Adventures in Book Research by Vicki Delany

Jenn McKinlay: I'm absolutely chuffed to have our friend Vicki Delany visit us today to talk about her upcoming travels and plots and tea!  

Vicki Delany: I’ve been reading this marvelous blog for a long time, and I’ve noticed something: If there’s one thing the Reds love it’s Britain and Ireland, and food. 

What a coincidence, because I love those things too.

As it happens, I’m traveling to England next month to do location research for not one, but two, of my books. 

First stop will be Halifax in Yorkshire. I’ve been to the UK many times, but never to Halifax. 

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In the Tea by the Sea series from Kensington Books, the point is made (many times) that the grandmother character, Rose, once was a kitchen maid in a stately home near Halifax. She collided with a visiting American by the name of Eric Campbell coming out of a shop in that city, and visited him in hospital. When he was released, the relationship blossomed, they married, and Rose moved to Iowa where they raised their family. 

For book six in the series, I have the brilliant idea of Rose returning to Thornecroft Castle, for Lady Frockmorton’s 100th birthday celebrations. Of course, being an elderly lady, Rose can’t travel on her own so her granddaughter, Lily Roberts, the series protagonist, comes with her. What do you know: by total coincidence Lily’s neighbour, Matt, a true crime writer, is doing research in Yorkshire at the same time and Lily’s friend Bernie has gone with him. By even more of a coincidence, Lily’s love interest, the English gardener, Simon, has returned to England at the end of his contract at Victoria-On-Sea, Rose’s Cape Cod B&B, and has a job at a stately home near Halifax. 

Thus, off goes Vicki, to Halifax to check it all out. I’m throwing monetary caution to the wind and staying at a hotel I’m hoping to use as the inspiration for Thornecroft Castle (not a castle but an 18th century house built on the remains of a castle).  I chose Holdsworth house (Luxury Hotel West Yorkshire - Holdsworth House Hotel & Restaurant). If you’ve seen the TV show Last Tango in Halifax (which is great, with a fabulous cast including Sarah Lancaster, Nicola Walker, Anne Reid, Derick Jacobi), some scenes were filmed at that very hotel.  

For you British TV lovers (that includes me) Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack, among many others, were also filmed in near Halifax. I’m hoping to get to Shibden House, Anne Lister’s home, when there.  (Shibden Hall | Calderdale Museums). I’m excited about seeing the exact location for Thorncliffe Castle as well as the areas my characters will see and visit.

And, of course, because the Tea by the Sea series is about afternoon tea, they will be having tea. Meaning, I have to find the best places to go. 

A future book in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from Crooked Lane Books will also be set in England as the gang travel to London for Pippa and Grant’s wedding. 

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I have been to London a few times, and went in 2017 for an earlier Sherlock Holmes book, A Murder is  Game is Afoot. That time I found the house where Gemma’s parents live and a nice hotel for my characters to stay in. 

London research is more about tube time-tables and stations, and the time it takes to from X to Y by foot or taxi than the scenery or castle ruins. I’m going to give Pippa and Grant a flat in Greenwich, for the precise reason that I’ve never been to Greenwich. So I’ll have to check it out.

Gemma will be in London for her sister’s wedding and to solve a mystery, but Jayne Wilson, her ever loyal and always confused best friend, will be hoping to sample the delights of that city. And for Jayne, that includes afternoon tea.

My daughter Alex, who’s coming with me, and I are already searching out the perfect locations for afternoon tea in London.

Book research: It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. 

Reds and Readers, I bet you know all the best places for tea and other English delights. Any suggestions? 

Alex and I are heavy into tradition when it comes to afternoon tea, but we’re always open to new and interesting things. Anyone have a must-see destination in or near Halifax? A favourite restaurant in London? Remember, it’s all in the cause of research. 😊

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Year Round Christmas books for Crooked Lane, the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane.

Vicki is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards.

Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

You can find out more about her many wonderful series at: www.vickidelany.com

Where's My Cuppa?

