every day should be a susie day

Revelation of the Fondant Icing

Posted on 19. Apr, 2010 by susie in Gingerbread Who, blog, doctor who, kids' books i've been reading, my invisible boyfriend

I have, at long last, achieved my life’s ambition.  (Technically I did that in 2004 by getting published, but if you achieve your life’s ambition and remain inconveniently alive, you have to come up with a new one.  It’s in the rules.)

Those who were around these parts last year will recall the joys of Bake 7 and GingerbRed Dwarf, and the bake-a-boy gallery already bears a respectable showing of Time Lords.  But I have, at last, achieved the pinnacle of sci-fi bakery: ALL ELEVEN DOCTORS, in nommable gingerbread form. Behold!

Click: they're bigger on the inside

And in case you were thinking that wasn’t a very productive way to spend a Sunday, here is my review of this week’s Doctor Who.   Proof positive that biscuits are central to everything.

Gingerbread Who: Victory of the Daleks

I have a feeling this may become a weekly thing.  I’d apologise, but I’m not even a little but sorry. :)

Oh, and if you should happen to feel inspired by my adventures in food colouring AND like to win lovely things, then you still have a couple of weeks left to enter the FABULOUS BAKE-A-BOY CHALLENGE, and snag yourself a tasty little parcel of books.  Go on, go on, you will, you will…

Am reading China Mieville’s Un Lun Dun, which is like a funny Phantom Tollbooth mixed with Mortal Engines.  There are ninja bins (binjas!), and nice drawings, and two fabulously dry and narky heroines.  Loving it so far.

I’m being so naughty.  I’m plotting a new possible series, the idea of which I am madly in love with, and am supposed to be writing 3 chapters for my agent – which is why this week I randomly started writing a completely different book about superpowered teenagers on a sinister landlocked island who, you know, fight crime, and fall in love in inappropriate directions. I’ve decided it’s going to be my guilty evening pleasure.  Will doubtless never see the light of day, but I miss having something to write which I’ve no intention of publishing: writing purely for my own wonky lols.  (Dear Agent/Editor/Bank Manager: this is all lies, and I never said any of it.)

Failing to go on proper holiday this Easter (which is lucky due to the GIANT ASH CLOUD which can apparently eat planes); discovering microwave popcorn; wondering why anyone in their right mind thought that remaking The Prisoner was a good idea.

Competition Time!

Posted on 09. Apr, 2010 by susie in 7 days of stuff, blog, girl meets cake, my invisible boyfriend

To mark the last of My Invisible Boyfriend’s celebratory 7 Days of Stuff, what better than a giveaway?

Want to get your hands on this little lot?

Up for grabs: a signed copy of My Invisible Boyfriend, a signed copy of serafina67 *urgently requires life*, and a gingerbread goodiebag (not as pictured – they seem to have mysteriously vanished post photoshoot :D)…

In My Invisible Boyfriend, Heidi creates an imaginary BF inspired by a gingerbread man.  To win, create your own invisible friend (no gender required, and you’re very welcome to keep things platonic), and send me a picture.  It can be a real gingerbread cookie, or a drawing of one.  Check out the last Fabulous Bake-A-Boy Challenge gallery for inspiration, and links to a deeply yummy gingerbread recipe.  Send me your invisible friends!

Email your entries to: susie AT susieday.com (or here, with a link to your image hosted online): all images in jpg, png, or gif format please
Contest open to: everyone!  All territories, all ages (please ask permission from a guardian if you are <13)
Closing date: Friday 7th May

Entries must be your own creative work and not infringe copyright.  For example:

THIS IS OK :)

THIS IS CUTE BUT NOT OK :(

Good luck! And if you missed it, don’t forget to check out the rest of the 7 Days of Stuff!

Full T&Cs are listed below:
(more…)

Secret Ingredients

Posted on 08. Apr, 2010 by susie in 7 days of stuff, blog, my invisible boyfriend

My Invisible Boyfriend’s 7 Days of Stuff continues…

My Invisible Boyfriend is part-cookbook: it’s stuffed with recipes for how to bake an imaginary boyfriend, fake a tragic breakup, and generally make a complete and utter hash of your social life. But as anyone who has ever ventured into my kitchen will know, I tend to throw the recipe out of the window and bung in a few random bits and bobs from the store cupboard. It works! Sometimes. Other times I create a Valuable Learning Experience instead of dinner. So here are a few of the ’secret ingredients’ that were thrown into the Invisible Boyfriend mixture – even if you might not be able to taste them in the finished product.

