Spotlight & Giveaway: The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Karen Hawkins to HJ!

Hi Karen and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

THE SECRET RECIPE OF ELLA DOVE is about professional pastry chef Ella Dove and her special gift. Her baking is magical and just one bite of her amazing desserts can bring back precious and long forgotten memories. Ella has come back home to Dove Pond, driven by a series of weird dreams that leave behind streaks of frosting. She quickly realizes that, to end the troublesome dreams, she must face the mistakes of her past. This is a warm, delicious, and romantic story about the importance of friendships, family, and love.
 

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

The worst dish in the world is the one that’s been left unmade, untried, and untasted.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• There’s a cute Highland Cow featured in THE SECRET RECIPE OF ELLA DOVE; a delightful calf named Adorbs that I wish I could adopt. I wrote about him because I’ve always wanted a Highland Cow, but don’t have the yard for it. I’ve tried to convince my husband that we could raise it indoors like a dog as it’s just as cute, but he’s been resistant to that idea.
• My inspiration for the book was Hummingbird Cake which is a big deal in my family and is a Southern favorite. It’s a very rich and sweet cake and people either love it or hate it. I love it, but then I’m YUM with anything containing pineapple including, but not limited to, all cakes and beverages.
• There are recipes in the back of the book, all tried in the Hawkins Test Kitchen (my kitchen). They are delicious. Please try one.
• I had severe food cravings while writing this book. Many. Fortunately, I had to make a bunch of desserts before deciding which recipes to include in the back of the book, so I was able to satisfy those cravings and wasn’t cranky.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Gray has been crazy about Ella since high school. The first thing that attracted him to her was her open attitude toward life and her acceptance of him as he was and is. Ella’s very good at living in the moment (maybe too good), which he struggles to do.

Ella has always loved Gray’s sense of humor. She likes who he is, how genuine and kind he can be, and his unwavering ability to make her laugh when she needs it the most.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

The reconciliation scene between secondary character Angela and her daughter made me laugh and get a little weepy, too. Family dynamics are so complex and it was emotionally satisfying to watch this family grow closer and overcome their past.

Readers should read this book….

Because they need/want/crave a feel good read. This book was written with love and I hope they can feel it on every page.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m working on edits for the next Dove Pond book, which is sister Tay’s story as she investigates a Dove family ancestor.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 Print copy of THE SECRET RECIPE OF ELLA DOVE – open to US only

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Ella’s return to Dove Pond in THE SECRET RECIPE OF ELLA DOVE finds her face-to-face with old friends (and boyfriends) and all of the complications that entails. Are you still in touch with your high school or college friends? Have the relationships changed much? Have you ever reconnected with an ex?

 
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Excerpt from The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove:

Ella rang the doorbell and waited. As she’d come to expect, nothing happened.
Sighing, she rang it again, leaning closer so she could hear better.
Again, nothing happened. But just as she started to pull away, she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps.
Finally! She held her breath and pressed her ear more firmly to the door. The steps came closer and closer until they were so close that Ella was sure that if the door disappeared, Angela would be only inches away.
Ella straightened. “Open the door, Angela. I can hear you.”
No answer.
Ella frowned. “I just want to talk to you. It won’t take long.” Ella waited a few seconds, and then added, “It’s about your family recipe book, the one that was lost.”
A muffled sound came from the other side of the door.
Ella took that as encouragement. “If you’ll just open the door, I’ll explain–”
“Are you giving it back?”
At least Angela was talking. That’s a step forward. Ella put her free hand flat on the door and leaned as close as she could, the panel warm from the sun. “I never took your recipe book. That’s why I’m here. I w–”
“If you’re not giving it back, then we have nothing to say.”
“But I didn’t take it!”
“Yes, you did. You also broke my grandson’s heart and I’ll never forgive you for that, either!”
This wasn’t going at all the way Ella had wanted it to. “Angela, I–”
“Leave!”
Ella could hear the footsteps again, only this time they were moving away. “Angela!” she called, but the footsteps never faltered. Before Ella could say another word, they had faded away, and Angela was gone.
“Great. Just great.” If she wanted to get rid of those annoying, frosting-laden dreams, Ella had to convince her once-best-friend-and-mentor that she hadn’t stolen her precious family cookbook. As if I’d do something like that. But how could she convince Angela of anything if she wouldn’t even speak to her?
Ella moved a few paces away from the door, her gaze moving down the long porch to the partially open windows at the end, the curtains dancing in the faint breeze.
Did she dare? “Do I have a choice?” she muttered under her breath.
No, she didn’t. Straightening her shoulders, she turned on her heel and headed for the closest open window.
By gosh, she and Angela would have their conversation, one way or another.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Three lives converge as a wildly talented baker returns to Dove Pond to face her past in this entry in the charming series that proves that sometimes miracles really do happen…

Ella Dove is an acclaimed baker whose desserts spark vivid, cherished memories in those who taste them. A restless soul, Ella goes wherever the wind takes her—but driven by a haunting dream, she’s coming home to Dove Pond. Years ago, her mentor, Angela Stewart Harrington, falsely accused Ella of stealing her beloved family recipe book, known as the Book of Cakes. Now, Ella believes it’s time for them to reconcile.

Angela has her own share of amends to make. Her daughter Jules has never forgiven her for divorcing her father, and they’ve been estranged ever since. But just as Angela begins to hope that she and Jules might mend their tattered relationship, a miscommunication turns into a lie that could destroy everything.

Meanwhile, Jules’s son Gray is shocked that Ella, his first love and his first heartbreak, has returned to Dove Pond. But even though he knows Ella is a wanderer and will soon leave, he’s unable to stop himself from falling for her once again. Can Gray find a way to convince Ella to give him, and their town, a serious chance? Or is he once again on the road to a broken heart?

With so much at stake, Ella, Angela, and Gray must learn to accept each other—flaws and all—forgive the many mistakes of their pasts, and trust that love can, and will, always find a way. For fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen, The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove is a delicious and magical read that will warm your heart and charm your senses.
 
 

Meet the Author:

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Karen Hawkins writes novels that have been praised as touching, witty, charming, and heartwarming. A native Southerner who grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where storytelling is a way of life, Karen recently moved to frosty New England with her beloved husband and multiple foster dogs. The Dove Pond series is a nod to the thousands of books that opened doors for her to more adventures, places, and discoveries than she ever imagined possible. To find out more about Karen, check in with her at Facebook.com/AuthorKarenHawkins, on Instagram @KarenHawkinsAuthor, and on her website KarenHawkins.com.
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