E.E.'s 10th Anniversary Celebration: PIcking Up Steam!

Ten years ago, I officially entered the world of romance writing when I submitted a manuscript to the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest. To my utter amazement and delight, I made the finals in November, 2010. That moment gave me the impetus and encouragement I needed to send me down a path to becoming a published author. 

This month, I’m celebrating with a special focus on my original
romance series, Steam! Romance and Rails. It all started with an idea and a friendship with two other 2010 Golden Heart finalists, Jacqui Nelson and Jennifer Jakes. I had been working on a railroad romance, and we were all ardent fans of the series Hell On Wheels. I proposed a joint effort, which we turned into three love stories woven together around a common historical event–a gritty, glamorous railroad race.

The anthology Passion’s Prize launched the series with Adella’s Enemy by Jacqui Nelson, Eden’s Sin by Jennifer Jakes and Kate’s Outlaw by yours truly. You can still pick up each of the novellas originally featured in this anthology. I’ll go into more detail on the historical underpinnings of the series in my next blog post. In the meantime, here is an interview I did shortly after publishing the first full-length novel of the series, Her Bodyguard.

What made you combine romance and rails?

That’s a good question. I guess something about the old steam railroads calls to my adventurous side, and to my romantic nature. But more specifically, when I touring a museum in Fort Scott, Kansas, a few years ago, I came across a small booklet about a railroad race. It had all the makings of an epic: crooked politics, underhanded landlords, angry mobs, liars, cheats, killers…I couldn’t imagine a more perfect setting for a great love story. 

Tell us a little about the series.

The first books in the series are set against the background of a contentious construction race through southeastern Kansas between two powerful railroads with long names. The government promised the winning line free land grants and exclusive rights through this corridor into cattle-rich Texas so you can imagine how they pulled out all the stops and no one was above cheating. 

Her Bodyguard, revolves around the story of the Border Tier. While its crews were trying to win a race, the railroad was feuding with settlers over land rights. That’s really the focus of my book. The heroine, Amy Langford, is a wealthy widow who’s invested heavily in the railroad and is looking for ways to appease the settlers so they’ll stop vandalizing the tracks. Only, someone is out to kill her. The hero, Buck O’Connor, is an outlaw who comes out of hiding to help his cousin avoid financial ruin. Through a twist of fate, he ends up being Amy’s bodyguard. He uses his position to thwart her railroad and help his cousin, while at the same time trying to protect her. You can see that isn’t going to work. But it takes Buck awhile to recognize this. He’s pretty sure of himself.

How much of the story is based in fact?

Quite a bit, actually! Honestly, I couldn’t come up with better scenarios than those I find in history books. The race really happened pretty much as it’s written, the settler’s riots, too. I love to use real events and include historical characters. In this case, I put two people very attracted to each other but with opposing goals in the middle of a cutthroat railroad competition and a land war. It was fun to see how they reacted.

Your books are based in the American West during the nineteenth century. Why that place, and why that era?

 I write what I love best. I’ve always been a history geek, and particularly American history. I really got fascinated with the Western expansion when I first moved to Kansas. That period of expansion had such an impact on this country, good and bad. I don’t think people realize just how much. There are so many stories that haven’t been told and I want to tell them.

I try to strike a balance between gritty realism and romance, though I suppose I do err on the side of romance, but in many ways, that Victorian era was very romantic—even in the “Wild West.”

This month, all books in the series Steam! Romance and Rails are on sale for only 99 cents each. We’ve never offered this series at such a low price, so it’s a great time to forego that mocha latte and treat yourself to stories that will keep you warm all winter!

HER BODYGUARD: A determined railroad investor stalked by a mysterious killer seeks protection from a wanted gunslinger, who is hiding a dangerous secret.

KATE’S OUTLAW: After a railroad heiress is abducted, one of her captors becomes her protector. On the run from danger with enemies on all sides, they discover a love as powerful as it is forbidden.

Originally part of the anthology Passion’s Prize. Catch up on the stories of two other women caught up in a dangerous race for riches in Adella’s Enemy by Jacqui Nelson and Eden’s Sin by Jennifer Jakes.

