Hello everyone! I hope you are staying safe and healthy and hanging on.
We have barely two weeks until Pancakes and Parrots launches and I’m buzzing with excitement. I want to do so much! But we’ll see how much I am actually capable of.
In case you missed it, there is a preorder giveaway going on in two places. One on the blog and one on my Facebook page. A winner will be chosen in each place.
This launch is really important to me since I am aiming for a spot on the bestseller lists. That means I need to hit a certain number of sales in the first six days. I have priced the book at 99c to motivate readers to buy it. And some dear readers are even getting it from more than one retail platform. Yes, you can absolutely do that.
Please enjoy a sample chapter from the book. I hope it will entice you to read more.
What’s next? I would like to interview at least one Pelican Cove character (Jenny or Heather, you tell me), share a recipe and more. Launch week will be even more exciting with fun stuff.
So enter the giveaway, leave a comment, share or comment of Facebook and join in the fun. I cannot control the outcome of launch week but I hope we do have fun!
We all need a bit of that in our lives right now. Agree?
Oh yea! Writing update! Cookies and Christmas is the next book in the series. It has been plotted but I still haven’t been able to start writing.
More smiles coming soon. Have a great weekend!
Pancakes and Parrots SNEAK PEEK
Chapter 1
Jenny King bustled around the kitchen of the Boardwalk Café, checking everything for the umpteenth time. It was the first time she was meeting her husband’s high school classmates and she wanted everything to be perfect.
Sometimes her life in Pelican Cove seemed too good to be true. But the simple wedding band sparkling on her finger was proof. She had been given a second chance in life and she couldn’t be happier. At 44, Jenny had been a loving suburban mom engrossed in raising her teenage son. Dreading an empty nest, she was blissfully unaware of the disaster lurking around the corner. Her hotshot lawyer husband had been having an affair with a twenty something girl and he wanted Jenny out of his life.
Jenny found herself at a crossroads, without too many options. Luckily, her dear, eccentric aunt came to her rescue. Star had offered her a home and welcomed her with open arms.
Too numb to process anything, Jenny grasped the lifeline and arrived in Pelican Cove, a remote island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Star had let her mope around for a few months before suggesting she do something to keep busy. Jenny started working at the local café to please her aunt. The rest was history.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Jenny added a tiny pinch of sea salt to a pot of caramel and took it off the burner, wondering where her aunt was.
“You’re making my head spin.” Heather Morse, an attractive brunette, leaned against the wall, looking bored.
Ten years younger than Jenny, she was inching close to forty and not happy about it.
“The pancake batter is ready to go, the cream is whipped and cooling in the refrigerator, the eggs are beaten in case anyone wants an omelet …I think you have gone overboard as usual.”
Jenny expelled a large breath and ignored the trickle of sweat streaming down her back. It was a hot summer day in the seaside town and the humidity was stifling. She had been slaving in the kitchen since 5 AM and her face was red with the exertion.
“The pancake breakfast was my idea. I want everyone to feel welcome.”
“They will,” Heather assured her. “When they are not too busy trying to outshine each other.”
“You don’t know that.” Jenny flopped down on a chair and lifted her face toward the wall mounted fan. “Jason is so excited to meet everyone. He hasn’t talked about anything else for a month.”
“That’s because he’s Jason.” Heather cracked a smile. “Most high school reunions are packed with bitter, washed out, middle aged losers who want to gossip and gloat over other people’s misfortune.”
“Why do you have to believe the worst of everyone?”
Jenny drained her glass of lemonade and glanced at the clock on the wall before springing up. The special pancake breakfast for the class of 1988 was going to kick off at 8 AM. She barely had twenty minutes to spare.
Heather joined her mutely and the two friends started ladling pancake batter on the griddles. They soon had stacks of three types of pancakes ready. Jenny’s friends, the Magnolias, had helped her test various recipes before choosing the final three.
There was a classic buttermilk pancake with blueberries and maple syrup, a banana walnut pancake with salted caramel sauce and the piece de resistance, a special pancake Jenny had created for the reunion. It had coconut flakes and two types of chocolate chips in it along with hazelnuts. Jenny was going to serve it with her homemade spiced strawberry syrup, fresh berries and whipped cream.
