Hi, how are ya? Shahtsi, here. No, you can’t call me Uncle Shahtsi. I’m not your uncle, that’s why. I’m the uncle of Tosun, one of the main characters in SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING, if you can call that a book title. What kind of a title is that? What does it even mean?

Oh, well, it’s about that Earthling, Connie Phelan, and if there’s something about Connie you don’t understand, trust me, don’t ask. You might find out. And that usually means trouble for somebody.

The woman who wrote about us — oh, and am I in SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING? Maybe about as much as the tip of my little claw. But then she wrote down a short story that I told her — about Connie — called “The Woman Who Wasn’t A Shave-Tail.”

So anyway, this woman says that Wednesday is Food Day around here, and she wants me to tell you about my favorite snack. Which is difficult, because I love snacks.

I guess maybe my favorite is Secret Sweethearts. You take some nuts, okay? That’s what you call them on Earth, right, the seeds that big plants like those — yeah, trees — tree seeds. Those are nuts, right? So take a bunch of those and crush them up. Mix in enough honey to make a paste. It’s okay if it’s lumpy. Then you take a little piece of dried fruit, Connie says like apricot? Is that right? Is that a fruit? Apricot? Okay, a little piece of that and wrap some of the paste around it, then roll it in some more of the crushed nuts so it’s not sticky. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. It doesn’t want to hold together, but it does want to hold onto your fingers, even if you shave all the fur off your hands first. That’s why most people buy Secret Sweethearts, except for the crackpot purists. And, of course, the sweety-sweet-sweethearts who think it’s romantic to lick the mess off each other’s claws.

So, anyway, that’s it. If you want to read another April A-to-Z post, go read Shanjeniah’s Lovely Chaos.

~*~

Shahtsi, Connie, and Tosun appear in SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING, which is a perfectly good title. SitCR is available through Indiebound and at Amazon in print and electronic versions.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character attempts to make something usually bought and discovers why it’s usually bought.

MA

p.s. I made Shahtsi’s recipe and Secret Sweethearts are AMAZEBALLS!!!