I know, right? What was I thinking? For a romance novelist who prefers beach weddings (and the occasional landlocked weddings), I don’t know what came over me when I decided to be adventurous and write a romance novella with a wedding set in a castle. Perhaps to other authors, it’s no big deal, but to me, it’s wandering off the beaten track. The road less traveled, speaking for myself.
Thirty two years ago, I was married in a small chapel that was lovely in itself. No, it wasn’t on the beach, although I grew up in a beach town on a tropical island, and would have preferred such a location. But my real-life wedding chapel was cozy and small, perhaps seating only a few hundred people.
Question for you: Where were you married? Did you happen to hold your wedding in a castle, or know anyone who does? Or is that the stuff of fiction for most of us?
Well, fiction is where my castle wedding is. We meet Daisy Ang, who first appears briefly in Wish You Joy (Savannah Sweethearts Book 9) as the scheduling manager at Amy Untermeyer’s destination wedding photography company. Daisy has always dreamed of becoming a wedding planner, and her opportunity comes when her sister asks her to plan the wedding of the century for her. In a castle. On a budget.
How on earth is Daisy going to give her sister a castle wedding on a budget? Well, find out in Her Love So Sure, the first novella in my new series of Hometown Weddings. Here’s a brief blurb of my novella:
She is a wedding planner—sort of. He is the man of the castle—maybe. Will the two be able to pull off the wedding of the century in this opposites-attract romance?
This novella will debut in the Save the Date wedding anthology. You can find out more on our anthology website at christian-romance.com. Oh, I have to tell you more about the box set. Scroll down for some behind-the-scene tidbits.
When my friend Lisa Prysock and I came up with an idea of a contemporary Christian box set, little did we know where it would lead. Twelve authors later, we have a unique collection that I am so excited about that I can’t wait to read the entire anthology. I am looking forward to the variety of weddings we’re going to cover throughout the entire year.
The basic concept of our box set is that we would each pick a month and set our wedding in that month. I couldn’t decide when I want to have my book wedding. I went through all the seasons until I finally ended up in the summer (a natural spot for me because I write a lot of summer romance). I would have kept changing my mind had all the other months not been reserved by the time I parked in the lovely month of June. So, June it is.
We’re doing all sorts of fun things to go along with our Save the Date wedding box. In fact, Save the Date will also be published in paperback and jacketed hardcover formats. Can you imagine? I have never had any book of mine in a hardcover, let alone with a jacket cover. Our authors have seen the mockup of the jacket design, and I can tell you without a doubt that super-talented Marion Ueckermann did a fantastic job with the box set covers.
One of the authors in our anthology is also a professional editor, and she has volunteered to copyedit every single novella in our anthology for quality assurance. That is, Dori Harrell doing this on top of our own layers of edits (we all have our own editors and proofreaders). Some of us have already finished writing the required novellas, while others are scheduling theirs to be completed in the spring, even though the anthology will not be released until September 14, 2021.
Another author has volunteered to make bracelets for a giveaway. Kari Trumbo is adding twelve charms, one for each month, that represent elements from our books. Since my novella has at least one castle in it, I bought a tiny castle charm. I have to protect this castle from my Literary Cat and figure out how to send it to Kari. It reminds me of how Amazon sometimes sends tiny things taped to the bottom of a big box. I am not going do that!
And that’s not all. A super-talented knitter is going to make things for our stories. I was floored when Camy Tang told me she could knit an item from my book. I was so stunned that my mind went blank. My mother is a knitter, but I can’t knit to save my life, so I never imagined that something from my novella could magically appear in my hand. I don’t want to disclose what it is yet. But suffice to say that it’s something my main character owns. I am seriously thinking that I will never give it away. Thank you, Camy!
Question for you: What are some of the most creative things you have seen coming out of or going alongside a multi-author boxed set?
