One technique used by authors to enrich and bring to life
the setting of their stories is to weave in regional customs
and traditions. Gardening is a much-loved and time-honored
tradition for Southerners, so much so that even
non-Southerners recognize such references. Consider Steel
Magnolias and Midnight in the Garden of Good and
Evil. Just hearing those titles brings to mind thoughts
of Southern gardens, doesn't it?
When choosing a name for the bed and breakfast Jenny
Carpenter, the heroine of INN AT LAST
CHANCE, is renovating, I wanted something that would
immediately inspire a visual image of wide, shaded
verandas—perfect for sipping a glass of iced sweet
tea—surrounded by lush, vibrant gardens. Eventually, I
decided on the Jonquil House!
I love jonquils, which are also known as daffodils and
narcissus. The bright yellow and white colors are perfect
for springtime blooms, so cheerful and sunny after the long,
dreary months of winter.
To celebrate the recent release of INN AT LAST
CHANCE (April 29), I'm giving away an autographed copy
of the book along with an "All Things Daffodil" gift bag.
There's a daffodil-patterned stole that can be work as a
scarf or shawl, a sterling silver blown-glass daffodil bead
for your Pandora-style charm bracelet and a daffodil glass
sun catcher. The lucky winner can surround herself with
these reminders of the Jonquil House, where Jenny and Gabe
battle their ghosts (literally and figuratively) in their
journey to Happy Ever After.
Jenny Carpenter is
the unrivaled pie-baking champion of Last Chance, South
Carolina's annual Watermelon Festival and the town's
unofficial spinster. With her dream of marriage and children
on hold, she focuses on another dream, turning the local
haunted house into a charming bed-and-breakfast. But her
plans go off course when the home's former owner shows up on
her doorstep on a dark and stormy night . . .
Mega-bestselling horror writer Gabriel Raintree is as
mysterious and tortured as his heroes. His family's
long-deserted mansion is just the inspiration he needs to
finish his latest twisted tale, or so he thinks until he
learns it's been sold. The new innkeeper proves to be as
determined as she is kind, and soon Gabriel finds himself a
paying guest in his own home. As Jenny and Gabe bring new
passion to the old house, can she convince him to leave the
ghosts of his past behind-and make Last Chance their first
choice for a future together?
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