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WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR
of
Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle
By Celeste Fenton
Book Summary
Two mysteries. One fight for survival. And danger closing in from both sides of the sea.
expecting misty views, historic charm, and quiet time to plan their next book series. But Brantmar Castle holds more than ghosts of the past. When the women are taken hostage, Gabby must rely on her instincts, her resilience, and the help of men who may not deserve her trust to survive.
Meanwhile, on Dost Island, young residents are vanishing without a trace. As those left behind scramble for answers, unsettling clues emerge—leading to a dark motive no one could have predicted.
From the storm-swept highlands of Scotland to the rocky shores of New England, Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle blends mystery, emotional grit, simmering romance, and humor, in a story where secrets run deep... and time is running out.
Publisher: Independently Published (September 22, 2025)
ISBN: 979-8292238829
ASIN: B0FNLY4WXK
Print length: 389 pages (also available as ebook)
ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF THE BOOK AND VIEW THE TOUR STOPS PLEASE VISIT:
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2025/11/captive-heart-at-brantmar-castle-by.html
GUEST POST
Emotional Wildfires: Writing Through the Flames of Grief, Anger, and Longing
by Celeste Fenton
I didn’t start writing because life was peaceful. I started writing because everything I knew had caught fire.
Grief has a way of burning through your world—quietly at first, then suddenly, without mercy. In 2021, my life became a field of emotional wildfires. In a matter of months, I lost both of my dogs, a lifelong friend to cancer, and my beloved husband of nearly thirty years died unexpectedly of a heart attack. I sold the home where I thought we’d grow old together. Earlier, I stepped away from a long career in education—a role that had once given me purpose, direction, and identity.
In the aftermath, I was surrounded by ashes. The silence of an empty house was deafening. The days were shapeless, the nights endless. For so long, my roles had been clear: mother, wife, educator, mentor—a steady flame for others. Now, I didn’t know where to set my own light.
That’s when I turned to writing.
I’d always loved stories. As a child, they were escape routes; as an adult, they became bridges—to students, colleagues, communities. But in grief, writing became something else entirely. It became oxygen. A way to breathe through the smoke of everything I’d lost.
Out of those flames stepped Gabby Heart—the heroine of what became my Mysteries of a Heart series. She wasn’t created on purpose; she arrived. And although her story isn’t my story, she came out a smoldering place of loss, guilt, betrayal, and change. A mother. A widow. An artist. A teacher. Someone who has been burned but still sought warmth.
Her story gave me permission to work through my fear of rejection and that I wasn’t good enough to write. She offered an opportunity to explore what it means to rebuild, not by erasing the past, but by growing through it.
Writing through grief is messy work. There’s no map, no manual. You follow sparks—sometimes rage, sometimes sorrow, sometimes the faintest flicker of hope. For me, mystery was the perfect landscape for that journey. On the surface, a mystery is about solving puzzles, restoring order. It’s about understanding—watching, listening, waiting to see how the pieces fit together, or not.
That’s what grief asks of us, too.
In fiction, I discovered something that surprised me: the fire doesn’t just destroy—it reveals. It clears what no longer serves us, exposing tender ground where something unexpected can grow. Sometimes that’s healing. Sometimes it’s courage. Sometimes it’s a story that whispers, you’re still here.
That whisper became my permission to grow
Through Gabby’s world, I could explore the contradictions of surviving—how we can ache and still laugh, fear and still love, feel broken and still choose beauty. Her world isn’t neat. It’s layered, imperfect, full of sarcasm and soft spots, much like the women I know and cherish. Women who, like me, have lived long enough to understand that the fire of hurt and loss changes you, but it doesn’t have to end you.
In our middle and later years, I think many of us carry hidden embers—quiet griefs, unspoken anger, the ache of what might have been. We’ve lost people, homes, roles, routines. But we’ve also gained clarity. Depth. A fierce kind of compassion.
Writing has become my way of tending those inner fires. It’s how I transform the flames of loss into light I can live by. I may no longer lead classrooms or faculty meetings, but I still teach—in a different way. Through story, I remind others, and myself, that it’s never too late to reinvent, to rise, to burn brightly in a new form.
We all face wildfires of one kind or another. They scorch, they scar, they change the landscape. But if we’re willing to walk through them—to write through them—we may just discover that beneath the ashes lies something beautiful: our self and the spark of who the self that is constantly learning and growing.
So now it’s your turn. I’d love for the readers and visitors to share in the comments. How have you navigated through grief? Was there a quote, book, poem, or song that helped you through? Contact me at https://celestefenton.com/contact or on social media.
Purchase a copy of Captive Heart at Brantmar Castle
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Captive-Heart-Brantmar-Castle-Mysteries/dp/B0FNNF1N9L
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/captive-heart-at-brantmar-castle-celeste-fenton/1148429830
Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Captive-Heart-Brantmar-Castle/Celeste-Fenton/9798292238829
You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list
About the Author, Celeste Fenton
When she’s not writing, reading, or plotting her next twist, she’s often off exploring small towns across America—setting out solo for month-long adventures, much to the awe (and occasional alarm) of friends and family. Her latest obsessions include escape rooms, mastering the perfect miter cut for a DIY bathroom remodel, and making the impossible decision of where to travel next.
You can follow the author at:
Website: https://celestefenton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Celeste-Fenton-Mysteries-of-a-Heart
IG: https://www.instagram.com/celestefentonwrites/
https://www.youtube.com/@CelesteFentonWrites
https://www.tiktok.com/@celestefenton
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/1923908781
https://bookshop.org/shop/celestefenton
ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF THE BOOK AND VIEW THE TOUR STOPS PLEASE VISIT:
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2025/11/captive-heart-at-brantmar-castle-by.html
#MysteriesOfAHeart
