And the winners are ...

The winners of copies of my book An Unexpected Gift are Maggie and Linda!

Congrats.

Send me an email, and I will send you information to download the book.


Keena

p.s. If you've read this book and would like another book (past or future) just let me know.

Thanks again.

A BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY FOR READERS, With Our Heartfelt Thanks

Thank you, everyone, for helping us celebrate Prairie Rose Publications’ third birthday! The first three years have been a wild ride, full of laughter, some tears, and lots of fun and love.

Because LiviaJ. Washburn and Cheryl Pierson wanted to provide a home for women authors and readers in two underserved genres—western historical romance and traditional westerns—PRP began accepting submissions in August 2013. At the time, big publishers typically rejected those kinds of submissions, saying the genres “didn’t sell; nobody reads that kind of stories anymore.”

Cheryl and Livia bet the ranch on their belief traditional publishers were wrong.

Cheryl and Livia were right.

Within the first year, disheartened writers of stories in other genres began submitting manuscripts with a plea: “Just take a look. Please.” Livia and Cheryl had been in that spot themselves. With a sincere desire to help talented writers realize a dream, they took a risk and expanded Prairie Rose to give debut authors a chance.

From that rebellion against a system that had locked out too much blood, sweat, and tears grew a thriving community of authors and readers. Today, Prairie Rose publishes six imprints:

Prairie Rose Publications for western historical and medieval romance written by women.

Fire Star Press for contemporary and all other romance sub-genres.

Painted Pony Books for middle grade, young adult, and new adult readers of westerns.

Tornado Alley Publications for MG, YA, and NA readers in all genres.

Prayers & Promises Publications for inspirational fiction in all sub-genres.

Sundown Press for fiction in many genres and non-fiction.

Sundown, the most recent imprint, grew from a barrage of requests from men who considered Prairie Rose’s practice of publishing books written by women terribly unfair. Today, most of Sundown’s books are written by men, almost all of whom are well-known western authors.

In truth, tales written by male authors now compose a significant—and growing—percentage of PRP’s publications. James G. Griffin was the first stallion allowed into the corral with the best-selling Lone Star Ranger series for young adults. The late, beloved western author Frank Roderus followed with the young-adult western Duster. David L. Johnston’s contemporary inspirational for adults, Olive U, came next (pubbed by Prayers and Promises). Then came Sean K. Gabhann’s Civil War opus Harper’s Donelson: A Novel ofGrant’s First Campaign and Michael E. Gonzales’s adult science fiction novel Dark Moon Rising: The UnbornGalaxy Vol. 1. Keith Souter was the first to publish non-fiction with Sundown: the indispensable reference book The Doctor’s Bag: Medicine and Surgery of Yesteryear.

The original imprint, Prairie Rose Publications, now publishes novels, novellas, and quick reads from a number of well-known and best-selling romance authors seeking a new home for their work.

The Prairie Rose family of imprints and authors couldn’t have accomplished what we've accomplished without the support of readers. A hearty “Thank you!” to everyone who took a risk on a Prairie Rose book. We are eternally grateful for your faith and trust.

Here’s to many, many more years of good reading!

With all our love,

The Prairie Rose family

As a token of gratitude for your support of Prairie Rose, we’ll gift five of today’s commenters their choice of AN E-BOOK from among everything PRP has published. To be entered in the drawing, answer this question: What birthday gift will you always remember?

THE WINNER OF THE MAIL-ORDER BRIDE BOOKS IS...

  The winner of the mail-order bride stories is...

Nadine Keany!

Nadine, you've won your choice of two new releases from among those listed here. Please contact Kathleen, and we'll send your prize right away!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit during our third birthday celebration. Come back and see us every day through Friday, August 19, and you could be the next winner!

 

The Bride is in the Mail — and a BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!

Sisters from 1882 edition of Matrimonial News

Lonesome miner wants wife to share stake and prospects. Please respond to Louis Dreibelbis in Grass Valley, California.

Miss Eleanor Barry, a schoolteacher, did. At 22, she was approaching spinsterhood and longed for a husband and family. After a brief correspondence, she accepted Mr. Dreibelbis’s long-distance proposal and traveled to California to live in wedded bliss.

When the happy couple signed the marriage certificate after saying their vows, Eleanor noticed a scar on her new husband’s hand. At that moment she was struck by an unfortunate realization: Her groom was the bandit who had robbed the stagecoach upon which she arrived.

“He was not as well-fixed as I expected to find him,” she wrote to friends.

