Jennifer Bramseth's Blog - Posts Tagged "secret-blend"
Home, Beauty, and Power
How did I get the idea for this series?
I had the basic book idea that became Secret Blend (title came later) when Rachel and Brady showed up in my thoughts. I knew this book would have a hero and heroine who'd known each other for years, and then became judges in their hometown and had to deal with sharing a small office. I liked the idea of not just lawyers in love, but judges in love.
The characters showed up first. But I knew I needed a great setting, something different.
And then the idea hit me. The setting was all around me.
A series of contemporary romance novels set in a small, fictional bourbon distillery town. Small-town romance with a nice shot of bourbon.
So I started writing. I wrote nine books. Although I'm a lawyer and used to writing a lot, I'd never written anything like an entire book series. But I did. I wanted to get the stories out of me before releasing any of the books.
I have set these stories in the Land of Bourbon and Bluegrass of central Kentucky because that is my home. When I look around and see the things I love, I see the land, my home.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Bluegrass State.
I’m a native.
Like many a Kentuckian, I love horses and racing and college basketball, I find myself surrounded by something else, too.
By distilleries.By bourbon. By the land and water that these things require.
On any given work day, I am only a few miles away from a major distillery (Buffalo Trace on the Kentucky River) and can often see the steam rising from the building. I can smell the mash cooking, as I have for years in the town where I work, almost every single day. It’s like knowing a friend is nearby.
I am not some bourbon snob or expert. I can’t taste all of the wonderful flavors in a bourbon. I sure wish I could. But I love where I live and appreciate it, and I hope that feeling comes through in the books and that you think they're worth reading.
The idea for the Bourbon Springs series hit me hard--like it had been staring me in the face for years and finally slapped some kind of sense into me and said WRITE THIS!
So I wrote about what I love. It’s not just bourbon, although that’s obviously big part. In this series, I write about Kentucky. I write about home.
Kentucky is gorgeous and alive and ethereal. And I will make no apologies nor argue this point with anyone: we make the best bourbon.
Why?
Because we're Kentucky.
I don’t say that in a team-spirit, rah-rah kind of way. There are reasons we make 95% of the world's bourbon.
It is this place that makes the bourbon.
The limestone-filtered water of springs, streams, and the mighty Kentucky River. The hot-cold extremes of climate that help age the bourbon in the barrels, moving the spirit in and out of those oak staves, imparting color and flavor.
My writing is intended to honor my home and the beauty and power I find in it. If you read my books, you will see that a sense of place is a big theme in them.
And I have woven the stories of the people in my fictional town—stories of love, longing, connection, loss, and a sense of belonging to someone and a place—into this background, this sense of place and home.
I was still struggling with the notion of actually writing this—I wanted to do a six book series—when these names started coming at me as I re-took some distillery tours. When I hit upon the name of the third book, Angels’ Share, that was when I knew I could do this and had to do this. I knew I could weave that wonderful concept (“angels’ share” is a bourbon/spirits term; it’s explained in the book) into the theme and narrative of a book.
And when I finished writing Book 6 (Distilled Heat), I didn't want to stop. I still had three titles (Bottled Bluegrass, Toast and Char, Water of Life) and couples waiting to tell their stories.
I hope and pray that a small sliver of my excitement and love of place comes through in these books and that you can enjoy these stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.
And, guess what? Bourbon is HOT! It’s the in thing again.
The number of distilleries in Kentucky tripled in the past few years. We are entering a New Golden Age of Bourbon. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail™, established in 1999 and now with nine member distilleries, sees throngs of tourists every year. These are some of the true legends of bourbon: Woodford Reserve in Woodford County; Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg; Four Roses in Lawrenceburg; Heaven Hill in Bardstown; Jim Beam in Clermont/Frankfort; Evan Williams in Louisville; Maker’s Mark in Loretto; Bulleit in Louisville; and Town Branch in Lexington.
I live within ten minutes of one of these distilleries; half an hour of three; and an hour of the rest.
If you have the chance, I hope you'll come to Kentucky and enjoy these places and the sense of place they impart.
Thank you for reading this and I hope you will consider reading my books.
Jennifer
PS: If you want to learn about bourbon, go to the experts. Check out these for starters:
A good, basic introduction to the history of bourbon:
Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage
A fun, encyclopedia-like work, listing of dozens of distilleries (many long gone) in Kentucky:
Bourbon in Kentucky: A History of Distilleries in Kentucky
I had the basic book idea that became Secret Blend (title came later) when Rachel and Brady showed up in my thoughts. I knew this book would have a hero and heroine who'd known each other for years, and then became judges in their hometown and had to deal with sharing a small office. I liked the idea of not just lawyers in love, but judges in love.
The characters showed up first. But I knew I needed a great setting, something different.
