I’m an author, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and an ovarian cancer survivor, almost in that order. When I was twelve, I wrote my first novel, no doubt a terrible one, but I typed it up myself and presented it to my mother. I have no idea what the story was about, or whatever happened to it, but it was my first claim to fame as an author.
In my thirties, back when there were only electric typewriters and word processing programs (no computers), I began writing a more mature novel, and stored it on discs. But business, children and life zapped my creative energies, and I set my creative work aside; but this time, I saved it. (It’s in a box somewhere in a closet)
I was a general contractor and my husband and I specialized in doing insurance restoration, and then kitchen and bath remodeling. When we ventured into the field of interior design, I began writing again, but this time for our local newspapers and trade magazines. I eventually retired and worried a little about what I was going to do with my time; I have always been a workaholic, and I needed a passion.
How did you decide writing was going to be your new passion?
We had a cabin up in the Lake Arrowhead mountains, and our caretaker stayed there to watch over the property when we weren’t there, and he started working on a book. I looked at him one day and said, “If you can write a book, so can I.”
It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to write about, and then an idea came to me. What if I wrote about a woman who starts her life over, moves to the mountains, buys and restores cabins, and then discovers they each have a story to tell?
My first book is The Man in Cabin Number Five, is about Annie Parker, who has just turned eighty when she decides to write about this time in her life. In her thirties, she meets a woman whose father didn’t die of a heart attack as she’d always been told, but who committed suicide in one of the cabins. Of course, there’s no trace of him when thirty years later the woman comes up to see the cabin itself.
Then I kept going. Annie meets the daughter of a woman who has just died, and she was a working girl who was involved with the mob and the local speakeasy up there in the early 1930s.
In book three, Annie meets the son of a starlet who stayed in the mountains while filming a movie.
And then I couldn’t stop. Book four is about the woman who owned the cabins fifty years before Annie bought them. And I had to have a finish, so book five is about Annie’s life from her thirties until she’s eighty and decides to write these books.
What does your writing schedule look like? Do you write every day?
It took me a while to learn that every author approaches their writing differently. Some have strict routines, and some, like me, find it almost impossible to have that kind of focus. I wish I did, as I know it would make me much more productive.
I work at my writing (which I’ve learned is the same thing) about ten hours a day, seven days a week. I’m always thinking about my work, whether it’s while I’m in the shower, doing laundry, going out to breakfast and dinner (I don’t cook). And even checking my emails and doing marketing is writing. Sometimes I physically can’t write for several days because I have so much busy work to do, and then I feel guilty, but if I don’t do the paperwork, who will?
You mentioned you were a great grandmother, so I’m assuming you’re a “mature” author?
I am 75, which is the new 65, (except I have more aches and pains than a 65-year-old would have) and I have at least three more book ideas. I’ll probably write until I drop. As my father used to say, “I only have so many good summers left...” so I have to make the best use of my time if I plan on getting everything done!
If you like Women’s Fiction with love, friendship and a little intrigue, read my books. And if you’re an ebook reader and you’d like to start reading my series, email me, and I’ll make sure you get a copy of Book One, The Man in Cabin Number Five, on me.
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Title: The Man in Cabin Number Five, Guest Book Trilogy Book One
Author: Chrysteen Braun
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Book Blurb:
When Annie Parker discovers her husband’s infidelity, she doesn’t let it destroy her. She packs her bags and heads to Lake Arrowhead, Ca, the mountainside town where her family used to summer. Immersing herself in the restoration of seven 1920s era cabins, Annie begins to put the pieces of her life back together. But starting over is never easy.
Alyce Murphy needs closure. When she discovers her father did not die from a heart attack, as she’s been led to believe for the last 30 years, but in a murder/suicide, she is determined to uncover the truth of his death. But when she visits the cabin where her father ended his life, Alyce has to accept she may never know the true story.
Annie is looking towards her future while Alyce needs to put the past to rest. In parallel stories, both women are drawn to the rustic mountainside cabins as they search for the missing pieces---but they soon discover that the cabins have their own stores to tell.
Excerpt:
I now knew Daddy took his own life, but there was nothin’ else in the photo box that could answer the lingerin’ question...why had he killed Smitty and his family?
I felt the blood drain from my face and had to put my head between my legs so I wouldn’t faint. Mama just watched me, confused by my reaction.
“I’ve been tryin’ to tell you,” she said.
“Mama,” I started, once I could gather my wits. “I thought you were just imagining’ all this.”
“I’m sorry you had to find out. I wondered all these years if I should have ever told you, but I’ve carried this mess in my head all this time.”
The only thing I could think of saying was, “Why are you telling me this now?”
As I watched her put the papers back into her box, all I could think of was, ‘Why didn’t you say something? I watched as you tried to put your life back together so many times, and I couldn’t do anythin’ about it.’
