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The Maidservant in Cabin Number One: The Beginning (The Guest Book Trilogy 4) by Chrysteen Braun is a Fall Into These Great Reads pick #literaryfiction #historicalfiction #fallreads #giveaway



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

 

A few weeks before Christmas, Cook enlisted help from anyone with spare time to help string cranberry garland for the tree. I must have threaded and tied twenty sections of berries together, and it all sat at my feet when my mother came in to check on me.

 

      “She does such a good job, we’ll have to call her the cranberry queen,” Cook said, chuckling. “This year, the Mistress wants to add dried orange slices, so when you’re done there, I could use your help getting them cut up and put on cookie sheets. You know, there’s no rest for the weary.” 

 

     I thought we’d never finish, but we did and a few days later, voices from downstairs caught my attention. From the top of the stairs, I stood in wonder as several men brought in the most wonderful evergreen tree for the grand entry hall. Once they figured out how to keep it from leaning, they brought in a ladder and one climbed it while the other handed up the tinsel and the orange and berry garlands. Mrs. Goodspeed joined them soon and, with a long stick, pointed to where she wanted the candles and mercury ball ornaments hung. 

 

     Once they got down to the lower level, the children were allowed to hang their handmade paper ornaments. Even with the bottom of the tree so higgledy-piggledy, I’d never seen such an amazing sight. Each day, I noticed more gifts had been added beneath the tree, and while I knew in my heart there would be nothing for me or my mother, I hoped beyond hope.

 

      On Christmas Eve day, I helped Cook prepare a delicious meal of maple-bourbon turkey, crusted roast beef, bread stuffing, Brussels sprouts with pecans and bacon, roasted potatoes, salmon, and apple pie. After dinner, while we cleared the table, the family gathered around the tree, now with all the candles lit, and sang Christmas carols. 

 

     Hearing a commotion in the living room, I rushed in from a side doorway just as the children raced in to find Santa brushing himself off, like he’d just come down the chimney. He handed out even more gifts from his huge red bag, and then winked at me before he slid from the room. Back in the kitchen, the servants all gathered around our table and we ate most of what was left of dinner. 

 

     “Just be thankful we have such a wonderful meal to eat,” my mother said, as if reading my mind. “Next year, we’ll have our own gifts.”

 

      After we cleared our table and put the leftovers away, Cook came to me with a small wrapped gift. “Santa left this for you,” she said, handing it to me.

 

      I knew that wasn’t true, for I didn’t really believe in Santa—but I couldn’t believe my luck.

 

      “Look, Mother,” I said, beaming. 

 

     “I see it. Open it.”

 

      Never having seen such fancy wrapping, I carefully undid the package, and quickly saw there were two books. One was The Swiss Family Robinson, and the other was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I thought for sure I was the luckiest girl alive.

 

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What’s your favorite thing about autumn:

 

Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the colors, the leaves on the ground and the cool crisp fall air.

 

What inspired you to write this story:

 

I wanted to write about a woman who starts over and makes a new life for herself. Along the way, she makes some bad choices, but it’s the journey she takes and the people she meets that fill the pages. And the bonus for those who enjoy my writing, the trilogy has now turned into a seven-book series!

 

Giveaway –

 

One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.

 

 

Open internationally.

 

Runs September 1 – 30, 2024

 

Drawing will be held on October 1, 2024.

 

Author Biography

 

Chrysteen Braun is a California native, born and raised in Long Beach.

 

The mountains, where she and her husband had a second home, were the inspiration for her first three books, The Guest Book Trilogy. These fictional restored cabins from the late 1920s all had their own stories to tell.

 

Her writing crosses genres of Women’s Fiction with relationships, and a little mystery and intrigue. She’s published articles about her field of interior design and remodeling, both for trade publications and her local newspaper.

 

She lives in Coto de Caza, with her husband Larry and two Siamese cats.

 

 

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