Spotlight & Giveaway: The Sandcastle Hurricane 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 Sandcastle Hurricane!

 
Hello to everyone and thank you for dropping by to visit with me!
 

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

The story is really the unfolding of two elderly sisters who had been estranged for years, a couple of old war vets who were coming to the end of their days and two budding romances. Ellie Mae and Tabby, cousins, have inherited The Sandcastle B&B, but before they can hardly get their bags unpacked, Hurricane Delilah swept away part of the town of Sandcastle, Texas.
 

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

*True love does not abide by a clock or a calendar.
*In any relationship, whether it’s cousins, friends or lovers–we can learn from each other.
*They were best friends, and even more than that, it was like their hearts had blended together.
*“You grab that dog before he kills my cat and leaves three babies motherless.”
*. “Since we’re already in a mess, we will stomp in the puddles between here and the house on our way back. You have been deprived of one of life’s greatest pleasures.”

What inspired this book?

Seeing the devastation in the Texas towns after a hurricane.
Wondering what had happened to the folks in nursing homes when the hurricane hit.
Known racist people in my lifetime.
Having lived through multiple stepmothers.

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

They surprised me every single day. Truth is, I got to really peel back the layers of their personalities day by day!

What was your favorite scene to write?

This is the scene when the family is discussing Thanksgiving dinner!

Ellie Mae straightened the already-perfect orange cloth on the dining room table and made sure the ceramic turkey centerpiece in the middle was right under the chandelier. “I never thought I’d feel like this, but I wish we were having dinner with just the family—and by that, I mean our regular crew. They’re more like relatives than the ones who are kin by blood.”
Alex filled the teakettle and set it on a burner. “This way, it will be ready to make another gallon if we need it. I usually had Thanksgiving dinner during the holiday with Jazzy. She tells me now that we can expect her for Christmas, too.”
“That’s awesome,” Tabby said. “And maybe spring break, if they don’t have other plans. After the folks move out to the barn, we’ll even have more room for them when they can come see us.”
“Okay, everyone.” Ellie Mae finally threw up her hands. “We’re all doing busywork to keep from talking about what’s going on.”
“No, we are trying to convince ourselves not to strangle some folks and throw their sorry bodies in the ocean for the fish to eat for Thanksgiving dinner,” Tabby told her.
Ellie Mae leaned on the bar separating the kitchen from the breakfast nook. “This feels like a nightmare,” she said. “Alex, wake me up, please.”
“Sorry, but I can’t,” Alex apologized. “Tabby and I are right in the middle of the dream with you.”
“Where are these troublesome guests that are trying to ruin our holiday?” Maude asked as she and Cleo came back inside the house. “Cleo told me all about them, and we’ve got a plan.”
“We’re going to make seating cards,” Cleo said.
“Why would you do that?” Alex asked.
“Because we want to have some fun. I’ll be on the table with your folks and your ex, Tabby.” Cleo gave Tabby one of her famous winks. “That way I can brag on the way y’all have taken four old strays in and then let us buy the barn to remodel.”
“And Frank and Homer have agreed”—Maude giggled—“to entertain Ellie Mae’s dad and his new young little fiancée with stories of the war. That should bore her into wanting to leave quickly and never come back.”
“At some time during the meal, Cleo and I are going to pick up our plates and switch, like playing musical chairs.” Maude giggled again. “I’ll go to the table with the ex, and I just can’t wait for my time there. Cleo and Homer are going to take the gold-diggin’ trophy- wife table, and Frank will join y’all three at your place. By then Ricky should be here.”
“Sounds complicated,” Alex said. “What about Jazzy and Declan?”
“They will have the table close to y’all so you can visit, but when we all do our musical- chair turnabout, you and Tabby will join them, and Ricky and Ellie Mae will have a table of their own for desserts,” Cleo said. “If you get confused, I’ll help you out. By the time they all leave, their minds will be scrambled so badly that they will be glad to break tradition next year.”
“And if not, we’ll still give them plenty of fodder to feed their griping mill for a while each year,” Maude said. “Too bad I didn’t think to take up for myself with our mother like these girls have done.”
“This keeps y’all from having to deal with these people while we eat,” Cleo said as she pulled Maude toward the door. “After Ricky gets here”—she threw a glance over at Ellie Mae—“make sure your dad sees you as a couple. Maybe you could even hug him when he arrives.” Cleo grabbed Maude’s hand. “Come on. We’ve only got a little while to get this job done. It’s going to be so much fun. I’ve got stories of my carnival days all lined up.”
“Cleo!” Ellie Mae gasped. “That’s not fair to Ricky!”
“Well, it would surely make things more interesting. Us old folks need a little excitement to keep our blood flowing,” Cleo said, and then she and Maude disappeared together.
Their giggles, one high- pitched and the other a bit lower, echoed all down the stairs. Tabby chalked another incident up to the strangeness of the day. “Are they really getting along?” She couldn’t imagine getting through this tough day without Alex—who had absolutely been a lifesaver—and the two sisters.
Alex stopped in the middle of the kitchen and kissed Tabby on the cheek. “It’s a Thanksgiving miracle. Are you going to be all right, or should we just put the food on the table and run away? I know a little place up toward Winnie that is open on Thanksgiving, but they only serve hamburgers and hot dogs.”
“I’ve always loved hamburgers and been a cheap date, so don’t tempt me.” Tabby finally smiled. “You are my hero today,” she whispered for his ears only.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

