Musings from a Writer’s Brain–Are We Normal Yet? By Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, award-winning romance, scam calls, Sweet romantic comedy

photo Courtesy of Pixabay

While Ohio is mostly opened up from Pandemic status, I hear lots of newscasters asking “When will we get back to normal again?”

This question now is mostly related to the economy, workers going back to work, restaurants having their normal hours and normal menus back, schools and businesses being fully opened again, hospitals, airlines and nursing homes going maskless, and whether a new wave from a variant virus will set us back to 2020 shutdown status again.

There is, however, one thing that has come back to normal in record speed—Scamming and Phishing!

I’ve talked about phone scamming and phishing in the past, but I received a couple of calls that I think bear repeating. This past week or so our phone has gone nuts with scam calls. I received a call from a local hospital where my sister had been admitted a while ago. Not thinking about scamming, but wondering instead if she was in the hospital, I answered the call. It was a Medicare scammer. I bawled him out and hung up with a threat to report him to the FCC.

I had another interesting and doozy of a call the other day from Beverly Hill, California. I didn’t answer, but they left a voice-mail message. Our voice-mail system forces us to listen to the messages in order to clear them. Most of the time they are truncated messages that don’t give us much of a clue as to what the caller wants. As I punched the replay button that day, a computer-generated voice said. “Sorry. You did not reveal yourself to be human.”

If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, I’ll eat my garden hat! It’s too bad all the other scam phone calls don’t recognize my computer-generated message isn’t worth their time as well. That would solve my constant ringing phone issue.

I’d love to hear your craziest scam phone call message.

There are no scam phone calls in Catherine Castle’s award-winning comedy with a touch of drama, A Groom for Mama, but there are plenty of scammy dates.  Follow the antics of Alison Walters and her mother Beverly as the pair works at cross purposes why gallivanting  across the country—one wants a wedding and one doesn’t. 

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.

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.

Tasty Tuesdays–Zucchini Spaghetti Carbonara ala Catherine from Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle, Catherine Castle's Food blog Tasty Tuesdays, food recipe, Italian food, main entree, spaghetti carbonara, Sweet romantic comedy, Tasty Tuesdays

Traditional Carbonara has an egg and cheese sauce added to the spaghetti just before serving. I don’t care for eggs added to things at the last minute, so I eliminated the eggs and sauce and came up with my own version of Carbonara. I hope you’ll like it as much as we do.

Zucchini Spaghetti Carbonara ala Catherine

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti (or you can use edamame spaghetti for a dish with more fiber in it)
• 2.5 ounce can of sliced black olives, drained
• 1 cup diced or chunked  ham
• 1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise and then thinly sliced
• ½ grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 slices thick bacon

Directions:

1. Divide bacon into 4 and 2 slices. Prepare 4 slices for microwaving by placing between 2 paper towels on a microwave safe plate. Microwave for 3 minutes until crisp. Remove from paper while still warm and crumble.
2. Dice remaining 2 slices and place in a large skillet, cooking until crisp.
3. While bacon is cooking, boil water for spaghetti and cook as directed on package until pasta is firm. Drain fully when cooked.
4. While pasta is cooking, sauté zucchini with diced bacon until zucchini is tender.
5. Drain any excess liquid from the pan.
6. Add olives and cooked drained spaghetti to zucchini and bacon, tossing to mix.
7. Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese, tossing quickly to keep cheese from clumping.
8. Top with crumbled bacon and serve.

Makes 2 generous main dish servings or 4 side dishes.

Note: additional cheese may be sprinkled on top of pasta after serving, if desired.

This dish makes up quick, so you won’t have time to read a book while it’s cooking, but after the dishes are done, check out Catherine’s sweet romantic comedy with a touch of drama, A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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.

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.

Tasty Tuesdays–Mandarin Orange Spice Tea from Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle, drinks, Hot Tea Month, Mandarin Orange Spiced Tea, Recipes, Sweet romantic comedy, Tasty Tuesdays, tea recipes

 

 

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

 

In keeping with the Hot Tea Month theme, today I’d like to share a spiced tea recipe I developed.

Years ago, in the 60s, Tang—the orange juice of the astronauts—put out a spice tea recipe using Tang (a powdered orange juice drink) and instant tea. Instant tea was a favorite of my mother-in-law’s. She served it all the time. I can say with absolute certainty that instant tea isn’t my favorite cup of tea, but when the Tang spiced tea recipe came on the scene, it wasn’t bad. Probably the sweet, orangey flavor of Tang made the difference. Back then my husband and I drank Tang all the time because it was much cheaper than real orange juice and we were on a tight budget.

As the years have gone by, Tang, which is full of sugar and off my diet now, is no longer an option for spiced tea. So, I came up with this spiced tea flavored with mandarin orange juice and warm spices.

