This book required so much research! I keep a lot of research books handy and have memorized tons of nineteenth century Texas history. In this book, Finn O'Neill goes undercover to capture the person or persons causing catastrophes at a coal mine southwest of San Antonio. As the saying goes, what I knew about coal mining you could put in your eye and it wouldn't hurt.
That has changed in a big way. Mining research is not that easy because all the documents talk about twentieth century mining. Not a help for my book. Excuse the pun, but I had to dig deeper and deeper to determine mining in 1886 Texas.
First of all, much of the work currently done by machines was done by men and horses. What the men did was what I needed to learn. Let me tell you, they worked hard and in appalling conditions. As hard as it was for my hero Finn O'Neill to work in those conditions, it was almost as hard for this claustrophobic writer to describe. I get shivers thinking about a mine.
If you read THE TEXAN'S IRISH BRIDE, you'll remember that Finn O'Neill is the older brother of that books heroine, Cenora Rose O'Neill. She married Dallas McClintock, and O'NEILL'S TEXAS BRIDE is book two in the McClintocks.
You may also figure out that I've always wanted red hair just like that on the cover above. So many of my mom's family had red hair--except for her and for me. We have the brown hair of her father's German ancestry. That's why many of my heroines have lustrous, thick, red hair. Or blonde hair like many of my nieces and cousins. Sigh. I have thin, brown hair. Mother Nature is so unfair.
I hope you'll forgive me for missing my post date and check out the book when it's released. There is a lot of action and danger and romance waiting for you if you do.
The next book, McCLINTOCK'S RELUCTANT BRIDE will be released at the end of June. I love the McClintock family, as you may have guessed.
Thanks for stopping by!
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