Blog Tour: Knife’s Tell & Victorian Catsup

Explore the shadows of Victorian Era London and encounter a new Jack the Ripper tale like you’ve never read before in Daniel Dark’s Knife’s Tell & Victorian Catsup Blog Tour, taking place February 20-27!

Knife’s Tell contains a tantalizing blend of thriller, horror, erotic, and alt. history elements. As an added bonus, author Daniel Dark (a former Victorian chef) also has included the authentic Victorian Era recipes of the dishes that are featured in the story!

In addition to Knife’s Tell, this tour also highlights Victorian Catsup: Receipts of the Past, which features history and recipes for a wide variety of authentic, Victorian Era catsups. The book itself also has a great story behind its development, and it is attached to a wonderful cause!

About the author: Daniel Dark, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, grew up with homicide every day. Having a homicide detective as a father, he was able to learn about those that were brought to justice, and the ones that were not.

Spending many hours in Central police headquarters and in his grandfather’s hematology lab gave Daniel an unusual childhood and a love for science. Along with this, his great uncle owned the oldest book store in Nashville. His parents took him there regularly, where developed a love of reading and found out about history.

Daniel went on to become an Electrical Engineer and Industrial Maintenance Manager till NAFTA took away his job. A year later he went to culinary school and studied Victorian cooking, after which he opened a Victorian-style restaurant.

He became a heart attack and stroke survivor at fifty years old, where he used writing to rehabilitate his brain. The first book written by Daniel was on Victorian Catsup, which had over two hundred catsup recipes in it from the late 1700’s to 1910, with over sixty different flavors. Daniel used the book to start his 1876 Catsup company as Mr. Catsup.

Knife’s Tell represents his debut novel as an author.

Book Synopsis for Knife’s Tell: In 1888 one of the most notorious serial killers in history plagued London’s East Side.

Knife’s Tell is not about those murders, but the life behind them. What would cause a normal person to slay in such a horrific way?

Daniel Dark has explored an alternative tale of a doctor lost in reality trying to correct his past. With the help of his personal servant, he searches the Chapel for answers about his connection to the man with the knife.

Where did he come from? And how is the doctor part of his plans for escaping the police at every turn?

Read Knife’s Tell to learn the story behind the blade that killed London

Book Synopsis for Victorian Catsup- Receipts from the Past: The book you now hold in your hands is nothing new, only forgotten by most.

It is, however, how Chef Daniel, the Victorian Chef, recovered many missing segments of his knowledge after having a stroke in 2012. At that time, he had a forty-seat restaurant where he was recreating dishes from the Victorian Era. He was also developing his signature catsups to serve with each receipt that he placed on the menu.

After the stroke, he was forced to give up on his dream for the time being and start the long journey of rehabilitation of both body and mind. When Chef Daniel was able to stand in front of a stove again, he went back to what he knew best, making small batch catsup that he took to local fairs and sold so that he could make more.

This book is a big part of what kept Chef Daniel going each day. Now he wants to share that with others by contributing ninety percent of his proceeds to the Blood Banks that kept him alive by furnishing over twenty units to him when he was in need.

Author Links:

Twitter: @1876Catsup

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanielDarkAuthor/

Guest Post: Creating Powerful Characters

I have been asked questions like this by several different people over the last few years.

My first response is that you find a weak character and then make them powerful, but it is not that easy. When you are writing the characters. whether it is a fluffy bunny named Peter, a young boy named Harry, or in my case Victorian serial killers. it pays to know as much about them as you can. I was lucky to learn this simple trick at one of the first conferences that I attended in two thousand sixteen from a seasoned author.

The trick is to interview them.

Ask them anything that you can possibly think of. Then write out a comprehensive description of them. If you find out you need more info on them, like what did they want to do when they grew up, and you did not ask them before, no problem! Corner them and ask more questions.

Now you are thinking, ‘Are you not just asking yourself questions and answering them’? Believe me, you are not. Each and every character in your writing has its own personality, background, and things that it will not trust you with until you deserve to know it by writing the story the way they want it to be told. They want to know that you understand their challenges in life and are willing to help them through whatever crap is going on all the way to the end.

The other part that I would remind someone is not to forget the other characters that contribute to the overall story. This is, of course, in my mind the settings, which will influence the rest of the characters temperaments and give their story substance.

Good luck. and write the best stories of the decade.

Tour Schedule and Activities

2/20 The Sinister Scribblings of Sarah E. Glenn
https://saraheglenn.blogspot.com/

2/21 Breakeven Books
https://breakevenbooks.com

2/21 I Smell Sheep
http://www.ismellsheep.com/

2/22 Horror Tree
https://www.horrortree.com

2/23 Sheila’s Guests and Reviews
http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com

2/24 The Book Lover’s Boudoir
https://thebookloversboudoir.wordpress.com/

2/24 Books, Reviews, and More
http://bookworm1977.simplesite.com/435597726

2/25 Jazzy Book Reviews
https://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/

2/26 MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape
http://mylifemybooksmyescape.wordpress.com

2/27 Honestly Austen
https://honestlyausten.wordpress.com/