Mindy Hardwick,
enjoys writing sweet contemporary small-town vintage romance as well as
children's books which celebrate art and community in the Pacific Northwest.
Learn more about Mindy and her books at her website and blog.
I love to read and write small-town romances. I love the
cozy feel of neighbor helping neighbor, the small businesses supporting each
other and the tension that can build when people disagree and there is nowhere
to hide in those small-towns!
When I created the fictional town of Cranberry Bay, I based
it on the real towns of Nehalam and Wheeler along the North Oregon Coast. I
love the flowers that fill the sidewalks in the summer, browsing the Wheeler
Station Antiques and taking a fall train ride on the Oregon Coast Scenic
Railroad.
One of the central gathering places for the women of
Cranberry Bay is the New Leaf Sewing Shop on Main Street. I based the shop on
the real store, Creative Fabrics in Wheeler.
Heroine Katie inherits this shop after her mother dies and teaches
sewing classes to young and old. Katie is in charge of the Cranberry Bay
Friends Group who meets at her store, and the group plans how to ward off big development
such as the Liberty Bay Square proposed by hero, Sawyer Shuster. Katie also hosts
the sewing circle where the women meet to discuss life, love and work on
different projects each month.
In the first Cranberry Bay book, Sweetheart Cottage, the women are sewing aprons and more can be
read about vintage
aprons here.
In the second novel, Sweetheart
Summer, the women are sewing tote bags. Here
is a link to some bag patterns the sewing circle
women might be working on.
A fun part in creating a town is imagining the people who
live in that town, and it’s not just the primary characters. It’s also the
secondary characters who can make a town so lively! In my most recent story, Sweetheart Summer, secondary character,
Sasha is involved in a pie contest with arch-rival Beth Dawson. Both are competing to see who will
provide the pies for the July 4th baseball tournament. The following
recipe for Cranberry Pie is something they might have baked.
Cranberry Pie
Ingredients
1 package (12 ounces)
fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
1-1/2 cups packed
brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup butter,
melted
4-1/2 teaspoons
all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated
orange peel
Dash salt
Pastry for
double-crust pie (9 inches)
Preheat oven to 375
degrees. Place cranberries in a food processor; cover and process until finely
chopped. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in brown sugar, walnuts, melted butter,
flour, orange peel and salt.
On a lightly floured
surface, roll one half of pastry dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a
9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate. Add filling.
Roll remaining dough
to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; cut into 1/2-in.-wide strips. Arrange over filling
in a lattice pattern. Trim and seal strips to edge of bottom pastry; flute
edge. Cover edges loosely with foil.
Bake 30 minutes.
Remove foil; bake 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is
bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 8 servings.
Pastry for
double-crust pie (9 inches): Combine 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp. salt; cut
in 1 cup cold butter until crumbly. Gradually add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water,
tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough in
half and shape into disks; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
Sweetheart
Summer
Cranberry Bay sewing shop owner and
activist Katie Coos campaigns tirelessly to preserve the community feel of the
town she loves. Savvy and successful developer Sawyer Shuster, meanwhile, seeks
to provide a future for his beloved childhood community through large-scale
developments. When Katie reluctantly purchases an auction certificate for
Sawyer’s handyman skills, both are determined to keep their distance. But as
summer heats up, Katie and Sawyer’s feelings ignite until both must find a way
to trust each other or risk losing not only their businesses but also their
chance at love.
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