Category Archives: family

Beautiful new covers for the Drumbeats Trilogy – but are they ‘history’?

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My genre for the past few years has been (and still is, really!) decidedly historical fiction, mainly early medieval time-slip, Anglo-Saxon in particular. But my earlier novels were more modern (twentieth century). I’m told that ‘history’ is prior to 50 years ago, so I guess they too are within the historical novel genre. Drumbeats opens in 1965.

My news is that the Drumbeats Trilogy has just been re-published and re-released with a new publisher and with lovely new covers and some minor revisions. I hope you like the new covers; I think they’re more eye-catching than the previous ones from my last publisher. The trilogy starts in the mid-1960s with Drumbeats when 18 year old Jess goes off to Ghana, West Africa, on her gap year, to teach and nurse in the bush villages. It’s a year of joy and tragedy, loss and discovery. The series continues with Walking in the Rain through Jess’s life of uneasy compromises in the 1970s to 80s, to Finding Jess in the early 1990s and finally sees her return to Ghana and her second chances of happiness. The trilogy is a feel-good exploration of one woman’s rise above adversity and the triumph of hope and love.

I’m on book tours with the new editions through the autumn – do look out for the flash discounts to celebrate the new covers and the tours!

I seem to be on a mission to revamp my remaining books too, having moved to a new publisher, so The Old Rectory and my children’s book S.C.A.R.S will also be flaunting new covers and new editions soon. The Old Rectory is the story of rescuing an old early Victorian house and the exploration of the historical food and drink that would have been prepared in its kitchen, while S.C.A.R.S is a fantasy time-slip tale based on medieval literature.

And currently, I’m also working on a new series of Anglo-Saxon time-slip/dual time novels set in Mercia, with a new protagonist, a specialist in interpreting runes, who joins up with an archaeologist to solve strange mysteries of the past.

So I guess that all my books are historical fiction at heart! Discover them at https://Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

An author’s life (part 4) : country baking through the seasons – oh, and writing of course!

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Photo by Marta Dzedyshko on Pexels.com

If you’ve been following my seasonal series on using my lunch break from my laptop to bake something delicious and comforting, you’ll know that my summer bake is often my Chocolate Fudge Cake, so easy to make and so moreish the cake won’t last long! I don’t know why I feel that summer deserves chocolate (melting properties!), except that any season is the season for chocolate, isn’t it?

Chocolate Fudge Cake

So delicious and scrumptious with coffee or with tea. It’s rich, moist, and fudge-y with a gorgeous chocolate ganache. You can even have it as a pudding with fresh cream poured over a slice.

You’ll need:

200 g. (8 oz.) butter, cubed

200 g. (8 oz.) light muscovado sugar

125 g. (4.5 oz.) self-raising flour

125 g. (4.5 oz.) plain flour

3 large eggs

200 g. (8 oz.) good-quality dark chocolate, chopped (min 70% cocoa solids)

25 g. (1 oz.) cocoa powder

100ml (3.5 fl. oz.) water

75ml (3 fl. oz.) crème fraiche

For the buttercream filling:

50 g. (2 oz.) good quality dark chocolate

100 g. (4 oz.) butter, softened

200 g. (8 oz.) icing sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

A little milk

For the chocolate ganache:

150 ml. (5 fl. oz.) double cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. butter

150 g. (6 oz.) dark chocolate

Chocolate shavings to decorate if desired

Preheat the oven to 170ºC, 335ºF/gas mark 3. Grease and line with baking parchment/greaseproof paper, two 20-m. (8-in.) deep sandwich tins. Melt chocolate, butter, and water in a pan over low heat until smooth. Set aside to cool. Sift flours and cocoa powder into a bowl and stir in the sugars. Beat the eggs and crème fraiche together until smooth, then beat in the chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour mixture. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and gently level the tops. Bake in the oven for about 35–-40 minutes. Cool and then turn out onto a cooling rack.

To make the buttercream: Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Meanwhile, beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Add the chocolate and fold until smooth. Add a little milk if the icing is too thick. Spread onto one cake and sandwich both together.

