Catherine’s Comments–Have a Holly Jolly Christmas Table Setting from Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, author Catherine Castle, Catherine's Comments, Christmas table settings, crafts, dishes, essay

Today’s table setting will be short and sweet, since I don’t yet have any Christmas decorations up, except for my front door wreath and silk holly and poinsettia in the pot on the porch. And yes, I have no shame over filling my porch pots with silk flowers, no matter the season. But I digress.

The items you’ll need for this cheery table setting are a red tablecloth (I used a vinyl tablecloth) preferably printed with hollies; four contrasting placements (I used green since 2 of my plates are red and I wanted them to pop against the red tablecloth), red and green napkins; a square, or round, printed Christmas gift box; four silk holly flowers; four battery operated tea candles; a white taper candle and a low, secure candle holder for the taper; and of course your mismatched red and white dishes, glasses, and eating utensils.

As always, these choices can be changed to fit what you might have in your cupboard. If you’re  using white plates against a red tablecloth, there is no need to use a contrasting placemat to make the dishes pop. If you don’t have a red tablecloth, forego that item and use placemats. Like the dishes, mix and match the other items to create what works for your table. The main feature in this setting is the simple centerpiece using an unexpected item–the Christmas gift box.

This is one of the fastest table settings to put up. Just find your Christmas box, put your taper and candleholder in the center of the box and fit the silk holly sprigs around the candle. If you plan to light the taper be sure to use a bobeche to catch the wax drippings or put the candle in the freezer ahead to help prevent drips. Because the centerpiece didn’t show well against my red tablecloth I added one of the gold poinsettia placemats from last week’s table setting to give the centerpiece the extra pizazz I needed.  Place your tea candles around the centerpiece, one candle at the head of each place setting, set the table, and wait for the compliments.

I hope you’ve found some inspiration in the Christmas table settings I made this month. I won’t be blogging about table settings on Christmas, but I’m planning one more winter table setting. Come back January 8, 2021 for my Winter Wonderland table setting. I can hardly wait to show you this one! In the meantime, take a peek at my romantic comedy with a touch of drama, and have a safe, blessed and Happy Christmas!

Catherine

A Groom for Mama

By Catherine Castle

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

Buy link Amazon  Barnes and Noble

About the Author:

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. She also lays claim to over 300 internet articles written on a variety of subjects and several hundred poems. In addition to writing she loves reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog.

Advertisement

A Writer’s Garden–Looking to the Future by Catherine Castle

Tags

a garden blog, A Groom for Mama, A Writer's Garden, author Catherine Castle

 

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another garden season has come to an end and, unfortunately for me, I’m ending it the same way I began—with my right arm in a sling.

Just as I was gaining all my mobility back from my Spring shoulder surgery, I fell and broke my right upper arm in a lovely spiral break that starts midway up the rod that holds my bionic shoulder in and ends just below the prosthesis. In fact, the doctor said the arm probably broke because when I fell and twisted my body, my right arm, which was holding the bannister, twisted too. The rod in my arm was rigid and didn’t allow the bone surrounding it to give. So the arm broke because of the implant. Ain’t that grand?

Ah, well. Life goes on.

In the picture at the top of the blog you can see the north end of my garden as it looked this spring with the splayed mugos. The winter snows pulled them out of the ground and we had to dig them up. Beside that picture are the burning bushes, now in fall color, our replacement for the mugos.

As in the garden, and life, nothing stays the same. We plant, we weed, we reap, and we replant. And if we’re lucky everything comes back better the next season. At least that’s my plan for the future. I figure after the accident prone and health issue year I’ve had in 2019 I’m due for a good season next year. At least that’s my prayer.

I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this year’s A Writer’s Garden blog. Even though my gardening has been severely curtailed this year, I’ve so enjoyed reading about your gardens. I hope you’ll all come back again next spring, readers and guest bloggers alike, for another season.

To finish out the Thursdays this year, I’m hosting some Christmas Reads. So, please drop by on Thursdays and Wednesdays to see what’s new, and old, in Christmas romances.

Happy Gardening! May your weeds be few, your flowers plentiful, your sunshine bright and your rain refreshing. And may God bless your harvests.

Catherine

 

About the Writer/Gardener

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. She also lays claim to over 300 internet articles written on a variety of subjects and several hundred poems. In addition to writing she loves reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog.

