Welcome to the Extras page!
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Easter eggs and fun facts about A Little Night Music:
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*The chapter where Elise gets a kidney stone and Tristan sits with her in the hospital waiting room rubbing her back came from my own hero of a husband doing that for me. However, when my husband got a kidney stone some years later, I did not rub his back. Instead, I fished the stone he passed out of the hospital room toilet. With gloves on, of course! Hey, I worked in a medical lab and knew they send those suckers away to see what chemistry make-up they have. What can I say? We all have our own love language. At least the doctor was impressed. Even if he did think I was my husband's daughter, and not his wife :)
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*Jarvis the cat. When I began writing this story, Jarvis was living his best life with us. Unfortunately, Jarvy has crossed the rainbow bridge but will live on forever in A Little Night Music.
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*Nicole, AKA, the penis vendor, is an actual person who no longer sells fake penises. The items are also real,(I know this from attending the sex toy party) although the names are from my imagination.
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*I had the game Mystery Date as a kid. I bought it more recently so I could make sure Sam, Keri, and Elise played it correctly. My nine-year-old granddaughter wanted to play, but halfway through decided that virtual reality and video gaming were much more fun than a silly board game about beach dates, which she just rolled her eyes at. I guess the '60s were a much simpler time.
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*When I had the idea to write a story about a rock singer who lost his voice, I had no way of knowing that my daughter would go to a local music venue and meet a band who was not performing because THE LEAD SINGER LOST HIS VOICE. Everything in A Little Night Music in regards to Tristan's surgery and recovery came from those interviews with him. Rob, wherever you are, thanks so much!
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More fun stuff coming soon:
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The Song
Although writing romance is my jam, reading it is the peanut butter. My point is, while writing about Tristan singing to Elise was fun, I thought it would be great if we could actually hear the song Tristan sings to her. So, I've enlisted the help of a professional musician to write that song. I can't wait to hear it and share it with all of you!
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The Rockstar Handbook
I enjoyed writing the scene between Elise and Tristan sarcastically bantering about rock stars referring to a handbook. Just the thought of someone like Mick Jagger jotting down notes about how many times he should do his rooster strutting across the stage seemed crazy.
Crazy good!
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As I talked to my beta readers, we all thought it would be fun to actually make a silly rock star reference guide, just for fans of A Little Night Music. I've been working on one and I'll keep you posted!
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Fun Facts about Merry Christmas, Darling:
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*The relationship between Meg and her grandparents was inspired by my own kid's relationship with my parents. We lived with them for a time and the prepping for Thanksgiving dinner from the stuffing to the cranberry relish still happens.The beef stew and biscuits are still homemade, and the grandkids and great-grandkids alike, still love visiting.
*Jerome going off to war and coming home to Evelyn already being married to Heathcliff Darling was inspired by a real-life story. In the real-life version, the veteran found love again :)
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*Pops' and Jerome's prickly personalities are based on my father, who was a total curmudgeon.
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*Every time I smell cinnamon and cloves it brings me right back home during the holidays, and my mom making my father's favorite mincemeat squares. I am not a fan of them, but I sure do love the warm fuzzies the memory gives me.
*Below is a list of Christmas music I listened to while writing Meg and Dix's story.
Fun Facts about Princess Charming:
At 6 AM on the morning of July 29, 1981, I watched in awe as Lady Diana Spencer became a princess when she married her prince charming. The tiara, the gown, the pomp, the circumstance, I fell in love with it all. At 19, she had everything. The prince, the castle, and the fairy tale. Or so it seemed to me, a naive 18-year-old.
I never could have guessed that on another early morning in September of 1997 I would be crying my eyes out watching her young sons walk behind her casket through the streets of London to Westminster Abbey. Even though her fairy tale had long been over by that time, I still rooted for her to have her storybook ending.
By now, I think we all know that marrying into the royal family doesn't necessarily mean a happily ever after. But it can and it does in romantic fiction!
