Five (More) Gifts for Speculative Fiction Writers

Headed back into SteamCon in another hour or so for a couple of panels, one at 11 on H.G. Wells and one at 2 on "Rustproof Steampunk" (underwater stuff, of which I can think of only a few.) I've got to say, I really think it's one of the better organized cons around, and holy cow, are the costumes gorgeous. I go wearing my jeans rather than try to assemble some half-assed costume that simply could not measure up to some of the creations wandering around.

The reading last night was fine, and the subsequent panel (I should be posting the notes next week) a good and lively one, plus I got to meet someone else writing about VIctoria Woodhull! I'm pre-odering Michelle Black's SEANCE IN SEPIA, which comes out next week, right now!.

An Instructive Listing of the Street Foods of Tabat, being Pamphlet #5 of the first series of “A Visitor’s Guide to Tabat,” Spinner Press, author unknown.

The visitor to Tabat will find themselves faced with a multitude of new things, and the food of the city is no exception. Carts and food stalls in particular supply many of the daily food needs of the populace.

No matter where you go in the city, you will find the bakery carts. Most belong to the Figgis Bakery, but you will also see some from smaller and independent bakeries. They sell a multitude of breadstuffs, including several pastries unique to the city: two and twos, large flatbreads which are half one color, half another; hyacinth cookies with their distinctive purple icing; and jelly cups.

Close to the docks, particularly around the Fish Market, vendors sell all varieties of sea food, cooked on the spot and fresh from the boats that have just brought it in. Many of these use the seaweed spices Tabat is famous for: ironbite with its metallic peppery taste; summer salt; and the mix of dried fish and seaweed that forms the basis of chal. Look for kerik, the sweet purple nodules of seaweed that are harvested in late summer, for a particularly exotic treat.

Sweets are usually flavored with honey from bees or Honey-mothers, or a touch of Fairy honey for those with more expensive tastes. Of late, though, the Southern Isles have been sending sugar to Tabat, expensive and rare, and a dusting of such atop a pastry or cake is considered to render it the height of culinary sophistication.

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Love the world of Tabat and want to spend longer in it? Check out Hearts of Tabat, the latest Tabat novel! Or get sneak peeks, behind the scenes looks, snippets of work in progres, and more via Cat’s Patreon.

• Hearts of Tabat on Amazon
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