#Excerpt from LOCK READY by James Rada Jr. @JimRada #Historical #Fiction #AmReading

This excerpt comes at the start of the book as David Windover, a former Confederate spy, ponders his future with the Fitzgerald family.

As David stood looking at all he had in the world, the hatch on the other side of the hay house opened. George Fitzgerald, Alice’s oldest child, stood in the opening looking in at him. He was a slim young man with light brown hair. He was frowning, which was a mirror image of Alice’s frown, but unlike his mother, George rarely smiled since returning from the war.

“So it is true then,” George said. “You’re leaving.”

“This makes you the man in charge,” David said. George had recently turned nineteen years old, though he seemed older now. It was more than simply him living additional year. George had seen things and experienced things that a nineteen-year-old man should not have to see and experience. The sparkle of life that Thomas still had in his eyes was missing in George’s. David hoped that the young man would find a way to get it back, but then David had never been able to after what he had seen during the waar.

“I suppose it does,” George said flatly.

The two men looked at each other without saying anything. They had both fought in the war, though on different sides. David had never gone back to the fighting after being wounded while George had lost his arm and couldn’t return. It always seemed to David that George had lost something more than his arm in the war. He had lost the ability to be happy.

“Mama’s in her cabin crying,” George said finally.

David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What did she expect him to do? He couldn’t stay, not with the way things were between then.

“She’ll get over it,” David said.

“Maybe.” He didn’t sound so certain.

“I’m just a hand around here, George. You know that. You’re the one who’s told me it enough times.”

George snorted. “Since when did you listen to me? If you think that you’re just a hand, then maybe you should leave.”

David slapped the wall with the flat of his hand and then bowed his head.

“What? You want me to stay?”

“It’s not my decision, but I would think that after all my family has risked for you, you would want to stay,” George told him.

The Fitzgeralds could be arrested for hiding a former Confederate spy. When David had been arrested two years ago, they had risked their own freedom to free him from the Union soldiers who had arrested him.

David drew himself up straighter. “I risked my life for your family, too.”

George nodded slowly. “I guess you have me at that.” He was quiet. David thought George had said all he meant to say, but then he added, “You’re doing this because of a woman. I know that, but I’ll tell you something. If you do something for the wrong reason, you will regret it. It cost me my arm.”

George had run off to join the army about a year and half ago because he thought it would impress a girl he was sweet on. He wound up losing his arm and returning home to find out he really didn’t care what the girl thought about him anymore.

David glanced at his pack. He was ready to go. Not much need to stay around anymore. He’d said his goodbye. Anything more would just give people a reason to cry and try to convince him otherwise. He was afraid they might succeed.

David grabbed the pack and pushed open the hatch above his bed.

“So you’re just going to leave things like this?” George said.

David didn’t reply. He just walked away.

It was time to leave.

The Civil War split the United States and now it has split the Fitzgerald Family. Although George Fitzgerald has returned from the war, his sister Elizabeth Fitzgerald has chosen to remain in Washington to volunteer as a nurse. The ex-Confederate spy, David Windover, has given up on his dream of being with Alice Fitzgerald and is trying to move on with his life in Cumberland, Md. Alice and her sons continue to haul coal along the 184.5-mile-long C&O Canal. 

It is dangerous work, though, during war time because the canal runs along the Potomac River and between the North and South. Having had to endured death and loss already, Alice wonders whether remaining on the canal is worth the cost. She wants her family reunited and safe, but she can’t reconcile her feelings between David and her dead husband. Her adopted son, Tony, has his own questions that he is trying to answer. 

He wants to know who he is and if his birth mother ever loved him. As he tries to find out more about his birth mother and father, he stumbles onto a plan by Confederate sympathizers to sabotage the canal and burn dozens of canal boats. He enlists David’s help to try and disrupt the plot before it endangers his new family, but first they will have find out who is behind the plot.

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Genre – Historical Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Website jamesrada.com

Mike Hartner on What Inspired I,James (Eternity Series) @MHartnerAuthor #AmReading #Historical

What Inspired Me to Write This Book

This book is the second in a series of books called The Eternity Series.

The Eternity Series has several inspirations.

