William and Helen (Hunt) Jackson

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

(C) Doris McCraw

      Together William and Helen with their respective talents were the first equally successful couple in the region. William a successful businessman and Helen a nationally known author, each in their own way had an impact on not only Colorado Springs but Colorado and beyond. As a 'power couple,' they were also the subject of conjecture and gossip.

     Helen H and William S. Jackson were in fact the first couple in the area whose careers expanded beyond the town in which they lived. William was the majority owner of the El Paso County Bank and treasurer of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, He also had financial ties to banks in Denver, and later was appointed the receiver of the Denver & Rio Grande when it it went into bankruptcy. Helen was an established poet, essayist, and novelist before arriving in Colorado Springs. She continued her career, publishing in magazines that were read here and in Europe.

Wm. S. Jackson
from Find a Grave

     When Jackson took over a failing bank and started his in 1873, the world was just beginning to feel the results of a larger worldwide depression. In the United States banks were failing. One bank, the Henry Clewes & Company bank in New York, had a domino effect on the Wm. B Young & Company, which William purchased after it failed. The 1873 depression has been called the long depression. Its primary dates of influence were 1873-1879. The great depression of 1929 only lasted until 1931. His business acumen, which did not necessarily make him popular, kept the bank and this region afloat at a time when other areas were failing. In a larger perspective, Colorado Springs was only two years old and this helped add stability to the area.

Helen (Hunt) Jackson
from Wikipedia

     Helen (Hunt), as stated earlier, was already an established author when she arrived. Her writings about the Colorado Springs area and a large portion of the state were responsible for the view many Easterners and those from Europe had of this region. Those views, in turn, helped spur the area's growth. When Helen took up the cause of the American Indian, she was responsible for helping to shine a light on the issue and bring a conscience to the general public. Like William, her views did not make her popular with some of the population. Still, that did not deter her from her stance on the subject. Of note is the discussion she had with William Byers, founder and former editor of the Rocky Mountain News, in the New York Independent on the subject of 'The Sand Creek Massacre'. Although William didn't believe as Helen about the Indians, letters between the two indicate that he eventually accepted her point of view.

     The Jackson's relationship was more equal than most of the time. Both followed their various careers, each traveling alone or together as the situation demanded. William and Helen together created a dynamic relationship that had a larger influence than most may realize. An example of their local influence, Helen was on the library board and William was one of the early board members for Colorado College. Neither sought notoriety for themselves, only their work. Both were fairly private people, which may be part of the reason their contributions are largely forgotten by the general public. Both were focused on their respective careers and as a result, their work was instrumental in helping this city, region, and a lot of Colorado. This helped make the state what it has become today. Had William not been able to restructure the Denver & Rio Grande we would not have railroading as we know it for Palmer might have lost it all. His banking acumen both in Colorado Springs and the state had an impact on the financial health of our region. Helen, in highlighting all that this state had to offer has left a legacy for future generations to remember how it was. She also was vocal about Colorado Springs and protecting the natural beauty of the area, which tourists can still enjoy today, Seven Falls and Cheyenne Canon to name two. 

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy. 

Doris

The Great Arrival

 

During the 1880s and continuing through the first two decades of the 20th Century, close to fifteen million people immigrated into the United States. Named The Great Arrival, the mass immigration recorded the highest numbers coming from countries in Europe. They came for different reasons—some to make a better life in a new home, some to escape a bad situation, politically or religiously, and some to work for a short time to send money to families with the intention to return to their home countries. This last group was labeled “birds of passage.”

Arriving at Ellis Island on SS Patricia-1906. Getty Images

The growing industrialization in America created a demand or workers to operate the machines in factories and mills. Foreigners struggling with depleted soil on farms or limited job potential in crowded cities saw the United States as a golden opportunity.  Many immigrated with the intention of returning but when they discovered the opportunities so promising, they, instead, worked hard and saved until they could pay for their families to join them.

The intake process at Ellis Island-Getty Images

Records at Ellis Island don’t indicate that intake workers asked if people intended to stay permanently. And the estimate for those who returned after a few years in America and remained in their original country ranges between thirty and fifty percent. People diving into their family’s ancestry have discovered ancestors who made multiple trips between America and their home countries.