Daddy had caused all her unhappiness, not because he died of a natural death, but because he’d killed someone.
Without thinking about how she might be feeling at that moment, I knew I had to get out of there. I left the bag of groceries I’d brought on the counter of her small kitchen; her caregiver could put everything away when she checked in on her. In fact, I saw one of them go into another room as I hurried to the elevator, so I knew they’d be in to see her soon.
It took forever for the elevator to come, and then it seemed to take even more time than usual to get to the ground floor. I was grateful no one else wanted to go down. I had a minute to myself. I rushed by the sign out desk and it was only when I was outside that I stopped to take a breath.
I could feel my heartbeat rushing through my ears and while I knew it was only stress, it scared me.
What Daddy had done was unforgivable. He ruined so many lives. But what Mama knew had to have been unbearable for her. My mind raced back to feeling helpless when she cried, how she cuddled with Daisy, and how she was repeatedly let down by deadbeat men. She deserved so much more, and I’d had no idea how to help her.
I couldn’t go back in time, but I could go back upstairs to see her and apologize for running away like I did.
“I thought you just left,” one of the staff said as I walked back in.
“I did. But I forgot somethin’.”
When I got to my mother’s room, her door was closed, and I gently knocked.
“Oh, hey, Alyce,” her caregiver whispered. “She’s down for her afternoon nap.”
“Was she okay?”
“Oh, sure. She seemed surprised you’d left, but said something about probably forgetting you told her you were leaving. She’s fine, though, so don’t you worry.”
Like a cowardly lump, I stood there for a few minutes, wondering if I should go in and wake her, but then thought I might confuse her even more if I did. I eventually turned to leave.
“Tell her I’ll call her later tonight then.”
“Will do, dear.”
Buy Links:
Amazon ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y9KGZ3R
Amazon paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647044626
Amazon hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647044642
B&N paperback: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-cabin-number-five-chrysteen-braun/1141373079?ean=9781647044626
B&N hardcover: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-cabin-number-five-chrysteen-braun/1141373079?ean=9781647044640
Google: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Man_in_Cabin_Number_Five.html?id=7D-uzgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Title: The Girls in Cabin Number Three
Author: Chrysteen Braun
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Cozy Noir Mystery
Book Blurb:
"With themes of love, family, friendship, new beginnings, and the complexity of life, readers will get hooked from the very beginning." —San Francisco Book Review
"[The Girls in Cabin Number Three]'s complex, interesting characters, and engrossing historical and geographical settings make it a must-read." —Readers' Favorite
“Braun’s a top-notch storyteller; The Girls in Cabin Number Three is well plotted with clearly defined and relatable characters. Her research is exemplary.”
—Kate Osborn, formerly with the Mountain News, Lake Arrowhead
“Annie meets Carrie Davis, a new guest who slowly begins to unravel secrets from her own family’s past in the second part of The Guest Book Trilogy: The Girls in Cabin Number Three… with plenty of intrigue in an idyllic mountain locale.”
—Susan Denley, former Associate Features Editor, Los Angeles Times.
In book two of the Guest Book Trilogy, eighty-one-year-old Annie Parker recounts taking on, against the wishes of her new love Noah, an out-of-town design project that leads her down a path that is more than she bargained for.
Back in Lake Arrowhead, California, a long-awaited mystery is buried in Cabin Number Three. Annie meets Carrie Davis who wants to update her childhood home on the lake and feels a tie to Annie’s cabins. Apparently, Carrie’s parents stayed here during the Roaring ‘20s when Bugsy Siegel ran an underground speakeasy and distillery. Unconvinced, Annie decides to investigate and finds their names in the old guest books—Elizabeth Davis and Thomas Meyer. As exciting as that sounds, it’s only the start of a winding tale that Carrie and the new man in her life uncover. The pair unravel a family history filled with gangsters, working girls, and a surprising twist to a family tree.
The Girls in Cabin Number Three combines women’s fiction with romance, cozy noir mystery, and suspense—all wrapped up in the majestic environs of this lovely lakeside haven.
Excerpt:
The town library was only a few doors down from the flooring store, so with a few minutes to spare before I needed to get back, I stopped in. I hadn’t been in a library for years, and I took in the woody, earthy smell…that of a building full of books. I found a pleasant-looking woman who was filling a rolling cart with books that needed to be put back on their shelves and waited.
“I’d like to get some information on Bugsy Siegel,” I told her.
“I’m just a volunteer. Let me find the librarian,” she said, putting the last book in its place.
To the left, in the children’s section, a young mother was reading to her daughter and to the left of them a small room with a sign above the door said “Book Store”.
