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Thursday, June 5, 2014

New Release Thursday: Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride and Giveaway!

A woman would have to be loco to become a mail-order bride...wouldn't she? Leaving everything behind and starting fresh in the untamed west is the answer to a prayer for these ladies! A beautiful socialite needs a husband fast —but her husband wants a bride for life. A pregnant young lady becomes desperate —almost as desperate as her soon-to-be husband, who just inherited his sister's kids. A man is in love with a woman he can’t have —or can he? A woman’s reputation is tarnished and professional career compromised —she runs, but she can't hide. Will they all find love with strangers they've never met who are set on LASSOING A MAIL-ORDER BRIDE?

THESE ROUGH DREAMS—Cheryl Pierson
When Southern socialite Gabrielle Mason discovers she’s pregnant, she takes her future into her own hands. She has her family name to consider, and a husband is what she needs. She answers an ad for a mail-order bride in Indian Territory. But the man who proposes isn’t the man she ends up marrying.

Johnny Rainbolt is not a family man by any stretch of the imagination…but Fate is about to give him no choice. His late sister’s three children will be arriving on the next stage, and he has no idea what to do with them. When cultured Gabby Mason is left waiting for her prospective groom at the stage station, Johnny sees a way to solve everyone’s problems.

Some dreams get off to a rough start. A mail-order marriage is only the beginning. When one of the children is stolen, Johnny and Gabby are forced to depend on one another in an unimaginable circumstance that could turn tragic… or show them what might become of THESE ROUGH DREAMS.

HER HURRY-UP HUSBAND—Tanya Hanson
Prim and proper socialite Elspeth Maroney flees from an indiscretion to the Wild West of Colorado as a mail order bride. She doesn’t plan to stay long, only a month. Rancher Hezekiah Steller needs a wife quick to get himself an heir, but what will the stagecoach deliver to his doorstep?

Their worlds collide deliciously until Ellie must confess her mistakes. Will Hez still want her tomorrow?

A PERMANENT WOMAN—Kaye Spencer
Widower Simon Driscoll lost his only son and daughter-in-law, with whom he was estranged, in a cholera epidemic. He receives a letter as next of kin granting him custody of his three grandchildren, whom he has never met. The children are in an orphanage, and he cannot take custody unless he shows up with a wife and the documentation to prove the marriage is legal. He has 90 days before he loses his grandchildren, and a month has already passed. Desperate men take desperate measures…

Reputation tarnished and professional career compromised, Tessa Morris wants to start a new life—somewhere, anywhere, as long as that place is far away from here. The problem is, where? Other than attending a university, she’s never lived anywhere else. As the community’s latest pariah, the life and career she’s built in her hometown is finished. At 42, her future seems grim at best. When she happens upon a recent edition of the Matrimony Courier, she finds herself intrigued by one of the advertisements for a wife. That she doesn’t meet any of the qualifications doesn’t bother her in the least, because desperate women take desperate measures…

THE BIG UNEASY—Kathleen Rice Adams
To escape the unthinkable with a man about whom she knows too much, New Orleans belle Josephine LaPierre agrees to marry a Texan about whom she knows nothing.

Falling in love with his brother was not part of her plan.

Links
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We're giving away a digital copy of LASSOING A MAIL-ORDER BRIDE to one lucky commenter today! Be sure to leave your contact info in your comment for the drawing, and good luck!

MORE GOOD READING!


              

24 comments:

  1. What is it about mail order brides that so entices us? There is the great unknown I guess. Would this person be someone you could love, or would they be the worst nightmare? Who knew what life a bride would lead or if it held happiness or not? There is a certain excitement in not knowing. But in a romance, the reader is assured that something good will happen in the end--even if it's an unexpected twist. All of you are so talented. I've read stories by each of you and loved them all. This anthology is a gold mine for western romance readers.

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    1. Aw, Sarah! You are such a sweetheart. PRP was blessed when you joined the outlaw gang. :-)

      Can you just imagine how frightening the mail-order bride experience must have been? I suppose the mail-order-bride business was a forerunner of today's online dating, but... **shudder**

      HUGS, sweetie!!!!

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    2. Sarah and Kathleen,

      I concur with you both. There is something enticing about the mail-order bride scenario. I have a huge amount of admiration and awe of the women who were adventurous and brave enough to embark upon that sort of relationship, but then I wonder just how desperate some of them were to do this considering the risks involved.

