Baked cheesecake with a dark chocolate/orange base

If I can bake it, everyone can. I'm the worst baker in the world. Well, almost.

Okay, here it comes: (It's for four portions, roughly.)

Two 250g packets of cream cheese (Philadelphia or anything else/room temperature )
1 large egg
1/2 a vanilla pod or a good dash of vanilla extract/essence
3 tablespoons of sour cream
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1 or two handfuls of fruit sugar (or normal sugar) (it's a guesstimate as I don't use scales and just throw in)

Put it all into a bowl and mix. It has a slightly thicker consistency than a pancake mix. Taste and see if you need to add more sugar or vanilla.

Get the cheap brown bourbon biscuits, about 8 or 10 of them, put in a plastic bag and smash the life out of them. Then melt about 50g of butter and mix with the crumbles and grated orange zest.
Then put them into a baking form and press to the bottom.

Pour the cake mix over it and shove in the oven on 180 degrees for about 50 minutes to an hour. The cake will rise, then become brown. Turn the oven off and let the cake cool down in the oven. When cooled take out and put it in the fridge. If it cracks like mine did this time (I took it out of the form too early) go and buy cream and some cherries, toss 'em on top and voila!

A sunny Sunday's harvest

We're well known for great weather in October and November, and yesterday didn't disappoint. It was as if the sun wanted to prove that it's still powerful and shone from a bright blue sky. Very much to our delight. I had to throw off a few layers; it was getting a bit hot tackling the runner bean plants.
The gardeners came together for a big push, preparing the garden for winter and next year. We had three bags of beans which we cut and threw into the compost bin. When I arrived, they had already pulled out the tomato plants (mainly Gardener's Delight, very delicious by the way), harvested plenty of the remaining green ones, which will be turned into chutney, and cut them to go into the compost. Speaking of which: we have been successfully making our own compost and are using it, which is fantastic, as we wanted get that cycle going. The trick, it seems, is to cut everything into little pieces, particularly the stronger stems of tomatoes, borage, and woody plants. We didn't know that before.
So after we pulled and hacked everything, we had a break with tea and a snack, then discussed what we want to do next year. After three years of experimenting, we have learned what will and will not grow on the roof. We have to work with plenty of restrictions: the grow bags, even through about 30cm deep, it's not enough to grow proper courgettes or squashes, and the roof, which blocked the sun on many days. This year we had a butterfly larvae plaque, and the caterpillars ate most of our Cavalo Nero. I suggested to use an old curtain to keep butterflies from laying eggs, but I'm not sure if the kale will still get enough sun then.
Really successful in that space was: lettuce, chard, spinach, sorrel, herbs (although not this year due to a disease, but the black currant sage is growing beautifully, so is the chervil), rocket, broccoli, garlic, spring onions (again not this year), beans, peas, tomatoes, strawberries (not this year due to the wet), radishes, mizuna,
The little peppers are finally showing, braving the weather; the only chilli we have we gave to the man who made this possible for us to have this garden. I think we'll keep them for next year.

Before we left, we divided the basil between us. I'll make a pesto later to go with spaghetti and some of the tomatoes I've harvested last week (pictures to follow). Overall, I think the garden works well. I harvested a lot over the year and was able to save a few pounds just by using the crop from the garden. But it's not only the saving aspect, it's more the pride of having grown it with my own hands; believe me, it tastes much better, too.
Next Sunday, we'll meet up again and plant Aquadulce beans, more garlic and broccoli. We also want to sow green manure in all the beds we're not using until spring. It's an easy way to enrich used soil. We will rotate the bags as we'd like to have a good crop of strawberries next year.
If you have a garden, there's always something to do. And it's an excellent excuse to leave the house, even when it's cold. 

Please eat me!

Seemed to call the pumpkin bread I baked yesterday. I grew up with wonderful soft and yellow pumpkin bread, and since I can't get it in the shops, I'll just bake it myself. Now you need to understand that I'm the worst baker in the world. Okay, one of the worst bakers with potential to improve. I've never been a great cake eater, so I never really felt the need to do them myself. The only ones I really love are baked cheesecake, Black Forest cake, and marble cake. Morrisons sells a mean Black Forest cake, and marble cake is really easy to obtain. I found one bakery that does a great cheesecake, but it's not baked.

Recently I was overcome by a desire to have a proper cheesecake, so I set out to do my own. Since I don't own a scale it was a bit of risky task, even though it's easy to make. It was edible, despite not being sweet enough; I just need to add more sugar next time. But the consistency was wonderful and exactly how I remembered it. I'm a bit of a cheesecake connoisseur, me.
I'll bake another one soon, and will post about it, so keep your eyes peeled.

Today, it's the bread I want to celebrate. After I've thrown away another too-wet-batch, I've decided to try using more yeast, and voila, it worked. I wasn't sure it would as it the dough was rather dry, which may be the reason for the bread being more dense, but it's tasty nevertheless. I'm sure next time I'll get it right.

