Spotlight & Giveaway: The Mother’s Day Crown by Carolyn Brown

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Carolyn Brown to HJ!

Hi Carolyn and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Mother’s Day Crown!

 
Many thanks to Sara and all the folks at Harlequin Junkie this morning!!
 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

This is a novella that came out in an anthology, In Bloom, that I shared with Fern Michaels and Lori Foster. Monica and Tyler have come back to the little town where their grandmother’s lived when they were teenagers. Now the elderly ladies have gone into an assisted living facility and it’s up to the two grandkids to either sell their homes or decide to live in them. Ten years ago Tyler broke Monica’s heart. She’s not so sure she’d ever want to live next door to him.
 

Please share your favorite lines or quote(s) from this book:

*“That was ten years ago. She needs to grow up, and you’re not going to need to wear that dress anyway, because I’m going to win the crown. I was here a week before you finally made up your mind to join me, so I’m the senior resident of the two of us, and besides, I’m prettier and nicer than you.”

*”And honey, I’m not falling in love, and if I did, it would be with a guy who doesn’t need a walker, and who has his own teeth. I’d need a little more from a man if I was going to let him bounce my bed springs.”
*Evidently, God had better things to do today than listen to her prayers, or maybe He felt kind of sorry for Siberia and Africa and didn’t want to inflict a two-timing…Monica blushed at the name she was about to call him…

*“I agree, and on more than just our grandkids. I hate watching our show by myself, so let’s agree to share the Mother’s Day crown. If I win, I’ll wear it for the first half of the party. If you win, you can wear it for the first half. The loser takes the last half.”

What inspired this book?

Monica popped into my head one day, and refused to leave until I wrote her story. The next day Tyler demanded that I tell his side, and since he was so cute–well, there it was. Tell it or they would never let me sleep at night.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

When Monica told me her story, I could tell that she had a lot of baggage left over from the emotional pain that Tyler caused when they were teenagers. That didn’t surprise me as much as when Tyler stepped up and told me that he knew he had messed up and wanted a second chance.

What was your favorite scene to write?

Monica could hardly believe her eyes. Her grandmother was wearing a royal blue party dress, a crown made of aluminum foil, and mismatched socks. She hurried the rest of the way down the hall and into Nana’s room. “Halloween is over,” she said as she unloaded cupcakes and her grandmother’s favorite cookies into the cabinet in the tiny kitchen.
“I know that silly girl.” Nana opened the package of chocolate cookies, picked up one and popped the whole thing in her mouth. “I’m practicing my walk down the red carpet for when I’m crowned Mother of the Year in a couple of weeks.”
Monica tilted her head to one side. “Is that the crown?”
“Of course not. The real one is beautiful and has shiny rhinestones. I just needed something on my head to practice with.” Dotty smiled and reached for another cookie.
Monica hoped that if Nana did win the tiara, she didn’t have chocolate between her teeth when she smiled for the bulletin board picture. “Who won the title last year?”
“Gladys Garber,” Dotty answered through gritted teeth. “She flirted with your grandpa and tried to break us up when we were in high school. I intend to end her winning streak.”
“Oh?” Monica raised an eyebrow. “Tell me more.”
“We’d been together since we were thirteen, and it was our senior year. We were getting married that fall after we graduated. Then Gladys got between us, and we almost didn’t make it. Sorry old witch just had her eye on Eddie’s money, not on him,” Dotty said as she paced back and forth across the living room floor. “Walk slow and remember to smile at all the people who’ll be at the celebration,” she coached herself and did a perfect royal wave at all the imaginary people in her apartment.
“Grandpa had money?” Monica was almost as amazed by that fact as she was by how much Nana’s story paralleled hers. Evidently, every generation had its share of mean women.
“He didn’t, but his folks were a notch above comfortable. His mama had passed away when he was in elementary school, and then his dad died about ten years after we married, leaving the ranch to us. By the time you were born, your grandpa had come down with cancer, so we sold the place and built the little house I gave you,” she said. “But Gladys was mad at me because I got homecoming queen that year, and she wanted to get back at me. Sound familiar?”
“Little bit,” Monica answered.
“Difference is, I fought for my man, and you walked away from yours.” Dotty made a turn at the door and started back to the other side of the room. “If you’d blacked Raylene’s eye or yanked part of that blond hair out by the roots, you would have felt so much better.”

