As I was plotting MAID OF DISHONOR, Maddie Bell’s mother/Jenna Bell’s grandmother, Gloria “Gigi” Phillips burst onto the scene and jumped into the plot of MAID OF DISHONOR. During the first three books, Gigi lived in California and didn’t appear on the page, but after the death of her fourth husband, she decided to move back to Hemlock, NC, to be closer to Maddie and Jenna. Suddenly she wanted to be part of the Wedding Bell Mysteries.
Gigi came mostly fully formed (she’s a Betty White lookalike and an eternal optimist), but I still had to ask some “what if” questions.
The first question was where has she been all this time? I thought what if she was married to a man who lived in California? That’s a good distance away and could explain her absence. Then I wondered, what if Gigi had been married more than once? What if she’d outlived four husbands?
For the record, all of Gigi’s husbands died of natural causes. There’s nothing sinister afoot where she’s concerned, but I digress. Despite being widowed four times, Gigi is still in love with the idea of love. What if now that she was back in Hemlock, this hopeless romantic, joined her daughter and granddaughter in the wedding business? But what could she do? She didn’t seem the type who would be content tending Maddie’s bridal show. Since Maddie owns the bridal boutique and Jenna plans the weddings… the only thing missing in their bridal trifecta is a fabulous venue with a storied history.
What if Gigi purchased and renovated a storied mansion after she sold her Malibu beachfront home, and moved east to Western North Carolina?
Enter Gracewood Hall.
Of course, Gracewood Hall needed an enticing history. So, I imagined its origin…
Those who know me well know I’m enamored with Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, NC. We live a short drive from it. So, I make a point to tour it several times a year. Its history and the stories surrounding the estate always leave me wistful and wondering what it was like to be a guest in that magnificent home during such a glamorous age. What if the venue in Hemlock was like the Biltmore? Well… as much as I love the Biltmore, it was just too big… But what if it was the inspiration for Gracewood Hall?
During the Gilded Age, George Vanderbilt visited Asheville, NC, frequently and fell in love with western North Carolina’s beautiful landscape and temperate weather. The story goes that in 1889 he endeavored to build his own “summer house” in Asheville. After six years of construction, George finally welcomed family and friends to his new place on Christmas Eve of 1895.
What if the man who built Gracewood Hall – Let’s call him Mr. Wood — was one of George Vanderbilt’s first guests at the Biltmore Estate that Christmas Eve? What if Mr. Wood was so impressed with Biltmore House that he was inspired to build his own grand mountain retreat on a piece of property thirty miles south of Asheville in Hemlock, NC?
Of course, Mr. Woods’s pockets weren’t as deep as his friend George, but Mr. Wood was willing to settle for something a bit more modest – say, a third of the size of the opulent 135,280 sq ft Biltmore.
Of course, that meant Gracewood Hall was still a staggering forty-five thousand square feet. What if poor Mr. Wood died as he was moving into his dream house and he never got to enjoy it? Poor Mr. Wood.
That was a good start, but it needed more history…
What if we fast-forwarded a few decades… Enter 1940s-era movie star Carter Stanton (think Cary Grant). What if leading man Carter was staring in a film that was being made at the Biltmore Estate when he met Linda Conti, a pretty waitress at a diner in downtown Asheville. It was love at first sight. After a whirlwind romance, the two married in June of 1944.
What if the public loved Carter and Linda together. Linda was the perfect every woman. If a man like Carter could fall in love with a girl-next-door like Linda, it gave every woman hope that a handsome man like Carter would fall in love with them. The public was obsessed. Carter and Linda became American royalty.
What if the couple spent their honeymoon at Gracewood Hall. Linda fell in love with the place, and Carter bought it for her. They planned to live there and raise their family.
What if their fairy tale was short-lived?
What if after their honeymoon, Carter joined the war effort and died later that year. After his death, Linda moved out of Gracewood Hall but couldn’t bring herself to part with the place that was meant to be her fortress. So, it sat vacant until her death (a few months before MAID OF DISHONOR starts) and the Linda Conti-Stanton estate put the place on the market. Our Gigi knew someone who knew someone, and she managed to purchase Gracewood Hall before it even hit the market, renovated it, and opened it as an events venue.
With this history, it stands to reason that Gracewood Hall’s tragic past would foster rumors that the place was cursed. So, when the maid of honor at the mansion’s inaugural event is murdered before the ceremony, the tragedy resurrects the curse of Gracewood Hall. Of course, the rumors of a curse don’t bother Gigi because she believes love can conquer all.
That’s the basic rundown of how I came up with Gigi and Gracewood Hall, both newcomers to the Wedding Bell Mysteries. I hope you’ll read MAID OF DISHONOR and enjoy it as much as I loved writing it. While it’s book four in the Wedding Bell Mystery cozy mystery series, it does stand on its own. So don’t worry if you haven’t read the first three books in the Wedding Bell Mysteries series. Reviewer Kair says, “Although this is the fourth book in the series, the author does a great job filling in the characters’ backstories so you can read this book as a standalone and not be confused about all the characters.”
If you’re starting with MAID OF DISHONOR, after you finish it, I hope you’ll go back and read the first three books in the series.
If you’ve already read books one – three, welcome back to Hemlock!
Advanced praise for MAID OF DISHONOR:
“Once again, Ms. Thompson drew me into Maddie and Jenna’s world that now includes Maddie’s mom, Gigi, who is delightful! No one draws characters quite as deftly as Ms. Thompson…” ~ Nan Reinhardt – Goodreads
“The storyline has many twists and turns… I highly recommend you read this book.” ~ Kair – Goodreads
“I got caught up in the fuss and enjoyed it immensely.” ~ Beverly – Goodreads
“Super book!” ~ G. Terenzio – Goodreads
“…keeps you guessing right up until the end.” ~Renee – Goodreads
About The Author
Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold more than 50 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing mysteries, romance, and women’s fiction full-time.
