WANTED: Midwife Bride

by Kristin Holt

Can you imagine living in a time when doctors and accredited midwives were a rare commodity in the Old West? Picture an era when a few doctors hung their shingles and practiced medicine in dusty western settlements but virtually all hospitals were still on the east coast or in metropolises such as Chicago. Many such towns didn't have a doctor and any "doctoring" happened by the most experienced; cowboys generally knew how to manage treatable injuries (do a fair job of setting broken bones and stitching shut slashes caused by barbed wire). Women banded together to assist one another through childbirth. People toughed it out. A lot of folks died.

I'm so excited about this new book...

I'm giving away a copy!

Read on!

I'm an amateur historian, and a Registered Nurse. I have the utmost respect for physicians practicing medicine in the nineteenth century. Significant breakthroughs had occurred that made a lot of difference, but these brave pioneers still were forced to rely on their own knowledge, their eyes and ears and rudimentary tools to diagnose and to treat. Today's physicians have it comparatively easy with blood tests and CT-scans and state-of-the-art surgical suites. I wonder what would happen if a doctor from the late 19th century was transported forward to today's medical world--what would he think? But I digress... that's a story for another book.

When preparing to write my new release, WANTED: Midwife Bride (contained within Mail Order Bride: A Timeless Romance Anthology), I already knew exactly who my hero would be: Joseph Chandler, MD. In a familiar-to-me frontier town of Evanston, Wyoming Territory (1888). It didn't take long for me to realize why Doc Joe would send for a bride-- not only was he lonely and ready for the next stage in live ("conjugal felicity" which simply means marital happiness and a phrase most common in U.S. newspapers and publications of the day), but he needed help.

In 1888, Evanston (a very real place) was a bustling railroad town with all the expected medical challenges: nearby mines with typical miner's problems with their lungs and injuries and cave-ins, Chinese immigrants working for the railroad, railway injuries (everything from crushed fingers when coupling cars to derailments), births, deaths, and all of life in-between. Having driven past the long-closed Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston, I could easily picture the grand campus in relation to Front Street and the original rail depot.

The Wyoming State Hospital, originally called the Wyoming Insane Asylum, opened in 1889.

The first building at the Wyoming State Hospital, originally called the Wyoming Insane Asylum, opened in 1889 and burned down in 1917. Uinta County Museum. - See more at: http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyoming-state-hospital#sthash.2zoxNGoE.dpuf

I could easily believe Doc Joe (my fictional hero) would have a hard time finding a qualified business partner to help him with his practice, especially with the Wyoming Territorial Government hiring every willing doctor and nurse to work in the large state hospital to open the following year. At the time of my story, the hospital was under construction and the superintendent, Dr. William A. Hocker, MD, of Evanston was also in charge of construction that began the month my heroine (Dr. Naomi Fairchild Thornton, MD) stepped off the train more than two thousand miles from her point of origin in New York City.

Doc Joe needed someone--anyone--who could help him in saving lives. Using the best means available to him at the time, he placed an advertisement for a trained midwife in (my fictional periodical) Midwifery Circular, in hopes of finding a bride who wouldn't faint at the sight of blood. He wanted a bride to fill the vacancy in his life and in his heart, and banked a lot on his plan to install her as a productive helpmate within his medical practice. 

 WANTED: Midwife Bride

Frontier town bachelor doctor, age 30, seeks experienced midwife for business partner and marriage. Must be pleasant, cooperative, companionable, and prepared for long hours. Midwifery training and experience more important than age. Prefer age 35 or younger, as children are desired.

Reply to Doc Joe, Evanston, Wyoming Territory.

When he meets Naomi, she has solid reasons to withhold the entirety of her education, after all, she can safely deliver babies...and when Doc Joe learns his bride-to-be is a medical doctor, he's elated...but she doesn't know that (yet) and is certain he'll send her away. She knows he will. Not only has everything in her life and training to that point convinced her all men see female physicians as an abomination, but that was the consensus throughout the United States in that era.

I had a bit too much fun throwing Joe and Naomi together and watching the sparks fly. The entire anthology, including my novella, is "sweet" (wholesome, clean, "proper") romance.

