Posted: 07 Nov 2017 02:46 AM PST
The winter holiday
season in England begins after Bonfire Night on November 5th when thoughts
turn to Christmas food.
A majority of my family don't like Christmas pudding, so I came up with this alternative which has become something of a tradition. It's made by the melting method, thus the mixture is thin and warm when it goes into the tin. If you are not accustomed to this it might seem strange but it works perfectly and shouldn't be baked in too hot an oven to prevent the top going crusty. Soft and moist is the byword for this cake which is almost a pudding.
Sticky Ginger Cake
Ingredients 225g Self Raising Flour 115g Butter 115g Light Muscovado Sugar 115g Black Treacle 115g Golden Syrup 250ml Semi skimmed Milk 1 large egg 25g cornflour 85g stem ginger - chopped 85g fresh ginger - peeled and finely grated 1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking powder [7g] 18cm diameter deep cake tin with base and sides lined with greaseproof paper - this prevents not only sticking but keeps a soft surface to the cake. Method: 1. Combine flour, cornflour, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon together 2. Melt butter and brown sugar, syrup, treacle and milk together in a saucepan until smooth and warm but not hot. 3. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the liquid mix until smooth 4. Fold in the beaten egg 5. Pour mixture into cake tin 6. Bake for 50 min - 1 hour at 160 Deg in a fan oven [170 Deg non-fan] 7. When cool, decorate by dribbling thin royal icing mixture over the top and sprinkle with chopped stem ginger. This cake is great served warm with whipped cream as a dessert, but also superb cold with coffee. The longer it's kept in an airtight tin, the more moist and sticky it becomes. Not that it's ever lasted more than 48 hours in my family, so I cannot confirm that statement. |
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Great Holiday Recipe shared by BWL author Anita Davison
New Releases from Books We Love
Holiday shopping time is already upon us, and if you're looking for some fantastic ideas, look no further than Books We Love where you'll find books in every genre, to satisfy every reading desire. Ebooks and print books, series books and stand alones, novels and novellas, we at BWL Publishing do Books Very Well. Take a look at the wonderful selection featured below. And don't forget to check out our Canadian Historical Brides series, featuring one historical fiction novel from every province and territory in Canada. These are stories set around real events and locales, but told with all the charm and creative talent of our best historical fiction authors. So far we have 7 books released, with one releasing December 1st, and the remainder in 2018. A wonderful gift that will delight those hard to buy for family members. A history of Canada told in the style of James Michener, fictional characters in real life situations in living history. Click the blog banner to learn more about this exciting new Collection
CLICK THE BOOK COVERS FOR AUTHOR INFORMATION AND TO PURCHASE
CLICK TO VISIT BRIDES BLOG |
Visit our Brides Blog Click the Label |
|||||||||||
CLICK THE BOOK COVERS FOR AUTHOR INFORMATION AND TO PURCHASE
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Rosemary Morris - Thoughts About Writing a Novel - Plot
A plot, with a conclusion which
satisfies the reader arises from interlinked actions and reactions that are a result
of the main characters’ situations.
Before I finish a book, I think
about the plot for my next novel while cooking, doing housework and gardening
etc., but not while driving the car
because it would be dangerous.
According to Ronald B. Tobias
there are only twenty plots which he explores in his book Twenty Master Plots
and How to Build Them.
Plot is the framework a novel
depends on in the same way that builders depend on scaffolding when they erect
an office block.
Some novelists plan every detail
of their plot before they write the first word. I choose a plot, approach it from
a new angle. E.g. Suppose Little Red Riding Hood murdered a charming wolf in
sheep’s clothing.
I write historical fiction, so my
plots often arise through reading non-fiction.
Before I write the first word of
a novel, I choose the principal characters’ names, which must be appropriate
for the era in which the book is set. Next, I complete a detailed character
profile for each of the main protagonists. By the time I finish it, they are as
real to me as either a member of my family or a close friend.
To plot or not to plot in detail?
After I choose one I allow my characters to surprise me. I have a rough idea of
the end of their fictional journey will be, but not of the route they take
during which there will be major and minor conflicts, crises and questions
which tempt the reader to turn the pages until the end.
I enjoy writing romantic
historical fact fiction because I enjoy charting a journey through unique eras
in which I create a story that brings past times to life. When I work on
character profiles for major and minor protagonists I ensure they are not 21st century people
dressed in costume. To bring believable fictional men and women to life, I plot
how they look in period clothes, what they think, how they speak and act. To
give authenticity to my novels, among other subjects, I study economics, etiquette,
politics, religious beliefs and social history, all of which play a part in
plotting.
When I finish the first draft of
a novel I read it to make sure the plot is clear and that there are no
inconsistencies.
* * *
Four of my novels set in the
Regency era, Heroines born on Different days of the Week, have been published,
and I am now writing Thursday’s Child.
After I wrote Sunday’s Child, I
decided to write six more novels with titles taken from A children’s poem.
“Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe, Thursday’s Child has far to go, Friday’s
Child is loving and giving, Saturday’s Child works hard for a living, And the
child that is born on the Sabbath day, is loving and blithe, good and gay.”
Anonymous.
Books by
Rosemary Morris - Plots
Regency Novels
Sunday’s
Child
Marriage of Convenience Monday’s Child Triangle (Two Beaux)
Tuesday’s Child Suspense and Romance Wednesday’s Child Poor Little Rich Girl
Early 18th Century novels
Tangled
Love Rags to Riches. Far Beyond Rubies
Quest for Justice The Captain and The
Countess
Courtship.