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The one where Tyler realizes that he is to blame for the original problem.

A little snippet:
Tyler knew that he should be in the house figuring out what to donate to the women’s shelter in Sherman and what to keep, but after seeing Monica, he needed a moment. He sat down on the porch swing and let his mind wander back to the biggest mistake he had ever made in his entire life.
That would have been ten years ago when he let Raylene Carter talk him into going into Nana Allen’s garage with her during their early graduation party. That started a mess that was like a small snowball rolling down a hill. By the time it got to the bottom, it was as big as a boulder.
Raylene backed him up against the wall and kissed him with lots and lots of tongue. He didn’t even realize that she was unbuttoning his shirt until she shoved it down over his shoulders. She had his belt undone, his pants unzipped and her hand inside his underwear when Monica flipped on the light.
“Busted!” Raylene giggled.
Monica’s face turned scarlet. Tears sprang from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Then she simply flipped the light back off and closed the door.
“I guess that means you’re needing a date to the prom now.” Raylene removed her hand. “Pick me up at six. I’m wearing red, and I don’t like roses, so get me a white orchid for my corsage.”
He had tried to talk to Monica, but she wouldn’t even speak to him, and being the stupid, young guy he was at that time, he had taken Raylene to the prom. He had been miserable all night, especially when he found out that Raylene had deliberately caused the problem because Monica had beat her out for the Valedictorian honor.
“If I couldn’t be number one, then she deserved to suffer, so I broke y’all up,” she had told him when they got to the prom.
“That was downright mean,” he told her.
“I worked hard to be Valedictorian. I’m going to a private after-party, and you’re not invited, so I’ll be ready to go home at eleven o’clock. You can drop me at my house, but don’t expect a goodnight kiss,” she’d said bluntly.
Granny’s calico cat, Sheba, hopped up onto his lap, turned around a few times, then curled up and closed her eyes. Winnie had given him specific instructions about what to feed her and how to take care of her when she’d given him the house.
“She’s a good cat, and a wonderful mouser, so you take care of her. That’s the only thing I’m asking you to do. I don’t care what you keep or what you give away, whetherif you live in the house all the time, part of the time or sell it. Just don’t give Sheba away or take her to a shelter,” Granny had said.
“You missin’ her?” Tyler rubbed the sleeping cat’s fur. “Me, too, but I miss Monica even more. I can go visit with Granny, but Monica won’t even talk to me—not even after ten years.”
She’s not ever going to talk to you if you don’t make an effort, the pesky voice in his head said. You were the one that messed up, so you should be the one to try to make it right.
“I did try for a whole summer,” he muttered.
Sheba opened one eye and growled.
“So, you’re not on my side either,” he sighed. “Okay, I get the message.”
He set the cat on the porch swing, took a deep breath, and slowly walked down the steps and across the yard. Just as he opened the gate separating the Magee and the Allen properties, Monica came out of the house and headed to her car. She popped the trunk open and picked up two bags of groceries.

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

It showcases my style in reaching out to my readers in hopes of touching their emotions.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

That sometimes a second chance brings peace and forgiveness. And elderly folks have lived through tough times, and their advice is invaluable.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m working on a women’s fiction right now. My upcoming releases are:
May 12, Chasing Dreams (Audible Original novella)
Jun 27, The Wedding Gift (an anthology of my novellas)
July 4, The Lucky Shamrock (a women’s fiction)
Oct. 10, Paradise for Christmas (first in the Sisters of Paradise series)
Dec. 12, On the Way to Us (contemporary romance)
Jan. 9, 2024, Meadow Falls (women’s fiction)

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I will give away a $10 Amazon gift card.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Do you believe in second chances? Do you have a second chance story that you could share?

