Fangirls Celebrate Ashley Eckstein’s Birthday
On Friday, RebelForce Radio hosted a birthday party for Ashley Eckstein. Guests included the Her Universe Year of the Fangirl contributors. Matt Lanter, the voice of Anakin Skywalker on The Clone Wars, dropped by for a surprise appearance. Ashley spoke to each contributor about why they inspired her, cupcakes were shared, and recipes were traded.
Lillian Skye went first, talking about her academic success. She was preparing to take the ACT the next day. Lillian writes for a student-run publication published weekly by the Tampa Bay Times and has her own blog for geek chic Star Wars fans called “Fangirls in the Force.” I had a chance to talk about my career as a traffic signal design engineer, my competitive success on my horse, and the many places I can be found writing about Star Wars, strong female characters, and storytelling. Interestingly enough the last time I appeared on RebelForce Radio was to discuss “To Catch a Jedi” in Ahsoka’s finale arc, and that was also the day my Year of the Fangirl contributor post appeared on Her Universe.
Erin Kelahan shared her experience with osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that affects her bones. Her story is inspiring, and even more so that Star Wars books were part of her recovery. Newly engaged Amy Ratcliffe had a chance to share her wedding ideas and Ashley was already on board with some of her great wedding dress ideas. In addition, Amy brought this amazing bundt cake. Finally, Victoria Schmidt joined the party to discuss her engagement on Heroes of Cosplay and how she turned her geek passion into a career.
Ashley baked cupcakes in cones for the occasion and suggested replacing the oil with applesauce in the mix. She is a big fan of cupcakes and created a new shirt design she unveiled this week: “Come to the dark side, we have cupcakes.” She also shared a delicious recipe for monkey bread with me.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle buttermilk biscuits
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired
- 1/2 cup raisins, if desired
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Steps1)Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large -storage plastic food bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.2) Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.3) In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.4) Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.
A good time was had by all! Many thanks for Jason and Jimmy Mac for hosting the celebration. Here is a direct link to the show.
Related posts:
- Fans Speculate Episode VII, Zahn Talks, and Fangirls Party!
- Her Universe Celebrates Year of the Fangirl
- Year of the Fangirl Tag
- FANgirl on RebelForce Radio and Her Universe
Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and strong female characters. She also writes about Star Wars for Random House’s science fiction and fantasy blog Suvudu.com and Star Wars Insider magazine and is a contributor for Her Universe’s Year of the Fangirl.
Tricia is putting the finishing touches on her first novel, Wynde – a military science fiction with a fantastical twist that features heroines Vespa and Gemini. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
For updates on all things FANgirl follow @FANgirlcantina on Twitter or like FANgirl Zone on Facebook. At times she tries the Tumblr.
Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
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