Mediaeval Novel
Yvonne
Lady of Cassio. The Lovages of Cassio Book One Forbidden Love
*
* *
The
plots in my romantic historical fact fiction are ones with which modern day
readers can identify with. In Wednesday’s Child, the young heroine comes to
terms with loss, comes to terms with her situation and finds happiness and peace
of mind.
Wednesday’s
Child
Extract
“Amelia, promise not to grieve
when I take my last breath. After so much pain, my old bones will welcome
death,” Mrs Bettismore whispered from her large four-poster bed. The heavy
scarlet silk curtains embroidered with gold thread shadowed her pallid face. “I
look forward to eternal peace with my Maker.”
Amelia squeezed her eyes shut to
prevent tears spilling down her cheeks. She could no more accept her
grandmother’s words than she could accept Doctor Cray’s prognosis. “Grandmamma,
please don’t say that. We will consult another doctor who will cure you.”
“My dear child, please accept
that I am dying,” Mrs Bettismore said speaking with increasing difficulty.
“It’s time for us to be honest. I admit that I’ve failed you.”
“Never! Even when you chastised
me, it was for my own good.” From her chair Amelia reached out to clasp her
grandmother’s thin hand.
“I apologise for being too
strict.” A few tears trickled down her cheeks. “But please believe I’ve loved
you since the day you were born, even when I applied the cane if I considered
it necessary.”
“Grandmamma, I love you too.
Please don’t trouble yourself. There is no need to say more.”
Her grandmother ignored her
interruption. “I overindulged you. I should have insisted you marry a
gentleman, who would protect you.” Her face a contorted mask of pain, Mrs
Bettismore closed her eyes.
“I wish I could do something to
ease your suffering.”
The faded blue eyes opened. “So
much to explain. So little time left to me. Pay attention, child. You’ll
inherit the cotton factory in Lancashire my first husband, Mr Belcher, God rest
his soul, bequeathed to me,” she rambled with pauses between each phrase. “Sell
it,” she murmured. “Better for you to be a landowner. You’re only accepted by
the ton due to my wealth and your paternal grandfather’s rank.”
Even on her death bed Grandmamma
concentrated on her property and ambition. “No need to speak of these matters
now. You need nourishment. Shall I send for your gruel?”
Mrs Bettismore tried to raise her
hand. “No, stop trying to fatten me up like a Christmas goose and listen. After
I die don’t allow any of my husbands’ relatives or your future father-in-law to
hang onto your coat sleeves.”
Amelia thought of Sir
Bartholomew, her maternal grandfather, who bequeathed all his considerable
property to Grandmamma, which Amelia did not want to inherit if it meant death.
Tears down rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away.
“Amelia.” Her grandmother
struggled to breathe, her pale, sunken cheeks suddenly poppy-red but she
managed to whisper. “I loved Mr Bettismore, not my other husbands.”
“Yes, I know. Please be quiet. I
don’t want you to exhaust yourself.” She poured a glass of wine then held it to
her grandmother’s dry lips. “Sip this.”
With an unexpected burst of
strength, Mrs Bettismore pushed the glass aside. The ruby red wine pooled on
the gold silk counterpane.
“I’ll send for a maid to change
the bed covers.”
“No, don’t fuss, child,” her
grandmother said with sudden energy. “There’s more important things than spilt
wine. I’ve safeguarded you in my will, and given instructions to my secretary.
He’s an honest man. You may trust him.” Her head lolled on the pile of
lace-trimmed linen pillows. “There’s something very important I should have
told you-” She broke off. Her breath rattled in her throat.
“Grandmamma, what do you want to
tell me?” Amelia trembled. She stared into the half-open eyes shining with
love. At first, she did not realise they were sightless.
When she understood her
grandmother had left her body, she covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
* * *
I like the way Mrs
Bettisnore’s strong personality weaved throughout the novel, providing conflict.
Like Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, even dead, she’s a great character.
Katherine Pym, Author of Erasmus T. Muddiman: A tale
of Publick Disorder; Pillars of Avalon (with Jude Pitman) Canadian Brides Book
5, and other historical novels.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
Deadly Undertaking Click here to purchase ‘Tis the season of the year when the transformation occurs from the darkness of winter to th...
-
Goodbye winter. Hello spring. Another round of setting clocks ahead is behind us as well as all the rant on social media about why we co...
-
I tied my manuscript up in an electronic bow and sent the final version off to BWL Publishing. Let me tell you, there were days during...
-
Click here for purchase options for this award-winning series. https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/ In last month's blog, I told ...
-
The cover of the Ontario offering for the Canadian Historical Mysteries Collection from BWL Publishing to be released November 2024 To fin...
-
AVAILABLE HERE I have a cousin in Australia who loves to travel. She and her husband are currently in Vietnam, and the photographs she share...
-
Sometimes I wonder how much one person’s voice can actually help when “fighting the good fight” against what seems like ...
-
Happy Belated Birthday, Dear Wolfgang! 261 years young & still delighting audiences... http://www.bookswelove.net/autho...
-
Please click this link for book and author information While researching 1918 fashion for my hist...
-
https://bookswelove.net/stover-karla/ BY THE SAME AUTHOR: Available through BWL Publishing Parlor Girls Wynter's Way Murder, When...