To make the ganache: gently heat the cream, vanilla butter and chocolate in a pan. Remove from the heat and beat until smooth. Smooth the ganache on the top of the cake. Circle the top with a fork, or pipe swirls of frosting along the edge and decorate with chocolate shavings.

This recipe and more can be found in my book: The Old Rectory: Escape to a Country Kitchen at http://myBook.to/TheOldRectory

An author’s life (part 2) : country baking through the seasons – oh, and writing of course!

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It’s Winter!

OK, so it’s not actually deep in snow here, but you get the drift – um, pun unintended! Coming up to Christmas, and chilly days of British rain and wind, we really need some comfort treats. There’s something about ginger in the autumn and winter that is lovely and cosy, for example personally I love rhubarb and ginger gin – but that’s another story!

If you’ve been following my seasonal series on using my lunch break from my laptop to bake something delicious and comforting, you’ll know that my winter bake is often my Chewy Ginger Flapjacks, so easy to make (one bowl) and so moreish …

Chewy Ginger Flapjacks

makes about 12-16 depending on the size you want

Chewy, gooey, filling, scrumptious. What more can I say? One of my easiest and favourite teatime/coffee break treats.

You’ll need:

100 g. (4 oz.) butter

100 g. (4 oz.) caster sugar

100 g. (4 oz.) self raising flour

112 g. (4.5 oz.) oats

0.5 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp. ground ginger

Pinch salt

2 tbsp. golden syrup, gently warmed

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, 350ºF/gas mark 4. Grease a deepish oblong baking tray – a brownie tin is ideal. Mix the butter, sugar, and all the other dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix in the gently warmed syrup. Then spread in the baking tin and bake for about 20–30 minutes, until golden brown. Be careful the edges don’t burn. Cool a little and cut into squares or slices. Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!

If you leave these unattended on the cooling rack in the kitchen, there may not be any left for you … so hide them. They’re also good for you, with lovely healthy oats.

What’s your favourite winter baking treat?

For more of my family recipes (and some from historical archives too), go to: The Old Rectory: Escape to a Country Kitchen at http://myBook.to/TheOldRectory

An author’s life (part 1): country baking through the seasons – oh, and writing of course!

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It’s Autumn!

Photo by Mathias P.R. Reding on Pexels.com

Autumn mist sweeps ghostly through the trees. Leaves are dropping in carpets of gold and russet – I think we’ve got them all in our garden, surrounded as we are by woodland! I’ve said before that I like to do a little baking as relaxation and comfort while I’m working on a novel. It gives me thinking time while I enjoy the gentleness of mixing and rolling, whisking and decorating.

My country kitchen baking tends to be seasonal. I like to use the ingredients that are fresh that month or that strike me as a reflection of the ‘feel’ of the season. In autumn it’s a nourishing hot cauliflower and stilton soup, in winter maybe it’s chewy ginger flapjacks, in Spring it might be almond macaroons, in summer chocolate fudge cake. I thought you might like some recipes (from my book The Old Rectory: escape to a country kitchen), so here goes with the first and I’ll add the rest in the due season!

As it’s autumn, here’s my cauliflower and stilton soup – a lovely heady rich taste with the deepness of the stilton. Come home from a chilly walk to this nourishing soup. You can make it ahead and freeze; it keeps well. Of course, if you’ve got an electric soup-maker, it’s even easier!

Cauliflower and Stilton Soup

serves 4

You’ll need:

1 small cauliflower, broken into florets, or leftover cooked cauliflower florets, even leftover cooked cauliflower cheese

Vegetable stock, if desired

1 small onion, chopped finely

100 g. (4 oz.) Stilton cheese, plus a little extra for crumbling on top

450 ml. (0.75UK pint) milk

50 g. (2 oz.) butter

50 g. (2 oz.) flour

Boil the cauliflower florets in a pan of water or vegetable stock until very soft, and lightly sauté the onion in a frying pan until transparent. Drain the cauliflower, reserving the water/stock. Crumble in the Stilton and purée all together in a blender with a little of the stock from the cauliflower pan. Make béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a pan, then adding the flour slowly, mixing thoroughly, then adding the milk slowly until smooth. Add the puréed cauliflower mixture, stirring as you blend, and slowly add the stock. Alternatively, add the sauce to the blender if it is large enough and whiz briefly to blend. Add more milk if you want to adjust the thickness of the soup.

