Book Boyfriends: Lisa's hero

Interview with Cord, hero of Fool's Notion (book) by Lisa J. Flickinger:

Lisa: When did you first feel the “spark” between you and Alda?

Cord: We had just met on the trail, I don’t think she’d mind me saying she looked a little worse for wear. When she threatened to blast a hole right through me, that’s when I knew. I knew there was more to this girl than meets the eye, and I had to get to know her proper.

Lisa: What do you love most about Alda?

Cord: I love a lot of things about Alda, her compassion for others, her kindness to those in need, and her willingness to forgive the people who wronged her, but I just can’t resist her fiery red hair. It almost broke my heart when I saw her pretty curls sitting on the deputy’s desk in Cheyenne. 

Lisa: What characteristic of Alda do you find least endearing?

Cord: I don’t want to speak ill of the girl but she can be stubborn at times, even more stubborn than one of her mules.

Lisa:  If you were to take Alda on a special outing what would it be?

Cord: We love riding together, so we would take the horses out on a Sunday evening and watch the sun go down on the prairie — take in all the beautiful colors. On our way home, we would stop in at my brother’s place and jaw on his front porch.

Lisa: What was the first gift you gave Alda?

Cord: This might not sound very ladylike, but it was a scabbard for her shotgun. I had a special nickname stamped on it by the fellow who sold it to me in Marysville. It was a pretty coppery brown with a fringe across the bottom. Alda seemed to appreciate it.

Lisa: Do you think Alda has what it takes to be a lawman’s wife?

Cord: I sure do. Her tiny stature might deceive you, but the girl’s tough. How else would she have survived the trip?

Lisa: Where are you taking Alda on your honeymoon?

Cord: Ma’am, I can’t tell you that now can I?

~*~
Author Bio:

Lisa J. Flickinger is the author of historical novels Fool’s Notion, Ella, and All That Glitters.

She lives and writes from the cliff of a river along the majestic Rocky Mountains. 

When not writing or reading, you will find her scouring antique shops or sipping a maple latte with friends and family. 

~*~
Book Blurb for Fool's Notion:

1883 California Trail, Kansas

Missouri mules were the best. Alda grew to love the creatures working side by side with her pa on their farm along the banks of the Missouri River. He would be hopping mad when he realized his wife and daughter colluded behind his back to sell a pack string. It wouldn’t matter that they were trying to save the farm.

Alda struck out on her own to drive the team over fifteen hundred miles. By day three, her lead mule Bessie refused to take one more step. It was a good thing the handsome cowboy Cord stopped by to lend a hand or Alda might still be sitting in the dust.

Now, Alda needed the man to move on so she could continue her journey. Judging by the spark in Cord’s eye … it just might take some convincing.

~*~
Connect with Lisa:
Website - www.lisajflickinger.com
Facebook - http://bit.ly/2npSOzV
Goodreads - http://bit.ly/2BI9W81

~*~
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Cozy Christmas Reads: Donna's story

Christmas Under the Stars

A devotional by Donna Schlachter

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.”~Luke 2:8 (NLT)

Sometimes we can sanitize the words in the Bible so much that we don’t get their true meaning. We do this all the time when we read of Job’s sufferings, of Joseph of the Old Testament while he was in prison, and even of Jesus and the crucifixion.

And yes, with the Christmas story.

Shepherds were the lowest of the low in Biblical times when it came to social position and the ability to rise to prominence in the community. We even see in the story of Joseph in Genesis that they didn’t sit with other people (the Egyptians made his brothers sit at a separate table), and the pharaoh suggested Joseph give them land away from everybody else.

And yet God chose to announce the birth of His Son to such ones as these.

What was He thinking? That we’re all outsiders when it comes to the Kingdom of Heaven? That we are all smelly and dirty before Jesus cleans us up? That we’re all in the dark?

Yes to all of the above.

As we think of the Christmas story this year, let’s pay attention to all the players—including those not welcome in the presence of a King—which would be all of us.

And let’s give thanks that we are now not only welcome, but encouraged to come in boldly.

~*~

Author bio:

Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick, her first-line editor and biggest fan. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. 

She is a hybrid publisher who has published a number of books under her pen name and under her own name. 

She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters In Crime; facilitates a local critique group, and teaches writing classes and courses. 

