Stay With Me will be available in less than three months! In May, I wrote about the music that inspired the book, and in April, I blogged about the settings. Last month, I shared several of the recipes for the delicious treats mentioned in the book. Rebecca does a lot of baking, so there’s plenty more to share this month! Continue reading
Stay With Me
Stay With Me Awarded Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval
Stay With Me by Carolyn Astfalk, available from Full Quiver Publishing on October 1, 2015, has been awarded the Seal of Approval by the Catholic Writers Guild. Books are evaluated by the Guild for both their Catholicity and editorial integrity.
The purpose of the Seal of Approval is to help Catholic bookstores and venues by determining the Catholicity of a work. Members of the Catholic Writers Guild are faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Writers Guild is an organization of Catholic writers, artists, editors, and illustrators. Its purpose is “to help build a vibrant Catholic literary culture by offering educational programs that encourage Catholic spiritual growth, teach Catholic writers about their craft as well as how to sell and market their work.”
Stay With Me, A Prayer by St. Pio of Pietrelcina
I recently came across this prayer by St. Pio of Pietrelcina. It has no title, but it could be called “Stay With Me.” Stay With Me, my novel, is a traditional love story (eros) of a man and a woman, not primarily the story of God’s sacrificial love (agape). But it’s that erotic love that serves as the strong foundation of a lasting marriage, which prepares the husband and wife for eternal union with God, who is Love. It is that union for which St. Pio begs in this prayer.
Stay With Me: The Recipes, Part I
Today marks four months until the release of Stay With Me. Last month, I wrote about the music that inspired the book, and in April, I blogged about the settings. This month and next, I’ll highlight several of the recipes for the delicious treats mentioned in the book.
Fudge-Full Peanut Butter Bars
Early in the story, Rebecca bakes a batch of these Fudge-Full Peanut Butter Bars for Chris. The recipe is one my husband asked me to recreate – a favorite from his childhood. I got the recipe from his mother more than a decade ago only to find that it included an ingredient – Pillsbury Coconut Pecan Frosting Mix – that is no longer produced. It was several years until I found a substitute recipe for the frosting mix on the Internet. As everyone in my family will attest, these chewy, gooey, delicious bars are well worth the trouble to recreate them! Continue reading
Stay With Me: The Music and The Book Trailer
We’re only five months out from the release of Stay With Me. Last month, I wrote about the settings, and this month, I’m blogging about the music in and related to the novel.
Over at Catholic Fiction.net, the author interviews always include this question:
“If you could no longer work with words, what medium would you work in to create art?
I don’t know whether I’ll ever be asked the question, but I’m ready with an easy answer: music.
Stay With Me: The Settings – Shenandoah National Park and Gettysburg
In each of the six months leading up to the release of Stay With Me on October 1, I’ll be blogging about an aspect of the book. Today’s post is dedicated to settings. The bulk of the novel takes place in and around the Gettysburg and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania areas with several forays to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
Shenandoah National Park
When Chris invites Rebecca to visit the park with him, he tells her, “It’s my favorite place in the world, and I want to take you there.”
When they arrive at the park, Rebecca takes in the natural beauty. “Two white-tailed deer, a doe and a fawn, ambled from the campsite on her right toward the road. A pair of robins chased each other across the grass, calling to one another. Peaceful. She loved the park immediately.”
My husband and I have had plenty of adventures at Shenandoah National Park, and it’s one of my favorite places to visit. We camp in a tent and typically choose walk-in sites that require a short trek from the parking area but are nestled in the woods rather than alongside the road.
Our tent and hammock at our wooded campsite.
Stay With Me: Rebecca’s Fantasy Fudge
Rebecca Rhodes, the heroine in Stay With Me, loves to bake. If a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, Chris Reynolds doesn’t stand a chance. Rebecca tells Chris, “I want a little store where I sell homemade baked goods. Not elaborate cakes. . . like the ones you see on the Food Network. Just ordinary but delicious cookies. By the dozen. That’s what I would do.”
Rebecca’s recipe is identical to my mother’s doctored recipe for Kraft’s original Fantasy Fudge. My mother, an accomplished baker of “ordinary” treats, like Rebecca, is well-known for her delicious fudge, among other sweets. Below the recipe are some of my mom’s tips for success!
Rebecca’s Fantasy Fudge
3 sticks butter, softened (1-1/2 c.)
Here’s all you’ll need to make this easy, delicious fudge.
6 c. granulated sugar
2 5-oz. cans evaporated milk (1-1/2 c.)
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 12-oz. packages Hershey’s milk chocolate chips
1 13-oz. jar marshmallow crème
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. chopped walnuts, optional
Grease two 9×13 pans. Mix butter, sugar, milk, and cream of tartar in large, heavy saucepan. Bring to full, rolling boil over medium heat. Stir constantly. Boil 5 minutes or until temperature reaches 234 degrees F. (soft ball stage) Remove from heat. Stir in chips. Add marshmallow crème. When mixture reaches a dull gloss, stir in vanilla. (Mixture will be heavy.) Pour into pans. Cool. Yield: Approximately 6 pounds of fudge.
The finished product. Delicious!
Marcy’s Tips for Success
- When it says “stir constantly,” stir constantly. Lay your ingredients out ahead of time so you don’t have to step away from the stove and risk scorching.
- For ease in pouring and clean-up, grease saucepan.
- To ease scoring and lifting, line pans with heavy duty aluminum foil. Lift cooled fudge onto cutting board for easy scoring.
- Use a sturdy wooden spoon for stirring.
- To test for soft ball stage without a candy thermometer, add a teaspoon of sugar mixture to a cup of cold water. When sugar mixture forms a soft ball when prodded with a fork, it’s ready.
- To assist in cooling on warm or humid days, allow pans to cool beneath a ceiling fan.
My Tip for Success
- Keep open bag of milk chocolate chips out of reach of toddlers.
For more recipes, visit Stay With Me, The Recipes PART I, PART II, and PART III.
Stay With Me Pinterest Board
Curious what Rebecca’s barefoot sandals look like? Or Chris’s Harley-Davidson? Would you like a glimpse of Harrisburg’s Reservoir Park, the Gettysburg Battlefield, or the Cathedral of Saint Patrick? Best of all, all of Rebecca’s delicious recipes are here for you to savor. Take a peek at all that and more!
https://www.pinterest.com/castfalk/stay-with-me/