Jamie Farrell's Blog, page 12

August 19, 2014

Buttercup vs. The Q-Tips

Today, I have 500 reasons for you why you shouldn’t leave your Q-tips where your toddler can reach them.


IMG_2074


IMG_2075


(Don’t tell SuperHubby, okay? Thanks!)


Have a great Tuesday, y’all!


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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Published on August 19, 2014 06:16

August 18, 2014

A Year of Happy Mondays – Ten Things My Children Taught Me This Weekend

Happy Monday, y’all!! We had a fun weekend… and also a learning weekend. As in, my children taught me several new things. So today, I thought I’d share them as my ten things to make you smile on a Monday morning.


Ten Things I Learned From My Children This Weekend.

10. Dishes are a contact sport.


9. Buttercup knowns where the baby wipes are, and believes her baby doll needs to be wiped with them all the time.


Buttercup's baby


8. Speaking of wipes… Buttercup has watched Squeaker in the bathroom too many times. (And I’ll leave it at that.)


7. These are bubbles in disguise. (And my couch has now been cleaned.)


Ice Cream Bubbles


6. Play-Doh will occupy my children for THREE HOURS. Play-Doh is my new best friend.


5. Darth Minion Buttercup is a real thing.


Darth Minion Buttercup


4. It takes 58 pounds of pressure to crack the display on a scale.


IMG_2187


3. There will never be a clear winner In the epic stare-down between a Harley Big Wheel and a rocking caterpillar.


Epic Battle Between a Harley Big Wheel and a Rocking caterpillar


2. They will eat anything if you tell them it’s cake. (More on this on Thursday.)


Jamie Farrell's Scrambled Pancakes


1. Three is the age at which boys will first claim that the wood of their bunk bed came to life and smacked them while they were lying still, trying to fall asleep.


And with that, I bid you all a happy Monday. :-) Hope you have an awesome week!


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here


Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play


 

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Published on August 18, 2014 00:13

August 15, 2014

The Husband Games Deleted Scenes – Kimmie, Fortune Cookies, Fifty Shades, and CJ-Bot Version Two

**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT!!**


Page By Page Inside-Out Reviews has a giveaway up for THREE of my ebooks!! I’ve linked to the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post – make sure you scroll down and enter!!


And on to the deleted scenes!


Jamie Farrell The Husband Games Misfit Brides of Bliss Book One, a fun small-town contemporary wedding novelHave I mentioned my writing process? It goes something like this:


1. Have an idea.


2. Think on that idea for 6 months to a year because I’m currently writing another story that I need to finish.


3. Finally get a chance to write that idea. Write 70,000 words. (This is approximately a 250 to 300-page novel.)


4. Realize at least one character’s motivation is all wrong (and probably more like five characters’ motivations and backstory are all wrong), that I have fourteen too many characters, and that the scenes need to be rearranged in order.


5. Write the story over again from scratch. Write 110,000 new words.


6. Revise. Add a couple scenes.


7. Revise again. Add a couple more scenes, delete a few others.


8. Repeat.


9. Send the book to my critique partners.


10. Rewrite and revise again.


11. Repeat 9 & 10.


12. Finally get it right.


13. Realize I have a 95,000-word novel that it took me 300,000 words to write.


And that pretty much sums it up. (And hopefully explains why Lindsey’s story won’t be out until sometime in 2015.) But what it also means is that when a book finally comes out, I have a little file full of deleted scenes. And so today, because a deleted scene is a terrible thing to waste, and because my Feisty Belles requested it, I’m giving you two deleted scenes!


And by deleted scenes, in this case I mean scene extensions. :-) The following two snippets with Natalie, Lindsey, and Kimmie were both originally in the scene at Suckers (the local anti-wedding-establishment bar in the Most Married-est Town on Earth) about halfway into The Husband Games, but were cut in the interest of not dragging down an already long scene, and I’m pretty sure they’re spoiler-free. Hope you enjoy!


(p.s. If you don’t have your copy yet, you can get it here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play)


And now I present Snippet The First, in which Lindsey has just suggested they have a man-free night at Suckers:


“Man-free. Sure. What about him?” Natalie nodded toward CJ, who was flirting with the half-dozen temporary Mrs. Blue contestants again. Dammit. “Because we’re going to need more drinks, which means we’ll have to ask him.”


