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Solomon Islands and Iron Bottom Sound - treasure troves for scuba divers.

4/21/2015

Here's another travel experience that heavily influenced my current Treasured series of action adventure books. Enjoy.

The Solomon Islands consist of more than 900 islands and divers claims there are just as many wrecks to explore too. This is what attracted me to the sovereign country that lies northwest of Vanuatu.

The Solomon Islands experienced some of the most intensive fighting of World War II. The most notable operation was launched in August 1942 when the Allied Forces conducted simultaneous naval bombardments and amphibious landings to fight Japanese Imperial Forces. This important and bloody Battle of Guadalcanal signified the beginning of the Allies repelling the Japanese.

Between 1941 and 1945, the island of Guadalcanal saw almost daily fighting between American and Japanese forces. Today however, this area now known as Iron Bottom Sound, is a scuba diving mecca. It’s the final resting place for dozens and dozens of wrecks including fighter planes and tanks, cargo ships and destroyers. It’s a glorious underwater museum for anyone willing to make the long journey to get there. In 2010 we did.

My boys were just 14 and 12 years old at the time and this was their first scuba diving holiday. During World War II the Japanese built an airstrip that was successfully concealed by rows of coconut palms suspended by cables. This was the very same airstrip we landed on and the first grass landing strip I’ve ever experienced. It was hair-raising to say the least.

My two favourite dives of the week were to explore two very different WWII wrecks. The first, The Kasi Maru was a Japanese freighter that was hit with a bouncing bomb while it was anchored at shore to offload cargo. Because it lies in just 15 metres of water and remains almost upright, this makes the Kasi Maru perfect for both snorkelers and divers. We penetrated the hull and were treated to a treasure hunters dream with an abundance of artefacts scattered throughout the ship. Items such as Saki bottles, small jars, gas masks and cooking gear were in remarkable condition. One thing that remains very vivid in my memory was a pair of boots with the laces still done up. I couldn’t help but wonder if the person who owned those boots made it to safety.

The second wreck has a fascinating story. On the 21st of June 1943 dive bomber pilot Jim Dougherty and his radio gunner Robert Bernard, took off to swoop low over Munda Island to sink Japanese ships supplying local troops. A barrage of bullets crippled his plane and he tried to limp back to safety. But he didn’t make it. They crash landed just off Rendova. Incredibly, they both survived the crash, swam ashore and made it to an American hospital. The crash happened on Jim’s 21st birthday. More than 50 years later their plane was rediscovered and in 1995 Jim returned to Munda and dived down to his plane wreck on the anniversary of the day he was shot down. I can’t imagine what was going through his mind when he sat back in that cockpit one more time.

One other site at Munda Solomon Islands that had me enthralled was a little museum in the jungle. For years, possibly decades, Peter Joseph has been collecting all manner of rusty trinkets and artefacts that he’s salvaged from the jungle surrounding the town. WWII relics from both the Japanese and Allied forces fill every aspect of his little jungle hut. We saw everything from plane parts, to machine guns, to hand grenades to dog tags. It was truly fascinating.

I feel completely blessed to have shared this wonderful experience with my husband and two boys. Whether its modern day or ancient, I find history fascinating. I swear I must have been an archaeologist in another life.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed another one of my travel experiences. You can check out a few more if you wish, HERE.

Treasured Secrets
Some secrets should remain hidden forever...

Treasured Secrets is the beginning of an adrenalin fuelled new series with sexy sassy characters, exotic locations and action-packed adventure.

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Thai Fish Cakes - delicious family favorite

4/19/2015

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My heroine in Treasured Secrets is a talented chef, so of course, as a lover of food, I just had to make all the meals that Rosalina prepares in my books. This recipe features in a tapas feast in book two in my series: Treasured Lies.

These Thai Fish cakes are delicious, easy to make and certain to become a favourite with your whole family. This recipe makes 12 fish cakes, so I always make at least a double batch. You can make them a day ahead too and reheat if you like. They are perfect party finger food too.

Ingredients

250g White fish fillets, skin & bones removed
1/2 cup cooked long grain rice
1/2 cup green beans roughly chopped
1 stalk lemon grass, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red chili, seeds removed and chopped
1 coriander plant, roots included chopped
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 egg, beaten
Vegetable oil for frying

Method

Put all ingredients except oil into a food processor and process until just combined. Don’t over mix.

Place about 1cm of oil in a hot pan.

Place a heaped tablespoons into pan and fry a few at a time until golden brown on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve with fresh green salad, sweet potato fries and dipping sauces.