“What does that sky remind you of?” Alex asked Tabby and Ellie Mae. The surf was still rolling in, in huge foamy waves, but the waves weren’t touching the seawall anymore, and that was a blessing.
“The smoky ceiling in an old honky-tonk back when folks could smoke inside the place,” Ellie Mae answered.
“You’re not old enough to remember those days,” Tabby said.
“Maybe not, but Sam and I loved to watch old Westerns on television.” Ellie Mae removed the last screw from the wood over the window. “You know what I just thought of? Me and Sam worked together all those years, but not once did we build a beach house for someone or even work in a coastal town. I couldn’t even get him to come to Sandcastle with me. Not much scared him, but he had a phobia about drowning. I forget what it’s called.”
“Aquaphobia,” Alex said. “Why was he so afraid?”
“His uncle thought the way to teach him to swim was to throw him out into deep water,” Ellie Mae answered. “He panicked and nearly drowned before his dad swam out and rescued him. Just hearing him tell the story and seeing the fear still in his eyes made me want to knock some sense into his uncle. No one should ever do that to a child.”
“That’s almost child abuse,” Tabby said as she helped take down that last piece of wood.
“I agree.” Alex shifted the slab of wood over to one side. “My grandpa waded out into the ocean with me when I was a little kid and held me in his arms while I dog-paddled back to shore.”
“I had swim lessons,” Tabby said.
“Me too, and ballet lessons and piano and all those things that Mama thought a girl should have,” Ellie Mae said. “I know she was disappointed in me when I blew off college and went to work as a carpenter.”
“It’s not letting a lot of light inside the house, but on a gray day like this, even a little bit beats the darkness we’ve been living in,” Alex said.
Ellie Mae thought of the dark days since Sam died and nodded in agreement. Even a little bit of light in her heart and soul was better than those first couple of days when she felt as if there was a stone in her chest rather than a heart.
“We’ll take whatever light we can get,” Tabby said.
“Such as it is and what there is of it, like Aunt Charlotte says,” Ellie Mae added.
“I hadn’t thought of that saying in years, but my grandpa used to come off with it when something wasn’t quite right,” Alex said. “Just having light in the house, even if it is kind of dim with these gray skies, will be nice. I’ll make a deal with y’all: I’ll climb up the old ladder and take down the upstairs coverings if y’all will tell Cleo and the others they don’t have a home to go to.”
“I’d rather climb up that rickety old ladder and haul those sheets of wood out to the barn all by myself,” Ellie Mae said.
“No deal from this end,” Tabby answered, “but we should all three be there when one of us tells them, and it should be today. They’re going to find out anyway, and we should be the ones to break the news.”
“What a way to bring in the new month.” Ellie Mae sighed and thought of Sam again. How could her best friend, partner in work, and roommate be dead? She still couldn’t believe that she’d never see him again. Maybe if his folks hadn’t banned her from the funeral, she could have had some measure of closure. Now she just had anger at Sam for leaving her without even a warning. One minute they were talking about their day; the next he was gone—or so it seemed, when she looked back on that horrible time. “Think the old folks will still be here at Thanksgiving?