 

BLURB:

Dr. Naomi Thornton thinks she has it all: a beautiful house, a loving husband, and a fulfilling career. But when everything she holds dear is ripped away, Naomi has no choice but to start over. What will she find in the wild and untamed Wyoming Territory? Dr. Joe Chandler has waited years for a wife with the knowledge, skills, and tender heart he yearns for in a medical colleague and lifetime companion. When a midwife arrives with more expertise and secrets than he counted on, Joe quickly discovers there’s more to love and marriage than a simple mail order contract.

My story, WANTED: Midwife Bride is just one of six short novellas (15K words or less) contained within the box set Mail Order Bride: A Timeless Romance Anthology. The whole set of six short novellas runs 322 pages according to Amazon. The set will be available on all major eBook retailers' websites on release day: 2-9-16. As of today, the book is available for preorder on Amazon and may be read on any kindle or virtually any device with the kindle app. This title is available in eBook format only (for at least six months), is published by Mirror Press, and this title is #16 in the Amazon #1-ranked series in Clean Romance.

I'm giving away one free KINDLE edition of this title, to be delivered via email (through Amazon) on the morning of 2-9-16--release day! (It's not possible to buy a copy as a gift until then). The drawing for one free (my gift to you) copy closes tonight (2-5-16) at midnight PST. All you need to do to enter this drawing is to COMMENT and state one thing you enjoy about Mail Order Bride Romances. (After all, given the prize, why enter if you don't like this kind of book?)

The winner will be announced, also in the comments section, tomorrow morning 2-6-16, by 8 AM PST. You may do well to check the box "notify me" so you're aware if YOU are the lucky winner when I post the name I draw. The winner must be willing to provide their email address to me, Kristin Holt, in order to receive their gift copy of this $4.99-value anthology.

For a SECOND CHANCE TO WIN, please revisit Sweet Americana Sweethearts Blog (right here!) next Tuesday, when this box set enjoys a turn on the Blog Tour Tuesday stage, with more of a focus on the entire anthology...and ONE MORE lucky winner will take home a FREE copy of this $4.99 set! (If YOU win and already own this title, the $4.99 e-gift will be easily substituted on Amazon for anything else...so don't hesitate. Pick up this title! It's sure to please selective readers who enjoy sweet/wholesome western historical romance.)

Add This Title to your WANT TO READ List on Goodreads

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Please stop in at www.KristinHolt.com for frequent fresh articles (blog posts) about all things nineteenth century with special focus on the Victorian American West.

My current series of articles are about the TRUTH (and historical accuracy/inaccuracy) behind the popular Mail Order Bride-Trope in Romance Fiction:

Nineteenth Century Mail-Order Bride SCAMS (posts 2-8-16)

NEWSPAPER Brides vs. Mail-Order Brides (NEW today! 2-5-16)

Mail-Order Catalogs: Timeline and Truth

 Mail-Order Catalogs and the Old West

Copyright © 2016 Kristin Holt, LC

Collaborating on a Multi-Author Series

Being part of the group of 45 authors involved in the recently completed American Mail-Order brides series was a great experience. I can’t compliment the group enough for rallying around Kirsten Osbourne’s idea of a mail-order bride story for every state emanating from a single inciting incident. Originally, the idea was to use only the states that were ratified as part of the U.S. in 1890, but eventually the list was expanded to all 50 states (mostly because of author interest.)

The project was a great success, and cross promotion and support among the authors was phenomenal. Some authors used a shared train trip or correspondence to link titles together. Others tied the stories to their existing and ongoing historical series.

In particular, I enjoyed receiving ten reviews within the first week of release. Readers of sweet historical romance are supportive lovers of the genre.

BLURB for LIBBIE: Bride of Arizona, #48 in American Mail-Order Brides series

Alone for the first time, tomboyish Libbie Van Eycken accepts a mail-order proposal and travels across country to find a place to call her own. Arizona rancher Dell Stirling needs a wife but didn’t count on the eccentric creature that brings chaos in her wake.

Exclusive to Amazon

Free in Kindle Unlimited

$2.99 to purchase

Blog Tour Tuesday - Lilly: Bride of Illinois

Today's blog tour hops to Illinois, or I should say to the book, Lilly:Bride of Illinois, I wrote for the American Mail-Order Bride Series. (50 mail-order brides * 50 states * 50 books)

This clean, sweet historical romance set in 1890. Lilly Lind was forced to emigrate from Sweden two years ago, due to circumstances beyond her control. She finds a job as a garment maker in the Brown Textile Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, finally feeling as though she is settling in her new country. Then a suspicious fire burns the mill, making Lilly seek another way to survive. She answers a mail–order bride ad in the Grooms’ Gazette and sets off for Chicago, believing she will be a business owner’s wife.

