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A Happy Halloween Gothtail (cocktail!)

You may remember our delicious Scottish-themed cocktail: Caledon , which we shared on Christmas Eve in 2024. This remains one of our most popular blog posts, so we thought we would share another one for you on this All Hallow's Eve! With that in mind, I am pleased to introduce you to: The Raighvan Park , inspired by Judith Crow's novella, The Folly at Raighvan Park, which you can find here . Here are your step by step instructions for creating this gothic beverage (have we just invented the gothtail ?!) It's deliciously dark, as you might expect, with a hint of the upper-class style of the novella. You will need: 1. Port  2. Patron Xo Cafe (you could use any other coffee liqueur) 3. Soda water with lime 4. Ginger ale 5. Pepsi Max 6. Liquorice Time to put them all together... 1. Pour one shot of coffee liqueur into a large wine glass. 2. Add one shot of port. Remember, a gothic gentleman loves his port! 3. Now onto the non-alcoholic additions... include two shots of soda wat...

#HistFicThursdays - History Writers' Day - The Legacy Lives On


Last weekend, historical writers around the globe came together for an online book fair. I've been a part of other virtual book fairs since Covid arrived on the scene, but this was the first genre-specific one I've done.

#HistoryWritersDay was the brainchild of Simon (@Books2Cover). Despite its hashtag, the event was actually two days and, over those two days, I fell even deeper in love with the fantastic world of historical fiction and non-fiction writers. Writers and publishers were offering discounts, signed copies and giveaways, welcoming and including stalwarts as well as newbies to the many realms of history.

As well as fabulous new friends, the weekend also provided a few sales along the way - most people buying The Year We Lived which continues to be a mystery as well as an adventure for readers! And I'm looking forward to hearing the feedback and reviews from these sales, and making connections there too.

The benefit of being a part of the Historical Fiction community of writers is just phenomenal. There is genuine support available as well as just enough niches to make every book beautifully individual. 

Planning ahead, Simon has already announced the 2022 event on 26th-27th November 2022. It's already on my computer calendar. Hopefully, after reading this, it should be on yours too!

Just one more thing! As part of the event, I ran a giveaway for any of my historical fiction books. I'm thrilled to announce the winner was Annie Whitehead! Congratulations, Annie, and I hope you enjoy your book!

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