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

It’s a showcase of what I write–overcoming obstacles and learning to love the memories of the past because they make us who we are, living for today and not letting the past define us, and looking forward to a bright future.

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

That family doesn’t necessarily mean that every member shares DNA, that there is a rainbow at the end of the storm, and that love truly does conquer all.

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

I’m working on a women’s fiction/romance book that will probably be on the shelves in 2024.
My upcoming releases are:
Home of the Heart (with a bonus novella), Dec. 6
A Chance Inheritance (anthology), Jan 10
The Devine Doughnut Shop, Feb. 14
Chasing Dreams, (Audible Original), May 12
The Wedding Gift, June 27
The Lucky Shamrock, July 4

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m giving away a $25 Amazon gift card.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What memories do sandcastles bring to your mind?

 
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Excerpt from The Sandcastle Hurricane:

“Who in their right mind would name a hurricane Delilah? That’s just asking for trouble,” Ellie Mae fussed as she put the final screw in the plywood covering the last door on the second floor of the Sandcastle Bed-and-Breakfast.
“That’s better than Jezebel or Lucifer. I understand that the names they give them aren’t random, and they come from a list that is put together years in advance.” Tabby wondered at the same time if hurricanes should be given names of the infamous rather than common folks.
“The last one that created havoc in south Texas was named Ida. That sounds like an old-maid aunt’s name,” Ellie Mae said as she finished the job.
“If there’s another one this fall, it will be named James. The names are switched back and forth between female and male to keep things equal,” Tabby said with a giggle.
Ellie Mae tucked the drill and extra screws into a tote bag, slung it over her shoulder, and started down the rickety old wooden ladder that had been propped up against the railing around the balcony. “Well, then, I hope there’s not another one this year, because your ex-husband does not deserve any glory—not even the negative kind that folks talk about for years to come.”
“You got that right.” Tabby felt a surge of anger thinking about any notoriety that man might get.
James had always been a good provider, and a good father, but he believed that the man’s word was law in the family, and he had no reason to discuss his decisions with her. His attitude had been the final straw that had broken the old proverbial camel’s back and caused their divorce two years before.
“Be careful!” Tabby glanced over the side of the railing, tracking Ellie Mae’s movements. “Neither of us would win a contest for gracefulness, Eleanor Mason Landry.”
“I will, Tabitha June Landry.” Ellie Mae set her feet on the ground and gave her cousin a thumbs-up. “Why are we second-naming each other?”
“Probably because Aunt Charlotte does when she’s either scolding us or worried about us,” Tabby said as she threw a leg over the railing and planted a foot on a ladder rung. “And I could hear her voice in my head saying, ‘You girls be careful on that ladder. It’s as old as Methuselah.’”
“You sounded just like her. I didn’t think she’d ever leave Sandcastle,” Ellie Mae said with a smile. She grabbed both sides of the ladder to give it some support but let go briefly with one hand to scratch her nose.
“Don’t shake this thing. I’m already afraid of heights, and . . .” Tabby gasped as the ladder began to weave. She stopped midway up the thing.
“My nose was itching,” Ellie Mae yelled over the sound of the wind.
“Scratch it later,” Tabby said in a no-nonsense tone. “And I figured Aunt Charlotte would breathe her last right here in Sandcastle, but she seems to love living in Colorado.”
A rush of salty-smelling wind heralded Delilah’s arrival and whipped Tabby’s dark brown hair across her face. She eased down the ladder a rung at a time, afraid to push her locks back and even more scared to look down.
The ladder wobbled once more, and she sucked in enough air to explode her lungs. “Did you have to scratch your nose again?”
“Nope. The wind is really wicked. Hurry up before it carries you and this ladder away,” Ellie Mae shouted.
Dammit, Tabby thought as she stepped down again and cursed the wind for blinding her with her own hair. Santa Ana must have left this ladder behind back at the Alamo before Texas was even a state.
