Drum roll, please! I’m happy to
announce the release of TABITHA’S JOURNEY, a sweet novella about a substitute
mail order bride.
Sometimes characters stick in a writer’s
head and just won’t leave until we write their story. That’s what happened with Bear Baldwin from BLUEBONNET BRIDE. He was only a minor character, barely a
mention, but he kept nagging at me to find him a wife. I remembered a short
story I’d written a couple of years ago and reworked it into a novella with Bear as the hero.
Would you have been a mail-order
bride? I’m not sure whether or not I
would have.
In addition to so many men heading west for gold, fame, and fortune
in the mid 1800’s, the Civil War further decimated the male population. More
men were killed in the Civil War than in World War II. The combination of events meant that
marriage-aged women far outnumbered marriage-aged men.
Women who did not marry had little choices. Women of good families were not supposed to...gasp...work for a living. In a pinch they might become a governess, a companion, perhaps teach school, or be forced to live with relatives. Those from lower income families might choose to work in a factory or as a servant, To either group, one more option existed . . . sign with a matrimonial agency to become
a mail-order bride.
In Chis Enss’s book
HEARTS WEST, she shares the stories of a variety of real-life women who opted to become a
mail-order brides. Some were successful, some were disastrous and heartbreaking. I love reading fictional mail-order bride
stories, but this is the first one I’ve written. This one is set in 1874 and starts in Boston and them moves to Texas.
Here’s
the blurb for TABITHA'S JOURNEY:
Would you become a mail-order bride?
Tabitha Masterson is certain whatever
awaits her in Radford Springs, Texas will be better than what her brother and
that awful William have in mind in Boston. After her father’s death, her
brother has become a tyrant. She escapes to begin her new life in Texas, but danger
can’t be far behind. She believes if she’s married when trouble arrives, she’ll
be safe.
Tobias “Bear” Baldwin is crushed when
he receives a wire notifying him that the woman with whom he has corresponded
for almost a year has passed him off to her friend. Do the two women believe
he’s like an old shirt to be handed down? His mother urges him to give the
substitute fiancée a chance, but his pride is stung and he hasn’t decided.
And how did that come about? Here’s
the excerpt that explains part of Tabitha’s problems:
Tabitha sat in
the Witt family’s parlor and wiped tears from her face. “I’ve never been so
miserable. Prissy, what am I going to do?”
“Are
you certain he’d send you to an asylum if you resist?”
“Yes,
but I don’t know which would be worse—being married to William or being locked
away. The man gives me shivers in the worst way.”
“Me,
too.” Priscilla paused and smoothed the folds of her yellow and black plaid
taffeta skirt. “I-I’ve had another letter from Tobias.”
Her attention captured and anger deflected,
Tabitha leaned toward her friend intent on hearing the missive’s contents. “Did
her send for you?”
“Yes.” Suddenly, Priscilla’s face
puckered as if she, too, might cry. “Oh, I don’t know what to do.”
“Prissy?”
She leaned back to stare at her friend. “What do you mean? I thought you’d
accepted his proposal.”
Tabitha was half
in love with Tobias Baldwin herself. Already she knew they shared many
interests. Priscilla had shared each of his letters, and Tabitha had assisted
Priscilla in answering them. Assisted so much, the writing became Tabitha’s
heartfelt missives to him.
“I
was all set to leave, just as I said. But…oh, Tabbie, Virgil Allsup has finally
spoken to Papa for me. If only Virgil had come forward sooner I never would
have answered that mail order bride agency’s advertisement.” She sniffed and dabbed
at her eyes with a handkerchief. “You know I’ve yearned for Virgil ever so
long. By now I thought he didn’t want me.”
“What
are you going to do?” Tabitha knew what she’d do. In her way of thinking, a man
who dragged his feet as Virgil had all these years couldn’t begin to measure up
to Tobias as a husband.
“That’s
just it. I-I accepted Virgil’s proposal.” She sobbed into her handkerchief.
Tabitha
couldn’t help her own tear-filled eyes widening in surprise. “You’re engaged to
two men? Prissy, that’s—“
“Unethical? I
know.” Priscilla waved her handkerchief. “I think it’s even illegal. Breach of
contract or something.” Priscilla met Tabitha’s gaze. “But don’t you see? This
could be a solution for your problem.”
Tabitha sighed
and shook her head. “I don’t think mine has a solution.”
“Since you hate
living with David and Bertha, and you always thought so much of Tobias, maybe
you’d like to take my place.” She chewed at her lip as she glanced at Tabitha.
“Me?
Go to Texas and marry Tobias?” Incredulous as the idea sounded, already
Tabitha’s mind considered the option.
I hope you’ll give TABITHA’S JOURNEY a
chance. The buy links are:
And while you're here, please let me tell you about a new blog called Smart Girls Read Romance at http://www.smartgirlsreadromance.blogspot.com that is starting June 2nd. Bestselling and award winning authors dish about books, romance, love, and life! And there will be giveaways all through June, with the Grand Prize a KINDLE FIRE HD TABLET on June 30th. To qualify to win, all you have to do is leave a comment.
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Another event is The Romance Reviews' Sizzling Summer Reads. If you click on the button on the sidebar, you'll be taken to their site for the list of participating authors.
Whew! Isn't June an exciting month?
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