And then the idea hit me. The setting was all around me.
A series of contemporary romance novels set in a small, fictional bourbon distillery town. Small-town romance with a nice shot of bourbon.
So I started writing. I wrote nine books. Although I'm a lawyer and used to writing a lot, I'd never written anything like an entire book series. But I did. I wanted to get the stories out of me before releasing any of the books.
I have set these stories in the Land of Bourbon and Bluegrass of central Kentucky because that is my home. When I look around and see the things I love, I see the land, my home.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Bluegrass State.
I’m a native.
Like many a Kentuckian, I love horses and racing and college basketball, I find myself surrounded by something else, too.
By distilleries.By bourbon. By the land and water that these things require.
On any given work day, I am only a few miles away from a major distillery (Buffalo Trace on the Kentucky River) and can often see the steam rising from the building. I can smell the mash cooking, as I have for years in the town where I work, almost every single day. It’s like knowing a friend is nearby.
I am not some bourbon snob or expert. I can’t taste all of the wonderful flavors in a bourbon. I sure wish I could. But I love where I live and appreciate it, and I hope that feeling comes through in the books and that you think they're worth reading.
The idea for the Bourbon Springs series hit me hard--like it had been staring me in the face for years and finally slapped some kind of sense into me and said WRITE THIS!
So I wrote about what I love. It’s not just bourbon, although that’s obviously big part. In this series, I write about Kentucky. I write about home.
Kentucky is gorgeous and alive and ethereal. And I will make no apologies nor argue this point with anyone: we make the best bourbon.
Why?
Because we're Kentucky.
I don’t say that in a team-spirit, rah-rah kind of way. There are reasons we make 95% of the world's bourbon.
It is this place that makes the bourbon.
The limestone-filtered water of springs, streams, and the mighty Kentucky River. The hot-cold extremes of climate that help age the bourbon in the barrels, moving the spirit in and out of those oak staves, imparting color and flavor.
My writing is intended to honor my home and the beauty and power I find in it. If you read my books, you will see that a sense of place is a big theme in them.
And I have woven the stories of the people in my fictional town—stories of love, longing, connection, loss, and a sense of belonging to someone and a place—into this background, this sense of place and home.
I was still struggling with the notion of actually writing this—I wanted to do a six book series—when these names started coming at me as I re-took some distillery tours. When I hit upon the name of the third book, Angels’ Share, that was when I knew I could do this and had to do this. I knew I could weave that wonderful concept (“angels’ share” is a bourbon/spirits term; it’s explained in the book) into the theme and narrative of a book.
And when I finished writing Book 6 (Distilled Heat), I didn't want to stop. I still had three titles (Bottled Bluegrass, Toast and Char, Water of Life) and couples waiting to tell their stories.
I hope and pray that a small sliver of my excitement and love of place comes through in these books and that you can enjoy these stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.
And, guess what? Bourbon is HOT! It’s the in thing again.
The number of distilleries in Kentucky tripled in the past few years. We are entering a New Golden Age of Bourbon. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail™, established in 1999 and now with nine member distilleries, sees throngs of tourists every year. These are some of the true legends of bourbon: Woodford Reserve in Woodford County; Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg; Four Roses in Lawrenceburg; Heaven Hill in Bardstown; Jim Beam in Clermont/Frankfort; Evan Williams in Louisville; Maker’s Mark in Loretto; Bulleit in Louisville; and Town Branch in Lexington.
I live within ten minutes of one of these distilleries; half an hour of three; and an hour of the rest.
If you have the chance, I hope you'll come to Kentucky and enjoy these places and the sense of place they impart.
Thank you for reading this and I hope you will consider reading my books.
Jennifer
PS: If you want to learn about bourbon, go to the experts. Check out these for starters:
A good, basic introduction to the history of bourbon:
Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage
A fun, encyclopedia-like work, listing of dozens of distilleries (many long gone) in Kentucky:
Bourbon in Kentucky: A History of Distilleries in Kentucky
ARC Offer Ending Soon for FILTERED THROUGH BLUE--plus another possible freebie
In the backmatter of Secret Blend is an ARC offer of the next book in the Bourbon Springs Series, Filtered Through Blue, for anyone who leaves a review somewhere of Secret Blend (Amazon, GR, etc.) and emails me the link to the review (jenniferbramseth -at- gmail.com)
I wanted to mention it here since the offer is only good up until Sunday, June 14, 2015, because that's when Filtered Through Blue will go live. That happens to be National Bourbon Day. I just had to release a Bourbon Springs Book on that day, and I'm glad it happens to be Hannah's book.
Also, I've written a short story which links Secret Blend to Filtered Through Blue. The story features Rachel and Brady, and takes place about a week after the end of Secret Blend. I wrote it for fun and as a reader bonus-reward for those interested enough to sign up for my mailing list (http://eepurl.com/bfiAXr).
