Writing western historical romances and Homemade Ice Cream Hand-Me-Down Family recipe by Kaye Spencer

Writers are sometimes asked why they 'write what they write'. Those of you reading this article who are readers rather than writers, have you considered why you're drawn to a particular genre over all others?

Over the years, I've encountered variations of these questions in author interviews. From a writing perspective, I have three general points for why I tend to write historicals and particularly stories set in the American Old West.

Reason 1—Research
Every historical I write allows me to follow rabbits down research rabbit holes. I've discovered the most intriguing and amazing tidbits of history in my historical research Wonderland. Researching is my ‘happy place’. It’s important to me to have the details in my stories as historically accurate as possible. I’m not perfect in this endeavor, nor am I a ‘professional’ researcher, but I conscientiously work at achieving accuracy, so it’s my hope that upon the rare occasion my history is off, readers will forgive the faux pas.

Reason 2—Living vicariously in the past
While I’m writing a story set in the past, I get to travel to a different place and time and live in someone else's shoes, so-to-speak. I’m like Anthony Marston in Quigley Down Under: “…Some men [women] are born in the wrong century.” All my life I’ve felt out-of-place living in our ‘modern’ world. So when I transport myself to the time in which my characters are living, I’m in another one of my ‘happy places’.

Reason 3—Challenge of overcoming inconveniences
I like writing stories that lack modern day conveniences. Without the amenities we’re accustomed to nowadays, there are so many juicy complications for the characters to face, deal with, and overcome that otherwise could be written away with a call on the cell phone or by hopping an airplane.

I get a little giddy imagining the possibilities, such as...

*Communication: When the hero and heroine have to depend upon letter writing and telegraph messages, both of which were slow (relatively speaking) and could more easily be intercepted or even lost, the villain has the opportunity to weasel his way into the heroine’s life and console her. Perhaps the heroine thinks the hero jilted her at the altar when he doesn’t show up for their wedding when actually the villain intercepted the telegram, which explains the legitimate reason for the hero’s delay. (whew! Wordy sentences.)

*Transportation: Transportation wasn’t necessarily convenient or terribly comfortable. Horseback riding was functional, but for long periods of time over great distances is exhausting and full of plot-enhancing dangers and challenges. Stagecoach travel was cramped, dirty/dusty, really hot/really cold, and could be dangerous. It lacked privacy that women need. Obtaining a decent meal could be an on-going problem. Generally, stage travel was a grueling test of endurance. Traveling by train was limited to where the tracks were laid, and it shared many of the same drawbacks as stage travel, plus the additional discomfort of soot and cinders coming into the passenger cars. After all, the heroine might be kidnapped by a drop-dead handsome train robber or (egads!) find herself stranded on the Texas prairie with nothing but a scoundrel of a gambler as her companion along with the one surviving horse from the stagecoach team after the Comanche attack…

*Contraception: Without our modern-day contraceptives, the possibility of pregnancy looms in historical stories as an ever-present consequence of a romantic dalliance. This is a great plot device for building the sexual tension between the hero and heroine. Fear of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and the real threat of dying in childbirth both add another layer of anxiety to the romantic relationship that isn’t as much of an issue in contemporary stories.

*Medicine: Sophisticated antibiotics as we know them were virtually nonexistent back in the ‘olden days’, which makes the recovery difficult and, sometimes, the character’s very survival tenuous given the physical torture/wounds/injuries we, as authors, inflict upon them. Lack of pain killers and antibiotics makes the situation all that more dire for the hero when the lady doctor extracts the arrow from his thigh.

*And many, many more reasons, but that's enough for now. :-)

Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride anthology and A Permanent Woman are available on Amazon for Kindle and KindleUnlimited. The anthology is available in print.

Here is the ice cream recipe referenced in the story (click recipe image to enlarge/download).

To bring us around to the question I posed at the beginning of this article...

Why are you drawn to a particular reading and/or writing genre over all others?

Until next time,

Kaye Spencer

Writing through history one romance upon a time

Website/Blog- http://www.kayespencer.com
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New Release -- MYRA’S ESCAPE by Agnes Alexander -- Giveaway!