In writing Princess Charming, I did a lot of research. I watched many royal wedding videos. When I stumbled across the Danish royal wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson, I found my Aurora Maguire and Hugh du Clair.
Mary Donaldson walked down the aisle to Zadok the Priest. In a nod to that, I used that as King Christof's ringtone on Hugh's phone.
Rory is a mix of Lucy Ricardo and Mary Richards of the Mary Tyler Moore show, while Hugh is like Ricky Ricardo with a dash of Pretty Woman's Edward Lewis.
I have always loved the idea of the southern tradition of cake pulls. It seemed natural to my storytelling mind to have Rory make cupcakes with them, but logistically it took some thought. My biggest fear in life is someone choking, so the last thing I wanted to do was write about sticking a foreign metal object into something you eat. So I came up with tying the charm to a ribbon around the cupcake paper instead.
*I hate beer. The taste, the smell, anything to do with it. However, I love Irish pubs. Mostly, the atmosphere and the food. Because all my books are connected in some way, don't be surprised to see other characters in other stories drinking Witty Shark beer. I also think it might be fun to have a local brewery make Witty Shark products. Stay tuned!
*Asterlaine's national dance was an idea I got from watching the Sound of Music when Maria begins teaching Austria's folk dance to one of the children, and Captain Von Trapp interrupts to dance with her. But I wanted it to be different somehow. After some research, I came across a folk dance they do in Norway that I thought captured what I was trying to convey. Click the link below to my Pinterest board for Princess Charming to see the video I watched of this.
The music that Rory walks up the aisle to was fashioned by a song I heard while watching the Swedish royal wedding of Princess Madeleine and American Christopher O'Neill. Children sang a traditional folk song while holding floral wreaths. In my mind, the song that Rory walks down the aisle to is similar to that. It's also interesting to note that in both the Danish royal wedding and the Swedish royal wedding, both the grooms cried as their brides walked up the aisle. Swoon!
The "Venus" tiara that Hugh gifts to Rory on their wedding day was the result of a large amount of research on royal crowns and tiaras. How they were made, who gifted them to whom, etc. I loved tying in the meaning of the Venus tiara to things that happened in the story.
For Rory's engagement ring, I stumbled across a picture with an aquamarine stone surrounded by diamonds. I chose it because Hugh's description of an aquarmarine's symbolism is accurate (for those of you who are into crystals and gemstones.) However, it's color representing the Asterlaine flag is from my imagination.
Check out my Pinterest board for Princess Charming here to see other items of inspiration for the story.
Here are some of the songs that inspired me while writing
Rory and Hugh's story.
And a cupcake recipe!
Witty Shark Stout Cupcake Recipe
(A bit of work, but so worth the effort!)
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For the cupcakes:
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1 cup Witty Shark Stout
(If you can't find Witty Shark,
Guinness will do;)
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​1 cup room temperature unsalted butter
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
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2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
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1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
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¾. teaspoons salt
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2 eggs
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2/3 cup sour cream
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Whiskey Ganache:
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8 0z. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
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2/3 cup heavy cream
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2 tablespoons room temperature butter
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2 teaspoons Irish Whiskey
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Bailey's Frosting:
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2 cups room temperature unsalted butter
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5 cups powdered sugar
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6 tablespoons Bailey's Irish cream
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DIRECTIONS:
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Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two standard muffin tins with liners.
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Place the Stout and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
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Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat just until it starts to come together, about 30 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place the heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Immediately pour it over the chocolate, then let it sit for two minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the mixture from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped, about 30 minutes. (If it becomes too stiff, simply give it a good whisk and it will loosen up.)
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Fill the Cupcakes: Using a paring knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, divide the prepared ganache between the centers of the cupcakes. (Helpful Hint - Sometimes I just fill the pastry bag with the filling, punch a hole in the top of the cupcake with the tip and squeeze the bag until I see the filling come up to the top :)
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Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
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Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
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