The Official Chapel Springs Cookbook

My guest this week is author Ane Mulligan. This lady seems to spread energy even over the Internet! Join me for the inside scoop on her upcoming cookbook, The Official Chapel Springs Cookbook, which is character-inspired. Leave a comment and enter on the Rafflecopter at the end for a chance to win your choice of a print copy of Chapel Springs Revival or an e-book copy of The Official Chapel Springs Cookbook, if you would like to wait for it! Enjoy!

 

Fabulous Fridays

Welcome back, Ane! It’s exciting to host you again with your cookbook spin-off of your novel, Chapel Springs Revival! Tell us something about your book.

When I turned in the sequel for Chapel Springs Revival, called Chapel Springs Survival, I had already set up a private Facebook group for fans of CSR, or in other words, my street team. They began to interact as characters from the book. That’s when I got the idea of them contributing recipes AS the characters. They jumped on it, having more fun than I anticipated. We’ve called it The Official Chapel Springs Cookbook, and Chapel Springs’s Mayor Felix Riley wrote the foreword. The cookbook is filled with fun and unusual recipes. Similar to a church cookbook.

Who/What spurs you to write? Where do your ideas come from?

From life! Chapel Springs Survival came from our eldest son getting a 21^st Century mail-order bride. Yes, you heard me. And for not telling me beforehand, I told him his retribution was that it would go in a book. And it did. Insert mama’s evil laughter here.

But I’m a romantic. I look at a place and begin to imagine life being lived there. That and I eavesdrop a lot.

What do you see as the most important accomplishment of your life so far?

My kids. They turned out amazing in spite of me, but I still try to claim the kudos for that. LOL Beyond that, my writing is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I’d been a reader for decades before I began to write, or even consciously thought about writing. But God knew what He had in store for me and prepared me in ways I’m only now seeing.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

Reading and being involved in a start-up community theater. Of course, I’m writing there, too. I’m very excited about a 1-Act comedy farce I just completed, Guess Who Came to Dinner? We’re presenting it as a dinner theater in December. Besides that, I’m very involved in my town’s Business Alliance, and the Arts Commission.

Do you have an “all time” favorite book you can share with us? Why is it your favorite?

Yes, I do. I’ve read it at least a dozen times and given away more copies than I can count. It’s called John: Son of Thunder, by Ellen Gunderson Traylor. That book introduced me to Christian fiction and impacted my faith quite a bit. It was through that book I realized writing fiction could change lives.

Norma: I actually have that book, Ane! I have read it more than once, though not for quite a while. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Drama/theater and our two wooly mammoths, better known as English mastiffs.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Probably when I climbed on my neighbor’s roof at midnight with a hammer and a strap of jingle bells. Her boys had reached the age where they were questioning the existence of Santa, and I wanted them to have one more year of believing. It worked!

What do you think readers will find most appealing about your cookbook?

I think they’ll get a kick out of the recipes coming from fictional characters—besides some really good recipes. And in some of the recipes, Claire has been warned about how to do things. And in others, she’s warned to stay away.

I understand a sequel to Chapel Springs Revival is also in the works. What can you tell us about it? Chapel Springs Survival releases Dec 3^rd. Here’s the back cover copy:

A mail-order bride, a town overrun with tourists, and illegal art ~ can Claire and Chapel Springs survive?

With the success of her Operation Marriage Revival, life is good for Claire Bennett. That is until the mayor’s brother blabs a secret: Claire’s nineteen-year-old son, Wes, has married a Brazilian mail order bride—one who is eight years older than him. When Claire tries to welcome her new daughter-in-law, she’s ridiculed, rebuffed, and rejected. Loving this girl is like hugging a prickly cactus. When family members begin to choose sides, will Claire and her family survive her son’s marriage?

Lydia Smith is happily living alone and running her spa—then the widow on the hill becomes a blushing bride. Along with her new marriage, she has a dream to expand her business by adding guest rooms. Things are going according to plan. That is, until her groom’s adult son moves in—on everything. Will her dream survive her stepson?

From the first sighting of a country music star in Claire’s gallery, The Painted Loon, to the visit of a Hollywood diva, Chapel Springs is inundated with stargazers, causing lifelong residents to flee the area. When her best friends, Patsy and Nathan, put their house on the market, Claire is forced to do something or lose the closest thing to a sister she’s got. With her son’s future at stake and the town looking to her to solve their problems, it’s Claire who needs a guardian angel.