About two million of these immigrants originated in Italy. Although the vast majority of these “birds of passage” were young men, women’s names appear on the ship manifest lists, too. Especially in situation where the woman traveling alone was joining relatives already in the US. Learning those facts sparked my idea for my heroine’s backstory for my story titled Gianna’s Wedding Dilemma.

Blurb

Tired of the limited chances to meet eligible men, governess Gianna Rafaello turns to a matchmaker for help. After reviewing the profiles of three men, Gianna starts a correspondence with a businessman, Blake Wymer, in Pueblo, Colorado. Within a few weeks, she recognizes their life goals are aligned and accepts his request to travel to meet in person. Gianna has always wanted to live in a small town, and everything seems rosy…until she meets his disapproving mother.

As the oldest Wymer sibling, Blake inherited the family’s furniture store upon his father’s death three years earlier. Thinking he was letting her work out her grief, he allowed his mother, Elfrida, to continue making the company decisions. But he and his brother, Axton, want to modernize, and Mother resists. She is also dead-set on Blake being married by year’s end and invites single women to supper. Without revealing his plans, Blake is smitten with a woman he’s been corresponding with and has invited her to town.

Gianna arrives, and the two feel destined to be together. As expected, Elfrida is livid. Can Blake stand up to his mother for the first time in his life to save this budding love?

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Labor Day: A Time to Pay Tribute to the American Worker - by Jo-Ann Roberts

 

Goodness! Half the month of August has slipped away. In two weeks, summer 2024 will end...culturally, that is, on the first Monday in September. For many Americans, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the start of the back-to-school season.  

But how did we come to celebrate Labor Day--a day that pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers?

In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the U.S., the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories, and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts' wages.

People of all ages, particularly the impoverished and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities, and breaks. As manufacturing overtook agriculture as the main source of American employment, labor unions grew more prominent and vocal. they began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and pushed employers to negotiate hours and pay.

Many of these events turned violent during this period, including the infamous Haymarket Riot of 18886, in which several Chicago police officers and workers were killed. On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.

 In the wake of massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the D.C. and the territories. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law. 

Even today, more than a century later, the true founder of Labor Day has yet to be identified. Many credit Peter McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, while others have suggested Mathew Maguire, of the Central Labor Union.

Each time you receive a raise in your paycheck, enjoy a paid vacation, arrive home at a decent hour to be with family and friends, and work in a safe and sanitary environment, it is because American labor has raised our nation's standard of living and contributed to the greatest production the world has ever known. It has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of democracy. 

It is appropriate that the nation pays tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership--the American worker!

*************

Upcoming Release - "A Sleigh Ride For Claire"

He was the most stubborn and prideful man she’d ever met!
She was a busybody who stuck her nose in his business at every turn!
With Christmas on the horizon, Claire McAllister has far too much to do to entertain dreams of a husband and family. Even if she feels inclined to help Lincoln Wyse outwit his three mischievous young daughters, it's impossible to imagine the handsome widower seeing her as anything but a scolding schoolteacher.

Even though the pretty schoolteacher never turned a favorable eye to him, Linc Wyse’s heart skipped a beat whenever she pinned him with her mesmerizing green eyes. Beautiful or not, Claire McAllister was a meddling spinster who placed judgments on him and his family.

Yet, neither one can imagine how three little, mischievous matchmakers and a magical Christmas Eve sleigh ride will open their eyes to love…or how the Lord will awaken their faith and hope.

CLICK HERE

Sleigh Ride Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZLJP66W

 

 

 

 

Cupid's Target- Laundry soap

While researching life in the 19th century, I became intrigued by the popular depictions of a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally known in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the putto came to represent the cupid, and it can be found in both religious and secular art from the 1420s to the turn of the 16th century.


Many artists have depicted them, and among the best-known examples are from the painter Raphael and the sculptor Donatello.

These winged characters experienced a revival in the 19th century and appeared in architecture, artwork, illustrations, folk paintings, and other handcrafted decor and dishware. The chubby little-winged angels who carried a bow and arrow came to be known as the symbol of piercing the heart of mortals with love and desire.


They also appeared on cards, calendars, and Advertisements. Some of my favorites are the advertisements for Borax.




The term "borax" refers to a number of boron compounds. Boron is a naturally occurring mineral typically used as a multi-purpose detergent that easily dissolves in water. It was first found in dry lakebeds in Tibet. The Egyptians used it in mummification. In the 13th Century, Marco Polo reportedly brought some back from his Far East travels. In the late 1800s, boron compounds were a household staple, used in medicines, food additives, and household cleaners.


