I mentioned last time on “Book Bites” that I am a fan of young adult fiction. Of course, I am…I write YA! This week, I am thrilled to host Daisy White, author of the YA Fantasy/Romance Taming Tigers (Fire & Ice YA ), which is currently available for pre-order, and will be released July 30th. Daisy also shares a recipe for Strawberry Ice Slice… which sounds like the perfect summer treat!
Who is the main character in Taming Tigers? What is she like?
Seventeen-year-old Talia is a survivor. She lives in war-torn Arista and scrapes a living in the infamous refugee Camps as a seamstress.
What would Talia choose for her last meal?
Talia would have her favourite Feast Day treat of sticky rice balls, with raw fish. For dessert she would have something involving ‘olinta’ the sweet red berries found in the Blue Mountains.
How about you? What would you choose for your last meal?
A full English breakfast with bacon, scrambled eggs with brown sauce, a glass of orange juice, and a mug of chai tea. I previously worked as cabin crew and went to bed at very strange times, so the breakfast sometimes became dinner and it has become a habit. Comfort food at its best!
Why should someone bite into Taming Tigers?
Taming Tigers is inspired by human survival, and is a story of love and revenge against the backdrop of a refugee camp, and warring countries. Sadly this is all too common, but I hope readers with root for Talia to follow her dreams and achieve her end goal of swapping the drudgery of desert-bound Arista for the pavements of Leonore.
The first three chapters of the book won me a place on the Curtis Brown/Foyles New Beginnings workshop in London in 2014, which gave me the tools to carry on writing as the story developed. Taming Tigers is the first of a trilogy about Talia and Kellar.
Taming Tigers has been selected for a trade mission to China in October so spreading the word globally!
That is very cool! Do you have a recipe you’d like to share?
This recipe is Talia’s dessert – she would make it with olinta berries but I find strawberries just as good 😉 It is perfect for Summer and dinner in the garden as well as in a desert! I often make this for my kids as a treat, or even add some alcohol for a grown-up pudding if I have guests…
Strawberry Ice Slice
300ml whipping cream
250g yoghurt
1tsp vanilla bean paste
1tbsp icing sugar
70g bought meringue nests
200g chopped strawberries
3 tbsp strawberry jam
1) Line a 2Ib loaf tin with clingfilm
2) Whisk cream, yoghurt, vanilla and icing sugar until thick. Break meringue into pieces and fold in.
3) Mix strawberries and jam and ripple into cream mixture. Pour into loaf tin and freeze for 4.5 hours.
4) To serve turn out onto plate and add fresh berries and mint leaves to garnish!
Thank you so much! You can connect with Daisy White and learn more about Taming Tigers at the links below:
https://www.facebook.com/DaisyWhiteAuthor
https://uk.pinterest.com/daisywhite1922/taming-tigers-ya-fantasy-release-date-july-2015/
http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/daisywhite/tamingtigers.html
