Beth Cato

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Beth Cato

Goodreads Author


Born
in Hanford, CA, The United States
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Member Since
April 2012

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Beth Cato hails from Hanford, California, but currently writes and bakes cookies in Red Wing, Minnesota. She usually has one or two cats in close orbit. A 2015 Nebula finalist, she is the author of the cozy mystery CHEDDAR LUCK NEXT TIME as well as fantasy like A THOUSAND RECIPES FOR REVENGE. Her short stories can be found in publications ranging from Beneath Ceaseless Skies to Uncanny Magazine. In 2019 and 2022, she won the Rhysling Award for short speculative poetry. Her website BethCato.com includes not only a vast bibliography, but a treasure trove of recipes for delectable goodies. Find her on BlueSky as @BethCato and Instagram as @catocatsandcheese.

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Popular Answered Questions

Beth Cato Thank you so much! The book was inspired by several things. I've loved healer characters since I was a kid, but I was always disappointed that they ar…moreThank you so much! The book was inspired by several things. I've loved healer characters since I was a kid, but I was always disappointed that they are relegated to a sidekick role in most books and video games. I love steampunk and wanted to write something in that setting. My mom also raised me on Agatha Christie mysteries. My original idea for the book was 'Murder on the Orient Express, on an airship, with a healer as the lead character.' I expanded the story from there!(less)
Beth Cato Thanks for the question, Sarah! "The Deepest Poison" is indeed a prequel story and the events that happen are referred to throughout The Clockwork Dag…moreThanks for the question, Sarah! "The Deepest Poison" is indeed a prequel story and the events that happen are referred to throughout The Clockwork Dagger, though the story shows everything from a very different perspective. Read them in chronological order if you want, but there's no hard rule on that. (less)
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More books by Beth Cato…

Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Cookies

It’s one thing to make Blueberry Cookies, but quite something more to make cookies that are a vivid blue-purple hue that will turns heads.

Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Cookies

I’m used to doing blueberry recipes for, say, muffins that involve carefully folding in the berries to avoid bursting or smearing them. No such care involved here. The goal is to straight-up emulsify those lil suckers so their juice and color gets everywhere

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Published on February 25, 2026 07:45
A Thousand Recipes for Revenge A Feast for Starving Stone
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The Clockwork Dagger The Clockwork Crown
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Breath of Earth Call of Fire Roar of Sky
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The Geomagician
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The Bake Sale Coo...
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The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula
The Geomagician
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Long Lost by Jacqueline  West
Long Lost
by Jacqueline West (Goodreads Author)
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I read this book for a March book club. I borrowed it from my local library.

This is a solid middle grade book with eerie gothic tones. There are two parallel plots: the present day travails of Fiona Crane, an 11-year-old resentful of her older sister
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The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
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I borrowed this book from the library. It's a March book club read as part of a banned books theme.

Foremost, this book is incredibly well-written. A evocative masterpiece. It's also horrible, about the horribleness of war and what it does to people,
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The Bake Sale Cookbook by Sally Sampson
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Photographic workroom handbook by Sigismund Blumann
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An interesting book that is filled with advice and many chemistry recipes for budding photographers in the late 1920s.
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Dorothea Lange by Linda Gordon
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A deep study of famed photography Dorothea Lange. The deep research is obvious--there are about a 100 pages of captions and footnotes. It follows her personal life, her work, and her many travels. While it didn't go into detail on the aspects I wante ...more
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The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
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Dorothea Lange by Linda Gordon
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The Barn Identity by Diane Kelly
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I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

A well-written cozy mystery series should be accessible at any point of the series. That is absolutely true with this charming, fast-reading novel. The Barn Identity is the 8th entry in the House-Flipper serie
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The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
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I read this classic work for a book club. It consists of a short novel plus related short stories, all set on coastal Maine in the years after the Civil War. It was published in 1896. There is no big drama; this is a slow, gentle, cozy book, about vi ...more
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Quotes by Beth Cato  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“He stopped moving among the shelves. She stopped as well and scanned the books around her. 'Such a glorious perfume, these old books.”
Beth Cato, The Clockwork Crown

“Ignorance didn’t feel like bliss. It felt like stupidity, and she hated it.”
Beth Cato, Breath of Earth

“Holiness may be found by being in the mere presence of books, without evening parting the pages.”
Beth Cato, The Clockwork Crown

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1st Quarter 2025 - Fantasy #3

 
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The Estate by Sarah Jost (416 pp)
 
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Who's Your Author?: Steampunk - Recommendations 11 32 Oct 08, 2014 06:58AM  
You'll love this ...: This topic has been closed to new comments. What are you reading and why? Jul-Dec 2014 1219 214 Jan 01, 2015 08:22AM  
The Sword and Laser: Questions for Beth Cato 4 75 Jun 11, 2015 11:01AM  
Sci-fi and Heroic...: 2015 Locus Award Winners Announced 7 75 Jun 27, 2015 03:58PM  
Who's Your Author?: Spell It Supernatural June 2015 31 28 Jul 01, 2015 02:33PM  
Nothing But Readi...: Team Hagen 200 273 Aug 20, 2015 10:00AM  
Sci-fi and Heroic...: "Wings of Sorrow and Bone" by Beth Cato 4 9 Apr 11, 2016 06:39AM  
Sci-fi and Heroic...: 2015 Nebula Award short story & novella nominees 11 52 Apr 22, 2016 01:39AM  
Romance Readers R...: Mai's Reading List 155 131 Oct 21, 2016 12:22AM  
“I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.”
Barbara Kingsolver

“Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.”
Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

“Missing people in our lives are like wounds we reopen with thoughts.”
Kevin Hearne, Hunted

“Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft were written by men.”
Neil Gaiman

“Whenever I'm with other people, part of me shrinks a little. Only when I am alone can I fully enjoy my own company.”
Alan Bradley, A Red Herring Without Mustard

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