Sam's Shepherd's Pie!

A few weeks ago my critique partner (who has become a really cool friend) and I were talking about food. We got chatting about our favourite meals, what we like to cook, who taught us how to cook and so on.

So, Faith (CP) said she loved fried chicken, which sounded deeeelish!

Mine, well it was a tough decision as I love food fullstop! To decide on one sole food its a toughy, but certainly one of my favourite is Shepherd's Pie. Except my Shepherd's Pie is made with beef mince instead of lamb (yuck!)

Here's a little run down on how I make my version:

Ingredients

* 500g of beef mince
* 3 tomatoes
* 2 onions
* 1 teaspoon of bovril (or any beef stock)
* a cup of water (doesn't really have to be measured, as much or as little as you like)
* a spoonful of gravy granules
* a sprig of rosemary
* half a tin of baked beans (optional but well nice!)
* few gloves of garlic
* a handful of potatoes
* some cheese
* a few glugs of milk
* a little spoonful of butter

Really simple, chuck the mince in a pan and cook until all brown. Add the onions (finely chopped) and the spoonful of bovril and cook for a few more minutes. Add the chunkily chopped tomatoes, the water, the gravy granules, garlic (finely chopped or crushed) and the rosemary. Cook for about 15 minutes on a medium heat. Add the baked beans (sounds really strange but trust me, its really nice), cook for a further 5 minutes until a fair amount of the juice has reduced.

Pour into a oven dish and set aside to cool. I find letting it cool a bit helps the mash potatoes stay firmly on top and not sink through the meat mixture.

For the topping, peel and cut the potatoes, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until they are soft. Drain and mash them, adding the milk, butter and cheese. Spoon the potatoes on top the meat and spread evenly, covering the whole dish.

Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes, and then just before serving stick under the grill to crisp the top! 

And voila! There you have it! I admit, my version does look a little messy but tastes sooooo yummy!

Give it a try :-)

'Til next time! x

Six Sentence Sunday...

...Heres another Six Sentence Sunday with my wonderful hero and heroine, Daniella and Luca :-)  Hope you guys enjoy...

“I certainly didn’t want children with her.”

“I asked if you ever wanted children.”

“Yes, of course,” he paused, his eyes fixed firmly on hers, “but only with one person.”

Daniella swallowed and heard the loud gulp sound her throat made.

“Only ever with you.” Luca looked down at his hands and then back to her, “If that wasn’t possible, then no, I never wanted children.”

Heres the link if any of you want to participate in SSS or just want to check it out :-) 

http://www.sixsunday.com/

Six Sentence Sunday with Luca and Daniella...

This is my first Six Sentence Sunday...Whoop Whoop! It's taken from my current WIP, no name as of yet! Hope you enjoy :-)

He needed her out of the bath and in his bed, right now.

“What are…” Daniella cried out as she was plucked from the tub and carried down the dimly lit hallway.

Luca kicked open the master bedroom door and placed Daniella on to the foot of his bed, with urgency yet grace.

“I told you I would have you tonight.”  He smirked, leaning down to kiss her, arms either side, trapping her. She was as still as a rock between his forearms, naked as the last of the bubbles burst against her skin.

Heres the link for Six Sentence Sunday if you want to participate or just check it out! 

http://www.sixsunday.com/

Catching Those Lucid Dream State Thoughts...

Where's my pen and paper? A fantastic idea springs to mind and you NEED to get it down on paper (or computer) 

but 

1) you're not near to your desktop or laptop. 
2) your phone has some how disappeared, most likely mine is down the back of the settee or one of the twins is trying to chew on it. 
3) Your pen runs out of ink. 
4) By the time you locate a pen, phone, computer, the idea has fizzled away and the few words you do manage to get down don't seem to have the WOW factor that was singing and dancing in your head two minutes ago. See where I'm going with this?

Any of that sound familiar??

I read a blog the other day by Ruchita and she was talking about writer's muse, how she would be preparing lunch and then BAM! Perfect sentences appeared one after the after. 

It got me thinking and agreeing with her, which I'm sure everyone can also. The time I tend to have such clear, amazing, lucid, thoughts and words come to me, is just as I'm drifting off to sleep. Literally, I'll be in that state of not awake but not quite asleep and I can hear my character's talking, the dialogue and story is so well structured and making perfect and beautiful sense....but...but...but...I'm nearly asleep! Where's my phone...my pen...I start to reach out to try and find either (or at least something!) but no...then I'm gone. ZZZZZ Fast asleep. I wake in the morning and I know I had great ideas but for the life of me I cannot remember the content and details of them. 