Donna is also a ghostwriter and editor of fiction and non-fiction, and judges in a number of writing contests. She loves history and research, and travels extensively for both. Donna is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.

~*~

Blurb for Donna's book, Christmas Under the Stars:

November 1858, Utah Territory

Edie Meredith strives to keep her temper and her tongue under control as she heads west with her brother to California. Raised in an itinerant preacher family, she promises she will never marry a man of the cloth.

Tom Aiken, drover of the wagon train, longs to answer his true calling: to preach, and while he realizes not every woman would choose a preacher for a husband, he hopes to soon find his help-meet.

Suspicious ‘accidents’ plague their journey. Is someone trying to keep them from reaching their destination? Or will misunderstanding and circumstances keep them apart?

~*~

Connect with Donna:

Blog - www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com

Website - www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com 

Facebook - www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor

Twitter - www.Twitter.com/DonnaSchlachter

Amazon - http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq

~*~

Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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Spring into Love: Pegg's personal essay about a horse and true worth

A Worthy Steed
A guest post by Pegg Thomas

Writing for The Pony Express Romance Collection gave me a wonderful opportunity to combine my love of history and my love of horses. "Embattled Hearts", my story in the collection, includes a one-eyed horse named Cyclops. He’s a solid black thoroughbred with attitude.

When our son decided that he wanted to be a cowboy, we put obstacles in his way. You see, I’d had horses as a kid and I knew the expense and the work involved. We told him he couldn’t get a horse until he was 13 and able to do the work involved. He also had to take riding lessons first, which we weren’t going to paying for. And he’d have to purchase his own horse. That should have deterred any youngster, right?

Wrong.

He cleared the last hurdle just weeks before his 13th birthday, and had his money in the bank. It was time to horse shop. We knew our son was going to be tall—he’d passed me at age 12—so we went looking for a tall horse, something he wouldn’t outgrow. The market was high at the time and Quarter Horses over 15 hands were bringing a small fortune. Then we heard about off-track Thoroughbreds. Retired racehorses ready to take up a new career.

That led us to Jason.

Jason was a 16.2 hand solid black gelding with a been-there-done-that-got-the-tee-shirt kind of sanity that a mother appreciates. He was as smart and level-headed as any horse I’d ever been around. But he also had attitude. Did I mention our son was 13? One attitude deserves another.

Our son, who had been active in 4-H for years, was thrilled to take his horse to the fair. People proceeded to tell him that he should have bought a Quarter Horse. They told him that he couldn’t contest with a Thoroughbred. Never throw the gauntlet down before a pair with attitude. Within the year, our son and Jason were weaving between poles, circling barrels, sliding to a stop between chalked lines, and bringing home the ribbons to prove it.

The big black taught my son a lot of lessons along the way. He taught him patience. He taught him perseverance. He taught him trust. He taught him to overcome obstacles, some physical and some mental. He taught him to stand his ground. And he taught him that mom meant it when she said to unplug the electric fence before riding in the paddock.

I started writing "Embattled Hearts" almost a year to the day after we lost Jason at the ripe old age of 25. It seemed only fitting to capture his spirit in the story—which turned out to be my debut. I think Jason would have approved, although he may have given me some grief about the one-eyed thing, since he had both of his.

~*~
Author bio:

Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years.

A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” 

When not working on her latest novel, Pegg can be found in her garden, in her kitchen, at her spinning wheel, or on her trusty old horse, Trooper.

~*~
Blurb for "Embattled Hearts": Alannah Fagan escaped from a battle she wouldn’t survive. Stewart McCann left behind a battle he couldn’t face. Thrown together at Horseshoe Station, can they find something worth fighting for?

~*~
Buy Pegg's story "Embattled Hearts" in The Pony Express Romance Collection, available now at Amazon and Christian Bookstores

~*~
Connect with Pegg:
Amazon Author Page
Twitter 
Goodreads
Website 
QuidProQuills 
ColonialQuills

~*~

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Spring into Love: Donna Schlachter's story about The Pony Express

Interview with Donna Schlachter, author of “Echoes of the Heart”:

Alexis: Tell me about The Pony Express Romance Collection. What is it about? How did you become one of the authors for this story collection?