Chapel Springs Revival was sparked by something you overheard. What was the origin of the sequel, Chapel Springs Survival?

Once again, it came from a real life event—and became Mother’s retribution. Insert creepy music and evil laughter.

The day started out normal, boring even. Then I got a phone call from our eldest son.

“Hey, Mom. I emailed you some pictures. Take a look and call me back.” Click.

He hung up. Without asking how I was. I hurried to my computer.

I opened his email, and the first photo was of a nice looking, very Latin appearing young woman. Something told me she wasn’t from here. I clicked on the second photo—she was in a wedding dress.

I hit speed dial.

It seems our Michael, a widower with two children, had gotten himself a 21^st Century mail order bride. He met her in a chat room for women in Columbia, South America, to meet and marry American men. They communicated for a year, then he flew to Columbia and married her.

Without us knowing anything.

He came back and spent the next year trying to get her into the U.S. legally.

Did I mention it was without us knowing anything?

He didn’t tell us until she got here. Our two grandchildren knew. His brother knew. But we didn’t. Do you remember that old margarine commercial, where the woman said, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature” and zapped someone? That’s what I said. I told him for not telling me, it was going in a book. And it did!

Now, I have to tell you that any similarity between our son’s story and my book stops there. Our daughter-in-law turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to our Michael. We adore her and our two step-grandsons and the newest Mulligan grandson.

Now, that wouldn’t have made a good story. There was no conflict. But add Claire Bennett into that mix, and there’s plenty.

How did your son and daughter-in-law feel about you using their story?

They laughed. It’s been over six years now, and Zully knows how much we love her. She’s actually thrilled because I dedicated the book to her.

Can you enlighten us on how the cookbook came about?

I can! I gathered a street team shortly after Chapel Springs Revival
released. The readers who loved the book and its characters wrote to me and wanted more. So I made a private Facebook group and called it after the bakery where everyone meets in Chapel Springs, Dee’s ‘n’ Doughs. They began to interact as characters from the book.

As we got closer to the release of Chapel Springs Survival, I let them read the first chapter. Then we decided to put out a cookbook by the characters in Chapel Springs. So most of the members of Dee’s ‘n’ Doughs contributed their best recipes. My publisher loved the idea and we’re offering it as a promotional item for the release of Chapel Springs Survival. It’s The Official Chapel Springs Cookbook. I’ve tried a few of the recipes and they’re really good!

When does Chapel Springs Survival release?

December 3^rd. And if your readers leave a comment, they can be entered in a drawing for the cookbook.

Is there a passage you would like to share from your cookbook?

I’m delighted to! Here’s the foreword from Mayor Felix Riley (and no, I didn’t write it. The member of my street team, who “plays” the mayor, graciously wrote it.)

It is my great pleasure to welcome y’all to this official collection of recipes from some of Chapel Springs’ best cooks. There are even a few recipes from me, since in addition to my tireless work of serving the residents of our fair town, I do happen to be a pretty fair chef. I heartily recommend Felix’s Classic Firehouse Chili.

I’m not sure what all is in here, but I’m hoping to find more than a couple of Dee Lindstrom’s finest confections. Dee is the owner of Dee’s and Doughs, our local bakery. And I suspect Eileen Carlson, a lovely antique, er, the owner of our lovely antique shop, will have a treat or two for you. Her treats always make me smile.

Of course, we’ll all be glad to find the recipes for some of Patsy Kowalski’s and Joel Bennett’s grandest creations. Be sure to look for Beethoven’s Beans. I swear at any town pitch-in, if you’re not first in line you won’t get any! Fortunately, being mayor, I am always first in line.

So, welcome to Chapel Springs! Sit for a spell and have a glass of sweet tea and a pastry. If you haven’t visited town yet, I invite you to do so at your earliest convenience. After all, it’s all spruced up nice now, thanks to yours truly—and our many generous volunteers!

One final word. Call it a warning—and one you should be thankful to receive! If you see a recipe with the name “Claire Bennett” on it, just turn the page fast and pretend you never saw it. Trust me on this. As the mayor, would I lie to you?

Felix Riley, Mayor of Chapel Springs

About the author:

Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She’s a novelist, a humor columnist, and a multi-published playwright. Ane firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. President of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket, she resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and two dogs of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane at her website, Novel Rocket, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chapel-Springs-Revival-Ane-Mulligan/dp/1941103413/

a Rafflecopter giveaway