Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. And this is the month where the supernatural is more on my mind. As a teenager, I was a practising witch, and I still have a fondness for Wiccan holidays and creatures of folklore, especially those in British mythology. While Halloween isn't quite the same here in the UK as the US (I take All Hallow's Eve a little more seriously than some), it's one of our biggest holidays after Christmas and Easter. Plus the fact that autumn is my favourite season of the year - still warm, but without the scorching summer sun and nights too hot to sleep. The smell of bonfires and moldering leaves, the change in colours from brilliant green to shades of gold, red and brown. That nip in the air first thing in the morning, and sparkling dewdrops on spiderwebs. Even that seems magical.
So it's probably not surprising that the first holiday romance I ever wrote is centred around this season and Halloween itself. The idea came when I caught sight of an event started by Neil Gaiman called All Hallow's Read. When I originally started writing, my central character was a thirteen year old girl called Hallow. But 'she' quickly evolved into a thirty something warlock called Hal, set on performing a forbidden piece of magic on All Hallow's Eve, the night spirits of departed loved ones briefly come back to us.
Blurb:
Twelve months ago, Hal's world crashed and burned, taking the love of his life with it. He's waited all year for that one special night when the souls of the departed come home, hoping his candle will summon back one in particular to heal his broken heart. But the forbidden knowledge he's learned could call something far worse, and put more than his own soul at risk...
A Paranormal Romance short story
~~~
But as well as sharing my book, I thought I'd share a recipe from it with you. In
Hallow's Eve, Hal has a magical housekeeper - a brownie called Hodge - who's a master at making spice elderberry cordial (something I finally got around to making myself this year!). Something to warm you up along with my story. ;)
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| Hodge |
Hodge's Spiced Elderberry Cordial
1.5 lbs elderberries (or however many you
have!)
Demarara sugar
Cinnamon Sticks
Cloves
Lemon
Method:
Remove the elderberries from the stalks
using a fork. Place the elderberries in a saucepan with just enough water to
cover them, then bring to a simmer and allow them to cook for 20 minutes.
The berries will soften and the liquid will be dark red.
Strain out the berries with a sieve or
use muslin cloth (crush with a fork or squeeze the cloth to extract as much
juice as possible), keeping the juice (be careful as this stains!)
Measure the amount of juice.
Pour the juice back into the empty
saucepan. For every 2 cups of juice, add 2 cups of demarara sugar, 2 cinnamon
sticks, 2 cloves and the juice from ½ a lemon.
Bring the mixture to a boil and maintain
for 15 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure all the sugar dissolves.
Remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves. Let the mixture cool while you
prepare the bottles.
If you’re planning/able to store the
cordial in the fridge, simply clean your storage bottles with hot, soapy water
and then rinse in boiling water. Once the bottles are cool, fill with cordial,
stopper and store.
Serve diluted with hot water as a warming
winter drink and a boost during illness. In folklore elderberries were used as a protection against
influenza, and research has now established that elderberry extract is a
clinically proven treatment against flu. You could also add the same spices
used in mulled wine for a more Christmassy variation.
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