Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
We’ve set up and we’re ready for Ottawa ComicCon.
We will be at tables 2606-2608
See you this weekend!
Jen
Jen Desmarais is the creator of the sex education game Blush and co-author of “Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers” and “Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests.” “Crushing It” was her first solo novel.
You can also find a short story by Jen in “Nothing Without Us Too”, and a novella in “The Mystery of the Dancing Lights”.
Co-founder of JenEric Designs, she creates unique geeky crocheted items. Her blogs The Travelling TARDIS and How I Taught My Dragon have been nominated for the Prix Aurora Awards over 2018-2024.
She lives in Ottawa with her author husband, daughter, son, and their library of over 3000 books.
Come see us at Ottawa ComicCon 2025
Hello Coffee and Crochet lovers,
JenEric Designs, JenEric Coffee, The Travelling TARDIS, Jen Desmarais, and Eric Desmarais will be at this year’s (September the 5th to the 7th) Ottawa Comiccon at the EY Centre.
Come get your coffee, crochet, and books!
We will be at tables 2606-2608
Can’t wait to see you there!
Jen and Éric
Uncanny Valley effect
I was on Instagram the other day, as I am often (too often) and I decided to look at the Ottawa Public Library’s Stories that day. (Because libraries are awesome!) And this image was one of them.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but this photo gave me the ick. I replied to the Story, but got an automatic reply that the library doesn’t monitor their social media. Fair enough. I decided to email the library itself. One day later, I got a reply on Instagram – they told me that they hadn’t made the image, but had been tagged in it by @curacaregiver. They are a service in Ottawa that offers live-in support for the elderly.
So you’d think they’d have plenty of people to hire for a photoshoot.
Instead, they chose to use Gen AI, and drag the library into it.
Not only that, but they tried to gaslight me! I didn’t get a screenshot because they deleted it too fast, but when I pointed out that there was a missing shelf, they tried to tell me that the shelf had been cropped out. Hence my second image with the red arrow pointing to the shelf.
I’m pretty proud of myself for recognizing that this was AI (the shelf only confirmed it in my mind) but I am still not quite sure what it is, exactly, that made me go, “Uncanny valley! Something’s wrong!” Can someone explain what tipped me off so I can learn to recognize it on purpose?
Libraries are awesome! Support your local library! And don’t make them look bad by having them reshare Gen AI art.
The Siren’s Song Vol 4
Hello Readers,
Do you want a magazine with a bunch of free stories? How about stories related to The Gates of Westmeath and Lucky in Love?
Feel free to go check out the other three editions that have stories of Baker and Westmeath.
Happy Reading!
Book Launch and Interview
Did you miss our book launch party in July? Good news, we successfully recorded the whole interview and reading!
Fadhili Samba was our amazing host and asked awesome questions. She really made us feel at ease.
Watch it here!
Want to get the book(s)? Find them below!
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
The Tropes for A Case of Synchronicity
The tropes used in A Case of Synchronicity
Edition is discontinued. Will be available at in person events until a new edition is released.
The Tropes for The Sign of Faust
The tropes used in The Sign of Faust
Edition is discontinued. Will be available at in person events until a new edition is released.
The Tropes for A Study in Aether
The tropes used in A Study in Aether
Coming Soon!
Pakaha Street Skewers from Winging It
“I’ll get veggies. There’s a shish-ka-bab barbeque vendor beside the meat pie,” Elyse said.
This would also work really well with steak.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 medium shallots, finely chopped
- 1-inch piece lemongrass
- 1 cup soup broth
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon thyme
- 1 tsp celery salt
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Skewer
- Peppers cut in 1.5 inch squares
- Button Mushrooms or large mushrooms cut in half
- Zucchini cut into cubes
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shallots and lemongrass and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the soup broth, the grated or finely chopped ginger, then turn the heat up to high. Boil off the soup broth by half, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and lemon thyme, one tablespoon of celery salt, and taste for salt—add some table salt if you need it.
- Pour the sauce into a food processor and blitz it until it becomes a thick puree; it should look a bit like a light green mayo, as everything will emulsify.
- Place on pre-prepared skewers with vegetables with a sauce brush.
- Cook skewers on the preheated grill until vegetables are tender and lightly charred, turning and basting vegetables with remaining sauce occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes.
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
Pakaha Balls (Vegetarian) from Winging It
“We found a stall selling deep fried balls of meat and peas,” Elyse interrupted them, bringing them each a battered ball on a stick. “It seemed pretty popular at dinnertime.”
“And since it’s dinner again for us, it makes sense,” Carter finished her thought. He took a bite and moaned. “That is delicious. We need this recipe for Jason.”
Although these are vegetarian, you could use shredded chicken or ground meat inside of them.
Filling
- 4 medium (500 grams) potatoes
- 1 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced or paste
- 1 to 2 green chilies chopped (optional)
- 1/2 cup green peas (boiled or frozen)
- 1 teaspoon Pakaha Frienze (Substitute Garam Masala)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
Breading
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel, halve and boil potatoes in a pot of water, until fork tender (not mushy).
- Heat a pan with oil or ghee, add ginger & green chilies. Fry until ginger smells aromatic, for about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Stir in the green peas and saute for 2 mins.
- Add garam masala, cumin powder, celery salt, and paprika. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the potatoes and sprinkle salt. Mix and saute for 2 to 3 mins.
- Set aside to cool.
- Mush mixture to be chunky (not mash).
- Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Scoop mixture with tablespoons to make balls (Cool or freeze)
- Prepare breading by adding breadcrumbs, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl
- Beat eggs in separate bowl
- In third put the flour with some salt and pepper.
- Roll balls in flour, egg wash, then roll in the breading mixture.
- Deep fry at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 2 minutes or until golden.
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93