to figure out what the heck he actually meant, I couldn’t put it down.

The blurb: Brian has just graduated and is trying to choose the least objectionable option from the few offered him: child-rearing, maintenance or research. What it’s come down to, on the earth 500 years hence, is living in secured communities of about 500, each dependent on a Dupe (duplicator) for their needs. Survival depends on providing the Dupe with sufficient raw materials to function. Beyond that…not a lot of opportunities.

Growing up at Installation 107 (always written “One-O-Seven”) was difficult for the brilliant but basically directionless Brian. He simply didn’t like being fenced in. And ultimately, via one frightening escapade after another, he achieves life on his own terms. More or less. And along the way he solves one of the most confounding technical problems of the age.

Carl Lee

Truth is, I have other reasons to like Carl Lee. Several years ago when I joined the Gather networking site, he was the first to friend me. Under his guidance I joined several compatible groups where I made many cyber friends and found an audience for my blog. I knew he was working on this book and was thrilled when it finally came out.

Best of all, I learned through his interview in Denise Alicea’s blog The Pen & Muse that we have the same writing M-O: we create our characters and just let ‘em run with it. And boy can they surprise you!

So…even though A Stone’s Throw Away lacks editing and certain other normal publisher niceties, it’s a great read.

Fantasy Fudge for your Valentine

Now, the last thing I ever intended to do here was post recipes, but it is, after all, Fantasy Fudge. And I’m all about fantasy! This appeared on the Gather networking site, submitted by Mandy Sedinger of Chicago. By the looks of her profile, she’s much more artsy and gastronomically gifted than I. But if this recipe produced a meltingly creamy, velvety-textured fudge for me, think how well it will work for you. (Oh, I do love to cook. It’s just that my skills run more to breakfast, cookies, quick breads, and entrees. The art of candy making utterly escapes me…until now.) So here goes:

Fantasy Fudge

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 12-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate pieces

1 7-oz. jar marshmallow crème

1 cup chopped nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy saucepan; bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.

Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until melted. Add marshmallow crème, nuts and vanilla; beat until well blended.

Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares.
Makes 3 pounds.

Obviously, this is not for the diabetic. Come to think of it, Fantasy Fudge could just as easily be an empty pan. No, that would be Phantom Phudge, better suited for a Sci-Fi blog. Whatever. Seriously – try it. You’ll love it. And so will your Sweetie!