Donna: This is a 9-in-1 novella collection from Barbour Books centered on the Pony Express, which ran from April 1860 through November 1861. The Pony Express already seems to be a romantic snippet of Americana, and so it seemed to make sense to write a collection of historical romance set on the trail. My story, “Echoes of the Heart”, features a mail order bride responding under an assumed name, a crippled station master who thinks no woman will want him, and their search for a future—together or separately.

I met up with Mary Davis at a writers’ conference a few years ago, and asked her what she was working on. She told me about a Pony Express proposal she was putting together. I said, “I’d like to do something like that”. She said she had her authors, but would contact me if anything came up. I did some research, visited a few stations within a day’s travel, and about a month later, she emailed and said one of the authors had to drop out and was I still interested. I sure was!

Alexis: What inspired you to write your story in the collection, “Echoes of the Heart”?

Donna: The process I described above sounds easy, but in reality, the project was out for consideration for a long time. I’d given up on it, actually, but I loved my original story, so I went ahead and turned it into a full-length novel. When we got the approval for the proposal, I had to come up with another idea and move the story to another station since the new 9-in-1 had the stories take place at different stations. I’d had this idea in my head, although not originally set at a Pony Express station, so the transition was easy.

Alexis: Let’s talk about the heroine of your story, Catherine Malloy. What is she running from? Why is she running? What does she fear? What are her greatest hopes and dreams?

Donna: Catherine is running from an employer who made indecent advances toward her. She was raised in a loving family, but basically sold out when her parents died and a crooked uncle became her guardian. Her best friend, Maggie, saw an advertisement for a mail order bride, answered the advertisement, and was going to travel west when she died. Catherine, wanting to escape her situation, decided to pretend she was Maggie. She doesn’t want to get found out and sent back, and longs to have a husband and family—a marriage like her parents had.

Alexis: What makes Catherine answer a personal ad in a magazine? Would you say this is the inciting incident in her journey? Why or why not?

Donna: Catherine didn’t answer the ad, but she wrote the letters because Maggie was illiterate. During the writing, she began to have feelings for the man Maggie became engaged to. The inciting incident is the indecent advances and expectations of her employer. She is stuck—she cannot stay, and she has nowhere to go. When Maggie dies suddenly, this seems like her way out.

Alexis: Why does Catherine believe that the God who her parents believed in abandoned her?

Donna: Like many people, Catherine had only a surface relationship with God. She was living on the faith of her parents. When her parents fell ill, she prayed for God to heal them, and when He didn’t, she felt He had abandoned her.

Alexis: Benjamin Troudt is the hero of your story. Describe his looks, personality, strengths and character flaws.

Donna: Benjamin has brown hair and eyes, a cleft chin and strong jaws. He also has a pronounced limp because he was thrown from a horse when he was trying to qualify to ride for the Pony Express.

Alexis: Why is Benjamin resistant to romantic love and how does his faith in God help him?

Donna: Benjamin had big dreams of making enough money to buy his own place while he worked for the Pony Express as a rider. However, when he is injured then offered the job as station master, then his employment is tenuous because he is illiterate and he can’t keep up with the work, plus he has a pronounced limp, he doesn’t think any woman will want him. With all the bad luck heaped on him, he is certain God doesn’t hear his prayers.

Alexis: What does Benjamin like about Catherine? Is there anything about her that he dislikes?

Donna: Benjamin has no idea Maggie/Catherine is coming, because he didn’t place the ad. Once he gets her to stay, he appreciates her feminine touch and the fact that she is a good cook, but he doesn’t want to get too close because he knows she will leave. 

Alexis: How does Catherine feel when she first meets Benjamin? Is it good or bad? Why? 

Donna: Catherine is confused about why a man would advertise for a mail order bride and then not want her. He must see something lacking in her. She won’t stay where she’s not wanted. But she agrees to stay to help out the woman in labor. She doesn’t want to get too close to him because she knows he’ll send her away as soon as the woman is well enough to travel.

Alexis: What is the moral of this story?

Donna:  That God is bigger than our past if we’ll only surrender to Him.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Donna! God bless you.

~*~
Author bio:

Donna Schlachter lives in Denver with husband Patrick who is her first-line editor and biggest fan. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. 

She is a hybrid publisher who has published a number of books under her pen name and under her own name. 