Despite the less-than-happy ending of poor Eleanor’s adventure, many mail-order brides in the 1800s did find enduring matches. In fact, between 1870 and 1900, 2,600 couples entered lifelong marriages thanks to the Matrimonial News, a weekly journal containing personal ads from men and women seeking mates. For $1.50 a word, lonely hearts could describe themselves and what they sought in a companion.

For example:

A gentleman of 25 years old, 5 feet 3 inches, doing a good business in the city, desires the acquaintance of a young intelligent and refined lady possessed of some means, of a loving disposition from 18 to 23, and one who could make home a paradise.

Well, he’s got a job...at least until he marries a beautiful girl with money.

I am fat, fair, and 48, 5 feet high. Am a No. 1 lady, well fixed with no encumbrance: am in business in the city, but want a partner who lives in the West. Want an energetic man that has some means, not under 40 years of age and weight not less that 180. Of good habits. A Christian gentleman preferred.

There is something to be said for a woman who knows what she wants.

A young man, about twenty-four years of age, elegant in appearance and pleasing address, wishes to form the acquaintance of a charming young lady, from sixteen to twenty-two years of age; skin like alabaster, teeth as pearls, hair black as the raven, eyes large and lustrous, of the same dark hue, whose magic glance at once thrills and electrifies the soul. Such a one will meet an ardent lover and, in all probability, an affectionate husband.

Is he going to marry her or paint her?


What would convince a man to advertise for a wife? What would convince a woman to travel to parts unknown to marry a stranger? Those are the questions Prairie Rose Publications authors answered in a passel of stories released today, just in time for our third-birthday celebration. Each story is only 99 cents or free if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber!

Kissing Until Christmas, by Livia J. Washburn
Shawn Killian and his young son Wes came to Briar Hill, Texas, looking to escape their past. The last thing Shawn wanted to complicate his life was a mail-order bride. But because of some mysterious mix-up, that's what he found himself having to deal with when Abby Demarest showed up. Shawn knows the smart thing to do would be to send her back where she came from, but that would have been easier to do if she wasn’t so smart, pretty, and determined. What Shawn doesn’t know is that Abby has some secrets of her own that threaten the life he has planned for him and Wes, and it may be that love is the only thing that will save all of them!

Store-Bought Ornaments, by Patti Sherry-Crews
When Caleb sees Ella step off the train, it is love at first sight. Only, Caleb is not the groom Ella has traveled halfway across the country to marry. Caleb is a quiet man who always tries to do the right thing, so when he and his brother’s wife give into temptation, he leaves the family ranch for good. Only a cryptic letter from Ella asking him to come home to Montana for Christmas can bring him back.

Seeing signs the woman he loves is being mistreated and the broken beauty of her STORE-BOUGHT ORNAMENTS triggers a series of dark memories to surface, steeling him for action. Can Caleb stand up to the brother who has bullied him his whole life in order to save Ella?

Her Holiday Husband, by Tanya Hanson
Now a respectable rancher, the outlaw formerly known as Black Ankles doubts any decent woman would wed him…hence,  a mail-order bride set up by his well-meaning brother arrives, believing her wedding will soon take place.  Indeed, Ronnie Heisler’s whole family expects him to speak vows with an unknown woman come Christmas Eve.

Set up by her meddling sister, Phoebe Pierce has fallen in love with the tintype of her intended’s twin brother. But has she too many secrets of her own to keep HER HOLIDAY HUSBAND?

Holiday Hoax, by Meg Mims
Widow Vera Sanders agrees to “switch” grooms with younger and prettier Adele MacIntyre, another mail-order bride heading to Holliday, Nebraska. They’re both in for rude surprises, however, after trying to pull a HOLIDAY HOAX on two very different grooms before Christmas. Will they ruin their chances for happiness, or end up in love?

I Heard the Brides on Christmas Day, by Jacquie Rogers
The Murdock brothers have a fine ranch in Owyhee County, Idaho. The only things missing are wives and kids, so Hec orders a couple of brides for Christmas. The catch is, woman-shy Zeke doesn’t know about it. Dinah and Stella have a plan: If the grooms don’t work out, they’ll start a restaurant. Farm chores are hard enough, but a peckish chicken and a raging blizzard don’t help matters. Can Hec and Zeke capture their hearts?

A Marriage of Convenience, by Cheryl Pierson
Beautiful heiress Melanie duBois is running for her life—halfway across the continent. Marriage to a man she’s never met is preferable to what her stepfather has planned for her.  Thank goodness for the mail-order bride offer she received from a handsome officer of the law—even if he is in wild Indian Territory.

Lawman Rocky Taylor is expecting a “surprise” to arrive on the stagecoach, never dreaming it will be a young woman. She’s here as his mail-order bride, she says. Trouble is, he never sent for her, and he’s sworn off women after a disastrous first marriage.