 

 

A Groom for Mama

by Catherine Castle

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

 

 

 

Tasty Tuesdays–A Sweet Refreshing Drink for Summer from Sweet Romance author Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, author Catherine Castle, Catherine Castle's Food blog Tasty Tuesdays, drink recipes, Recipes, summer drinks

Citrus Mint Drink

Photo Courtesy of pexels.com

 

Summer isn’t far away now. A cooling iced summer drink, sipped under a patio umbrella, is always refreshing in summer’s heat.

Here’s a recipe I got from a girlfriend when we had a writer’s retreat at a lake house. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

Citrus Mint Drink

2 ½ cups water

2 cups sugar

Rind of 1 orange

Juice of 2 oranges

Juice of 6 lemons

2 handfuls of mint leaves, rinsed clean

Make a syrup of sugar and water by boiling 10 minutes. While cooking, place the orange rind, the orange and lemon juice (seeds and all) and the mint leaves in a large bowl or pot. Pour the boiling syrup over the juice and mint and cover. Let stand for one hour. Strain and place syrup in a jar. Keep refrigerated. (May also be frozen) Use approximately ¼ cup syrup per large glass. Good added to iced tea, lemonade or ginger ale. Add a sprig of mint and slice of lemon or orange to the glass for some extra flair.

Cook’s Notes:

Since there’s quite a bit of sugar in this recipe, I chose diet ginger ale as my drink and added the mint syrup to the diet drink. Less calories, but still all the taste and fun.

We didn’t do much writing at our retreat. We just relaxed, ate, and had a good time. This drink would also be good for a party. You could make it ahead, freeze it in ice cube form and add the appropriate number of ice cubes to equal ¼ cup to your tea, lemonade, or ginger ale.

This drink would be great for a summer wedding shower. Speaking of weddings, here’s a peek at Catherine’s sweet romantic comedy, with a touch of drama, A Groom for Mama.

 

A Groom for Mama

by Catherine Castle

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

Buy links

Amazon  Barnes & Noble

 

About the Author

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog

 

Authors Dish on Coffee Time Romance- Are you in your books?

Tags

A Groom for Mama, Are you in your books?, author Catherine Castle, Authors Dish, Catherine Castle on Coffee Time Romance, Coffee Time Romance

Ever wonder how much of herself an author puts in her books?

I’m talking about that very subject over at Coffee Time Romance Authors Dish blog.

A bunch of us authors are dishing out the secrets about how much of ourselves end up in my books and how we feel about that. So, get yourself a cuppa coffee (or tea since it’s Hot Tea Month) and join in the conversation with me.

Follow the link below and see just how much I tell readers about myself in my books.

https://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts/adjan2019-catherine-castle/

You might be surprised to learn some new things about me and my book A Groom for Mama.

I’d love to see you over there.

 

Catherine

Story Sparks Blog Tour–Story Sparks from Catherine Castle’s Imagination

Tags

A Groom for Mama, author Catherine Castle, Bidding on the Bouquet, ebook giveaway, Story Sparks Blog Tour, Story Sparks from Catherine Castle's Imagination, Sweet romance, The Nun and the Narc

 

Welcome to the Story Sparks multi-author blog tour. Between May 21-26, 2018 readers get a chance to enter and win ebooks from six different authors. Today Catherine Castle (That’s me!) is the featured author. Catherine’s winner may choose an ebook from any of her three books listed above on her book spine. Today Catherine will talk about the story sparks that started each of these books rolling. Read on to discover what inspires Catherine’s creativity and to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway .

 

Story Sparks  from Catherine Castle’s Imagination

By Catherine Castle

Hi, everyone!

I began my writing journey as a stringer for a local weekly newspaper. The hardest thing about that job was finding ideas to write about. I was in Writer Heaven when the editor called with a story idea. It was like getting a bright, shiny gift topped with a beautiful ribbon. The problem was those editorial gifts didn’t come in as fast as I wanted them to when I first started writing. So, I had to figure out where to find more ideas to write about. And of course, the burning question back then was, “How do I find an idea?”

It’s also the question most people ask me when they find out I’m a writer. Now I know the answer.

After I published my first book, a multi-award-winning inspirational romantic suspense titled The Nun and the Narc , my daughter bought me a tee-shirt that read Careful, or you’ll end up in my novel. I’m not sure if she knew how true that quote is, but I suspect she did, because whenever I’d hear, see, or read something interesting, she heard me say, “There’s a story somewhere in that.” For me story ideas are everywhere and within everyone. I find story spark ideas in: the things I’m interested in, in other stories, in the news, in things people do, in things people say, at museums, in places I visit, in places other people visit, in magazines, and even through the tidbits of information on the backs of cereal boxes.