The first inspiration is to show that each life, each person, is different. We all have our crosses to bear, and how we overcome them determines who we are as a person. Whether we blame everyone else and fester in the crap that we are given by fate, or overcome the challenges and have a good life is up to us.

The second inspiration is to show that nobody’s life is perfect. Everyone has challenges. And appearances are not always what they seem.

More than that though, The Eternity Series is an epic saga of good vs evil, of man’s desire to survive and thrive, and of what we can be if we come together.

James Crofter was ripped from his family at age 11. 
Within a year the prince was a pauper in a foreign land. 
Is nature stronger than nurture? And even if it is, can James find the happiness he so richly desires? 

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Genre - Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating – PG

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THE BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN by Marilyn Holdsworth @M_Holdsworth #Historical #Fiction #TBR

ELIZABETH VISITS MADAME LA FAYETTE IN PRISON…
from my novel, THE BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN, by Marilyn Holdsworth

“Oh, no,” she wailed the moment the door opened revealing the two guards. “The guillotine,” she cried. “It is to be today. Dear God, dear God, have pity on my soul.”

“Oh my dear, my dear,” Elizabeth Monroe soothed, pushing past the two guards and rushing to Madame LaFayette’s side. She stooped down, took the trembling woman’s hands in hers, and knelt down beside her. “No, no; it is nothing like that. I am Elizabeth Monroe. My husband, James, is the United States minister to France and a longtime friend of your husband. They fought together in our revolution,” she explained. “I have come to visit you, assure you how very concerned for you my husband is. We are going to do all we can to help you.” She placed her arms around the sobbing, frightened woman’s shoulders, continuing her reassuring words in soft, flowing French.

I stood watching from the doorway as Mistress Monroe calmed and comforted Adrienne LaFayette. Disregarding the filthy surroundings, Mistress Monroe continued to crouch down before the distraught woman, holding her hands as she spoke. When at last she rose, she drew Madame LaFayette to her feet and embraced her.

“Merci beaucoup, thank you for coming,” Adrienne LaFayette whispered, wiping her eyes. “I was sure they had come to take me to the guillotine. I was so very frightened. My family is all gone. I thought for sure they had come for me too,” she said, fighting back the tears.

“Of course you did, my dear, but have courage. Be assured that James will do all he can for you,” Mistress Elizabeth promised, patting her gently on the shoulder before joining me at the door. “We must go now, Jasmine, get back to the Folie as soon as possible. We must tell James of this poor woman’s deplorable state.”

She glided gracefully back down the long dingy, hall, past the guards to the prison door, where Michael was waiting to escort us safely back to the carriage.

You can read more about The Beautiful American, by Marilyn Holdsworth at: http://marilynholdsworth.com/the-beautiful-american/

As a novelist, I draw on many real life experiences to provide background for my books. After completing studies in Literature and History at Occidental College, I became a staff writer on a travel magazine, and throughout my career I have traveled extensively all over the world. Because I love horses, I owned and trained them. I support horse rescue and wild mustang preservation. Based on my experience with horses and my research on abuse issues, I wrote Pegasus.

As a descendant of James Monroe, I did extensive research at the James Monroe Museum in Virginia about him and his wife Elizabeth Kortright Monroe. I also visited their home, Ashlawn/Highland in Albemarle County. This resulted in my novel, The Beautiful American. Making Wishes, was based partly on my experiences as creator, owner and operator of a greeting card company.

Elloree Prince is an attractive, creative young woman who marries a wealthy businessman, Tom Randall. After courting his bride with unrelenting determination, Tom moves her into old-moneyed Oak View, where generations of Randalls have lived for years. Outwardly, Elloree appears to settle into raising their two sons within Oak View's stifling social structure, but inwardly, she yearns for her artistic work. 

An unexpected phone call from Mark Williams, her former employer, offers her the career opportunity of a lifetime, and she must make a choice. She is torn between her devotion to her sons and her love for her work. Her decision to return to Wishes, Inc. brings dramatic life changes to her and the people she loves.

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Genre - Women's fiction

Rating – PG-13

"Abby Long is thrilled when she offers the winning bid for an antique desk at an auction. With its intricately inlaid woods and elegant style, the desk is perfect for Abby; it is the gift she promised herself to finally celebrate her thriving antique business. She has no idea that the antique desk holds a secret that will lead her on a fascinating, life-changing journey back in time.