With her stepfather’s man hot on her trail, Melanie vows she’ll not return to West Virginia to a monstrous fate. Can A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE keep her safe and open the door to love?

Help us celebrate PRP’s third birthday by answering this question in the comments, and you could win your choice of two of the stories above: How did you meet your mate?

THE WINNERS OF THE MEDIEVAL STORIES ARE...

  The winner of One Christmas Knight is...

Vickie Raynor!

The winner of One Hot Knight is...

Caffey!

Ladies, please contact Kathleen, and we'll send your prizes right away!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit yesterday during our third birthday celebration. Come back and see us every day through Friday, August 19, and you could be the next winner!

 

PRP OPENS ITS MEDIEVAL LINE AND WE HAVE A GIVEAWAY! by CHERYL PIERSON

The party continues with a look at PRP’s medieval lineup and how it came to be! A little over a year ago, in May of 2015, our medieval line was launched. We had had so many requests for “knights and ladies” and that utterly fascinating time period, that Livia and I decided we just had to do something. Yes, we do love us some cowboys and their ladies, but we also love kings, lords, knights, and all the adventures they can get themselves into!

Keena Kincaid’s book ANAM CARA, was the first medieval story PRP published. I’d known Keena for years, and knew what kind of wonderful stories she wove. ANAM CARA was only the first of a trilogy of wonderful stories. TIES THAT BIND is the second of the series, and ENTHRALLED is the third.

But wait, there’s more! ART OF LOVE is a story that stands alone but “ties in” to the trilogy as well. These are all wonderful books, and were, I believe, one of the best choices we could have made for an author/collection to launch our medieval line. Her novella, AN UNEXPECTED GIFT, is now available as a single sell story!

Also, her novella A QUIET NIGHT AT THE HAPPY MONK (also a tie-in with her novels!) is available in the PRP anthology ONE HOT KNIGHT.

I’d known Deborah Macgillivray for many years, too, and had always loved her brand of storytelling and the fact that well, she’s just so darn nice! Now, Deborah is a cat lover deluxe. Oh, I should have written that in caps: DEBORAH IS A CAT LOVER DELUXE! She has never met a cat she didn’t like.

So I asked her to contribute to the Fire Star Press anthology NINE DEADLY LIVES: AN ANTHOLOGY OF FELINE FICTION. Her story in that collection, SHOES, SHADES, AND FAERY DUST was her very first PRP publication.

This was followed by A CAT IN JACKBOOTS, published in fall of 2015—a perfect regency Halloween novella and one you won’t want to miss.

Deborah’s novella, THE SELKIE’S DAUGHTER, is now available as a single sell story. Also be sure to take a look at Deborah’s story GAMBIT, CHECK, AND MATE which appears in the PRP anthology ONE HOT KNIGHT! Keep your eyes peeled for more of Deborah’s fantastic tales coming soon!

Lindsay Townsend is another old friend. I can’t remember how long I’ve known Lindsay, but many, many years. When I approached her about joining us at PRP, she was almost (but not QUITE) as excited as I was!

Her story, SIR BALDWIN AND THE CHRISTMAS GHOSTS, appeared in the medieval anthology ONE CHRISTMAS KNIGHT, and is now also available as a single sell story!

But that’s not all! Lindsay also penned two companion novellas, MISTRESS ANGEL, along with AMICE AND THE MERCENARY, and those are available as single sells OR in a boxed set, entitled TO LOVE A KNIGHT.

Lindsay’s latest offering, A GATHERING OF HERBS, is available in the PRP anthology ONE HOT KNIGHT. I am looking forward to seeing what Lindsay comes up with in the future for PRP.

Tanya Hanson and I have known each other since I got my first publishing contract. We were both under contract with the same publisher, and had the same editor. Tanya is not only one of the very nicest people you’ll ever meet, but also one of the best authors around. She has written a slew of AWESOME western historical novels and novellas, and now has a fantastic medieval novella published with PRP.

Her story, CANTICLE, is now available as a single sell! Tanya always has something wonderful in the works, and we are thrilled to have her here with us at PRP!

Doris McCraw writes as Angela Raines. She has contributed many stories to our PRP western historical anthologies, and recently tried her hand at medieval—and she does a darn good job of it!

Doris has a new single sell story, LOST KNIGHT OUT OF TIME available now, and also contributed a story to our ONE HOT KNIGHT anthology, as well—NORTH STAR—another fantastic tale you will love. Doris always includes a bit of mysticism in her stories that will make you wonder and think, and I believe that’s what defines her stories no matter what genre she writes in.

