Bowie Hart

Erica here:

I love me a wounded hero. There's just something about a wounded warrior that makes my heart ache. When I knew my character Bowie Hart would be a Civil War veteran, I knew he was going to carry some battle scars inside and out.

The outer scars make him self-conscious...and people's responses to those scars make him angry. He's been called a monster and a freak, he's been used as a scare tactic to get children to behave, and he's been pitied, which feels the worst.

Bowie also carries inner scars. He was wounded and captured at Gettysburg, shunted from one hospital to another, (Which is where he meets the heroine, Elise Rivers.) and eventually sits out the remainder of the war as a prisoner in Elmira, NY. None of his other brothers who fought were captured. Austin was wounded, but his wounds aren't evident, and certainly aren't on display on his face as Bowie's are.

These insecurities mean that GW Hart's pronouncement of marry-or-be-disinherited lands a devastating blow to Bowie's hopes for the future. The ranch, training horses and cattle dogs, those are the ways that Bowie contributes to his family. If he is forced off the Seven Heart, what's left to him?

Bowie is complex, wounded, wary, and buried deep inside, he's a romantic. Before he was wounded in the War, he had dreams of becoming a builder, or even an architect, and he dreamed of having a wife and family, a happy home. Now he's sure no woman would have him and that happiness is something that happens to other people but not him.

He's also the kind of man who would keep and treasure the handkerchief of a woman he fell in love with a decade before.

The template I originally used for Bowie is Daniel Day Lewis in Last of the Mohicans. Then I found this one on pinterest for Tom Mison. Since Bowie has lost his left eye and has scarring on the left side of his face (The result of a caisson explosion.) this picture in profile of Tom Mison is perfect.

Every day this week, I'm giving away a copy of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the musical!

To win a copy of the DVD, leave a comment here telling me what you wanted to grow up to be when you were a kid. (For me, I wanted to be a vet, then I wanted to be a nurse, and then I wanted to be a teacher, and then I wanted to be a writer. I never became a vet or a nurse, but I managed the other two.)

Enter our Rafflecopter for a LOADED KINDLE FIRE, and please, share this blog post on facebook, twitter, etc. We'd love to spread the word about this collection!

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Love at Last

Erica here:

I'm so exited to get to blog here this week! I've been waiting and waiting to chat with you about my novella in the collection, Love at Last.

Here's a quick summary of the story:

When we first began planning and plotting the 7 Brides stories, I knew I wanted a hero named Bowie. I love that name. And the second born role is one that I get, because I'm a second born. And because I had been reading a collection of Civil War letters written by Louisa May Alcott when she was a nurse in a Union hospital, I knew I wanted my heroine to have been a nurse.

I have long been fascinated by Civil War History. I have dozens of books on the subject, as well as having visited many Civil War sites. I've seen some of the "Biggies" like Chickamauga, Andersonville Prison, Vicksburg, Franklin, TN, and the Lincoln Museum and Grave. And I've visited countless smaller sites, the Tilghman House in Paducah, The Richmond, KY battlefield, Fort Donaldson, TN. One area of Civil War history that intrigues me is what happened to all those Confederate soldiers when they returned home. How did they feel about themselves? How were they received? How did they deal with their experiences?

I knew that I wanted to explore these questions at least as much as I could in a novella.


Tomorrow and Wednesday, I'll blog about Bowie and Elise respectively, and how their characters were created. I hope you'll come back and hang out this week.

Every day this week, I'm giving away a copy of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the musical!

To win the DVD, leave a comment telling me the Civil War sites you've visited and/or books on the Civil War that you recommend. (US Only.)

And time is running out to enter to win a LOADED KINDLE FIRE!


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A Peek Behind The Scenes #6 The Release!

Erica Here:

We're just about a week away from the big reveal! Who will win the LOADED KINDLE FIRE?  You'll have to come back to find out, and you know it won't be you if you don't enter! What are you waiting for???? (Scroll down and enter!)

For this week, however, I'd like to give you another Peek Behind The Scenes, this time talking about the book release. The book released six weeks ago, and began shipping to those who had pre-ordered it even before that, but for the authors, the release is a long process! There's a lot of thought and work that go into a book release, and the seven authors of this collection put in the sweat equity for sure.

Months ago, there was the cover art to finalize. 

Often, the author has little or no control over the cover art for a book, but this time, Barbour was generous and let us have a say.

The first cover art came back and it was...fine.

It had pretty font, and a cowboy hat, and it looked western. However, we were a bit concerned, because it looked similar to a couple of other novella collections that Barbour had published recently, and the last thing we wanted was for someone to pass over this book thinking they had already purchased it because it looked too similar to one they already had.

Case in point. :) This fabulous collection released a few months before the 7 Brides Collection.

