Aug 11, 2018
A Widgie Knight has a new cover!
A famous and powerful man abuses his power but it will take a determined woman to defend the woman she loves and teach the sexual predator a lesson he will never forget.
The Intertwined Souls In between Series are standalone novels of the award-winning Intertwined Souls Series. This novel – in the timeline of the series – sits between Where Shadows Linger (Book 2) and Hidden Truths (Book 3).
When you’re a working woman in 1950, there is more to work than doing a great job. Unwanted advances, no matter how repulsive, are common. This is where Zoe Lambros, a young Arts College graduate, has found work at the prestigious Sydney Art Gallery as a junior art restorer. She has also attracted the unwanted and offensive attention of Sebastian Fletcher, one of Australia’s greatest artists. Zoe is not one to take a backward step, but she finds herself unable to fight back without losing the job she loves. No one is going to believe the young artist’s claims against an Australian icon. Enter Zoe’s lover who has decided to take matters into her own hands and is eager to take on the role of Zoe’s defender.
A masquerade ball offers Eva Haralambos, Zoe’s dark-haired, blue eyed, six-foot tall peaceful and gentle partner, the chance to metamorphosize into a tattooed, leather clad Greaser on her own intimidatory mission.
This Intertwined Souls Series Shorts volume also features a journal entry for the night by Zoe. It’s late evening and Zoe has taken her journal to write about Eva’s efforts to defend her honor. Zoe reflects on the woman that she loves and how Eva transformed into her knight. Eva reveals who she imitated to achieve the intimidating figure she became.
Featuring Brazilian artist Lucia Nobrega’s illustrations of Eva and Zoe Lambros from the Intertwined Souls Series
Aug 9, 2018
Check out the awesome artwork created by my illustrator Dawn. It’s from my new novel “Mabel of the Anzacs”
Check out more about the novel and all sorts of goodies related to it by going to the subsite for Mabel of the Anzacs
Mabel Andrews
(C) Mary D. Brooks / DawnL
Aug 9, 2018
The book club will showcase my fiction, the history behind the novels, cool research bits and my book recommendations of books on similar themes and authors. In addition to all of that there will be cool giveaways and all sorts of other goodies. I love writing historical lesbian fiction interwoven with urban fantasy and mystery. If you enjoy reading about strong female characters, you’ve come to the right place! Come and join us!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/marydbookclub/
Aug 4, 2018
More scrumptious Greek food from my novel “Mabel of the Anzacs” This time the irresistible Loukoumades.
Loukoumades are sweet honey puffs which are deep fried to golden and crispy perfection. Greek donuts (loukoumades) are traditionally served soaked in hot honey syrup, sprinkled with cinnamon and garnished with chopped walnuts.
How do you make these yummy little puffs? Our friends over at MyGreekDish have the perfect recipe!
The perfect traditional loukoumades (Greek donuts) are crispy and golden on the outside and fluffy and airy in the inside. To achieve the perfect texture for your loukoumades give the dough time to rise and it will reward you with its distinctive air-y fluffiness. When preparing this loukoumades recipe, the key is to use the right temperature. Always dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and let the dough to rise in warm environment. If the room temperature is low, a little trick is to preheat the oven to 40-50 C, turn it off and place the dough in the warm oven. Deep fry the loukoumades in hot oil. Make sure to fry them in batches, so that the surface off the pan is comfortably filled, otherwise the loukoumades will probably stick together and the temperature of the oil will decrease. You don’t want your loukoumades to become mushy and less crunchy on the outside.
For the loukoumades
- 1 cup of lukewarm water (240g /8.5 oz.)
- 1 cup of lukewarm milk (240g/ 8.5 oz.)
- 15 g active dry yeast (0.5 oz.)
- 3 and 1/4 of a cup flour (450g /16 oz.)
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 flat tsp salt
- 4 tbsps olive oil
- oil for frying
For the garnish
- 3/4 cup honey (350g/ 13 oz.)
- cinnamon powder
- chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
- To prepare this delicious Greek honey puffs recipe, start by dissolving the yeast in the water. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 5 minutes, until it starts bubbling.
- In a separate bowl add the flour, corn starch and salt and blend to combine. Add the flour mixture in the yeast mixture and pour in the honey. Whisk all the ingredients together, until the batter is smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.
- Into a medium sized frying pan pour enough vegetable oil to deep fry the loukoumades. Heat the oil to high heat (175-180C) until it begins to bubble. Test if the oil is hot enough by dipping in some of the dough. If it sizzles the oil is ready.
- Take a handful of the dough in your palm and squeeze it out, between your thumb and index finger, onto a wet teaspoon. Then drop it in the oil and fry until golden. Repeat this procedure until the surface off the pan is comfortably filled. It is important to dip the spoon in a glass of water every time, so that the batter doesn’t stick on it.
- While being fried, use a slotted spoon to push the honey puffs into the oil and turn them around, until golden brown on all sides. Place the loukoumades on some kitchen paper to drain and repeat with the rest of the dough.
- When done, place these delicious golden Greek honey puffs on a large platter, drizzle with (heated) honey and sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Enjoy!
Find out more about my novel “Mabel of the Anzacs” by going to the Subsite for the book
Jul 24, 2018
Okay funny story time. Galaktoboureko is a name of an exquisite Greek dessert made with layers of golden brown crispy phyllo, sprinkled with melted butter, filled with the most creamy custard and bathed in scented syrup. This is one of Eva’s favourite dishes – she can’t make it to save her life but Zoe does know how to cook.
That’s not the funny part. A few weeks ago I was listening to talk back radio and the radio announcer was asking how would he pronounce the word Galaktoboureko. He came up with a way to remember it: GALACTIC BOOTY CALL – I laughed my head off!
Here’s a recipe for GALACTIC BOOTY CALL or Galaktoboureko from the upcoming novel “Mabel of the Anzacs”
INGREDIENTS:
Pastry
- 450 grams of phyllo
- 150 grams of sugar
- 6 eggs
- 150 grams of semolina
- 1 liter of milk
- the juice of half a lemon
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1 pinch of salt
Syrup
- 150 grams of sugar
- 125 ml water
- 2 spoons of lemon juice
METHOD
1. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan. Remove from heat.
2. Using an electric beater, beat eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Gradually stir in milk then add semolina in a steady stream.
3. Stir constantly, over a medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in lemon rind, vanilla and 40g butter. Stir until butter has melted. Cover surface with baking paper. Cool.
4. Preheat oven to 200°c. Lightly grease a 20cm round cake pan. Melt remaining butter in a small saucepan. Place a sheet of filo onto a flat surface. Brush with butter. Repeat 3 times. Line prepared baking pan with filo stack, leaving ends to overhang. Repeat layering with remaining 4 sheets of filo. Place second filo stack into cake pan, across the first layer. Spoon cold custard into filo shell. Fold overhanging filo over custard. Brush with butter.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Turn onto lined tray and remove cake pan. Bake for a further 15 minutes until golden. Cool. Serve drizzled with lemon syrup and thick yoghurt or cream.
6. To make syrup, place sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1/3 cup lemon juice and lemon rind in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 mins. Cut into wedges to serve.
Tip: as a delicious alternative, the lemon can be replaced with orange.
note: vanilla extract is different to vanilla essence
You can pre-order my book “Mabel of the Anzacs” from the following stores
- Amazon
- iBooks
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
