A RANCHER'S REQUEST -- VICTORIAN AMERICAN WESTERN

My newest book is set partially in Virginia and partially in Wyoming shortly after Wyoming became a state. The fun part for me was being able to go to Franklin, Virginia, and study the old map while imagining what it was like in those days. I also looked at the houses and how far the walk would be to different places.

And a few times I worried that one of Franklin's finest would come up with his lights flashing and want to know what I was doing. There are times I don't want to explain that I'm an author. But sitting on the top of that hill, looking at the little town, knowing my heroine would be doing it, or looking at the river and the little park, was something I don't ordinarily get to do while writing a story. It was wonderful! Franklin remains a quaint town and the old railroad station has been well preserved over the years. Today it's a quiet place where everyone knows one another. But in 1890 it was a bustling little place.

Let me whisk you away to a time long ago when Duncan Lorde asked his father to find him a wife.

 

 Available on Amazon

BLURB

Zadie Larkford, recently graduated from an Eastern women's college, lives a quiet life in her hometown of Franklin, Virginia. Content to spend her days painting by the river and watching her friends marry, she is shocked to learn that her father has promised her hand in marriage to a complete stranger. Ultimately unable to disobey, she leaves her childhood home to travel – unaccompanied – to Creed's Crossing, Wyoming to meet her betrothed.

Raised in a seafaring community in North Carolina, Duncan Lorde made the decision to leave his father's prosperous fishing venture to make a life for himself in the west. Determined to succeed in the treacherous and unpredictable pursuit of cattle ranching, he has land, a small cabin, and a herd. All he needs now is a wife–a good woman who will cook, clean, and provide him with strong sons to help on the ranch. When Zadie arrives in Creed's Crossing, the young daughter of his father's old friend is far more independent and strong-willed than he expected.

The young would-be-couple has barely begun to forge a bond when the forces of man and nature collide, impeding Duncan and Zadie as they struggle to fulfill... A Rancher's Request

EXCERPT

Zadie’s dad had relieved her of the household chores, but Zadie found herself doing things to help Abilene. By midday, it was too hot to work, and Zadie often spent her afternoons on the side porch. If there was going to be a breeze, even a hot one, the side porch always caught it. Her mother and Abilene often joined her as she painted.

Abilene would sit in such a way that she could keep one foot on a treadle that worked an overhead fan. Zadie wasn’t certain what Abilene was crocheting with such tiny cotton thread, but whatever it was, it was growing daily. Zadie’s mom often read. And Zadie worked on several paintings. The egret picture was almost done, as was the still life of the peonies that were in her mother’s favorite vase. And she had completed several watercolors of the flowers that bloomed throughout Franklin and the various fruits as they came into season. She figured she could decorate the bedrooms and her dining room with the cheerful watercolors.

A knock on the front door sent Abilene scurrying to answer it. The heat of summer had kept her father home in the afternoons, unless he absolutely had to see a patient. But it wasn’t unusual for one to come to him.

A few minutes later, Zadie could hear her father and another man laughing. The sound of her father’s laughter rolled over her, bringing flashes of pleasant childhood memories. “I have a feeling that whoever came is a friend and not a patient.”

“I believe you are right,” Zadie’s mom answered. “I haven’t heard him laugh like that in years.”

“I’ve worried about Poppa. I’ve never seen the heat get to him as it has this summer.”

“He’s fine. We’re getting older, and he’s no longer that invincible young man I married.” Her knitting needles clicked nonstop as she spoke. “He’s always believed in being careful, and he washes his hands and everything around him all the time. I think he’s been extra careful as he’s aged.”

“Oh, you and Poppa are not old. Did you not say that Abilene raised Poppa? She must be twice as old and look at her energy.”

“Hardly twice as old. She was in her early teens when your father was born and she refused to leave when the war ended. And yes, she’s spry for her age. I know she’s enjoyed teaching you this summer and having your help.”

“You should have had me learn sooner.”

“But you would have complained bitterly if we had--”

“Zadie, come here,” her father called. “I want you to meet someone.”

She glanced at her mother as a feeling of horror raced through her. Quickly she wiped her hands on her paint cloth and attempted to untie her paint frock that covered her old faded green and white day dress as she made her way to her father’s office.

She had managed to undo the top portion of the frock so that it folded over the skirted portion and at least hid some of the paint splatters. “Yes, Poppa.”

“Come in, my darling daughter, and meet your future father-in-law. This is Reginald Lorde. Reginald, my daughter, Zadie.”

Her vocabulary escaped, along with every sensibility. By sheer rote, she managed to offer the man her hand.

“I’m pleased to meet you, Zadie. I certainly would never have recognized you from your picture.” Reginald Lorde was a fine-looking man for his age and impeccably dressed. His skin was weathered, his eyes were hazel, and his hair was an ash blond with slight curl.

“M-m-my picture?”

“Zadie, please sit,” her father ordered, as he pointed to a chair situated near his desk.

She sat and waited, certain that she knew what was coming. The tingle up her spine ended with a series of stabs someplace behind her eyes and a fog threatened to whisk her away.

