2022-05-10

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Childhood Memories ~ #LoveChatWrite



This week's Romance Writers Weekly blog hop question is: What is the one thing that immediately sends you back to childhood? Is it a food, a scent, a swingset?

That's such a great question! But there's no way I can pick just one. Here's a (partial) list in no particular order.

1. Chocolate ice cream--but not just any chocolate ice cream. I actually had a conversation about this quite recently with my daughter. There's a certain type of chocolate ice cream--I wish I knew what brand (brands?) so that I could summon the memory genie whenever I wanted to, but I don't--that immediately sends me back to one particular day in my childhood. I was probably four or five years old and had walked to a playground several blocks away from my house with my grandmother. I know it was summer because after I'd played there for awhile we walked over to a nearby ice cream shop slash soda fountain. It was noticeably cool and dark inside, coming in from the hot, bright day, and we sat on stools at the bar and ate ice cream out of little metal dishes that were sweating from the cold.

2. Chamomile. When I was a child my family used to vacation at a farm in Vermont. The yard in front of the farmhouse was filled with chamomile. It was the first time I'd ever encountered it and still to this day, whenever I smell it, I'm transported back in time. For just an instant, I'm standing on the big blocks of granite that served as the steps up to the front porch, watching as the horses we were going to be riding on were saddled.

3. This one particular Italian Restaurant I walked into the other day. OMG--the smell! It was like walking into my Italian grandmother's kitchen on a Sunday afternoon after she'd been cooking. I'm sure I've been to a gazillion Italian restaurants--some that were actually IN Italy--but this was different. This was very, very, very specifically my grandmother's kitchen. I suspect it's ruined me for all other Italian restaurants for the foreseeable future.

4. Tomato Plants. The scent takes me back to my uncle's garden and I'm walking through rows of plants with my father on our way to harvest a few ears of corn for supper.

There are also a lot of objects that remind me of my childhood, but they're just not as powerful as scents and tastes.

Now, please pop over to A.S. Fenichel's page to learn about the things that prompt her childhood memories.



BEN The heart attack I thought I had turned out to be an anxiety attack. My doctor’s orders—take a month off from being Mayor of Roseville. Bulldozed by my large but tightknit family, I agree to a yoga and meditation retreat in Southern California. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the woman who owns the place would turn my world upside-down. Portia is too young for me. Geographically, too far away from me. She’s also everything I never knew I wanted. 

PORTIA When my friend asks me to help her cousin-in-law manage his stress, I agree immediately. I’d do anything for a friend. She told me he’s the mayor of her town, so I’m expecting some old guy. Far from it. Ben Lane is six-feet-two inches of I-want-to-strip-you-naked-and-take-you-to-bed man. I’m turned on the minute I see him. How I could go from someone who’s never been infatuated to I-can’t-live-without-you is some kind of miracle. I’m pretty sure the miracle is Ben.





Rocco DiLuca, owner of DiLuca’s Italian Bakery, is not a happy camper. He’s just found out that his baby sister is getting married—to his former best friend—and he's not invited. But that's not even the worst part. They’ve hired someone else to make their wedding cake! 

Stephanie Sands thinks the Chamber of Commerce’s mentorship program is a great idea! She’s not ashamed to admit that her boutique bakery, Sugar Kink, isn't quite making it. Yet. But the mentor she's been assigned, Rocky D, isn’t just traditional, he’s positively medieval. It’s no wonder his sister wants nothing to do with him! 

Can the two bakers put aside their differences (and the insane attraction they feel for each other) and learn to work together? Or will their dreams fall as flat as a failed souffle? 


Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/u/mvoerj

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