Natasha Duncan-Drake's Blog, page 34
August 9, 2017
Why the Decline of Livejournal Was Such a Loss
Why the Decline of Livejournal Was Such a Loss
A quick history of Livejournal for those who were not part of the community. Livejournal.com is a blogging platform which used to be the hub for just about everything from 2000 through to about 2009, expecially fandom.
1999 Livejournal was created by Brad Fitzpatrick2000 Livejournal starts to grow and users have to have an invite code to start an account. Fandom takes to Livejournal in a big way, as do other bloggers. This is the golden age of Live...
August 4, 2017
Free Fiction Friday - The Beast in Me by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Free Fiction Friday
It's the 1st Friday of August and that means it is Free Fiction Friday over at Wittegen Press. A new short story is now up for all the subscribers to our newsletter.
It is completely free to become a member and all you need is a valid email address. Fill in the form at the bottom of this page and you’re done. Don't worry if you join after the 1st Friday, the password for the month will be included in the welcome email after you subscribe.
What we WILL DO f...
July 31, 2017
Delicious Sticky Ginger Cake
Delicious Sticky Ginger Cake
This is my mother's ginger cake recipe and I have loved it most of my life. I always find other people's ginger cake not gingery enough and I figured out why when I finally nabbed the recipe off her There is a lot of ginger in this. If you don't like it quite so gingery, alter the amount to your own taste.
This recipe is also one of the easiest cake recipes there is - no folding, no need for electric whisks, just a couple of sauce pans and a flick of the wrist. It t...
July 25, 2017
5 Reasons Taking Part in Challenges on Wattpad is a Great Idea #TipsTuesdays
5 Reasons Taking Part in Challenges on Wattpad is a Great IdeaSo with everything that's been going on at home lately I really have gotten much writing done. It also hasn't just been a matter of time, but of motivation. My spark dried up because my brain was too busy focusing on other things. It's back, but I decided to feed the flames and make it burn brighter. One of the way I decided to do this is by joining in Wattpad challenges.
Wattpad has lots of communities (even though it act...
July 18, 2017
Those Mad Ideas #WriterlyWednesdays
Those Mad Ideas
You know sometimes we writers have mad ideas - oh boy did my darling sister (Sophie's Blog) have one :). She decided, in her wisdom, that it was time to create a database of all her fiction, from ideas through to finished novels, including fanfiction. So she jumped into Airtable with both feet.
Of course the next thing she did is drag me along for the ride ;).
It's actually a really good idea, because I had no clue how many drabbles I had scattered around this blog alone, let alo...
Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing #TipsTuesdays
Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing
This is another fabulous recipe that is one of my favourites, even though I now realise I haven't made it in ages :) *Makes note to buy some bananas* I have mentioned it before on this blog, but never posted the whole thing. This would undoubtedly be really nice if you added a tablespoon of rum to the bananas and took out a tablespoon of the butter milk too ;).
Equipment:Large mixing bowlmedium missing bowlFork or mouli for blitzing SieveTwo to three bun...
July 17, 2017
The Mummy (2017) - Did they have to? (Review with spoilers)
Title: The Mummy
Cast:
Tom Cruise ... Nick Morton
Russell Crowe ... Henry
Annabelle Wallis ... Jenny Halsey
Sofia Boutella ... Ahmanet
Jake Johnson ... Chris Vail
Summary (from IMDB):
An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.
I will start by saying only one cinema near us is still showing this and now I know why!
Firstly, the good things. The effects are superb and the stunts are rea...
July 11, 2017
Double Chocolate Fudge Cakes - Gluten Free
Now I've mentioned this recipe before, but it was linked to a Livejournal post of mine and I really don't trust LJ anymore, so I'm reposting it here. This recipe uses corn flour (corn starch) and ground almonds instead of flour so it is gluten free.
Double Chocolate Fudge Cakes - Gluten FreeI'm going to put two lots of ingredients up here - to make 12 small cakes or to make one large 3 decker cake. I've done my best to put in US cup/stick measures as well as the UK ones.
How the individual cake...
July 7, 2017
Free Fiction Friday - Dance of the Dead by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Free Fiction Friday
From now on the 1st Friday of every month will be Free Fiction Friday over at Wittegen Press. This means we will be posting a new short story every month for our readers to enjoy.
These stories are exclusively for subscribers of our newsletter, but it is really easy to join.
It is completely free to become a member and all you need is a valid email address. Fill in the form at the bottom of this page and you’re done. Don't worry if you join after the 1st Friday, the password...
June 22, 2017
new FREE Paranormal short story and Catch-Up Post
Survival of the Fittest by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Lil is the Sheriff of a small rural town and its chief witch - she keeps the balance between the supernaturals and the humans. When Dan Winters, alpha male of the local werewolf pack, shows up dead, she must prevent a supernatural showdown.
FREE on Wattpad
Catch-UpI know it's been a while since I have posted anything and I wanted to let everyone know that it's not because I have abandonned this blog. I will be coming back properly late July/early Au...
