My Lead Gets Her Drink On

It is a beautiful sunny day. My husband is keeping the children off of me. I am writing. Good stuff.

But wait, there's more.

I have a jug of sangria and I'm writing about my lead character, Mary, getting her drink on. Now, in my first novel, Frances had too much to drink on an empty stomach and ended up throwing up. Not only was her fuzzy mind fun to write, but the vomit scene was funny and a glimpse of real life that many people can relate to.

Now, I decided to write this scene in spite of the fact that I know that my sister (also Mary) will read it and ask me if I notice a theme about alcohol consumption and how I feel about that. I write this scene knowing that Avalon books will want nothing to do with me. I write this scene because it's fun. My main character is at a crazy party. People are handing her beverages left and right. She's going to make a fool of herself. Sir Nicholas is not going to take advantage because he's a good guy. I'm am not glorifying alcohol consumption, I'm merely including it. Why? Because it happened. In fact, in Elizabethan England, it would have been almost impossible to find a non-alcoholic beverage that was safe to drink.

Excuse me, I need to refill my glass.

So, in honor of me completing this drunk chapter and starting the hungover one (it will happen), I will share some deliciousness with you.

Sangria -- Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja reds, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
• 1 Lemon cut into wedges
• 1 Orange cut into wedges
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Shot brandy
• 2 Cups ginger ale or club soda

I added vodka instead of brandy. I also added halved grapes and diced apples instead of their fruit suggestions.

Now, back to writing. Mary has already had one goblet of lambic. The night is young... but tomorrow her hair of the dog will be Butter Beer (thank you J.K. Rowling and Heston Blumenthal).