BOOK + GINGER SPICE COOKIES

Shameless plug time! Although technically it's not really shameless seeing as this is my blog and I am allowed to take liberties hehe :p 

Ok, so today I'm coming at you with two things I hope you'll enjoy. One is my recently published novel called Dear Junia and the other is a stellar recipe for ginger spice cookies that you can make and then enjoy while reading the book. See, not at all tenuous...

I'm sure I've mentioned it somewhere else on this blog, but I'll say it again: I love to write. I was that kid who filled every notebook with outlandish stories about spy sisters and gangster dads and everything in between. These days, I don't always get the time to dive into fiction writing as much as I would like and so when NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) rolled up last November, it provided me with a cheeky and totally legitimate excuse to write on a regular basis. With an average word count of 1,667 words per day to reach the NaNoWriMo target of 50,000 words in one month, self-discipline was the name of the game. Miss a couple of days and I'd frantically have to catch up, often spinning my story in weird and fearless directions (thank goodness for the editing process!).

What makes NaNoWriMo so unique is the instant support and community that comes with the process. Those weekly pep talks and words of encouragement from fellow writers striving for the same goal were priceless. There was also the adrenaline rush that came with wanting to show that seemingly impossible word count who's boss.

To cut a long story short, I reached the target and the sense of relief was overwhelming. So overwhelming that I couldn't turn my back on the experience and forget about the draft sitting in my laptop. Fast forward to now and I've decided to put it out there on Amazon, not knowing what will come of it, but incredibly excited that it is done!

If you'd like to support, take a sneaky peek or share, then here is the link:

Dear Junia by Tomi Makanjuola

It is available in all Amazon stores - UK, US, Canada, France, Australia, etc.

Synopsis: Wura is a young woman in her early twenties. Fed up with wallowing in apathy, she embarks on an epistolary journey that will change her life forever. Through her candid letters to the unborn Junia, she begins to confront the murky depths of her past. Why did her mother leave? What really caused her father to give up their home and life in Africa for the too-neat streets of England? The closer she gets to finding the answers to her questions, the more she is forced to face the dark reality of family secrets that have been suppressed for years.

--------------------------------

Now on to the cookies! 

Ingredients

(makes about 20)

- 2 1/2 cups plain flour

- 3/4 cup brown sugar

- 1 cup vegan margarine

- 1-2 tbsp ground ginger or 4 tbsp ginger juice*

- 1 tsp nutmeg

- 1 tsp cinnamon

*pop a good chunk of ginger into a juicer to extract the juice (great if you want a more intense flavour)

Place all the ingredients in  large bowl and combine to form a cookie dough. It shouldn't be too sticky or too dry.

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Pinch little bits of the dough and flatten onto the baking tray to form roughly round shapes.

Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 4, for 15 minutes or until nice and golden brown. (Go order the book while you're waiting ^_^). 

Leave on a wire rack to cool before eating. Yum!