Now it’s back to the writing desk for me as I continue revising a very late novel. In the meantime, I want to offer you a beach romance novel from a connected series for free. Have you read Ask You Later (A Savannah Sweethearts Prequel)? If not, you can download it for free here:
Thank you for chatting with me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and take it easy. May the Lord bless you with many happy books to read!
Writing for Christ,
Jan Thompson
Ausjenny says
don’t know anyone married in a castle. Our church would only hold 100 – 120. I don’t think I have ever been to a wedding with more than 100 – 150 people if that. I have been to about 3 garden weddings which were all lovely, 2 were by small lakes.
Never been to a beach wedding.
Things from boxsets Being an Aussie I haven’t seen anything as most authors who do have giveaways associated with a book or boxset have things not for overseas people. I do know one author who for a historical series had some cards made up of the plantation she set the books in (notelets)
Renate says
Good morning Jan! Personally I have never been to a castle wedding. I believe in Michigan we only have one – Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo. Even with my German roots, no castle weddings and there are some unique one. Not sure one can rent the famous King Ludwig’s castles for a wedding. As a pastor’s wife, had many church weddings and two in our home (one indoors and one in our backyard). In SW Michigan we have attended beach and vineyard wedding. While visiting the Mid-American Windmill Museum in Kendallville, Indiana there was a wedding in progress. Definitely a unique setting. Also I think the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana does weddings.
My Save the Date boxed set is preordered. Plus I enjoy the monthly free book from the author. While I am not sure that I have gift items with a boxed set, I have received gifts from individual authors. Home made Key Chain for the Cycle Path Mystery Series set on Mackinaw Island, homemade angel Bookmark, Lighthouse sun catcher, a moose ornament from Jan Elder and every year I receive a Christmas ornament from Shanna Hatfield. Plus printed bookmarks and tote bags.
Marion Ueckermann is talented in her cover creation. Best wishes and happy writing. Safe warm and safe.
Mary Preston says
A castle seems so romantic.
Apart from bookmarks and recipes I can’t think of a thing.
Lori R says
I have never been to a castle wedding but it sounds like fun. I already preordered the anthology so I cannot wait to read your story and the others. The most creative thing I have seen from a boxed set is an author writing more books from their story or making their story longer.
Sonnetta Jones says
If I get married I want a beach wedding. I have already selected the place. I enjoy wedding and I have seen first hand the details that comes with planing this day. It can be fun or stressful. I would love to see a wedding in a castle.
I have seen box subscription where they will pack things related to the book that you have to open at certain parts. Although I like the idea it wouldn’t work for me. I am not that patient and what do you do with the things that you will not use or like.
Deb Galloway says
I have never been to a castle wedding myself. There is, however, a castle in a town I used to live in (about 20 miles from me now). The cool thing about it is that it was built by an author and it was his writing studio! Here’s a little blurb about it:
James Oliver Curwood was born in Owosso on June 12, 1878, and lived here most of his life. Writing and love of nature were his boyhood interests, and by 1908 Curwood was earning most of his living as a novelist. Most of his stories were adventure tales set in the Canadian North, where the author spent much of his time. During the 1920s his books were among the most popular in North America, and many were made into movies. The Castle, built in 1922, was his writing studio, and a number of his latter works were composed in the tower, overlooking the Shiawassee River. Curwood became a zealous conservationist, and in 1926 he was appointed to the Michigan Conservation Commission. He died at his nearby home on Williams Street on August 13, 1927.*
*From Curwood Castle’s Michigan Historical Sites Marker
I thought that was a pretty fitting castle to go along with today’s theme! The town it’s in, Owosso, Michigan has the Curwood Festival every year in June. It’s funny how I didn’t remember that he had a home, the place it said above that is where he died, on the same street I lived on when I lived over there. The things you learn years after the fact! ☺
Paula Marie says
I so so wanted to be married on the beach, but my Catholic Priest would not allow it🥺 so we married in the church.
