Jan 27, 2023 5 min read Weekly Digest

Stone Soup Digest 01.27.23

Monterey Park, Stoker, Mediation

Welcome to the Stone Soup Weekly Digest! This is where I share what I'm up to and some of my favorite things from around the internet. Subscribe to Stone Soup to get this in your inbox every week.

Last weekend, a few blocks away from a Lunar New Year festival in Monterey Park, eleven people lost their lives in a mass shooting. Many others were injured. This act of horrific violence took place during a time of celebration and community; the grief of it is far-reaching and deeply painful. If you’ve been impacted by this, or if you’re looking for ways to support those affected, here are a few places to start:

Here are Verified GoFundMe campaigns that directly financially support victims and their families.
Here is a link to mental health resources gathered by the AAPI Equity Alliance.
If you live in the area, check out Compassion in San Gabriel Valley, an organization aiming to support and protect San Gabriel Valley communities. They need volunteers, and they can also provide direct support to you.
Contact your representatives. Here are stats on senators who accept NRA funds; they don’t need to know a moment’s peace.
Not sure where to start? Check out this guide on how to contact elected officials to pressure them on gun reform, as well as pressuring them on state and federal funding for culturally-competent victim services.
If you aren’t sure what to do in a violent crisis, you’re not alone. Most of us don’t know what we’d do in a situation like this one. Sign up for bystander intervention training resources so you’ll know what to do should you need to.
Take advantage of crisis first aid training resources so you can be a source of care and healing for your community in times of need.

The Vampire Slayer Vol. 1 is Out Now

The Vampire Slayer Vol. 1 collects issues #1-4 of my run of Buffy comics! You can add The Vampire Slayer Vol. 1 to your tbr here. Order it from your local independent bookseller, or order it via Bookshop.org to support independent booksellers throughout the US and the UK. For international shipping, you can try Barnes & Noble. You can also pick up copies at your local comic shop, or if you prefer digital, comiXology.

Eat The Rich is on the Preliminary Stoker Award Ballot!

I am so honored and stunned to see Eat The Rich on this list!! Thank you so much to everyone who supported me and Pius Bak in this deranged project of ours. The company we're in on this preliminary ballot is unreal.

The Strange Beast Tarot is crowdfunding right now

Award-winning game designer and cartoonist Shing Yin Khor is creating a sometimes funny, sometimes moody, always incredibly awesome deck of tarot cards full of beasts both familiar and strange.

Personal Canons Cookbook Highlight: Kelsea Yu

This week’s Personal Canons Cookbook author is Kelsea Yu. Kelsea is a Taiwanese Chinese American writer and mother living in the Pacific Northwest. She’s eternally enthusiastic about sharks and appreciates a good ghost story. Kelsea’s novella, Bound Feet, is published by Cemetery Gates Media, and her upcoming novella, The Bones Beneath Paris, will be published by Dark Matter Ink. Her debut novel, It's Only a Game, will be released by Bloomsbury Children’s. Kelsea’s short stories are forthcoming or published in magazines such as Fantasy, PseudoPod, and Reckoning, and in various anthologies.

Huǒguō is Kelsea’s essay on her family's annual huǒguō feast. This piece dives deep into what an annual celebration can teach us about caring for community, in good times and in hard times. It comes with a recipe and guidelines for hosting a hot pot feast of your own. Hot pot is an incredible meal to host, because it’s interactive, collaborative, and delicious. Kelsea and her mother Pearl share a quite generous amount of insight into ingredients, methods, and equipment.

Find Kelsea on Instagram or Twitter, or visit her website.

Of Interest

Alpha - The Young Writers Workshop Applications are open

You or a teen you know can now apply to this science fiction, fantasy, and horror workshop for young writers! I’ll be teaching at the workshop this year alongside some really amazing instructors. Apply Here!

Apex Magazine launches Reach Your Apex online workshop series

Apex Magazine is kicking off a new online workshop program created for writers and editors. Their winter sessions are led by industry pros and award-nominated writers such as Tim Waggoner, Jason Sanford, Monica Valentinelli, Jason Sizemore, and Marie Vibbert. Sign Up Here!

Strike Coverage

As of yesterday (Thursday, January 26) HarperCollins has agreed to enter mediation with the HarperCollins Union!! HOT DAMN!! It’s been a long road and the journey isn’t done. We can’t let up the pressure, so here’s an article recapping the first 50 days of the strike and a reminder to hold the line!

WE'RE BACK FOR ROUND TWO 😈📢 JOIN US outside News Corp! Last week was only the beginning. Until we have our fair contract, we're prepared to take it to the top! pic.twitter.com/mm3nKpHIz3
— HarperCollins Union on strike since 11/10/22 (@hcpunion) January 26, 2023

How to directly support the HarperCollins Union right now

I thought I’d close us out on a sweet note this week. Last weekend for Friday Dinner, I wanted to make something special that would steer away from the bright, summery citrus of the week before. I decided to get cozy with a hot cocoa cake. A peppermint-marshmallow icing I improvised was delicious but came together pretty poorly at first. I used peppermint schnapps as the liquid component without realizing it would evaporate faster than something like citrus; as a result, the icing went on way too thick at first, and I had to scrape most of it off and whisk in some water to get it to the right consistency. The result looked a little limestone-y, with a visible thick patch underneath the glossy top layer.

But who gives a shit!? The icing tasted like a peppermint marshmallow. At that point, looks don’t matter. I hucked some mini-mallows on top for theatre and to cover the weird patchy spot, and here’s where we landed.