Guest Blog Post By Ty Hutchinson

Try The Stroganov. I Hear It’s Good.

Did you know Stroganov is a Russian dish? I didn’t. Some say it got its name from the powerful Stroganov family but no one can be sure. The first known recipe appeared in a cookbook in 1861. The dish was simple. It required lightly floured cubes of meat sautéed with mustard and bouillon and then topped with sour cream. Over the years the recipe would eventually evolve to include rice or pasta, with add-ons like onions and mushrooms.

After the fall of Imperial Russia, the recipe began to spread beyond the motherland. It first gained popularity in China prior to the Second World War. From there, the dish moved quickly across the world. In Brazil, they called it fricassee. In Portugal and China, it was called estrogonofe. Up in the land of the Nordic countries, the Swedes called it korv-stroganoff, while the Fins called it makkarastroganoff. Most of the world stuck with the stroganoff variation, except for Greek fraternities, who still refer to it as strokin’ off.

The title of my new Darby Stansfield thriller is Stroganov. I opted for the Russian spelling as opposed to the much-preferred double “F” ending because I’m difficult and because there are Russians in the book.

If you read the first DS thriller, Chop Suey, you’ll know that Darby thinks up these wonderful ideas that he brands as Darbytastic. His most successful to date involves doing business with organized crime, such as the Chinese Triads. As a salesman with Teleco Wireless, he figured if they could sell wireless business solutions to organizations like Apple, IBM and McDonalds, why not sell them to organizations like the Mafia, the Yakuza and the Triads. Brilliant right?

If Chop Suey tells the story of Darby Stansfield getting his consulting gig up and running and the trouble it brings, then Stroganov tells the story of how someone in this business can be in the wrong place at the wrong time, all of the time.

In Stroganov, a smarter, a more confident Darby Stansfield continues his life as the telecommunication consultant to the criminal underworld. This time he’s in bed with the Russians and everything is peachy, so far.

With his career back on track, Darby focuses his efforts on improving his love life. The result, he finds himself in the middle of a war between the Ukrainian government and a dangerous sex trafficking ring. Yes, just like that.

Anxious to get out of the situation, he reluctantly offers his help to the authorities in hopes of a clean break. What he gets instead is the attention of Russia’s most feared criminal.

Stroganov will be out the first week of December. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords and more. Learn more about the Ty Hutchinson by visiting his blog or Facebook page.

Postcript by moi: In the meantime, why don't you check out Chop Suey listed to the left on my blog list from my indie sisters' and brothers'. It is on sale for 99 cents for a limited time so do hurry!