Kansas rancher Seth Reagan travels to the Union Stockyards in Chicago to attend the 1890 American Fat Stock Show, the American Horse Show, and to purchase horseflesh to augment his herd. When arriving at the train station, he overhears a conversation between a young woman and a shady–looking man. Seth becomes concerned for the mail–order bride who is whisked away to a saloon, not to her new husband’s home.

When Seth goes to the saloon to check on the young woman, he finds her in trouble and offers to help her escape. While buying horses and arranging their return travel to Kansas, Seth realizes he would like to bring Lilly home with him, too, but she is still being hunted by the saloon owner’s thugs.

Lilly’s good fortune in meeting Seth makes her want to start a life with this man, but he came to Illinois for horses, not a bride. Would he want her after he learns of her secrets?

Lilly: Bride of Illinois is available in ebook and paperback  form at Amazon.com.

Here's an excerpt from Lilly: Bride of Illinois

And now it was time for them to go to bed. They might be married, but they weren’t going to consummate it, so…it was making them both nervous and shy all of a sudden.

“Ah, thanks to you buying me a new night gown yesterday, you can have your night shirt back,” Lilly shyly said, still sitting at the table.

“True, but it’s a little colder on the floor so I’ll keep my pants on,” Seth drummed his fingers on the table, not comfortable to meet Lilly’s eyes.

“Seth, why would you sleep on the floor? We’re married now, even though we don’t plan to. …you know… Seth’s eyes widened and looked at Lilly’s red face. He might be thinking about it, but she almost said it out loud.

“Lilly you were hurt again today, I think you need to have the bed to yourself tonight,” Seth rushed through the words.

“Well, okay.” Lilly stood up, and Seth thought she was ready to go to bed.

“I’ll go downstairs then to give you some privacy so you can get into bed,” Seth said standing up, ready to run out the door.

“I could use your help before you go downstairs,” Lilly stopped Seth just as he was about to turn the doorknob.

“With what?”

“Could you please take my hair pins out, brush my hair and braid it? It’s hard to raise my right arm to do it,” she said sweetly. Seth blew out the air he was holding, worried it could have been more than brushing her hair.

“Sure, I’d be glad to help you,” he turned thinking she’d be seated in a chair by the table, but she sat on the far side of the bed with her back turned to him instead. How’d she move so fast to get on the bed?

“Here’s my brush,” Lilly looked over her shoulder at him. “Please put the hair pins on my handkerchief beside me so I can pick them up without dropping any.” Oh, boy. He was going to have to crawl in bed and sit behind her to reach her hair.

Seth, toed off his boots and sat on the bed, but she was still out of reach.

“Wait, I’ll move up a bit so you can sit behind me,” and Seth watched her little behind scoot on the bed.

“You know, I didn’t have any sisters, so I don’t know how to do this…so maybe you can still do it yourself?”

“Seth, I bet you’ve braided rawhide, twine and many other things. It’s not hard,” she glanced over her shoulder at him. She turned back around, but not before he saw her sweet turned–up lips.

Okay, he could do this. Seth moved to sit behind her, then studied her hair. Where’s the best place to start pulling pins?

He gingerly pulled a hairpin out of the bottom of her top clump of curls, trying to do so by only using the tips of his thumb and finger. His big fingers caught some of her hair at the same time and he winced. “Oh, sorry.”

“My hair won’t break off, Seth. Pull the pins out, and then run your fingers through my hair to find any you missed.”

One by one, Seth pulled the pins then gingerly placed his fingers at the base of her neck and ran his fingers up her scalp and out through the length of her waist–long hair, having to pull out sideways because he was so close behind her.

“Pins all out? Here’s the brush to smooth out any tangles. I usually do a hundred strokes every night.”

Seth was sure the first fifteen strokes through Lilly’s hair hurt, but she didn’t say anything. He found a rhythm, enjoying the silky golden strands running across his fingers as he brushed out to the tips of her hair. He lifted her hair to his nose to smell it. It smelled like the Blue Lilies Perfume he gave her, maybe along with a little “cattle” scent from being in the exhibit hall.

