Life, Interrupted

A new free short story from fantasist Charles de Lint, a tale of Newford.

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:14:17 GMT

Charles is offering the story in PDF and in EPUB.

ICE cane to Newford, that magical boundary where faerie and humankind can meet.

Big mistake.

https://www.charlesdelint.com/IceOut.html

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It's St. David's Day!

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:36:07 GMT

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus pawb!

Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd.

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Seems like a good night for a little lost owl.

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:58:28 GMT

Don't worry about him. They got him back to the woods.

https://apnews.com/article/owl-sleeping-antique-store-new-york-oddities-b5d1c494d0369fb0e3c5051b835fb3b2

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New at BVC from Alicia Rasley, a Regency CSI Mystery!

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:42:12 GMT

Alicia writes beautifully, and loves the Napoleonic Era. So this is probably great!

*A secret meeting. . .the wrong interruption. . .a murder unsolved. Can she rely on a man she has never trusted?*

Book View Cafe is delighted to announce a #Regency CSI tale from Alicia Rasley, MURDER AT THE BRIGHTON INN. Now in #ebook & #paper!

#RegencyCSISeries, #RegencyPeriod, #RegencyRomance, #ForensicMystery, #MysteryDetective #TraditionalRegencyRomance

https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announces-murder-at-the-brighton-inn-by-alicia-rasley/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*** More plot if you want more teaser--the link goes to a sample, too.

Their secret meeting at the Brighton Inn is interrupted by a man from the past…. and a murder unsolved. Can she rely on a man she has never trusted?

It’s a decade after Napoleon’s defeat, but the war still haunts even the victors. Linked by family and by grief, divided by social class, Russian widow Natasha and navy doctor Matthew have lived for years in mutual distrust. But when she’s suspected of killing a man from her past, she reaches out to Sir Matthew for help. It takes both his medical training and her intuition to solve the mystery of the murder at the Brighton Inn– and the secret of her own troubled past.

Regency CSI Book 1

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Yes, Coffee and Tea May Be Good for You

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 01:21:24 GMT

It's a big study. Times and thoughts on things change, but it looks like coffee and tea in moderation can be protective for drinkers. I also drink a couple of cups of caffeinated coffee for other health reasons, so this becomes doubly useful.

Ironically, it was tea for many years until about ten years ago. And I started drinking coffee because my system demanded it. Took years to know why.

Yes, I am slightly picky. Single source, high mountain, caffeinated. Always Central American coffees first!

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2844764

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A new Ebook Release from a friend--- Contemporary Romance! Hallmark with Spice!

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:19:29 GMT

"Welcome to the Sexy Public Servants Charity Calendar, where True Love is Only a First Responder Away."

How about an omnibus of *four* complete novels about the Sexy Public Servants Charity Calendar guys? Expect Hallmark sweet with some spicy heat. 🌸

It's THE CALENDAR HEROES by Michele Dunaway, now in #ebook at #BookViewCafe & other fine ebook establishments.

#ContemporaryRomance, #FirefighterRomance, #FirstResponders, #ManOfTheMonthCalendar, #Paramedic, #PoliceOfficer, #SweetWithAHintOfSpice, #TheCalendarHeroesSeries

https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announces-the-calendar-heroes-by-michele-dunaway/

*This is a test of how does the new Create HTML work with a post like this.... May be under construction!

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A really niche post but might interest people dealing with weird medical

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 20:04:29 GMT

Most people I know dealing with weird medical have something strange going on with the amino acids and probiotics that exist in their gut. This causes problems, and some of us are very effected by foods we eat--or can't--and even air quality, wildfire smoke, people doing stupid things burning stuff, and so on.

So this new info may interest a bunch of you. Turns out Vitamin B1 may have a lot to do with gut motility.

https://www.sciencealert.com/boosting-one-vitamin-may-have-a-surprising-effect-on-your-poop-schedule

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There's a mushroom that will allow most folks to see the Lilliputians. . . .

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 15:54:11 GMT

However. From the lengthy comments on one of these photos? Buying fairytale mushrooms dried, in a package, can give you the wrong mushrooms. Worst case, the packaged ones may be a poisonous substitution.

Maybe we should wait until the spores are isolated and can be cultivated?

https://nhmu.utah.edu/articles/experts-explore-new-mushroom-which-causes-fairytale-hallucinations

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A new MURDERBOT short story drops over on Reactor

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 15:01:22 GMT

Enjoy a link. Things are remaining weird here as I continue to live SFFH.

https://reactormag.com/rapport-martha-wells/

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The difference between first and second generation antihistamines.

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 22:35:34 GMT

Just in case you wondered. I needed info, so you get to share it.

https://www.webmd.com/allergies/difference-between-first-generation-antihistamines-second-generation-antihistamines

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Yes, there are very dangerous fungi. One or two of them may have been tomb curses....