A tall, handsome man with eyes the color of milk chocolate peeped in, holding a dress wrapped in plastic.
“Hello darling!” He blew Jenny a kiss. “Are you sure I can’t take you home to change?”
Jenny’s face lit up as she grabbed the dress.
“Thanks for the offer, Jason, but I’m already running late. I’m going to change in the supply closet.”
“You can go to the inn,” Heather offered. “It’s closer and you can grab a quick shower there.”
Heather and her grandmother ran the Bayview Inn, a Victorian property that had been constructed by their ancestors, the original settlers on the island.
Someone snatched Jason away just then and a chorus of voices erupted outside. A couple of high pitched screams followed.
“Too late!” Heather took in the scene outside. “There’s half a dozen oldies surrounding your husband, Jenny. And more are arriving by the second.”
Jenny rushed to the closet without a word, clutching her dry cleaning. Five minutes later, she walked out, smoothing her hands down her Tiffany blue sundress to get rid of any imaginary creases. She had managed to fix her face and put on a fresh coat of lipstick.
A gray haired lady dressed in a tied dyed kaftan was helping Heather plate the pancakes. An older woman held court over them, clutching a cane and shouting orders.
“Don’t be stingy with the syrup, Heather! Put one more strawberry on that stack, Star! Remember Jenny’s brief, three strawberries, four raspberries and six blueberries.”
“Star, Betty Sue …” Jenny greeted them. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course we came.” Star shook her head, carrying a tray full of plates out. “You can’t manage this shindig on your own, sweetie.”
Jason rushed in and pulled Jenny along with him.
“You look lovely!” His eyes shone with admiration. “They are dying to meet you, Jenny. Come on!”
“Just go.” Heather urged. “We’ll take care of everything here.”
Jenny placed her hand in Jason’s and ventured out on the café’s ocean facing deck. All the tables were overflowing with men and women of a certain age, dressed in their holiday finery. Some of the women wore sarongs or cover-ups over bathing suits. Jenny guessed they had opted for a swim before breakfast. The men wore shorts and polo shirts and many of them sported bald pates and beer bellies.
The bluish gray waters of the Atlantic shimmered in the bright sunlight.
Jenny felt a tug and followed Jason into the throng that was demolishing her pancakes.
“This is so good!” A platinum blonde with an expensive French manicure moaned. She cut into the stack and offered her fork to a pink cheeked man sitting next to her. “You have to try this, honey!”
More compliments flowed and Jenny accepted them shyly.
“So you’re the woman he was holding out for,” a voice drawled from the farthest corner.
Jenny spied a tall, svelte woman with just the right amount of blonde highlights. She wore a designer swimsuit that barely covered her modesty and must have cost four figures. The woman turned around suddenly and her green eyes bore directly into Jenny’s.
“Look at this pack of idiots.” Her lip curled in a sneer. “Jason’s the only man worth a second glance.”
“Err …thanks?” Jenny tried to be polite.
“You’re a chicken necker, aren’t you?” the woman snapped, using the term the islanders used for people who weren’t born there. “How’d you get here?”
“My aunt lives here,” Jenny shrugged and sighed with relief when a familiar arm came around her shoulders.
“Stop giving my wife a hard time, Nicole,” Jason warned lightly.
Dozens of introductions were made and Jenny promptly forgot all the names. Everyone heaped praise on the pancakes and thanked her for arranging the special breakfast.
The reunion committee had arranged a tour of the high school after lunch. There was a gala dinner that night with an 80s theme.
“When do we open the time capsule?” A woman with a shock of prematurely white hair asked.
“Is this some nerdy sci-fi thing from your club of misfits?” The bulging biceps and toned body belonged to a man who took care of himself.
Jenny guessed he must be the class jock. Thirty years after high school, he was still surrounded by fawning men and women. He was enjoying the attention.
