Author & Sewing Designer June McCrary Jacobs: ~ BLOG HOP CHASING THE HUNTER ~

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

~ BLOG HOP CHASING THE HUNTER ~

~ BLOG HOP ~

-- 'CHASING THE HUNTER' --

AUTHOR EMILY YAGER

~Post Includes: Book Spotlight,

Excerpt, Behind-the-Scenes Facts

About the Book & Giveaway~

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In 1788, Aria Stonewood is chased from her home in the New England colonies after being accused of murder and the abduction of twin baby girls.

Hiding a secret, Aria travels west deep into the north woods of the Minnesota territory. She seeks shelter at a French trading post run by a former priest where she also meets Francois Marcks. Both men distrust her and do not want her staying there. With the dangers of winter coming, they have no choice but to reluctantly let her stay--unaware of what the coming winter will bring to their door.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Growing up in Northwestern Minnesota, Emily spent the long winter days dreaming and creating stories. She loves the mild summers and cold, wind-swept state so much that she incorporates the landscape and small towns into her stories. A life-long book dragon, Emily is fulfilling her dream by writing novels.

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GUEST POST:

Behind-the-Scenes Facts about 'Chasing the Hunter' shared by the author, Emily Yager:

1) The Black-billed Magpie, named Zadock, was inspired after a pet Turkey that we used to have on our farm, her name was Toby. Zadock was created as an In Memory and his personality was inspired from / based off her. Why a Magpie and not a Turkey? Well, because Magpies are adorable and way more common to the area than Wild Turkeys.

2) La Faucon’s main cabin layout is from an actual cabin designed by a Proprietor in the 1770s who drew the design in his records and account book.

3) Aria Stonewood, the female lead character, is a near mirror image of my youngest sister, Scooter. She has a lot of personality which influenced the creation of this character and a lot of her made its way in the pages of the story.

4) As a cook/baker, I love reading though old cookbooks and my research included several cookbooks from the era (late 1700s early 1800s). I even went so far as to cook and try most of the recipes that are mentioned in the book. Here is one of the recipes I found that everyone in my family loved.
Biscuits au Chocolat dates to the 17th century and was a popular dessert reserved for special occasions since sugar, flour, chocolate and in some places eggs and cinnamon were specialty items for the fur traders.

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Recipe for Biscuits au Chocolat
This is a very light, delicate, cake-like dessert more than a biscuit or cookie.

2 oz unsweetened chocolate grated
8 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
8 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt and pepper

Beat chocolate, sugar, & yolks together until thick & creamy. Fold in egg whites. Add flour and gently fold in. Grease muffin cups. Fill half full with chocolate mixture. Bake at 325º F for 15-20 minutes or until tops are just firm. Cool before serving.

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5) Birch bark canoes were the main mode of transportation since the rivers were the highways. It could take two weeks just to paddle one hundred miles. In which case, they had to travel nonstop for hours, days, and weeks on end at a grueling pace stopping only for food and sleep. In the first chapter of the book I tried to hint at the exhaustion that Aria felt from travelling hundreds of miles by canoe.

6) The Ojibwe are well known for their intricate and beautiful bead work. Waabizii is a young Anishinabe Ojibwe woman whose name means swan.