So, we asked if we could have a re-do, and after some give and take, we arrived at the beautiful cover we have now!

Once cover art was finalized, we could begin telling folks about the collection. And we could start brainstorming ways we would promote the collection, both together and individually.

We came up with a few things:

Bookmarks. 

Every reader loves bookmarks, and they are a great way to spread the word about a new release.

Signed book plates:

It's hard to get a collection signed by all the authors, so we thought we'd sign book plates that we could send to readers to put in their books. :)

Goodreads Giveaway:

This one was Keli Gwyn's baby. She generously gave away 7 copies of the book on Goodreads.

The Group Blog:

We have loved having an online home to talk about our stories and connect with readers, and it's nice to have a place to send folks who ask about the book.

A Facebook Launch Party:

Again, Keli Gwyn had the lion's share of the responsibility on this one. In addition to hosting her part of the soiree, she also ran all the behind-the-scenes work, posting pictures, keeping things moving smoothly. This was one of the liveliest Facebook parties I've ever attended, with more than 1000 comments by the time it was all said and done. We had games and character sketches and prizes and laughter and cyber-goodies. It was an old fashioned hoe-down in a new-fangled delivery system.

The Rafflecopter to give away a Kindle Fire loaded with our books.

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(You have entered, haven't you?)

Review Copies

This is my post office...that I have visited many times lately...mailing out books to my review team, The Vetsch Posse. They are the best! And I know the other authors in the collection have sent out review copies as well. We have been thrilled with the reviews that are rolling in on amazon, Goodreads, Christianbook.com and other places. Thank you! We LOVE reviewers!


In addition to these efforts, we've each guest blogged, done giveaways, and posted on social media.

It's been a lot of work, but we've enjoyed it! Mostly because we get to connect with readers like you!

So, for today, tell me, how did you hear about the 7 Brides for 7 Texans collection?

Do You Speak Texan?

Writers are taught not to overuse dialect in a story, which can be rather hard when you're writin' about a place where the language has a life of its own, like in Texas. Since I live so close to Texas, I'm fluent in Lone Star lingo. But how about you?

Here are a few simple lessons in talking Texan:

1. Never say "you guys" or "you people" etc. It's "y'all" or "all y'all." When talking to just one person, use "you." Two people earn a hearty "y'all." If you're addressing more than two, it's "all y'all." ie, Are all y'all gonna be at the town meetin' tonight?

2. Leave off the "g" when adding "ing" to a verb. ie. We're fixin' ta go to the store. You wanna ride along? I ain't goin' 'cause it's rainin'.

3. "Ain't is allowed--even preferred. ie, Ain't cha goin' to church with us? 

4. "Fixin'" has nothing to do with repairing things. And most of the time, it is followed by the word "to"--or rather "ta." ie, I'm fixin' ta go do my growshree (grocery) shoppin'. 

5. Why be a Plain Jane when you can use metaphors to describe things?

    He's as welcome as a skunk at a lawn party.
    He is unwelcome.

    You can put boots in the oven, but it don’t make em biscuits.
    Say what you will, but it won’t change the truth.

    She’s got enough tongue for 10 rows of teeth.
    She sure can talk a lot.

Doesn't that just scare you outta of wantin' to go to Texas? You should go anyway. It's well worth the time and effort. Oh, before you go, make sure you study up on what a Coke is. It's not exactly what you're thinkin'.

Surprise give away! Tell me what these words in Texan speak mean & I'll put you in a drawing for my ebook: The Bull Rider's Bride--set in Texas. No fair looking them up online or copying someone else's answer. I tell you tomorrow's comments who won The Bull Rider's Bride, so be sure to check them.

1. Ahohno

2. Spoze

3. Yawna

All y'all be sure to come back next week to chat with Erica Vetsch. If you haven't read any of her books, you're really missin' out. Just look how excited she is to be here. 

Be sure to follow us to keep up with our book news!

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All Roads Lead to Texas

Today I'm deviating from talking about the Hart brothers and book stuff and focusing on the state of Texas. I live in a state that borders Texas, so I've visited there many times. As a kid, going to Six Flags Over Texas was always something I looked forward to. I've enjoyed visiting the Dallas World Aquarium several times, as well as the Dallas Zoo. When our boys were small, we went to Houston and took them to the Johnson Space Center. 

My hubby and I have been to the panhandle, the Alamo, and Galveston--more than once. While traveling, I started snapping pictures, especially of animals, flowers, and butterflies. Here are some that I took in the Waco area.

Three hawks in the same tree.

Meep meep! Roadrunner!

Lovely butterfly on a pretty shrub.

About seven years ago, we spent a week in Waco doing research for a pair of books I set there. We were there before the Fixer Upper craze, so I haven't seen any of the Magnolia stores. I did love visiting the Texas Rangers' Hall of Fame and Museum, and we found the suspension bridge fascinating. We spent hours doing research at the Baylor Library. 

