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GENTRY AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE |
Welcome Caroline Clemmons to
Book Treasure Tuesday!
Introduction
Thank you for asking, Maxine. After seven years
in Southern California as a small child, my family moved back to Texas, and
eventually settled at Lubbock. Around the dinner table, my father told
fascinating stories about growing up in and near Denison, Texas, and about his
family. I think that is what first sparked my love of history, especially Texas
history. The interest has grown over the years as I’ve read and/or researched
for books. I write books set in other states, too, but most are set in Texas.
My Hero and I live in Fort Worth, Texas, with our
two cats and a dog. Hero and I both love reading, but we also enjoy watching a
movie on TV each evening. In the past we loved travel, but Hero has Parkinson’s
now and—except for dining out—he prefers staying home. Our youngest daughter
and I still find time to get into mischief for various interests.
Sneak Peek
My
current release is Gentry and the Mail Order Bride, Book 1 Texas Hill
Country Mail Order Brides. It’s available as an ebook or in print. Of course,
it’s free in KU.
Genre: Historical western
romance
Heat Level: Sweet/clean/kisses
up to Subtle/implied lovemaking, but no details, PG rating.
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Sometimes the perfect
match is one you didn’t want. Nothing
much riles Gentry McRae. He works hard on the ranch he co-owns with his
immigrant best friend, and is content with his life. He’s proud of all
they’ve accomplished in the ten years since the war. That is, until his
partner dies and leaves a fourth of the ranch to his mail-order bride—and
wills the bride to Gentry.
“Now
just a doggone minute, I don’t plan to marry for years!”
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But,
a single woman can’t reside on a ranch where four men live without ruining
her reputation. What’s a good man to do, except marry the woman when she
arrives?
Heidi
Roth has been spurned for being too plainspoken and too tall. In addition,
her sister constantly makes fun of her for those reasons. That’s why—with
many doubts—she’s willing to travel for months from Germany to Texas to marry
a man who once lived in her town. When she arrives, she learns her prospective
groom is dead, but left her a fourth share of a ranch. She has serious
doubts, but agrees to wed Gentry to protect her reputation. Sure enough, from
the next day, one event after the other happens to complicate her life and
her husband’s. |
The comments from her
sister and cousin fueled her actions. She strode from the house toward the matchmaker’s
home. Though she did not want to risk the matchmaker again, Heidi longed to get
away from the people who belittled her. Something must change.
Being ten inches over
five feet meant she towered over most people. Being tall did not mean she had
no feelings. She wanted her own husband and children. She was tired of her
sister and cousins making snide remarks about her height and lack of a husband
or children. Each of the matches Mrs. Heinz suggested was a man Heidi had known
all her life. Each disliked that he was several inches shorter than she. She
had no control over her height. Each wanted a younger wife, not someone nearly
twenty-five. Neither liked a woman who spoke her mind, but she would not
pretend to be what she was not.
Their town was simply too
small to have many bachelors. Mrs. Heinz relied on word of mouth for her
matchmaking business. Heidi wanted to run into the forest and never return. Instead,
she held her head high and walked the half-mile to the home of Mrs. Heinz.
Gentry and the Mail Order
Bride is available in eBook and Print
♥ Amazon
Research Tidbits
In Gentry, I researched Bavaria and how a
young woman would travel from there to Bandera, Texas. I’m so glad I didn’t
have to travel like she did!
From that research, I learned that Bavaria,
before it became part of Germany, belonged to Prussia. That’s probably only
interesting to history nerds like me. I also enjoyed researching the route for
the heroine’s travel from Bavaria to Amsterdam, west toward the U.S.A., then
south along the east coast and around Florida into the Gulf of Mexico to
Indianola. Indianola was remarkably damaged in a hurricane on August 12, 1886, but
at the time of this book, it was an important port. Galveston has replaced it in
importance, even though Galveston had a devastating hurricane in 1900. I have
to be careful when I’m researching for a book. Going off on an interesting
tangent is tempting, but can devour writing time.
