Howdy! It’s such a thrill to spend the day at Tanya’s Tidbits to tell about my new release, Tender Trust,
from White Rose Publishing.
California Gold played an important part in the Civil War. It was gold from California and the newly found Colorado mines that kept the Union army afloat when the Confederate army began to flounder in debt. But California gold almost didn’t make it to the Union.
One of the pivotal scenes in my new novel, Tender Trust, occurs when word about hostilities at Fort Sumter reaches the small mining town of Harperville. Emotions run high and a group of Union sympathizers turn into a mob that drives a small band of Southern men out of town. One of the Southern men is Royce Darnell’s best friend and mine foremen, Alex Marsden. Alex and his friends barely escape Harperville with their lives and head to Southern California where Confederate sympathizers had already issued a call for cession from the Union to form the Pacific Republic which would have included Oregon, Washington and possibly New Mexico.
In reality, it took almost 10 days for news of war to reach California by telegraph and Pony Express. When it did, outbreaks of violence like the scene in my book took place everywhere. Pro-Union Democrats rallied in San Francisco and had to be controlled with Federal troops … commanded by a Southerner, Brigadier General Albert Sidney Johnston. Rumors ran rampant that General Johnston was part of a Confederate conspiracy to take over California but he remained true to his Oath to the Federal government by reinforcing the garrison at San Francisco and quelling the riots. His actions insured that California gold made it back to support the Union cause.
Fortunately!
I hope you enjoy the excerpt of Tender Touch, my first Western-set work. My first novel, Time’s Embrace, a time-travel adventure, was released in the United States in 1993 and internationally released in 1995. Most recently I have contributed to a collection of women’s survival stories titled, Triumph! The Beautiful Face of Courage and collaborated on at full-length play, a Christmas musical titled The Night Before Christmas.
I have been a member of Romance Writers of America since 1992, and I have taught writing at conferences and workshops, and have held seminars throughout California. I’d love for you to follow the workshops, classes and ups and downs of writing at http://www.creativewritingforces.blogspot.com/.
"Lacy--look at me," Royce commanded. She looked up. "Feel the music, Lacy. Just move with me."
Her muscles eased. Her breathing slowed. She seemed to sense the rhythm of his body and took her cues from the slight touch of his hand. He dipped, she followed. He swept, she flowed, her skirts swinging in a graceful arc behind them. They sailed around the room in perfect motion.
Royce smiled. "I knew you could do it."
"Thank you for teaching me," she murmured.
Royce looked at the woman in his arms. He'd known the minute she'd entered the room. He was shocked to see her, knowing instinctively that the crowd and the noise would not be to her liking. But, when he'd seen the pink of her cheeks and the high color of her eyes, he knew she was enjoying herself ... and that made him happy. He liked the little giggle she tried to suppress and the way her eyes lit when the dancers came near her. So he’d asked her to dance.
“Thank you," Lacy repeated.
"My pleasure, ma'am. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Her features turned somber. "You can let me go, now, before it's too late.”
She was asking him to do what he'd vowed to do. But looking at her lovely features, he knew he wouldn't do it.
"I can't, Lacy. I've tried and I can't."
The truth of his words flowed over both of them. They stood still in the middle of the dance floor. He wondered where the words had come from, and how he could take care of this fragile, beautiful creature in his arms.
Thanks, Tanya, for inviting me here today!
You're so welcome, Tanya! Come again, for sure! oxox
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| Available White Rose Publishing |
