Welcome to the sixth installment of the Gothic Funk Press salon series. This reading will have a focus on young-adult fiction!
Featuring:
* Christine Borne
* S.C. Megale
* Reinhardt Suarez
and
* Irène Hodes, as resident mixologist
* Gothic Funk Press Director Connor Coyne, as host
This event will take place on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 8 PM EDT and will stream via the Gothic Funk Press YouTube Channel.
We’re following a bit of a different format this time.
As in earlier installments, our reading will begin when our mixologist shows you how to make a delicious libation (of course, you are welcome to enjoy any food or drink you wish during the event). Please check below for an ingredient list and recipe. Then, potable in hand, you can kick back and enjoy some of the voices writing for young-adult readers today!
After short readings from our guests, we will move to a question-and-answer session. If you want to learn more about young-adult fiction, we’ve got you covered!
Please direct questions to connor@gothicfunk.org.
GUEST BIOS
Christine Borne is an ex-librarian from Cleveland who now manages scholarships and scholarship accessories in rural Minnesota. She struggled to get ChatGPT to write a decent author bio but the robots couldn’t get past librarian stereotypes and didn’t know what to do with “perimenopausal Daria Morgendorffer.” For the last decade she’s tinkered with a set of interlocking stories called Rust World Problems (think The Archers meets The Conners). Her current book is sort of “if Shirley Jackson wrote My So-Called Life,” and she hopes you will like her plot better than what ChatGPT came up with. Christine lives in a small, dark house with a husband and a cat, only one of whom is any use in a blizzard.
S. C. Megale is an author and filmmaker. She’s been profiled in USA Today, The Washington Post, and New York Newsday, and has appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” and the CBS Evening News for her philanthropic and literary work. As a humanitarian, she’s spoken on the USS Intrepid, at the NASDAQ opening bell, and to universities and doctors nationwide. She enjoys making connections all over the world.
Megale was raised in the long grass of the Civil War, hunting for relics and catching fireflies along the banks of Bull Run. A shark tooth, flutes, and a flask are some of the items that hang from her wheelchair, and she had a fear of elevators until realizing this was extremely inconvenient. She lives with her family which includes her parents, sister and brother, service dog, and definitely-not-service dog.
This is Not a Love Scene is her first published novel.
Reinhardt Suarez is a Chicago-born writer, editor, and raconteur and has an MFA from the New School in New York City. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife Kristin, his daughter Morrigan, and their feline overlord, Karl. He’s written two young adult novels, Lords of Badassery and The Green Ray of the Sun, and most recently, he’s been a writer for the storyline of the Magic: The Gathering card game. He’d love it if you said “hi” at www.thereinhardtexperience.com.
Irene Hodes is a cultural curator, arts administrator, and writer, who previously spent over ten years in the wine and beverage industry, in Northern California wine country and internationally. She most recently was the director of the Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival, creating six highly acclaimed virtual film festivals during the pandemic, which brought together independent filmmakers from around the world with her local community. She relishes sharing the best of Jewish culture, news, food, and quirky innovations with the world. Check out her weekly newsletter! When not reading, consuming far too many British murder mysteries, or completing the New York Times crossword, Irene indulges in culinary and ‘mixological’ esoterica. She is absolutely delighted to be joining Gothic Punk’s Salon as literary drinks-maven again!
BOSTON COOLER (VERNOR’S FLOAT)
Vernor’s ginger ale
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
Traditionally, as I imagine most Michiganders have experienced, one would place these ingredients in a blender and serve more like a shake. However, earlier recipes — and many people enjoy this anecdotally — have one pouring the ginger ale over the vanilla ice cream, and stirring. As all “ice cream soda/float” recipes began with a simple blending of a soda, flavored or otherwise, being poured over ice cream, this makes sense.
ORANGE SHERBET COOLER (dairy free)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup seltzer (or lemon-lime soda) chilled
1/2 cup sherbet (or however much will fit in your chosen glass)
FOR GROWNUPS: The addition of (or swapping out of) an alcoholic beverage will make for a dangerously delicious beverage, indeed. A chocolate or coffee stout (beer) with a nice scoop of ice cream is a delight! Adding a coffee or chocolate liqueur to a more traditional Black Cow (cola) or Root Beer Float is a delicious idea. The use of alcoholic ginger beer instead of ginger ale, is a great adult-upgrade to the traditional Vernor’s Float. A shot of Cointreau, triple sec, or even vodka to the sherbet cooler would be a welcome poolside treat on a hot day.