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Tuscany - and the horrific event that inspired my trilogy

4/16/2015

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People often ask me where I get ideas for my books from and sometimes it amazes me what instigates that initial spark. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll blog some of the experiences that inspired my 'Treasured' series of book.

In 2011 my husband surprised me with a trip to Tuscany for our 20th anniversary. We had 10 wonderful days exploring this fabulous region and we stayed in a 700 year old villa called Villa Pandolfini in Signa, a little village just a fifteen minute train ride from Florence.
Our spectacular historic villa with extremely high ceilings, magnificent frescoes and original antique furniture was surrounded by vineyards and olive-groves and offered an extensive view over Arno Valley. This incredible villa was the perfect place to set my author brain into action and consequently features prominently in Treasured Secrets.

Our rooms were overflowing with antiques.

Villa Pandolfini Signa Tuscany Italy

It was a visit to a little church in the medieval area of Florence that catapulted my creative writing ideas into overdrive. The Church of St Apostoli was built in the 11th century and is very insignificant compared to the many more grand churches in this historic city. This church is located in the Piazza Del Limbo, a nondescript concrete plaza, so named as it was once the cemetery for unbaptized babies.

The floor inside the church is inlaid with a beautiful marble mosaic, but the aspect that caught my interest was an oval door in the mosaic floor. Our guide informed us that this was where they threw the bodies during the plague of 1348. (Whether or not this was true, I still don't know). But I do know that there were so many bodies that they didn’t have time to give the deceased proper burials. Of course, in doing this, they actually contributed to the spread of the disease, by literally feeding the rats. Sixty percent of Europe’s population died from The Black Death - some fifty million people.

"Die Pest in Epiros" ("The Plague in Epirus") a copper engraving by Pierre Mignard (1610-1665) depicts a bubonic plague epidemic.

As soon as our guide mentioned this horrific event, my head was spinning with ideas of entire families being wiped out and long buried secrets. Then I began to wonder what happened to all their precious possessions. By the time we were on the plane home, I was drafting the bones of a story.

That idea has blossomed into a trilogy with the first book Treasured Secrets available now.

TREASURED SECRETS...
Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

Macadamia and Salted Caramel Friands - YUM

One of my favorite highlights of Tuscany was the food and wine. So much so, that Rosalina, my character in Treasured Secrets is a chef and throughout this series she tantalizes the reader with many fabulous meals.

I'm a method writer, so consequently, I cooked, photographed, wrote about and of course, devoured every one of these delicious meals too. I loved this aspect of these books so much. If you love to cook to, if you sign up to my newsletter you can receive these recipes for FREE.

Register for my newsletter and receive a FREE recipes that Rosalina made in Treasured Secrets and Treasured Lies. That was you can cook as you read along.

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Yummy Cheese Cups

4/12/2015

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Murazzano Cheese Cups

I needed a dish for my character, Rosalina, to make that would have my readers drooling. This little recipe was the result of much research and input from my wonderful facebook followers.

The scene I created this recipe for is below, I hope you like it.

Murazzano Cheese Cups

This delightful little appetizer can be prepared in advance and cooked in the oven at the last minute.

Upon cooking you will have a delicious little cheese pot to fill with fig jam, caramelised onion relish, crispy prosciutto, or any other filling that takes your fancy. You can receive more of these fabbo recipes if you sign up to my newsletter. You'll find more details here: Newsletter

Murazzano DOP is a soft cheese made in Alta Langa in the province of Cuneo, a wonderful area located in the South of Piemonte, Italy. Murazzano is a cylindrical, un-ripened, full-fat cheese made from sheep's milk. It’s a milky white rindless cheese with a soft and slightly springy texture. (If this cheese isn't available, use a soft goat's cheese.)

Ingredients
4 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry
200 grams of Murazzano DOP Cheese (If not available use a soft goat’s cheese)
100ml Fresh cream
100ml Fresh milk
1 tablespoon of chives
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease 24 cup mini muffin tray with melted butter.

2. Cut puff pastry into rounds to fit into the muffin tray and puncture the bottom with a fork.

3. Blend all other ingredients in a mixer for 1 minute.

Serve hot these yummy little cheese pots with slices of Spiced Poached Pear, Homemade Fig Jam, Caramelised Onion Relish, crispy prosciutto, or any other filling that takes your fancy.

4. Fill the pastry cups with the cheese mixture.

5. Cook in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Some secrets should be hidden forever.

Here's a tasty snippet from Treasured Secrets:

Rosalina dusted her flour-caked hands onto her apron and then turned to check on the Murazzano cheese rolls already baking in the oven. The scents of aromatic spices, melting cheese and fresh-baked pastry wafted from the open door. She lifted the tray from the oven and placed it onto the cork placemat.