You don't need to read the story to understand the books, but it is a nice bridge between them, plus you get a little bit more Rachel and Brady. They do show up in the remaining books in the series, but not as main characters. I guess I couldn't let them go after I finished Secret Blend, plus I wanted to further explore some of Rachel's feelings about what had happened with Hannah in that book.
The story is about 11,000 words, plus some backmatter where I tell the story of going to a cooperage (place where they make barrels) and a craft distillery. Each of the books will contain backmatter with similar content about bourbon, along with the first chapter from the next book in the series.
Thanks for reading!
Jennifer
I wanted to mention it here since the offer is only good up until Sunday, June 14, 2015, because that's when Filtered Through Blue will go live. That happens to be National Bourbon Day. I just had to release a Bourbon Springs Book on that day, and I'm glad it happens to be Hannah's book.
Also, I've written a short story which links Secret Blend to Filtered Through Blue. The story features Rachel and Brady, and takes place about a week after the end of Secret Blend. I wrote it for fun and as a reader bonus-reward for those interested enough to sign up for my mailing list (http://eepurl.com/bfiAXr).
You don't need to read the story to understand the books, but it is a nice bridge between them, plus you get a little bit more Rachel and Brady. They do show up in the remaining books in the series, but not as main characters. I guess I couldn't let them go after I finished Secret Blend, plus I wanted to further explore some of Rachel's feelings about what had happened with Hannah in that book.
The story is about 11,000 words, plus some backmatter where I tell the story of going to a cooperage (place where they make barrels) and a craft distillery. Each of the books will contain backmatter with similar content about bourbon, along with the first chapter from the next book in the series.
Thanks for reading!
Jennifer
Pinterest Board for ANGELS' SHARE is now open
The Pinterest board for Angels' Share is now open.
With over 70 pins, you'll learn more about Book 3 in the series. Very minor spoilery stuff (like settings for scenes)
Here's the link, as well as the link to the boards for the first two books, Secret Blend and Filtered Through Blue.
I have Pinterest boards in the works for all the series books and will be opening them shortly before the books release. Angels' Share will be released on Tuesday, July 14, 2015.
Angels' Share--Book 3
https://www.pinterest.com/jbramseth/a...
Secret Blend--Book 1
https://www.pinterest.com/jbramseth/s...
Filtered Through Blue--Book 2
https://www.pinterest.com/jbramseth/f...
With over 70 pins, you'll learn more about Book 3 in the series. Very minor spoilery stuff (like settings for scenes)
Here's the link, as well as the link to the boards for the first two books, Secret Blend and Filtered Through Blue.
I have Pinterest boards in the works for all the series books and will be opening them shortly before the books release. Angels' Share will be released on Tuesday, July 14, 2015.
Angels' Share--Book 3
https://www.pinterest.com/jbramseth/a...
Secret Blend--Book 1
https://www.pinterest.com/jbramseth/s...
Filtered Through Blue--Book 2
https://www.pinterest.com/jbramseth/f...
ANGELS' SHARE is live!
The third book in the Bourbon Springs Series, Angels' Share, is now live on Amazon!
Angels' Share
The book is in Kindle Unlimited so if you are a subscriber or an Amazon Prime Member, you can borrow the book. A paperback version should be out in a few weeks.
This is the story of Bo Davenport and Lila McNee. Bo, Hannah's brother and part owner of Old Garnet, is at odds with Lila, the distillery's neighbor to the south. He wants her land to expand Old Garnet. She wants to protect what is hers. They will have to learn to compromise and survive tragedies to get to their Happily-Ever-After.
The next book in the series, Distiller's Choice, CiCi and Walker's story, will be released in fall 2015. Sign up for my mailing list to be notified of the release date. http://eepurl.com/bfiAXr
Thanks and all the best,
Jennifer
PS: There are recipes in the backmatter of this book for treats using bourbon as an ingredient. :)
Angels' Share
The book is in Kindle Unlimited so if you are a subscriber or an Amazon Prime Member, you can borrow the book. A paperback version should be out in a few weeks.
This is the story of Bo Davenport and Lila McNee. Bo, Hannah's brother and part owner of Old Garnet, is at odds with Lila, the distillery's neighbor to the south. He wants her land to expand Old Garnet. She wants to protect what is hers. They will have to learn to compromise and survive tragedies to get to their Happily-Ever-After.
The next book in the series, Distiller's Choice, CiCi and Walker's story, will be released in fall 2015. Sign up for my mailing list to be notified of the release date. http://eepurl.com/bfiAXr
Thanks and all the best,
Jennifer
PS: There are recipes in the backmatter of this book for treats using bourbon as an ingredient. :)
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