Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Maggie Craig

On this quiet Sunday morning why don't you put the kettle on, make your favourite breakfast and settle down for Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo

I'd delighted to welcome writer, Maggie Craig

☼ Good Morning, Maggie. Happy Sunday !

What favourite food are you bringing to Sunday brunch?

Since this is a special occasion, I’m bringing a special brunch dish, eggs royale. Poached eggs on toast overlaid with strips of smoked salmon, topped with hollandaise sauce and a sprinkling of paprika. Food of the gods!

Would you like a pot of English Breakfast tea, a strong Americano, or a glass of Bucks Fizz?

Strong English Breakfast tea please, Twining’s 1706 blend.

Which of your literary heroes are joining us today?

I thought we might invite Lord Peter Wimsey. Perhaps Harriet (née Vane) would come along too. If I could have an author as well, it would be Daphne du Maurier.

What’s the title of the book nearest to you?

There are two of them: my own latest non-fiction, One Week in April: The Scottish Radical Rising of 1820 and A Scottish Nurse at Work by Henrietta Tayler. This is her memoir of nursing friend and foe alike across Europe throughout World War I as a Red Cross VAD. She went on to live a long and productive life as a researcher into and chronicler of Jacobite history, working with her beloved brother Alistair. 

What’s the oldest book on your book shelf?

I have quite a number of antiquarian books, some of my most precious possessions. I think the oldest is a bound volume of The Gentleman’s Magazine for 1746, published in January 1747. I also have a political pamphlet from 1746, printed by Mary Cooper at the Globe in Paternoster Row, London. Such a thrill to read words first penned so long ago. 

Which book do you really want to read but haven’t had time for …yet!

Don Quixote by Cervantes. 

Penguin Classics

Do you have a guilty reading pleasure, and if so will you tell us about it?

I never feel guilty about reading for pleasure! Now that I don’t have to get up to see anyone off to school or work, I do enjoy reading in bed in the morning before I get up.

If the house was on fire which book would you rescue?

That’s a really difficult one. Probably Henrietta Tayler’s memoir, as it’s now a rare book and doesn’t seem to have made it onto the Internet yet. 

Do you have a reading/writing playlist on Spotify, or a favourite CD to listen to when reading/writing? And if so will you share with us a favourite song or piece of music that makes you feel happy?

I have masses of CDs and I love accessing music on YouTube. If it’s been a difficult day, I chill out to James Taylor singing On the Roof.

Do you have a favourite place to settle down to read/write?

I like to read in bed or on my comfy couch in the living room, lifting my head now and then to look at the garden. I write in my dining room, so there’s a massive tidy-up required each year before Christmas dinner or when friends are visiting!

Give us four essential items that a writer absolutely needs?

Curiosity, empathy, imagination and something to write with, whether this be a state-of-the-art computer or pencil and paper.

What can you tell us about your latest novel, or your current work in progress?

My latest novel is Dance to the Storm, being the second instalment of the adventures of Miss Christian Rankeillor and Captain Robert Catto of the Edinburgh Town Guard. It’s currently available as an ebook and will shortly be available as an audiobook. The paperback has been delayed until after lockdown is lifted.

I’m working now on the third book in the series, Storm Tossed Moon. I’m trying to give Kirsty and Robert a HEA but they don’t make it easy for themselves.

Where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter  @CraigMaggie

Website