While the weather back east is usually horrid this time of year, we have pleasant weather for our trip to Rhode Island, where we meet
Kristy McCaffrey and her
American Mail-Order Bride, Alice. You can read the FREE Prelude to how this series first began,
HERE.
Here's how Alice's story came to be:
My participation in the 50-book American Mail-Order Brides
series is the first time I’ve collaborated in a multi-author project and it was
a wonderful experience. When I joined the project, most of the western states
had been spoken for—not an unexpected outcome since many of the participating
authors are western romance writers. Because I couldn’t lean on my research of
the American southwest (where my other books are set), I opted for an eastern
state. I chose Rhode Island because it’s my eldest daughter’s favorite place
and she seriously considered attending college in Providence. Although I’d
visited the state a few times, I knew little of the history. I immediately
downloaded three history books to my Kindle and set about to familiarize myself
with the area.
Although I’d hoped to somehow incorporate a lighthouse into the tale (my
daughter’s dream is to live in one), what I found most interesting was the
fishing industry—specifically the menhaden fish. So my hero, James Martel, runs
a fishing fleet while still nursing a great resentment against the man who
stole his father’s business years earlier. It just so happens that unbeknownst
to my heroine, Alice Endicott, she’s about to inherit that very business when
she turns twenty-one. James marries her solely to gain her inheritance. Will
true love prevail? I hope you’ll read Alice: Bride of Rhode Island to find out.
Blurb:
Alice: Bride of Rhode Island is thirteenth in the
unprecedented 50-book American Mail-Order Brides series.
Fleeing her stepfather and an arranged marriage in Newport,
Alice Endicott finds work as a seamstress at the Brown Textile Mill near
Boston. When a devastating fire destroys the factory, she and all the girls
face dire unemployment circumstances. But hope arrives when their manager,
Roberta McDaniel, shares the Grooms’ Gazette with them. Each woman will choose
a husband and become a mail-order bride. As Alice’s friends—Lottie, Leora,
Judith, Beth, Lessie and Josie—embrace the idea, she too becomes caught up in
the excitement of a grand new adventure.
When fisherman Frank Martel contacts her, Alice can’t pass
up the opportunity to return to Rhode Island despite her stepfather’s presence.
Upon arriving at the train station in Tiverton, however, Frank neglects to meet
her.
James Martel is shocked to find a woman at the rail depot
claiming to be his brother’s fiancée. Even more surprising is her connection to
a man who ruined James’ father years before. When Frank confesses that he can
no longer wed Alice, James steps forward to fill the role since the beautiful
young woman holds the key to avenging the Martel name.
Can Alice convince her new husband that their marriage is
worth saving once she discovers his subterfuge? And will James learn that love
is more important than revenge?
A sweet romance set in 1890 America.
Excerpt:
Alice
paced near the tiny fireplace, female chatter from the kitchen beckoning.
Making up her mind, she moved to the entrance where her friends were preparing
supper.
“I have a dilemma,” she announced.
Judith looked up from the table, blowing wisps of reddish
brown hair from her face as she ceased the chopping of two large heads of
cabbage. They’d been lucky to purchase them with the rationing of funds from
Lottie’s betrothed. Samuel Cooke had kept them fed when few resources were left
to them; Lottie was lucky to have found a good man.
Beth stopped at the edge of the table, the pot in her
hand poised mid-air. “What’s wrong, Alice?”
“I need to make a decision. I need everyone’s help.”
Alice held out a letter.
Leora gasped. “Did you get a response from Mr. Hughes?”
Alice shook her head.
Leora crossed the room, took the missive from Alice, and
began reading it. Finally, she raised her gaze, her dark eyes pools of concern.
“I don’t understand. Who is Frank Martel?”
“I received this letter nearly a week ago,” Alice said.
“He learned of our predicament through business channels and sought me out.
I’ve yet to hear from Mr. Hughes in Iowa.” Alice paused, seeking to quiet her
nerves. She was both distressed and excited. Taking a deep breath, she
continued, “In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if I ever will. And this Mr. Martel
shows great promise.”
Judith frowned. “Has he proposed?”
Alice plastered a half-smile onto her lips. “Yes.”
Silence engulfed the room.
“This sounds very untoward,” Leora said quietly.
“I know what you’re thinking. I thought the very same thing. So I took the
letter to Miss McDaniel.” Roberta McDaniel had been their manager at the Brown
Textile Mill until it had burned down a month ago. In her efforts to help all
the unmarried women in her employ, she’d encouraged them to consider the
possibility of becoming mail-order brides. To that end, she’d instructed the
girls to choose a husband from the Grooms’
Gazette, an advertisement of prospective grooms. “She contacted the
matchmaker responsible for her sister’s happy union—I believe her name is
Elizabeth Miller—and they both investigated. Frank Martel passed inspection.”
“Why would you change your mind?” Beth asked. “You liked
that Mr. Hughes. I think you should wait.”
“How much longer can any
of us delay?” Alice asked, panic rising in her voice. “We’re running out of
money. In no time at all, we won’t be able to put food on the table. If I
accept, it not only helps me, but all of you. The less people in the house, the
better.”
American Mail-Order Bride - Alice- Bride of Rhode Island is available on
Kindle Unlimited.
BIO:
Kristy
McCaffrey writes historical western romances set in the American southwest. She and her husband dwell in the Arizona
desert with two chocolate labs named Ranger and Lily, and whichever of their
four children that are in residence. Kristy believes life should be lived with
curiosity, compassion, and gratitude, and one should never be far from the
enthusiasm of a dog. She also likes sleeping-in, eating Mexican food, and doing
yoga at home in her pajamas.
To find out more about Kristy McCaffrey, visit her social media sites:
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