Which meant Natalie would have to hold back on ogling him. Keep it to herself that she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to finish what they shouldn’t have started last week.


“We’ll pretend he’s a serving robot,” Kimmie said.


Lindsey nodded. “Fully equipped with drink-making software.”


“And a nice butt,” Kimmie added.


Natalie didn’t mean to look. She didn’t have to look. Not only did she vividly remembered just how well he filled out his jeans, she remembered just how well he’d felt in her hands.


But she still looked at the way his jeans hugged the curve of his ass, and couldn’t help the sigh that went with the thought that his was still the nicest butt in Bliss.


Natalie tore her gaze away from CJ and turned a glare on Kimmie.


“What?” Kimmie said. “If I had a male serving robot, I’d totally give him a hot butt. And I’d program him to say things like That’s the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen and Of course your dreams are normal, I live to hear about them.”


“She really is a genius,” Lindsey said. “A twisted genius, but still a genius.”


Natalie shook her head. “If you say so. Can it be programmed with some kind of psychic abilities? I haven’t had dinner.”


“We’ll have to work on that for CJ-bot version two,” Kimmie said.


* * *


And Snippet The Second, in which Kimmie shares her thoughts on fortune cookies and Fifty Shades:


“Those things are creepy,” Kimmie said.


“Fortune cookies are creepy now?” Natalie said.


“I told you about the epicenter thing, remember? Yeah. That’s creepy. They’re not even sentient beings, and they know more about my life than I do.”


“They’re generic. They apply to practically everyone. That’s why they get it so right.”


Kimmie’s lips flattened. “Most people’s fortune cookies are generic. Mine say epicenter. And things like, What’s popular now will haunt you tomorrow. A day later, I finally started that book—you know which one I’m talking about—and suddenly, I’m dreaming about being tied up by a dragon-frog with six talons who wants to do things to me that even I won’t say out loud.” She shuddered. “It took me a week to trust myself to sleep again after that one.”


“I had some pretty crazy dreams after I read that book too,” Lindsey said. She wiggled her eyebrows. “Got a few ideas too. How about you, Nat?”


“Haven’t read it.”


“Seriously?” Kimmie said.


“I’m a single mother with no sex life. I don’t read books that will remind me of that fact.” Because sneaking a few chapters of Outlander here and there was so much better for her.


She glanced at CJ again, one hundred percent virile male, one hundred percent decent guy, and she sighed.


She really wouldn’t have minded having a sex life.


* * *


Happy Friday, y’all! Have a great weekend! And make sure to enter the Page By Page Inside-Out Reviews giveaway!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here


Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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Published on August 15, 2014 04:56

August 14, 2014

Buttercup vs. The Banana

Y’all, I have a party hangover! Last night’s Facebook launch party was a ton of fun! But I’ve gotta tell you, I’ve been a tad busy lately, with traveling and moving and writing and launching The Husband Games. (Psst! Have you gotten your copy yet? Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play) Which means my kids have all kinds of opportunities to explore a little more independence than usual.


Which leads to conversations like this:


Munchkin, from the other room: “Uh, Mommy? We have a problem.”


Me: “Can you be more specific please?”


Munchkin: “Buttercup put her banana all over the floor. With her toothbrush.”


IMG_2065It could’ve been worse, but it still led to the second unplanned mopping of the day, since Buttercup had also upended her cereal bowl all over the floor at breakfast.


Such is the life of a stay-at-home writer-mom.


Happy Thursday, y’all! Hope you’re gearing up for a great weekend!


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here


Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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Published on August 14, 2014 06:16

August 13, 2014

Party Day!

Jamie isn’t here today. She’s gone to play at the launch party for The Husband Games.


THG FB Party Header 2


 


Get your copy yet? Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play


I’m also at Jeannie Moon’s place, talking about bacon and giving away a book! Click here to see what bacon and romance novels have in common. :-) (And then check out Jeannie’s books while you’re at her website!)


Also make sure you comment on yesterday’s blog! Somebody’s gonna win three Kristan Higgins books!


Regular blog programming will resume tomorrow! :-) Happy Wednesday, y’all!


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Jamie’s newsletter: Click here


Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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Published on August 13, 2014 06:19

August 12, 2014

A Husband Games Celebration Giveaway!

