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:
The next morning, a few minutes after I arrived at the flooring store, Liz, the owner, said she wanted to talk to me about something. Typically, when someone said something like that, it was bad news, and my stomach sank. We went into her office and she closed the door. That made me feel even worse.
“I wanted to let you know I’m thinking about retiring,” she said.
My stomach sank even deeper.
“You are?”
Just when I was feeling like I knew what I was doing, I was going to have to look for somewhere else to drum up clients.
“And I’ve given this a lot of thought...since it would be a shame to close the store, I’m looking for someone to sell it to.”
I let this sink in. I thought to myself first, ‘I’d love to have a place to work out of.’ And then I said aloud, “This could be perfect for me.”
Two heartbeats later, I caught myself and wanted to make sure she was actually asking me if I wanted to buy her business.
“Are you asking me if I’m interested?”
“Yes, I am. I can make it manageable for you to do it, and I don’t really need a large down payment. We can work on a payment schedule, and you already know what you’re doing.” She raised her eyebrows in anticipation and smiled. She waited patiently for me to say something.
Of course, I immediately started thinking about everything I could do with a store. I’d bring in a collection of fabrics, and I’d add catalogs for some of the furniture I’d been ordering...
“Is your mind racing?” she asked.
“Boy, is it.”
“I wanted you to have the first opportunity. I really hate to put it out there for jut anyone; I think I’d close it before I did that.”
“Well, don’t do that,” I said eagerly. “I’ll do it.”
My mind went into overload, and my heart raced as I thought of all the possibilities just waiting for me.
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
What’s your favorite way to combat stress?
Aha. The perfect stress buster is to eat 85% chocolate and play mahjong on my computer. And when that brings me down a few notches, I read. What else would a writer do? (certainly not write when they're agitated! haha).
Why is your featured book a stress busting read?
“As someone who’s visited this lush area years ago, reading this book is like transporting back to the lakeside town. The narration is so visual, so vivid in detail, I want to reach out and touch it. Chrysteen Braun uses words to soak you in her story and it’s such an immersive experience.” ~ N. N. Light’s Book Heaven
“Braun pulled me in with skillfully drawn character studies that feel almost biographical—as if these are real people you'd want to know and care about. Filled with observant details and a vivid sense of history, this story completes the Guest Cabin Trilogy.” ~ Wendy Cohan, author of The Inn at Verde Springs Series (The Renaissance Sisters and Love Child)
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $20 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs May 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on June 3, 2024.
Author Biography:
Chrysteen Braun is a California native, born and raised in Long Beach.
The Lake Arrowhead mountains, where she and her husband had a second home, were the inspiration for her first three books, The Guestbook Trilogy. These fictional restored cabins from the late 1920s all had their own stories to tell. Through their children, readers get their first glimpse of who stayed in the cabins, but not why.
Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret and Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over.
"A touching novel charting two women’s parallel lives, tied together by mysteries, transformation, and a cabin." —Booklife
"Braun delivers a moving portrayal of a young woman searching for herself amid personal upheaval." —Booklife
"Masterfully written, intriguing, mystifying, and spooky are how I would classify The Man in Cabin Number Five by Chrysteen Braun. As a great background, Braun uses the mountainous area and cabins to her advantage in telling the stories of Annie and Alyce. This is an exceptional plot, never leading the reader too far from the original storyline. Her character development is outstanding. I was able to feel everything Annie felt." Teresa Syms for Readers' Favorite Book Reviews and Awards.
"In The Man in Cabin Number Five, Chrysteen Braun narrates a deeply compelling, inspiring, and adorable narrative about the mountainside cabins of Lake Arrowhead, shocking secrets, and two women that are linked to the cabins in different ways—one by a buried past and the other by optimistic plans for the future.
"Chrysteen Braun does a mind-blowing job of building the characters and making them lifelike and easy to relate to. The first-person narrative is done to perfection as it reads like the narrators are speaking to friends—natural, lively, and jovial. I laughed out loud when I read the part where Anne claims that a bag of chips and a soda are "just what the doctor ordered.
"The Man in Cabin Number Five inspires anyone recovering from betrayal and infidelity to keep living and working towards a better future. The picturesque descriptions of the scenes and characters will appeal to readers who wish to get completely immersed in and escape into a fictional world. Chrysteen Braun creates a masterpiece with smooth storytelling that juxtaposes the serenity of the mountains with the eruptive chaos of dangerous secrets and ends with a bang. What a terrific story! What a talented writer!" Foluso Falaye, for the San Francisco Book Review.
Her writing crosses genres with 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 and has just received a Book Excellence Award for The Man in Cabin Number Five.
Braun lives in Coto de Caza, California (southern Orange County) with her husband Larry and two Siamese cats.
Social Media Links:
Website https://chrysteenbraun.com/
Find her everywhere https://linktr.ee/chrysteenbraunauthor