“Don’t you remember?” The chubby, pink cheeked man with the platinum blonde squeaked, rubbing his eyes vigorously. Jenny thought his mop of curly brown hair needed a cut. “We made a memory box in our senior year. A time capsule. It was going to be opened at our 25th reunion.”
“That’s right, Davie,” Jason backed him up. “But our 25th was canceled due to that hurricane. That’s when we decided to unveil it at the 30th reunion.”
“Don’t be silly, Jase.” The green eyed beauty snapped from the far corner. “Time capsules stay buried for a hundred years. They are not supposed to be opened in our lifetime.”
“She’s right,” another woman piped up. “But only half right. Our time capsule wasn’t going to be opened for fifty years.”
“Did ya’ll arrange for a good band tonight?” A bored voice grumbled. Tall and blue eyed, the man patted his paunch and gave a big yawn.
Someone mentioned a garage band they had started in high school and the conversation turned nostalgic.
“Are you taking the tour with your class?” Jenny asked her husband.
Jason made a face. “I live right here, Jenny. I drive by the high school at least a couple of times every day.”
“But your classmates don’t.” Jenny gave him a slight nudge. “Go have fun.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Jason raised his eyebrows.
“I’m going to that new salon on the highway to get my hair done. I want to look good tonight.”
“Jenny, you’re already pretty. And you’re beautiful inside out.”
He pulled her in for a quick hug. The reunion committee began cajoling everyone to get up and gather around on the boardwalk. Heather came out and began helping Jenny to clear the tables.
“He didn’t come to eat your pancakes, did he?” Heather nodded toward a tall, scruffy, blue eyed man who stood slightly apart from the class of 1988. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“Stop giving him a hard time, Heather.”
Adam Hopkins had been the police chief of Pelican Cove for a long time. He had also been Jenny’s beau until he abandoned her at the altar. He was back in town for the high school reunion. The Magnolias wanted him to get out of town at the earliest.
“You’re too softhearted, Jenny,” Heather grumbled. “Adam had his chance. He needs to bow out graciously now.”
Jenny chose not to comment. Star and Betty Sue came out carrying a tray of lemonade and sat at their usual table. A light breeze picked up, carrying the tang of the salt water along with it. Jenny sat down at her aunt’s prodding, closed her eyes and let the breeze ruffle her hair.
“Finish your lemonade, girl,” Betty Sue nodded at Heather. “There’s a mountain of work waiting for us at the inn.”
“You must be very busy,” Jenny observed. “Can I help you with the housekeeping?”
“This reunion has been good for business,” Heather nodded. “The committee did a great job of recommending us.”
“Not like they have a lot of choice,” Betty Sue grunted. “We are the only proper inn on the island. All the other hotels are across the bridge on Route 13.”
“Anyone we know?” Star was curious about the inn’s guests.
“Most of the locals are staying with their families,” Betty Sue told them. “Like the Cottons, for instance.” She stole a glance at Jenny. “That Hopkins boy is staying at his own house. Isn’t it time he put it up on the market?”
“We have a couple of old guys at the inn,” Heather giggled.
“Gentlemen,” Betty Sue corrected her. “And they are not that old. If they hadn’t been happily married, I would encourage you to go on a date with one of them.”
“Grandma!” Heather flushed. “They are ten years older. Ten!”
Betty Sue turned red.
“Yes, but you are almost over the hill. You will have to take what you can get.”
“No women?” Jenny stepped in quickly, sensing a storm brewing between her two friends.
“Sarah Walker.” Heather sighed. “Frankly, she’s a bit of a weirdo. I don’t think her hair’s seen a bottle of conditioner in a year. Her clothes look like they came from the trash dump. And …”
“That’s enough!” Betty Sue snapped. “How many times have I told you not to disparage our guests?”
“I don’t think Jason’s ever mentioned her,” Jenny mused.
A tall, skinny woman wearing thick glasses waved from the boardwalk and ran up the café steps. Molly Henderson was the local librarian and the final member of the group of friends that had christened themselves the Magnolias.
“What’d I miss, girls?” she asked, picking up a glass of lemonade and draining half of it in a gulp. “Did you meet the infamous class of 1988?”