In 1881, large quantities of borax were discovered in Death Valley, California, which allowed it to be manufactured on a large scale.


https://www.desertusa.com/desert-california/borax.html

The 20 Mule Team was created in 1883 to transport the borax out of Death Valley to the nearest train spur in Mojave, California. The 165-mile journey required two teams of 18 mules, each led by two horses, and took ten days.



20 Mule Team Borax ad circa 1907. Get your cherub-like children clean with #Boraxo bath powder!


If cleanliness is next to godliness, cherubs in the Victorian era were symbolic of romantic love. For some, they represented the cherubim watching over and interceding for mankind.



The combination of divinity, myth, and romanticism made cherubs accessible decorations even when, in society, the glimpse of an ankle was considered erotic.

Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon and Luna

 

A while back, I happened upon an image that caught my eye. At the time, I was about to start writing a wholesome historical romance set in 1914. 

Suddenly, I knew I'd found the perfect  image for the cover of  Luna.

I recognized the weed she was blowing on from my childhood on our family farm. I'd blown them a few times myself. It had been so many years since I'd seen one, but I recalled the joy of scattering the oversized "wishes" into the air.

My dad called them something like big fuzz, so I had no idea of their proper term, but a quick search brought up details about the plant.

It has bright yellow petals, with long green bracts. Children might mistake it for a super-tall dandelion, but the leaves more closely resemble grass.

The official name is  tragopogon pratensis, commonly referred to as Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, meadow salsify, showy goat's-beard, or meadow goat's-beard.

Wait. What now? 

When I discovered one of the names for the plants was Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon, I absolutely had to use it for my story.  Can't you just envision fairies blowing the little puffs into the air and spreading the seed everywhere?

The Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon name derives from the plant's tendency to close by the time noon arrives. Goat's beard is from the appearance of the seed head, with the little bit of white fluff poking out.

Oddly enough, despite the lack of them in our area in past years, I was about halfway through writing the book when I noticed a plant growing out by our mailbox, then they popped up in the pasture behind our house. It felt like a lovely sign that I'd picked just the right cover for Luna's story.

She’s searching for peace and grace

He’s ready to step into his next big adventure

Haunted by memories of the fateful day that changed her life, Luna Campanelli seeks a fresh start in Pendleton, Oregon. Life in the wild western town is nothing like she imagined, although the rugged beauty of the area soothes her troubled spirit. An unlikely friendship with one of the area ranch hands lifts her hopes, until she discovers the cowboy isn’t who he’s led her to believe.

Hunter Douglas didn’t intend to hide his identity from the woman he met on the train, but when she assumed he was his sister’s hired hand, he didn’t correct her. He never anticipated forming such a deep connection to her, especially when thoughts of her continue to infiltrate his carefully made plans. As a recent college graduate with an inheritance he intends to use to start his own ranch in Pendleton, Hunter must decide if he is willing to open his heart and include Luna in his future.

Will they embrace the unexpected love that has blossomed between them, or let fear tear them apart?

This sweet and wholesome romance is a story of love, healing, and the power of hope in a delightful western setting. Join Luna and Hunter on their journey as they discover what it truly means to love unconditionally.

     Feeling hopeful and full of dreams, Luna spread out the quilt in a splash of sunshine, unpinned her hair and shook it out, and experienced a wave of contentment. Filled with joy she couldn’t contain, she plucked a large flower with a ball of fluff that looked like a dandelion, closed her eyes, and blew, wishing she could have many more afternoons just like this one with Hunter.

“I should have known if I left you alone for five minutes, you’d find a weed and scatter the seeds from here to kingdom come.”

She opened her eyes and grinned as Hunter hunkered down by her.

“A weed?” she asked, holding the stem out to Hunter. “It isn’t a flower?”

“Nope,” he said, taking the stem, then handing it back to her. “It’s got a fancy scientific name Flynn Elliott could tell you, but most folks call it meadow goat’s beard, or even Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, because the yellow flower buds only open in the morning.”

“What a wonderful name, even if it is a weed.” Luna pursed her lips and blew more of the seed heads that looked like spiderwebs of fine white hairs.

“You little weed-spreader,” Hunter groused, making her laugh.

