E.K. Johnston

*looks South* well...

I mean, I don't know how else I could have said it.

A recipe for pavlova

Egg white, white sugar, vanilla, vinegar (topped with whipped cream and fruit)! You can even do something with chickpeas to make it vegan, but I've never tried that.

Six personal-sized pavlovas in the oven

A small jar of lemon curd

A tray of buckeyes

9 banana muffins

Also a pavlova uses 4 egg whites, which means I can use the yolks to make a half-batch of @sarahgailey.bsky.social 's lemon curd. (Also: half the buckeyes, and some muffins bc we had some bananas that needed muffinning. Yes, I am stressed, thanks for asking.)

Most recipes say stiff peaks or very stiff peaks, but the thing you're REALLY looking for is that it's ready when you can't feel the sugar anymore.

The key to making a pavlova is to keep it in the mixer for longer than reasonable, and then add at least 10 minutes.

Well...that 33 minutes definitely felt a lot longer, but Machine Gun Verso is a go!

ME NEITHER

Me: How do I shoot the balloons?
Walk Through: Just shoot them!
Me: ...im billing you for time spent

Me: I'm just going into Verso's drafts to get the Esqi-outfits.
Also Me: Who am I kidding, get me the full walk through.

next season i think the pitt should go backwards. i just think the writers can handle it.

i can't change into pajamas because i have an RMT appointment at noon, but the MINUTE i get home from that

I think we have to split our payment with them, so they get half of every authors' payment. Which...makes me feel like they should fill out the forms.

i have never been in an american lawsuit before do i really get money if i fill out the anthropic thing? and if penguin gets money, why aren't THEY doing it?

And Max doesn't stay, but it's his choice. Neither he nor Furiosa (nor Toast the Knowing), are driven out because they did violence. It was a team effort: Splendid and Fragile and Knowing and Capable and...well, Eccentric.

And Furious, of course.

Something I think about a lot is that it takes like three minutes for Capable to flip Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road, and *that* is why going home is a victory. Like, yes, they have to take out Immorten Joe and his cronies, but the War Boys, the War Boys they can save.

A gestral sits in flames and says "this is fine".

A screenshot of the video game Clair Obscur of a large wooden looking being, with two long arms, a torso, and a slat of wood for a face, and a brush like head of hair. It's speaking to a human woman. It is saying, "Aren't we all empty once we learn how meaningless our lives are?"

The same being saying, "I am a philosopher. I hope you buy my book someday."

being a writer in 2026

I just like naming things. 🤣

The Robyn/Barney Paradox

(Original post is actually about how Ann Doud shaped Aunt Lydia in The Testaments)

My entire reaction, tbqh.

Anyway, please don't pirate my books or anyone else's. Most of us are hanging on by a thread.

I get about $600 twice a year, in case you were wondering. My most popular non-IP book has sold ~38K copies in 10 years, and after that it's a steep drop. 75 copies a week for a decade feels like it should be something, but it's ~$57K total (including the advance).

And I'm considered lucky.

Me, reading my Royalty statement: Well, it could be worse.

And Charlie Cox! Which confused me, bc I went in cold, and was like "Okay, so some dude named Ben is winning awards, WHY IS CHARLIE COX HERE? SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN" 🤣

Not to suggest Andy Serkis ever brings less than his A Game, but...this is definitely Andy Serkis bringing his A Game.

The voices in your head have to be your own. 😇

Are any of you interested in a writing retreat in Ontario in August? DM me your email address and I'll send you the details.

mine absolutely DID say Rick Riordan, but looked apologetic about it

This and the part where two AIs *couldn't make a documentary* despite literally thousands of hours watching/analyzing narrative television is something I return to a lot.