Lake Tahoe ~ by Janice Cole Hopkins

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Two of my recent novels are set near Lake Tahoe. This is a fascinating lake that sits on the Nevada-California border and is known for its great scenic beauty, photo opportunities, and panoramic views. It’s also famous for crystal, clear water that reflects the blue sky. More than 75% of its watershed is in National Forests. Today, as you can imagine, Lake Tahoe is a major, year-round tourist destination.

The lake itself was formed more than two million years ago, during the Ice Age. It is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. Sierra Nevada Range and the largest alpine lake in North America. At 1,645 feet deep, it is the second deepest one in the United States, with only Crater Lake being deeper. It is 6,225 feet above sea level and has more water volume than any other, except for the Great Lakes.

I had always wanted to go to a writers’ retreat, and when the chance came to go to Lake Tahoe with writers like MaryLu Tyndall and Tamara Leigh for a reasonable price, I jumped at it. At that time (2015), I had only published one book, but I knew there would be many more to come, and I welcomed this amazing opportunity.

Besides the fact that I was up for 25 hours straight on the trip out and the start of the retreat, it turned out to be a wonderful experience on many different levels. The gourmet-type food prepared for us as part of the retreat was wonderful, the friendships formed, heart-warming, and the place, picture-perfect. We not only had writing time but also sessions with suggestions and instruction. The advice that has stuck with me the longest and proved to be true came from MaryLu. She told me not to expect to make a lot of money on any one book, but to publish a lot of books and the royalties would add up. Since all my profits go to a scholarship fund for missionary children, this was important to me. I want to fund as many students’ tuitions as possible. Since that time, I have published 52 books.

This year, I had the opportunity to use this gorgeous setting in two of my most recent books, Sauerkraut Cake by Sophie and A Christmas Snow for Sadie. In the first novel, Sophie Zimmermann and her father leave Illinois to make the long, hard journey west on the California Trail to Genoa, near Lake Tahoe in Utah Territory. Sophie meets two special men who want to court her, but she has a hard time deciding which is best. Can Sophie’s unusual recipe for Sauerkraut Cake show her what to do? (And yes, the recipe is included in the book.)

Amazon link for Sauerkraut Cake by Sophie

A Christmas Snow for Sadie is set on the California side of Lake Tahoe. Sadie Alexander’s employer dies, and she knows she’ll need to leave the household at once. Mrs. Ludlow’s son has already made improper advances, and it will be hard to avoid him now. Desperate, she seizes the opportunity to travel to California to become a mail-order bride. However, when she finally arrives, Mr. Laird is away on business, and his older friend comes to meet her.

Sawyer Laid couldn’t believe that he’d finally gotten a response to his advertisement for a bride after all this time, and it couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. He still has construction contracts to fulfill in Placerville, a rough, gold-mining town that’s no place for a lady. Well, she’d just have to wait for a spell, so he hoped she’d be the understanding sort.

Amazon link for A CHRISTMAS SNOW FOR SADIE

 

As with all my books, you can find these on Kindle, KU, print and Audible.

I will give a Kindle copy of one of these books (your choice) drawn from the comments, telling which of these two books you would choose, and why.

 

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33 thoughts on “Lake Tahoe ~ by Janice Cole Hopkins”

  2. Of course, flypauper. : ) This is actually my mother’s recipe I found handwritten and placed in old cookbook after she’d passed. I remember her baking it with homemade sauerkraut. It tasted like a moist chocolate cake, and the sauerkraut gave the consistency of coconut but not the taste.

  3. That’s really a hard choice! I would love to get the sauerkraut recipe but I also love the mail-order bride trope. I guess I would feel blessed with either one.

  4. Sophie’s story. I have distant Zimmermann kin, so I feel a connection to her. I’m curious about sauerkraut cake, too–I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never tasted it.

  5. Both sound great! If I have to pick one, it would be Sophie’s story just because it’s near the holidays.

  6. A Christmas Snow for Sadie intrigues me because I enjoy mail order bride books. The cover is beautiful.

    • Thank you, Kathy. Virginia McKevitt is a good cover designer. I’ve used her on a number of my books.

  8. I would choose A Christmas for Sadie. I liked the cover better and I think the story sounds more interesting. There is already a problem mentioned in the blurb which draws me in.

  10. welcome today. a fun post thanks for sharing. I wont be able to download an e-book at least until January. Both books looks fantastic. The covers are wonderful and happy. How to choose? I love both ideas and a I am a sucker for mail order brides, so I would start with: A Christmas for Sadie

  11. Since I absolutely love sauerkraut (my mother used to can it every year and it was delicious!) I would love the Sauerkraut cake by Sophie. The other book also would be very hard to turn down as well. My ancestry is German so sauerkraut is an integral part of my heritage.

    • My mother also canned sauerkraut, and I loved it too. I like the home-canned much better than what we can buy in a store.

  12. I’d probably go with the A Christmas Snow for Sadie book, though I am very intrigued by the sauerkraut cake recipe…

  13. I would love to read both books but if I have to choose one it would be A Christmas Snow for Sadie because it is so close to Christmas. Might help me get in the mood for Christmas.

    • I like to read Christmas books this time of year too. And I also used to quilt a lot before I started spending so much time writing.

  16. Hi Janice. I set a series near Lake Tahoe an actually went and saw it. the trouble was, we took a bus tour past it. We stopped for like…a half hour? Not long. And I tried to absorb it all, but I sooooo wish I’d have stopped and stayed awhile. the writer’s retreat sounds fantastic.

  17. The covers on the books are beautiful! I’ve never been to Lake Tahoe but would love to see it! I think I would pick Sauerkraut Cake by Sophie. I’ve never heard of sauerkraut cake!

  18. We have been to Lake Tahoe a couple of times. It really is a lovely area. If course it helps that I love mountain lakes and the mountains having grown up on Lake Champlain in New York.
    I would choose Sauerkraut Cake by Sophie. The decision of whom to marry is an important one and there are so many factors to consider. Someone’s ability to support a family is important, but the type of person they are at heart is often so much more important. The recipes are a bonus. The cake sounds interesting.

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