Tag: gifts

Joy! My First Recipe Book is Here!

Post author By Josephine Moon
Post date November 22, 2023

Lovely ones, for years and years, you’ve been telling me how much my books make your mouth water and make you hungry and how much you want me to write a recipe book. Well, finally I have put together my first recipe book, and it’s available from today, just in time for Christmas celebrations and gift giving.

Joy: GET YOUR COPY NOW

What’s in it? My blue ribbon winning strawberry jam recipe, for one. 🙂 These recipes are family friendly, all gluten free by default (but you can substitute your own flour, no problem) and usually dairy free (but you can also substitute your usual replacements). They are highly flexible recipes, made for you to play with. Cooking is creative, after all, so I want my recipes to be inspiring and supporting, as much as they are instructional.

I’ve also included a five-page special event guide on How To Throw A Tuscan Feast. This is a great event for a special occasion, such as Christmas, Easter or (as I did) for a special wedding anniversary. I’ve also included recipes for cakes, cupcakes, icing, cocktails, apple crumble, a hearty chicken dinner, gingerbread and more.

My food stories and recipes are inspired by my bestselling foodie fiction books. For years, I’ve wanted to bring you, my readers, this accessible, family friendly and tested collection of some of my favourite recipes. This is the first volume of recipes, accompanied by behind-the-scenes stories and memories. It’s a great idea for a Christmas gift for a loved one, especially if you can’t catch up in person – you can send this ebook to them, wherever they are.

I hope you love it.

Jo x

Tags author, book, books, buy now, cake, chicken, christmas, cocktails, cookbook, cooking, creative, crumble, cupcakes, dairy free, download, Easter, ebook, family, feast, festive, fiction, flexible, food, GF, gifts, gingerbread, gluten free, icing, ideas, jam, josephine moon, novels, recipe, Recipes, season, tuscan

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Blue Ribbon Winning Strawberry Jam? Yes, please!

Post author By Josephine Moon
Post date November 14, 2023

Yesterday, I used the ‘C’ word online for the first time this year. Yep, I said it: Christmas.

This year, I am kicking off my Christmas cooking with a batch of my finest strawberry jam. And what is the recipe I’m using? Nothing other than my blue ribbon winning strawberry jam from the Royal Queensland Show (the Ekka), 2019.

I had never made jam before that but, as I like to do, I researched my food theme and competitive jam making thoroughly in order to write about a family of jam makers in my novel, The Jam Queens.

Researching is one of my favourite parts of writing a book so I do it thoroughly, that’s for sure. I will always try to do whatever it is my characters are doing so that I can write about it authentically. And I was glad I did because officious world of competitive jam making is staggeringly strict! To say I shocked to take 1st place in a Royal Show is an understatement. Beginner’s luck, no doubt, but still something that was incredibly exciting and fun.

This week, I’ll be using my blue ribbon winning recipe (which is printed in the back of The Jam Queens) to make gifts for loved ones, not for competition. I am a ‘slow jammer’, making my jam over several days. And the heavenly aroma of macerated strawberries is reward enough.

Tags 1st place, australia, baking, book, brisbane, christmas, cooking, ekka, food, gifts, jam, jam makers, jam making, macerated, novel, receipe, royal show, slow jammer, slow jamming, strawberries, strawberry, the jam queens, theme, win

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Twelve Months of Winning

Post author By Josephine Moon
Post date December 3, 2021

In the spirit of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, I’ve decided to go a step further and am introducing the ‘Twelve Months of Winning’. Each month, you’ll get the chance to win a prize pack inspired by the themes in my published novels so far.

The December prize is wrapped and ready to go! It includes things to eat, pretty things, things to grow and a book to read or gift to another. The book theme for this month is of course ‘Christmas’.

To win, you’ll need to be signed up to my love letters. The next one is heading your way on Sunday morning so sign up now and receive my tea and chocolate tasting notes just for joining.

I can’t wait to give this first prize away!

Jo x

Tags books, books on prescription, cake, cakes, chocolate, christmas, foodie fiction, foodie lit, gifts, giveaway, great stories, honey, josephine moon, love, newsletter, tea, twelve days, twelve months, uplit, win

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Win 20 books + $500 Dymocks Gift Voucher

Post author By Josephine Moon
Post date August 28, 2021

Emergency Afghanistan Appeal.

