Halloween is just around the corner, so now is a perfect time to check out Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle, a collection of four Halloween-themed novellas, all of which take place in and around the ancient but restored Caynham Castle located in western England. These four spooky, witchy, spirit-filled stories are set against the stunning background of Caynham Castle’s epic Halloween Ball and Bonfire Night!
Even though Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle is set in England, the collection has significant Charlotte connections since two of the four contributors call Charlotte home. These Charlotte writers are Nancy Northcott, whose contribution is titled Mr. Never Again, and Morgan Brice, whose contribution is titled Secrets and Ciphers.
Nancy’s story is tied to her Arachnid Files romantic suspense series. I asked her for more information about Mr. Never Again. Here is what she sent to me:
Mr. Never Again, my contribution to Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle, offers its hero and heroine a second chance at love. They’re spies guarding a weapons designer, so the story includes intrigue and action-adventure. I really do love a good battle scene. And, of course, a happy ending.
Because the Caynham Castle series is set in England, our Halloween theme offered me a chance to incorporate a holiday we don’t have here in the U.S., Guy Fawkes Day (though it’s more commonly called Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night now). It commemorates Guy Fawkes’s failure to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. The November 5 holiday culminates in Bonfire Night when people stand around bonfires while eating Parkin cakes (made of oatmeal, flour, ginger, and molasses) and drinking beverages of choice. I really think we should import this holiday because it sounds like great fun!
All the stories in this anthology and its siblings are set in and around Caynham Castle, an ancient castle that’s now a modern boutique hotel. It’s near the Welsh Border and has a small village, Caynham-on-Ledwyche, and an Iron Age hillfort nearby. The collaboration has been fun for us, and we hope it will be for readers.
Morgan Brice (a pen name used by fantasy writer Gail Z. Martin) provides a story that combines mystery and M/M romance. I contacted her and asked for more information about Secrets and Ciphers. Here is what she sent to me:
Lovers from Cape May, New Jersey, take a Halloween holiday at the magnificent Caynham Castle in Secrets and Ciphers. Erik Mitchell and Ben Nolan both left dangerous careers for a chance to start over. Erik parlayed his expertise as a former art fraud investigator into owning an antique shop in Cape May. Ben left the Newark Police Department disillusioned over corruption, and took over the family rental real estate business. When they met, sparks flew between them—and they teamed up personally and professionally to solve a series of cold case murders and disappearances of 1950s Mobsters that spilled over into modern-day mayhem.
They celebrate surviving their case—and falling in love—by taking a trip to Caynham Castle. Together they uncover a 700-year-old mystery, a family secret, a historical treasure, and the angry ghost of a Knights Templar guardian. (M/M Paranormal Romance by Morgan Brice with ties to her Treasure Trail series.)
The other contributors to Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle are North Carolina author Caren Crane and North Carolina native Jeanne Adams. In Caren Crane’s tale, Murky Waters, a landscape architect from Massachusetts finds much more than he expects, both in a floral designer from his friend’s shop and in the woods south of Caynham Castle. In Jeanne Adams’s Trouble Under the Tower, an archaeologist witch from Idaho gets involved with a sexy photographer from the witchiest town in America, Haven Harbor, Massachusetts. In the process, they discover a hidden chapel, fend off thieves, and help put a dark entity to rest.
Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle is one of three holiday-themed collections that take place in Caynham Castle. The others are Christmas at Caynham Castle and Ring in the New Year at Caynham Castle. Plans are in the works for a Valentine’s Day collection and a Midsummer’s Day collection. Like Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle, these other collections have Storied Charlotte connections, and all have stories filled with adventure, romance, and castle intrigue.