The Wychwood, is an imaginary pub which is the focus for quite a few scenes in The Summer House – a typical example of a British pub in a beautiful village. Partly a tourist trap, partly a local place to drink, I have written a wedding, a first date, a proposal… all in the this one place.
What I didn’t know is that the idea of a British pub actually started life as an Italian wine bar, and dates back almost 2,000 years. An invading Roman army that first brought Roman roads, Roman towns and Roman pubs known as tabernae (which eventually became tavern) to Britain in 43 AD. Tabernae, or shops that sold wine, were quickly built alongside Roman roads and in towns to help quench the thirst of the legionary troops.
Alehouses, inns and taverns collectively became known as public houses and then simply as pubs around the reign of King Henry VII.
A recent survey has revealed that almost one in four Britons will meet their future wife or husband in a pub!
The Wychwood Pub in The Summer House also has a huge garden with hedges and this is based on a pub from my childhood where I used to race my sister around the garden and my dad would time us. The hedges were like a huge maze and made all kinds of interesting small corners, which I use shamelessly in the new book for liaisons! The look of the Wychwood is based on The Falklands Arms in Great Tew – if you get to visit there it is the most beautiful pub.
The Summer House
A rich playboy who lives for the now, and a Veterinarian who is ruled by his past, try to find a future together that allows for love.
Ashby Sterling-Haynes, the youngest son of a titled family, has had a lot of hookups but has never found someone worth keeping. When he meets introverted Veterinarian, Connor Lawson, he realizes this could be the man he's been waiting for.
Connor has a painful past and no room for an entitled rich guy in his future. Ashby is everything that Connor dislikes in a man and is way too sexy to be anything but a disruption to Connor’s peaceful life.
Both men refuse to believe in love for different reasons. Until they meet each other and a future together becomes real.
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My teenage daughter made me a coca-cola cake for my birthday yesterday (gluten & nightshade-free even!), and it is legit the best cake I’ve ever eaten. If you’ve never had it, you should try it!
My favorite cake is the hummingbird cake.
My favorite cake is a Red Velvet Tres Leche Cake with a blackberry and Raspberry compote in the middle and cream cheese whipped topping.
I love carrot cake – with lots of juicy sultanas, spice and walnuts.
My very favorite cake is called Boston Crème Pie. But is really a cake. It’s buttery yellow cake with a thick pudding type crème between layers then a rich chocolate ganache over the top
But a good German chocolate works too.
Thanks for the chance
( I met my SO on the internet 20 years ago lol)
I’m a total chocoholic, but my favorite dessert is Crème brûlée.
Sunday just gone we visited The Saxon Arms in Witham Essex. Dessert was …
Chocolate Fudge cake with ice cream…to die for.Lots of chocolate yum!
I’ve never met a dessert I didn’t like 😊, but I love Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies!
there are so many cakes that I love!!😂 if I have to pick one favourite it’s probably chocolate fudge cake!!!😋
My favorite dessert is tiramisu the marscapone and lady fingers drenched in espresso and kaluhua just does it for me.
I connected with my beautiful partner of 20 years at a friend’s 50th birthday party.
Warm, quadruple chocolate brownies.
Love Matt’s new project. So many great cakes. I’ll go with Angel Food cake for my favorite. My husband and I met in high school after I dated his best friend. I was 15 and him not quite 18. That was 42 years ago and we’ve been married 37.
Hi – you are my winner – Watch your inbox for an email
In Germany we have something called Teufelskuchen (devil’s cake). That’s my favourite of all times. It’s got its name because it is so rich with dark chocolate that it’s practically black and also has a dark chocolate icing. Nommm!
I used to love the raspberry/white chocolate coffee creamer (can’t find it any longer), so Matt’s favorite cake sounds delish!
My favorite cake is wedding cake. Where I grew up (the Midwest US), this is traditionally a white cake with buttercream icing. 😃
Carrot! I love the spices and the textures 🙂
I love cannolis!
I love and always have loved ice cream cakes. It sucks now, I am allergic to milk and lots of other things too.
Chocolate… the darker, the better. Chocolate cake!
LOVE THIS NEW PROJECT!!! Way to go Matt!
my favorite is dark chocolate torte with dark chocolate genache with or without raspberry sauce.
My mom used to make pineapple upside down cake.
I recently had some and remembered why I liked it so much!
It’s moist, flavorful and has pineapple and maraschino cherries!
I love a chocolate cheesecake or anything chocolate really! I loved this book!
My favorite dessert is a tossup between creme brulee, Georgia pecan pie, and key lime pie. Unless there are fresh beignets available – then I’ll go with the beignets!
My favourite is Battenberg followed by many others, traditional Christmas cake is another, Tres Leches, these three known to fly thousands of miles with me to get to US home or DHL from UK (Battenberg, Christmas cake), Tres Leches thousand or hundreds of miles from Miami or Chicago.
My favorite dessert is Tiramisu, preferably when made by me because then I can influence the custard-to-whipped cream ratio toward the custard.
milk Chocolate just about anything, cake, cookies, brownies, ice cream. pumpkin spice ice cream. I’d love the raspberry white chocolate cake. that sounds yummy
Matthew is a man after my own cake-loving heart. Lazy daisy cake is my favorite.
Hmmmmm so many to choose from…. My most favorite dessert is my grandma’s recripe for homemade chocolate pudding pie. So chocolaty and the crust is nice and flaky. Delicious
Ohhhh, hard to pick just one, RJ!!! Black Forest cake. Love chocolate and cherries. NY-style cheesecake with cherries on top. Pumpkin pie is up there with cherry pie. And, always a good cannoli, preferably chocolate dipped. Someone above mentioned carrot cake – yes, yes, yes as long as it’s moist and frosting is a real cream cheese frosting. I better stop here…..
I’m a bit picky about cake, they can be a temperamental beast, so I generally only eat my own, but can sometimes be tempted by a lemon drizzle if I’m out somewhere.
I used to make American peppermint and chocolate muffins. I lived them and my cousin would hound me until I’d make more. I haven’t been able to eat cake in over 7 years. 😭😭
I love lemon meringue pie 🥧🍋
Right now I’m really into choux puffs (golf ball-sized cream puffs with crackly tops)—they’re so neat texturally, and San Francisco bakeries have such great filling combinations!
For me it’s Tiramisu. As a student, my husband house-shared with a guy who had connections to Parma and apart from bringing back Parma Ham he also shared the Nonna’s Tiramisu recipe.
Sooo yummy.
My favourite dessert is probably good chocolate mousse (as dark as possible), or cheesecake. I also love ice cream. As for favourite cake, my childhood birthday cake from my mom was a vanilla cake with buttercream icing that no store can touch. I also have a recipe for a lovely banana cake with cream cheese icing.
I don’t know if I can pick my favorite cake, but my mom and I make a Zucchini cake with raisins, walnuts and cream cheese frosting. When I eat this cake, I can tell myself that it is “healthy” because of the vegetable and fruit ingredients.
Hot (and I really mean HOT) chocolate lava cake, resting on a bed of raspberry jam with vanilla bean gelato. The “lava ” (hot dark chocolate semiliquid filling in the center) should have a hint of cayenne pepper or paprika. Actual raspberries as garnish with mint leaves gets bonus points.