BOOK BIRTHDAY: Isabella’s Calico Groom
New Release Today! (7-10-18)
Read the full first chapter of Isabella’s Calico Groom (within Calico Ball: Timeless Western Collection)
New Release Today! (7-10-18)
Read the full first chapter of Isabella’s Calico Groom (within Calico Ball: Timeless Western Collection)
Really? Did Victorian Americans forbid kissing in public? Was it unreasonable to think the fictional town of Mountain Home, Colorado (the setting of The Gunsmith’s Bride (within GUNSMOKE & GINGHAM)) would have a “no kissing, no PDA” law? In 2017 U.S.A. it’s hard to believe Victorians would be so prudish as to object to public displays of affection–or a little peck. The newspaper articles, snippets from vintage magazines, and decorum advice from the era might leave you speechless… Oh! Read part of a scene where the law breaks up the hero and heroine (The Gunsmith’s Bride) kissing on the street–and threatens 48 hours in jail.
Though American Victorian women took to the safety bicycle in droves, newspaper and public notices of the day show that women on bicycles were not widely accepted. A public service announcement from The Woman’s Rescue League proclaimed that women on bicycles were immoral, vulgar, disease-ridden, and unwomanly. Such attitudes didn’t keep women from their bicycles, and with the advent of the new Safety Bicycle, women such as my character, Sophia Sorensen (Sophia’s Leap-Year Courtship), took to cycling and had no interest in forfeiting the exercise and transportation.
Today is A Book Birthday for brand-new release The Gunsmith’s Bride. This article contains not just the opening scene but the first TWO CHAPTERS. Come on in and meet my characters: the gunsmiths–George and Morgan Hudson (father and son), and the brides–Zylphyia and Elizabeth (mother and daughter).
The Gunsmith’s Bride originally appeared in the bundle: GUNSMOKE & GINGHAM, containing five brand-new novellas by FIVE USA Today Bestselling, Amazon Bestselling, and Award-winning Authors. While this bundle is no longer for sale, individual titles can be found where each author’s books are sold.
Picnics were a common and notable diversion for Victorian Americans whenever weather permitted. Schools, churches, families, and organizations hosted picnics. Reasons varied from welcome-home parties to gatherings to hear a speaker or minster to holiday celebrations. This article contains recommendations for preparing and transporting picnic foods properly, protecting young ladies from harm (let’s keep those chaperones in place!), and a peek inside my new release Courting Miss Cartwright–specifically the picnic basket auction scene.