Because it’s been a week since The Husband Games came out, and because tomorrow’s the official launch party (click here to join in the fun!), and because I love to share my favorite authors with y’all…


Today, I’m giving away a set of Kristan Higgins‘ Blue Heron books! I adore Kristan Higgins’ humor, and her characters are quirky and fun and real–exactly the kind of people I’d love to hang out with. And if any of y’all enjoy my books half as much as I like Kristan’s, then I’d like to think I’m doing something right. :-)


Want to win these three books?

photo-39


(Hint: Yes. Yes, you do.)


To be entered, comment below and tell me your favorite funny scene in a book! (Or just say hi. I like that too.) And I hope you’ll check out The Husband Games! The special $2.99 launch week price ends tomorrow, so if you might be even a little interested, grab it now before the price goes up!


Thanks for stopping by! Winner to be announced Thursday, along with the winners of all the giveaways in the Facebook launch party!


Jamie Farrell The Husband Games Misfit Brides of Bliss Book One, a fun small-town contemporary wedding novelIn August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Jamie’s newsletter: Click here


Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.


Subscribe to Jamie’s blog on BlogLovin’: Click here.


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play


 

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Published on August 12, 2014 06:17

August 11, 2014

A Year of Happy Mondays – The Husband Games Edition

Woot! It’s Husband Games party week! So I hope you’ll indulge me as today’s top Monday smiles are ten things from The Husband Games that make me happy. And I hope you’ll also sign up to come to the Facebook Launch party on Wednesday! Because party. And prizes. And fun. :-) Click the link or the picture to join the party!


Somebody's going to win this at the launch party on Wednesday!

Somebody’s going to win this at the launch party on Wednesday!


Ten Things About The Husband Games That Make Me Happy

10. The Blue siblings. All thirteen of them, all named after spices. (On a good day, I can even name all eleven of CJ’s sisters. On a bad day, I tend to forget Sage. And sometimes Tarra (short for Tarragon), but only because she was a brother named Reggie (short for Oregano) in the first draft.)


9. The subtle shout-outs to Southern Fried Blues and Mr. Good Enough. (Have you read The Husband Games? Did you catch them all?)


8. The subtle hints to Lindsey’s and Kimmie’s heroes. (I don’t know all of their stories yet, but I giggle every time Lindsey’s hero is mentioned to her. Which is only like once. But I still giggle.)


7. The wedding cake monument. Y’all. One day, when Hollywood comes knocking, wanting to launch the Bliss television series, I’m going to tell them they can only do it if they build me a hundred-foot-tall wedding cake monument. Because, seriously. Who wouldn’t want to see that?!


 


This is how I picture the wedding cake monument in Bliss.

This is how I picture the wedding cake monument in Bliss.


6. Marilyn Elias, aka The Queen General. Yes, she’s evil. Yes, many people want to hit her, and many people want Nat to stand up to her, but any character who marches into my head (there’s a reason she has the General part of her nickname) and informs me that “By the power vested in me as a direct descendant of the founders of Bliss, I will have a major role in this book, and I will believe I am the hero throughout,” is going to be one heck of a fun character to write.


THG Marilyn QG - 8


5. Noah Castellano. Nat’s four-year-old son. What I love most about him is that his temper tantrums occur off-screen. That never happens in real life.


The Husband Games by Jamie Farrell - Noah Castellano, Natalie's 4-year-old son


4. Lindsey Castellano. Nat’s sister, the divorce lawyer hiding a heart of gold. (I’m a third of the way into writing her story, and I adore her. Though I must confess, I adore her hero more. Did you catch where he’s mentioned to her in the The Husband Games?)


THG Lindsey - 6


3. Kimmie Elias. One of Nat’s best friends, she has crazy dreams, a fear of fortune cookies, and says things like, “My mom’s gonna roast your nuts when she heard this.”


THG Kimmie - 7


2. Natalie Castellano. She’s probably the hardest heroine I’ve ever written, and she’s probably the most imperfect too. I adore that about her.


Natalie Castellano - The Husband Games


1. CJ Blue. The hero. Le sigh… Who doesn’t love a man who can survive growing up with eleven sisters?


The Husband Games CJ Blue Smart about women - 3


Happy Monday, y’all!


