He’s betrayed her before.
She’d be a fool to trust him again.
And Ivy Weaver is nobody’s fool.

Beloved town baker, Ivy Weaver, is capable of so much more than frying up a mean apple fritter and now’s the time to prove it. Winning Wild Rose Ridge’s annual Diced competition would show the town her chef skills and help get her fledgling catering business off the ground. But when her biggest competitor from culinary school enters the contest, her dreams seem destined to die. Again.

Holland K. McIntyre IV may have been born into privilege, but he’s fought and clawed his way to success in the restaurant business on his own. Nothing is going to keep him from his goals. If beating Ivy in another cooking competition is what it takes to make a name for himself, then that’s what he’ll do.

But when the two of them are forced to be teammates rather than competitors, they just might face their biggest challenge yet. Will trusting Holland keep Ivy from realizing her dreams once again?

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Now for our interview with Ivy.

CC: I’m so excited to get to introduce you to my readers, Ivy. Would you mind telling them a little bit about yourself?

IVY: Hi. I’m Ivy Weaver, the heroine in Kathy Geary Anderson’s book, Holland and Ivy. I’m twenty-six years old and live in Wild Rose Ridge, a small town on a lake in central Washington.

CC: Oh! Washington state is absolutely beautiful, and to be on a lake? That is fabulous. Small towns can be rough though. How do you think others view you? Do you feel this is an accurate representation?

IVY: Most people in Wild Rose Ridge see me as the one who makes their favorite Christmas gingerbread cookies and fresh apple fritters. I work in my mom’s bakery, but I also trained as a professional chef and worked in restaurants all over Europe. I love baking, but I can do so much more. I’ve started a small catering company and entered the town’s cooking competition, Diced, for this very reason. I’m hoping to prove to Wild Rose Ridge that I’m a world-class chef as well.

CC: It’s so hard to be seen as less than you are capable of. Is that your biggest fear?

IVY: My biggest fear is that I’ll get stuck in the same old, same old, and life will pass me by. I’m twenty-six years old, yet I still work at my mom’s bakery in the same town where I grew up and have lived most of my life. I was more adventurous in my early 20s than I am now. I came home from working in France three years ago to run my mom’s bakery while she was fighting breast cancer. Now, she’s all better, but I’m still here.

CC: “But I’m still here. . . ” I take that to mean this is not the life you dreamed of? What IS the dream you keep close to your chest?

IVY: Although I can make desserts that will make you drool, my biggest dream is to own a restaurant of my own where I would serve Provencal French cuisine with an American twist. My mom and uncle have inherited their great aunt Edith’s house that backs onto the Riverwalk here in Wild Rose Ridge. It would be the perfect place for a restaurant because it is so close to shops, hotels, and other tourist hotspots. I’m hoping they will rent it to me so I can start living my dream.

CC: I’m drooling already. I love a good French dish, and they are so hard to come by here in the States. I hope that you win the competition. Speaking of competition, I believe you are being forced to work with a man you despise. Can you tell us who he is?

IVY: Holland K. McIntyre IV, a rich, spoiled, bad-boy chef. Sure, he can be charming and has swoon-worthy good looks, but he can’t be trusted. We were in culinary school in Europe together and now he’s in Wild Rose Ridge as the executive chef of my cousin’s winery restaurant. We were friends once. Almost more than friends, until he betrayed me in our final cooking competition at school. Now I have to face him in another competition, but I’m not a naïve twenty-one-year-old anymore. This time I plan to win.

CC: Those dastardly men who betray us can be a real challenge to deal with. Who is the person you can run to when this man comes striding back into your kitchen?

IVY: My best friend, Fiona, of course. We’ve been friends since middle school. Actually, we were pen pals before that because she used to live in Africa with her missionary parents. She owns the local teashop/bookstore and we host a podcast together on Tuesday mornings. It’s all about books and tea and things that happen in our town. Of course, I’m a bigger fan of coffee than I am tea, but we don’t let that spoil our friendship. Fiona is dating my cousin Chase and I’m hoping that someday soon we will be family as well as friends.

CC: Awww! Friends that become family! That is the hope for us all, isn’t it? Before wrap up, can you tell me what one of your happiest moments is?

IVY: I have lots of great memories of baking alongside my mom when I was growing up. I practically lived in her bakery, but I didn’t mind. I’m always happiest when I’m creating something good to eat. Some of my other great memories were spending time with Mom and Great Aunt Edith in the garden at my great aunt’s house. I loved her stone house and her garden. It was like something out of a fairy tale. We’d pick fresh herbs and vegetables and then go into the kitchen and make them into the best lunches. I guess I’ve always spent a lot of time cooking with the women in my family.

CC: Cooking really bonds people in ways that no other activity can. Considering that Holland is your forced partner in this competition, you might want to watch out. You never know when your enemy might become something more . . . cherished. 

Readers, if you’re looking for a fun, Christmas read, I recommend checking out Ivy’s story in Holland and Ivy by Kathy Geary Anderson. And don’t forget to join the Wild Rose Ridge Facebook group for the party on December 5th.

About Kathy Geary Anderson:

A south-Texas transplant to the good life of Nebraska, Kathy Geary Anderson has a passion for story and all things historical. Over the years, she has been an English teacher, a newsletter and ad writer, and a stay-at-home mom. When she’s not reading or writing novels, you can probably find her cheering (far too loudly) for her favorite football team, traveling the country with her husband, or spending time with her adult children.

Connect with Kathy: Website  |  Facebook  |  BookBub  |  GoodReads