A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California has arrived!
The major online booksellers are now filling orders.
Because so many wonderful people have helped me reach this milestone, I’m eager to have you all share in the celebration. One way I’m doing that is to hold my Five Weeks of Fun drawings.
Every Friday, from today until the end of July, I’ll start a new drawing for one Bushel of Fun filled with a copy of my book and five items from the story, a prize package worth $40. Each drawing will run through the following Thursday, and the winner will be announced in the Friday post the next day.
The story-related items, as seen above, are: an autographed copy of A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California, a French-milled lavender soap bar, a bag of lemon drops, a bag of peppermint sticks, a bag of rose potpourri, and a package of violet seeds. The winner gets the bushel, too.
All of the items in the basket were available in the year 1870, when the story takes place. Each Friday, I’ll share a passage or two showing why one of the items the bushel plays a part in the story.
Lemon Drops
Last week we learned that Elenora’s daughter likes peppermint sticks. In the same conversation where Tildy tells Miles what her favorite candy is, he tells her what his is.
After Miles meets his prospective partner, he leads Tildy and Elenora to his mercantile. Here’s a snippet of conversation between Miles and Tildy.
“Look, Mama. He has toys.” Tildy darted over two rows and dropped to her knees in front of a case housing an iron bank, two wooden tops, and a bowl of marbles.
Mr. Rutledge sauntered up to Tildy and tapped her on the shoulder. “I think you forgot something.”
She followed his hand to where he gestured. “Oh! The candy. And look. You have my favorite. Peppermint sticks. Do you like them, too?”
“I’m partial to lemon drops myself. Always have a few in my pocket.”
Later in the story, Miles returns after helping the men in town battle a house fire. Elenora meets him near the church. And a lemon drop comes into play.
When they reached the church, she tugged him toward it. He opened the door Mr. Parks insisted never be locked and followed her inside. She led him to the front pew.
Once seated he looked at their hands, still joined. He gave hers a squeeze, released it, and directed his attention at some point near his scuffed, water-stained boots. The scent of smoke clung to him, overpowering all else. He crushed something in his teeth. A lemon drop most likely
“Why did you come for me?”
“I thought you could use a friend.”
“A friend?” He ran his thumbs and forefingers down the crisp creases in his trousers. “Are we friends, Ellie?”
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A Question for You
Do you like lemon drops, or do sour candies make you cringe?
What’s your favorite lemon-flavored treat?
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The Drawing
I’m using Rafflecopter to hold the drawing.
Doing so gives you the opportunity to earn bonus entry points.
The winner of last Friday’s Bushel of Fun is Sara. Congratulations, Sara!
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Book Release Blog Tour Appearances
A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California was officially released July 1. Many wonderful bloggers have offered to help me get the word out by hosting me on their blogs. I’ll be sharing the links to those posts at the bottom of mine throughout the tour, which runs though the end of this month.
July 6
Blame It on the Muse ~ Guest Post,
“25 Ways to Enhance Creativity,”
and Book Giveaway with Liz Selvig
Inslinger Blog ~ Interview and Book
Giveaway with Shannon Taylor Vannatter
July 7
Through His Eyes ~ Interview and
Book Giveaway with Salena Stormo
I lost sleep because of your book last night.
I’m sorry about your lost sleep, Walt. Well, maybe not.
I love lemon drops AND my moms lemon pound cake.
I love lemon drops, especially the sugary coating on the outside.
I got your book in the mail yesterday and I’m soooo pumped to start reading it!
I love lemon bars. Mmmm…and on the right day, I love sour candy too.
Melissa,
I’m glad the book arrived OK. I hope you enjoy the story.
Yes! I do believe I like lemon drops
I like lemon drops! All the “old” candy is good! My favorite lemon treat is a lemon tart, the ones with power sugar on top.
I do like lemon drops too every once in a while. And Starbucks had a lemon pie pieces that were just w o n d e r f u l…haven´t seen them in a while though.
And thank you for the next snippet of your novel. Interesting. I already like Miles, Tildy and Elenora.
Yes.. I do enjoy lemon drops. I especially like the sugar coating – the same coating that rubs my tongue raw when I eat too many *sigh
My favorite lemon treat – frozen lemonade drinks – YUMMY
I love lemon drops! And I especially love this book. The characters are so real and lovable. So proud for you!
I LOVE lemon!! I add it to everything I can. My favorite candy is sour! The sour the better and it doesn’t seem to make me cringe at all. I have it around so much, even my kids like sour!!
Lemon drops remind me of being little… Grandma always had some for us!
Lemon bars! Huge yum–I could probably eat a whole pan by myself (though that would be admittedly ill-advised!) I also love lemon drops–takes me back to when I was a kid and my father’s father used to keep them around for us kids
Lemonheads – the perfect blend between pucker-up sour and white-sugar sweet. Rot the teeth for sure but I’m addicted. When I was little, we had a lemon tree in our yard. We used to cut the sweet lemons in half and salt them for snack. Mom wouldn’t let us do it often – the dentist warned that it would break down the enamel on our teeth!
Do you remember the scene in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books where she tastes lemonade for the first time during a holiday celebration in town – possibly 4th of July? A communal barrel, they all sipped from the same ladle, paying for one precious ladle at a time. Love it. Lemons ARE childhood, aren’t they?
Love hard candy and lemon drops are one of my favorites. What tops the drops is Lemon Meringue Pie. Yummy, so good and sweet and tart.
Thanks for the opportuinty to enter giveaway.
We live just over a mile away from the Ferrara Pan factory, so we’re required to love Lemonheads (and Jawbreakers, and Atomic Fireballs)! If the wind is blowing the right way, sometimes you can smell the candy and tell what they’re making that day. Yum.
I just love lemon icebox pie. Wish I had a piece of my grandmothers pie right now. What memories. Half the fun was making it with her and getting to lick the beaters. Would love to read this book.
I like lemon drops. I like lemon sorbet.
Ah, lemon meringue pie. But since I loathe unbaked meringue, I always gave the meringue to my brother. I served lemon bars at a bridal shower last week and people went nuts.
I wonder what book I’m going to read next week on the flight south???