“We have books,” the librarian said as she walked up to me, “but follow me to where we have old newspaper articles.” She led me to a small room in the back. “I’ll show you how to use the microfiche machine and you can look to your heart’s content. I think you want to be around 1945 or 46. Start there.”
“Great,” I said.
It took me a few minutes to get the hang of it, but I quickly found what I was looking for.
“Bugsy” Siegel Murdered
“Rubbed out in Beverly Hills Hail of Bullets”
June 20, 1947
A graphic photo of Siegel lying on a floral patterned sofa with what looked like gunshot wounds to his chest and eye caught me by surprise. The article went on to say he was shot by an unknown assailant who fired a .30 caliber M1 carbine through a window of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill’s home while he was reading a newspaper. She was not home at the time.
The description under the photo said he hadn’t been shot in the eye as the photo suggested; instead, a bullet hit the bridge of his nose, causing the pressure that expelled his eyeball from its socket.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Title: The Starlet in Cabin Number Seven (The Guest Book Trilogy 3)
Author: Chrysteen Braun
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery
Book Blurb:
Return to picturesque 1980s Lake Arrowhead, California where another cozy cabin sheltered amongst the sweeping pine-lined vistas holds a long-buried secret, waiting to be divulged.
In this third installment of The Guest Book Trilogy, a young Annie Parker is struggling to overcome her grief over the recent loss of her sister, when a childhood friend unexpectedly turns up seeking refuge from an ill-fated marriage. It would have been easy for Annie to sink deeper into sadness, but when she learns her newest design client, Hudson Fisher, is the son of the late film actress Celeste Williams, her curiosity is peaked. As it turns out, the Roaring 20s starlet was no stranger to the Lake Arrowhead cabins—and this revelation sparks the unraveling of a scandalous story from Hollywood’s bygone era. Did an illicit romance between this leading lady and her dashing costar take place in Cabin No. 7? What really went on behind-the-scenes during the filming of that silent picture? Will discovering a piece of the past bring closure to Annie’s present?
A heartwarming tale of friendships, forgiveness, and a touch of old Hollywood glamour, The Starlet in Cabin Number Seven will have readers captivated from beginning to end.
Excerpt:
When Sarah pulled into our parking area, she did the same thing I’d done when I first came up; she stretched her arms high above her head, took in a deep breath and said, “It’s so peaceful here.”
“It is. That’s why I stayed. Let me help you with your things,” I said, and then looked into the back seat of her car. It was filled with boxes and tied up trash bags.
She saw the look on my face and said, “Most of my things are staying in Las Vegas. This is all I kept. My suitcases are in the trunk.”
“Let’s get you settled. I have you in Cedar Lodge Cabin.”
When I opened the door to cabin number three, Sarah held her breath and said, “Wow.” I’d added pinecones to the grate before I lit the fire and the air smelled like warm pine.
“So far, two of the cabins have histories we’ve learned about,” I told her. “A woman, Elizabeth, and her husband Thomas stayed in this cabin for three months in the early 1930s while they were finishing their lake house cabin up here. Actually, it’s a huge, wonderful old home, and not a cabin at all. People up here call their homes cabins.
“After she died, I worked with her granddaughter, Carrie, to bring their house up to date. Both the house and Carrie were a dream to work with. It turns out her grandmother knew Bugsy Siegel. In fact, I’ve had professional photos taken of the finished project, and I’d love to have you add them to my portfolio.”
It was cooling down, so when we got back to the cabins, we brought blankets out and sat in the Adirondack chairs in the garden. The cats seized the opportunity for warm laps and snuggled under the blankets. I knew Sarah was exhausted, and I quickly realized I could use a nap too, and within moments, we were both out. I awoke before Sarah did, and I watched my friend sleep. I wanted to reach out and touch her hand, to let her know I was there for her, but I didn’t want to wake her.
Seeing her now took me back to elementary school. She was standing near a group of kids, observing as a boy entertained his friends by calling me names. But the first time I actually met Sarah was when the boy did it again, and she flattened him. When the young man cried, his friends were no longer interested in me, but started laughing at him instead.
“Crybaby,” they called as they turned to leave him.
“Well, that should be the end of that,” Sarah said, wiping her hands in triumph.
And it was.
We were five.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHL5KKXJ
Amazon eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHK4Z5HS
Google Play eBook: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=_8jVEAAAQBAJ
iTunes eBook: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6464678795
Title The Maidservant in Cabin Number One: The Beginning (The Guest Book Trilogy 4)
Author Chrysteen Braun
Genre Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Book Blurb
"Braun uses the mountainous area and cabins to her advantage in telling the stories of her characters. An exceptional plot. Her character development is outstanding."—Readers' Favorite
After her father’s death in 1923, when Ruth Ann Landry is just ten, she joins her mother as a maidservant for a wealthy Seattle family. The hours are long, the rules are strict, but she and her mother desperately need her wages to survive.
