THE PINK VICTORIAN BY AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON

Shortly after moving into our current home nearly twenty years ago, my husband and I took a walk around our neighborhood. We came across an old Victorian house, built in 1871, that was undergoing a massive renovation. It appeared the house had sustained major fire damage.

I’ve always loved Victorian architecture. So over the course of the next few months, I watched as the house transformed from a dilapidated mess to a magnificent homage to the period from which it came. The owners obviously spared no expense as they brought that house back to life.

For years I admired that house from the outside. A few years ago the owners hosted a holiday fundraiser for one of the local private schools, and I was lucky enough to see the inside of the carriage house they had restored into a three-car garage and loft. (That carriage house is larger than my entire home!) However, I never had a chance to see the inside of the pink Victorian until recently.

The house is now for sale; pictures are posted online, along with a description. There are eight bedrooms and three bathrooms in this 5,000 square foot home. The house not only has mahogany floors throughout, the wrap-around porches are also mahogany. (Remember I said they spared no expense in the renovation?) There’s a butler’s pantry, leaded glass windows, a marble(!) driveway, an in-ground heated pool, even a Koi pond. The iron fence that surrounds the grounds was originally from the Burry Biscuit Factory and was restored for the property. Along with all this, there are countless modern amenities, including heated floors!

Authors often get their inspiration from people, places, and events in their own lives. That pink Victorian, coupled with a relative’s struggles to get pregnant and a scandal involving a Virginia in vitro specialist, became my inspiration for Finding Hope, originally published under my Emma Carlyle pen name.

Finding Hope, which was a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist, is one of those books that doesn’t fit neatly into a specific genre category. It’s one part romance, one part women’s fiction, and one part mystery.

Finding Hope

Hope Morgan was always the good girl, doing what her conservative parents expected: she gave up her dream of going to college, became a secretary right out of high school, and married the boy next door. When Hope is suddenly widowed, she finds the courage to pursue her own dreams. Twelve years later, after working full-time and going to school at night, she obtains her degree and is offered a position at a prestigious architectural firm.

That’s when her long-exiled libido decides to resurface, and Hope finds herself falling head-over-heels for Ben Schaffer, her married boss. What Hope doesn’t realize is that Ben’s marriage is less than ideal. Within days of Hope starting her new job, Ben’s wife walks out on him and their three-year-old triplets–the same day the nanny lands in the hospital. When Ben can’t find a last-minute replacement, Hope agrees to step in as a temporary nanny–not the best decision she’s ever made, given her raging hormones.

Ben is fighting a battle with his own hormones, but an office romance is the last thing he needs or wants. However, he and Hope are no match for three very determined three-year-olds on a mission to find a happy ending.

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COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST CHEF HOPE MORGAN

Hope Morgan, heroine of Finding Hope by author Emma Carlyle (otherwise known as Lois Winston) stops by to give Cloris a break today. Some men should never set foot in a kitchen. Ben Schaffer, the hero of Finding Hope is one of them, as evidenced by his attempts at a pancake breakfast for his three-year-old triplets. -- AP

Who would have thought making pancakes could be this difficult -- and messy? Ben stared at the fall-out. The boys, spattered from head to toe with raw batter, held their collective breaths, no doubt waiting for him to explode. And although the thought had crossed his mind -- and he might benefit from the release -- he wasn’t about to blow up in front of his children. Instead, he shook his own batter-dappled head and tossed what remained of the blender-chewed rubber spatula into the sink. Throwing his arms up in defeat, he turned to the boys and asked, “Who wants breakfast at McDonald’s?”

A chorus of me’s answered him.

“Well, we can’t go looking like this,” he said. “To the showers, men.” He lifted the boys one-by-one off the kitchen counter and was about to lead them up the back stairs when the front doorbell rang. “Don’t move, and don’t touch anything,” he warned them, heading for the door. As it was, he faced a massive clean-up, but at least the mess was presently contained to one room. Ben wanted it to stay that way.

“Coming,” he yelled as the bell chimed a second time. When he swung open the heavy oak door, he was surprised at first to see Hope standing on his front porch. “Oh, the car,” he said, half mumbling to himself. “I forgot.”

“Am I too early?”

Ben followed her gaze, from his T-shirt to his hands, and then his jeans. After the spatula had caught in the blender and spewed pancake batter in all directions, he had attended to the boys. Only after he viewed himself through Hope’s eyes did he realize how extensively he, too, was covered in flour and raw pancake mix.

He picked at a clump of batter drying on his chin. Damn stuff felt like caked mud. “No, come in. I need to get us all cleaned-up, though.”

“Have a visit from the Ghostbusters?” she asked, following him back to the kitchen.

“Certain people should never be allowed in kitchens,” he told her. “I’m one of them.”

“I’ll say!” He watched as her large hazel eyes grew even larger, ogling first the boys, then the kitchen. “What happened?”

“Daddy goofed,” said Woody.

“Daddy’s funny,” added Scotty.

“I’m hungwy,” said Teddy.

Poor Ben has his hands full. His wife has walked out on him, and his housekeeper lands in the hospital. Hope Morgan, the resourceful heroine of Finding Hope, saves the day in this heartwarming and funny romance about second chances at love. 

For a limited time, Finding Hope is available on Kindle for only .99.

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Hope’s Blueberry Pancakes

(serves four adults)

Ingredients:

1 cup + 1 tablespoon flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup fat-free milk

1/2 cup lowfat sour cream

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup blueberries

vegetable oil

maple syrup

Reserving 1 tablespoon of flour, mix together remaining dry ingredients. Set aside.

Beat egg. Gradually beat in milk, sour cream, and butter.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Toss blueberries in reserved flour to coat. Gently fold into batter.

Coat skillet with vegetable oil and preheat. Using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake, cook on one side until bubbles form. Flip to cook second side. Continue cooking pancakes until golden brown.

Serve with maple syrup.