 
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Excerpt from The Mother’s Day Crown:

“I feel as free as a bird.” Dotty held up a hand to high five her best friend, Winnie.
The crack when they slapped hands could be heard all up and down the halls of the Pecan Valley Retirement Center. A smile deepened the wrinkles around Dotty’s mouth and bright blue eyes. “It’s liberating, not to think about mowing the lawn, and making sure the plants are watered this summer, ain’t it? But I thought Monica was going to cry when I handed her the keys and the paperwork.”
“She’ll settle into the change, and didn’t I tell you how good it would feel to be free of all that stuff?” Winnie eased down on the brown and orange plaid sofa. “It’s like making peace with the fact that we’re both happy as baby piglets in a fresh mud hole right here in this retirement home. We should’ve done this five years ago. You are welcome.”
“For what?” Dotty asked.
“Putting our names on the list to live here,” Winnie answered.
“I suppose you’re going to lord it over me like you do that trophy for the best afghan, aren’t you?” Dotty sighed.
“Yep, I am,” Winnie nodded. “If you’d have agreed to come with me, you wouldn’t have had to wait three months for an apartment, but oh, no, you weren’t leaving your home. They gave your place to someone else, and you had to be lonely for all those weeks. So, you are welcome for me putting both our names on the list, and for me begging the supervisor here to put your name back at the top when this place came open. If it hadn’t been for that you wouldn’t live here, and you wouldn’t even have a chance to be Mother of the Year.”
“I want that Mother’s Day Crown so bad.” Dotty sat down in the recliner she’d brought from her house three months ago and hit the button on the side to raise the footrest. “I’m going to wear the fancy blue dress that I bought for Monica’s wedding at the Mother’s Day party. Promise me you’ll take a picture of Gladys’s face when they put the crown on me.” She reached up with both hands and set an imaginary crown on her thick, curly hair.
“Pshh!” Winnie cut her brown eyes over at Dotty. “I told you not to buy that dress. The way your granddaughter is dragging her feet when it comes to commitment, that dress will be old, faded and out of date by the time she gets around to walkin’ down the aisle. She might even end up being an old maid, and you’ll never have them great-grandkids you want so bad.”
Dotty shook a bony finger at Winnie. “You can blame your grandson for the way my granddaughter shies away from relationships. Tyler broke her heart, and she’s never gotten over it.”
“Hmmph,” Winnie snorted. “That was ten years ago. She needs to grow up, and you’re not going to need to wear that dress anyway, because I’m going to win the crown. I was here a week before you finally made up your mind to join me, so I’m the senior resident of the two of us, and besides, I’m prettier and nicer than you.”
“You are not,” Dotty argued. “And them combs that hold the crown on need someone with enough hair to keep the thing from fallin’ off. You ain’t got enough hair left to even hold the dang thing in place.”
“I’ll superglue it to my head and sleep in it if I win,” Winnie told her, “and I’m wearing the pink dress that I wore on Easter. Your blue dress is way too fancy for the Mother’s Day party. Didn’t you see the pictures on the bulletin board in the dining room? The women were all dressed semi-casual, kind of like they were fixin’ to go to Sunday school.”
“Then I’ll bring some class to the party,” Dotty said, “and I’m going to get more votes than you do.”
“Like you did when I won the blue ribbon at the fair for my afghan.” Winnie shot a dirty look at her best friend.
“It’s my turn to win since you got the prize for the best afghan,” Dotty argued.
“You goin’ to stuff the ballot box,” Winnie countered.
“Every resident only gets one vote—period,” Dotty reminded her, “I’ll vote for you if you vote for me. That way, maybe we can beat out Gladys with our joined forces. She’s got five crowns lined up on the shelf in her room, already.”
“She’s been here ten years, so everyone knows her, and they say she’s–Winnie’s voice went an octave higher–‘just the sweetest thing ever,’ or something like that. I’m going to prove that I’m just as lovable as she is.”
“I’ll just sit back and watch y’all try to outdo me.” Dotty narrowed her eyes and thought about ways to garner more votes. “We could get Monica and Tyler to vote every time they come to see us, because visitors get a vote a day.”
“Great idea.” Winnie nodded. “But remember, the staff gets two votes each a day. Gladys has a bowl of hard candy in her apartment that she offers the nurses and aides, and even the cleaning staff, when they come in to see her.”
“Is there anything in the rules that say we can’t bribe votes with candy and food?” Dotty asked.
