About the Book
Book: Ronnie
Author: Jennifer Lynn Cary
Genre: Sweet Romcom
Release Date: June 12, 2024
She’s literally stuck in her engagement…
…He’s trying to keep her there.
But when you take the couple out of Texas, is the romance lost too?
Ronnie Webb has broken her engagement to the love of her life, Carlos (Cal) Garcia, or would have if the stupid ring would come off her finger.
To find the space to get over him and the rest of what is going wrong in her life, she leaves her dad’s Texas ranch to visit her aunt and family in Kokomo, Indiana.
But hanging out with the Weather Girls, especially with their cardinal in the sycamore legend sending out strong vibes, Ronnie’s love life may not be as dead as she thinks.
Carlitos can’t believe the letter Ronnie left him right before Christmas—his last one at home before his enlistment starts. However, his broken wrist might just be the break he needs to get Ronnie back before it’s too late.
But what does this native Texan know about mid-western Hoosier romance?
And can he learn, or is this the end?
Ronnie: A Sweet, Quirky Romantic Yarn is book five in the Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series. Inspired by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ 1960’s song of the name, this charming tale with a bit of western influence finishes off 1972 and brings you into the New Year in Kokomo, Indiana.
You will enjoy this sweet and wholesome romcom with a touch of western flavor because everyone dreams of their own cowboy romance.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Historical Christian Romance author, Jennifer Lynn Cary, likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty plus years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small-town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren. She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series, The Relentless series, and The Weather Girls trilogy as well as the stand-alone novel, Cheryl’s Going Home, her novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café, and her split-time novels The Traveling Prayer Shawl and The Forgotten Gratitude Journal. Her current spin-off series, The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue, contains standalones with a common thread.
More from Jennifer
In the first chapter of Ronnie, Carlitos comes home to his mom making his favorite, Pozole. It is a Mexican soup, and the first time I had it was at my neighbor’s house. She has given me her recipe and permission to share it with you all. Two things to keep in mind: first, she and I had to work to translate this from Spanish to English. We did our best, but if you don’t understand something, just give it your best shot—or ask me. I might be able to figure it out. Maybe. 😉 Two, she usually makes big batches of this, and she cut it back for a “normal” size. So feel free to adjust as needed.
Most of all, though, enjoy!
Pozole Recipe by Araceli Estrada (my amazing neighbor and friend)
Ingredients:
For meat pot-
4 lbs. of bone-in pork loin
½ white onion–diced
1 head of garlic—clean off the paper
2 bay leaves
1 T oregano
1 T ground cumin
1 T powdered chicken bouillon
1 large can of hominy
For chili sauce-
10 chili pods
10 Ancho chilis
10-15 black pepper corns
4 cloves of garlic
For garnish—
Shredded cabbage
Diced onion
Sliced radishes
Chopped cilantro
Chunked avocado
Lime wedges—to squeeze over
Directions:
Place in a Dutch oven, the pork loin, the half onion, the head of garlic, the bay leaves, the oregano, and cumin. Add enough water to cover up to ¾ of pot. Bring to a boil and then heat. Simmer for 2 hours stirring often and skimming off the foam.
Slice open chilis and remove seeds and membranes. In a second pot, add chili pods and Ancho chilis. Cover with water and bring to a boil. After two minutes, turn off heat and allow chilis to rest in hot water for at least ten minutes. The chilis should feel soft and pliable.
Remove from water and put into blender with black peppercorns, 4 cloves of garlic, and a cup of water. Add water a little at a time, careful to not add too much. Puree until smooth. Then pour through a strainer into the meat pot.
Strain the hominy and add it plus the chicken bouillon to the meat pot. Salt to taste. Allow to simmer while preparing the garnishes.
Set garnishes out so guests can choose. Serve with warm tortillas.
(From Jenny: Not sure home much this will serve, but it is so good!)
Interview with the Author
- What was your hardest scene to write?
I’ve had hard scenes to write for various reasons. For a while my health made writing at all difficult. However, my book The Forgotten Gratitude Journal had so many personal touches in it that called for writing through my tears. Once particular scene when the main character finally reads the journal and finds a surprise really got to me because her brother had been inspired by my son who’d passed away from cystic fibrosis. The character wrestled with this throughout the book and it opened some of my own wounds to write that scene.
- What is your favorite childhood book?
When I was a child my mother used to walk us downtown to the library to pick out books. I remember two that I particularly enjoyed. One was titled (I think) The Fire House Cat and had a cat named Jenny Linski. It was close enough to my name that I wanted to hear it read over and over. The other book was wordless, I think, and was made up a photos of posed teddy bears and a doll. It might have been a series of books, I don’t know. It was so long ago. But I still remember the black and white photos of the father bear and baby bear and the doll. The kids were always getting into trouble, like baby bear cutting the doll’s long blonde hair, and father bear having to work things out. I’ve looked for that book for some time, but without a title, I have had no luck. If anyone knows what I’m talking about, I’d sure like to find that book.
- Who is the author you most admire in your genre?
I have several. Emma St. Clair makes me laugh out loud. Willow White does too, and she has some unique characters in heartfelt situations. Beth Vogt is always a good read. So is Kathryn Karrol.
This is hard. Not because of picking the authors, but because of my genre. I feel sometimes that my writing is a bubble balancing between Romantic Comedy, Sweet and Wholesome Romance, and Historical Romance. It doesn’t fit perfectly in any of them. Okay, well, maybe in the Sweet and Wholesome Romance, but it has tones from Romcom and Historical, yet I don’t write first person, and not everyone views 1973 as historical. However, I enjoy a story that makes me laugh until I snort while it sneaks up to tug on my heartstrings.
- What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I have developed a love for paper crafting. It started when my youngest daughter got me a Cricut Explorer Air II for Christmas a couple years back. From there, I started watching YouTube videos and trying all sorts of things. I’ve made photo albums, folios, tunnel books, board games, desk organizers, explosion boxes, and a recipe holder for my granddaughter that holds about 100 recipes, has a removable grocery list with pen, and an easel for the recipe in use. I had family members all send me recipes and I put them in with photos of the person who donated it and how they are related to her. I even have some of my grandmother’s recipes.
- If you could invite one person to dinner, who would it be and what would you cook?
If I say Jesus, would you think I was playing the pious card? Let’s just say I wouldn’t serve fish. 😉
However, one person I’d really like to have dinner with (okay, fix dinner for, which would definitely make this a one-time deal with my cooking skills, no matter if the person is dead or alive) is Rich Mullins. I fell in love with his music, and I used to inhale the articles he’d write for one of the Christian teen magazines back when my girls were still at home. Then I learned we were the same age and grew up not far from each other in Indiana. We might have even attended the same basketball or football games, though that’s stretching things. Probably. He settled just up north from me on the border between AZ and NM. All those connections.
However, his faith and his ability to express it in music still moves me to this day. So, I’d probably fix him my lasagna, a Caesar salad, and French Silk Chocolate pie for dessert—and for those who know about my mom’s recipe, my hubs would be joining us for dinner. Just to be safe. (It’s rumored that my stepmom got two husbands with that pie. Just sayin’)
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 18
Blossoms and Blessings, September 19 (Author Interview)
For Him and My Family, September 19
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 20
Artistic Nobody, September 21 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 22
Guild Master, September 23 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, September 24
A Reader’s Brain, September 25 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, September 26
Back Porch Reads, September 27 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 28
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 29 (Author Interview)
Pause for Tales, September 29
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 30
Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 1 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.