I’m really excited to share with you all my fourth release this year (this one is just a novella though!) – The MissAdventure Brides Collection. My story is MissTaken Identity.  This collection would make a wonderful Christmas present for any readers on your list – so make sure you pick up a few copies at your favorite bookstore. Or here: ChristianBook Or here: Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To introduce you to the collection here’s the blurbs:

Along the Yellowstone River by Debby Lee
1832 Montana
Heather Duncan takes over her father’s fur trapping business, believing it’s an opportunity to also gain knowledge of medicinal plants, but a growing sympathy for animals and blossoming adoration for a rugged mountain man capture her heart.

MissTaken Identity by Kimberley Woodhouse
1883 Texas
Headstrong, bubbly, accident-prone Abigail Monroe is on a quest for adventure away from society’s expectations. But her pursuits are unexpectedly thwarted when she is arrested by a handsome Texas Ranger.

Lesson of Love by Cynthia Hickey
1885 Arkansas
City girl, Leah Ellison has big dreams but soon finds out that teaching in a backwards Ozark mountain community is far different than what she’d imagined.

Maddy’s Llamas by Marjorie Vawter
1898 Colorado
In spite of Maddy’s “missadventures” raising her llamas for their wool and strictly-by-the-book Harry’s attempts to get her to do things “right,” they learn to work together and find love in the laughter.

Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure by Mary Davis
1903 cross-country trip
Zola Calkin sets out on an adventure to be the first woman to drive across the country. Will the journalist tasked to report her presumed failure sabotage her efforts? Or will he steal her heart?

Detours of the Heart by Donna Schlachter
1925 New Mexico
A tour guide who wants to move on and a playboy who’s never had a place to call home—can they overcome their own plans and allow God to make their path straight, or will they take yet another detour?

Riders of the Painted Star by Kathleen E. Kovach
1936 Arizona
Zadie Fitzpatrick, an artist from New York, is commissioned to go on location in Arizona to paint illustrations for an author of western novels and falls for the male model.
And for extra fun, I’m including interesting posts from several of the other authors on the History of their stories. Enjoy and Happy Reading!   Make sure you go to each of the author’s websites to see more posts about this series and for exciting prizes.

I’ll be giving away three copies of the book. To enter: write a comment on this post or share on FB, twitter, or Instagram. Winners will be chosen on December 15th!

RIDERS OF THE PAINTED STAR – The History
By Kathleen E. Kovach

It was the beginning of the Golden Age of Hollywood. In 1935, Gene Autry joined the ranks as a Singing Cowboy when he starred in a twelve-part serial as himself in The Phantom Empire. Others who galloped across the silver screen singing on their ponies were, Ken Maynard, Bob Steele, and most notably, John Wayne. Yes, that John Wayne. His voice was dubbed, however, which seems comical now that we know his character so well. Later, Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter would make their marks on the genre.

In my story, Royce Rutger has been playing bit parts, but he longs to be the next Singing Cowboy. Problem is, he’s just a fellow from New Jersey with no real experience on a horse other than what he’s already done with the studio. Thanks to a deal with the owner of a dude ranch, Royce gets his chance to learn how to cowboy. But obstacles get in the way, including a beautiful artist with other plans for his future.

GIVEAWAY!
Come to my blog through the month of November, when I’ll be hosting all of the heroes of the collection. Then, join me in December as I talk about my own story. I’ll be giving away copies of MISSAdventure Brides at the end of both months.

Website – www.kathleenekovach.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/kathleenekovach

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Having grown up in Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park was her playground. She lives in northeast Colorado with her husband of over four decades and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God’s peculiar people. Please visit her at http://www.kathleenekovach.com.

 

The History Behind Detours of the Heart — and a giveaway!

By Donna Schlachter

 

For readers of historical fiction, one thing remains: the story must ring true. Authors can put their characters into fantastic predicaments and dangerous situations, but the facts need to bear out the tale.

Once I decided on a time for the story–1925–and a setting–The Alvarado, a Harvey House Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico–I needed a foundation to build upon. A trip to the Western and Genealogical Department of the Denver Public Library provided me with a plethora of material on Fred Harvey Senior, including his love for all things Southwestern.

He collected, personally and in his hotels, every imaginable sort of art from the Southwest. In fact, his collection is one of the largest in the world, conserving works from then-unknown artists that likely would have been lost in time. Paintings, sketches, sculptures, three-dimensional textiles, and jewelry are counted in his collection.

Mr. Harvey Senior had a love for not only the area but also for the native peoples, and wanted to introduce ordinary Americans to a culture they might never otherwise experience. As a result, he instituted the Indian Detours, a mechanism whereby folks would travel to a local reservation, observe native lifestyles, and purchase native-made goods. For those unwilling or unable to travel on a bus, he provided locally-made handcrafts in his hotel gift shops, thereby injecting money back into the local native economy.