Here's what I used:

The flesh (pureed) of a carving pumpkin (others may be better for colour)
Plain flour (about 500grams)
Melted butter
Salt (roughly a teaspoon)
Fruit sugar (roughly three tablespoons)
Dried active yeast (about a tablespoon)
A bit of milk
One whole egg
The zest of half an orange

Mix all ingredients, then knead until the dough is dry and doesn't stick to your fingers anymore. (about 5 minutes) Put in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Then knead again for about 2 minutes and put in the form you want to use for baking. Let it rest in warm place for another 20 minutes. Then bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. You need to adjust the baking time to the size. As I said, I don't really measure and do things by eye/feeling.
The bread is ready when it has risen considerably and is golden brown. To check stab a knife into it; if it comes out dryly, you should be safe.

I love eating it with salami or cheese, but it goes with anything really.

Could you all take a look, please? No! Sod off!

You've guessed correctly. I have a full blown rant in me, and it demands its way out. So, fasten your seat belt and hold on to your wig, it'll get rough.
As a self-published author I'm frequenting fora on a regular basis. Often just to chat, more often though, to discuss. It can get heated, which is fine by me, as long as it stays factual. I will also hit people verbally over the head every now and again. Trust me, they deserve it. And it happened a lot more often lately as some people are seriously not one, but a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
I have lost count on how many new authors popped on one of my threads where we discuss self-published books, announcing they've just published their first book, and asking either me or all participants to take a look at it, then feed back to them. My favourite: Any constructive review would be great.
Excuse me? Are you telling me that you have not had anyone look at your book before publishing? Are you serious? I mean, really? Are you serious?
That explains a lot. Asking for feedback when the book is already published is so clever, even I'm impressed. Not! I wonder why people ask others to look at their offerings and tell them what they think. Is it really important to them? To be honest, I don't care at all. Go look at my book and tell me you think it's shite. Fine, if it makes you feel better. Of course a review is important, mainly for the potential buyer, but that's a different matter. Asking people for feedback after a glance at the 'look inside' feature is baffling to say the least. What do they need feedback for? Either the book is edited and polished or it's not. If it's not, then go and fix it. Before publishing! It worries me that amateurs, who can't even be bothered to use Google to find writers' sites and learn the craft before they even think of publishing, seem to take it as a given that readers are their guinea pigs. When have readers become beta readers by default?
I really don't need to take a look when it's a first time author, 99% of the cases are in dire need of an edit.
And it's a brave move to ask me, the one who initially started that thread stating that I'm not impressed with self-published books in general, what I think of their novel, because the answer will most possibly hurt. I don't have respect for people who don't work hard and gain skills before publishing. I'm very sorry if that sounds arrogant, but even the most talented person needs some practice. And after my deleting marathon, I'm not really keen on reading more dross. Thank you very much. Plus, I certainly don't have the time to read opening after opening, telling those hopeful souls the bad news. Most of them won't even go and hire an editor, so it's lost energy, or my sanity. Maybe even both in the worst case scenario.

When I pour myself a glass of red wine ...

... it means that summer's over.
I have to apologise for not updating the blog for a while, I'm surprised myself, but I was, and still am, really busy. And there wasn't much that pissed me off so much that I needed to rant. Well, maybe the subject of fake reviews, paid for or bribed in any other way, but that has been circulating for ages, no need for me to warm up the ever colder becoming topic. Don't get me wrong: I do lose all respect for anyone who cheats his or her way up with fake bought praise, and I certainly will never become one of them, but I'm a little tired of reading about it now. Besides, there are plenty of wonderful bloggers who dealt with the issue.
<------ a painting I fell in love with many years ago. It hangs on my wall.

Back to the changing seasons. It has been a summer spent in the garden or on the couch, writing, writing and writing. In between I did some gardening, then editing, writing and writing and editing and ... you get the picture. I was busy, hence the slight neglect of the blog. And it's not over yet. I'm starting a massive rewrite project; a novel I'm hopefully be able to publish in November/December. Again, a completely different genre. Probably a good thing it's not hot anymore; rewriting/editing is not so much fun on a reflective screen. It's okay to write new stuff, to just let your fingers run over the keyboard (I touch type), squinting at the screen through your tears, not so. However, I wrote a few more short stories to add to my collection, which I have just published on Amazon. The book is called 5-Minute Tea Break Stories and will be free from tomorrow to Saturday. Look out for it. The stories are all short and in various genres. If you are a long-term follower, you'll know most of them as they were posted for a long while. I did the cover image, by the way. How's that for a first attempt in photography, eh? And that with a mobile cam.

Okay, since that book is out of the way, I can now take a breather. A short one. Just this evening, after having scrumptious fish. I decided I deserve a glass of red tonight. That's right, I've bought a bottle of red as that's what I prefer when it's cold outside. I know, I know, it's not really cold yet, but you haven't been in my flat: it's a fucking fridge! But that's not your concern, I just wanted to tell you. It also means that autumn is waiting around the corner, and boy, do I love autumn. Not so much because it's colder, but for its colours. You often get clear blue sky and the trees will fight for your eyes' attention with their yellow, red, and brown leaves. It's simply beautiful to walk through the park, the low sun warming your face while it's crisp. I love it.