Crumble a little Stilton on top of each serving bowl. You can also drizzle a little fresh cream on the top. You can adjust the amount of cauliflower and Stilton to taste; it’s a matter of trial and error. Enjoy!

The Old Rectory: Escape to a Country Kitchen at http://myBook.to/TheOldRectory

Book Tours and a plot ‘spoilers’ challenge

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The brand new Drumbeats Trilogy Omnibus edition is just out in ebook from my publisher Endeavour, and it’s available on Amazon right now – all three novels together in one place for only £5.99. The trilogy overall is a saga about love, betrayal and second chances – and one woman’s search for the strength to rise above adversity.

http://mybook.to/DrumbeatsOmnibus

It’s the story of Jess and we first meet her in Drumbeats as an 18 year old in 1965 on a gap year in Ghana (West Africa) where she’s teaching and nursing in the bush. She goes with a naive mission to make a difference in the world, but faces tragedy, civil war, and a new romance – with the echoes of the village drumbeats warning her of something … but what?

The next, Walking in the Rain, follows Jess back to England, and marriage, motherhood, and disaster … and the drumbeats continue to pervade her dreams.

The final book, Finding Jess, published singly just last August, sees Jess coping with betrayals, family problems and desperately trying to juggle a job at the same time … and finally returning to Ghana to try to ‘find herself’ again as an individual. Will she succeed? And what are the drumbeats trying to tell her throughout it all?

Some of the wonderful reviews I’ve already received: “scenes of raw emotion”, “an emotional roller-coaster”, “a heart-warming read, wonderfully written, compelling, warm and uplifting”, “feel the searing heat of Ghana burning right off the pages”, “a powerful story”, “so evocative, it transported me to a different time, different place; I couldn’t put it down”.

There’s a major launch of the omnibus edition and a book blog tour with Rachel’s Random Resources from January 26 to February 8. The tour’s full and all ‘sold out’ for 42 stops. So, I’m busy preparing content for the tour: guest posts, Q&As, selecting extracts …

How do you select extracts from all three books without giving away ‘spoilers’ for the plots? Goodness, it’s difficult! I’ve worked on several attempts. One host wants an extract from just one of the books, OK, but I have to select very carefully as it’s the second book in the series. Two of the hosts want extracts from all three and a few words about the context of each one. Fair enough, but what a challenge. All three hosts need a selection of different extracts, because I guess many blog readers will be following the whole tour and obviously don’t want to be reading the same stuff over and over! I wouldn’t! Should I take a different ‘theme’ for each, maybe? But even so, how do I do it, especially the context statements, without giving away too much of what happens to Jess through three whole novels and 30 years?! Well, I’ve given you enough above! Yikes.

Any advice, gratefully received! In the meantime, I’ll be ensconced in my study for the duration.

Get those brain cells working overtime, Julia. I WILL get there … eventually! In the meantime, I’ll pop up the official book tour banner from my tour organiser shortly. Six guest posts and Q&As drafted … nearly there …

Finding Jess – what do I do all day and what do I hate about writing?