Escape is her only choice…

Myra Felton’s grandfather has sold her to a banker to pay his debts! But Myra will not become the property of the evil Cosmos Hubbard—she plans her escape… With her future uncertain, she leaves in the dead of night for Charleston, the largest city of any size, vowing to lose herself there. But a chance encounter with a marriage broker gives her the best plan of all—with no money of her own, she agrees to travel to Wyoming, as far from Cosmos Hubbard as she can get!

He’s desperate for a cook…

Anson Barlow fears mutiny from his four younger brothers if he
can’t come up with someone to cook a decent meal for them all once in a while! It’s hard enough to run a thriving ranch such as the Circle B without having to worry about cooking and cleaning—talents the Barlow brothers lack. When he signs a contract for a housekeeper, he doesn’t realize that also means a wife.
Love is waiting…

When Anson meets Myra at the train station, she’s not at all what he’s expecting. He can’t protect her from the gossips if he takes her home without marrying her—and though he may be many things, he is not that cruel. But though the marriage may protect her from vicious jealousy in the town, what will happen when Cosmos Hubbard shows up to claim the woman he says is rightfully his? Will MYRA’S ESCAPE have been for nothing?

EXCERPT:

     “What do you mean, you hate Myra?”
     “I didn’t never want no more young’uns after my son turned out so rotten, but Myra was our granddaughter and Emmie Mae said it was only right that we take her in. After our son died, the girl was in an orphanage for a couple of years or so. She was ten or twelve years old by the time Emmie Mae found her.”
     “Why did she come to live here?”
     “When my sorry son and his wife died and there weren’t no-where else for the girl to go ’cept the orphanage. Spite me saying we ought to leave her there to grow up, Emmie Mae wouldn’t hear to it. She said it was our duty to raise the girl. I finally give in to Emmie Mae ’cause she swore she’d not cook my meals no longer if’n I didn’t let the girl come to live here.”
     Myra’s heart almost stopped. She knew she and her grandfather didn’t get along very well, but she never dreamed he actually hated her. Though she’d never cared for him as much as she did her grandmother, she always thought they were family, and therefore cared somewhat for each other. That was one reason she’d stayed on at the farm after her grandmother’s death. She felt she should look after her grandpa out of respect. But his words had changed everything.
     She decided her duty to him was over and she would no longer worry about him or his farm. It was time to start taking care of herself. After all, she would soon be twenty years old. It was time to get away from here and live her own life somewhere else.
     Before she could think of a way to get away and out of her grandfather’s hideous plan, Cosmos shouted, “I know you’re listening, Myra Felton. So to make it clear, you better be at my house on Saturday by the time I get home from work. Don’t get it in your head to try to run away because there’s no place in South Carolina or anywhere else that I’ll not find you. I’ll follow and find you anywhere you run. I’ve wanted you for a long time, and you will be mine, whether or not you want to be.”
     She didn’t answer aloud, but in her mind, she thought again, When Hell freezes over.

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook.

         

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?

MAIL ORDER BRIDES--COULD YOU BE ONE? COULD YOU MARRY ONE? by CHERYL PIERSON

I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been enthralled by mail-order brides. No, I’ve not been “studying” them, or “researching” them—yet. I’ve just been wondering why this became such a practice—and a successful one—among women of all walks of life, or so it seems.

What would make a woman leave everything familiar to her and travel to “parts unknown” to marry a man she knew nothing about? What’s scarier than online dating? Being a mail-order bride! Once they’d made the commitment to leave their homes behind—much to the consternation of many family members and friends, in some cases, I would imagine—the die was cast.

Could be these thoughts cross my mind when the weather is sooooo bloomin' hot here in Oklahoma that I can't even imagine traveling for days in a covered wagon or even on a train to get to this part of the country from "back east". Same for the winter--with the ice and snow being plentiful and hard to navigate in, much less just being frozen stiff.

Here's one of the first mail-order bride stories I wrote--FOUND HEARTS, penned for the PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS 2014 Valentine's Day anthology, HEARTS AND SPURS, and later released as a single sell story.