When Abby discovers a hidden diary stuffed inside a secret compartment in the desk, she can hardly wait to read the spidery, faded script. As she carefully turns the tattered pages, she reads the captivating story of two remarkable women from opposite backgrounds who somehow manage to form an unforgettable bond against the backdrop of a fledgling America struggling to find its place in the world. Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, the wife of James Monroe, and Jasmine, a young slave girl, develop an extraordinary relationship as they are united by pivotal historic events, political intrigues, and personal tragedies.

 From a bucolic Virginia plantation to the bloodied, starving streets of post-revolutionary Paris, this powerful tale follows the lives of two courageous women from the past as they quietly influence—and inspire—a woman of today’s world."

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Genre - Historical fiction

Rating – G

Widowed at thirty, Hannah Bradley is a successful journalist focusing on animal abuse issues. An accidental meeting introduces her to lawyer, Winston Caughfield III. Drawn to Hannah’s gentle beauty and fierce commitment to her work, Win joins her in a fight to save wild mustangs from slaughter. Together they rescue a badly injured horse with a mysterious background. Hannah’s search to discover the animal’s true identity leads them into a web of black marketeering and international intrigue. 

Action packed with crisp colorful dialogue the story propels the reader to a race against time conclusion. Marilyn Holdsworth delivers a gripping tale of mystery, adventure and romance guaranteed to hold the interest and capture the heart. She brings true-life characters together with real-life issues to create a fast-paced irresistible story.

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Genre - Contemporary fiction

Rating – PG

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Website  http://marilynholdsworth.com/

Blog http://marilynholdsworth.com/blog/

Holderby’s Landing #Excerpt by J. D. Ferguson #HistFic #AmReading

An hour farther on, out of pity for the struggling team, Osman slows the coach to a crisp canter. He wants the horses cooling before he pulls into the long drive of Sylvan Springs. The rain has softened from the near hurricane force they had endured to a heavy and constant downpour. Osman sits stoically in the driver’s boot and wishes he had at least stopped long enough to don his summer cloak. There is no dry part of himself that he can discern. Water pours from his hat to the front and back, on equal occasion and given the position of his head. He does not know which he prefers, water into the crotch of his pants or down the back of his soaked cotton daycoat. Either way it is a misery, right enough.

Breasting a knoll, the big man inaudibly sighs at the sight of distant lights. From his ability to see them at this distance, means that Colonel Thorne has taken nothing for granted and has lit beacons of dry pine logs on the fore hill by the entrance. He must have roused the field hands to maintain such a fire in this downpour. The lights ease his burden, somewhat, and give an unspoken satisfaction to Osman. Master Thorne had no second thoughts as to whether they would arrive tonight. None at all; so the fires admit. He knew that no matter what, the boy would be here as planned. There is trust there. It would not be long now until he rests both horses and his aching back.

Barely slowing, the big carriage clatters passed and between two raging bonfires, and makes a hard right into a tree-lined drive. The brick and wrought iron entranceway is a blur. Far ahead, and visible by all the lighted windows, is the main house of Colonel Joshua Thorne. Its broad three-story brick façade faces the drive, and its wings spring from either side of the main entrance to disappear behind the border of trees. Lanterns hang from the porte-cochere and have been set in every window. As the coach approaches the house, Sylpha, Thorne’s house mistress, moves with quick grace and a flash of red cape-lining to the end of the driveway cover, just out of reach of the streaming rain. She holds high an oil lamp and stares expectantly into the dark beyond. All the lights reflect in the downpour and sparkle from the individual droplets like crystals in sunlight.

If Osman knew not the dire aspect of this night’s work, he could have imagined a festive occasion underway, and the silken magic of quiet summer nights. As it is, there are no reasons except the beauty of the lighted way to expect anything but ill to come from all this. And nothing shall.

That last thought firmly in mind, he brings the horses to a stop under the roofed overhang and stares with a mixture of weariness and unease as the young man springs from the coach onto the flagstone drive, and, without a backward glance, strides passed the unacknowledged Sylpha and to the marble-framed front entrance. As he enters, Sylpha looks toward Osman with a dejected but defiant stare. Osman smiles at the statuesque woman.