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http://mybook.to/FindingJess

Wonderful interview with Anne Williams today on her lovely blog, Being Anne. It’s mainly about my newest book, Finding Jess, the last of my Drumbeats trilogy, out now. But it also mentions my other books too, and there are buy-links if you fancy trying one. Finding Jess is a stand-alone, in that I try to provide the context, so you don’t have to read all three. However, it is better, really, if you follow Jess through her traumas from the first of the series, Drumbeats and then on to the follow-up, Walking in the Rain, before Finding Jess.

http://Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Anne’s blog is great – I love it. She does lots of research into her interviewees beforehand and her questions are so interesting, and tailor-made to the subject. Apart from asking me about my writing day and routines, she wanted to know what I liked and hated about being an author. Read it and find out!

https://beinganne.com/2018/09/interview-julia-ibbotson-author-of-the-drumbeats-trilogy-findingjess-juliaibbotson/

If you’ve forgotten the three books in the trilogy: let’s start with Drumbeats …

 

It’s 1965 and 18 year old Jess escapes her stifling English background for a gap year in Ghana, West Africa. But it’s a time of political turbulence across the region. Fighting to keep her young love who waits back in England, she’s thrown into the physical dangers of civil war, tragedy, and the emotional conflict of a disturbing new relationship. And why do the drumbeats haunt her dreams?

This is a rite of passage story which takes the reader hand in hand with Jess on her journey towards growing into the adult world.

 

Walking in the Rain

Jess happily marries the love of her life She wants to feel safe, secure and loved. But gradually it becomes clear that her beloved husband is not the man she thought him to be. She survived civil war and injury in Africa, but can she now survive the biggest challenge of her life?

A captivating story about a woman’s resilience, courage and second chances.

 

Finding Jess

It’s 1990 and single mother, Jess, has struggled to get her life back on track after the betrayal of her beloved husband and of her best friend. On the brink of losing everything, including her family, and still haunted by her past and the Ghanaian drumbeats that pervade her life, she feels that she can no longer trust anyone.

Then she is mysteriously sent a newspaper clipping of a temporary job back in Ghana. Could this be her lifeline? Can Jess turn back time and find herself again? And what, exactly, will she find?

Finding Jess is a passionate study of love and betrayal – and of one woman’s bid to reclaim her self-belief and trust after suffering great misfortune. It is a feel-good story of a woman’s strength and spirit rising above adversity.

Afternoon Tea Week!

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It’s Afternoon Tea Week this week and I’m sharing a couple of recipes from my book The Old Rectory: escape to a country kitchen, soon to be re-released by Endeavour Press (a week on Friday, 25th August). Wait for 25th as it’ll be available on Amazon and cheaper, in ebook and paperback!

The book has received many 5* reviews including “enchantingly told”, ” delightful”, ” a most engaging read”.

Cream Tea Scones

makes 10–12

A staple of the traditional English cream tea.

You’ll need:

50 g. (2 oz.) butter

25 g. (1 oz.) caster sugar

5tbsp milk

1 egg

225 g. (9 oz.) self raising flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Pinch salt

A little beaten egg or milk to glaze

Strawberry jam and double whipped cream (or Cornish clotted cream) to sandwich the scones, and a little icing sugar to dust the tops.

 Preheat the oven to 220ºC, 425ºF/gas mark 7. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and roll out to about 1 cm. (0.5 in.) thickness. Cut into rounds with a 5-cm. (2-in.) cutter and place the scones on a greased baking sheet. Brush lightly with milk or a lightly beaten egg. Bake in the oven for about 12–15 minutes. Cool on a wire cooling tray. Split each scone and spread with a layer of good fruity strawberry jam, topped with a dollop of whipped double cream, then place the other half on the top and dust with sieved icing sugar.

 

Lemon Iced Buns

makes 8

 You’ll need:

250 g. (9 oz.) strong white flour, sifted

250 g. (9 oz.) plain flour, sifted

7 g. (0.25 oz.) fast-action dried yeast

2 tsp. fine sea salt

50 g. (2 oz.) caster sugar

125 ml. (4 fl. oz.) warmed milk

125 g. (4 fl. oz.) warmed water

1 egg, beaten

50 g. (2 oz.) butter, cut into cubes

Zest of 1 lemon

Vegetable oil for greasing

For the icing:

50 g. (2 oz.) icing sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

 Preheat the oven to 220ºC, 425ºF/gas mark 7. Sift the flours and salt into a bowl. Add the water, milk, yeast, sugar, and lemon zest and mix with a fork until combined. Add the beaten egg and butter and continue to mix until the mixture is a sticky dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretches like elastic. Lightly oil a bowl with some of the vegetable oil. Turn the dough into the bowl and carefully turn until it is entirely coated with oil. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour. The dough should have doubled in size. Lightly grease two baking trays. Knock the dough back to its original size and then turn onto a floured board again. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape into fingers or rounds. Place on the greased baking sheets, ensuring plenty of space. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 30 minutes. Bake in the oven for about 20–25 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Remove the buns from the oven and leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.

