Hello from Down Under!

Thank you SO much to everyone who pre-ordered, purchased, borrowed, reviewed and shared my new release: A WITCH WORTH PRALINE FOR, Book 8 in the Bewitched by Chocolate mysteries... you've given it a wonderful launch! ❤️

Thank you also to the many of you who emailed me, saying how much you loved the new story - I'm so happy to hear that! 😊😊😊

In case you missed my last newsletter, here are the links again - in Kindle, paperback and audiobook format:

Kindle & Paperback: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE

Audiobook: Audible US | Audible UK | Audible DE

Amazon US | Amazon UK

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And yes, I know the story ended on a BIT of a cliff-hanger - haha! - but don't worry, the next book will be out soon. You see, I'd originally intended to write ONE final book to wrap up the series but the manuscript kept getting longer and longer... and longer and longer... until by the time I'd finished the first draft, it was 3 times the length of a "normal" cozy mystery! 

So the finale is being released in 2 parts: the first part (Book 8: "A Witch Worth Praline For")  is out now - and the second part (Book 9: "A Fondant Farewell: Enchantments & Endings") will be coming end Aug/early Sep. (The release date on Amazon is just a placeholder).

The Book 9 manuscript is still going through a few final revisions plus I haven't finalised the cover art yet...  

... BUT you can already pre-order the Kindle version, so it will automatically be delivered to your reading device when it's released: 

PRE-ORDER 
A Fondant Farewell: Enchantments & Endings (Book 9)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE

Unfortunately, pre-order is not available for the print or audiobook version - but I'll let you know as soon as they're out. 

In the meantime, if you loved the first part (Book 8) and have a moment free, I would really appreciate it if you could pop onto Amazon to leave a review. It would be a huge help - thank you!  🥰

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For the bargain hunters...

If you haven't had a chance to try my Bewitched by Chocolate mysteries yet - guess what? Here's an opportunity to start reading this delightful series for FREE!

Yup - Amazon has dropped the price of Book 1: Dark, Witch & Creamy in Kindle format to ZERO for 5 days only (ends this Wed 31st July) - so make sure you don't miss out on this special offer! 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE

(** for all other countries, simply click on Amazon US and then change the " .com" in the URL to the letters for your country - for example, Amazon.ca/xxx for Canada, Amazon.com.au/xxx for Australia... etc)

And if you're not sure because you don't normally read "paranormal" or stories with magic, I can tell you that this series feels very similar to my Oxford Tearoom Mysteries and Cottage Garden Mysteries in style and tone, as well as having all the same ingredients you love: 

 - there's a plucky heroine who finds herself stumbling across a mysterious murder, in a story filled with quirky characters, adorable cats (or a naughty kitten in this case!), lots of humour and yummy treats (chocolate-themed this time!) - all set in the beautiful English Cotswolds countryside. Oh, and there's a dash of romance too, with a "modern day Mr Darcy" - and of course, a "nosy old biddy type" in the shape of Viktor - the old vampire who's always searching for his lost fangs! 😄

The only difference is that there's a hint of magic and mythology running through the stories - such as the old English folktales & legends which inspire the plots and Caitlyn discovering that she's descended from a long line of witches with a particular affinity for working "chocolate magic"... The mystery isn't just figuring out "whodunit" but also whether the puzzling deaths are caused by magic - or is there a logical, scientific explanation? 

Anyway, if you're curious, do take this chance to grab a copy of the first book so that you can see for yourself (oh, and Oxford Tearoom fans might notice that the opening scene starts in a familiar tearoom! 😉) 

** By the way, if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you can borrow the book as normal (I actually earn royalties for any pages you read, even when the book is temporarily "free").

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For the foodies... 

Talking of chocolate, one of the perks of writing my Bewitched by Chocolate series is that it's often - ahem - necessary to do hands-on "research", in order to write many of the chocolate scenes realistically (there's nothing like writing from experience, right? 😉) 

And if you've read the new book, A WITCH WORTH PRALINE FOR, you'll know that Florentines (a.k.a. Florentine biscuits or cookies) play a big role in the story. Crispy (and slightly chewy!), with a rich buttery-caramel flavour, bursting with crunchy nuts and fragrant dried fruit like cherries and candied oranges - not to mention drizzled with melted chocolate - Florentines are a gorgeous and decadent treat (my husband goes ga-ga for them!)

(this is a stock photo... not my own! Mine weren't quite that pretty - hah!)

And of course, since they were being featured in the story, I had to have a go at making them myself. 😁 Plus I'd watched an episode of The Great British Bake-Off a while ago where the contestants had to make the perfect Florentine and it looked like such fun...

Well, I quickly discovered that baking Florentines is a LOT harder than it looks! I did it the "traditional" way, trying out two different recipes: one from Mary Berry, the "grande dame" of British baking, and one from a star Bake-Off contestant. 

You have to make up a mixture of chopped nuts and fruits, combined with a thick caramel sauce (which is also quite challenging to make yourself!)...

...and then dollop the thick mixture onto the baking tray, in rows, ready to go into the oven to bake. (They're notoriously difficult to form into a nice circle, so I had a bit of help from a cookie cutter 😉)

Once in the oven, you have to watch them like a hawk because you need them to bake enough to form a lovely crisp biscuit but at the same time, the caramel can burn easily! 

Also, I discovered that with the heat, the perfectly round shapes I'd formed all started to spread outwards! The first time I tried it, I didn't leave enough space between the dollops and I ended up with one huge sticky mass on the tray 😝 and had to start all over again. 

But I'm proud to report that after several attempts, I did eventually get there! Well, they were not quite as pretty as the store-bought ones but they did resemble a half decent Florentine and, according to the resident Florentine expert (a.k.a. my husband), they tasted great! 

Once they were baked, you had to let them cool before carefully lifting them off the tray with a knife and then it was time for the chocolate! I spread melted dark chocolate on the flat side and let them firm up/cool in the fridge. I also tried drizzling some chocolate across the top but wasn't very successful with that!

Ta-da! (You can see the first batch, which got a bit burnt, in the back! 😉) Well, it was a LOT of effort and I'm not sure I'd ever bother again (!) but my husband certainly enjoyed my afternoon of "book research" (in fact, he'd eaten 5 Florentines before I could stop him and I had to hide the rest from him, to stop him stuffing his face silly with the whole batch!)

Have you ever made Florentines yourself at home? I don't know if they're as popular in the United States as in the UK and Europe. Funnily enough, despite their name, they're not actually from Florence, Italy. They actually originate from France and are apparently named after the gold coins of Florence, which were the standard currency of Europe for hundreds of years.

Well, if you fancy trying to make them, you can follow the traditional recipes I linked to above. I also later discovered a great video on Youtube (on the Jamie Oliver channel) which featured a "simpler" way to make Florentines that doesn't require baking. They look so pretty that I'm tempted to try this alternative method sometime! You can check it out here: Easy Chocolate Florentines

Finally... as all you kitty owners here know - cats always want to get in on the action whenever something new is happening. Muesli was very curious about all the activity in the kitchen and made it clear that she wanted a taste too! 

Sadly - despite her being very insistent! - I couldn't let her taste any, as chocolate is poisonous to cats (not to mention all that butter & sugar, etc, isn't great either). But she did get some freeze-dried chicken breast treats instead!

P.S. If you missed my previous newsletters and wanted to catch up on "the gossip", you can find them HERE

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