“Why did you send this to Duncan?”

She gazed at the drawing she had made of the chinless, big-eared woman. Bucked-toothed and extremely snubbed nosed, with beady eyes, the image appeared to be of a woman who was older than dirt. Then she shifted her gaze to her father before settling on Mr. Reginald Lorde. She couldn’t hold back the giggles that bubbled from her. “It was a joke.”

Mr. Lorde stood, came to her, and took her hand. “Miss Larkford, my son knew your drawing was a joke, but he was very concerned about your willingness to marry him. He doesn’t want you forced into a marriage where you will be unhappy.”

 ***

A RANCHER'S REQUEST

is available on Amazon as an ebook or you can read it for free in Kindle Unlimited. 

It will soon be available in paperback and in large print.

E. Ayers, Author

E. Ayers is a true believer in love at first sight because it happened to her. She thinks everyone should find that special someone. When it happens, it's magical. Writing about that love is what she enjoys doing and when she's not spending time with her two dogs and waiting for his royal highness (the cat), she's busy writing. The official matchmaker for all the characters who wander through her brain, she likes finding just the right ones to create a story.

Find her website http://www.ayersbooks.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.ayers.58

Twitter @ayersbooks

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/E.-Ayers/e/B005AYJ0XE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1498627651&sr=8-2-ent

LOVING MATILDA BY E. AYERS OFFERS LOVE AND ADVENTURE

Some time ago I met a lovely author and am very pleased to have her as my guest today. Please welcome E. Ayers.

Readers love to get to know authors. Please share anything that lets readers get to know the real you.

There's nothing very exciting about my life. It's very quiet. I left the excitement behind when I married my husband. I was still seventeen when I met him. I thought he was crazy to ask me out. But a friend assured me that he was a nice guy, so I let him buy me a sandwich. Apparently he'd fallen instantly in love with me, but it took me that whole night to realize I was falling in love with him. Five weeks later, we were married. Two children, several houses, quite a few cars, and almost thirty-seven years with that wonderful man and I was a widow. That wasn't supposed to have happened. That was not in our plans. We were supposed to grow old together. We were going to finish renovating this old house, sell it, and build that retirement house with heated floors, solar panels, and floor to ceiling windows.

So here I am in this old pre-Civil War house that's only half renovated. With my eight-pound dog and a cat that is three times larger than the dog, I sit and write books, while praying that nothing else goes wrong in the house.

Our house is not as old as yours, but it seems plenty of things go wrong. When you’re not writing, what’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?

I love to take a ride into the country, out to the mountains, or head to the seashore with my camera. I also love to do pen and ink drawings of what I’ve photographed. The drawing is actually tedious and very time consuming, but it takes such concentration that everything else has to leave your mind. Depending on the detail, it takes about an hour to do a square inch. It’s a real stress buster. I've enclosed a picture of a pen and ink drawing I did. Once they are framed, it's hard to take a picture without glare on the glass.

Pen and Ink drawing by E. Ayers

You should be very proud of that drawing. How long have you been writing?

Seemingly forever, maybe not quite, but close.

Why did you choose to participate in Debra Holland’s Kindle World?

A few years ago, she asked me to be part of her Sweetwater Springs Christmas anthology. That was a collaboration of all the authors in that anthology, and it was so much fun. So when Debra Holland asked me to be part of her Kindle World, I said yes!

Where do you prefer to write?

I have a desk and a PC in a “computer” room. I have total solitude in that room except for my dog that is usually at my feet or at my side, and she never talks to me. With the doors shut, I’m very isolated, making it easy to slip into my writing world.

I write the same way, except it’s my cat keeping me company. Are you a plotter or a panzer?

I’m a planner. I don’t start writing until I have a certain amount of the story in my head. Then I’m along for the ride and I allow the characters to direct the rest of the story.

What research did this project involve?

I’ve been working an old diary and my research is only to the time of the Lakota Alliance. Then I skipped to the 1890’s. That leaves a big gap and I had to fill in the blanks, plus research gold, the mining techniques and the geology behind the formation. I now know how to pan for gold! Don’t you think that’s a really handy skill for a novelist? I wonder if I'll ever have a chance to try it. (My granddaughter loves to go gem mining. So I have done a few odd things with her. She'd probably be willing to give it a go. I know there's a gold mine in North Carolina.)

There is one gold mine, the Capps mine, that was owned by an ancestor of my dad’s first wife—thus of my half-brothers and half-sisters. The man married a Capps daughter and when she died, married her sister. Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you set goals? Do you write daily?

I write at night while the world sleeps. I don’t set word limits because when writing historical I often stop to look up something. Besides word limits and/or goals can be restrictive. There’s no point in setting myself up for failure. I just celebrate what I do accomplish.

I also write better at night. Do you write full time or do you have a day job.

