Almost From England, With Love

May newsletter from author Charlotte Rains Dixon

Somehow I ended up with one more bag than I came with. Pic from the wondrous (haha) Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

Hello!

It’s been awhile since I’ve sent this newsletter and I appreciate your patience while I sort out my ideas about it. I don’t want to overdo my welcome in your inbox, but then from fear of that I end up writing nothing. The goal henceforth is once a month. Along the same lines, I like a chatty author newsletter, but I know some readers hate them. So I’m working to find the balance on that, too. Feel free to respond to this email or drop a comment with your ideas on the subject.

At the moment, I’m just home from England, where I taught a week-long workshop, hung out with friends, wandered the charming city of Wells, in Somerset, and fell in love with English gardens. You can see lots of pix over at my Instagram page, including a very relaxing swan video.

I’ve been back three days now and today is the first day I’ve not had to take a nap. The bad news is that travel is grueling these days. The good news? It is totally worth it. Travel catapults you out of your comfort zone and shakes up the brain, which loves novelty. It gives you all kinds of thoughts and ideas you wouldn’t have had in the comfort of your own home.

Case in point: the inspiration for my novel, The Bonne Chance Bakery, came from my trip to France in 2013, the first year we taught an overseas workshop. I was reminded of this when one of this year’s students asked me how I got the idea for the story. I remembered: that year one of our most glamorous students arrived off the train from Paris with a box of macarons in her hand. I’d never had one before, but one bite and I was hooked. A week or so later, back home, the idea popped into my head: a novel about a woman who bakes macarons. She walked on fully formed, as did many of the other characters. But none of them would have appeared in my brain if not for that trip to France.

So I’m a huge fan of travel as a way to fan ideas for writers or anyone with a creative bone in their body. Which I submit is everybody. Which is also who I want to write this newsletter to. Readers, writers, creatives, those who long for more but aren’t quite yet sure what more is yet.

CRD Book News

Coming soon! A new novel called The Matchmaker’s Temptation, set in the Calderwood Grove universe. (If you read my Christmas novella, Let There Be Snow, you’ll be familiar with the setting.) Fingers crossed this novel will be followed closely by another book set in the same world. (That one is resting on my computer at the moment and needs a big rewrite.) And, wait for it, my friend the graphic designer extraordinaire (and dog walker/cat whisperer, she’s a Renaissance woman) has created a trailer for the book that I adore. It needs a few tweaks but as soon as it’s ready, you’ll see it here first. (Writer friends: if you need a trailer or book cover, Gini is your woman. Reply to this newsletter and I’ll get you her contact info.)

A little about The Matchmaker’s Temptation:

Thirty something Bridget Beaulieu’s life is as carefully curated as the dates she finds for the clients of her successful matchmaking business. But her tightly controlled world unravels when her husband Neal leaves her for a business rival and takes her biggest client with him. Desperate to revive her business, Bridget takes a job finding wealthy vintner Cade Calderwood a wife in a small town in the middle of Oregon wine country.  

Free-wheeling Cade is caught between two death bed promises: one to his childhood friend Michael and the other to his father. His father’s will stipulates Cade must marry within six months of the elder Calderwood’s death or relinquish the family fortune. There’s only one month left, and the obvious candidate for marriage is Megan, Michael’s widow. But Michael made Cade promise not to marry her unless she got sober, knowing that Cade would never be happy with anything less than true love—and that the likelihood of Megan achieving sobriety was low.

Opposites attract, and Cade and Bridget are a prime example—sparks fly intensely and instantaneously from their first meeting when Bridget’s car breaks down on a lonely country road on the way to Calderwood Grove.  But Cade’s marriage deadline is quickly approaching and Megan appears to be conquering her addictions. Bridget doesn’t trust the feelings she has for Cade because her business is built on the premise that computers make far better matches than humans. And according to Bridget’s laptop, she and Cade are as incompatible as two humans could possibly be.

But, as Bridget’s beloved aunt, bestselling novelist Martina Wilkerson always says, the heart has a mind of its own. As wildfire threatens the Calderwood winery, Bridget and Cade are both forced to make choices that will change their futures. Will they follow their prescribed paths or the take the journey of true love?

Okay whoops, that was a lot. Sorry, not sorry—I really do love this novel and I can’t wait for you to read it. I’m working on setting a pub date now so you’ll hear more soon. And of course, my other novels are readily available. Here’s a link to my Amazon author page.

Current Obsession

A view of the Bishop’s Palace gardens. A real bishop lives there—I met his wife who was doing her laundry.

There’s something about gardens and writers that go together. English gardens in particular. I’ve read so many novels in which characters while away their afternoons hanging out in the garden. Now I get it, you know? This week back at home I’m working with my daughter on creating some beautiful garden spaces that are not overrun by small boys. (The rest of our yard is taken over by a giant trampoline and play structure.) Luckily, my biz partner Debbie has a close friend who is a garden writer and she recommended some books for me.

And here’s a view of the garden at our AirBnb. That’s the cathedral in the background and far away, off to the left, is Glastonbury Tor.

The Layered Garden, David Culp

The Healthy Garden: Simple Steps for a Better World, by Mary-Kate Mackey (Debbie’s friend.)

English Cottage Gardening for American Gardeners, by Margaret Hensel

As soon as I got home, I put holds on these at the library. But then I decided I couldn’t wait so I did buy The Healthy Garden. Got to support writers who are friends of friends!

Recipe

One of my favorite things the Brits do, besides label all desserts pudding, is offer a halloumi burger as standard fare on many pub menus. Unfamiliar with halloumi? It’s a firm Greek cheese which maintains its shape when cooked, thus making it perfect to fry with a little breading, and put on a burger. Some might think it a bit rubbery, but I love it. You don’t even have to put it on a burger, just heat it in a pan and have at it. I happened across this Halloumi Casserole recipe and thought I’d share it. FYI, I know Whole Foods stocks halloumi, not sure how common it is in other grocery stores.

From https://www.easycheesyvegetarian.com/halloumi-casserole/

So that’s it for now. Writers, I also write a Substack on writing, which you can subscribe to here, and a weekly newsletter that has been described as a non-religious homily about creativity. Yeah, a bit confusing I know. But I’m aiming to unite the two in wedded bliss later this summer.

Meanwhile, I wrote my subscribers a story. If you haven’t downloaded your free story yet, you can do so here. It’s called Dreams Do Come True and it will take only a few minutes of your precious time to read. And if you have friends who would be interested in this newsletter, please do share it with them. If they subscribe, they’ll get a free story, too.

So that’s it for now—I’ll see you back here in June. Please feel free to email me or leave a comment!

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