1. Heidi’s fictional boyfriend Gingerbread Ed appears in serafina67.

I love it when books cross-reference (like, say, Jaclyn Moriarty’s Ashbury novels), and it tickled me to think that serafina67 got a comment from someone imaginary.  Did you spot him?

2. We went through waaaaay more than just the two titles we ended up with!

Alternatives included Geek Meets Cake, Gingerbread Ed, and Biscuits & Lies.

3. Ludo is named after a big orange Muppet.

Well, sort of.  I work at an international boarding school, so I have access to an endless supply of unusual names (unusual to a Brit, anyway).  One summer school student named Ludovica was known as ‘Ludo’, and I realised I could fulfil my long-cherished ambition to name a character after the Ludo from Labyrinth.  I suspect my Ludo would not appreciate the comparison. ;)

4. The Scrabble words are all genuine playable moves.

I’m a  Scrabble nerd. :)

5. The whole book was inspired by tissues.

Credit goes to my mate Maddie, who (knowing me rather well) got me a pack of tissues bearing the immortal phrase “She liked imaginary men best of all“.  Cheers, Madge!

Come back tomorrow for the LAST (sniff) from the celebratory 7 Days of Stuff…

Acceptable in the 80s

Posted on 07. Apr, 2010 by susie in 7 days of stuff, blog, my invisible boyfriend

My Invisible Boyfriend is set in the present day – but Mr Venables, the excruciatingly over-friendly Performing Arts teacher, is undeniably trapped in the 80s. His musical version of Twelfth Night is replete with neon fingerless gloves, rollerskates and Big Hair.

“But forget all that stuff about dukes, guys. This is not 1601. No one is going to be wearing codpieces in this production. We’re better than that, guys. We’re going to set this somewhere crazy. Take our audience somewhere they didn’t know they were going to go. Shake up our Shakespeare!”
Venables whips out a marker, and writes IN THE 80s on his poster, then adds !!! on the end.
Fili makes a little moaning noise of despair.
“OH MY GOD!” hisses Ludo. “Leg warmers! And Lycra! And blue mascara!”
From the look on her face, these are apparently supposed to be good things.

For us crumblies who remember it first time round *raises hand* this is both painfully familiar, and a, um, broad interpretation of 80s pop culture. We didn’t all jog the streets in our fashionable leisurewear, our Walkmans playing Sigue Sigue Sputnik while we chatted on our brickphones. Some people were a bit busy rioting about their poll tax. Some people were listening to Joy Division. I was mostly doing my homework and thinking about Ewoks. But The Future blunts all edges when it looks back: 2010 will probably be Lady Gaga wrapped in hazard tape and not a lot else.

Still, to spare you, Gentle Teenage Reader, from reliance on Hot Tub Time Machine and the current plastic tat section of TopShop, here are some pointers on the Venables-approved interpretation of Now That’s What I Call Shakespeare!

This is clearly what would be going on in Olivia’s head when she first encounters Cesario: Princess Di hair and muscles:

Meanwhile, the servants are getting restless and Malvolio wants to risk a new look:

And of course, let’s not forget movie classic Tron, which inspires the Etienne & the Illyrians look. (Yes, trailers were that boring in the 80s, and yes, that is Jeff Bridges: Oscar winner.)

I am now going to drink some New Coke and solve my Rubik’s Cube. Ciao!

My Invisible Boyfriend’s 7 Days of Stuff continues tomorrow!

Almost Lickable Wallpaper

Posted on 06. Apr, 2010 by susie in 7 days of stuff, blog, my invisible boyfriend

My Invisible Boyfriend‘s 7 Days of Stuff continues…

Sadly Willy Wonka’s the only one who can make truly lickable wallpaper, but these come pretty close!  So why not Heidi-fy your screen? Hover over the thumbnails to find the screen resolution of your choice, then click the image, and right-click to download.

7 Days of Stuff will be back tomorrow!