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play


 

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Published on August 11, 2014 06:34

August 10, 2014

National Southern Fried Blues Day

Today is National S’mores Day.


And since one of my favorite scenes in Southern Fried Blues is the s’mores scene, I’m also declaring today National Southern Fried Blues Day! And so, for today only…


Smores Day SFB 99-cent SaleIt’s a Southern Fried Sale!!


$0.99 for Southern Fried Blues!


Get your copy here:


Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play


Act fast! The sale’s only good through midnight EST tonight!


And now, for your reading pleasure…


The S’mores Scene from Southern Fried Blues. Enjoy!


* * *


CAMPING WASN’T HUNTING, but Jackson loved sitting in front of a roaring campfire under a full moon next to a pretty lady. Even Louisa wasn’t irritating him so much, though it looked like Radish wanted earplugs. Anna was being a right good sport about it all.


Come to think of it, she was a right good sport about everything. Right down to his getting in her way when she was putting her tent together.


He bet the fire was driving her crazy too, all those logs stacked up in the haphazard way that made a campfire good. But she was doing a good job hiding it as she rotated her marshmallow the perfect distance over the coals to get a nice, even brown over a gooey center.


His groin got tight thinking about her gooey center, but with his sister three feet away on his other side, he’d have to burn all his own marshmallows if he didn’t want to embarrass any of them.


“They don’t,” Anna said beside him.


“Hm?”


“The logs. They don’t bother me.”


He rubbed his chin. Now he knew he hadn’t said that out loud. “I was thinking about your marshmallow.”


“Not doing either of us any favors with that tonight.”


It wasn’t funny, but he chuckled anyway. Because maybe it was a tad bit funny.


His daddy would’ve thought so. Anything worth having’s worth working and waiting for, he always said.


And suddenly Jackson was back at not funny. He shifted on the ground, looking past the fire to Louisa. He’d failed her in passing that lesson along.


He didn’t much care for failing at anything.


He didn’t much care for the thoughts he was getting about his sister lately either.


He reached around Anna, and he might’ve accidentally on purpose bumped her arm that was holding her marshmallow so steady. He also accidentally on purpose sniffed in that pretty scent of her hair longer than he meant to while he grabbed the bag of marshmallows.


Because those were the only marshmallows he’d be getting tonight. “Don’t suppose you brought any pie?” he said softly.


“Pie?” Kaci said from Anna’s other side. “You brought pie, sugar?”


Anna held up a smoking marshmallow. That pout was cute as all get-out on her. “Burnt-marshmallow-on-a-stick pie,” she said. “It was almost perfect too.”


“I’ll fix one up for you,” Jackson said.


Mostly because he felt bad hers got ruined. Some too because it would irritate her.


And irritate her it did. Her eyes glowed bright as the fire. “You need to worry about your own marshmallows.”


He flashed her a grin he didn’t feel. She was a special lady. Starting to sneak into places she didn’t have any business being, making him believe he did need to be worried about his marshmallows. Mamie said he had a way of making women think it was their idea when they finally broke up with him, but she also said she planned to live to see him get his comeuppance.


He wasn’t real happy with the idea of Mamie getting her final wish, but darned if Anna’s frown didn’t flip upside down when she took the stick he handed her. He had to swallow twice before he found the teasing note she’d expect. “You’re a softie, Anna Grace.”


“Only because I know you’ll make it up to me later.”


* * *


Want to know if Jackson made it up to Anna Grace? Get your copy of Southern Fried Blues today!


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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Published on August 10, 2014 01:17

August 8, 2014

It’s A Bridezilla Friday!

Happy Friday, y’all!


Over on Facebook, we’ve been having fun playing with The Husband Games Official Bridezilla Namer. Have you gotten your Bridezilla name yet?


Bridezilla Name


Get your copy of The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play


I had Natalie, Lindsey, and Kimmie figure out their Bridezilla names too. After all, they’re the first three heroines in the Misfit Brides of Bliss series, so they should totally have Bridezilla names, right?


Natalie is Dictator Consuella Waffle-Britches.


Lindsey is Madame Pheobe Bellow-Britches. (Which Will, her hero, thinks is highly appropriate, with Lindsey being a lawyer and all.)


And Kimmie is Princess Belle Dingle-Shagger.


