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Thank you for stopping by my web site and blog.

I love reading and writing clean romance with interesting and inspiring story lines, relatable characters thrown into fascinating situations, and a touch of mystery or intrigue. I feel that you will discover all of these elements in Windows of Heaven.

If you don't mind spoilers take a look at the extras provided and visit my Pinterest boards to learn more about the characters and settings in my novel. Visiting beautiful gardens is one of my passions and I want to
remind you to "plant your dreams and watch them grow!"

                                                    Crystal Memmott

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 Elementary teacher Julie Cardon gets mugged, her home ransacked, is chased through Verona, Italy, discovers her parents’ long-kept secret, and visits a poison garden with handsome David Granacci. Turning thirty should’ve been simpler. Will the secrets be discovered in time? Can David protect Julie and The Manor?

Windows of Heaven T H E  M A N O R

Synopsis

It’s Julie Cardon’s birthday. Her thirtieth. Turning thirty should have been a quiet, simple matter. Instead, this birthday was turning into everything other than ordinary. While moving her new curio cabinet Julie and her best friend, fellow second grade teacher, Melody Merrit, discover a diamond and emerald necklace. Where did the necklace come from and how long has it been hidden? Melody seeks Julie's help with the planning of her wedding to Italian transplant Matteo Vittorio and danger follows them to the formal engagement party in Italy. Who’s trying to steal the necklace and will they succeed?

In Las Vegas, George and Elizabeth Cardon reveal a secret they’ve withheld from Julie her entire life and emotions threaten to overcome Julie when she finds out that her parents weren’t who she thought they were. Will this revelation destroy Julie's family or bring them closer together? 

Julie's mentor, Natalie Nelson, announces her retirement from Copperwood Elementary and colleague Devi Sangallo continually causes problems and is difficult to work with. What will Julie do without Natalie's influence and guidance? When Natalie becomes sick, mysterious David Granacci fills in as her substitute and both Julie and Devi vie for the handsome man's attention. Who will he choose? 

A purse snatching, Julie’s home ransacked, and people being killed; must danger lurk around every corner? Finally David fulfills his promise and takes Julie to visit the most exquisite garden. When an ominous tornado strikes too closely for comfort, Julie discovers that Guardian Angels are real and hers is working overtime. Will her Guardian Angel be able to protect her?

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EXTRAS  ~*~ SPOILERS  ~*~  WARNING 

Here you will find more details from Windows of Heaven THE MANOR. As a reader I enjoy learning more about the authors, settings, and characters of my favorite books. I hope you have fun with these extras. If you dislike spoilers, wait to read this until after you have read the book.

Windows of Heaven: THE MANOR   ~ * ~    Gardens of the World

 

1. SCOTLAND: ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN; Edinburgh, Scotland

The Royal Botanic Garden is one of the world’s largest living collections of plants. Established in 1670, it began as Scotland’s first physic garden, growing medicinal plants.

      www.rbge.org.uk

     2. ITALY: THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF PADUA; Padova, Italy

The Bergamesque architect, Andrea Moroni, designed the world’s oldest original academic botanical garden, in 1545. The garden’s four quarters are enclosed by a circular wall and are exactly aligned north-south and west-east.

www.ortobotanico.unipd.it  (click for the English Version in the top right corner)

3. EGYPT: ORMAN BOTANIC GARDEN; Giza-Orman, Cairo, Egypt

The Garden’s most famous plants are the ancient Egypt Papyrus and Lotus. Its special collections include aquatic plants, bamboo, cacti, conifers, palms, and succulents. Founded in 1875, the Garden works to ensure the worldwide conservation of threatened plants.

www.bgci.org/garden

4. RUSSIA: MAIN BOTANICAL GARDEN, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; Moscow, Russia

Europe's largest botanical garden was founded in 1945, and covers approximately 890 acres.  As a leader of experimental botany the Main Botanical Garden (MBG) is concerned with the management of the world’s plant resources.

www.bgci.org/garden.php?id=168&ftrcountry

5. CHINA: LINGERING GARDEN; Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

Started in 1593, during the Ming dynasty, Lingering Garden is one of the most famous gardens in China. It is recorded by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site for its tranquil ponds, pavilions, bridges, corridors and ingenious architectural space. 
"The Lingering Garden” means lingering between Heaven and Earth forever.
http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/woeld_heritage/99280.htm

6. SINGAPORE: SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS; Singapore

Founded in 1859, the Gardens cultivate some of the world’s most outstanding orchid hybrids. Rubber plants from the Gardens became the basis for Southeast Asia’s rubber industry. The Gardens emphasis is on research, education and conservation.

www.sbg.org.sg

  

7. SO. AFRICA: KIRSTENBOSCH NATIONAL BOTANICAL GARDEN;

Cape Town, South Africa

Under the direction of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), this is the first botanical garden in the world with the ethos of preserving its country’s unique flora. With minor exceptions, only indigenous plants are cultivated. It was founded in 1913.

www.sanbi.org  (click Gardens link, then Kirstenbosch link)

8. NEW ZEALAND: CHRISTCHURCH BOTANIC GARDEN; 

Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Dates back to 1863 and features rhododendrons, roses, herbaceous borders, a tropical plants conservatory and one of the finest collections of exotic and native plants found in New Zealand.