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

PEERING THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY: Spectacles in the 1800s by Marisa Masterson

 

Portrait of Mrs. Antoine-Julien Meffre-Rouzan, 1839, by Jean Joseph Vaudechamp,

I squint. It is happening more recently since I no longer need my glasses to read. Inevitably, I lay them down somewhere and then need to search the house for them.

What a relief when I do find them! Imagine being unable to see well and needing to stay that way for your entire lifetime. A pair of glasses would be a huge relief--a sort of deliverance. This happened for my heroine in Hotfooting from Hawthorne:

Being a quiet person, she opted to keep her mouth shut. Marv and Deke talked while she tried on one pair after another. She stared toward them as she put on each new pair, hoping the men would come into focus. Miraculously, she lifted her face and could see them clearly, could see the anger Deke was controlling.

“What’s wrong?” She asked this as she rushed to stand by him.

When I wanted to write a scene about spectacles, I began to research. A few interesting facts surprised me.

• First, during the 1800s most spectacles did not curve around the ear. The bows were straight. Some had hinges in the middle. This allowed them to be adjusted to, hopefully, sit better on the ear. The Windsor eyeglasses came along in the 1880s. Those curved around a person's ears.
• Most lenses--especially in the West--were not round. Glasses had either rectangular or octogonal lenses. Oval lenses became popular during the middle of the century as well.
• 
  People had sunglasses in the West! Dark blue, black, or green colored glass was used in them. These would not have been corrective lenses--at least not usually. 
  

Here is a sneak peek at my description of spectacles in my next novel:

“How about this pair?”

Deke held up a pair made from steel and clear glass. He turned them and fidgeted with the hinges in the center of each part meant to sit next to the wearer’s temples. As his fingers worked the hinges, the spectacles’ bows curved very slightly. As was the fashion, none of the pairs available in the store curved behind the ear.

Taking the pair from him, Ginny worked not to shiver as his fingers brushed hers. Her silly infatuation should stop now that they were married.

The upside-down U was typical of spectacles of the time. The bridge curved. Notice that the nose pieces we have today were absent.

Portrait by Josef Abel

If you are interested in reading more, check out my source for this blog. Another good online article is https://www.trystancraft.com/costume/2018/04/17/a-brief-history-of-eyeglasses/.

She is a woman with trouble hot on her trail and a child at her side. He is a rancher who handles his Colt revolver with more skill than he does emotions.

Who can love orphans? Ginny struggles with this question even as she witnesses a murder that sends her on the run unwittingly toward the answer to her question.

Ginny Maxwell has one child left as she waits at a train depot in Hawthorne, Nevada. The others left one by one as the orphan train traveled farther west. She wanted to believe each had found homes where they would be clothed and fed. She could not hope for them to be loved. Growing up as a foundling, she knew adults rarely wasted affection on orphans.

While she and the unclaimed orphan wait for the eastern bound train that would take them back to Chicago, their lives change with one slash of a shiny knife. A man stabs a lone woman waiting on the platform. At Ginny's gasp, he realizes she and the little boy have seen him.

A frantic race to escape begins, and desperation sends them into the back of a tarp-covered wagon. Hiding there, she hears the whistle. They missed their train and are stuck with a killer on their trail.

Deke Ramsey struggles with the day to day needs of his new ranch. He has put his days as a bounty hunter behind him. The man does not want the trouble he discovers when he throws back the tarp and finds stowaways in his wagon. He is hard put to ignore the child's pleading gaze or the woman's tempting promise to keep house for him.

What starts as an innocent arrangement will put him in the path of a killer and a group of do-gooders from the surrounding ranches. Will a forced marriage end in a happy family or with a dead wife and child?

 Pre-Order Today!

Look what our authors published in July!

Our authors have worked hard to bring you your next 

favorite stories. 

Here is what we published in July!

 

 Luna: A Sweet Historical Romance (Pendleton Petticoats Book 11)

By Shanna Hatfield

She’s searching for peace and grace

He’s ready to step into his next big adventure

Haunted by memories of the fateful day that changed her life, Luna Campanelli seeks a fresh start in Pendleton, Oregon. Life in the wild western town is nothing like she imagined, although the rugged beauty of the area soothes her troubled spirit. An unlikely friendship with one of the area ranch hands lifts her hopes, until she discovers the cowboy isn’t who he’s led her to believe.