BLURB:
Southern belle Evie Fremont has lost everything—except hope. When she answers an advertisement for marriage to Alex Cameron who lives in the wilds of Indian Territory, she has few illusions that he could be a man she might fall in love with—especially as his secrets begin to unfold.

Ex-Confederate soldier Alex Cameron needs a mother for his two young half-Cherokee sons more than he needs a wife—or so he tells himself. But when his past threatens his future on his wedding day, he and Evie are both forced to acknowledge their new love has come to stay—along with their FOUND HEARTS.

http://www.amazon.com/Found-Hearts-Cheryl-Pierson-ebook/dp/B00R3MWEUC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455685920&sr=1-1&keywords=Found+Hearts

A woman would have to be certain in her own mind that what she was going to was better than what she was leaving behind. She would have to be resourceful enough to plan some kind of “exit strategy” if things didn’t work out. And I suppose, many times, women resigned themselves to the fact that they would become a soiled dove—the lowest of the low—in order to survive.

Here's a wonderful collection of mail-order bride tales from Prairie Rose Publications, LASSOING A MAIL-ORDER BRIDE. Take a peek at what's inside:

BLURB:
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
A pregnant mail order bride. A groom with three orphaned children. Some dreams get a rough start

HER HURRY-UP HUSBAND—Tanya Hanson
A beautiful socialite needs a husband fast —for just one month —but the rancher wants a wife for life!

A PERMANENT WOMAN—Kaye Spencer
He needs a wife to get custody of his grandchildren. She needs a fresh start and a new reputation. Desperate men —and women —sometimes take desperate measures...but can she be A PERMANENT WOMAN?

THE BIG UNEASY—Kathleen Rice Adams
A man in love with a woman he can’t have. A woman engaged to a man she doesn’t love. A secret in common could destroy them all.



http://www.amazon.com/Lassoing-Mail-Order-Bride-Cheryl-Pierson-ebook/dp/B00KREGPI0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1455686282&sr=1-1&keywords=Lassoing+a+Mail+Order+Bride

In spite of all the scenarios we might come up with for a mail-order bride to leave the life she has known behind her for something completely foreign to her, there are, I’m sure, many that we never could have even contemplated. For each story is personal, intimate, and heart-rending in its own right.

One of the most unusual books about mail-order brides is Jim Fergus’s story, ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN—which is not about “mail-order brides” as we think of them, but in a totally different way—a trade by the U.S. Government of 1000 white women to the Indians in order to achieve assimilation into white culture. Interestingly enough, this premise WAS discussed in reality, but not carried through. In the book, however, Fergus shows how the government emptied insane asylums of women and sent them to the Indians…only most of the women were not insane, but had been “put away” by their families for one reason or another.


http://www.amazon.com/One-Thousand-White-Women-Journals-ebook/dp/B0042XA3OE/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455685348&sr=1-1&keywords=One+Thousand+White+Women

Would you have what it took to be a mail-order bride in the old west? I’m not sure I would, but it’s fun to think about. And for you guys--would you consider "mail-ordering" a bride? What if either of you had habits the other couldn't abide? What if you just didn't "suit" in general?

A MAIL-ORDER CHRISTMAS BRIDE is a collection of Christmas mail-order bride stories that Prairie Rose Publications just released with some wonderful tales of how some women with pasts they needed to leave behind find new beginnings at the most joyous time of the year. These eight stories by Livia J. Washburn, Kathleen Rice Adams, Cheryl Pierson, Patti Sherry-Crews, Jesse J Elliot, Meg Mims, Tanya Hanson, and Jacquie Rogers will provide you many hours of reading pleasure all year 'round.



http://www.amazon.com/Mail-Order-Christmas-Bride-Livia-Washburn-ebook/dp/B0182FEYU6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455685767&sr=1-1&keywords=A+mail+order+Christmas+Bride


So what about it, y'all? Ladies, could you BE a mail-order bride? Gents, would you consider advertising for a bride? What would be your qualifications?

Would you leave your familiar surroundings and go west to be a mail-order bride?
Thanks for stopping by today!

http://www.prairierosepublications.com/

Mail-Order Bride Valentine's Day-themed Short Story by Kaye Spencer

My contribution to the new Valentine's Day-themed western romance anthology—Lariats, Letters, and Lace—from Prairie Rose Publications is Mail-Order Mix Up.