By the time she’s seventeen, they’ve moved into the house, and she’s become a mistress to her employer. While accompanying the family on vacation, she sees an opportunity to start a new life, and leaves. Ruth eventually finds solace in the mountain town of Lake Arrowhead, California, where she stays in one of the cabins owned by a man who becomes part of her future.
The Maidservant in Cabin Number One is the beginning of the story of The Guest Book Trilogy, and of Annie Parker who eventually comes to own the cabins where Ruth Landry stayed.
Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/KpruHNC5lmQ
Excerpt
At Christmas in 1929, the grand entry hall was decorated as it had been in the past, but seventeen year old Nellie was more preoccupied with getting ready to be presented at the annual Christmastime Ball than she was in decorating the tree. I’d witnessed numerous dress fittings in her room and was expected to clean up leftover threads and pins when they were done. She would wear a white gown that, to me, looked like a wedding dress, and even without her hair done up, she looked like a princess. I would have been lying if I said my stomach didn’t flip every time I saw her standing there, looking absolutely beautiful. I’d already accepted the fact that if I ever married, I’d never be able to pay for such finery. I’d be the one to marry the grocery delivery man.
On the Saturday before Christmas, I watched as the Fletchers were driven in a horse-drawn carriage to the hotel hosting the gala. The next morning, as I was helping Nellie undress, she told me they’d danced until one in the morning, when they paused for dinner, and then continued dancing until eight in the morning when breakfast was served. By the time I collected her undergarments, and hung her dress on the outside of her wardrobe door, she’d already climbed into bed and I could hear faint snoring.
That was the year I turned sixteen, and Franklin Fletcher first entered my room at the top of the stairs.
He knocked lightly, and when I opened my door, he said, “Close the door, lest someone will see me.”
He came under the pretext he had another book for me to read.
“But you could have given this to me downstairs,” I said, not quite comprehending his intentions.
“Then everyone would have thought I was playing favorites,” he said. “Open it.”
It was Lady Chatterley’s Lover. I’d never thought of Mr. Fletcher in any romantic way, but he was definitely a handsome man and obviously old enough to be my father. That thought, in itself, made me flinch. I did start to read the book though, and found that it aroused in me feelings I had never been aware of. I’d envisioned images of a man and a woman together, but nothing like what I read.
He came back a few nights later and when I heard his gentle knock, I didn’t answer. I hoped he would go away and forget about me, but that was not to be the case. The next night, he knocked again, and I knew I had to answer.
“You didn’t open your door,” he said, once inside.
“I didn’t know you were there; I’d already fallen asleep,” I lied.
“Have you started reading the book?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know why I’m here,” he said, removing my robe.
His fingers traced around my breasts and down my stomach until he got to my necessities. I noticed he was watching me intently and a glimmer of a smile told me he’d seen how I’d reacted to his touch. There was a tingling in the pit of my stomach. When he touched me inside, I shivered, and he smiled even wider.
“This is just an idea of what I have in store for you,” he said, kissing me on my lips. And then he left.
I hardly slept that night. Thoughts of being touched, and of the danger of being with Mr. Fletcher, overwhelmed me. If I refused, they could let me go. If I consented, we could be found out and not only would it shame me, but the end result would be the same. I’d be tossed out with nowhere to go. I know I eventually slept, for I woke to my mother pounding on my door.
“Ruthie, we’re going to be late!” She called out. “I swore I heard voices in the night,” she said as we descended the stairs. “Did you hear anything?”
“No,” I whispered. “I was dead to the world.”
Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on my door, and when I opened it, I burst into tears again, for Charlotte stood there. Just seeing her brought a sudden clarity to my situation, and I said, “I have to leave.”
I told her about Mr. Fletcher coming to the room, and how I pretended everything was all right when the children saw him there.
“I can’t go back,” I said.
“Then come with me. I have an idea.”
I had nothing to wear but my uniform, so I gathered the few things from the room that were mine, and we left. We brought the food with us. I followed her down the hall and we made our way down to the kitchen.
“Stay here. No one will say anything, and as soon as I’m off, we’ll leave,” Charlotte said.
My mind raced with images of the children coming back to the room and wondering where I’d gone. The rest of my uniforms were still hanging in the closet, but my underwear and my brush were gone. Would they go to dinner thinking I’d be back when they returned? When they came back and I still wasn’t there, would they worry? Would Nellie call her father? And how would he react?
Buy Links
B&N Paperback: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-maidservant-in-cabin-number-one-chrysteen-braun/1145157824
B&N Hardcover: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-maidservant-in-cabin-number-one-chrysteen-braun/1145157824?ean=9781647048099
Amazon eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYS2BCVZ
Google Play eBook: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Z8r8EAAAQBAJ
iTunes eBook: http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6479916433