http://www.ccc.govt.nz/parks-and-gardens/christchurch-botanci-gardens

9. BRAZIL: BOTANICAL GARDEN OF RIO DE JANEIRO; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro was founded in 1808 and publically opened in 1822. Jardim Botanico has evolved into a 350-acre tropical botanical garden. The garden provides a wonderful view of the statue of Christ the Redeemer and has the largest botanical library in Brazil.
http://en.jbrj.gov.br/

     10. COSTA RICA: WILSON BOTANICAL GARDEN; Las Cruces, Costa Rica

The most famous botanical garden in Central America features diverse tropical, subtropical, rare and endangered plants. It has one of the world's largest collections of palms. Founded in 1962, it is part of the Las Cruces Biological Station.

www.ots.ac.cr  (at the bottom of the site, click: Learn more… Las Cruces Biological Station)

11. USA: RED BUTTE GARDEN: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

The Intermountain West's largest botanical garden is part of the University of Utah and publically opened in 1985. Red Butte Garden staff and volunteers test, display and interpret regional horticulture and the garden is nationally renowned for its springtime bulb display. The garden is a pioneer in plant conservation research and preservation techniques.

www.redbuttegarden.org

12. CANADA: UBC BOTANICAL GARDENS; Vancouver, BC Canada

Canada’s oldest continuously operating university botanic garden was established in 1916 and encompasses 110 acres. The Physic Garden features healing plants, which provided medicine long before the Greek and Roman Empires.  UBC Botanical Garden partners with several international initiatives for plant conservation.

      www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/

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Wicked Plants in Chang's Poison Garden

We saw plants that cause cardiac, and/or respiratory distress, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, itching, hives, headache, bleeding, convulsion, paralysis, and even death.

(Excerpt from page 230)

It was a hauntingly beautiful…yet potentially deadly garden.

(Excerpt from page 230)

      Common Name                                                 Botanical Name

• ackee                                                                        Blighia sapida
• angel’s trumpet                                                        Datura suaveolens
• bleeding heart                                                          Lamprocapnos spectabilis
• blister bush                                                              Notobubon galbanum
• cannabis / marijuana                                                Cannabis sativa
• cassava                                                                     Manihot esculenta
• castor bean plant                                                      Ricinus communis
• coca                                                                          Erythroxylum coca
• crab apple                                                                 Malus 'John Downie'
• daphne                                                                      Daphne mezereum
• deadly nightshade                                                    Atropa belladonna
• devil’s trumpet/jimson weed                                   Datura stramonium
• foxglove                                                                   Digitalis purpurea
• habanero                                                                   Capsicum chinense
• hellebore                                                                   Helleborus spp.
• holly                                                                         Ilex aquifolium
• lily of the valley                                                       Convallaria majalis
• lords and ladies                                                        Arum maculatum
• mandrake                                                                  Mandragora officinarum
• mistletoe                                                                   Viscum album
• monkshood                                                              Aconitum napellus
• oleander                                                                    Nerium oleander
• opium poppy                                                            Papaver somniferum
• poison ivy                                                                 Toxicodendron radicans
• rosary pea                                                                 Abrus precatorius
• sago palm                                                                 Cycas revoluta
• stinging nettle                                                           Urtica dioica
• strychnine tree                                                          Strychnos nux-vomica
• Texas bluebonnet                                                     Lupinus texensis
• tobacco                                                                     Nicotiana sylvestris
• water hemlock                                                          Cicuta douglasii
• white snakeroot                                                        Eupatorium rugosum
• yew                                                                           Taxus baccata

What dangerous secrets hide behind the locked gates of Chang’s Poison Garden? Will David and Julie discover them in time?

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Windows of Heaven  ~ * ~  Name Meanings List

(According to www.babynames.com and www.behindthename.com)

Alessandra ~ Defender of the people

Alyssa ~ Rational           

Antoine (Tony) ~ (Roman family name)

Ariana ~ Very holy

Benito ~ The blessed

Chang ~ Smooth, free, unrestrained

Cynthia ~ Woman from the mountain...

Daniel   (Danny) ~ God is my judge

David ~ Beloved

Devi ~ Goddess of power

Elizabeth ~ My God is abundance; my God has sworn

Esmerelda ~ Emerald

Ethan ~ Firm, strong, solid, enduring

George ~ Farmer; earthworker

Giulietta (Julie) ~ Dedicated to Jupiter; Youthful, downy

Gracie ~ Charm; grace of God

Jahanaray ~ Adorner of the world

Janice ~ God is gracious; feminine form of John

Jared ~ Descent; to descend

Jayda ~ Jade stone

Karen ~ The pure; dear

Keoni ~ God is gracious; Hawaiian equivalent of John

Kristine ~ Christian woman

Lexi ~ Defender

Luca ~ From Lucania, Italy

Matteo ~ Gift of God

Melody ~ Melody (music, to chant or sing)

Natalie ~ Born on Christmas Day

Noah ~ Rest, peace, comfort

Raphael ~ God has healed

Ricardo ~  Rich, powerful, brave ruler

Sarah ~ Princess, noblewoman

Sherie ~ Darling

Stefano ~ The crowned

Stephen ~ The crowned

Thomas ~ Twin

Victoria ~ Victorious, victory, conqueror, winner