It's been a while since our last update, so we thought we should let you know what we've been up to. So far, 2022 has been a flurry of perfecting our recipes, testing, tasting and testing again.

One of our chapters is dedicated to Toni Morrison's seminal ghost story, Beloved. The writer would have been 91 on February 18, and we've been celebrating her birthday by trying out some of the dishes inspired by her extraordinary novel.

Morrison's use of food imagery to heighten tension and tragedy, and to highlight her character's cravings – which tend to go much deeper than hunger – is masterful. The titular character, Beloved, has an insatiable appetite for "sweet things" that betrays her longing for nurture and motherly love, while Sethe cooks feasts for company that rarely arrives.

Our recipes will include a spoon bread, inspired by the "burned bottom of bread" that reminds Baby Suggs of a long-gone child; a lemonade cake with all the sugary treats of the fair; sugar sand cookies; and a white bean soup, one of the many dishes prepared by Sethe.

We're more than 80% funded, so hopefully we'll reach our target soon – and you can all start cooking up our Gothic literature–inspired recipes in your own kitchens.

In the meantime, thanks as always for your support, and please do continue to share our Unbound page. We'll be posting more recipe and illustration sneak peeks on our Twitter and Instagram accounts very soon – find us @AGothicCookbook

Ella, Allie & Lee