Trudy says
I’ve never been to a castle wedding. I have, however, been to a beach wedding and two other outdoor weddings. They were really nice, though the beach wedding was a tad on the chilly side, and we couldn’t see it very well as we stayed up on the boardwalk instead of having Mom (who was about 93 at the time) walk on the beach. Two of my sisters and I stood around the chair Mom was sitting it to block her from the wind.
Priscila Perales says
Wow! If I was already excited about this boxset before, I’m even more so now after reading this post! Can’t wait for September!
The most I’ve seen come out of or related to a (Fantasy) boxset (besides different bunches of free books for every tier/number of preorders they reached as well as coloring pages) was their use of what they called “Augmented Reality and Immersive Fantasy”.
Angeline says
The collection looks so good!
Alicia Haney says
Hi, wow, the collection sounds really good, and I love the cover, it is beautiful! <3 I have never been to a castle wedding , but I bet they can be very beautiful and romantic, granted everything goes well with everything. I have seen a castle wedding on TV though. My husband and I were married at his parents house by a judge, we had a very nice wedding even though the best man didn't show up, so my husband asked one of his uncles if he would be his best man and he was. We actually wanted to be married in a park, but we thought more about it and we thought of maybe people crashing the wedding, so we decided against it. My in laws moved about 4 times since we got married at their house, so , we should have just stuck with getting married in the park, but we had a very nice small wedding. Have a Great weekend and stay safe. God bless you.
Trixi says
I got married in Depoe Bay, OR, while not ON the beach it was close enough. At the time, my husband worked at the resort hotel/condo & one of the condo owners let us use her place to have the wedding (attended by only a few of our closest friends). It overlooked the ocean, so I guess that would count ;-) I live on the Oregon coast and I can tell you it would be much too cold to get married on the beach…..even in the middle of summer!
I really can’t think of anything coming out or going along with an multi-author boxed set. But I think all the things you listed for “Save the Date” are neat!
Margaret Bunce says
The closest thing to a castle here in Qld Australia is Paronella Park, which you’ll have to Google for its fascinating history. It has been popular for wedding photos over the years, even as a ruin.
I love the sound of your Save the Date story!
SARAH TAYLOR says
A Castle sounds amazing have a blessed day!
Megan says
A castle wedding sounds so fun dn amazing! Unfortunately I’m sure the price tag would also be amazing :) . One can dream though.
Tina R says
A castle wedding sounds like it would we elegant and exciting. I’ve only seen bookmarks and a selection of recipes associated with a multi-author boxed set.
Andrea Conner says
I think Castle weddings are mostly fiction. But I love the synopsis to this story!
Jessica B. says
I don’t know anyone who has gotten married in a castle but I think I saw a castle wedding on TV once.
denise says
My oldest went to a university which had a castle as its main building and the alumni are allowed to rent it for a wedding, but they decided to have a local wedding instead. He did get to live in the castle his first year. A select number of students can live on one floor, first year only. There’s a boys side and a girls side.
I don’t know of any special swag for a book bundle or series.
Ellie says
A castle wedding sounds lovely! I don’t recall ever seeing anything offered with a box set.
Natalya Lakhno says
I’m dreaming of a beach wedding….no, mine wasn’t on the beach or in the castle….
Jan Thompson says
Yes, that would be too many people IMHO, especially on a beach!
I can understand why the physical giveaways are not international. Postage can be prohibitive, so many of the giveaways tend to be e-books or e-cards. However, even within the USA, we are having a hard time getting mail delivered all over the place due to the pandemic and now, snowstorms.
Thank you for your comments!
Jan Thompson says
I have been to multiple castles on a tour on the river in Germany and France, but I am surprised that many castles are smaller than I had imagined. So I can see a wedding crowd, but not too many people (for safety reasons).
I wrote at least two backyard weddings and a number of beach weddings as well as church/chapel weddings. I decided that one of the backyard weddings would get rained out (you know, more drama). Did you ever have a backyard wedding get rained on?
