I've not blogged in a long while. Funny how you get so busy writing, that you forget to write about your writing! That and I also write for two other blogs each month. But, I'm trying to slow down a little and enjoy writing different things. This blog is one of them.
So, what to write about? Well, how about my latest release, Dear Mrs. Pettigrew? She released today and is one of several mash-up stories I've done over the last few years.
What's a mash-up story, you ask? Well, it's taking characters from one series and putting them in a story with characters from another series. As I have two pen names, one for contemporary and historical western romance, and one for time travel/sci-fi, it can involve characters from different genres too! And this is where the fun begins.
One of the first mash up books I did was A Very Weaver Christmas where Harrison Cooke and his family along with Irene and Wilfred Dunnigan visit the Weaver farm. This visit resulted in a hilarious romp that was so much fun to write. It also has an ending that came out of the blue, and led to not only another mash up story, but an entire series. Matchmakers in Time.
Christmas with the Cookes came next, the first in the Matchmakers in Time series, and there are now four books with a fifth on the way. These time travel romances have a little of everything, including mystery and danger in some and are reader favorites.
Back to Dear Mrs. Pettigrew. This book is the ultimate mash-up story with characters from books from my Mail-Order Bride Ink series, my Time Master and Matchmaker in Time Series and a couple of characters that have appeared in different series of mine. It's a fun romp involving the matchmaker of Mail-Order Bride Ink who invites some of her past mail-order brides and their husbands to spend a couple of weeks around Christmas with her. But they're not the only ones that show up as Mrs. Pettigrew is sought after for her matchmaking skills. Too bad she can't match herself, which becomes the main challenge in the book. But, with a little help from her new friends, she's got a shot at finding love again. Her's an excerpt:
“Fantine, put that vase on the table over there. Mr. Tugs, be sure to serve the tea the moment they arrive. Let me see …” Adelia tapped her foot on the expensive Oriental rug in her drawing room. “… I do hope Mrs. Fraser is working on dinner.” She clapped a few times. “Chop, chop – no time to waste!” She rearranged some flowers in a vase Fantine had placed on the fireplace mantle. The house was full of flowers, and poor Fantine had sneezed several times already.
“Madame Pettigrew, have you decided which rooms – sniff – your guests will occupy?”
“I thought I’d leave that to you, ma petite. After all, you know me well. What would I choose?”
Fantine placed yet another vase on a low table. “I would put the Bransons in the main guest room.”
Adelia smiled. “Because they are rich? Why not place the Whites there?”
Fantine’s eyes widened. “But … Madame Pettigrew, is not the main guest room reserved for the …”
“… most privileged?” she finished. “Not necessarily, ma petite. Put the Whites there. Now where will you put the others?”
Fantine gulped. “Well … I …”
“Stop stammering, ma petite. We are not entertaining royalty, just a few friends and acquaintances.”
“I suppose the Bransons wouldn’t mind staying in the red room?”
“An excellent choice. I do love the room’s wallpaper, don’t you?”
Fantine nodded. Everyone loved that wallpaper – red with beautiful yellow roses and leafy greens.
“And last but not least, the Vanders. Though I’m sure Mayor Vander and his wife will like any accommodations we give them.”
“Mayor?” Fantine said in surprise. “I had no idea Monsieur Vander was a mayor.”
Adelia picked at a fingernail. “Quite. Which room?”
“The green room.”
“Why?”
Her assistant started to pace. “It’s bright and sunny and … well, not right now when it’s snowing, but they’ll have a nice view, oui?”
“Quite so, Fantine.” Adelia watched Mr. Tugs shuffle toward the grand foyer. “Ah, excellent, Tugs. I see you’ve anticipated our guests’ arrival in the next few minutes.” In truth, she knew it would take Tugs at least that long to get to the front door. Thank Heaven he was getting an early start. “The Bransons will arrive first.” She sat on a dark blue tufted sofa and sighed in contentment. “I’d forgotten how much I enjoy having visitors.”
Enjoy this mix of characters and fun in what has become a Christmas tradition for me. A holiday mash-up book! You can find the book on amazon
If you'd like to check out Christmas with the Cookes, you can find it also on amazon