The icing for the top: Made by simply combining the icing sugar and fresh lemon juice until smooth. When the buns are cool, spread icing over each bun and set aside until hardened. You can decorate with a little lemon zest for that extra oomph.

Sweet and sticky, with a little zestiness from the lemon, these buns are a favourite for afternoon tea.

http://Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Cover reveal! Pauline Barclay’s The Wendy House

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I’m so thrilled to be one of the first to reveal the cover of the new wonderful novel by the lovely author, Pauline Barclay, ready for publication date of SATURDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER. Pauline writes emotional, passionate and moving stories. And here it is:

TWH-Amazon-eBook

This is what Pauline says about her great new book:

“The Wendy House has its cover revealed today! And, like all my book covers, it has been designed by Cathy Helms at Avalon Graphics and it is perfect.

The Blurb

When Nicola changes overnight from a bright, happy young child into a sullen, rebellious girl, ceasing to show interest in anything or anyone around her, her parents struggle to understand why. As she develops into a difficult, troubled, hostile teenager they put it down to hormones, believing it will pass. Yet Nicola goes from bad to worse and no matter how much her mother tries to reach out to her, it seems she is hell bent on self-destruction. When she leaves home at seventeen, rushing into the arms of a man ten years her senior and quickly becoming pregnant, her despairing mother almost gives up on her. A decade later, the events that stole Nicola’s childhood and changed the course of her life threaten finally to destroy her. She knows if she is to cling on to her sanity she must tell her mother the dreadful secret she has carried all these years, but her fear that she will be met with disbelief, hostility and branded an evil liar drives her to the edge.”

The Wendy House is a heart-rending story of betrayal, secrets and gripping fear.

Publication Date: Saturday 3rd September

Genre: Women’s Fiction / Family-Noir

Pauline Barclay is a fabulous writer, so check this out – you’ll be in for an absorbing read! You can find Pauline’s blog at

http://paulinembarclay.blogspot.com.es/p/news-letter.html

The Wendy House is available in Kindle for pre-order on all Amazon sites including

Amazon co uk

Amazon com

 A little about Pauline

I am from Yorkshire, but have lived in several different locations including, Suffolk, Surrey and Holland.  Today, I live on one of the beautiful volcanic islands of the Canary Isles with my husband and our two gorgeous rescue doggies.

Years ago I gained a BA (Hons) degree from the Open University, today I spend my time writing fiction. I have five books published, plus a 20 minute short festive story.

My passion is to write about events that happen in life and change everything for those involved as well as those caught up in the maelstrom. I want my characters to sit at your side, steal your attention and sweep you up in their story. Stories that will bring tears to your eyes, have you laughing out loud and sometimes, what they share with you, will stay  in your hearts for a very long time.

www.paulinebarclay.co.uk

http://paulinembarclay.blogspot.com

Facebook

Twitter: @paulinembarclay

Instagram: @paulinebarclay

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madeira: sunshine, relaxation and 29 hours at one of the world’s most dangerous airports

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The beautiful island of Madeira- we love it. It’s given us 18 years’ enjoyment of the chilled out holidays in the sun we all dream about. We swim before breakfast, then over a relaxed meal on our decking overlooking the deep azure blue ocean, we decide what we feel like doing that day: will it be sailing round the coast or to the Desertas Islands, taking the ferry over to the wide hot sands of Porto Santo, walking the levadas, golfing (my husband) or reading (me) … or maybe absolutely nothing but lying in the sun getting a smooth tan, and listening to Il Divo and Adele on the CD player/laptop iTunes?