 RHYS BOWEN:  I am currently in England, enjoying my yearly visit to family and friends and enjoying all the things that were dear to me as a child. I’ve already had bangers and mash, fish and chips and a full English breakfast. I’ve strolled down Oxford Street, looking at my favorite shops. So much never changes in England. That’s one of the things I love.  I go into a little shop in Cornwall and I’m greeted with “Hello, my lovey. What can I do for you?”

I go into the pub and it’s noisy and full of laughter and feels just right. And there is still bunting and flags from the Coronation, with everyone still on a high. But one thing there is not, any more, is the ubiquitous cup of tea.

When I was growing up there would be a kettle on the stove all day in case a neighbor dropped by for a cup of tea.  If anyone came to call the first thing a host would do  would be to offer that cup of tea. If you were in an accident, someone would bring a cup of tea (for shock). If you had a baby, after the child was born a cup of tea would be brought.  During WWII a cup of tea solved everything: you were bombed, you lost your house? Have a cup of tea, love. It was the British equivalent of valium. Calming, comforting.

Now it seems that the British cuppa is no more. Oh, you can get one at most cafes, but now it seems the drink of choice is coffee. Costas coffee houses, Starbucks and if you go to visit: can I get you a coffee? The younger generations certainly prefer their coffee.  I enjoy a coffee too but there are certain times of day when it has to be tea: first thing in the morning and then at tea time. Four o’clock and I must have my cuppa.

I own six tea pots, ranging from Georgian silver to Wedgwood to good old British earthenware. Does that tell you that I’m addicted? And not only me: husband John blends our own loose leaf tea. A mixture of Darjeeling, Chinese Keemun, a little Ceylon and a strong Indian fine leaf. Tea is important in our household.

So why has it lost favor in Britain? Two reasons, I suspect. The population is now so fluid. People from across the world live and work in Britain and they like coffee. Also the concept of tea time has gone. When I was a child most women did not work. They enjoyed their tea, with cake and biscuits because most husbands did not come home until quite late and it was a long while until dinner. It was a time for socializing after the days chores were done.Also children coming home from school wanted their tea right away.

My fond memories are of tea on the lawn in summer. Setting a proper table outside. Carrying out a plate of little cakes, or slices of a big cake and enjoying a rare moment of English sunshine, surrounded by flowers and bird song.

Now, alas, everyone is too busy for tea time. Women all work. Families arrive home and eat a meal together. Too often it’s take out. Or in upper class families the nanny serves children their tea–weak tea with lots of milk and sugar.  And that lovely afternoon moment of serenity is lost. But here I am, enjoying it right now. There are still cream teas in Cornwall. And they are still wonderful.

Who is a fan of tea here? (I know Debs is addicted as I am and I'm hoping to see her in London)

Debs Does London Show and Tell

DEBORAH CROMBIE: It may be What We're Writing week here on Jungle Red, but for me that means a chance to show-and-tell from my October trip to London (and to go back through hundreds of photos!) My lovely daughter was with me for the first five jam-packed days, then I had another two weeks to do research for Kincaid/James #20. My list of things to see and do was huge and would have taken three months rather than three weeks, but I at least made a dent.

Top of my list was to see Little Venice, an area of London I'd read about but somehow never actually visited. This is the little stretch of the Grand Union Canal just north of Paddington Station. It's incredibly picturesque and there are boat tours, a fictionalized version of which is (at least at the moment) the first scene in book #20.

Look at that sky! Every photo I took on a sunny day looks almost psychedelic! 

Then, I wanted to see Charing Cross Police Station. As much as I've wandered around Charing Cross/Covent Garden, I had never managed to see it as it's a bit tucked away.

And although I'd written about the new New Scotland Yard headquarters on the Thames Embankment, I'd never actually seen that either. Here's the Cecil Green Building, now home of the Metropolitan Police. The New Scotland Yard sign really does spin!

Here's the view looking across the river.

I revisited much of the Bloomsbury and Soho territory of A KILLING OF INNOCENTS, and it was great to get my mental geography of London refreshed. I had lots of fun touristy moments, too. We had afternoon tea at the Shard. I didn't expect to be so gobsmacked by the view!

Here's Kayti looking glamorous with the Shard in the background. Borough Market, the best food market in London, is just to the left.

