The Chatam House Series by Arlene James

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Just finished Anna Meets Her Match. Arlene, I love your writing! Your characters are lovable and exasperating all at once. Anna Miranda is my favorite so far...even if I did threaten to strangle her part way through the book! Can't wait to read the next Chatam House book!

I'm reading Baby Makes a Match and although I'm almost done with it, I couldn't even wait until I got to the end to tell you how much I'm enjoying the book!

Your characters are delightful and the relationship between your main characters is heart-breaking and heart-warming all at the same time.

I found the book at a thrift store and am delighted to learn that it is 3rd in a series. Now, I just have to go out and pick up the rest of the Chatam House books!

Thank you so much for the hours of entertainment you have given me.

Happy Writing!
Jan Christiansen
www.janiceeileen.com


I just wanted to let you know how much i enjoyed Baby Makes a Match!!!! couldn't put it down (2 AM). Absolutely wonderful, the Aunties are so delightful & caring!!! The best part was the gathering of their family!!! Cant wait for more (maybe Garret & Caroline Grace Chatham sometime?). Keep the Faith!!!

Thanks for those kind words. I'm so glad you are enjoying the books. Look for Garrett in Book 5. Meanwhile, you can read about Asher Chatam and Ellie Monroe in the upcoming Book 4, AN UNLIKELY MATCH (2011). And they aren't the only unlikely match that you'll find within the pages of the book. I hope you'll be pleased by what is in store for my dear aunties. Stay tuned for more details. God bless!

You've used heroes who are sports figures. Is this a theme?

Well...maybe. Unintentionally. I'm a true hockey fan, so I was thrilled to do a book about a hockey player. My youngest son introduced me to the sport. I'm also a true rodeo fan, but have been out of that world for some time, so my late father helped me do the research on BABY MAKES A MATCH. That alone makes this particular book very special to me. (And, yes, Dad was very much a cowboy. His hat, boots and spurs decorate my fireplace mantle.) The next book (#4) involves a soccer-loving lawyer. Since my brother was a youth soccer commissioner at one point, he was a natural source to tap. I'm realizing how blessed I am!

What got you interested in hockey. Isn't it kind of violent?

Our youngest son actually got my husband and me interested in ice hockey by taking us to a Dallas Stars game. We were hooked almost instantly on the fast pace and excitement, and amazed at the skill and toughness of the players. We feel that hockey is no more violent than any other sport and that most people misunderstand the role of fighting in hockey. (Hop over to the Lexicon page and check out the FAQs at the bottom of the article for a more detailed explanation of that.)

What made you write a book with a Dutch hockey player?

I greatly enjoy hockey. Hockey and rodeo are my favorite sports. My husband and I regularly attend the games of the Dallas Stars and keep track of our favorite players (Stephan Robidas!) We also have a great fondness and familiarity with the Netherlands, having visited there numerous times. I was delighted to get to combine my love of the Dutch, hockey and the residents of Chatam House. Book 3, BABY MAKES A MATCH, deals with my other favorite sport, rodeo, which makes for great fun for me! (Funny, no one has asked what made me write a book about nursing! Ha!)

What are you working on now?

I'm putting together a proposal for a new contract, which will include more Chatam House books and perhaps revisit old friends, too. More on that later! Thanks for asking.

Why did you decide to write a series with elderly main characters?

Perhaps it is my age, but I enjoy writing about older people as much as children. The children in my life have always been great joys to me, but it's the older people who have enriched my life immeasurably. I learned so much from my grandparents, and even after all these years I still miss them. I have many older friends and am always amazed at their patience, wisdom, cheerfulness and willingness to serve others.


I did no enjoy this book as well as the Eden Ok series. I hope the other two book in this series is better. I guess I have to get use to the aunties. I did not care for them in the first book. I also was did not care for ther last book in the Eden OK series it was a let down from the first two they were great. I usually love all your books especially the early one of Love Inspired.