With a laugh and a wink he says to the lovely features of the bronzed slave before him, “Cheer up little one, young master’s home. All is right with the world.”

He slaps reins and leaves the cloak-wrapped beauty still standing in the drive, and heads horses and driver to their beds.

When Justin Thorne, coddled student and heir apparent to Sylvan Springs Plantation, is forced to find his heritage, his manhood, and his destiny, in the space of one brief spring, all hell breaks loose on the banks of the Ohio River. His Virginia of 1836 is a time of transition and enormous growth. Northern industrial might and southern aristocracy, abolitionist movements and slave cultures, collide in turmoil and lay bare the raw needs and desires of those intrepid spirits confronting the frontiers of the antebellum South. Coming of age is an expected result of time and circumstance. 

It happens to all who live so long, but to each within the dictates of their own lives. The process is on-going and ever dynamic. Every person is a precious product resulting from the effects of nature and nurture. One’s ancestry, culture, and environment collude in myriad ways to make us; all as different as each life’s story, and as singular as snowflakes. 

This theme is played out over-and-over throughout the world and throughout history, in millions of places like Holderby’s Landing; as similar and as different as each human is to the other. Holderby’s Landing is a single glimpse in time at the coming of age of a land, a community, and a few determined souls thrown together in love, strife and chance. What they make of the time, the opportunities and themselves is the story told and the living breath of this book.

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Genre – Historical Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Website www.jdferguson.net

@MargaretWestlie on Writing ANNA'S SECRET #AmWriting #AmReading #Historical

I have been steeped in the stories about my ancestors since my birth.  They may have even seeped into me through the walls of the womb.  Anna’s Secret is a story I’ve heard many times from various people.  The latest version was from my Uncle Harold.  He said that one of our own people was suspected of the crime of murdering Anne Beaton with a turnip hoe.  It was said that she was no better than she should be and was doing a little marital wandering with someone in the community.  For a long time the smithy was suspected.  He was in custody for a period but was finally exonerated and left Prince Edward Island for good.  Ultimately the authorities decided that the crime was perpetrated by a woman and was in fact, a crime of passion.  This last was pronounced with great relish.  They never found the person responsible.  It seems that Anne had greatly riled a wronged wife, and probably several.

The story caught my imagination and I began to wonder: what if she wasn’t who they thought she was? What if the reason for her murder was entirely different?  What if the murderer was discovered?  Who would it be?  Her husband?  The wronged woman?  The man she was said to be involved with?  There was a lot to play with here.  In a technical sense, how close to reality could I be without offending descendents?  Not too close, I decided.  Anyway, it’s more fun to write what pops into my mind and see how it plays out.

As I wrote, the narrative opened like a flower as I examined the individuals who I decided were involved.  Who were they?  What relationship did they hold to Anna and to her family and to each other? How did Old Annie figure into it?  After all she was a daft old woman who had to be transported to gatherings in a wheelbarrow because she couldn’t be left alone.  Most of the time she didn’t know anyone and lived in her mind very far in the past with people she knew in her youth.  What did she have to do with Anna’s murder?  After all, she and Anna had been life-long friends.

And what did it do to the community?  Their sense of safety was shattered and people took to locking their doors, some even in the daytime.  This was in a community that never locked its doors even in my grandmother’s time.  I remember this from my childhood.  The only time the door was locked was if they were going to be away for an extended period because, what if someone needed something and they weren’t home to give it to them?  I remember my own mother telling me a story about an old man who peddled goods and trinkets door-to-door.  He was a little simple as they say here. They woke up one morning and discovered him asleep on the lounge with a blazing fire in the stove.  After the murder, people were afraid to walk out alone at night.

As the story progressed it took awhile for me to realize who the real perpetrator was and the denouement was almost as much a surprise to me as it will be to you.

Anna Gillis, the midwife and neighbour in Mattie’s Story, has been found killed. The close-knit community is deeply shaken by this eruption of violence, and neighbours come together to help one another and to discover the perpetrator. But the answer lies Anna’s secret, long guarded by Old Annie, the last of the original Selkirk Settlers, and the protagonist of An Irregular Marriage. Join the community! Read Anna’s Secret and other novels by Margaret A. Westlie.