I rode an Uber boat, thanks to Kayti's adventurousness! The Thames in a stormy sunset was breathtaking. 

But out of four afternoon teas, my favorite (and by far the least expensive) was at the Wolseley on Piccadilly. Delicious food, delicious tea, and lovely service.

Favorite meal? The vegetarian restaurant Bubala in Soho totally lived up to all the hype. I also loved the lunch Kayti and I had at Noble Rot in Lamb's Conduit Street. Their fixed price lunch menu is one of the best deals in London.

Favorite wine bar? Here we are on the patio at Gordon's, the historic wine bar in Charing Cross. Is that Winston Churchill looming over our shoulders?

Favorite cocktail spot? The Botanist in Sloane Square. So fun and friendly, and the Bramble is delish!

Favorite new pub? The Surprise in Chelsea. Discovered by accident!

If you think I did nothing but eat and drink for three weeks you wouldn't be far wrong, but I swear I walked it off! 

Now I have so much material and so many ideas for the new book. The trick is to sit down and stitch it all into a story--many thanks to our Lucy for yesterday's plotting tips! 

And of course I'll also be looking forward to the launch of A KILLING OF INNOCENTS in February. You can preorder it here!

In the meantime, happy holidays, and if anyone has London questions I'll do my best to answer them!

Tea Party--Lori Rader Day

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  It is always an enormous treat to have award-winning author Lori Rader-Day visit us on Jungle Red (except for the fact that I think Lori was trying to torture me to death with this post!) And TREAT is the operative word here, as you will see. (You might want to prepare yourself by making a cuppa, because otherwise you will have to get up and make a pot or two once you start reading--and drooling over these photos...)

 

It’s tea time somewhere

By Lori Rader-Day

 

In 1997 I went innocently to England to visit a friend, packing my soda addiction and bringing back a tea habit. Tea for breakfast. Tea in the afternoon. Tea for a pick-me-up, a nice cuppa tea when I arrived back home from errands or at any new stage of the day, really, always served “white” with milk.

 

Do you know how much easier it is to get Dr. Pepper in England than it is to get a proper brew, English breakfast, with milk, once I was back in America? Even at, say, a mystery conference? But sometimes it’s difficult to get a good cup of tea even in England. Even at, say, Agatha Christie’s house.

Researching my new novel Death at Greenway, I was able to visit Christie’s beloved holiday home Greenway twice, once staying three nights in the house as the guest of the National Trust, thanks to a connection made by Sophie Hannah. (Was it wonderful? Oh, yes, and absolutely essential for the book’s verisimilitude.) But we had no access to kitchen or kettle. England gave me a tea jones and then wouldn’t provide it until 10 a.m. when my husband and I were the first customers at the café when the staff and volunteers opened up. We made our breakfast from the cream tea menu. “Cream tea” means scones and is less a meal than an excuse to have a conveyance of clotted cream and jam to one’s mouth. Pure decadence.

 

I love tea: just “builder’s” black tea. Not green. Not cinnamon. Not mint. Not herbal, which is just flowers floating in water, or Earl Grey, which tastes like a sweater. Researching an English story in England, I had the chance to have every variation of the tea meals served there: a “bad” cup of tea that was still refreshing in Paignton, weary from travel. A wonderful cream tea in Soar to make up for backtracking to retrieve coats left behind at the inn where the sea crashed against the coast, a place that also worked itself into the book.

 

  

I have had tea up and down the countryside of England in the name of research, from South Devon down near Dartmouth and the Channel where Greenway is situated to the famous Bettys Teashop when I attended Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Festival, colloquially known as “Harrogate” for the town in the north where it takes place each year.

 

 

But can I get posh for a moment? What I truly love is afternoon tea.

 

Afternoon tea is the one you’re thinking of, ladies in hats. Perhaps you have called it high tea before and now never will again, OK? High tea is supper, fish and chips and such in a pub, not fancy at all, not necessarily featuring tea, the drink. It is called that perhaps because one eats high tea up at the table, while afternoon tea is taken in comfortable, low chairs in the room where visitors linger. (You can learn more about the socioeconomic history of the differences here.)