The Nun and the Narc originally started with the heroine as a missionary to Mexico building houses for the poor. I’d been working on some news articles about Habitat for Humanity for the newspaper, which probably spurred the original story plot. But the story wasn’t working for me. I couldn’t get my head wrapped around the missionary heroine. Then a critique partner suggested I consider making the heroine a novice in the Catholic Church. Now, I am fascinated by nun stories. “The Sound of Music” is my favorite musical, and I loved the television series “The Flying Nun.” As a stringer for the local newspaper, I interviewed a nun who left the order to marry, and, in real life, I knew a nun who had also left the convent to marry. I do admit to having a curiosity about how those women dealt with leaving the convent, and I think part of that curiosity spurred my story.

 

The Nun and the Narc

Where novice Sister Margaret Mary goes, trouble follows. When she barges into a drug deal the local Mexican drug lord captures her. To escape she must depend on undercover DEA agent Jed Bond. Jed’s attitude toward her is exasperating, but when she finds herself inexplicable attracted to him he becomes more dangerous than the men who have captured them, because he is making her doubt her decision to take her final vows. Escape back to the nunnery is imperative, but life at the convent, if she can still take her final vows, will never be the same.

Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary O’Connor—at least that’s what Jed Bond thinks. She hampers his escape plans with her compulsiveness and compassion and in the process makes Jed question his own beliefs. After years of walling up his emotions in an attempt to become the best agent possible, Sister Margaret is crumbling Jed’s defenses and opening his heart. To lure her away from the church would be unforgivable—to lose her unbearable.

 

Although the book was a hard sell—the Christian market doesn’t usually like you to name denominations—the story was so intriguing to me, because of my interest in nuns, that I wrote it anyway, knowing it might never leave my hard drive. It was a book of my heart—inspired by my own interests and my feature stories for the newspaper.

My second book, a sweet romantic comedy with a touch of drama entitled A Groom for Mama, got its inspiration from a radio play my husband and I wrote years ago, entitled a “Bride for Mama.” The original play finaled in the contest, but my hubby and I never did anything more with it. When I was searching for something new to write, I remembered the radio play. I asked my husband if he minded it I took the original premise—a dying mother wants her son to find a bride before she leaves this earth—and turned the plot on its ear, creating a new story. He agreed and A Groom for Mama was born. I found inspiration in another story.

 

A Groom For Mama

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

 

My most recent release, a contemporary inspirational romance entitled Bidding on the Bouquet, was ripped from an internet headline about a bride who was making her wedding attendants bid for places in her bridal party. My story, however, bears little resemblance to the news story. With plot twists and character changes I created a new story. All I needed was spark of an idea provided by the Bridezilla who wanted to get money for her wedding.

 

Bidding on the Bouquet

The chance to catch a bridal bouquet containing a solid gold rose makes underprivileged, down-on-her-luck grad student Marietta Wilson pawn everything she owns to come up with a bid to win a bridesmaid spot in the most prestigious wedding of the season.

 When he discovers his sister is auctioning off bridesmaid spots in her wedding party, wealthy, elitist Chip Vandermere is appalled. Not only is it in poor taste, but no self-respecting lady would stoop so low as to bid. Convinced Marietta is a gold digger, Chip sets out to thwart her plans.

A social climber and a social misfit. Can a bridal bouquet unite them?

 

So, you might want to be careful the next time you ask a writer, “Where do you get your story ideas?” They might just say, “Why, from you, of course.” Because everything is fodder for the imagination of a writer.

Thanks for coming by today and don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win books from these six authors: Carole Brown, Catherine Castle, Linda Matchett, Amber Schamel, Terri Wangard, and Jodie Wolfe. Click on the link below to enter to win a free ebook. My winner may choose either The Nun and the Narc, A Groom for Mama, or Bidding on the Bouquet.

A Rafflecopter giveaway

 About the Author:

Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, and quilting. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her books The Nun and the Narc, A Groom for Mama, Bidding on the Bouquet and Trying Out for Love boxed set on Amazon. Connect with Catherine on her website and blog, FB, or Twitter @AuthorCCastle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Writer’s Garden Begins Today–Through the Garden Gate with author Catherine Castle

Tags

A Writer's Garden, author Catherine Castle, Author Catherine Castle's garden blog, Bidding on the Bouquet, garden tools for bad backs, long-handled pruner, spring cleanup, sweet contemporary inspirational romance

 

Welcome back to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing gardens—aka their books.

