A little known fact about our hero, Christopher is that is an awesome cook. I suppose his culinary skills are only portrayed in the first book, Graveyard Rose, where he cooks delicious, comforting meals for Lena.

I am a cook myself and love to potter around in my kitchen. Stews are my favourite dish in winter. I like to add a lot of herbs and spices to mine, so that it warms me even more. A chunk of bread to dip in the luscious sauce is all I need as an accompaniment to a bowl of stew. Well, I suppose I won’t mind a glass of rich red wine too!

So, without further ado, here’s my recipe for the beef stew that Christopher whips up for Lena she is recovering. It is closer to a ghoulash recipe, I suppose. Mind you, his tastes better than mine because he cooks his on an open flame and it adds an additional later of smokiness to the dish that you just won’t get from your regular home oven but trust me; it is one delicious meal!

Here’s the ingredient list.

·  1kg flank steak

·  1 tbsp vegetable oil

· 300 grams potatoes

· 100 grams carrots

· 4 sticks of celery

·  2 onions (sliced)

·  8 garlic cloves (minced) (I know it’s a lot but really does work)

·  2 tsp hot smoked paprika

·  1 tbsp paprika

·  1 beef stock cube

·  400g can of plum tomatoes

·  2 tbsp tomato purée

·  2 bay leaves

·  Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper

Here are the steps to follow.

·  Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the meat into rough chunks. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

·  Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Add the pieces of meat and fry until browned all over. Add the onions into the pan and cook with the beef until it softens. Add garlic.

·  Sprinkle paprika over the meat and add the stock cube. Add water, tomatoes, tomato purée and bay leaves. Season to taste and stir well. Add the cubed potatoes, carrots and celery sticks to the pot. Allow it to come to a boil and then cover with a lid and transfer it into the oven. Cook for an hour to two hours until the pieces of beef are tender and break apart when pushed with a fork.

© Ginny Clyde, 2017

Petals of Reminiscence- A short tale

Lena was wrapped in the heady scent of roses as soon as she entered her bedchambers. Her eyes went to the bouquet of wild yellow roses that sat by her bedside table but to her sudden consternation; the flowers were beginning to wilt. Bronze and rich golden petals lay around the blue vase that held these floral beauties.

The curtains fluttered as a cold breeze blew in through the windows. Suppressing the shudder that passed through her, she strode towards to the window to shut the glass panes away. Latching it tightly, she turned back to the roses. Every time she looked at them, a warm feeling spread through her heart, bringing in sweet memories of the man who had gifted them to her and the first words she remembered him uttering to her.

"She clings to life as tenaciously as the rose which grows from the cold, inhospitable graveyard soil," spoke the stranger at her side. "A graveyard rose!"

It was astounding to think that a stranger would read her soul so closely when people who had been closest to her had never looked below her societal facade of being the daughter of a noble house. He had given strength to her very spirit as she lay fighting her own death in the mountainous cave of Hijkarden.

With a start, she felt an intense need to preserve the roses that connoted so much to her. They were her first gift from Christopher, who had saved not only her life but her precious sister’s too. Without his aid a few nights ago, she would not have been able to get the nightshade berries that Bella needed for her life-sustaining potion. Christopher had come to mean so much to her in the recent weeks that she was afraid of losing her heart one more time.

In a moment of light headed romance, Lena leaned towards their open core and smelled their fragrance deeply. Eyes fluttering close, she remained ensconced in her momentary surrender to her heart’s desire. The need to preserve those blossoms intensified, bringing with it a wonderful and yet simple solution.

Opening her eyes, she slowly made her way towards the shelves that contained large tomes of history. Choosing the fattest of them all, she heaved it out of its resting place. It turned out to be an old Bible that had belonged to her grandmother. Her injured ribs made it difficult for her to carry the heavy book across the room towards the edge of her bed but she refused to call a servant. The maids were an impertinent lot and would not hesitate to ask her why she needed to haul a Bible in the middle of the afternoon. Besides, she was in no mood to chastise them or explain them why she needed it, for she doubted her own feelings.

Dropping the book on her bed, she took out a pair of scissors from the bottom drawer. Choosing the best rose among the withering blossoms, she picked it out from the vase. As she did so, some more petals dropped on the table top. She used the scissor to cut off the long, sturdy green stem. Placing it aside, she opened the Bible to its middle section. Picking up the rose, she caressed it one last time and placed it on the yellowing page of the tome.

“My feelings and remembrance shall always be preserved now; in this token of affection that he bestowed upon me, filling up the dry desert of my heart with blossoms of ...love,” she declared softly in the silence of her room. With a smile on her lips, she closed the tome.

© 2017 Ginny Clyde

Would you like to read the story behind this? Get it here!

Copyright © 2017 by Ginny Clyde

Just Publish!

When I decided to dive into the world of indie publishing, I was hopelessly clueless. I had a story manuscript  to begin with but I didn’t know what to do with it. After combing through a lot of videos and informational sites, I decided to go with Amazon. Someone said that Smashword’s Meatgrinder will drive me crazy and that is the only reason I moved away from it. Now, that I have published my book by going through all the processes of formatting, I see that Smashwords’s formatting requirement is not that different from Amazon’s! Only the manual and instruction layouts are different. Of course, Amazon wins on that score!

