Lily Mumford
Retired Librarian
Being a retired librarian is wonderful.
I live in a wonderful old Victorian house with a spectacular garden. I cook for
my tenants who are teachers and have no time for the culinary arts. I garden
and plant flowers around the Public Library and help out at the Shipsfeather Shelter
for Travelers and the Temporarily Homeless. I visit the library and read all
the books I’ve promised myself I’d read after I retired.
Or at least that was my life until I met Liberty Cutter, the
current Shipsfeather Library Director. At first she thought I was a homeless
old bag lady. As she began to trust me, she asked me if I knew anything about
dog-shifters and werewolves in town and confided she had a friend who was a talking
dog.
The next thing I knew I was helping her find the
gingerkucken recipe my Aunt Leila baked for St. Nicholas celebrations. And
there I was in the middle of the old battle with werewolves. I’d had enough of
werewolves when I served as Assistant Library Director under Elsie Dustbunnie,
the meanest werewolf ever to burn a book. When Elsie attacked me, I’d have been
a goner if sweet Liberty hadn’t come to my rescue.
On a happier note, I resumed an old romance with Aldwyn
Chisholm, who had been my professor in library school. Through the years we’d
met at library conventions, but that’s another story...
Aldwyn wants to move in with me in “Retrieved” Book 2 of the
series. But now that he’s Mayor of the town and I’m Chairperson of the Library
Board, Amber says that wouldn’t be quite respectable for two retired
librarians, so there must be wedding bells for us.
Favorite Reading: I love cookbooks, gardening guides, and
novels in every genre except werewolf fiction.
(Read the Wassail Excerpt from Released)
Interesting notes: Wassail (Middle English wæs hæl, literally 'good health' or 'be you healthy') refers both to the salute 'Waes Hail' and to the drink of wassail, a hot mulled cider. Wassail bowls were traditionally made from lignum vitea wood. The dense oily wood retains hot liquids.
St. Nicholas Wassail
4 cups apple juice or
cider
2 cups cranberry juice
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 t. ground ginger
½ t. grated nutmeg
½ t. cardamom
3 sticks cinnamon
Fresh orange slices for
garnish
Combine ingredients in
a saucepan. Cover and bring almost to a boil. Then on low for 2-8 hours.
Oranges on top are so festive.
With or without alcohol (for some adult revelers) add dry sherry or Madeira), a
cup with fill you with warm holiday cheer.
The Shapeshifters' Library Series
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