“Not that I ever read in the booklet they gave me when I checked into this place, and Gladys can have her old hard candy,” Winnie giggled. “I’ve got one of them two-pound bags of miniature candy bars in my room. I bet the folks like chocolate better than peppermints.”
Dotty shot a dirty look toward Winnie. Some best friend she was.
“What’s that for?” Winnie asked.
“You didn’t tell me that you had candy bars,” Dotty answered. “I’m going to call Monica and tell her to bring mini cupcakes tomorrow.”
“I’m not stupid. You’ve always been competitive, so I got a head start on you,” Winnie declared. “I even give the cleaning folks chocolate ’cause they get two votes a day, too, just like the doctors and nurses. And since my grandson Tyler is the resident PA here at the center, he can vote three times a day. I’m going back across the hall to my place. Come on over, and we’ll watch our soap opera after lunch.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? That way, if anyone comes in, you can give them a candy bar, and they’ll vote for you. I’ll just watch our soap at my place until after Mother’s Day, thank you very much.” Dotty had no doubt that she would miss Winnie. They’d watched their program together for the past twenty years. But the game was on and Dotty had her heart set on that crown, which was way prettier than the blue ribbon and trophy Winnie got for her afghan.
“You aren’t nice even to me, and I’m your best friend, so I don’t think you’ll need to wear that blue dress.” Winnie got up slowly and left the room.
Dotty pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Monica.
“Hello, Nana,” her granddaughter answered. “Is everything all right? Have you changed your mind?”
“Hell, no!” Dotty said. “I’m at peace with my decision. Where are you right now?”
“At the grocery store, buying supplies for a couple of weeks,” Monica answered. “Do you need something?”
“Yep, I want a dozen of those miniature cupcakes brought to me every day for the next two weeks. You can bring the first dozen tomorrow, and if they don’t have nice ones there, then you can make some for me. There’s a mini-cupcake pan in the cabinet to the right of the stove,” Dotty answered. “I’m going to win that Mother’s Day crown just to prove to Winnie that I’m nicer than she is.”
“Good grief!” Monica sighed. “Are you two competing, again?”
“Yes, we are,” Dotty answered, “and this time I’m going to win. I intend to wear that crown on Mother’s Day here at Pecan Grove and get my picture on the bulletin board in the lobby. That way she can’t hold that trophy she got for her afghan at the county fair over my head any longer.”
“Nana, you two have been best friends for most of your lives,” Monica reminded her. “Why can’t you stop this competition?”
“Because we have so much fun, and it makes things exciting. I won five bucks last week when I bet her that Gladys and Harry were in a relationship,” Dotty bragged.
“Nana! Those two old people have to be at least ninety,” Monica gasped.
“Both of them are eighty years old,” Dotty corrected her. “They’re the same age me and Winnie are. They ain’t lived a righteous life like me and Winnie so God aged them worse than He did us.”
“Are you jealous? Do you have a little crush on Harry? And with all this arguing you and Winnie do, how can you say you’re closer to God than Gladys?” Monica teased.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

A sexy, witty, fun contemporary romance novella from USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown originally published in the anthology In Bloom.
Monica Allen still hasn’t forgiven Tyler Magee for breaking her heart when they were teenagers. Ten years on, they’re back in Luella, Texas, visiting their respective grandmothers. and there’s just a white picket fence and a whole lot of awkwardness between them. Will two weeks be long enough for Monica to learn to stop holding a grudge—and hold on to love?

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Meet the Author:

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly and #1 Amazon and #1 Washington Post bestselling author. She is the author of more than 100 novels and several novellas. She’s a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, Montlake Romance’s prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, and a three-time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award. Brown has been published for more than 25 years, and her books have been translated 21 foreign languages, and have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
When she’s not writing, she likes to take road trips with her husband, Mr. B, and her family, and she plots out new stories as they travel.
Visit her at www.carolynbrownbooks.com
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