Afternoon tea is a delight, a special occasion. We have no real American equivalent to afternoon tea. A snack? Is there any precision, any pomp or history to a snack?

Shall I be mother and serve you the three tiers of afternoon tea?

Along with your actual tea, we have on the bottom tier some tiny sandwiches, perhaps egg salad or cucumber and butter? Savory bites here are welcome, as we’ll get to many sweet options soon. My friend and author Mary Anne Mohanraj hosted a tea party launch for Death at Greenway in her English garden and served all the above plus what she calls “ribbon sandwiches,” with three layers, one each of beets, carrots, and spinach. (Recipe and description here but also check out her Patreon subscriptions and cookbook.) I don’t even like beets but love ribbon sandwiches.

 

But save room because on the second tier we have scones, served with clotted cream and jam or lemon curd, and we can argue over which is applied first later. The important thing is to get your scone loaded with both cream and jam and heading toward your mouth.

 And we’re not even finished. Consider the top tier: tiny teacakes, perhaps some fondant involved, the sort of thing many contestants on Great British Bake-Off never perfect. Also biscuits, pâtisserie—there are no absolute rules to what might appear on the tray, and that’s part of the fun, to see what each host chooses to serve their guests. Like the mango trifle Mary Anne prepared for our launch party…

  

(You can find some recipes and ideas for hosting your very own afternoon tea here.)

The top tier are sweets, the likes of which makes most of us think of Paree, dessert after what has essentially been a meal of dessert. Maybe it’s too much?

Well, perhaps just one. If you insist. You’ve gone to all this trouble. It would be rude not to.

And of course we’ll finish off the pot of tea to wash it down. Afternoon tea is an event lasting as long as the tea and conversation flow. The whole point of afternoon tea is that the small bites don’t get in the way of talking. It’s a treat to be shared with friends, something special for visitors.

 

England and its people have been so generous with sharing their country, history, and pleasures with me throughout the process of researching and writing Death at Greenway and now? Well, sometimes afternoon tea is served with champagne when the occasion calls for celebration. I’m raising my glass in your direction. Thank you, my lover (as they say to good friends in Devon), and cheers!

 

 

Photos of the Serendib House Death at Greenway tea party launch were taken by John Thomas Bychowski. Poisoned portrait and tea cup stack photos were taken by Justin Barbin Photography. All other photos are courtesy of the author or her friends.

Lori Rader-Day is the Edgar Award- and Agatha Award-nominated and Anthony Award- and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of The Lucky One and Under a Dark Sky. She lives in Chicago, where she co-chairs the Midwest Mystery Conference and teaches creative writing at Northwestern University. Her newest book, Death at Greenway, is based on a little-known moment in history, when a group of London children were evacuated from the Blitz during World War II to Agatha Christie’s holiday estate. Visit her at www.LoriRaderDay.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

 

DEBS: When you've finished swooning over the goodies above, can I just add that Lori's book is delicious as well? It is so atmospheric and gripping and just creepy enough to make you want to curl up under a rug (that's British for a throw) with your very own cup of English Breakfast. Or maybe even Earl Grey. (I like Earl Grey but  Lori's description made me snort. I totally get it. And I agree about all the other tea flavors. Just no.)

READERS, tell us about your favorite afternoon tea experiences? And who has visited Greenway?
 

What We're Writing--Deborah Crombie Missing London

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  I am really missing London these days. Not that I had a definite visit planned for this year, but somehow knowing that I can't even contemplate such a journey (or that ten-hour plane flight each way) until there is a vaccine for Covid-19, or until there is some change from what is now the foreseeable future, has made the longing to be there painfully sharp.

I look at the photos my London photographer friend has sent me of empty streets, of Buckingham Palace with only a few scattered cyclists, of Piccadilly Circus without a living soul, and my heart contracts. It is a ghost city.

So I've been consoling myself with looking at some of my own favorite London photos.

Here's a Portobello Market vegetable stall. The market is always so full of life and activity--I can't imagine it deserted.

The Sun in Spendour pub at the top (south) end of Portobello Road, which used to be my "local" when I stayed in Notting Hill, and I still stop in every time I visit the market.

A flower stall on Portobello market.