‘Smells magnifica.’ Alessandro ran his tongue over his lips and she had this sudden desire to kiss him. The urge came from nowhere. Maybe she’d had too much wine. Maybe she was falling for him, despite all her determination not to. Maybe, just maybe, she was finally over Archer.

She smiled as Alessandro practically drooled over her cooking. He’d always been a dependable part of her life, and that was something she needed right now. And he was the perfect willing guinea pig for her culinary experiments. He reached for a still steaming pastry and she snapped his hand away. ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘You want the whole experience don’t you?’

His eyes lit up. ‘Sì, mio dolce.’

Rosalina liked the way he called her ‘my sweet’, especially given her love of cooking all things sugary. He was patient with her and seemed to understand her need to take everything slow.

Rosalina sliced the now cooled poached pear and placed a sliver upon the savoury cheese pastry. ‘Open up.’

Alessandro obliged and she popped the nibble into his mouth. His eyes did that heavenly eye roll before he closed them and savoured the treat. A low moan of approval teased from his throat and she knew she had him. He was a delight to watch.

First he would taste the sweetness of the pear, delicately poached with cinnamon and Chinese five spice. Next would come the multifaceted Murazzano cheese, smooth and rich in flavour. Finally, the buttery pastry would round it off. She liked to think of it as a smorgasbord in a bite.

Register for my newsletter and receive FREE recipes that my character, Rosalina, made in my books Treasured Secrets and Treasured Lies. This way you can cook as you read along.
These Cheesy Arancini balls are delicious.

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Egypt - Exciting. Exotic. Enchanting.

4/6/2015

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Here's another blog from a travel experience that influenced my writing. I hope you enjoy reading it.

In 2005 I travelled to Egypt with a girlfriend. That holiday is still up there as one of my favourites. So much so, that’s its one of the few places in the world I’m determined to get back to… one day. We stayed at the Marriot Cairo which is an absolute oasis compared to the surrounding bustling streets.

Our hotel was lovely relief from the dust, smog, heat and hustle and bustle that is Cairo. I even sampled some Egyptian Hookah.

Our first day we made our way to Cairo Museum, even though a trip to the museum was part of our tour, we couldn’t wait. We weren’t disappointed. We caught a cab to get there and what an experience that was. Every single car I saw was riddled with scratches, dents and worse. Red lights meant nothing to the drivers and neither did traffic lanes. And they constantly honked their horns.

Unfortunately our camera's were confiscated before we even walked through the doors of the museum. These are the only pictures I have.

The artefacts in the museum were scattered everywhere with no apparent thought to their layout and sadly, many of the pieces had little or no information detailing what they were. Despite all that it was still amazing. We saw many many sarcophagi of different shapes and sizes, some as small as a little child, some as big as a van. We saw 5000 year old wooden statues and the remains of a Queens intestines that had been preserved in Alabaster jars.

The treasure of Tut-ankh-Amun was incredible. So much gold and so many pieces to see. The jewellery was beautiful and amazingly intricate and the colours were very well preserved. It’s hard to believe these pieces are thousands of years old. I’ll go into more detail about his tomb in a future travel blog.

The pyramids of Giza are mind blowing. Until you see them it’s impossible to comprehend just how big they are. The individual blocks are enormous too and when you learn that each block was carted from Aswan and shipped 750km up the Nile its mindboggling. In the pictures below look at the size of the pyramid then see the next photo where I'm standing in amongst the giant blocks. It's gives you some appreciation of just how enormous these constructions are.

I was completely unprepared for the amount of history on display in Egypt. Hieroglyphics were everywhere. I couldn't get enough of them.

The Sphinx was just as impressive, although it has some damage to its nose. It’s bizarre that right across the road from it is KFC and Pizza Hut.

In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the haunches of a lion, the face of a human and sometimes the wings of a great bird. It was considered treacherous and merciless. The Sphinx is said to have guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes, and travelers had to answer a riddle in order to pass through. Apparently those who can’t answer the riddle were killed and eaten by this ravenous monster; a fate considered to be typical in mythological stories. Can you answer the riddle? "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?"

The answer is "day and night"
(both words are feminine in Greek).

I would've been eaten.

History fascinates me, which is why my latest book Treasured Secrets is based around a 13th century missing treasure. It was so much fun to research that era and weave fact and fiction into my story.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this week’s travel blog. Check more of my travel blogs here.

Treasured Secrets available now.

Some secrets should remain hidden forever.

Treasured Secrets is the beginning of an adrenalin fuelled new series with sexy sassy characters, exotic locations and action-packed adventure.

Want to know more? Click HERE