A Victorian Meal from Sherlock’s Scandal by Suz deMello #MFRWAuthor #Sherlock

Suz deMello stops by to share a Victorian meal from her erotic fan-fic romance, Sherlock’s Scandal, published by Ellora’s Cave.

Sherlock's Scandal coverIn Sherlock’s Scandal, Sherlock and Irene dine on roulades of salmon on braised greens, followed by a syllabub, and drank Champagne. Did I imagine a realistic meal?

The Champagne, certainly. Wine has been made in the Champagne region of France since the country was known as Gaul—i.e., since the Roman era. However, the development of the bubbly drink we now prize came rather later. The monk Dom Perignon, whose name still adorns bottles of the finest Champagne, lived from 1638-1715. But according to Wikipedia, his main focus was ridding the wine of the bubbles, which are the natural result of the fermentation process. The drink we know today was developed in the nineteenth century by the house of Veuve Cliquot, which was joined by Krug (1843), Pommery (1858) and Bollinger (1829).

The fish, also. The Billingsgate market alone sold 136,000 tons of fish annually ) including salmon. The salmon would likely have come from “the firths and bays of Scotland,” that country having been long famed for its fine salmon. The greens upon which the roulades were served may have come from Covent Garden, “the great vegetable market of the metropolis.”

The dessert, syllabub, had been known in England at least from the sixteenth century. It’s a pudding of various consistencies—I’ve seen it thick enough to eat with a spoon, or a thinner concoction poured over fruit or cake.

If they had enough money, the average Londoner ate well even though food inspections were intermittent. However, some of the grub they fancied are somewhat foreign to our palates.

Bloaters by Van GoghA few examples: Bloaters, a street food, was a cold, smoked herring that was eaten whole, gills and eyes included. (Pictured above as painted by Van Gogh.) Calves’ foot jelly—a dish my British mother made until we all rose up in protest—was also popular. Some of the tastier dishes available on the street include meat pies—pasties, which you might want to wash down with ginger beer, a perennial favorite that’s still available.

Here’s a little about Sherlock’s Scandal:

A bored Sherlock is a dangerous Sherlock. His twin vices of cocaine and sex could prove his undoing, until he meets his match in elusive, enigmatic Irene Adler. Hiding her heart, Irene deserts Sherlock in the midst of their affair. He schemes to win her back, but the lady won’t come easily to hand. Instead, she forces him to compete for honor, glory and love.

Find it here: Ellora’s Cave: http://www.ellorascave.com/sherlock-s-scandal.html
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00M85BER8

Suz deMello About the author:

Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s held the positions of managing editor and senior editor, working for such firms Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press. She also takes private clients.

Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.

A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.

find Suzie’s books at Ellora’s Cave and Amazon: Suz deMello,Sue Swift.

Thanks for the interesting post, Suz, though I think I’ll pass on the bloaters and calves’ foot jelly. Salmon and champagne sounds so much better, LOL.

Who’s your favorite screen or TV Sherlock? Robert Downey, Jr. or Jonnie Lee Miller? Leave a comment or question for Suz to be entered in my August monthly drawing for a $15 Starbucks gift card.

Linda aka Lyndi

Dream Student by J.J. DiBenedetto #RockingSummerRomance

SummerFour Fun Facts about “Dream Student”
One – the first draft of the book (before it was even called “Dream Student”) was written way back in 1997. It sat on my computer, untouched, for years, before I came back to it in 2012 and rewrote it from the first page.

Two – the main character, Sara Barnes, also ended up being a character in a near-future role-playing game (the first draft of the novel became her “backstory”). In the game, rather than simply having the ability to step into other people’s dreams, she ended up being a Changeling – the daughter of Fae parents, sent to Earth to be raised by unknowing human parents to avoid a curse.

Three – the college setting of Crewe University is a (very) thinly veiled version of my actual alma mater, Case Western Reserve University. And several of the “background extras” in Sara’s dorm are drawn from people I knew, with the names changed to protect the innocent.

Four – There are extensively detailed notes about the book that never made it into the final version of the story. I know who lived in every room on Sara’s floor, every class she took for all four years of college, her family tree going back six generations, and more…

Dream Student coverAbout the Dream Series

What if you could see everyone else’s dreams? That’s the question Sara has to wrestle with in the Dream Series. We first meet her as a shy, bookish college student who doesn’t think there’s anything extraordinary about herself. And then the dreams start…

Over the course of the series, Sara learns to live with these supernatural dreams and all the trouble they plunge her into. At the same time, she grows from a student to a practicing doctor; and from a single girl to a wife and mother. But every time she thinks she’s got everything figured out, life – and her extraordinary dreams – teach her that she’s always got more to learn…

Blurb for Dream Student (book 1 in the Dream Series)

What if you could see everyone else’s dreams?

College junior Sara Barnes thought her life was under control. Her biggest worries were her upcoming final exams, applying to medical school, Christmas shopping and what to do about the cute freshman in the next dorm who’s got a crush on her. Until the dreams started…

Now she’s learning more than she ever wanted to know about everyone around her. Watching the hidden fantasies and seeing the deepest secrets of her friends and classmates is bad enough. But much worse are the recurring dreams of a strange, terrifying man… dreams that could cost Sara her sanity… or get her killed.

Dream Student is the first book of the Dream Series.

Amazon Buy links:
Kindle: http://getBook.at/DreamStudent

Audio: http://getBook.at/DreamStudentAudio

Also available at All Romance eBooks, Barnes & Noble (Nook & paperback), iBooks/ITunes (audio), Kobo and Google Play.

Bio:
J.J. (James) DiBenedetto’s fans would swear he’s got a sixth sense when it comes to seeing into the minds of others and often wonder if his stories could possibly be fiction. He enjoys suspending disbelief with suspenseful paranormal tales that are a perfect blend of reality meets fantasy.

His popular Dream Series continues to delight readers with each and every exciting installment.

Born in Yonkers, New York, he currently resides in Arlington Virginia with his beautiful wife and a cat he is sure has taken full advantage of its nine lives. When it comes to the cat, he often wonders, but then again it might just be his imagination.

Connect with him online at:

Website: http://www.writingdreams.net
Amazon Author Page: http://viewAuthor.at/JJDiBenedetto
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dream-Series/107699179403603
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jjdibenedetto

My thanks to James for visiting us today.

Do your dreams tell you anything? If they’re like mine, they are mostly a jumbled mess. Weigh in with questions or comments below to be entered in my August monthly drawing for a $15 Starbucks gift card.

Linda / Lyndi