Being invited to write in the Pinkerton Matchmaker Series
was a thrill for me. I’ve enjoyed reading this series and am honored to
participate. Since AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA released last week, I wanted to share
some of my research with you.
In writing this book the first problem I encountered was
that there were NO rail lines where I needed them. So, my hero and heroine had
to travel by stage from Denver to San Antonio. That required a long trip, but I
only included a portion. Otherwise, most of the book would have been about
their journey. They couldn't travel in a logical straight route due to lack of roads, availability of water, and Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache.
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| Red lines are railways in 1870 map |
The hotel in the book, The Menger Hotel, is a real place
built in 1859 and remains a luxury hotel today. Over the years many renovations
and additions have been made and ownership has changed. At the time of the
story, William Menger had died and his wife and son were in charge.
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| Menger Hotel as it was in 1871 (it's much larger now) |
Mary Menger’s meals were locally famous. She planned menus,
shopped for excellent produce, and cooked. The menu included wild game as well
as the usual meats. Mango trees grew in the courtyard which has since been
enclosed. She used the fruit to make mango ice cream. That surprised me. I didn’t
realize the trees would grow in San Antonio, even in a protected courtyard. I
grew up in Texas but hadn’t tasted a mango until I’d been married several
years.
No, you didn’t miss it in geography class—there is no country called Bayergrovenia, the place from which Magdala and her parents immigrated. After all, this is fiction. I patterned it after Luxembourg and tucked the small country in beside France, Switzerland, and Bavaria. Like Switzerland and Luxembourg, Bayergrovenia is neutral. I first used this country several years ago in SAVE YOUR HEART FOR ME. In case you haven't read this novella, the link is http://mybook.to/Matt
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| 1838 Alamo sketch by Mary Ann Maverick |
As a died-in-the-wool Texan, I was embarrassed to learn the Alamo was not as I had imagined or how I found it in visits. At the time of AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA, the Alamo had not been rescued and was in ruins. There was talk of leveling the chapel as had been done with the plaza. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed. Now the Alamo and her sister chapels--Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan, and Estrada plus the remains of the aquaduct are protected as UNESCO world heritage sites.
Talented Virginia McKevitt designed the cover for each of
the Pinkerton Matchmaker Series books. She also did the covers for the Proxy
Bride Series. I really love the covers she created for my books, don’t you? Her design business is Black Widow designs. I've not met her in person but I don't think she actually is a black widow spider.
I enjoy reading and writing marriages of convenience
stories. They add a new dimension to the developing romance. Of course, we know
there will be a happy ending but learning how the couple develop their romance is
fun.
I hope by now you’ve read AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA, book 37 of
the Pinkerton Matchmaker Series. If not, the Universal Amazon link is http://mybook.to/Magdala and it’s available
in e-book and print and is enrolled in KU.