Hunter Douglas didn’t intend to hide his identity from the woman he met on the train, but when she assumed he was his sister’s hired hand, he didn’t correct her. He never anticipated forming such a deep connection to her, especially when thoughts of her continue to infiltrate his carefully made plans. As a recent college graduate with an inheritance he intends to use to start his own ranch in Pendleton, Hunter must decide if he is willing to open his heart and include Luna in his future.

Will they embrace the unexpected love that has blossomed between them, or let fear tear them apart?

Release date: July 2, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5DL2MMK

 

A Child for Christmas: Confederate Widows, Spinsters, and Proxy Brides

By Marisa Masterson

A woman desperate to begin again. A man who longs for connection. Only a baby stands in the way of their happily ever after.

Charlotte Reynolds lost both her fiancé and her father during the War of Northern Aggression. She and her sister Esther struggled to hang on to the family’s home in Alexandria, Virginia. Unfortunately, Esther sacrificed her virtue to pay the taxes and died as a result.

With no home, her sister's newborn, and the cool weather of winter in the offing, Charlotte seizes on the chance to marry a man in the West. The only catch is she must marry him sight unseen in a proxy ceremony. She will face any obstacle to keep her nephew safe, even marry a Yankee!

Butch Whaley needs a woman’s chatter to get through the winter. The previous year he nearly went mad spending the season by himself on the land he homesteaded, land he had gotten free as a veteran of the recent war. He craved the noise of another person. Everyone knew women talked a lot, so a wife was guaranteed to end his loneliness.

Only, he wants one without encumbrances. A woman who has never been married would suit him best. He is working hard to establish his ranch. He did not intend for stepchildren to inherit it. No, it would not be like what happened when Pa left his store to his stepson Ike instead of to Butch.
When he risks being caught in a snowstorm to collect his Christmas bride, he is in for a shock. The woman arrives with a baby she says is hers.
Will Butch honor the promise he made when he signed the proxy form or will he lose out on future happiness because of past hurt?

Release date: July 3, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1YT8R1N

 

Molly: Sweet Historical Romance (Pendleton Promises Book 2)

by Shanna Hatfield

Inspired by the Hello Girls, America’s first women soldiers who helped win World War I.

She longs to make a difference.

He yearns to claim her heart.

After years of managing the Pendleton telephone office, Molly Thorsen answers the call for women to serve as telephone operators during World War I. Upon her arrival in France, she navigates the challenges of working near the front lines and battles the prejudices and skepticism of the men around her. Determined to prove her worth and skill, Molly faces adversity head-on while unexpectedly falling in love with a charming soldier.

Friday Fitzpatrick may not have been eager to engage in combat, but when he is drafted into the American Expeditionary Forces, he embraces the role of a soldier with unwavering determination. While fighting to survive the harrowing battlefield experiences, he clings to his sanity by dreaming about the captivating Hello Girl who has captured his heart. Though his opportunities to see her are limited, she serves as a beacon of hope in the midst of his darkest days.

Through their shared experiences and the trials they endure, Molly and Friday find comfort and encouragement in each other's company, forging a connection that defies the chaos of a world in conflict. As the war draws to a close and they return home, will civilian life bring them together or pull them apart?

Find out in this sweet and wholesome historical romance filled with hope, faith, courage, and love.

Release date: July 11, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXGXL68H

 

Olivia's Odyssey (Westward Home and Hearts Mail-Orders Book 49)

By Jo-Ann Roberts

Things go from bad to worse after Olivia Talbot is let go from her position at the Butterick Pattern Company in Boston and her beloved Auntie Dee passes away. Left with only her sewing machine and a letter of introduction to Mildred Crenshaw, proprietress of the Westward Hearts and Homes Matrimonial Agency she soon finds herself corresponding with a cattleman from Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. 

As a proxy mail-order bride to a cattleman and mother to three children, she expected her life would change.
What she didn't expect upon her arrival was to discover Nate Forester, her intended, had perished in a suspicious fire.

Ty Forester's world is upended after tragedy leaves him caring for his brother's children. A cattleman's life is difficult enough. Yet, all he can do is pray he can raise the children and still run a ranch.

But it gets worse. His late brother’s mail-order bride arrives with a signed affidavit stating she will be sharing custody of the children with him. In disbelief, Ty intends to send Olivia Talbot straight back to wherever she came from.