The biggest decision we have to make is which restaurant we’ll choose for dinner: our favourite The Old Fort in Funchal, or the gorgeous O Classico, or musical Goya? Or maybe our annual retro meal at Casa Velha: steak diane and crepes suzette? Or perhaps we’ll just chill out on the balcony with a freshly caught espada, parcel-baked in our oven, jacket potatoes and salad? Listening to the haunting cries of the seagulls and watching the little bright-coloured fishing boats sail out.

Wherever else we go during the year for a more active holiday, we love to return to this ‘garden isle of the Atlantic’ with its beautiful scenery, flowers and interesting history. A novel set in Madeira is swirling round my head!

Each time we like to discover new things: last year I was exploring the old town of Funchal and photographing the lovely door paintings. This year we visited the new CR7 museum (Cristiano Ronaldo) and hotel, and we took the children to the waterpark for the first time.

And finally, another first – and this one, not so good. For the first time in 18 years we were subject to a delay at the airport. It happens in Madeira; it is, after all, one of the most difficult airport landings in the world, if the winds are high and especially if there are cross-winds that drive across the runway. We arrived at the airport to find that there were, oddly, no planes out there. After we had checked in the hold luggage we found out that no planes were landing in the winds. We could see the flares of forest wildfires above Funchal. We sat in the lounge watching the planes attempting to land but wooshing off into the distance. Our plane was supposed to be taking off at 5.25pm but there was no plane to take us off the island. In fact there were no planes. Full stop.

Eventually we heard (from the internet trackers) that our plane had been diverted to Tenerife. By midnight we were told to go to collect our hold baggage again (we’d have to go through the whole process again the next day) The comfortable premier lounge (which we always book because of my spinal injury) was closed for the night. No hotel was being organised for the passengers by Jet2. Yes, folks, we spent 29 hours on the hard airport seats – with all food/drink outlets closed. The temperature that day had been 34 degrees in the shade. We eventually were given a small bottle of water around 5.00am and a voucher for food around 9.00am – I had to queue for 1.5 hours to buy a sandwich and a coffee for us.

Our flight was rescheduled for 3.00pm the next day and then was delayed again until 7.30pm, with doubts as to whether we would, in fact, be taking off at all that day. Another night in excruciating spinal pain on hard seats was simply not on. We decided to claim our baggage back again and find a hotel ourselves. We were by then in contact with a friend and knew we had a room at a lovely hotel set aside for us. But at about 7.15 we saw on the departures board a call to the gate and that our flight was boarding. We pretty much ran!

We touched down in the UK nearly midnight and arrived home around 1.30am – exhausted. So, after such a wonderful sojourn in Madeira again, thank you (said with irony) Jet2 for our first – and hopefully last – experience of your passenger care policy …

 

 

 

 

Invitation! Authors love Reviews.

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Photofunia hearts

INVITATION! A SHOUT OUT FOR REVIEWS!
I’d like to invite folks to write a brief review of any of my books they fancy. Authors are always really grateful if readers do this, and often copy/paste them onto their facebook posts! I’ve now written four books: The Old Rectory: Escape to a Country Kitchen ( a memoir about renovating a Victorian rectory in the heart of the English countryside – with yummy and historical recipes!); Drumbeats and Walking in the Rain (the first two of t…he Drumbeats trilogy) following Jess from 1960s Ghana to millennium England; and S.C.A.R.S a children’s book (9-14) about a troubled boy who slips into a fantasy medieval world. My new book, A Shape on the Air, is an adult historical time-slip into the Dark Ages. It’s magical and mystical and there’s a mystery to solve and a home to save.
I’ve now captured my direction as a writer. With a love of history and specialising in medieval language and literature, I am now focusing on historical time-slip (both adult romance and children’s adventure). My work will be focused on the medieval period, both the early Dark Ages and the Anglo-Saxon period.
I do hope you will like my books and if you do, it would warm my heart if you could post a review! Many thanks. Just click on the link below and on one of my books to write a brief review!
 http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B0095XG11U