I'm so sorry you were disappointed. It's very difficult for an author to please all of her readers all of the time, but that is certainly my goal. I'm uncertain what you disliked. To each his or her own, I guess.

I saw you speak at the Mansfield library on Friday. I really appreciated what you had to say.

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I found it a very enjoyable experience and thought all the authors on the panel had a lot to offer. Special thanks to Diane and the Friends of the Library as well as the library staff. They did an excellent job!

Where can I find your books?

Several of the links at the right side of this page will take you to sites where you can order ANNA MEETS HER MATCH and a few other of my books. (Harlequin/Steeple Hill/Love Inspired; Amazon.com; Barnes and Noble) A MATCH MADE IN TEXAS (a February publication) will be available at most retail stores in mid to late January. Or, you can join the book club at the Harlequin link and receive my books and others via the mail.

Where did you get the house plans?

My husband drew them based on a number of lovely old turn-of-the-century homes that we have toured.

Do you have a blog?

I do NOT have a blog. I'd rather chat with my readers and write books than write about writing or me or anything else. I do occasionally post my thoughts on my social networking pages, Facebook, MySpace and Shoutlife, but I cannot in all truthfulness call that a real blog! Sorry if that disappoints.

Which aunt is your favorite?

Oh, wow. It's a close call between Hypatia and Odelia. Hypatia, with her determination to do things properly, is the heart and soul of the sisters' family unit. For all her propriety, however, she has an enormous heart, and she's the one who actually gets things done. Odelia, on the other hand... well, how can I NOT love quirky, romantic, sweet, even silly Odelia? She's just such fun to write.

Oddly, though she's my least favorite, Magnolia is the sister with whom I most closely identify. I am about my writing as Magnolia is about her gardening. Everything else, except her family and faith, are pretty much ancillary.

Do you pick the verse in the front of the book first and then write a story around it or do you write the story first and pick the verse later?

The Bible verse always comes out of the story. As I'm plotting and writing I may get several verses, but by the end of the book one usually stands out. I tend to write those verses down as they come to me, pray over them and then go with the one to which I feel God has led me. Sometimes I think I know what the verse is going to be when I begin, but only a few times has that actually proven to be the case.

Is that your recipe on the Recipe page?

It is. All of the recipes that we will be posting on the Recipe Page are mine. Cooking is something I truly enjoy. Check out the new Gingerbread Muffin recipe. It's one of my husband's favorites, which is where I got the idea of making it one of Hilda's signature dishes.


What made you come up with three aunts and why triplets? do you know someome like that?

I once knew triplets many years ago as a child. Amazingly, two of them were identical, with long blond hair, but the third had long black hair! That always fascinated me, especially as the personality of the girl with dark hair was so different from those of her sisters. Still, it didn't occur to me to make the aunties of Chatam House triplets until well into the design process.

Originally, I intended to use only one aunt with several siblings, but as I thought about her, I couldn't decide if she should be a) as regal as a queen sitting there in Chatam House, b) tomboyish and enamored of her gardens, or c) a little kooky and terribly sweet. The answer finally hit me in one of those "duh" moments. Why not use all three? It was a short step from there to triplets.

The fact that they are triplets makes their singleness more understandable, I think. After all, they've always had each other and are naturally closer than most sisters. Leaving one another to marry could be very difficult in such a case, especially given the era into which they were born and grew up.

When does the next book come out?

A MATCH MADE IN TEXAS, Book 2, comes out in February of 2010. See the Books page for more info.

Is Buffalo Creek Waxahachie?


Buffalo Creek is NOT Waxahachie, Texas, but it is based on Waxahachie. My husband and I lived there for several years, and it's a wonderful town with many buildings on the historic register. We designed Buffalo Creek to feel like Waxahachie, but Buffalo Creek is laid out quite a bit differently. All the street names are different, and of course the characters are completely fictional, as is Downtown Bible Church. Since you seem to be familiar with Waxahachie, you know that the downtown area is built around a beautiful old courthouse, and there is no church there. But Waxahachie is definitely the inspiration!