Azure (Drowning In You) (36 page)

About
Myra
Crow and Shakespeare

We all know Shakespeare is real. Well, as much as we can know, really: his works exist and are admired to this day, but we aren’t sure whether the person who wrote them was a man or a woman, and whether their name was Shakespeare or if it was only a pseudonym. In any case, Shakespeare’s work continues to impress and move us today. All Shakespearean quotes in this book are really taken from his work.

Myra Crow is another story altogether. As you may have guessed, Myra Crow is not a real person and the quotes from her work are all made up by yours truly for the sake of fiction.

About being blind as a bat

As for Olivia being almost blind and losing her lenses all the time: this is from experience, guys. I’m very blind and rely on my contact lenses to navigate life. As it happens, I often lose them — when my eyes get too dry or when I cry, and being the absent-minded person I am, I often forget to pack my glasses along. And yes, when not wearing lenses or glasses, life does look like a colorful blur. In the mornings, I need to feel my way to the bathroom, and I know exactly where everything is in my apartment. Put me in an unknown place and I’m lost.

One last thing...

A huge thanks to all of you who followed my heroes on their adventures. I hope you enjoyed spending time with them. I am thinking of writing a sequel, so if you have enjoyed this novel and if would like to read more, please let me know.

Finally, I’d appreciate it very much if you could write a review. It would mean the world to me.

Here are three recipes for you from the book in case you would like to try them out:

Three Greek recipes

Kaltsouni

For the dough:

1 cup butter

2 egg yolks

1 tbs. sugar

1 cup milk

5-6 cups soft flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the filling:

1 kilo mizithra or ricotta cheese

3 tbs. sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp. grated orange peel
 

Put flour in a bowl and make a dip in the center. Pour the melted butter into the dip, then the egg yolks, half the milk, and sugar. Knead the ingredients together, adding milk as needed to create a soft, smooth dough.

Divide the dough into three parts. Roll out each piece until it is about 1 cm thick. Cut into circles, about 4-5 cm in diameter.

For the filling, combine cheese, sugar, 1 egg, and grated peel. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each dough circle and push dough in from the edges to form small tarts. Brush the surface of each tart with beaten egg and sprinkle them with cinnamon. Bake at 180C for 25-35 minutes.

Frappe (Fra-pee)

(despite Olivia’s reaction to it, I like it in the heat of summer...)