Too bad the determined, tenacious woman has other plans.

Release date: July 15, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D488ZQPF

 

Edwin's Christmas Mail-Order Bride -Historical Western Holiday Romance

By P. Creeden

This Christmas, love arrives unexpectedly—by stagecoach.

Can unexpected Christmas magic spark love’s flame between a man with no bride and the woman who has traveled so far to win his wary affection? This is a clean, wholesome series of standalone novellas written from a Christian worldview. Each story has a happily ever after and features down-to-earth characters with real world problems who overcome them by grace and love. There will be seven brides in this special holiday series ~ read them all!

Release date: July 18, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNPS9XQW  

 Not all of our authors make their books available on pre-order. However, for those who do, those advance sales go a long way toward boosting their sales rankings. 

Here are future releases:

August Pre-orders:

 

Cowboy Law -A Texas Rangers - Sutton Brother’s Romance Book 2

By P. Creeden

Justice and vengeance intertwine for a Texas Ranger and an alluring beauty whose fates collide on the frontier, leading to trickery and tragedy before any shot at redemption.Their devotion is tested through gripping adventures and perilous twists of fate. More details to come.

Release date: August 15, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CRYMNKBH

 

Caleb’s New Bride (Mountain Men and Mail-Order Brides)

By P. Creeden

What happens when a mail-order bride shows up on the doorstep of a mountain man’s cabin? Who will suffer rejection? Who will gain redemption? These fated, possibly star-crossed lovers will soon find out!

Release date: August 29, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D6X81RCX

 

September Pre-orders:

 

A Sleigh Ride For Claire (Sleigh Ride)

By Jo-Ann Roberts

       He was the most stubborn and prideful man she’d ever met!
       She was a busybody who stuck her nose in his business at every turn!
      With Christmas on the horizon, Claire McAllister has far too much to do to entertain dreams of a husband and family. Even if she feels inclined to help Lincoln Wyse outwit his three mischievous young daughters, it's impossible to imagine the handsome widower seeing her as anything but a scolding schoolteacher.
      Even though the pretty schoolteacher never turned a favorable eye to him, Linc Wyse’s heart skipped a beat whenever she pinned him with her mesmerizing green eyes. Beautiful or not, Claire McAllister was a meddling spinster who placed judgments on him and his family.
      Yet, neither one can imagine how a magical Christmas Eve sleigh ride will open their eyes to love…or how the Lord will awaken their faith and hope.

Release Date: September 2, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/Sleigh-Ride-Claire-ebook/dp/B0CXHXVQQF

 

Hotfooting from Hawthorne: Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge Book 15

By Marisa Masterson

A woman with trouble hot on her trail and a child at her side. A man who handles his Colt revolver like a shootist.
      Ginny Maxwell has one child left as she waits at a train depot in Hawthorne, Nevada. The others left one by one as the orphan train traveled farther west. She wanted to believe each had found homes where they would be clothed and fed. She could not hope for them to be loved. Growing up as a foundling, she knew adults rarely wasted affection on orphans.
      While she and the unclaimed orphan wait for the eastern bound train that would take them back to Chicago, their lives change with one slash of a shiny knife. A man stabs a lone woman waiting on the platform. At Ginny's gasp, he realizes she and the little boy have seen him.
      A frantic race to escape begins, and desperation sends them into the back of a tarp-covered wagon. Hiding there, she hears the whistle. They missed their train and are stuck with a killer on their trail.

Release date: September 9, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D49LQR1F

 

A Sleigh Ride For Grace (Sleigh Ride)

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

      Grace Darton believes family is more important than anything…even an attentive beau. Three years ago, she broke off a courtship to tend her ailing aunt and assume management of her boardinghouse. Although her life might lack romance, she and her younger sister, Kerrie, strive to provide a family atmosphere for their boarders. But is it really enough?
      Darach MacLean thought he had his future planned—he and his love, Grace, were to marry and move to Golden City for him to attend the Colorado School of Mines. But she stayed behind. As a new graduate, he returns to Spur Springs to either win her back or purge her from his life forever. His sweet Grace has become a successful businesswoman and is being wooed by the mayor. Can Darach find the way back into her heart or has he returned too late?

