Today we travel to one of my favorite states, Kentucky, with Peggy L. Henderson. Peggy introduces us to Emma in this next installment of the American Mail-Order Bride series.
If you are just joining us on this travel across America, you will find the Prequel by Kirsten Osbourne HERE.
Here is how Emma's story came to be:
When I was first approached to take part in the American Mail
Order Bride Series, my first reaction – which lasted about 5 seconds – was that
my writing schedule was full. How could I possibly squeeze in another book, and
especially a book unlike any I’d written before? I’ve never written a mail
order bride story. Well, maybe that’s not quite true. I’ve written a mail-order
bride book, but it was a time travel story about a woman who comes to the past
to be the unknowing mail order bride to a 1870’s rancher.
My next reaction was that this was an opportunity too good to
pass up. The line-up of authors was amazing, and I was elated to get an
invitation. My first and second choice
in states were already taken, but another state that I knew I could do justice
was still available,
I chose Kentucky because I used to be a huge horse racing fan. I
don’t follow the sport much anymore, but horses are my passion, and what a
great place to set a romance than the backdrop of Kentucky’s Bluegrass Country
among beautiful horses. I really didn’t know what I was going to do with this
particular story, other than it was set in Kentucky, and would include horse
racing and a horse farm.
When I got my cover for the book, the story instantly came to
me. The heroine on my cover looks like an upper class lady, and a little
haughty, and that’s when I knew who my heroine was going to be, her character
arc, and who her perfect hero was.
The most challenging part in writing my story was time
management.
A lot of things got in the way of the schedule I set for myself
to get the book finished, and lots of lost sleep, but in the end it will be
worth it. I loved collaborating with the entire group and also with the
subgroup several authors and I formed to connect our stories somewhat through
our heroines.
Blurb:
Emma
Waterston is determined, headstrong, and comes from a lifestyle where class
structure determines one’s associations. Left destitute after the death of her
mother, she takes a job at a textile factory. When a fire destroys her place of
employment, leaving her penniless again, she makes a desperate decision and
answers an ad for a mail order bride from a wealthy Kentucky horse breeder.
Sam Hawley
is content with his life as a horse trainer on an affluent Kentucky estate. His
primary focus has always been on the horses. He views their owners as rich
people with nothing to do but flaunt their money. Loyalty to his mentor is the
only thing that keeps him rooted to one place. When he meets the bride-to-be of
the man he detests the most, his life is about to change.
Too late,
Emma discovers the ad she answered was too good to be true. Her future husband
is not what she was led to believe and a horrific experience leaves her no
choice but to face the kind of life she’s been trying to escape. Kentucky was
supposed to promise a return to her life of wealth. What she finds instead will
redefine her definition of being rich.
Excerpt:
“Miss
Emmaline Waterston,” someone called from behind her.
Emma’s
heart lurched in her chest at the deep voice calling her name. Finally. Curbing
her agitation at having been left waiting for so long, she plastered her best
smile on her face, and swallowed the lump of apprehension in her throat. When
she wheeled around, she nearly tripped on a loose wooden board under her feet.
The
smile faded, and her forehead wrinkled when she glimpsed the man walking toward
her. Her eyes darted around to see if it might have been another man calling
out her name, rather than the one heading directly at her.
She
mentally recited the description David Benton had given of himself -
dark-haired, with a moustache, nearly six feet tall, and wealthy. The man in
her direct line of vision did not fit that description, not in the slightest.
He
was dressed in a simple, light-blue cotton shirt tucked haphazardly inside tan
britches that were held up by dark suspenders. The sleeves were rolled up to
his elbows, and his wide shoulders did not escape her notice. Neither did this
man’s dirty blond hair that poked out from beneath a brown cap that reminded
her of the newspaper boys back in Lawrence. The other ends of his britches were
tucked into old, worn boots.
He
stopped just in front of her, and Emma raised her head to look him in the eye.
He languidly peeled the cap from his head, revealing a disheveled mop of hair
that fell forward over his eyes. His lips curved in a slow grin, creating
indents in his cheeks. Emma’s heart fluttered inexplicably in her chest. She
blinked, and shook her head slightly at the reaction. She stared up into
deep-blue eyes that threatened to suck her right up. She’d never seen a man
this handsome before, even if he appeared unkempt.
“Miss
Emmaline Waterston?” he asked again in that rich drawl she’d already heard once
before.
A
slight shiver passed down her spine, and goose bumps formed on her skin,
despite being warm under her cloak.
“Yes,”
she answered, having to clear her throat to say it a second time. “And you
are?”
Surely,
this couldn’t be David Benton. If so, she’d been deceived.
“Sam
Hawley,” he said, holding out his hand.
* * *
Peggy
L Henderson is an award-wining, best-selling western historical and time travel
romance author of the Yellowstone Romance Series, Second Chances Time Travel
Romance Series, Teton Romance Trilogy, and the Blemished Brides Western
Historical Romance Series. When she’s not writing about Yellowstone, the
Tetons, or the old west, she’s out hiking the trails, spending time with her family
and pets, or catching up on
-needed sleep. She is happily married to her
high school sweetheart. Along with her husband and two sons, she makes her home
in Southern California.
Emma, Bride of Kentucky released December 3rd on Amazon .
Other books by Peggy L. Henderson can be ordered from Amazon as well as B & N.
You can catch up with Peggy L. Henderson on the following:
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Thank you so much for having me on your blog today, Angela!
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