Lilly kept quiet, her eyes closed, looking like she was enjoying him brushing her hair as much as he was enjoying doing it for her. What would it be like to do this every night for my wife?

When he got done with the one hundred strokes, he set the brush aside, divided Lilly’s hair in thirds, and slowly braided it. She held a blue ribbon—apparently her favorite color, too—in her hand for him to tie the end of her braid.

“Okay, I’m done, so I’ll go now,” Seth said as he climbed off the bed and reached for his boots.

“Thank you, Seth. It felt so good to have my hair brushed out. Now could you help me out of my clothes?”

“What?!” Good grief, did he just squawk like a fourteen year old whose voice was starting to change?

“I need help out of my clothes and then you can wrap my ribs,” Lilly said as she moved off the bed to stand in front of him.

What did she learn while being in the Emporium? How to seduce a man? Could he do this without looking? But feeling without seeing might heighten his senses instead.

“I unbuttoned my shirtwaist, but I need you to carefully pull it off my shoulders and down my arms.”

Lilly turned away from him, and he slowly slid the shirtwaist off her arms, feeling her bare shoulders in the process. She didn’t have on a corset, or corset cover. She only had on her chemise under her shirtwaist.

“You need your long underwear on,” so I don’t see your bare skin.

“Don’t have any, but I suppose I should buy some for our trip home.”

“Yes, and boots, too. Your shoes are about worn through. We’ll go shopping tomorrow.” Think of a shopping list instead, to get your mind off her skin!

“Please unbutton my side seam on the left side of my skirt and pull it, and my two petticoats, off.”

“Oh no, I shouldn’t be doing that...” I bet my face is so red, I look sunburned.

“I’m afraid you can’t get them down, so you’ll have to pull them up over my head.”

Seth sighed. Just do it. The poor lady’s ribs hurt.

It took a couple of minutes to get everything unbuttoned, separated and up over her head after she slowly raised her arms. Then she stood there in her chemise and drawers, looking at him…waiting for…what?

“How about I slip your nightgown over your…underwear…so you stay warmer tonight?”

“I want to pull up my chemise so we can…”

“Nope, we are not doing anything, so lift up your arms as much as you can again because your nightgown is going on now.”

He might have pulled the gown over her head maybe a little too hard and fast, but it was done and he had his hand on the doorknob again.

“I meant so you could wrap my ribs...”

“Oh.” Now Seth was embarrassed because he’d been thinking of something else besides her injured side.

“And Seth?”

“Yes?”

“Can I have a goodnight kiss?”

Lilly laughed so hard she snorted when he looked back incredulously at her. The little tease. But after the little kiss they exchanged at their marriage ceremony today, he wouldn’t mind kissing her again.

 Lilly: Bride of Illinois Copyright 2015 by Linda K. Hubalek

About the Author

While growing up, Linda Hubalek had always planned to be a farmer, like her ancestors who homesteaded the Kansas prairie. But marrying an engineer changed her plans—and state of residence for a few decades.

To ease the homesickness for soil and family until they could move back home, Linda wrote books about her pioneer ancestors.

Linda’s passion for the frontier has also drawn her into writing western romance featuring Kansas’ cattle town days and the women who lived in those times.

Sign up for Linda’s newsletter at www.LindaHubalek.com to hear about the release of future books, contests and more.

Linda loves to connect with her readers, so please contact her through one of these social media sites.

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Dacey - a feisty American Mail-Order Bride

  by Shanna Hatfield

A few of my fellow Sweet American Sweetheart Authors and I joined in a fun project to create a series of mail-order bride stories covering all 50 states.

American Mail-Order Brides has been a fun project and it is very exciting to watch the enthusiasm of our readers as each book releases. Beginning back on Nov. 19, one book releases each day until all 50 are available through Amazon.

My contribution to the series is Dacey: Bride of North Carolina.
 
I had absolutely no idea what to write when I chose North Carolina as my state, but then my "what if" imagination kicked into gear.

We all started with a common thread for our stories - a factory fire in Massachusetts. What if my girl had just arrived in town from a place in the West and didn't even have time to unpack her trunk before she found herself in a desperate situation. One so desperate, in fact, that it spurred her on to answer an advertisement for a mail-order bride.