Mail-Order Mix Up is set in the fictional town of Platte River City, Colorado, which is located on the South Platte River about 100 miles east of Denver. Another of my stories with Prairie Rose Publications, A Permanent Woman, is also set in this town, and several characters have cameos on Mail-Order Mix Up.

The gist of Mail-Order Mix Up is this:

Remarrying isn’t on widower Dale Forbes’ mind, but his three young granddaughters want a grandma. Widow Irene Maxon yearns for something more than the disappointments life has handed her. A mail-order bride catalog, a secret letter, and a blizzard combine to set the scene for match-making between Dale and Irene. However, another man expects Irene to fulfill their marriage agreement, and he isn’t going to take no as her answer.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Forgive me for intruding unannounced, especially during your festivities. I’m here to return—”

“Oh, there you are, Dale, Violet,” Eloy broke in. “This is Irene Maxon from St. Louis.”

Irene followed Eloy’s wave and recognized the man and the girl coming along the hallway from the photograph she’d received with the letter. She also noted with more than passing interest that the photograph had not adequately captured Dale’s handsome maturity, strong chin, and fine, broad-shouldered physique. Before she could greet them, movement at the top of the stairs drew her attention, and she looked up to see a girl descending one slow stair at a time, her hand trailing lightly along the banister. The girl stopped midway down and looked right at Irene, the little satisfied smirk on her lips as pleasant as the sparkle in her eyes. So this was Meredith—the instigator of the marriage invitation.

Then a wisp of a child with braids flying burst through the midst of the group with a shriek of squealing delight. When she leaped, Irene instinctively caught her, staggering backwards a few steps under the child’s momentum. The girl clamped her arms around Irene’s neck with a grip so tight Irene couldn’t turn her head.

“Grandma! You’re here. You’re really here. I knew you’d come. I just knew it!”

Lydia’s face broke into a bright smile. Clara Jean clapped her hands and blurted, “It worked! She really got Meredith’s letter!”

All attention swung to Clara Jean who realized too late what she’d said as she ducked for cover behind the coat tree.

The few seconds of solemn, stunned silence shattered into echoes when Dale’s booming voice rebounded off the walls. “Meredith Margaret Forbes! What have you been up to now?”

But Meredith was nowhere in sight.

Lariats, Letters, and Lace - available at Amazon.com

Until next time

Kaye

Writing the West one romance at a time
www.kayespencer.com

Some mail-order brides are more permanent than others

Kaye Spencer here today to share an excerpt (down the page) from my short story, A Permanent Woman, which has been recently released as a single sell...

 ...and to offer a recipe (on my hand-me-down Pinterest board - link below) for a picnic dessert that the children in this story are looking forward when they attend a summer celebration in their community:

an unlimited supply of homemade the ice cream.

A Permanent Woman first found its way into publication in the Lassoing a Mail-Order Bride anthology from Prairie Rose Publications.

Excerpt

“Excuse me. Mr. Perlman directed me here. I’m responding to an advertisement in the Matrimony Courier. Are you Simon Driscoll?”

Simon closed his eyes, fortifying himself to face another woman with a façade of interest. “Yes, I’m Simon Driscoll. Your name?”

“Tessa Morris.”

He opened his eyes, frowning as he mentally ticked off the names on the list. Still gazing out the window, he asked, “Did you send a letter under a different name? I don’t recall a Mrs. Morris.”

“Miss. Miss Morris. I’ve never been married and, no, I didn’t send a letter. In fact, I came across your advertisement but five days ago.”

Simon turned. “I’m sorry, but the deadline—” The words died on his lips. Ben was in the doorway, pointing to the woman and nodding.

“Mr. Driscoll, is something wrong?” She followed Simon’s stare and looked over her shoulder right as Ben stepped out of the doorway.

His insides went topsy-turvy. Ben had a way with people. He couldn’t leave him to talk to this woman alone.

No letter of introduction. He didn’t know anything about her, and he sure as hell didn’t know what to say.

