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Heating Up!
Autumn has descended on Culinaria.
In a world where everything is edible and most things (sentient or otherwise) can be grown, no time is quite like fall. This is harvest season, when villages and cities hum with activity, festival tents dot the streets, and one can taste the pumpkin spice, simply from taking a deep breath.
But this year, something is… different. Instead of cool cinnamon breeze and morning mist, the air is heavy with smog. Summer refuses to give up its throne, and crisp autumn mornings are shoved aside as a sweltering heat wave blankets the world.
Global Baking used to be nothing more than a conspiracy theory, something only muttered by roving cultists or in dank cellars. But as asthma becomes more prevalent than cider-fueled intoxication, it’s clear that, perhaps, there’s more truth than myth to the concept.
And in a rural pocket of the Cranberry Kingdom, where celebration is less loud than in the big cities (and certainly muddier), a new resident has moved in. A wealthy individual with more ambition than common sense, tinkering away in a factory that spews smoke day and night.
Now, to stop the north from becoming a spoiled milkshake, a group of Whiskwives and witches must lead their primitive folk in a desperate attempt to stop Culinaria from heating up. A tall task for a group that believes folk tales give better guidance than a compass and that 'science' is a foreign ingredient.
Perhaps, with a little help from destiny (and two wayward knights), the land can be saved before the preheat ends.
If not? Well… nothing wrong with a few burnt bits, right?
In a world where everything is edible and most things (sentient or otherwise) can be grown, no time is quite like fall. This is harvest season, when villages and cities hum with activity, festival tents dot the streets, and one can taste the pumpkin spice, simply from taking a deep breath.
But this year, something is… different. Instead of cool cinnamon breeze and morning mist, the air is heavy with smog. Summer refuses to give up its throne, and crisp autumn mornings are shoved aside as a sweltering heat wave blankets the world.
Global Baking used to be nothing more than a conspiracy theory, something only muttered by roving cultists or in dank cellars. But as asthma becomes more prevalent than cider-fueled intoxication, it’s clear that, perhaps, there’s more truth than myth to the concept.
And in a rural pocket of the Cranberry Kingdom, where celebration is less loud than in the big cities (and certainly muddier), a new resident has moved in. A wealthy individual with more ambition than common sense, tinkering away in a factory that spews smoke day and night.
Now, to stop the north from becoming a spoiled milkshake, a group of Whiskwives and witches must lead their primitive folk in a desperate attempt to stop Culinaria from heating up. A tall task for a group that believes folk tales give better guidance than a compass and that 'science' is a foreign ingredient.
Perhaps, with a little help from destiny (and two wayward knights), the land can be saved before the preheat ends.
If not? Well… nothing wrong with a few burnt bits, right?
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 24, 2025
1 person want to read
About the author
Brandon Carangi
5 books8 followersBrandon Carangi is a professional actuary by day and an enthusiastic amateur writer by… slightly later in the day. He began writing at the age of four, when his parents handed him a stack of paper and pointed him toward an unused closet under the stairs. His earliest stories (primarily composed of bold squiggles and dramatic shapes) were a hit with family members and select refrigerator audiences. These days, his plots are still delightfully squiggly, but the page count has increased significantly.
Brandon is the author of multiple novels and supplemental guides set within the whimsical, food-fueled world of Culinaria, a universe he first sketched on the back of a napkin during a particularly dull conference call. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family and spends his time reading, running, and finding creative ways to make spreadsheets feel like a hobby.
Brandon is the author of multiple novels and supplemental guides set within the whimsical, food-fueled world of Culinaria, a universe he first sketched on the back of a napkin during a particularly dull conference call. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family and spends his time reading, running, and finding creative ways to make spreadsheets feel like a hobby.
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