ARE YOU UP FOR A COUPLE OF TRIPS TO NASHVILLE?

NEW RELEASES -- JOSEPHINE AND JAMIE

As promised on Friday, here is more information on BRIDE BRIGADE: JOSEPHINE, which is now available at Amazon and—if not already—will soon be available as an e-book on iBooks, Nook, and Kobo.

Here’s the blurb for JOSEPHINE:

Josephine Nailor is desperate to escape a terrible situation. When the opportunity arises via a newspaper ad, she and her best friend slip away from their oppressive fathers and head for Richmond.  Neither can relax until they’re far away from their tiny hometown. With wealthy young widow Lydia Harrison’s help, Josephine and six other young women have a new life waiting in Tarnation, Texas.

Michael Buchanan is fairly content running his mercantile and being mayor of Tarnation. The town is dusty and tiny, but it’s growing. He believes it holds all he needs to be happy—except a wife. There are no available women in town, but he hopes Lydia Harrison’s Bride Brigade will offer a woman he can wed. He is immediately attracted to Josephine.

But Josephine has every reason to mistrust men in general and politicians in particular. Will her misgivings ruin her chance at happiness?

And here’s an excerpt of JOSEPHINE:

Josephine brushed and pulled back her hair. “At least we’re clean and neat even if we don’t have fancy clothes.”

Her friend chewed on her lip then met her gaze in the mirror. “I don’t really want to meet anyone right away.”

She smiled. “Afraid you might end up with someone like your pa or mine?”

Ophelia shook her head and pulled on her shawl to cover the stains on her dress. “Oh, no, Lydia won’t invite anyone who isn’t nice. She promised. I feel as shy as usual and need a little more time to adjust.”

Josephine tied a ribbon around her neck with her mother’s locket in the center. “Well, I don’t intend to marry. I want to find a job and be independent.”

Ophelia stared at her. “You mean you never want to wed?”

“Can you blame me?”

Her friend’s face filled with concern. “Jo, you can’t mean it. You’d never have a home and children. Think of your future. Who will keep you company in the evenings?”

“I’ll get a cat.”

The buy link for JOSEPHINE,  Bride Brigade book one, is http://amzn.com/B015M4FJUY

Please don’t forget THE SURPRISE BRIDES: JAMIE is also a new release. The buy link for JAMIE is http://amzn.com/B015272I3W. These books are $2.99 each in e-book, but are also available in print. The companion books about JAMIE’s brothers are GIDEON by Cynthia Woolf, CALEB by Callie Hutton, and ETHAN by Sylvia McDaniel.  GIDEON is available from Amazon at  http://amzn.com/B015JLMQBU. CALEB and ETHAN will be available as e-books by Wednesday. 

Happy reading!

PEEK AT MY UPCOMING RELEASE, WINTER BRIDE

Today I'm sharing the opening of my upcoming release, WINTER BRIDE. This book is part of the Stone Mountain Texas series. I had planned to release it on the last day of January, but life interfered and now it will be February before WINTER BRIDE is ready for publication.

The hero is Sheriff Butch Parrish. You'll learn his real name late in the book. I have to tell you it's a doozy and one that would cause any man to go by a nickname.

The heroine is Kendra Murdoch, sister of the woman in the scene below. She has been staying with her sister Glenna Tucker to help her recover from a miscarriage and poor health, and to care for Glenna's three children. Kendra dislikes her brother-in-law, Gus Tucker, and you'll learn why below.

Here's a preview of  WINTER BRIDE;

Winter Bride

Chapter One

Late January, 1875

Sheriff Butch Parrish studied the latest batch of wanted posters. With his booted feet propped on his desk, he sipped a cup of vile-tasting coffee. He failed to understand how a brew he loved most times could taste so awful here at the jail.

The door flew open, admitting Fred McGinnis and a gust of freezing air and snow. “Sheriff, you got to come quick. A man’s beating a woman near to death at the livery.”

With one motion, Butch set down his cup, stood, clapped his hat on his head, and reached for his coat. No point asking his part-time deputy why he didn’t stop the fight. Fred could follow directions, but the man was worthless at handling a crisis on his own. 

“Go for the doc.” Sliding on his jacket as he ran, the sheriff pounded down the sidewalk heedless of the falling snow. As he drew even with the livery, a man on horseback left the stable at a gallop heading west. Pete Hoskins appeared and fired at the retreating figure.

Pete lowered his revolver and faced the sheriff. “Dadburn it. Looks like I missed.”

Butch would go after the man after he learned more.  He headed inside the stables. “What happened?”

“I was in the corral when I heard the commotion. Had to threaten him before he’d stop hitting his woman, but he outfoxed me. I bent to see about her and he cracked me on the head. Time I came around, he’d saddled one of my horses and whipped by me.”

“Let’s see about the poor woman.” He knelt beside her crumpled, bloody mass lying on the dirt floor. She’d been beaten so badly he couldn’t tell whether she was pretty or plain.  

“Sheriff’s here, Miz Tucker.” Pete knelt on her other side.

 He didn’t know how she could see, but she grabbed at his sleeve. He patted her hand. “Doctor’s on his way, ma’am.”

Doctor Ross hurried in with Fred trailing.

The gray-haired physician set his medical bag on the dirt floor and tapped Pete on the shoulder. “Move aside and let me at my patient.”

Pete stood and moved behind the doc. “She’s in a bad way, isn’t she?”

The kindly doctor knelt beside Mrs. Tucker and gently assessed her injuries. “Need to get you to my office.”

After only a few moments, he snapped his bag closed, stood, and glanced at the other two men. “Likely she’s bleeding inside as well as what I can see.”

Butch held her hand where she gripped his sleeve, hoping to offer what comfort he could while he peered at the hostler. “Pete, don’t you have an old Army cot in the tack room?”`

The livery owner nodded. “Sometimes I let a fella bunk down in there if he’s down on his luck. I’ve been known to nap there.”

Butch looked at the doctor. “You think we’d be safe transporting her on the cot?”

“Be better than carrying her outright.”

“I’ll fetch it.” Pete strode toward the tack room.

Doctor Ross met Butch’s gaze. “Have to be real careful lifting this woman. Anyone know who she is?”

“Name’s Tucker. Don’t know her first name.”

When the hostler brought the cot, Butch and the doc lifted the patient onto the canvas. She moaned and appeared to pass out, but her fingers remained locked on Butch’s sleeve. Fred and he carried her while the doc followed along.

At the doctor’s office, which was the front of his house, he led them to a room used as a hospital. They transferred Mrs. Tucker to the nearest of the two beds. Butch tried to pry his coat loose from her grip. She tugged on him and he leaned near her split lips.

Gasping through tears, she whispered, “Gus’ll go for my sister. She and my kids are alone. By now they’re out of food and they’re trapped.”

“Don’t you live in Zach Stone’s place?” He knew where that was, though he’d been there before the Tuckers were tenants.

She sobbed, “Yes. Please, sheriff, you have to hurry.”

“Ma’am, I’ll stock up on supplies and leave right away.”

“Thank you.” She closed her eyes and released him.

He hoped she’d pull through—and he hoped he’d beat Tucker to the cabin on Stone Mountain. 

That's the opening scene. I hope your interest was piqued and you'll be eager to purchase this book when it's released in a few weeks. If you haven't done so, please sign up for my newsletter at the top of the sidebar to be notified of new releases, contests, and news. 

Thanks for stopping by!