Thank you for preordering the Save the Date box set. Yes, the monthly giveaways are fun! More to come!
Tote bags and bookmarks are great ideas too. I haven’t thought of a Christmas ornament ever, but that’s a lovely gift!
Yes, Marion is super talented. She is redoing all my Savannah Sweethearts covers (13 covers in total) and I can’t wait to reveal them. I will blog about the covers as soon as they are completed. So excited!
Thank you for commenting!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you for your comments! I love visiting castles, so I’ll be writing from my own memories of them. I hope you’ll enjoy reading my novella when it’s published.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you so much for preordering. Have you submitted the info for the monthly giveaway? Go to christian-romance.com to find the giveaway page if you haven’t already.
Yes. I have heard of authors expanding their books that were once in an anthology. In some boxed sets, the organizers set limits e.g. it has to be 25,000 words or under, or it has to be 150 pages or less. Sometimes organizers set only the bottom limit, e.g. all novels above 40,000 words (it could be 100,000 words depending on whatever the author desires it to be).
Thank you for your comments! Have a great weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Beach weddings are fun! Yes, wedding planning is terribly stressful. I have avoided writing about it for years, but now my characters have arrived at this stage LOL. And while I’m at it, I might as well put the wedding in a castle. Secret: there are two weddings in this novella.
Oh that is an interesting idea. I don’t think we will do that because it takes a lot of coordination to get people to open things at certain times. We are in the era of instant everything.
Thank you for your comments!
Jan Thompson says
Wow! How cool is that! I have never heard of the Curwood Castle. I looked it up and it sure looks like a real castle. I wonder what great adventures he must have imagined while using it as his writing “cabin” LOL! Well, if I ever visit the area, I’ll have to tour the castle to see were Mr. Curwood wrote his books.
I have old and new castles in my book too but I can’t say too much about them at this time before I send the manuscript to my editor.
Thank you for your comments! Have a wonderful weekend.
Jan Thompson says
I put a wedding chapel right on the beach and it has open windows to the ocean, so maybe that’s close enough? (Seaside Chapel series)
I also married in the church (chapel next to the main sanctuary). That was the only time I’ve ever visited the chapel LOL. It wasn’t on the beach either because it wasn’t in my hometown.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Yes, the wind by the sea is not always predictable. In Smile for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 1), my bride’s veil flew off in the wind. Also you can’t wear proper shoes on the beach, so it’s either barefoot or flip-flops/sandals. It can get messy. It was wise for your mom to stay on the boardwalk!
In another novel, His Longing Heart (Seaside Chapel Book 1), my characters’ wedding was in the pavilion on the beach, so some of the guests can stay off the sand if they so choose.
Thank you for your comments and have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you very much! I can’t wait for September either. Some of the authors have finished writing their novellas. Some of us are still writing ours. I have several books I am juggling so they are all scheduled to be completed. Hopefully not all at the same time LOL.
That’s interesting re: fantasy books. We are not that high tech LOL. That’s some idea there for tiers of preorders reached.
Thank you for your comments and have a great weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you very much!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you very much. That cover was designed by Marion, an author herself. She is so creative and talented!
That’s wonderful that you were married in your in-laws’ house. I guess you’ll have to go back to the old house if you wanted to reminisce or take photos. I wonder if the new owners will let you in? Then again, once you’re married, that counts no matter where it was held. Maybe you can have a wedding vow renewal in a chapel or on the beach or…in a CASTLE!
A park sounds delightful. If you look at the book covers at christian-romance.com (our Save the Date website), one of the covers shows a wedding couple in a park. Check out November wedding!
Thank you for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you! That’s close enough to the beach — and where you could stay warm!
I remember being on the Oregon coast. The weather was lovely and yes, I agree it wasn’t hot at all, even in July. In fact, going up further north to Alaska, the weather was so cold in the summer that I had to wear a goose down coat in the day time!
Thank you for your comments! Have a great weekend!