Cynthia Breeding is a relative newcomer to PRP, but not to the publishing world! We’re so pleased to have her with us at PRP, writing medieval and sharing her stories through us. Her novella, A KNIGHTLY CHALLENGE, appears in our ONE HOT KNIGHT anthology. And look for more from Cynthia coming soon when her novel CAMELOT’S DESTINY releases next month (September!)

Last but not least, my dear friend and partner, Livia J. Washburn, has a single sell release of her wonderful medieval novella, KEEPSAKE to shout about!

Livia is one of the most talented authors in the business. She can write in ANY genre and do it well. She writes mysteries, paranormal, westerns, western historical romance, YA, Middle Grade Reader…and medieval. I truly believe there is nothing this woman can’t do, and look forward to many more stories from her and many more years of working together.

Happy Birthday, Prairie Rose Publications! Here’s to ONE CHRISTMAS KNIGHT, ONE HOT KNIGHT, and ONE WINTER KNIGHT (coming in November!)

What are your favorite kinds of medieval stories? Knights and ladies? Kings and Queens? Tradesmen and their everyday lives? Or do you prefer dragons and fantasy stories? Be sure to leave a comment along with your CONTACT INFO! We have a super drawing today--WE ARE GIVING AWAY ONE DIGITAL COPY OF ONE CHRISTMAS KNIGHT AS WELL AS ONE DIGITAL COPY OF ONE HOT KNIGHT.

In addition--Meg Mims is having her own birthday today and has ONE PRINT COPY EACH of her novels DOUBLE CROSSING and DOUBLE OR NOTHING to give away!

Lots of great prizes today--just be sure to leave a comment!

REMEMBER, SUBMISSIONS ARE STILL OPEN FOR ONE WINTER KNIGHT! CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS!

No Good Option

Sometimes you have a choice between bad and worse...and sometimes your choice turns out to be an unexpected blessing.

Over the weekend, my family had a lively discussion about the whiplash of women’s status through the ages, comparing gender equality in ancient Egypt and the modern Western world vs. women’s status in ancient Greece and some modern Middle Eastern countries.

Why would women let that happen? One nephew asked.

Women hardly let it happen. 

When a civilization collapses and you’re fighting for survival for yourself and your children, men’s superior physical strength quickly unlevels the playing field. 

The fall from equality to second-class citizen with the legal status of a child might be quick or slow, but I suspect it’s always a shock to the individuals involved—and it chafes future generations of women no matter how much time passes.

Because I write medieval romances, I think a lot about the tensions between men and women within society. Medieval women knew they deserved better and many got better from individuals, but they still faced institutional misogyny.

In An Unexpected Gift—available tomorrow as a stand-alone novella—the heroine is at her most vulnerable, physically and emotionally. She’s pitted against a society that sees her as someone to exploit or protect, but not stand beside or respect.

Ada is probably my most traditional heroine in that she is at a powerless moment in her life, which is how most of her historical peers would have lived their lives. She’s brave and strong and resourceful, but ultimately she cannot rescue herself, a fact that she hates.

She must place her faith in a stranger—a man who could be her savior or someone even more dangerous than the man who wants to kill her and her unborn child—and that is where the story begins.

Will her worst fears come true or will Ada find an unexpected gift?

Here's an excerpt:

He shrugged. “I have not brought you here just to see you killed. 

“Why would they not think me dead?” 

A secret lay in his hesitation. His looked over her left shoulder. “If they return to the road and find you gone, this is the first place they will look. The nuns will say naught to the attackers, but the men would easily find you in the warming room.” 

Ada stared at him. In a hundred years, she wouldn’t have thought of such danger. If almost a year in captivity hadn’t honed her thoughts, what had sharpened his? Montbray wanted her. No, he wanted Bew and thought to get it through her. She ran a hand over her stomach again. If she thought like her captor, killing Thomas and Henry made a horrible kind of sense, but why then leave her behind? 

Or had they? 

Fear rose with the swiftness of a thunderclap. She knew nothing of him, not his name, his family, his errand. He could be outlaw, for all she knew. 

Run! As if she could. She could barely get out of bed of a morning or rise from a bench if she sat for a long time. Running was impossible. She could throw herself on the mercy of the nuns, but who would protect them from these men?

As part of Prairie Rose Publications Third Anniversary Bash, I’m giving away a copy of An Unexpected Gift to two people selected from among those who comment on this blog by midnight Wednesday, Aug. 17.

Keena Kincaid writes historical romances in which passion, magic and treachery collide to create unforgettable stories. You can find out more about her books here. Leave a comment for a chance to win one of her books.