So, this leads me to solutions....

1) To have a pen and paper under my pillow and
2) To have my mobile phone cello taped to my hand...
3) Invest in a dream catcher!

What solutions do you guys have when it comes to capturing those golden, precious thoughts/ideas before they slip through the dream net....

'Til next time! 

Sweet dreams!

Sam :-) x

Hello my name's Samantha and I'm a Pinterest addict...

Hi all!

For a while now I've heard people talking about Pinterest but not really pay much attention until recently! I didn't really want to add another "to do" to my list of social networking sites if I could help it...and was it really necessary, after all it's only a site full of thousands of images, right? 

So, after umming and arring whether to give it a try, I took the plunge and opened an account. Initially I hated it! I couldn't get to grips with it and the whole concept didn't seem to "flow" naturally. BUT after a couple of days of playing around with it, I found myself warming to Mr Pinterest and his boards.

I soon found it was a whole lot more than just pictures. I love the fact you can create different folders for particular topics your searching for and if you want to, share on your Facebook timeline. Now well under way, I feel I'm a confident "pinner" and love the fact you can search for near enough anything you want to. I've mainly been using it for my WIP and searching for images of locations/characters which helps tons with the descriptions and feeling as though you are really there!  

If anyone fancies have a browse of my boards, click here for the link. :-)

'Til next time

Happy pinning! 

Sam x

ps: Heres a sneaky taster of my hero, courtesy of Pinterest ofcourse :-p 

Bit of a random ramble...

Hi all!

Well, its been a long time since I last blogged. Life has just been chaotic, with twins, work, work, twins, sickness bugs, etc etc etc, the list goes on. Writing unfortunately has taken a bit of a back seat :-( But I'm really trying to get it back on track now, steadily chug along with my WIP (the same one which has been the WIP since early 2011! It will be finished ONE DAY!)

March and April saw my family and I struck down with a sickness bug, twice! (How generous of you Mr Bug). Was horrid! Though, i'm hoping its gone for good now as my poor old washing machine just can't keep up with the loads!

I hate to make excuses for not being able to write, because I guess at the end of the day there really are no excuses. All comes down to time management, wanting and believing. Whilst my twins have a midday sleep, I tend to try and cram an hour or two writing in where possible and then again another hour or so in the evening (hence, can you see why this has been going on since 2011?!) It's not the most ideal way to write, and I'd obviously love to be able to sit at a lovely organised desk for hours each day. But for now, a secret hour here and there on the laptop, sitting on the sofa crossed legged will have to suffice :-) 

Right, off until next time (which will not be so long this time).

Take care!

'Til next time! 

Sam x

Finding that oh so special critique partner...

So, today I thought I'd write a short blog about critique partners...

It's bit like shopping for shoes, when you find a pair that FIT, they're a keeper!

Many of us aspiring writers have them, some have one, some have two, three, four and so on. Personally, I have just one now. Que. the intro...the lovely Faith Thomas :-) 

I've never joined a critique group as such, Faith and I met at around the time of New Voices 2011, via their facebook page. To be quite honest, I wasn't sure about showing my precious, beloved work to a stranger who would potentially rip it to shreds. Prior to meeting Faith, I had shared my work with somebody who completely obliterated my chapter, with no care in the world (real friend she was?!) which shattered my confidence in 1) writing and 2) sharing it.

Anyway, we started to chat and eventually that very first exchange of our chapter one's happened. I was so nervous about what she would "think" and say about my writing, of which I adored and felt very protective over. 

Then, ping! Her email came back with the longed "critiquing". I can remember holding my breath when I opened it. Long story short, she had pointed out some fantastic changes that could be made or elaborated on. I let out that long breath and realised receiving critique really wasn't as scary as I thought. 

Over time we've built up a great relationship of critiquing and friendship and I truly respect her opinion. She is everything I expect in a critique partner and friend (and I hope I offer her the same?!) ....

Honest (check), understanding (check), polite (check), fair (check) and constructive (CHECK). 

Enough of my ramblings, I guess what I'm trying to say is a big thank you to those lovely few of you out there who have provided me with feedback over these last 7 months or so (Joanne, Amaryllis, Marguerite) and...without my fabulous critique partner my WIP would likely not be in process :-) so thank you Faith! 

'Til next time! :-) x