Cooking Up Magick

Paisley Dell, the halfling chef at the heart of my book Cooking Up Magick, is a protagonist who doesn’t out with a prophecy or a destiny tattooed on her soul. She begins her journey with a family heirloom frying pan named Grace, a notebook full of recipes, and a grief she avoids by mentally mashing it into a compost heap. And yet, from the first pages, I think she’s hard to look away from.

What makes Paisley interesting to me isn’t her power. It’s the particular weight she carries. Her journey outward into the world is also a journey inward through guilt, obligation, and a fierce, almost stubborn belief that caring for people matters. I want to take a closer look at what drives her, what haunts her, and why her brand of heroism has stuck with me.

Today is National Cheese Toast Day. My family called them grilled cheese sandwiches when I was growing up, and I always loved them. But my kiddo and I call them gruncheys.

A Legend Is Born

Thanks to David Selbert and Pexels for the image.

I hadn't played DnD in years, since my hubby and I usually played the White Wolf system. After he passed away, I missed gaming, and I checked into the local DnD meetup group. I went to a few of those and joined a campaign shortly before the pandemic started.

I played Rayleon Whipclaw, an Aäriadri Tabaxi (a house-cat sized cat-person). She had to be a rogue, of course, and she was a ton of fun to play. Think Puss-n-Boots, with a ginormous cavalier hat, and short cloak. Through my lucky rolls, she constantly dodged death, and saved her teammate's asses repeatedly. Her head got pretty darn big as a...