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 22:28:58 GMT

Anyone who watches certain films knows that much was made in the 1920s in gossip and the print press of the Pharaoh's or Mummy's curse, when many people died after opening King Tut's tomb.

Theories have been discussed for years--not a curse, surely, but what else in those ancient sealed chambers could have slowly killed any who entered? (And what if the ancient Egyptians intentionally left mold as a trap for grave robbers? That wasn't asked in these articles--but what if?)

This happened again in the early 1970s, when ten of twelve conservationists who entered a Polish King's tomb died weeks or months later. The same fungus was found in Casimir IV Jagiellon's tomb.

That pernicious something could have been the fungal mold Aspergillus flavus.

https://bigthink.com/the-past/mummys-curse-fungus-mold-aspergillus/

Now, it turns out this fungus may have attributes that will be an excellent treatment for some cancers.

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-toxic-ancient-tomb-fungus-anti.html

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A new Collection from Award-winning Writer Marie Brennan THE ATLAS TO ANYWHERE

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 17:15:24 GMT

We need #ShortStories & anthologies on our e-readers! Book View Cafe is delighted to offer a new collection by award-winning author Marie Brennan, THE ATLAS OF ANYWHERE.

*Seek out extraordinary lands . . .*

In THE ATLAS OF ANYWHERE, you'll find strange guardians overseeing fate-bound duels. A priceless stone on a journey toward a bloody destiny. A thief determined to steal a worthless treasure. In her second collection of worlds-spanning fantasy, award-winning author Marie Brennan takes you back to the world of her famed heroine Lady Trent, through the land of her Hugo Award-nominated poem “A War of Words,” and onward to seven other fantastical realms, filled with pirates, demigods, and murderous creatures of winter’s cold night.

#fantasy #ShortStories #HighFantasy #dragons #pirates #thieves #Judaism #Mesoamerica #StrongFemaleProtagonist

Take a look here: https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announces-the-atlas-of-anywhere-by-marie-brennan

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For Audiobook fans--a murder mystery set in Maine by Sharon Lee is on sale!

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 21:12:47 GMT

I believe this link discount is good until July 12, 2025. The book is BARNBURNER by Sharon Lee
rolanni. I enjoyed the two Maine mysteries she did that I've read (I have the plain white cover ones, it was in the Olden Days). Plus if you are young enough that you never even heard of chat rooms or local intermediaries to the Internet? Here you go!

On list: See if other Sharon Lee mysteries happened. (I know about the Carousel Tides gang, but am behind on the short pieces.)

Note that this is 75% off retail price!

https://www.audiobooks.com/promotions/promotedBook/431003/barnburner?refId=198976

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An Essay Worth Reading on How Horror Stories are not just Monster of the Week Boo-Scares....

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:55:50 GMT

I often say (in best short convention bio speak) that I don't read or watch horror, I live it.

This is not merely a joke--it's a statement of fact. I had to walk back the trail of Change to get to where biology started to change me. Then I saw the nightmares my system had hidden from me, way back then. So yeah--a touch of humor for you, and not a joke. Even the best fantasy reminds me that for the average human, I'm an Other. And always have been--I didn't fool anyone. (But of course some people find The Other attractive and exciting.)

Laura Elliott has spent a lot of time thinking about horror, how it's often written and used. Who is the monster--and why? How? Is there subtext (and in the best stories, it may be subtext all the way down.) She has found many horror tropes to be ultimately freeing and encouraging.

Here's her thoughts on the why.

https://crimereads.com/the-horror-of-a-border-laura-elliott-on-writing-the-abject/

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New SF from Book View Cafe--DESCENDING FROM THE MOON by Steven Popkes

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:44:37 GMT

Now from Book View Cafe--DESCENDING FROM THE MOON by Steven Popkes.

*LeRoy Parkin had a secret: a project to raise the intelligence of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and baboons to human levels.*

Some would say that wasn’t a very high bar. Fifteen years after he began, plagues – preventable but not prevented – broke the world.

Then the apes began discussing who they were, what they wanted, and what they should do next.

Popkes reminds us of the connections that both sustain & endanger humanity and the world around us.

Stop by and read a sample! #books #SFF

https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announces-descending-from-the-moon-by-steven-popkes/

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Have you read this MURDERBOT short story from 2021?

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:01:49 GMT

This story (with its long title) came out as a bonus if we pre-ordered NETWORK EFFECT, which I did. And now Tor/Reactor offers it freely to you to read.

I really enjoyed it from Ayda's POV, seeing what SecUnit is and means to her, its confidence in its own realms.

https://reactormag.com/home-habitat-range-niche-territory-martha-wells/

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Another chance for the Northern Lights. Maybe....