Release date: September 16, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D34RFGGM

 

A Sleigh Ride For Holly

By P. Creeden

     A nanny whose children have grown finds herself without prospects for another job. At twenty-five years old, spinster is the best description for her now. But will a letter and an invitation for a sleigh ride change her life?
    *More description coming soon*

Release Date: September 23, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D344YDTG

 

Wyatt's New Bride: Mountain Men & Mail-Order Brides

By Zina Abbott

Wyatt Holt gave up searching for gold in favor of becoming a Tuolumne County lumberjack to satisfy the demand for timber supports in the new quartz mines and lumber for the nearby towns. He is tired of living in tents or sharing a barracks-style bedroom in the Summersville boardinghouse. With more men bringing families to the area, he begins his search for a wife. Between being shot during a community meeting gone bad, the bride he sent for rejecting him for another, and uncertain if he will heal from his injuries well enough to resume his former occupation, Wyatt wonders if there is any hope for a loving wife and family in his future.

Release date: September 26, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW19ZPG9

A Sleigh Ride For Georgia (Sleigh Ride)

By Kimberly Grist

      Abandoned as a child, Georgia knows first-hand the results of chasing rainbows, searching for the proverbial pot of gold. That same lure called her father to California, leaving her to grow up in a children’s home. Even though she knows that there is little value in depending on anyone but herself, buried in her heart is the dream of her own happily ever after – a husband and family. Desperate, she accepts the advice of her pastor and applies to a matchmaking agency. If only someone would look past her inadequacies and see her potential, she would devote herself to ensuring his happiness and love him with her whole heart. Unfortunately, she is out of time.
       “Who was it that said desperate times demand desperate measures? The Lord forgive me if I’m wrong, but the next letter I write, I’m omitting the fact that I limp.”

Release Date: September 30, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D32LX394

 

October Pre-orders:

 

Mail-Order Blacksmith: Honorable Husbands

P. Creeden

Honorable Husband Series.
Even independent women can need a helping hand now and then. More than muscles and rugged good looks, this bride needs a blacksmith and only the honorable need apply...but is that what they'll get?

Mail-Order Blacksmith
With the passing of her father in the war, Sadie Cahill finds herself running the town’s livery on her own. A falling out with her blacksmith leaves her in desperate need. But is she desperate enough to marry one?

Release date: October 10, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ2K4DC4

 

Lily Lassoes the Lawman (Uncertain Sweethearts Book 3)

By Marisa Masterson

Return to Fox Creek with this latest addition to the Uncertain Sweethearts series!

     He followed a hunch and found a woman worth loving. Too bad she had walked on the wrong side of the law one time too many.
      Lily Calhoun loved two things in this world—her son and her café. She had a chance at a fresh start, a clean slate with a new name. Lillian Perkins was gone.
       She had loved poorly and lost. She would not risk her heart again. Or so she thought. Then he came to town.
       Travis Strickland had a tough time believing what his eyes told him. The beautiful café owner was Dirk Perkins’ widow. He could not credit this innocent-appearing woman as being someone who had traveled with a murderous gang of thieves.
      No matter what his mind argued, Travis knew the truth. Lily was the woman who had disappeared with a trunk filled with stolen gold. All too soon, he expected Perkins’ brother would find her and reclaim the gold.
      When Perkins appeared, he would be in Fox Creek to arrest him. He was a duly sworn United States marshal. Somehow, he would clear Lilly of any charges and pin the blame on the gang’s leader.
      What begins as a job for Travis quickly heats up into attraction and love. Can he save Lily and her son from the monster who is hot on her trail? Will her mistake as a fifteen-year-old shatter Lily’s chance at lasting love?

Release date: October 15, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D6RSTPD3

 

An Outlaw for Christmas: Confederate Widows, Spinsters, and Proxy Brides

By P. Creeden

Southern grace meets Western grit, and love becomes the greatest gift of all.
Join these Southern Belles on a Christmas journey to bridge the North and the South. Pasts fade and futures ignite amidst prairie snowflakes under western skies. Before each love story can unfold, the bride and groom are wed by proxy—having never met. Wounded souls find redemption in the bitter winter winds, and love’s embrace is the gift that warms their hearts. Find tales of hope, healing, and holiday joy as these Southern Belles, left alone by the war’s harsh realities, navigate cultural differences to forge new lives wed to their western, Yankee grooms. Will every heart discover the true spirit of Christmas and defy expectations? Fall in love right along with every star-crossed couple when you immerse yourself in each of these sweet holiday romances today!
Release Date: October 16, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZ1MSXF2