And then will be winter, which means lots of glasses (bottles) of red and plenty of writing to be done. I guess I didn't tell you yet that I've decided, against my former decision, to write a third book in the Branded series. Why? Because it keeps haunting me and I receive a lot of messages, asking if there will be a third one. So yes, it's official, there will be. But it maybe take me a while. Please bear with me. I don't want to rush, but want to write something that will be worth waiting for. 

Tip of the week: focus on the important things

Whenever I work with a client, I try to help them tightening their manuscript: erasing unnecessary paragraphs, scenes, yes, even characters. Why? Because the tighter the book, the better. I know from own experience how easy it is to fill a chapter with unnecessary fluff; when I wrote No Wings Attached, I worked towards a certain word count: 120. I managed, but it wasn't necessary. I was inexperienced and had no idea that what I was doing would only result in deleting 40k in the next two years.

Yesterday night, I stopped reading a book which, quite frankly, bored me stiff with the many viewpoints of several family members and friends when it was basically the story of one main character and how she dealt with her boyfriend hitting her and an abortion. Unfortunately, I had to read her parents' point of view, her boyfriend's, her friends', her boyfriend's mother and if the author could have crammed even more into the book, I'm sure I'd also know the dog's point of view. The result was that the main character's viewpoint came far too short and missed the depth and emotions I'd hoped for. I wouldn't have missed any of the 'development' if those viewpoints wouldn't have been there in the first place. That'd be a good half of the book, I'd say. And it was a short book already. I do like character driven books, but if you chose to write such a novel, you need to go deeper. The book just scratched the surface, and as a result I couldn't connect with the characters. At all. In my opinion, the story would work great from two point of views: hers and her boyfriend's with flash backs into the past, to make the reader understand why both acted the way they acted. There was a lot of potential in that premise, but it didn't deliver.

There was also something I see in many new writers' manuscripts: the over-explaining of even the tiniest dust particle. If a couple goes for dinner, I don't really care what the waitress serving them looks like or what her name is. Unless she plays a bigger part or causes a particular reacting to the main characters, it's just 'the waitress'. Such minor characters can easily be cardboard cut outs as they don't need to stick with the reader. Better to concentrate on what's important: what does the restaurant look like (scene setting)? How do the characters feel (emotional setting)? What do they talk about (action)? Show me how they interact, their smiles, what they see in each others' faces? These are the things a reader needs to connect with the scene and the characters.

If you write a thriller, make sure to keep the reader on his toes. Place hints and move the plot forward quickly. Strip it from all unnecessary ballast, unless it enhances the plot and gives depth to a character. For example: a man visits a close friend in Paris only to find out she's a secret agent. He recalls some odd behaviour of said friend in the past. Or a woman is packing up her and her husband's belongings after she found him dead in their house. She remembers the good times. There is so much potential in such scenes and room for plenty of in-depth character development. Having the viewpoint of her mother, remembering how the couple met would be unnecessary fluff.

The main thing to remember is that a novel has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Everything should run smoothly into each other, without long-winded passages of empty scenes. All scenes should move the plot forward, or, in case it's a character driven novel, take the relationship to another level, push the thoughts of the characters closer to a solution.

It's not all bad in the virtual world

Seriously, it isn't. I know I've been ranting about social media for ages, and I certainly stick to my main opinion, but it has good sides, too. I've made friends I may not have made without the Internet.
I've recently said to my lovely friend Winn Smith, that I'm glad I've taken up writing, and that I am on Twitter. Why? Because I wouldn't have met her otherwise. It all started out with me posting a link to my short stories and she downloaded them and tweeted that she really enjoyed the bok. Of course I was flattered, I would be lying if I said I wasn't, but somehow it started a wonderful series (novel-sized by now) of e-mail exchanges about everything in life, and of course: writing. She's become a beta reader, a proofreader (very good one, I will add), a humorist and a friend. We're going to meet up shortly for the first time, because, although both living in London, we haven't managed to find a date in over a year. Sad, but true. I'm really looking forward to meeting her in person.
In fact, due to social media, I've become friends with quite a few people. Readers, who got in touch and befriended me on Facebook, now get a close update on what I'm up to. We chat, have exchanges about our everyday life, support each other when the going gets tough, etc. I've learned that many readers like to see a human being behind the author, and that they are also very interested in getting involved in the process of the writing. A few have offered to beta read my books, or I've asked them straight out. For an author there's almost nothing more important than beta readers in the early stages. Here is where a reader can have a say and be a big part of making a novel better. Although many authors say they write for themselves, as I do, I also want my readers to like what I'm writing. They need to connect to the book in order to feel something, so if they collectively don't like something in a book, I must go a back to square one and change it. Not that it ever happened, but my beta readers have their say and I take them seriously.
I've also seen enthusiastic tweets about my books or my writing, often from people I have never spoken to. They share their emotions through Twitter or Facebook with their friends, which, to me, is means the world. Nothing is better than word of mouth in the publishing business.
So, yes, it's not all bad in the virtual world. As long as the good outweighs the bad, I'm happy to be part of it.