Here’s what I wish: I wish I could scoop up all the babies that mothers are passing over the airport fences to the allied soldiers on the ground, desperate for them to be taken away from Afghanistan and to a safer life.

But I can’t.

Here’s what I CAN do. I can help get dollars into the hands of the NGOs that work on the ground. The Afghan community in Australia have suggested that CARE Australia is one of the best organisations to help at this time. We can help them.

For your chance to win 20 of my books (to enjoy, donate to a street library or retirement home, or give away as gifts for the next two years ) AND a $500 Dymocks Books voucher (as donated by AAC) you simply click this link https://py.pl/VyH2V to be taken to PayPal.

Tickets are $10 each. I’ll draw the winner at 9am 12th September. The link to get your tickets: https://py.pl/VyH2V

Date drawn: Sunday 12th September, 9am

All proceeds go to: CARE Australia

Terms: Australian postal address only. 1 winner.

Sponsors: Josephine Moon and Allied Aged Care

Tags AAC, afghan, afghanistan, airport, allied aged care, appeal, australia, book raffle, books, care, care australia, dymocks, emergency, gifts, hope, josephine moon, mothers passing babies, raffle, voucher, war, win

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Guess What? I Have Goodies for You if you Pre-Order The Cake Maker’s Wish!

Post author By Josephine Moon
Post date April 26, 2020

Copy of Spring Seasonal Outfits

GET YOUR SIGNED COPIES Of THE CAKE MAKER’S WISH

*USE THIS LINK*

Thank you to everyone who has asked about signed copies of The Cake Maker’s Wish. This is how you can get yourself not only a signed copy but extra goodies too!

Sandy Pages Books at Noosa (one of my local stores) can help.

If you pre-order the book before 18th May, I’ll be able to pop into the store to sign it for you or a loved one for their birthday or get-well gift… whatever you like.

To say thank you for pre-ordering, I’m going to email you an exclusive invitation to an online gathering to chat to me about the book (or dogs, or chocolate or cakes!)

AND I’ll send you an exclusive recipe that I’ve been working on from NEXT YEAR’S book (currently called The Jam Queen) that you might like to try out to bring to the gathering.

AND, Shamini is also discounting the RRP just for you!

As soon as the book is available, Shamini can post it straight to you. If you are local to Noosa, she can deliver it to your door. If you are outside Noosa but able to drive to the Noosa store, you can pick it up and save the postage.

Please note: the book is officially released on 2 June. If you would like to order for Mother’s Day, just let me know and I can email you a gift certificate you can print out and give to your mum.

Hooray! Physically distant but socially connected author-reader goodness!

Already pre-ordered the book? No problem! Simply email me your receipt and I’ll send you the invite too. Email: josephinemoon@live.com.au

CLICK HERE to get ordering. I can’t wait to get signing and I’m excited to meet you online!

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Booksellers: Love Your Local

Post author By Josephine Moon
Post date November 21, 2013

Since my last post about high tea in Melbourne, I have enjoyed another two events (in Brisbane and Sydney) with booksellers, who are smart, funny and creative people who absolutely LOVE books with all their might. Where in the world would we be without booksellers? I can’t even imagine but I know that’s not a world I want to live in.

You see, I spend a lot of time in bookshops, gazing at books as others might gaze at works of art in a museum, smelling the books (it might be a tad addictive), and writing. I sit quietly in corners, on couches, and sometimes on the floor. I find immense inspiration in the words and images already in print and there’s something just a little bit transcendental about absorbing the best of what surrounds me.

And I also listen (eavesdrop is really too strong a word) to the booksellers. And they are amazing. People come in and ask the most vague or helpless question about a book they want but can’t remember the name of, or about the gift they need to buy for their child/ neighbour/ boss/ crazy uncle, and those booksellers SELL. My word they do. But they don’t just hand over anything. Their passion and belief in a book spills over in their words and gestures and the customer smiles with relief and walks away happy. And I sit there with my notebook/laptop, pulling words from my brain for my next book, and I think, ‘Wow, I hope someone does that for my book one day.’

For me, the greatest part of the high teas was getting to talk to these champions of books and authors and publishers, hear how they constantly reinvent themselves to compete with global markets, and admire their tenacity and wit.

This Christmas, buy books! For everyone in your life, from your mother to your dog. And support the booksellers who are out there every day keeping our books alive.