Sasha Jackson's Hangover Cures

1. Stave off hangovers forever: Stay drunk.

2. Don’t get drunk in the first place.

3. Eat burnt toast. Toast must be blackened to the point of becoming a piece of charcoal. It will taste awful, but you’ll forget about the hangover.  You may end up with the runs.

4. Voodoo cures are effective if you have been drinking wine. Stick a dozen straight pins in the cork from the offending wine bottle(s).

5. Kudzu extract, from the vine Pueraria lobata, available at health food shops, is a Chinese herbal remedy that claims to reduce the effects of heavy drinking.  If you can pronounce "Pueraria lobata" you should probably go to the nearest Emergency Centre.  If you cannot pronounce "Pueraria lobata" then you likely haven't sobered up yet.

6. Have a big bowl of New England Clam Chowder. If you aren’t a fan of gelatinous seafood soups, this may have not have a soothing effect and might actually make you blow chunks.

7. Melt it away. Get into a steamy hot sauna for 15 minutes and you’ll feel like new.  You might not smell very good, though.

8. Blast the hangover out of your system. Have a shot of tequila (2 ounces) mixed with an equal amount of Tabasco sauce.

9. Ginseng. It seems to cure everything.

10. Vegemite (or Marmite) on soda crackers. The crackers soak up the liquid in your stomach and the leftover brewer’s yeast extract will duke it out with whatever chemicals are floating around in your innards.

Books and Food and Clubs and Wine!

Last night I did a book 'gig' that was quite a bit different from the bookstores and libraries I've been doing over the last while.


I met  Margaret - an avid bookworm - when I was doing a store event several weeks ago.  She told me she's part of a book club, and asked if I'd be interested in being a guest some time.  Of course I said yes, and the 'some time' was last night.


What a fun evening,  and I'm so lucky to have been invited!


The soiree was potluck dinner at Margaret's home. The girls each brought a yummy a dish to share, plus there was plenty of vino... All the right ingredients for a great evening!


So, while sipping a glass of bold red wine, and eating enough delicious food to feed an army (homemade mac n' cheese, grilled asparagus, spinach and brie salad, mango crepes, etc.) , we had a great  talk about Blood and Groom, and about writing and publishing in general.


It felt so good to interact with people like this - so different from the brief encounters at retail outlets, or from the more formal and one-directional library gigs.  These women were wonderful!  They had all read the book, and had specific questions about it (which means they actually really did read it, and I certainly learned from them (male/female?!)).


It's also cool that this book club is in Toronto, which is where Blood and Groom is set.  So, I gave the girls the background gossip on the real places mentioned in the book (and on real places that I've thinly disguised).   Sasha's office really was my office long ago, and I know they all recognized the real "Chadwick's" and the real "Crystal Cove Spa"! 


We also had a great talk on how I named and developed characters (hee hee hee, especially villains), how I started - and finished - writing the novel, and what the whole first time novelist experience has been like. 


It was a fantastic evening, filled with great food, interesting and intelligent people, and I am so glad they invited me to join them!


Thanks Margaret!