Here’s my by-the-cup recipe. It, too, goes great with cookies and a good book read beside the fireplace. If you need to cut the sugar, feel free to substitute an artificial sweetener, or leave it out if the real juice makes the tea sweet enough for you.

 

Mandarin Orange Spice Tea (by the cup) 

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 black tea bag
• 3 mandarin oranges, juiced
• 1/16^th teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8^th teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

• Place the tea bag in a cup and add boiling water.
• Steep 3 minutes (or less for a weaker tea)
• Remove tea bag and add the mandarin orange juice and spices.
• Stir well to mix spices into the tea.
• Grab a copy of Catherine Castle’s award-winning sweet romantic comedy A Groom for Mama, a blanket, and settle into your favorite reading spot for a great cup of tea and a great read.

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.

You can find A Groom for Mama at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

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, as well as placing in several other contests. Her sweet romantic comedy/drama A Groom for Mama, also from Soul Mate Publishing, is the recipient of the 2018 Raven Award.

Connect with Catherine at here on her blog or at:

Goodreads Twitter @AuthorCCastle or Facebook

 

A Groom for Mama is a Raven Award Finalist!

Tags

2018 Raven Awards, A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle, Sweet romantic comedy, writing contests

WooHoo! I’m so excited! My sweet romantic comedy, A Groom for Mama, is a finalist in the contemporary category of the Raven Award Contest!

Books are automatically entered in this contest when they receive a 4 or 5 star review from UnCaged Books. Then the public gets to vote for their favorite book. I made the first cut! YEA!

I want to thank everyone who voted for me in the semi-finals. And now it’s time for the final votes.

To celebrate the book making it into the finals, I thought I’d share the book blurb and a never-before-seen excerpt from 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.

 

Excerpt:

As soon as they were out of the kitchen, Allison nudged off his grip. “Just because you can kiss Mama doesn’t mean you can be fresh with me.”

Her tone stung like a slap, and he stepped back. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to invade your space.”

“What do you want?”

“Any news on the medical front I should know?”

She sighed. “Dr. Kramer said he already got second opinions. And Mama doesn’t want to go see any doctors, because she thinks I can’t fulfill my promise to find a husband if we’re gallivanting across the country in search of a cure.”

“We can put that notion to rest. My database has connections to a nationwide search engine. I can find you a bridegroom anywhere in the USA.”

Grimacing, she said in a pinched voice, “Thanks a lot. I hoped we could skip the husband-hunting promise if I could get her out of town.”

“She’s not going to give up easily. I’ve already approached her about dropping the whole idea.”

Allison’s face brightened. “Really? How nice of you.”

A twinge of guilt pricked him. Nice had nothing to do with it. He just didn’t want to see her with anyone else.

“Anyway, it didn’t work. You’re stuck with finding a man.” As he reached for the front doorknob, she grabbed his hand.

“If I didn’t say it earlier, thanks for all you’ve done for Mama. Visiting her. Bringing her flowers. Offering to help with the medical bills.” She lowered her gaze to the floor. “After the way I treated you I’m surprised you’re willing to help me. You’ve gone above and beyond what most ex-boyfriends would do.”

He tipped Allison’s face until she gaze met his. “I love your mom and I’d do anything for her.”

“Including marry me off?”

“If Beverly wants.” He started to leave. Then he stopped. “Is it what you want?”

“No. But if dating these men will make her get a second or third or fourth opinion, it’s what I’ll do. Even if I have to get engaged to an oyster farmer from Shreveport, Louisiana.”

His mouth quirked into a grin. “I don’t think I have any of those in the database, but I can check if you want.”

“I’ll pass this time.”

“Might be a good idea considering the choices I just left with you.” The stunned expression on her face made him laugh. “They’re not all bad. Just remember, you’re the one who filled out the questionnaire, not me.”

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

You can read more about A Groom for Mama on Amazon.

I hope you enjoyed this exclusive excerpt from A Groom for Mama. If you’d like to vote for my book you can go to http://uncagedbooks.com/raven-awards-voting-1/

There’s no registration required for voting and the site isn’t collecting emails, so it’s super easy to vote. One vote per category and your last chance to vote is Saturday, August 18.

Thanks, in advance, to anyone who votes for A Groom for Mama.

 

About Catherine Castle:

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 multi-award-winning inspirational romantic suspense), A Groom for Mama (a sweet romantic comedy), Bidding on the Bouquet (a contemporary inspirational romance, and Trying Out for Love boxed set on Amazon.

 

 

 

A Writer’s Garden with Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, A Writer's Garden, Catherine Castle’s garden blog series, fall pictures, Sweet romantic comedy, The Nun and the Narc

Photo © Catherine Castle

Fall is about to arrive in Southern Ohio, for real this time. At least that’s what I’m hoping.