Historical Waco Church

As a historical writer, I especially like seeing the 19th century buildings. One of my favorite places that we've visited was Fredericksburg. It's an older German town with B & B's in vintage homes, fun places to shop, and some fascinating historical buildings. One site I found most interesting was the Vereins Kirche, formerly a church in a roundish building. Now it's part of a pioneer museum.

           

Vereins Kirche

Buckhorn Cabin

 

I have two unfulfilled Texas dreams. First is that I want to go to Round Top, Tx, during the Antique Week. I've seen it advertised many times but I've never gotten to go. Second, I want to see a giant field of blue bonnets in bloom. I've seen them in small quantities, and they are one of the prettiest flowers ever.

How about you? Do you have a favorite Texas site? Or is there a place you've always wanted to visit but haven't yet gotten to go?

I'm pasting in the Seven Brides for Seven Texans word search puzzle again. Work this by tomorrow at five p.m. Central time, then send me an email via my website: www.vickiemcdonough.com to let me know you completed it, & I'll enter in my drawing for The Texas Boardinghouse Brides series. You should be able to either click or right-click on the puzzle to save it. Open it and then print a copy. 

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I'm a big fan of mail-order brides stories, such as Mail-Order Mayhem in Seven Brides for Seven Texans. I've written several such stories, because I find them so interesting. Just image leaving all that is familiar--home, parents, siblings, friends--to travel across the country via train, stage coach, freight wagon, and/or horseback to marry a stranger. 

We're all familiar with the mail-order brides of the 19th century, but did you know they still exist? They do. Just try Googling the term: Mail-Order Brides. Or maybe, it's better if you don't.

Early residents at Lake McDonald posed with “Wives Wanted” sign, ca. 1901

During the peak years of overland migration, hundreds of thousands of white women traveled west, but the majority were already married. It was thought that "suitable" single women should not go west alone, so what could have caused a woman to put aside conventions and seek a husband so far away? A woman must have been pretty desperate to consider such a thing.

Did you know that other cultures also have a form of mail-order brides?

* Plains Indians arranged sight-unseen marriages. They were often set up with the help of a middleman and could involve the payment of a "bride price," which was to compensate the woman's family for the loss of her labor.

* Russian immigrants brought with them the tradition of koopla, whereby marriage brokers were paid a fee to pair men with potential spouses from the Old Country

* Chinese and Japanese men obtained "picture brides" from their homelands--women whom they had come to know only through grainy photographs. According to historian Glenda Riley, Asian women entered such relationships because of parental pressure, to escape poverty, or to hide a sullied reputation. It was customary for the men to bear all costs, including the woman's passage and any wedding expenses incurred.

The Civil War was a big factor in women traveling west in the later part of the 19th century. By 1865 it was estimated that there were as many as 30,000 single women back east. With the plentitude of bachelors in the Plains and so many women needing husbands, you can see how becoming a mail-order made sense to so many. 

If you'd lived in the 19th century, do think you would have considered becoming a mail-order bride? What circumstances could cause you to have considered it? Have you ever known a mail-order bride?

 

Word Search puzzle - Be sure to visit my post on January 2nd and get a copy of the Seven Brides for Seven Texans word search puzzle. Work it and then email me to let me know you did, and I'll enter you in my drawing for a copy of the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series.

And don't forget to vote in the polls in the sidebar.

Come back next week. Erica Vetsch will be here talking about her fabulous characters, Bowie and Elise.

Double Trouble

If you were here yesterday, you met Stephen "Austin" Hart. Today, we're going to meet his future wife. Austin is apprehensive about his mail-order bride arriving in town. When the stage door opens, he's in for quite a surprise. 

Meet Jenny Evans--or is it Rebekah?

If you've read Mail-Order Mayhem in Seven Brides for Seven Texans, you know that Rebekah and Jenny are twins in looks, but their personalities are very different. One is kind, sweet, and considerate, while the other is prissy, flirty, and self-centered. 

When I was a teenager, I babysat a set of twins that were total opposites in looks. One had dark, curly hair and deep blue eyes, while her sister had straight blond hair and lighter blue eyes. They had similar personalities, but they didn't look a speck alike. They did seem to have a special connection that you hear so much about.

Sean McDonough - age 2 yrs.

My youngest son, Sean, was born seven years after our third son, and I remember praying he/she would be twins so he/she would have a playmate. It was probably a good thing God didn't bless us with twins, now that I look back on things, although Sean was a sweet, pleasant child. 

Did you ever wish you'd have twins? Did you ever know twins who changed classes and pretended to be the other?

Don't forget to get a copy of the word search from yesterday's post, fill it out, and let me know you've completed it to be entered in Friday's drawing for a copy of the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series.