Interview Questions
Is
there a genre of book you would like to write but haven't yet?
I have plotted a four-book
contemporary women’s fiction series set in North Central Texas and called The
Tanglewood Springs Series. I’ve even written over half of the first book. In
the first one, the heroine’s youngest daughter is anorexic, her football player
son is injured and loses his college scholarship, and she learns her husband
has been cheating on her for some time. It’s so different from my historical
western romances, that I’m not sure my fans would enjoy the series. The first
one isn’t even a true romance, but a promise of happily-ever-after, which is
okay with women’s fiction.
I wrote a couple of cozy
mysteries earlier this year—published to the sound of crickets. People who read
cozies really liked them, but not many people read them. My historical western
romance fans did not cross over. The books are Death in the Perfect House,
Book 1, and Death in the Grave Yard, Book 2, Zoe Wilder Cozy Series. I
doubt I’ll write more of them.
When
did you first decided to submit your work? Please, tell us what or who
encouraged you to take this big step.
This was an involved
process. I had written newspaper, genealogy journal, and newsletter articles for
years. On one visit, my mother-in-law brought me a grocery bag of Harlequin
novels. She said she could tell from my long letters filled with anecdotes that
I could write this kind of book. I was surprised, but read and enjoyed several of
the books. I decided to try, and wrote a pretty amateurish novel. I thought I
had to have an agent, but my attempts to get one were unsuccessful. Then, I found
RWA, joined a chapter that had wonderful workshops on writing. After a year of
those and a community college class on Writing Fiction To Sell, I wrote a
better book.
I was at a monthly
meeting of the North Texas chapter of RWA in 1998. Four members—Sylvia McDaniel,
Carol Rose, Shayla Black, and Kathy Shaw—announced they had each sold to
Kensington for the new Precious Gems line to compete with Harlequin. They said
the editor was buying more. I submitted and sold Be My Guest, all
because of the generosity of fellow writers who shared good news. The line
didn’t last long (who can compete with Harlequin?), but I was published. I
switched to historical romance, and wrote several other books for Kensington. I
also wrote for The Wild Rose Press (very nice people), but an indie now.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I’m pretty sure it
originated with my father, who was a voracious reader and gifted storyteller.
He encouraged me to write stories as well as read them. My fourth grade
teacher, Mrs. Huff, encouraged me to read more diversely, and gave me an Earle
Stanley Gardner paperback for Christmas. (She chose a gift personalized for
each student, reminding us that she had spent the same amount on each of us.) She
told me she could tell I would be a writer, surprising and inspiring me. My
eighth grade journalism teacher was a jewel named Mary Stewart—not the well
known author, of course. She encouraged me to write and gave excellent classroom
instruction. In the ninth grade, I was the school newspaper editor. Our
newspaper won several state awards, one of which was for an editorial I wrote.
All through this, my
father encouraged me to write. The stories he told of his family coming to
Texas and their various adventures, plus his childhood exploits, fueled my
imagination. Sadly, he died before I was published. My mom was not a reader
until later in her life, but then she was very proud of my books and encouraged
me. My family continues to encourage and support me in my writing. Now, I have
about eighty titles published, all at Amazon. I love writing!
Maxine, thank you again
for hosting me.
Readers
can contact Caroline through her email! Which she welcomes gladly! New subscribers
will receive a free copy of Happy is the Bride, a historical
wedding disaster romance when signing up for Caroline’s newsletter. You can
also find her on several social media outlets listed below.
♥ BookBub
Thank
you for spending time with Caroline and me today! Check your email next time on
Book Treasure Tuesday!
Hugs~
NICE! Love that cover and great excerpt. Sounds like an intriguing story. Good luck and God's blessings. PamT
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pam.
Delete
ReplyDeleteThank you for your help, Maxine!