Find extras organized here by book!
extras
All in Good Time Playlist
Unlike the playlists from my previous novels, this one includes only one song mentioned in the book. That one is “Instant Kharma.”
Instead, this is a small collection of songs related to the book or, in some cases, songs that were written out of the manuscript.
“Gravity,” by John Mayer, so perfectly describes the pull of sin dragging someone, in this case, Brian, down. “Vice,” “Broken Halos,” and “Demons” express similar themes.
“Tell Me Why,” sung here by Pat Benatar, is the lullaby I had in mind when Brian overhears Melanie singing to her children at bedtime. My own children have heard me sing this many, many times.
“Yahweh,” by U2, originally was part of the scene in which Brian is sickest and Melanie is recruited to “babysit” him, as he says. It is one of my favorites from U2.
Similarly, “Crazy Love” – Michael Bublé or the original Van Morrison recording, take your pick – was included in a marriage proposal scene that was deleted and re-written.
“Instant Kharma” was a very late addition to the bunch.
Rightfully Ours Inspiration
This is the gold on which I based Rightfully Ours when I first drafted it in 2010. At the time, treasure hunters were searching farther east, closer to the Williamsport locale I chose. After many revisions, the story developed into a premarital chastity-themed book, but this treasure still plays an important part in both the plot and the themes.
This NBC video shows a nice map of the route the gold would have been taken. You can see it skirts Williamsport.
Update: October 25, 2019
Update: June 25, 2021
Affidavit: FBI Feared Pennsylvania Would Seize Fabled Gold
Update: May 28, 2022
Was there buried treasure in western PA? FBI notes add to mystery of missing gold
Ornamental Graces: Questions for Use by Book Clubs
Have you considered reading Ornamental Graces with your book club?
Click the link below for a printable PDF file of eleven reflective questions about the book to jump-start your conversation.
Questions for Use by Book Clubs for Ornamental Graces
**To purchase books at bulk reduced-rate for book clubs, please contact the author directly at castfalk (at) verizon (dot) net.**
If you’ve never been part of a book club, here are some tips to get you started: How to Start a Book Club and 10 Tips for Starting Your Own Book Club.
I’d love to visit your book club, in person if possible, but via Skype if you’re not within driving distance of my Hershey, Pennsylvania home.
Ornamental Graces Recipes
Unlike Rebecca in Stay With Me, none of the characters in Ornamental Graces are avid bakers or cooks. But they do bake and cook, and I couldn’t help collecting some of their recipes.
Emily’s sister-in-law Elizabeth is known to be a good cook. Dan and Emily get better acquainted over some of her lemon meringue pie, which happens to be my favorite kind of pie.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111886371969068621/
Emily’s no slouch in the kitchen either. She cobbles together dinner for her and Dan after raiding Robert and Elizabeth’s refrigerator, pantry, and garden. I know people joke about having too many zucchini, but I think I could eat it daily and never grow tired of it.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111886371969158218/
These pumpkin Snickerdoodles are delicious and perfect for fall weather, though Emily brings them to a summer picnic. These are my oldest daughter’s favorite cookies, and she recently made a batch herself to take to her brother’s boy scout meeting.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111886371979332115/
We never get a glimpse of this strawberry pretzel Jell-O salad that Dan’s sister makes the day after Thanksgiving because Dan and Emily are, uh, otherwise occupied when it’s served. I was introduced to this recipe in the early 1980s by my sister-in-law. I love the sweet and salty combination!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111886371968608296/
Finally, Emily and her family are Polish, so I wanted to incorporate something true to their heritage. I have yet to make these on pierogies, but with these step-by-step instructions, I intend to give it a try.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111886371968383868/
My mother is German, not Polish, but for decades, she made nut rolls (along with prune-poppyseed rolls) very similar to these every Easter. She’d even ship them from Pennsylvania to Florida to her sister-in-law. As I wrote the brief scene in which the rolls are mentioned, I recalled grinding nuts by hand for my mother when I was a little girl.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111886371968432179/