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  2. I don't think I could of been a mail order bride, I don't have the gumption to do something like that. I love to read other brides though, sometimes sad, sometimes fun. Very entertaining. julieaalexandria@me.com

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    1. Julie, I agree! It's sometimes a shock when you marry someone you think you know, but just imagine marrying a pig in a poke!

      We've got you entered in the drawing, darlin'! Thanks for stopping by. :-)

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    2. Julie,

      As I wrote my mail-order bride story (A Permanent Woman), I came to the realization that I definitely would have 'considered' being a mail-order bride, but going through with it... hmmm. ;-) I think it's a matter of desperate women forced to make desperate decisions combined with a strong sense of adventure.

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Mail order brides were very brave women. They leave all that they know to become wife to someone that they have no way of knowing if the advertisement is real, or if the are getting someone with an agenda of their own. To go out into the unknown is hard for any one, even today, but back then when you couldn't easily return to your own town or family, wow that is difficult.

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    1. Lynda,

      You summed it up perfectly. As I wrote my story, I wondered how many mail-order brides left 'bad' circumstances only to find themselves in worse circumstances when they married a stranger. For me, that's the scary part. ;-(

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    2. Lynda and Kaye, I wish there were some statistics about mail-order brides. I'm sure a few found happiness with the strangers they married. It's always seemed likely to me, though, that a significant number mail-order brides probably left one desperate situation only to find desperation of another kind. Those women had to be tough and courageous!

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  4. All the stories sound great. I downloaded a copy this morning!

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    1. Kristy,

      I hope you enjoy the stories in this anthology as much as I enjoyed all the stories in Lassoing a Bride and Lassoing a Groom. They're all great reads.

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    2. Thanks, Kristy! I'm with Kaye in hoping you enjoy reading as much as we did writing. :-)

      I think "The Big Uneasy" may have been the toughest story I've written to date, mostly because of the mail-order-bride theme. I'm such a control freak that it proved very difficult to "get into the head" of a woman who was forced by circumstances to give up control over her own life. That said, however, I must confess that writing this story was a heckuva lot of fun.

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    3. I can think of two western movies with the mail-order bride scenario: Westward the Women and Zandy's Bride.

      I watch Westward the Woman frequently. ;-)

      I like Zandy's Bride (mostly because I love Gene Hackman), but darn if he isn't a horse's rear end toward his mail-order bride.

      These are the only two mail-order bride westerns that came to mind. Surely there are others. Suggestions, anyone?

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    4. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?

      There must be others. C'mon, folks! Chime in! :-)

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  5. Cheryl and Livia! it was such an honor to be invited to contribute to this anthology. My humble thanks. Xox

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    1. Tanya, you always write such heartwarming tales, and "Her Hurry-Up Husband" is not exception.

      HUGS!!!!

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    2. Tanya, we are so glad to have you! Always love your stories! And I love the title of this one--"Her Hurry-Up Husband"--so perfect!

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  6. All the stories sound wonderful. Please put my name in the hat.
    (mango8@msn.com)

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    1. Gotcha covered, Alisa! Thanks so much for stopping by today, sweetie. Your smiling face always brightens the day. Good luck in the drawing! :-)

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  7. What a great concept. The whole idea of not knowing what you will get, what will happen sets a great stage. I have yet to finish Chris Enss book "Hearts West" on the subject. (Too many irons in the fire right now but soon) In the meantime I have some great stories to get me through. Wishing the best to all the authors for the stories sound great. Doris

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    1. The anthology is certainly fun to read. I know I enjoyed every story. Someone would definitely have to be desperate to be a mail-order bride. How brave they must have been to travel across country to a total unknown, even under desperate times. Thanks for coming by Doris. I understand completely about those irons in the fire.

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  8. Better late than never, I say! Hubby had cataract surgery on left eye today, right eye will be next week. We no more than got home and settled in when my son called and had been rear-ended on one of the busiest streets in Oklahoma City. He was not hurt--or so he says--but we'll see what he thinks tomorrow. It has been one crazy day. So glad you all stopped by and said howdy today and we'll do the drawing here in just a bit.
    Cheryl

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  9. Today's winner for the digital copy of Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride is....

    LYNDA MCCOY! Lynda, if you will please contact me at fabkat_edit@yahoo.com I will be glad to see that you get your prize copy of Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride!

    Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by today and helped us send off LASSOING A MAIL-ORDER BRIDE in style!

    Cheryl

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