To add a little twist to the story, I thought what if the groom had no idea about the ad. Instead, his meddling, yet well-meaning mother is the instigator of the plea for a wife.

Then I took at a step further. What if the groom was a wealthy plantation owner and the bride was a tomboy who likes to ride and shoot and is a feisty, fearless challenge for him.

Do you ever play "what if" as you go through your day?  

 ~*~ 

A conniving mother, a reluctant groom and a desperate bride make for a lively adventure full of sweet romance.

Braxton Douglas spends his days managing the family’s plantation and blissfully avoiding the state of matrimony. Unbeknownst to him, his mother tires of waiting for him to choose a wife and sends for a mail-order bride. When the woman arrives, ready to wed, Braxton has his work cut out for him if he plans to remain unaffected by the lively, lovely Dacey.

Dacey Butler has nothing to lose when she agrees to travel to North Carolina to marry a stranger. Eager for an opportunity to put her past behind her and enjoy a new beginning, she embraces the adventure of traveling south to marry a man she thinks is a simple farmer. Upon her arrival in Asheville, she immediately decides Braxton Douglas has no idea of her existence, and there is nothing simple about the man.

The free prequel to the series can be found HERE.
Dacey: Bride of North Carolina is book 12 in the series.

 ~*~ 

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is convinced everyone deserves a happy ending and is out to make it happen, one story at a time. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances combine humor and heart-pumping moments with characters that seem incredibly real.

When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

The author is a member of Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, Romance Writers of America, Sweet Romance Reads, and Pioneer Hearts.

Find Shanna’s books at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple

Shanna loves to hear from readers! Follow her online:

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Make sure you sign up for her newsletter to get the latest on new releases and exclusive giveaways!

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New Release! Lilly: Bride of Illinois

American Mail-Order Brides Series

On fifty consecutive days beginning November 19, 2015, a romance will be published featuring a mail order bride, one set in each of the fifty states. The books, written by forty-five authors, are being released in the order the states were admitted to the union. The stories all take place in 1890, when a factory fire in the East burns to the ground, leaving these women unemployed. These women answer mail-order bride ads in the Grooms' Gazette, and then head out to find their groom.

My contribution, Lilly: Bride of Illinois, book 21 in the American Mail-Order Bride Series, is available as a pre-order now and will be released on Dec. 9th. It's a spin-off of my Brides with Grit Series featuring one of Pastor and Kaitlyn Reagan's boys, Seth, as an adult. My state to write about was Illinois, so Seth and Lilly meet in Chicago, but eventually end up in Clear Creek, Kansas.

Here's the story line for Lilly: Bride of Illinois.

A clean, sweet historical romance set in 1890. Lilly Lind was forced to emigrate from Sweden two years ago, due to circumstances beyond her control. She finds a job as a garment maker in the Brown Textile Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, finally feeling as though she is settling in her new country. Then a suspicious fire burns the mill, making Lilly seek another way to survive. She answers a mail–order bride ad in the Grooms’ Gazette and sets off for Chicago, believing she will be a business owner’s wife.

Kansas rancher Seth Reagan travels to the Union Stockyards in Chicago to attend the 1890 American Fat Stock Show, the American Horse Show, and to purchase horseflesh to augment his herd. When arriving at the train station, he overhears a conversation between a young woman and a shady–looking man. Seth becomes concerned for the mail–order bride who is whisked away to a saloon, not to her new husband’s home.

When Seth goes to the saloon to check on the young woman, he finds her in trouble and offers to help her escape. While buying horses and arranging their return travel to Kansas, Seth realizes he would like to bring Lilly home with him, too, but she is still being hunted by the saloon owner’s thugs.

Lilly’s good fortune in meeting Seth makes her want to start a life with this man, but he came to Illinois for horses, not a bride. Would he want her after he learns of her secrets?

 Read about the whole series

I had a blast working with this group of authors and I think we put out a great series. Each book is so different from the other, ranging for western romance to a Victorian, depending on which state the book is featured in. Please go to the American Mail-Order Bride Series website for the complete list of all fifty books available for your reading enjoyment.

Thanks for stopping by to enjoy today's Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog.

Linda Hubalek

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