The next question to ponder was whether I should go for KDP Select or not. I was apprehensive because there were some who warned new authors against Amazon’s KDP Select program and then there were many who would swear by its effectiveness. Some said that Amazon helps in promoting books that are in the KDP Select program and that of course, made me jump right in because promotion and marketing are important, right?

Just as I was feeling like I had done an amazing job and started joining author groups, I realised that there was still loads more to indie publishing. Tons of more tips and ideas on how to get noticed, how to sell more books, getting your readers to subscribe to your emails etc. It was overwhelming to say the least! But, I had one advantage now. Since, I already had a book it became easy to socialise with other authors and share my problems with them. Some of their advice seemed logical but was against popular mass opinion. Getting real experience as a published author helped me to navigate through a sea of information.

I often see new writers asking for advice about publishing on author platforms. While it is a great way to gather knowledge and step into publishing with good ideas, you will never really know what works for you and your book until you’ve really published and waited a few months to see the statistics on sales.

I have come to understand that self-publishing success factors depends on a lot of variables. What worked for one person, may not work for you. I personally did not gain anything by putting my book in KDP Select. My book’s ranking has been the same over a period of two months. However, there are authors who will tell you that they make more money from Kindle Unlimited than actual sales. It’s all a matter of trial-and-error!

I would, however, advise you that if you have a book manuscript ready, go ahead with publishing. Go through the process of editing, formatting, book cover designing etc. It is scary at first but then, everything starts coming together and you will enjoy the process. Don’t just dip your feet in the waters, jump right in! It’s the only way to test these waters!

Copyright © 2017 by Ginny Clyde

My Tools

Just like any other creative pursuit, whether it be painting, singing, dancing or making crafts, writing needs tools too. The obvious thing one needs to write is definitely a pen. But is that so anymore? As computers and laptops have pervaded into our work desks, the old journal and leaky fountain pen have been gathered up to be left in a corner collecting dust. 

I recently came across a post on one of the Facebook author groups where someone asked advice on using a dictation software. Before seeing that post, I had no idea that something like this already existed! So, that made me think. Writing has more tools than just a notepad and a pen.

These days, I do all my writing on my laptop. I might occasionally pen down some plot points in my journal but I type it out later in a Word file. I have folders dedicated to plots, research material, photographs and art etc. stored in my computer. Until now, I have used MS Word to write all my stuff. I am comfortable using it as I have learned most of its features over the years. The software also helps me to edit and polish my draft by highlighting spelling and possibly grammatical errors.

Recently, a writing software called Scrivener has become very popular for story writing. After looking at the screen shots that a fellow author sent me, I was impressed by how easily and efficiently I could manage a story using that software. So, did I start using it too? 

No. Simply, because it feels like too much work to start learning a new software when I have manuscripts that need to be finished! Scrivener has a 30 days trial period but even that was not enough to entice me to downloadit. I often wonder if it is just me who prefers to be in their comfort zone instead of just learning something new. 

I guess that we writers have developed our own personal tools that we prefer just like a painter prefers a certain brush or a musician a particular brand of instrument. There is no need for any embarrassment for whichever tool you choose to implement. If you want to dictate your notes to the computer because it is a fast way to get the writing done, by all means do that. And if writing with a pen on a notepad feels more comfortable, carry on! Use whatever you need but don't stop writing!

And before I forget, let's not forget that cup of brew (tea/coffee), the magic elixir which keeps us going!

© Ginny Clyde 2017

My Writing Space

July 5, 2016

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Ginny Clyde

It has been raining since yesterday making it a dull, grey day with frequent drizzles. Sometime ago, this would have made me feel melancholy or even a little depressed. Perhaps, I'd use it as an excuse to not do any work but cuddle up in my oversized, grey sweaters and blame the rain for washing away my mojo to do anything. But ever since I read Twilight, dull rainy days have transformed themselves into a romantic background to whatever I'm doing. The book literally conditioned me to believe that cold and wet don't necessarily have to be a bad thing.

So, when I woke up today in the morning and everything looked dark, I decided that it was the perfect day to start writing the second part of my fantasy series The Rose Chronicles. Since it is a Gothic-themed story, my surrounding dullness gave me the perfect backdrop to start typing. It felt like I was really sitting in a crumbling brick mansion, typing away my characters' dialogues with the fog swirling in through the windows. The chapter turned out to be over 2500 words and it took me less than one and a half hours to churn it out and I'm quite happy with the output.

I suppose every writer has her/his definition of the perfect ambience. I often come across someone with their laptops in a Starbuck cafe, feverishly typing away with a forgotten cup of tea/coffee crammed onto the small table. I don't exactly know if they are writers or students, but it certainly works out for them to work in a distracting place like a coffee shop. To each their own, I say! 

I suppose my favourite place to write is my own room, on my own desk which is custom made to be as large as a dinner table. It allows ample space for my laptop, the printer as well as a mess of tea cups, glasses and sometimes a plate of half-eaten food. I know it sounds awfully cluttered and it is most of the time, but it gives me a wonderful feeling of homeliness and a casual tone to the mood setting. I like a low lighting but not so dull that my eyes are strained while typing out my stuff. I'll post a photo for you to see. 

What's your favourite ambience for writing? Do share!