I write full time now. Before I married I worked as a bookkeeper, then my hubby had me stay home and once the girls came, I stayed with them but as they got older, I knew I need to work to help pay for their college, so I went back into bookkeeping as the youngest was about to become a teen. I wound up as an office manager to a large medical practice, went from that to a CPA's office, and then into officer manager for a large property management firm. I quit when they girls were married and out of school. That's when my hubby and I started renovating houses. Then a dear friend asked me to come teach at her school. So I did. It was fun. But it was during that time that I knew I wanted to seriously write. I went back to college and took classes in English as a refresher. Then I started to write.

I was enjoying the freedom when my husband died. Everyone thinks you get Social Security when that happens. No! I wasn't old enough, nor did I have small children at home. I had to go back to work if I wanted to keep my house and pay the bills. I went into medical records. Nice easy job that paid well. Several times they wanted me for supervisory positions because of my background, but I didn't want the hassle. I'd come home and write. When I realized that I was making more money by writing than in my job, I quit. Oops! A few months later, the tables turned and had to fight my way back financially. But I'm glad I've persevered. It's difficult some months, but it's worth doing what I love.

Certainly there’re ups and downs in writing. Losing your husband was the worst blow. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise readers.

I think I'm out of surprises. Okay, here's something that I find almost hysterical looking back at it. My mom tried to push me to apply to colleges in the west. She really wanted me to go to the University of Wyoming. She figured that since I was such a nature girl and I loved horses, I needed to go to school there so I could meet a young rancher, marry, and live on a ranch.

The problem with that was Wyoming is not against the ocean. It wasn't even a day's drive from the ocean! I learned to surf when I was fourteen and I loved it. I surfed almost year round. I was a strong swimmer, competed on swim and diving teams, etc. There was no way I was leaving the ocean! So until someone moved Wyoming a little closer to the ocean… The answer was no. I was not going to go to college out there.

Yet here I am. I'm not writing about surfers, I'm writing about ranchers. Maybe my mother saw something in me back then that I failed to see in myself. Is there a wonderful man who's a rancher looking for someone to share his life? I'm an extremely good cook and with my writing, I'm very quiet. I know how to ride a horse. I still love nature and I can balance a checkbook! J

What is something unusual you learned while researching and writing this book?

I’ve got to say the commercial mining operations of gold. Yet I really don’t mention much about it other than the constant pounding from the stamp mill.

What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Ultimately…enjoyment of their time spent between the pages with my characters.

Don’t we all? What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Take classes, learn the craft of writing, and never ever put out a book until it is properly vetted, edited, and ready for prime time! Too many think they've written a wonderful story and honestly many have written a wonderful story but crafting that story is a skill that is learned. Remember when I said I was on swim teams and diving teams. I knew how to swim before I was on those teams. I knew how to do a few dives from watching others do them. But until you've been coached and practiced for hours and weeks and months, you aren't ready to do it in competition. You think you are straight going into that water, but you aren't, and you will throw a rooster tail! It's the same thing with a book. Readers don't want rooster tails.

A great analogy. Tell us about your Kindle World novel with a blurb and an excerpt.

LOVING MATILDA Blurb:

Matilda “Matt” Berwyn, forced to live disguised as a boy in a mining town, longs to escape and blossom into the female she's always wanted to be. But her desire to leave Morgan's Crossing escalates when she realizes she's being stalked.

Stockyard hand Zeke Hillerman knows her secret and has fallen in love with her. He helps her flee to his parents’ home in the east to learn to be a lady, while he struggles to start his own ranch. As Matilda grapples with Victorian expectations of young women, Zeke’s plans for their future unravel, and he realizes that the cost of her ticket out of Morgan's Crossing may have been his own heart.

LOVING MATILDA Excerpt:

Zeke awaken and stretched. He had found the perfect spot for sleeping. Using his bedroll as a pillow, he’d slept through the night and well into the morning hours, leaving him feeling refreshed and ready for the ride to the Reiner stockyard. He scanned the water below and didn’t see Matt. Unfortunately, he couldn't wait forever. It was important that he return to the stockyard in a timely manner. But that didn't stop the disappointment that ran through him.

As he prepared to leave, movement caught his eye and he stopped long enough to realize it was Matt. She's not playing. She really is panning for gold!

He stood there mesmerized. Whatever she was finding wasn’t small. He left his horse and went back down the pass to get a better look. A spear whizzed through the air and landed near Matt.

Zeke instantly stiffened. His rifle was with his backpack, leaving him only with his knife. There was no time to think. He had to protect Matt. He took off in a full run, his boots barely touching the ground. A blood-curdling yell resonated across the peaceful landscape as an Indian ran towards Matt. He saw the Indian attack Matt.

Zeke dove for the young man slamming him into the creek bed. With his fist raised, Zeke looked into two dark orbs that instantly widened…

"Who is he?" Gray Fox asked.

Matilda sat in the creek after she dragged the man from the water and watched him. "Not sure. Think he's going to die?"

"As hard as you hit him with that rock, he might."

LOVING MATILDA Buy link: http://amzn.to/241E1cR

E. Ayers, Author

How can readers learn more about you and your other books?

Find E. Ayers here:
http://www.ayersbooks.com
http://ayersbooks.wordpress.com
http://AuthorsofMainStreet.wordpress.com
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Twitter: @ayersbooks