I love the crisp, but not freezing, temperatures that accompany fall weather. We’ve had an unusual summer—wet to start and then dry, with a very few 90 degree temps and more than normal lows in the 50s. This past week we dropped into the 30s with highs on some days in the 40s. That’s not fall sweater weather, it’s winter coat weather!

Unfortunately, I won’t see the beautiful fall colors in the picture above, which I captured several years ago while traveling to Massachusetts. We haven’t had enough rain, and October has been in the low 80s too many times to create the leaf color I crave. So, I’ll have to depend on pictures to satisfy my fall color yearning.

I’ve been waiting all summer for the cooler weather to arrive, specifically for the temps to drop to the 40s so all the chiggers in the foliage on my hillside garden will die. It’s the one place I can’t weed easily. After my hubby and I got eaten up by chiggers one summer, we avoid this hillside. And boy does it show this year.

Photo of Catherine’s back hillside garden © C. Castle

Because I used all my discretionary garden funds hiring a team of young gardeners to clean up the beds after I injured my back this spring, I can’t afford help this fall. So I must tackle this job alone. My fall plans are to clear as much dead stuff out while the temperatures are crisp, yet not freezing, and the bugs gone, so I won’t have as much work to do in the spring when the wasps and other six-legged creatures start coming out with the warmth. It’s much easier to stay warm while gardening than to stay cool under a hot sun. In my humble opinion.

After what I saw crossing the road the other day in front of our house I’ll be skittish about the work, praying I don’t flush out a smelly creature from the underbrush. Skunks rate right up there with snakes, chiggers, wasps and other stinging insects, and bats on my hate-them-a-lot list. I don’t mind all the lizards that run around the stone walls of my gardens, mostly because they eat bugs and skitter away from me when they see me coming. As long as they stay outside, I’ll let the lizards alone.

As this gardening season closes, I’d like to thank all my author buddies who’ve contributed to A Writer’s Garden. It’s been a joy seeing your flowers, herbs, trees, and every other garden thing you’ve shared this year. I hope you’ll all return next spring with more beautiful photos of your gardens.

About the Author:

Catherine 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 on 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laughter–the Best Medicine

Tags

A Groom for Mama, Carol Browne, Catherine Castle author, Laughter the best medicine, Sweet romantic comedy

Wikimedia commons

I’m over at Carole Browne’s blog today with another blog tour post. Here’s a tidbit to whet your appetite…

Years ago there used to be a joke column in Reader’s Digest called “Laughter is the Best Medicine.” I remember reading the jokes, some which were hilarious belly shakers. Some just gave you a giggle or two. In Prevention magazine, and other health magazines I subscribe to, I often see laughter trumpeted as a good for depression, unhappiness, and health in general. And I personally use it to ward of things I don’t want to deal with. A snarky, flippant comment goes a long way in helping keep emotions that are running high on a more even keel. In fact, sometimes the only thing that gets us through a tough time is life it a sense of humor.

Yep, we all need humor in our lives, especially my poor heroine Allison.

In my new romantic comedy, A Groom for Mama, Allison is in a race against time To read more click here

 

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.

A Sweet Romantic Comedy by multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle

Available from Amazon

 

Here Comes the Bridal Cake-A Groom for Mama Blog Tour

Tags

A Groom for Mama blog tour, A Groom for Mama excerpt, Historical Nibbles, Sandra Merville Hart, Sloane Taylor, Sweet romantic comedy, wedding cake history

There’s less than a  day left to play the dating game I set up on my Pick a Date and Win an Ebook post on release day for a chance to win a free Ebook of A Groom for Mama. You can click here to get a chance to win between now and September 12. The game ends at noon Tuesday September 12, at noon Eastern Standard Time and I will announce a winner. So play soon to for a chance to get an E-copy of the romantic comedy reviewers are calling “Simply Delightful” and “An enjoyable read, full of fun and wit and heart-felt emotions.”

Today I’m at Sloane Taylor’s Blog with an excerpt from A Groom for Mama, and I’m also over at Sandra M. Hart’s Historical Nibbles bog series talking wedding cake. Everyone loves a good wedding cake—right?

Historical Nibbles is all about food, and I’ll be letting you in on the history of wedding cakes and giving you a historical recipe for wedding cake that I’ll bet you never knew about.

If there’s one thing we know about wedding cakes today, it’s that they come in a wide variety of style, flavors and sizes. If you look on the internet you can find wedding cakes ranging from simple two or three layers to towering monstrosities or multi-flavored cakes connected with plastic bridges and even individual cupcakes. But nowhere have I seen a wedding cake that resembles the one the groom broke over his bride’s head in Roman times. In ancient history, and even up to Victorian times, the wedding cake bore little resemblance to the sweet confections of today. To read more click here…