I asked CJ and Will (and Kimmie’s hero) if they wanted Bridezilla names too, and they declined. Spoilsports. :-)


The Husband Games official Facebook launch party is next Wednesday! Have you joined yet?


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


Jamie’s newsletter: Click here


Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.


Buy Jamie’s books:


Southern Fried Blues at Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Kobo |  iBooks  |  Google Play  | Smashwords


Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo


The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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Published on August 08, 2014 06:14

August 7, 2014

The Husband Games Launch Day!

Hooray! Celebrate! Whoop whoop! It’s the official launch day for
The Husband Games !

Jamie Farrell The Husband Games Misfit Brides of Bliss Book One, a fun small-town contemporary wedding novel


Get your copy today, while it’s still just $2.99!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
Then come on over to Facebook and RSVP for the official Launch Party! It’s happening next week, and there are some early giveaways coming up very soon. Thanks to everyone who has bought the book and left reviews already – y’all are awesome!

And now on to some bonus launch day fun….


I love giving you fun bonus material, so today’s post is the history of the Husband Games. If you’ve read the book, you might recognize some names. And if you haven’t, read on anyway! :-)


An Abridged History of Bliss and The Husband Games

The Husband Games is set in Bliss, Illinois. And Bliss is a fun place. It was founded in 1841 by Felix and Annie Blythe on farmland just beyond what is now the Chicago suburbs. From 1932 to 1950, it gained a reputation in northern Illinois for being a great place to shop for wedding gowns, rings, and stationary.


In the early 1960s, couples from both the Chicago area and the the central part of the state began booking the churches in Bliss for their weddings. A few visionaries in Bliss saw an opportunity to capitalize on its name and anointed it the Most Married-est Town on Earth, inviting people to come enjoy Married Bliss.


Bliss truly claimed its place in history in 1964, though. Early that summer, after a growing feud between Betty Blythe (wife of Donald, who was a direct descendant of Felix and Annie, and who inherited Heaven’s Bakery from his parents) and Ingrid Frazier (wife of Herman, who managed the Bliss Country Club, which is now called the Rose and Dove) over the planning of Bliss’s first annual Knot Festival, Betty informed Ingrid that Donald was a far better husband than Herman, and anything Herman could do, Donald could do better.


Ingrid replied that Donald couldn’t find a joint if someone lit it and stuck it between his lips (it was the 60s, after all), which prompted Betty to reply that he could too, even blindfolded (though why that made sense, no one is quite sure), and soon a contest had been declared to determine which husband was better. The time and date were set, the local newspaper picked up the story, it got mentioned on local radio, and soon, half the town, along with a good portion of Willow Glen—the town just down the road—had made plans to come out to watch and see which of the two husbands could pick their wives out of a lineup while blindfolded.


The day of the event, an enterprising first-grader named Karen Murphy (daughter of the Murphys who owned Bliss Bridal) decided to charge the growing crowd a quarter a piece for tickets, but Marilyn Blythe, third-grade daughter of Donald and Betty, took charge and organized the seating.


Other husbands and wives involved in the bridal businesses on Main Street (which would later be renamed The Aisle) volunteered to compete (though mostly, it was the wives nudging the husbands), and soon, eighteen couples were lined up along the fifty-yard line of the high school football field.


And when neither Donald Blythe nor Herman Frazier found and kissed their wives on the first try, the competition was expanded on the spot, with a foot race being announced. When there was no clear winner after both events, Ingrid suggested a trash dash. Betty declared it too low-brow, four husbands quit, and Ingrid fired back that Betty was simply afraid of losing.


And the final challenge was on.


Meanwhile, the two grade school girls, Karen and Marilyn, were counting their quarters. They’d netted almost $150. When Karen’s parents heard, they named the festivities The Husband Games. They negotiated a truce between Betty and Ingrid, and the Husband Games were officially added as the closing event for the Knot Festival, with the second Games formally planned for the next year.


Oh… you want to know who won?


Little author secret… I don’t know. Yet. But I suspect it’ll be important to the world of Bliss as the next Misfit Brides books are written, so I’m going to leave us all hanging for a little bit. Stay tuned, though. Because more Bliss books are coming!


Thanks, y’all for your support! :-) Have a great Thursday!


In August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.


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Buy Jamie’s books:


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The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

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Published on August 07, 2014 06:15