I can’t believe our second craft retreat is almost upon us. We almost turned a profit during our first retreat and here’s hoping this one will do even better. I want to do our investors well! Plus I want to continue to go down this path. I believe we are making a real difference to some women. It’s an amazing feeling.

Not only are we making a difference, but we are having a good time and making new friends and making crafts. Who would have even though I could make a broom? But now that I’ve made a small hearth broom, as instructed by our last guest teacher, I use it all the time. Each time I hold it in my hand, I think of him, our first retreat, and the satisfaction that comes with making a beautiful and useful object.

Our guest at the next retreat is Marianne Wolfe, a Cherokee basket maker of national stature. Her baskets are extraordinary and Marianne was a pleasure to deal with. I just spoke with her to confirm her arrival. Next on my list is contacting the suppliers of some of the materials we’ll be using—the ones not found in nature. The upcoming retreat is wild crafting themed. We plan to hike and choose things from nature to craft with—rocks, plants, grasses, and clay. What better way to show off this beautiful state and all of it’s bounty than to get out and hike the hills and forests? We needed to get special permission to take a few things from our parks. We signed an agreement saying we’d have the rangers check over everything we take.

I also need to write a blog post today about the retreat. I’m hoping to get a few more people to sign up. I think this retreat promises to go a bit smoother than the last one. We’ve been ironing out the wrinkles, so to speak and are learning as we go along. After the last retreat, we decide it was best not to have any male teachers. They tend to change the “energy” at retreats, if ya know what I mean. Also, we’ve been very good about checking into the backgrounds of our guest teachers—we’ve even Cashel O’Malley run official background checks on the, I think we are set to go.

I’m confident thing will go better. I think we’ve thought of every possible scenario. No matter what happens, we’ll be prepared. I hope.

You can read more about Cora in No Charm Intended, the second book in the “Cora Crafts” mystery series.

Settling into her new life and career in small-town Indigo Gap, North Carolina, Cora Chevalier is preparing to host a “wildcrafting” retreat at her Victorian home. But a specter hangs over the venture when beloved local nanny Gracie Wyke goes missing. Amidst leading their guests in nature hikes, rock painting and making clay charms, Cora and her business partner, Jane, team up with Gracie’s boyfriend, Paul, to launch their own investigation into her disappearance when the local police prove unhelpful.

Cora and her crafters take Paul in, believing he is in danger and not the suspect police have made him out to be. However as they uncover new clues and a body turns up at a local abandoned amusement park, Cora and Jane begin to question their decision. With more questions than answers arising, is Cora crafty enough to untangle a knot that could put an innocent in jail—and permanently destroy her reputation?

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About the author
Mollie Cox Bryan writes cozies with an edge and romances with a slow, sweet burn. Her first book, Scrapbook of Secrets, was nominated for an Agatha award. Several of the books in her Cumberland Creek series have been honored with Library of Virginia People’s Choice nominations. No Charm Intended is the second book in her second mystery series. Her second romance novella has just come out as well—Every Fiber Of You. Her romances and mysteries feature crafters of all sorts. She spends her days working as a fact checker and researcher, her early mornings writing, and the rest of the time she’s a full-time mom and wife. She longs for the day to have the time to craft as much as her characters do.

All comments are welcomed.

No Charm Intended is available at retail and online booksellers or you can ask your local library to get it for you.