Yep, just as the subject line implies, this homebody indie author is trying to grow a garden of sorts. Not much of one, to be honest; just herbs. I've had some oregano and lemon balm taking up residence in my [overgrown] front planter for a couple seasons now, and this year I've added rosemary and peppermint.

Will they live? Will they die? Will I EAT them?

Stick around for a few months, and the mystery may be solved. 🤣

As for Joel & the chest hair, well . . . you'd have to read Cryptic Pathway to understand that reference. Joel needs some more testosterone. 😉

✨ The Box Set Waits For You! ✨

Are YOU a binge reader? Do you enjoy dark tales of witches, time travel, and forbidden love? If so, now's the time to buy His Name Was Augustin Books 1-3.

Release day was yesterday, and so many of you have already snagged it! 😍 I'm so grateful for you readers who have decided to join Swanie on the journey of a lifetime. She's got a lot of trials ahead of her, and she'd be delighted to have some faithful friends rooting for her along the way. 💖

If you've already bought the box set and scrolled to the bonus epilogue, be aware that the link for Box Set #2 is not yet valid. Right now it leads to the box set page on my website (and the box set that came out yesterday). I plan to get the preorder set up for His Name Was Augustin Books 4-6 within the next week.

An Herbal Snippet

In honor of my feeble attempt at gardening, today's snippet comes from the first book in Swanie's series, Arcane Gateway. Obviously this scene can be found in the box set, too. Join her as she explores the gardens of a medieval estate.

********************

When the heavy rains had passed, I took a walk through the count’s land with Joel, who had gone outside on several occasions already to work in the gardens. We browsed the kitchen garden first, just steps outside the pantry. Its various offerings were arranged in neat rows enclosed with wattle fencing adorned with creeping ivy. “This whole setup’s a lot more extensive than my dad’s garden at home,” Joel told me, “but it boggles my mind that they don’t grow corn. The American staple hasn’t made it here yet.”

I chuckled and ran my fingers along the climbing leaves of the green bean plants. “No potatoes yet, either, or pumpkins. But I’ve been gaining new appreciation for some of this other stuff lately. When was the last time you ate a parsnip?”

“Probably never?” Joel laughed and beckoned me to the herb garden.

There we encountered an extensive supply of culinary herbs like mustard, sage, parsley, mint, dill, and fennel. These plants grew adjacent to the kitchen garden, while medicinal herbs and vegetables were cultivated further away. “I know the Teutonic names for pretty much all of this,” Joel commented as I picked out things like savory, rosemary, peppermint, chamomile, feverfew, dusky spurge, beet, and lemon balm, along with many other plants I did not recognize.

“Did you find out how they use each of these herbs?” I asked Joel, who was in the process of reciting a long list of Teutonic words, some of which I had never heard before. “I know chamomile can help you sleep, but what about the rest?”

Joel shrugged one shoulder and brushed some hair back from his face. Its color appeared much lighter under the brilliant summer sun. “My Teutonica isn’t that good yet. You thinking we need to become apothecaries or something?”

“Well, if we don’t, we might get bled by that weird doctor the count brought in for Freia.”

Here's how my oregano looked just a few weeks ago before I "mowed" it and put its leaves in the dehydrator. Now this plant and its cousins are trying to figure out what happened . . . and whether it's safe to push out some more leaves! 🌿

✨ Free Books For Fantasy Romance Lovers ✨

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✨ Grab Some Freebies! ✨

In case you've got some lemon balm & don't know what to do with it, you can try out this recipe for lemon balm pesto. My husband made it a couple seasons ago, but our lemon balm hasn't produced enough leaves to attempt it since. 😔 It was certainly refreshing & tasty, if you're up for a bit of experimentation!

I wish you a wonderfully weird week. If you enjoy the box set, please don't forget to leave a review or a rating! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

Download Arcane Gateway for FREE here: https://books2read.com/hnwaag

Buy my first box set for 99¢ here: https://books2read.com/hnwaboxset13

Get Veiled Magic, a bonus story, here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jp1vp51i52

Preorder the final book in Swanie's saga here: https://books2read.com/hnwanf