I have a great lineup of authors this year, some who’ve been on the blog before, and some who are new to A Writer’s Garden, so I hope you’ll join us every Thursday between now and October to learn about their gardens, flowers, and even see some gardens they’ve visited. You never know what you might find on the blog, but whatever it is, it will be garden related.

I’m starting the garden ball going with a peek at some of the spring garden cleanup in my garden. Spring hasn’t quite sprung in my neck of the woods. The grass isn’t rize, but I am wondering where the warm weather is.

What you see in the photo above is only a small part of spring cleanup I’m facing—the back hill. All that beige stuff is ornamental grasses and dead iris and day lily clumps. And if it doesn’t quit raining, snowing, and get warm enough to get out and work soon, I’m going to go nuts!

If you take a closer look below you can see the tall, dead weed stems that never got cut down last year.

My plan to hire landscapers to do a monthly hill cleanup died after the second hill cleanup bill came and I was suddenly out of money. So, I’m back to a do-it yourself-a bit-at-a-time plan. About 30 minutes at a time, because I’m a year older and my poor knees and back feel five years older and bend even less than they did last year.

And to top it all off, the hubby and I have decided that we—I should say he—has to build a small retaining wall at the bottom of the hill because the gully that carries the rain water from the houses above us is filling up with mulch and dirt rolling down from our hill.

Have I mentioned getting older as a gardener sucks? Especially when the siren call of the garden lures your poor aching bones outside and you see all those weeds and spring work! One of my life goals has been to garden until the day I die, and since I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, I’ve got to figure out how to accomplish that with an aging body.

I spent a great deal of time surfing the internet this winter looking for gardening tools for gardeners with back backs, and I found a couple of handy-dandy tools I’m going to try this year. One is a long-handled pruner that I plan to use to dead head and clip tall weeds with from a standing position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve already deadheaded the mums along the front pathway and clipped a few dead daisy stems on the opposite side of the path, reaching into the back of the bed, which is usually hard to get to. So far, I’m pleased with the results. The pruner is very lightweight and has a one-handed motion that isn’t too tight, so my hand doesn’t get tired. And with my raised beds I can stand in the garden paths and easily reach the flowers to deadhead them.

The other tool I bought is a push-pull hoe, also called a scuffle hoe. I saw a hoe like this at Disney World a couple of years ago and it looked like a dream to use. The Disney gardener was whacking off weeds in a mulched bed with a simple back and forward motion, which seemed to be much easier than hacking at the weed root with a traditional hoe. Yes, it doesn’t uproot the entire weed, but if I can hack them off below the mulch level, and do it standing without straining my back, I might be able to keep working in the garden all summer without injury. This particular hoe came with a long handle and a short handle, so I can work standing up or seating on the edges of my raised beds.

It’s been too wet to try the hoe, so I’m anxiously awaiting a dry spell when it’s not raining cats and dogs and hail, or it’s not snowing. Don’t laugh. It’s been doing all those in the span of a week–well, maybe not the cat and dog part, but it has been raining hard and flooding areas. We had 30 degrees Monday, 70 degrees Tuesday, a tornado watch that evening, freeze warning for Wednesday, 50 degrees today, and now they are predicting snow for Saturday. The only good thing about the temperature swings is when the snow does come, it’s a “Camelot” snow—it only stays on the grassy areas, leaving roadways and driveways clear.

Well, that’s all I have for today, but I’ll leave you with a quote from my garden calendar…

“You never saw anything so beautiful! It has come! I thought it had come that other morning, but it was only coming. It is here now! It has come, the Spring!”… Burnett

Hurry spring! Hurry!

Has spring come in your area yet?

 

About the Writer/Gardener:

Gardener/writer Catherine Castle has been gardening all her life in pots, plots, and wherever she can find dirt. Her favorite thing about gardening is the satisfaction she gets from a well-weeded flowerbed. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. When she’s not gardening she’s writing sweet and inspirational romance. You can find her books The Nun and the Narc, A Groom for Mama, Bidding on the Bouquet and Trying Out for Love boxed set on Amazon.