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Genre – Fiction, mystery, historical

Rating – G

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Website http://www.margaretwestlie.com

Alex Mueck on Mentors, Writing & #SelfPub - #WriteTip #AmWriting

Why Mentors Are Important

Every author needs help, support and guidance.

Inside the Mind of the Author

I think every author needs to set the mood.  Some escape too remote cabins, but that is not always possible.  But I do my best work when there are no distractions.  I like to have the room dark with a candle or two, and play soft jazz while I generally listen to hard rock.  Once I feel ready I try to lose myself to the characters and imagine I am them.  Some days the words just flow, others not, but I try to always forge ahead, and can always strengthen the writing later.
The Footsteps I Follow: Authors I Admire

Too many to mention.  I am always reading, and I have a wide varied interest in fiction and non-fiction.  I will just say that with each book I tried to do something in the vein of authors I respect in that genre, and yet ensure that it was unique. The first book was a financial thriller, the second a detective/serial killer story, and the third a comic farce.  In the latter genre I love and admire authors like Carl Hiaasen, Christopher Moore, and others, so I would cite them on my most recent book.

How to Overcome Radio Stage Fright

I love to talk, so I doubt I would have an issue.  I suppose one would imagine they are not on the radio, but rather having a chat with someone.

Why Writing is a Form of Personal Therapy

I think it is important for an individual to have a hobby, a passion, something that brings inner satisfaction.  We all have different gifts, it may be art, mechanics, athletics, and pursing these goals makes us feel alive with purpose.

How to Find a Critique Buddy

I have a friend or two who are also authors, and we all seem to have different strengths and weaknesses.  For instance one has great imagination and the author does a splendid job of capturing characters thoughts and emotions, and I feel I am good with dialogue and plot ideas.  So getting feedback and opinion always helps.  Even if you don’t agree, I feel if you even change one thing, then you still improved the book.

How to Create a Great Work Area for Inspiration

I think you need to remove yourself from distractions, family, friends, TV, phone and lose yourself into the characters and setting.

How to Write by the Seat of Your Pants: Outline or No?

I like a semblance of an outline.  What is the goal of the story?  What am I looking to achieve.  Who are the main characters, and what is the main plot, beginning and end.  So I definitely give a fairly large rough outline.  I expand on them as ideas form, but I like to write as I go, let the words come natural, although I script out each chapter in advance.

How to Research Your Story Before Writing Your Book

Depends on the book.  On m y 2nd book which dealt with religious leaders being offed by the killer, I read quite a bit about each religion, and then sat down and visited places of worship and even participated in some ceremonies.  So basically every scene in the book I had visited.  This new book is a historical fiction comedy.  I read several books on Jesse James and outlined areas of his life that worked in the framework of the story I wanted to tell.

Why Choosing Your Setting is Important

If your mind is not free from distraction, it is hard to write.

““A historical fiction comedy that packs
as much heart as humor.”
—Michael Dadich, award-winning author of The Silver Sphere

When a Harvard history professor receives a thesis paper titled Jesse James and the Secret Legend of Captain Coytus, from Ulysses Hercules Baxter—an underwhelming student—he assumes the paper must be a prank. He has never read such maniacal balderdash in his life. But after he calls a meeting with the student, Professor Gladstone is dismayed when Baxter declares the work is his own. As he takes a very unwilling Professor Gladstone back in time via his thesis, Baxter’s grade hangs in the balance as he attempts to prove his theory.

It is 1864 as philanderer and crusader Captain Coytus embarks on a mission to avenge his father’s death and infiltrates the Confederate Bushwacker posse looking for the man responsible, Jesse Woodson James. Accompanied by the woman of his dreams, Coytus soon finds himself temporarily appointed to be the sheriff of Booneville and commissions his less-than-loyal deputy to help him carry out his plan.

But when tragedy strikes, the Captain is forced to change his immature ways and redefine his lofty mission—more or less.”

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Genre - Humor, Historical Fiction

Rating – R

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