As with most things profitable and beneficial, somebody usually comes along and tries to turn all the profit and benefit to themselves. This happened with the native-made jewelry and artwork. Mr. Harvey Senior quickly realized that if allowed to go unchecked, customers would call into question the authenticity of all handiwork, which would, in turn, drive down the prices for the artisans and himself.

By the time our story happens, Mr. Fred Senior has retired and handed over the reins of the business to his son, Mr. Fred Junior, who takes just as seriously the problem of counterfeiting. When our hero and heroine reveal just such a plot at The Alvarado, he is both grateful and generous.

While the other characters in my story are fictitious, Mr. Fred Junior is not, and although we have no specific record of such a plot at The Alvarado, the possibility exists that it could have happened.

The other interesting historic fact in this story is that Hollywood and the silver screen were just a few years old. Silent movies were falling by the wayside, and the production studios clamored for actors and actresses who could remember lines and had pleasant voices. As a result, Millie Watkins’s desire to head west was a reflection of thousands of young people of her time. Happy reading!

I will give away five print copies (US only, please) of the book by dropping the names of all who leave a comment on my missAdventure blog posts on my own blog or on this blog post between today and December 16th into a basket and pulling out five winners. One entry per blog post, please, and one prize per person. If you leave a comment every day on the 15 different blog posts, you could have 15 entries to win. Drawing closes midnight December 16th MDT.

In addition, if you don’t already subscribe to my newsletter, and you choose to subscribe at www.HiStoryThroughTheAges.com , I’ll pop in another entry for you. So you could have up to 16 chances to win!

 

The History behind Maddy’s Llamas

While I did preliminary research into my story, I was truly amazed at how everything worked together to make the story real and historically accurate. I chose to set my story at the very end of the nineteenth century. As I did the research to make sure the name of the town was the correct one (that’s explained in the story), I was thrilled to see it had actually happened earlier that year. Then in studying out the history of the Denver zoo, I learned it had been established two years before with a mission to follow a German zoologist who endeavored to make a natural habitat for each of the animals in his zoo in Germany—a revolutionary idea at the time. So with these and other little tidbits of truth that make it into Maddy’s Llamas, I was very pleased with my story in the end.

 

 

Bio:

Marjorie Vawter is a full-time author, freelance editor, proofreader, and speaker. She has over 200 published devotionals, articles, and book reviews and is the author of four novellas & six nonfiction books. A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) since 2004, she has served as the Colorado Area Coordinator, and past president of HIS Writers, the first Colorado ACFW chapter. She is a past member of the MozArks chapter in Springfield, MO, and has served as the ACFW Central Zone Director.

 

A freelance editor, Margie edits, proofreads, and is an indexer for individual clients and publishers. An avid reader, she also judges for several prestigious awards in the inspirational marketplace.

 

Margie is married to her college sweetheart and best friend, Roger, and they live in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking and snowshoeing in the mountains near their family cabin. They have two adult children, a daughter-in-love, and two beautiful grandchildren.

 

You can find her online at www.marjorievawter.com or http://marjorievawter.blogspot.com

 

THE AUTOMOBILE: FAD, FOLLY, OR FUTURE

 

 

My novella “ZOLA’S CROSS-COUNTRY ADVENTURE” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection is about a courageous young woman in 1904 who attempts to be the first woman to drive from coast to coast. Zola has taken up the challenge to prove women are as capable as men, and to prove this, she sets out to drive an automobile across the country. My newspaper reporter hero, Allen, has been tasked with getting the story and is ordered to follow her.

 

In 1903, a man named Horatio Nelson Jackson, his chauffeur/mechanic, and his dog, Bud, traveled from San Francisco to New York City in a 20-horsepower Winton automobile, making him the first person to drive across the country. In 1903, when Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson made his historic transcontinental trek, automobiles were still a novelty and most people didn’t trust them.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIwq7JWqjx4

 

Automobiles were highly prone to breaking down. People didn’t think automobiles would last, that they were a passing fad.

Here is a “romance” song written back in the day about automobiles breaking down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV1Nkruquwg

 

1769: The first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. (I didn’t realize automobiles went back that far.)

 

1808: The first car powered by an internal combustion engine fueled by hydrogen designed François Isaac de Rivaz.

 

1870: The first gasoline powered combustion engine built by Siegfried Marcus.

 

1885: A single cylinder four-stroke engine powered Karl Benz’s gasoline automobile. Because Benz made several identical copies, it’s considered the first “production” vehicle.

 

At the turn of the 20th century, electrically powered automobiles became a popular alternative. (Hmm, that sounds familiar. It only took another 100 years for them to come back into vogue.)

 

Automobiles were expensive and only the rich could afford them. With Henry Ford’s assembly line, automobiles became affordable for the ordinary person.

 

Happy Adventuring!

 

 

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; “Holly & Ivy” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

 

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Thanks for joining us today for the celebration of the release of THE MISSADVENTURE BRIDES COLLECTION