Her newest book, Bidding on the Bouquet, is a sweet, contemporary inspirational.

The chance to catch a bridal bouquet containing a solid gold rose makes underprivileged, down-on-her-luck grad student Marietta Wilson pawn everything she owns to come up with a bid to win a bridesmaid spot in the most prestigious wedding of the season.

When he discovers his sister is auctioning off bridesmaid spots in her wedding party, wealthy, elitist Chip Vandermere is appalled. Not only is it in poor taste, but no self-respecting lady would stoop so low as to bid. Convinced Marietta is a gold digger, Chip sets out to thwart her plans.

A social climber and a social misfit. Can a bridal bouquet unite them?

Tuesday Wedding Tales—Bidding on the Bouquet by Catherine Castle

Tags

author Catherine Castle, Bidding on the Bouquet, Christian romance, ebook giveaway, Inspirational romance, multi-author ebook giveaway, Sweet romance, Trying Out for Love boxed set, Tuesday Wedding Tales, Wedding Themed Romances

Welcome to Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, where wedding themed stories are the fare.

It’s week two in the Trying Out for Love promo and giveaway. Each week readers can enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post’s book excerpt for a chance to win one of six books in the Trying Out for Love boxed set or the complete boxed set of six books. Seven chances and seven winners! Be sure to read to the end of the post for an excerpt of Bidding on the Bouquet and enter the Rafflecopter for your chance at a free ebook.

Today’s featured book in the boxed set is Bidding on the Bouquet, by Catherine Castle.

As I mentioned last week, this whole series began with a bridezilla news article. If you’ve ever watched any reality television and seen some of the bridezilla stories, you think of brides behaving badly—divas who think of no one but themselves, wedding dress disasters, wedding venue disasters and much more. But I’d never heard of this kind of bridezilla—a woman, marrying a rich man, who decided to make her bridesmaids bid for spots in her wedding party. The story struck a creative chord in several of the authors who read the article and who then took up the challenge to write a book using this story starter. And we all had some very interesting twists on the original story.

 

To Bid or Not to Bid—That is the Question

To bid or not to bid was a question a number of the real-life ladies, including the bride’s sister, must have asked themselves when they found out about bridezilla’s bridesmaid auction. By the way, the real bridezilla’s sister chose not to bid.

To bid or not to bid was also the question my heroine, down-on-her-luck grad student Marietta Wilson, briefly asked herself when she received an invitation, out of the blue, to “buy” a bridesmaid’s spot in a wedding for a girl she hardly knew.

Marietta thought that one-hundred dollars to reserve a spot to bid, and then spend who knows how much more money, was a waste of resources that could be put to better use.

But my bridezilla had a very special inducement for her bridesmaids. One of them would not only get a coveted spot in the wedding of the year, but a chance to catch the bridal bouquet containing a solid gold rose nestled among the flowers. Who could resist that? Obviously not my heroine, otherwise there’d be no story.

 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Bidding on the Bouquet

By Catherine Castle

 

Two people from different social classes.

Two different philosophies.

One bridal bouquet to unite them.

 

Excerpt

 

You are invited to participate in the season’s most prestigious event.

Date: June 17

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Place: The Vandermere Estate

Event: The auction of bridesmaids’ positions for Chrissy Vandermere’s wedding

Light refreshments will be served

℘

Chrissy is auctioning off a chance to be an attendant in her wedding.

Winners will be escorted down the aisle by New York’s finest bachelors,

and they will procure a bridesmaid-only spot at the tossing of the bride’s bouquet event.

Chrissy guarantees one of the bridesmaids will catch the bouquet,

containing a solid 14-carat rose-gold flower.

℘

Opening bids begin at $100 and are non-refundable. Cash only.

You may make an opening bid higher than $100 if you choose.

Please RSVP by April 30

 

Marietta dug into the envelope again and retrieved a smaller card and matching envelope.

 

I, ________________________, will be pleased to attend the auction.

My opening bid is $_______

Should I win a spot, I will be available on August 9

to be part of the wedding party

for Chrissy Vandermere

and

Jock Sterlingson

 

Stunned, Marietta reread the invitation. Chrissy Vandermere? The only Vandermere she knew was her wealthy classmate Chip Vandermere, and they weren’t on real talking terms. Nor did they run in the same circles. They only had a few of the same classes and a couple of case studies together in which he had commandeered the group. The guy thought himself a born, or rather a privileged, leader. His attitude had driven her nuts, and, although he was one hot guy who knew he had undeniable sex appeal, she’d stayed away from him as much as she could. She was at the MBA program to learn and conquer, not be someone’s conquest.

