“Old roads, old dogs, old folks and old ways still have a lot to offer in this sped up world we live in.”

I grew up in rural Maine so I learned some of the old ways of survival. Our food consisted of what my father trapped, shot or caught fishing. I can still smell the rabbit stew brook trout and fiddleheads. My mother canned vegetables from our garden, and we stored cabbage, carrots, potatoes and turnip in the root cellar. By today’s standards this was considered hard living.

My thoughts often wander back to the colonial days.  Women worked from dawn to dusk cooking outdoors in the summer, hauling water and toiling over chores.  Today, if we want a candle we drive to the store and buy one where we can choose from numerous scents.  There are thin ones, fat ones, small ones and giant ones.  Have you ever wondered what it was like in the 1700’s when candles had to be made from scratch? They weren’t used for decorative reasons or to set a mood in the home. It was the main source of light.

The majority of colonial people made candles from tallow (animal fat).  These tapers didn’t burn well and emitted an offensive odor.  Only the wealthy could afford beeswax, which was rolled to make sweet smelling candles.

Another type of candle was made from bayberries.  These berries have a waxy texture.  The berries were boiled down and the wax was skimmed from the top.  Many pounds of bayberries were needed to make these candles.

I researched candle making in the colonial times for my time travel story, The Enchanted Inn. My heroine from present times traveled back to 1778 where she found huge surprises and hard times!  To celebrate the re-republication of this story with Entangled Publishing, I am giving away a bayberry candle made from natural ingredients.

To enter the contest, please sign up for my newsletter at http://pamchampagne.us16.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=deb383ea22963fda6536b61e9&id=92609443e1.

The Enchanted Inn

Their love is timeless…

When snow forces Gina to stop and spend the night at the Enchanted Inn, she’s less than happy to find her ex-fiancé there, too. But she can be civil for one night, especially after the innkeeper gives them a bottle of homemade wine to share. A few glasses of that wine sends Luke and Gina back to 1778, where Luke seems to think he’s someone called John—a man who knows more about life in colonial times than he should.

Gina may be able to deal with the hardships her new reality throws at her, but she doesn’t give up hope of finding a way home. And when she does find a way, she’s determined to take John with her—whether he wants to go or not.

The book will be released on August 21 by Entangled Publishing and will be ready for pre-order by August 1 for only $.99.  Find the buy link at https://entangledpublishing.com/books.html or on my website at www.pamchampagne.net.