In case it’s not clear from the reference and the cooling rack, that’s a rustic round (sort of) loaf of bread. Nothing to do with Covid; I was baking bread long before the lockdown. I’m especially proud of a version of foccia I do now and then. This one? So-So. Edible and all that, but would have been happier with a little more rise.

Which brings me to my second subject: I don’t know what I’m doing, when it comes to bread, and by extension, a lot of other things. My bread-making I owe as much to poor impulse control as wanting to probe the mystery that is bread. I get the impulse to try something new, and I do, and learn a bit, but seldom put in the time, concentration and focus required for real mastery. Maybe in a week or two I’ll try again. Maybe it’ll come out better, but I wouldn’t count on it. Otoh, if I need to write a scene involving bread-making, I’ll likely get that right. Nothing’s really wasted.

So how is bread-making like a price promotion? Same principles apply. As of today, there’s a Countdown deal running on The Long Look. I dropped the price to .99c until Wednesday. A separate Countdown Deal starts for the second book in the series, Black Kath’s Daughter, on Tuesday. I had intended the deals to be available everywhere, only that’s not how these things work, as a correspondent in Australia brought to my attention. US and UK only. So after the deals run (ending Sunday for BKD) I’ll do a manual price adjustment for the next week so anyone else can take advantage. Slight whoops, and could have been prevented if I’d paid better attention.

Just as I could have gotten a better rise in the bread if I’d been more careful in the second proof.