Her current release, "Echoes of the Heart", a story within the 9-in-1 novella collection titled "Pony Express Romance Collection", released April 1. 

Donna is also a ghostwriter and editor of fiction and non-fiction, and judges in a number of writing contests. She will be teaching an online course for American Christian Fiction Writers in June 2017, “Don’t let your subplots sink your story”. 

Donna loves history and research and travels extensively for both.

~*~
Blurb for “Echoes of the Heart” and The Pony Express Romance Collection: 

This is a 9-in-1 novella collection from Barbour Books centered on the Pony Express, which ran from April 1860 through November 1861. The Pony Express already seems to be a romantic snippet of Americana, and so it seemed to make sense to write a collection of historical romance set on the trail. My story, Echoes of the Heart, features a mail order bride responding under an assumed name, a crippled station master who thinks no woman will want him, and their search for a future—together or separately.

Buy Donna’s story “Echoes of the Heart”: http://amzn.to/2lBaqcW

~*~
Connect with Donna:
Blog - www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com
Website - www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com
Facebook - www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor
Twitter - www.Twitter.com/DonnaSchlachter
Amazon Author Page - http://amzn.to/2oUZfMD

~*~

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Movie Review: When Calls the Heart

Movie title: When Calls the Heart

Movie reviewer: Alexis A. Goring, founder of “God is Love” blog

When Calls the Heart is a delightful movie featuring Erin Krakow, Daniel Lissing, Jack Wagner and Lori Loughlin. The movie is set in the past, focusing on a family-friendly town founded in the pioneering days of America. The genre of this movie is drama. It’s based on a book written by Janette Oke.

The name of the small town is Hope Valley. New Year’s Eve is approaching and the town has been selected for a feature in the San Francisco Herald, thanks to Rosemary who submitted an essay to the newspaper’s contest about a “real frontier family.”

Rosemary LeVeaux (played by Pascale Hutton) poses as a married woman, convincing Lee to pretend to be her husband because that’s a fine print requirement for the winner of the essay contest. Hilarity ensues and makes the viewing audience laugh at the extreme measures Rosemary goes to keep up the charade. She works hard to convince the newspaper reporter that she is married. But she works even harder to shine the spotlight on her beloved town in a way that impresses the reporter in the best way possible.

Meanwhile, Bill Avery (played by Jack Wagner) works hard to convince Jack that he’s behind bars for the wrong reason. He did not commit the counterfeiting crime. This subplot provided a healthy dose of suspense and intrigue. It made me as the viewer want to figure out the mystery. The plot twists were unpredictable and kept me guessing until the final second when the answer was revealed.

Amidst the main plot and subplots is a segment of this film that will tug at your heartstrings. It’s the part of the story that features two young children—a brother and a sister—both under the age of 15 who ran away from home and are camping out in the woods. The young boy sneaks into town to steal food and wood for the campfire. But by after a few hidden attempts, he’s caught red-handed by the hotel owner/cook Abigail Stanton (played by Lori Loughlin) and the schoolteacher Elizabeth Thatcher (played by Erin Krakow). These two women take him and his sister under their wing and try to find out about why they ran away. But these two young children are not very trusting nor open, at first.

There is a sweet love story weaved throughout this movie and it centers on Elizabeth working hard to win back the love of Jack Thornton (played by Daniel Lissing), the only man who she wants. But after witnessing another man propose marriage to Elizabeth, Jack is guarded with Elizabeth and questions her true intentions.

Aside from the engaging dialogue and satisfying storyline, the filmmaking aspects of this movie deserve attention. So here it is: The costume design for this movie was impressive. The women’s bustle petticoats were true to the time period and the men’s boots and straight-legged trousers were historically accurate. The acting was pretty good and convincing. The actors played their parts with candor and composure. The storyline swept you away into the fictional town of Hope Valley and made you feel like you were a member of their community, watching the story unfold.

My overall reaction to this film was good. It was an old-fashioned story filled with family values and themes of hope and restoration. I’d recommend this movie to anyone who wants to experience a heartwarming story and companionship of characters that have your best interest at heart, even if it’s only for the 88-minute duration of the movie.

*FishFlix.com, a web store that sells Christian Movies, provided Alexis A. Goring with a complimentary copy of When Calls the Heart - It Begins with Heart DVD (movie) in exchange for an honest review.