Dark clouds blotted out what little sunshine was left as they rolled toward the shore. Tabby looked up to see the tops of the trees all blowing toward the north. She could hear at least one limb of the old oak in the backyard moaning before it cracked. There would be a mess to clean up when the storm passed on through, for sure.
“If we survive this hurricane, I might give you my share of the B and B and move to Colorado with Aunt Charlotte. I thought tornadoes were the evilest thing on earth, until now,” Ellie Mae yelled over the noise of the rushing wind. “We need to figure out a way to put that last piece of wood up from the inside of the window; then we won’t need to climb down this rickety old ladder.”
From the sound of her cousin’s voice, Tabby could tell she wasn’t far from the bottom now. “If that had been possible, Aunt Charlotte would have already figured it out. At least we only have to go down this thing one time.”
Lightning streaked across the sky in a long, ragged line, and a clap of rolling thunder followed. Tabby fought the urge to let go and cover her ears. She forced herself to keep a tight grip on the sides of the ladder and hoped she wouldn’t end up with dozens of splinters in her palms. She glanced over her shoulder to see more lightning flash behind Ellie Mae, turning her into a momentary silhouette.
“Just four more steps and you’re on the ground,” Ellie Mae said. “You could jump from there.”
“Not . . .” She let go with one hand and instinctively covered one ear when the thunder rolled so close that the noise rattled the ladder. “Going to . . .” She quickly got a grip on the edge of the ladder again. “Happen!” she yelled above all the mixed sounds of the weather, the angry surf, and the creaking tree limbs.
“Hurry up, woman. I can feel the rain and see sheets of it coming right at us,” Ellie Mae said. “Those waves are taller than me.”
“That’s not very tall.” Tabby glanced down at the ground and then at the surf not a hundred yards away from the B and B. “But then, that’s a good sign.”
“How can you be so positive about everything?” Ellie Mae asked.
“I’ve wallowed in a negative world too long. When I moved down here, I decided I was leaving all the bad behind and just dwelling on the good,” Tabby answered above the rush of blood pounding in her ears. “Let’s be thankful for everything, including a drill that didn’t run out of power and even this rotten old ladder.”
“The little things, huh?” Ellie Mae asked.
She’d barely gotten the last word out when the next rung on the ladder snapped in half. One second, Tabby was only a couple of steps from solid ground; the next, she was grabbing for anything to break her fall. With her hands outstretched and catching nothing but fistfuls of air, she landed on Ellie Mae and sent both of them to the ground.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Cousins Tabby and Ellie Mae are due for a change. Running their aunt’s beachfront bed-and-breakfast in Sandcastle, Texas, is just the thing to shake things up…though their lives spin out of control in more ways than one when a hurricane barrels into the coastline. It’s a miracle it didn’t carry them off to Kansas. Not so lucky are the assisted-living center and a small eclectic group of local folks who take shelter with the cousins.

Two estranged sisters, rowdy as a circus, need a referee for a battle that goes back decades. And a pair of veterans, best friends for years, hash out bittersweet old times. There’s also handyman Alex LaSalle and his business partner, Ricky, experts at repairing the hurricane’s damage—and at making Tabby’s and Ellie Mae’s hearts beat a little faster.

As unpredictable, crowded, and stormy as it gets, the Sandcastle B and B is still the perfect harbor for healing past wounds, finding romance, and making up for lost time. Add in Tabby’s homemade pecan pie, and the Texas shore feels like a little slice of paradise.

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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 also 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.
When she’s not writing, she likes to plot new stories in her backyard with her tom cat, Boots Randolph Terminator Outlaw, who protects the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, locusts, and spiders. Visit her at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
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