“You’re quite pale, Mr. Driscoll. I think you should sit.”

He cut her a sidelong glance. She was close enough that he could feel her body heat, and the scent of her perfume made him a little lightheaded. When she took hold of his hand, the soft warmth of her touch made his heart leap into his throat. She led him to a chair and, situating herself beside him, positioned hers so their knees touched. His breath hitched, and he scooted his chair, which prompted her to move her chair even closer. He was too old for parlor games, and she seemed determined to make him uncomfortable with her casual familiarity. The other women had kept a safe, proper distance across the table barricade.

She filled a glass with water from the pitcher at hand and gave it to him. “Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.”

Dumbly, he accepted the water, but she didn’t let go when he wrapped his big hand around the glass, trapping her fingers under his. It gave him a start, and he released his grasp like he’d been burned. That’s when he looked at her. Really looked.

Damn.

 A Permanent Woman is available for $0.99.  Kindle | Nook | Smashwords | Kobo

For my Hand-Me-Down Family Recipes, click here > Pinterest < and you'll land on my recipe board.

Until next time,

Kaye

#NewRelease A GIFT FOR RHODA #mailorderbride #westernromance #99cents

Website | Pickle Barrel Gazette | Amazon

I hope everyone enjoyed the PRP Christmas in July Fandango.  Wow, what a sale--21 new releases!  I've read a good share of them and they're all good.  My story is in darned good company.  Today, I'm telling you about my Christmas in July offering, A Gift For Rhoda.  

I have to say, this cover is absolutely wonderful thanks to Livia Reasoner.  All her covers are outstanding but this one is the topper.  Of course, I'd have to arm-wrestle a few of the other Roses for the honor, but I'm up to it.

This story takes place in Garden Valley, Idaho Territory, which is quite a way from my Hearts of Owyhee stories.  Whereas Owyhee County is high mountain desert, Garden Valley is beautiful in the more classic sense--a small forested valley between two mountain ranges with peaks rising 7,000 feet on either side.  Not a lot of people live there even today.  The last census put the population at a little over 500.  That includes Garden Valley (the town), Lowman, and Crouch.  Crouch is where we had the Walker family reunion a few years ago, and is home to the best huckleberry milkshakes you ever tasted.

Garden Valley, Idaho

I got the idea for A Gift For Rhoda when a friend's son was picking out a gift for his girlfriend, only she didn't know she was his girlfriend yet.  That amused me, but also got the wheels turning, and I wondered what would happen if a mail-order bride was expecting her unwanted groom, but another man showed up bearing gifts.  And because I still can taste that huckleberry milkshake, I set it in Garden Valley, where my aunt and uncle live.

Since it's not desert, Garden Valley gets quite a lot of snow (but not as much as surrounding areas and is generally warmer; hence, the name) and in Rhoda's story, she's been snowed in for a couple months all by her wee little lonesome.  That would be enough to make anyone leery, but when you have a drunken groom on the loose that you've never seen, imagine how you'd feel if a big, shaggy man came to your door.  That's how Rhoda felt, and she wasn't about to let him in.  What a pickle she's in now!  

Garden Valley, about 1890

Nate Harmon is a big burly intimidating man--and half frozen.  Think he can figure out a way to get the skittish Rhoda to let him in the house so he can warm up?  A hen named Flossie took to him right off, so maybe there's hope.

Here's the blurb:

A mail-order bride disaster! 

Rhoda Johnson is stranded in a lonely cabin without a groom. The townsfolk say she’s better off without him, but her drunken groom sends a message that he’ll claim her as his Christmas bride. Gunman and ex-Confederate soldier Nate Harmon comes to Idaho to make peace with his abolitionist preacher father. When half-frozen Nate reaches the cabin on a snowy Christmas Eve, instead of his parents, he’s greeted by a pretty blonde with a shotgun who keeps calling him Mr. Snyder. Will she shoot him, or melt his heart? *Sweet*

I hope you enjoy this single read and all the other new releases offered by Prairie Rose Publications Christmas in July.  And no, I haven't started Christmas shopping yet.  My sister is probably already finished, though.

Meantime, happy reading!

Amazon Author Page

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