Amy Perrault says
I got married in a beautiful field on the hottest day of the year of 2007. We had a very small wedding & then a bigger dinner with family. Our daughter turned 2 years old just over a month later & did so many beautiful things herself to get alot of photos.
Jan Thompson says
Thank you very much! I hope you will enjoy reading it when it’s published!
Cool! That’s quite a fascinating history. I’m always interested in the history of the world. That is nice that the new owners desire to keep the history alive.
There are ruins around the state here also, where people would hold parties and weddings and such. Sometimes they plant beautiful gardens around the ruins and charge people an admission fee so they can keep up the place. Sometimes they do get government grants if their site is historic enough. Usually they have a fund-raising foundation.
Thanks again for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you! Have a blessed day too!
Jan Thompson says
Yes, fortunately, I can do the castle wedding in fiction and it won’t break my real-life piggy bank! :-)
Hehe.
Thank you for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Recipes are a great idea too. I will share that idea with the authors in the boxed set. We are already talking about food in our reader group, so recipes are a natural progression.
Thank you for your comments!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
I imagine so, but I found that that people do get married in old castles around the world. It’s fascinating.
Thank you very much. I hope you’ll enjoy reading the novella when it comes out.
Appreciate your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
It’s an interesting setting! I figured that since I have put a church on a riverboat, why don’t I now put a wedding in a castle… :-)
Thank you for your comments. Have a great weekend!
Lincoln says
I can only imagine that a castle wedding would be downright chilly! Serve hot cocoa at the reception, for sure.
Jan Thompson says
That’s interesting and adventurous! I saw some news reports that people can rent parts of castles and even medieval churches for events. But to live in one for a year is quite something else!
Thank you for your comments. Have a great weekend!
Jan Thompson says
We decided to be creative with our box set. I can’t wait to see how the bracelet turns out!
Thank you for your comments. Have a great weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Maybe you can renew your vows on a the beach… That’s an alternative too! :-)
Thank you for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Sounds like a beautiful outdoor wedding! We also got married in the hottest month of the year. Every year, our anniversary is like that. If we go to the beach at that time, we’d fry in the hot sun :-)
Sounds like your daughter had a wonderful time!
Thank you for your comments. Have a great weekend!
Jan Thompson says
Great idea! Fortunately for my characters, I have chosen to hold the wedding in the merry month of June. I hope to give it a warm weather forecast in my story world that day…
Thank you for your comments. Have a great weekend!
Ausjenny says
I personally love giftcards. My friends son is doing a project to become an eagle scout (collecting teddies for Ambulances where he is. they are given to children in trauma situations to give comfort) I was able to send a couple due to having some money from giftcards. to send from here would take too long and cost a fortune and the aussie dollar makes them cost to much. I do buy books with gift cards and love knowing I have a small balance at amazon.
Christie says
I would think getting married in a castle! I think it would be really cool!
Christie says
I meant to say it would be really cool to get married inside a real castle or chateau!
Camy Tang says
I hope you enjoy what I’m making for you, Jan!
Camy
Natalya Lakhno says
I’m thinking about it <3
Melynda says
My husband and I got married at our church and had our reception at another church I had ties to through my job at the time. It wasn’t fancy or grand, but perfect for us!
Jan Thompson says
Thank you, Camy! I can’t wait! :-)
Jan Thompson says
I think so too! As long as it’s not during the freezing months…!
Jan Thompson says
That sounds wonderful! Mine wasn’t grand either. We had ferns everywhere. The ferns went to my in-laws’ house afterwards and grew for years. We kept our wedding simple.
Thank you for your comments!
Marilene says
I’m not married yet, but I think it would be really nice to get married in a castle. I bet every woman would like that…
Debra J Pruss says
I was married in a church in Toledo, Ohio. I do not know anyone who was married in a castle.
Jan Thompson says
That’s cool! I thing the church setting is the best one for weddings!
Jan Thompson says
It would certainly be an interesting venue…