 

Gunnar's New Bride: Mountain Men and Mail-Order Brides

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

      Logging camp owner Gunnar Hallbjorn has spent the last two years focused on ensuring the business he inherited from his uncle continues succeeding. A recent visit from a newlywed cousin demonstrates how much a wife would add to his bachelor life. He imagines how coming home to a hot meal and pleasant conversation will be better than eating in the camp’s dining hall with two dozen bachelors. As he writes his ad for the matrimonial newspaper, he envisions a demure Scandinavian girl like he remembers from back home.
      Baker Blasa Eberhard struggles to keep a roof over her and her younger brother’s head due to their father’s gambling habit. Faced with an ultimatum from her father to either marry his business associate or someone else because he can only afford to support his son and himself, she enters into a correspondence to become a mail-order bride. Bank agents arrive to take possession of the house, because mortgage is in default. Blasa has no choice but to pawn her mother’s jewelry to buy train tickets to Colorado. How will Mister Hallbjorn react when she shows up on his doorstep? Will he still want to marry when she has her brother in tow?

Release Date: October 31, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D34TW77L

 

November Pre-orders:

 

A Rancher for Christmas: Confederate Widows, Spinsters, and Proxy Brides

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

Dunn MacDoughall faces a dilemma more ornery than a stubborn bull. To meet the stipulations of his granddad’s will and receive the deed to his three-thousand-acre Montana ranch, he has to marry by his twenty-eighth birthday. With only four months until the deadline, he resorts to using the services of a matchmaker. He’s desperate enough to put no restrictions on the woman’s background and agrees to a proxy marriage—as long as she arrives before fall roundup.

Ex-cotton heiress, Angelina Beauregard can barely rub two nickels together as a seamstress in post-war Bossier Parish, Louisiana. The war stole her father, brothers, and fiancé, but Angelina is determined its aftermath won’t steal her future. She seeks a proxy marriage with a man far away from her Southern homeland so she can finally get rid of memories that haunt her. But when she arrives and discovers her groom is a Yankee, is Angelina’s heart big enough to accept their fundamental differences?

Release Date: November 20, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D1DYHV3B

 

 A Surprise for Christmas: Confederate Widows, Spinsters, and Proxy Brides

By Zina Abbott

      Annalee Cantrill fled the South after the fall of Atlanta. She and her mother took refuge with her aunt’s family in Baltimore. Following her mother’s death, Annalee knows it is time to go. With nothing left to draw her back to the South, where can she find a husband who will leave the difficulties of the War Between the States in the past and accept her for herself? Since so many men left the East to either flee the war or to rebuild after having lost all, the West holds the answer.
      Jeffrey Holden struggles to overcome his hatred for the Southern rebels responsible for the death of his older brother. After corresponding with several women, some stopped writing after he admitted a war injury now requires him to walk with a cane. Others he rejected because they were from the South. He decided upon Miss Cantrill from Baltimore. Even though Maryland still allowed slavery during the war years, it stayed with the Union. The woman’s uncle rose to the rank of captain in the Union Army. Surely, she was an acceptable choice.
     Annalee is pleased when she receives Jeffrey’s marriage offer. A sense of unease arises when his most recent letter glows with happiness over finding a nice Northern bride. She suspects, once Jeffrey Holden hears her speak, he will be in for a big surprise.

Release Date: November 27, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D1LVNY3L

 

December Pre-orders:

A Recluse for Christmas : Confederate Widows, Spinsters, and Proxy Brides

By Kimberly Grist

Join these Southern Belles on a Christmas journey to bridge the North and the South. Pasts fade and futures ignite amidst prairie snowflakes under western skies. Before each love story can unfold, the bride and groom are wed by proxy—having never met. Wounded souls find redemption in the bitter winter winds, and love’s embrace is the gift that warms their hearts. Find tales of hope, healing, and holiday joy as these Southern Belles, left alone by the war’s harsh realities, navigate cultural differences to forge new lives wed to their western, Yankee grooms. Will every heart discover the true spirit of Christmas and defy expectations? Fall in love right along with every star-crossed couple when you immerse yourself in each of these sweet holiday romances today!

Release date: December 23, 2024

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZK49D8B