And here I am back in 2017, having afternoon tea at St. Ermin's Hotel in Victoria (literally a stone's throw from Scotland Yard!)

Gosh, my hair looks short compared to what I'm seeing in the mirror now! (And, yes, it was tea AND champagne...)

I'm keeping up with the London news. I read the BBC updates every day, and Eater London, because you can judge the pulse of the city from what's going on in the restaurant world. (And that is not much these days...)

My favorite hotel is closed--as are all London hotels--which makes me sad and I wonder how all the lovely people on the staff are doing. But I had a little boost from an email newsletter today. One of my favorite London restaurant groups (which includes the restaurants Church Road, Elystan Street, and Kitchen W8) is providing meals for the NHS workers at the Royal Brompton Hospital!

Of course, I do have the advantage of being able to go to London in my imagination. Although, like most of us, I'm struggling to reconcile writing a pre-pandemic book with a post-pandemic world.
I'm also struggling with the "to prologue, or not to prologue" issue, so here is a little snippet from Kincaid/James #19, which might be a prologue...or might not.


     She stood looking down at her daughter, sleeping, damp hair tangled, her duvet kicked half off. The child had never slept easily. But those nights of walking and rocking, walking and rocking, were too distant now, a memory she struggled to grasp, just as she struggled to recall the warm weight of her baby in her arms. Now, the half-light from the open bedroom door made hieroglyphics of the unicorns dancing across her rumpled pajamas, as if the beasts were dancing in scattered moonlight.
     How could she bear to leave her little girl, perhaps for months? But she must, she knew she must. There were others who needed her more. And she needed to be herself, needed room to breathe, room to think, room to make decisions without the constant weight of his displeasure.
     She felt his presence even before she heard his footstep in the hall and his shadow blocked the light behind her. He grasped her shoulders. “You won’t go.”
    She didn’t turn, tried to stop herself flinching. “I have to. You know I have to. I can help—”
    “That’s your God complex,” he said softly. “Your place is here. A mother. A wife.”
    “Yes, but—” Her protest died away as his fingers bit into the soft flesh of her upper arms.
     His voice was a whisper now, a breath in her ear. “If you do this, my love, you will regret it. I can promise you that.”

So REDS and readers, what things do you want more at the moment, just because you know you can't have them? Including a proper afternoon tea...

Do have a Spot of Tea.

RHYS BOWEN: As you know I am currently in England and one of the things I look forward to most when I am here is teatime. To me it is the perfect civilized meal--a welcome break at the time when tiredness hits. Everything prepared in advance so plenty of time to sit, chat and enjoy.. You can have it at the Ritz for fifty five pounds or at a country cafe for five. In someone's home or even out on the lawn on fine summer days when strawberries and cream may be added.

  The white tablecloth set with the best bone china. Tiny sandwiches containing smoked salmon or cucumber or egg and cress followed by my favorite part of the meal--freshly baked scones with cream and strawberry jam.  Since I'm down in Cornwall at the moment the cream is real clotted cream--as thick and yellow as butter. A big dollop on top of a warm scone and I'm in heaven.

The meal is finished with cake--either slices of a big cake, a Victoria sponge or a rich fruit cake, or little cakes of various sorts--ranging from simple rock buns to petit fours.  And of course there is the tea. Always loose leaf made with boiling water in a pot. It can be strong and black, served with milk ans sugar. It can be milder and scented as in Earl Grey. It can be one of the China teas, fragrant and spicy--Oolong, Keemun, Lapsang Sushong. These are always served with lemon instead of milk.

A small point of interest. None of the above is called HIGH TEA. This is afternoon tea. High tea is a meal that combines teatime with some elements of supper--cold ham, cold scotch eggs etc. It is in place of supper when one has to go to a theater, perhaps, or the servants have an evening off. (If you happen to have servants, of course).

At Malice Domestic convention we had a tea to celebrate Agatha Christie's one hundred and fiftieth birthday. It was a lot of fun and we all tucked in....

Except Hank. This was her tea.

Now you know why she stays so fabulously slim.
So tell me, gentle readers... are you big fans of tea as a meal? Any favorite sandwiches or cakes?
.