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:24:45 GMT

Another chance for Northern Lights tonight. It's a G4, so you might get naked eye viewing, if the smoke is not bad near you. (This is mostly for Northern Hemisphere North America. But with a G4, who knows how far the CME will spread?)

https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/g4-severe-conditions-observed

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Recipes--Gluten Free Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 19:39:35 GMT

One of my siblings found this recipe, and it is marvelous.

Our extended family likes them better than the gluten types. :)

https://smashedpeasandcarrots.com/gluten-free-baked-apple-cider-donut-recipe/

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Timeline Cleanse--When the animals come out to play

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 19:36:08 GMT

I needed a sanity check today, and Kari Sperring shared this video on another platform.

If you need a break desperately, go watch the owls watch you, and the critters play.

https://youtu.be/qem5N8mkVgA?si=IVwxaXzO9NLatqUv

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So, things improving slowly. Decisions have to be made here. . .even in a lousy housing market.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 20:44:35 GMT

Playing with the theme because I realized I don't post here because I can't read the grey text and the LED screen on this newer MacAir is BRIGHT.

So let's try this for now. Depending on how today goes, there may be abrupt social media changes coming.

In the meantime, stress won't help our candidates. Have a video of capybaras enjoying a zoo hot tub, with children delighting in their existence and the sound of running water. I recommend setting the audio at 25% or so unless you speak Japanese and want to hear the comments at the zoo.

https://youtu.be/YokhOsUkhFU?si=0e_Iqfw-_WJ33US2

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because every scrap of good news should be celebrated....

Thu, 30 May 2024 18:30:42 GMT

Sea otters, who constantly search for food, are bringing local crabs under control on the California marshland coasts. It is slowing erosion.

Here's an article on it.

\https://apnews.com/article/sea-otters-crabs-erosion-california-3e48a74972319bbdbc1333e3f5437637

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Book Review--So I finally read DIARY OF A WITCHCRAFT SHOP

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 00:42:34 GMT

Things have been. . .confusing, at best, here. New treatment, and not handling air quality well. I don't know why, but winters here are very bad for me with VOC air quality. An app I picked up was showing experimental VOC numbers that made a lot of sense for how I feel. But the problem remains--where to go in a country with not enough housing? (This is not a problem unique to the US, but I only see myself leaving if I feel the current situation isn't good for an older woman.) Sigh.

I have spent stolen moments this week with the small book DIARY OF A WITCHCRAFT SHOP by Liz Williams and Trevor Jones. I remembered Liz's posts about the Cat & Cauldron years ago, and thought this would be primarily humor.

But turns out it's gentle humor. Part memoir, part examination of living in an old tourist town that has symbolic/mythic meaning for multiple religions--all framed by the pagan year as signposts as we move through the natural calendar. You may discover that pagans are as varied as any other umbrella over religion, and you will also discover that every face is a story, most of them interesting.

It is charming, beautifully written, and has been well worth my visit there. I know I'll pick up the second one, as well as other books by Williams and Jones. It can be found anywhere NewCon Press books are found.

http://www.newconpress.co.uk/info/books.asp?authorID=3

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Book Review, Short & Sweet--UNCANNY VOWS by Laura Anne Gilman

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 17:21:24 GMT

I just finished UNCANNY VOWS by Laura Anne Gilman, and it is *wonderful.*

Packed with tight channels of magic reaching into a wary world, the people touched with just enough of the uncanny to protect humans from it--even when not trusted themselves. Mystery, history, fully realized secondaries. Great sibling relationship!

Read this one for award nominations. (Go find the first one, too.) #HistoricalFantasy #Magic

(No, that's it. I gushed for paragraphs last time. This time? Go read the blurb.)

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The Kukeri Still Dance Evil Spirits Away in Bulgarian Villages

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 01:38:14 GMT

They have done it for centuries. Their costumes are traditional, and look as if they may vary slightly between villages. Children through elders can participate. Some villages look like they are all men dancing, while others welcome girls, or may have had women dancers all along.

They take their charge seriously. It is an act of faith, and I think community.

I hope they continue to dance away evil spirits from their neighbors.

Kukeri Dancing

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New! BVC EATS: Recipes From the Authors at Book View Cafe

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 21:36:04 GMT

"Cooking is as creative a process as writing, as the authors of Book View Café demonstrate in this first ever BVC cookbook.

"Featuring over 150 recipes, from drinks and appetizers to salads and main courses to desserts, each introduced by its author, this compilation is good reading as well as good eating."

The first link will take you to the ToC of author's choices from their recipe hordes. The second link goes straight to the bookstore, because of course you need a new cookbook. Yes--there will be a print edition, but we are not food artists, so the cover will have to speak for our work.

OTOH we might end up with some cooking videos. We are forever an eclectic group!

https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announces-bvc-eats-recipes-from-the-authors-of-book-view-cafe-edited-by-marissa-doyle-and-shannon-page/

https://bookviewcafe.com/book/bvc-eats-recipes-from-the-authors-of-book-view-cafe/

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