Is he related to this Chrissy?

If so, the whole auction idea was totally insane. Chip Vandermere had so much money he could afford to pay bridesmaids to be in a wedding. No need to auction off the spots. Besides, why should anyone spend money to be in her wedding—or any wedding for that matter? And why had the bride invited her to participate? Even though she’d spent the last six years at an elite private college, she didn’t hang around with the sort of people who had money to throw away on frivolous things such as bridesmaid auctions. She’d spent her undergrad and postgrad years nose-to-the-grindstone, studying and pinching her pennies.

Then she remembered. As a college senior, she had contact with a Chrissy, a rich, air-headed girl, who talked of nothing but herself. She’d never mentioned having siblings. The beautiful, but not-very-bright, student, had asked Marietta to help her pass an exam—and not in the study-hard-so-you-can-pass way. She’d refused, convincing Chrissy to join the study group instead. Chrissy got a D plus, but she’d at least done it honestly. Marietta wasn’t certain the rich debutante had appreciated being spared the indignity of cheating. But if the Chrissy she knew was this Chrissy Vandermere, and if she remembered who she was after two years and invited her to bid on her bouquet, maybe she’d learned a lesson.

Then again, maybe not. Maybe taunting her with the idea she might win something of great value—a 14-carat rose-gold flower—was some sort of joke.

The time the two of them spent together, however, hadn’t been rosy. When she wasn’t trying to cram knowledge into Chrissy’s bubble head, Marietta continually dodged the girl’s questions about her background. She had tried to keep all conversation focused on learning. Chrissy, however, kept pressing for information: how did Marietta get into the elite-of-elite private college where everyone knew everyone else, where did she come from, and why didn’t she ever go out with the rest of the group? The simple truth was, unlike her other classmates, Marietta came from such a dirt poor, dysfunctional, crooked family that if anyone knew her real background they would ostracize her even more. Ducking the questions hadn’t satisfied Chrissy, forcing Marietta to leave the group to keep from being outted as a pretender and fake. Someone who didn’t belong in the exclusive circles of the rich.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Want to read more? Enter the Rafflecopter for your chance to win the book. No purchase necessary. Or if you can’t wait, Bidding on the Bouquet is available on Amazon. Winners will be announced February 20 at the end of the Trying Out for Love author guest posts. Remember, all six authors are giving away an ecopy of their book in the series. A boxed set of Trying Out for Love is also in the giveaway. Seven chances and seven winners! Click on the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win.

 

Insert rafflecopter link

Enter Rafflecopter Giveaway by clicking box below:

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catherine Castle is a multi-award-winning author who loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, watching movies, and the theatre. In the winter she quilts and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place is in her garden. She’s a passionate gardener who won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

 

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award. A Groom for Mama, is a sweet romantic comedy from Soul Mate Publishing. Her latest release, Bidding on the Bouquet, from Forget Me Not Romances, is an inspirational contemporary romance. Her books are available on Amazon.

Connect with Catherine at her website  Twitter @AuthorCCastle or Facebook

 

God Has a Sense of Humor

Tags

A Groom for Mama blog tour, Ada Brownell, author Catherine Castle, funny looking creatures, God has a sensse of humor, lion fish, man swallowed by a whale, pictures of funny looking sea creatures, red lipped bat fish, Talking donkey

 

Red-lipped Bat Fish (picture courtesy of Wikimedia)

 

I’m over at Ada Brownell’s blog today talking about God and humor.

It’s only natural that a writer of romantic comedy would talk about God’s humor, don’t you think?

If you’ve never noticed that God has a sense of humor then you need to look around at nature. Consider the quirky creature pictured above. Or the creatures below.

 

Lion fish

Colorful Crab

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who else but someone with a sense of humor would create such strange looking organism?

But God’s humor doesn’t just show in his creations. You can find examples of his humor in the Bible, too. Did you know there is a talking donkey in the Bible? Or a story of a man being swallowed by a whale? To read more click here.

Don’t forget to check out my new romantic comedy, A Groom for Mama.

