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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...
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#HistFicThursdays - Introducing this 2026's #HistFicMay Prompts

 It's back for another year...

Welcome to this year's #HistFicMay!

I know a number of writers like to have these prompt in advance so that you can line up a few answers, so it seemed like a good time to share them. Of course, the aim of #HistFicMay is to celebrate both the fantastic network of historical fiction writers and their books, so even if you don't use the prompts, hopefully you can use the hashtag on your social media to discover fabulous authors and writings.

And here they are:

  1. Introduce yourself and your writing
  2. Who inspired you to become a writer?
  3. Standalone or series?
  4. Do you always/ever write happy ever afters?
  5. One time period or dual (or more!) timeline?
  6. What is your favourite era to write about?
  7. What is your favourite era to read about?

    Let's talk about research...
  8. What has been your greatest research discovery?
  9. Which source do you always go back to?
  10. What's your strangest rabbit hole?
  11. Has research ever driven you mad?
  12. If you could time travel, when would you go to?

    Now for your main character...
  13. Introduce your MC.
  14. What is their drive and goal?
  15. What's their favourite colour?
  16. Who plays your MC in the movie?
  17. What do other characters think of your MC?
  18. Is you MC based on anyone?
  19. What superpower does your MC wish they had?

    Share your words...
  20. What's your opening line?
  21. Best description.
  22. Favourite quote.
  23. Last word (END doesn't count!).

    Just for fun!
  24. Your characters come to dinner - what do you serve?
  25. What's your historical Mastermind topic?
  26. Which of your characters is your "phone a friend"?
  27. What song always makes you think about your book?
  28. To whom is your book dedicated?
  29. Who's your ideal collaborator for writing?
  30. What's the honest tagline for your book?
  31. Tell your story in emojis.
It's only the month after next and I can't wait! Make sure you download the graphic at the top of this post and spread the word! Let's make this #HistFicMay the biggest yet!

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