Mama wants a groom for her daughter, and Mama’s not above using her terminal illness and Cupid’s arrows to get the deed done. But Mama’s groom is the last man Allison wants to wed—her ex

Available from Amazon

A Writer’s Garden–Exploring Colonial Gardens with Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, A Writer's Garden, author Catherine Castle, Colonial Garden history, Colonial Williamsburg garden pictures, The Nun and the Narc

Celebrating Colonial Gardens

 

Colonial Williamsburg garden

It’s early September in my neck of the woods, and my garden is overgrown with weeds, thanks to the 1-2 inches of rain we’ve had weekly, an injured back this spring, and my numerous trips this summer. So, since my gardens are not in any semblance of photographic beauty, I thought I’d talk about American Colonial gardens and share some photos I have of the Colonial gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The Colonial period ranged from 1600 to 1775 and during that time most American Colonial gardens were planted in the style the gardeners were familiar with, which was the European and British gardens they had left behind when they immigrated to America.

These gardens tended to be square, rectangular, or pie-shaped beds framed on the outer edges with tree saplings Plantings were enclosed with hedges or picket fences to protect them from animals and damaging winds. Sometimes the beds were ground level, other times they were raised. Walkways of soil, gravel or crushed clamshells surrounded the beds. A larger, central walkway led to a focal point in the garden, which was often a well, a stone feature, or a bench, or topiary as seen below.

Topiary in Colonial Williamsburg garden

The size of a garden reflected the size of the household and the wealth of the home’s owners. Poorer colonists didn’t have the time or the resources to create the lavish gardens of the rich. Their gardens would mainly been simple kitchen gardens, located adjacent to the home for easy accessibility, and filled with plants they needed to survive. Here’s an example of what an average kitchen garden might have looked like.

Gantz early American kitchen garden

 

Kitchen gardens of wealthy and poorer colonists would have both held medicinal and seasoning herbs mixed in with the fruits and vegetables. A typical kitchen garden might have included: squash, cucumbers, cabbage, beans, peas, melons, lettuce, carrots, radishes, and peppers. Medicinal herbs could have included horehound, which was a popular remedy for asthma and coughs, and Angelica, which was used for colds and bronchial problems. Winter savory was used as an antiseptic and to relieve the pain of bee stings. Oregano was popular for toothaches and headaches. Other medicinal and cooking herbs included: sage, calendula, hyssop, lady’s mantle, nasturtium, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lavender, bee balm, and mint.

Note the difference between the example above of what a kitchen garden of a poorer colonist might have looked like and that of the governor of Williamsburg, pictured below. This kitchen garden is a tiered garden on the hillside behind the exterior kitchen building of the palace compound. Wouldn’t you love to have this garden on your hillside?

Colonial Williamsburg governor’s kitchen garden

Aside from the necessary kitchen gardens of all the colonists, ornate gardens, that served no economical function, were popular among the wealthy. I have to admit it was great fun to stroll in these gardens and imagine myself as a wealthy colonist in my sweeping gown and wide-brimmed hat taking an evening constitutional in the cool of the garden trees.

Williamsburg Governor’s Palace garden

My garden, in its early years after planting, looked nothing like the carefully laid out, symmetrical expanses of the Williamsburg Governor’s Palace. It was, and still is, cottage-like in its composition. I will admit, though, that like the wealthy colonial gardeners of yesteryear, I tried to design my garden for looks first.

It has, however, taken on a life of its own, less constructed than when I planted it, but just as full of those pesky weeds I’ve been fighting for fourteen years. As I age, I envy the tidy Colonial beds I love to visit, but I’m thinking more and more of filling my raised beds with gravel and lining them with big pots that I don’t have to bend to work in.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this stroll through Colonial Williamsburg’s gardens. What about you? What kind of garden do you have?

 

About the Gardener/Author:

Catherine CastleCatherine Castle has been writing and gardening all her life. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. Besides writing, Catherine loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award. Her newest book, a contemporary, romantic comedy with a touch of drama, entitled A Groom For Mama, is now out from Soul Mate Publishing and available at Amazon. You can follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, Facebook or here through her blog Romance for the Ages

A Groom for Mama

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

 

 

Wednesday Writers–Pick a Date and Win an eBook from Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, author Catherine Castle, Book excerpt from A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle Wednesday Writers series, clean romance, disasterous dates, ebook giveaway, romantic comedy, Sweet romance

Welcome to Wednesday Writers!

I’m departing a bit from the usual Wednesday Writers posts because today is release day for A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle’s sweet romantic comedy with a touch of drama, from Soul Mate Publishing.

Normally, you’d see a post about some aspect of the book—but today, since this is my website and it’s such a special occasion, I’m celebrating the book’s release by offering a free eBook to the commenter who picks the correct bad date my heroine, Allison Walters, got stuck with from the list of disastrous dates below. If more than one commenter chooses the correct date, the winner will be chosen randomly from those answering correctly. I hope you’ll join in the fun and let your friends know about the giveaway as well. Please leave your email, written as janedoe(at)myserver(dot)com (to deter internet robots), and insure I can reach you if you are the winner. All readers commenting will be eligible to be in the drawing, but if your name is drawn and I cannot find your email, I will have to draw again.

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, September 12, 2017.

If you haven’t heard about the story yet, here’s a brief blurb.

 

A Groom for Mama

by Catherine Castle

 Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

 he last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

 A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

And now for the date challenge. Which of the disastrous dates listed below did Allison get stuck with?

• Birdwatching for the black-throated blue warbler
• Illegal bungee jumping from a skyscraper and subsequent arrest
• Karaoke in a downtown dive bar with a date who can’t sing
• Spelunking for bats in crawl-on-your-belly shallow cave
• A wresting match with Balderdash and Balls
• A SAVE THE WHALES protest rally
• A lecture on the physics of the collapse of the WTC towers

Do you know which date is the real one for Allison? Be sure to leave your choice in a comment for a chance at the free eBook, A Groom for Mama.

And now for a peek at the book:

Excerpt from A Groom for Mama

By Catherine Castle

With a sweep of his hand, Jack spread the photos out on the table in front of Allison and Beverly. “Here’s a few I just grabbed from the database. Any of them interesting?” He studied Allison’s reaction. She didn’t bat an eyelash as she scanned the men’s pictures. Then, without warning, she scooped them up and shoved them at him.

“I told Mama I wasn’t going to do this. It’s a stupid idea.”

“I’ll admit it’s not the ‘some enchanted evening, see a stranger across the room’ romantic way to find a husband, but it’s not totally unacceptable. Several of the couples my company has brought together have married.”

“And lived happily ever after?” she retorted.

“It’s a new company, Allison. I don’t have the stats yet.” He pushed the photos across the table. “Just take a peek. What harm can it do?”

Beverly grabbed the photo of a particularly handsome man. “How about this one? His coloring complements yours. You’d have beautiful children.”

Mama!” Allison snatched the photo away. “We’re not going to discuss my possible, yet unlikely, progeny in front of Jack.”

A flash of Allison kissing this guy flew through his head. He grabbed the photo from her. “He’s not your type anyway.”

“And just how do you know?” she asked.

“I dated you, remember? You ditched me for some suave, corporate hotshot. At least it’s what you said.”

“Allison!” Beverly exclaimed. “You never told me that.”

Allison shot him a fierce scowl. “I’m not comfortable discussing my love life with you, Mama. Besides, what’s done and over with should be buried . . . in the past.” She picked up another photo. “What about him? Or him and him?” She pointed to two nerdy-looking fellows. “They seem corporate.”

Mama leaned over and checked out the pictures Allison had indicated. “Too ugly,” she said. “He’s got to be handsome. Like Jack. I want to know my grandbabies will be as beautiful as you two.”

He grinned. “Thanks for the compliment, but I know I’m not your daughter’s type.” He laid a sheet of paper on the counter. “Fill this out. Then I can get a better idea of what you want in a husband.”

“I don’t want—”

“I know,” he interjected. “But, for your mom’s sake, just pretend you do.”

 

Want to read more? Check out A Groom for Mama on Amazon.

 

For more fun posts about the book, check out the month-long A Groom for Mama blog tour Catherine will be having by going to the blog tour page on this website.  Follow daily for new insights into the book and more chances to win your own eBook of A Groom for Mama.

About the Author:

Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle has been writing all her life. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. Besides writing, Catherine loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award. Her most recent release, A Groom for Mama, is a sweet romantic comedy from Soul Mate Publishing. Both books are available on Amazon.

Social Media links for Catherine:

Catherine’s website: https://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/

Catherine’s blog: https://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/blog/

Catherine’s Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/catherinecastle

Catherine’s Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7085414.Catherine_Castle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCCastle   @AuthorCCastle

Facebook: https://facebook.com/catherinecastleauthor

Stitches Thru Time: http://stitchesthrutime.bogspot.com/

SMP authors blog site:   http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/