A DANGEROUS PASSION: An inquisitive author sets out to expose a charismatic railroad baron and becomes ensnared in a deadly mystery and a dangerous passion.

FUGITIVE HEARTS: When a newly-made widow tries to cover up the truth behind her husband’s violent death, her plan backfires, sending her fleeing from a hardened lawman determined to bring her to justice.

Who out there has read books in this series? Do you have a favorite character? Who is it, and why are you drawn to them?

I’ll be doing a drawing to give away a $10 Amazon Gift Card to one commenter.

GLIAS crew, thanks for being on this journey with me!

Must Love Plaque? Ask Shelly Chalmers!

I'm thrilled to have Shelly Chalmers debuting on the Crew today. She's one of my Golden Heart sisters from the Dreamweavers Group. WELCOME SHELLY!

Before we get to the juicy details- Shelly wants you to know she's giving away two 2 ebook copies of MUST LOVE PLAGUE (winner’s choice of platform)

  Please make sure you comment and leave your email address for a chance to win.

MEET SHELLY CHALMERS 

Shelly Chalmers has been writing since before she could properly string words together, and even her first stories were romances (although probably more because she was better at spelling ‘love’ than ‘like.’) A Golden Heart Finalist in 2014, her stories run the gamut from Regency paranormals all the way to contemporary paranormals, but they all include a touch of magic, a dash of humor, and a dab of geek. She currently makes her home in Western Canada where she wrangles a husband, two imaginative daughters, and two nutball cats.

THE STORY BLURB

Spreading disease isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Piper Bane wants nothing to do with her pesky Pestilence bloodline and would give anything to be a Normal. In fact, she put Beckwell--land of the paranormal and home of the weird--in her rear-view ten years ago, and hasn't been back since. Until an invitation to her best friend’s wedding coaxes her back home and reminds her what it means to continue the legacy of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. She receives a typical Beckwell welcome the second she reaches the city limits where she's stalked by a toad and wraps her car around a tree. And is rescued by the one person she most wants to avoid: Daniel Quilan. Town doctor, genuine nice guy, and her ex-fiancé.

Ten years hasn’t been long enough for Daniel Quilan to forget the only woman he’s ever loved. His responsibilities as Beckwell's only doctor keeps his mind off the hole Piper Bane left in his chest when she broke his heart and skipped town all those years ago. His not-so-ordinary patients and his trouble-making twin brother keep Daniel occupied twenty-four-seven, not to mention magic going haywire throughout town. But his plan to stay busy as the town's golden boy is shattered when his latest patient turns out to be Piper. How good she looks isn't his concern. How she still makes fire shoot through his veins isn't his focus. But the fact that someone wants to end the world and will use Piper to do so......that makes her impossible to ignore.

Nan: I cannot wait to read this book!  Such a fun premise. 

READ A LITTLE 

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a magical toad,” Daniel mused aloud as he reached for the door and held it open for her.

“Yeah, well, see how much you like it when it starts stalking you.” She stepped into the school, the yellowed floor tiles and chipped paint on the walls and lockers not much different than she remembered. Even the bright, elementary school artwork did little to alleviate the beige gloom.

Daniel waved at the secretary as they passed, someone Piper didn’t recognize, and she peered into the next-door window that allowed a peek into the energetic room pulsing with knee-high kindergarten kids, splattered with paint and joy.

Ah, kindergarten. The crayon-laden gateway to education hell. Those poor critters in there had no idea yet that they were stuck at Beckwell School until they graduated high school. Probably had no concept of how long that imprisonment would feel.

The children’s happy cries stuck with her, bringing her back to when she’d first started here. How she’d met the girls. Anna, so pale and gaunt, a new arrival in town without parents or friends, and taken in by Ginny’s family like a charity case. Piper had been terrified of her, but shared the Play-Doh anyway. It was in that room Piper, Anna, Nia, and Ginny had first received the slightly uneasy reactions when people first heard the whispers. They were from the horsemen clans. They might end the world.

Nan: Yikes!

Or click here to read a full sample chapter.

BUY THE BOOK

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A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH SHELLY CHALMERS

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

SHELLY: As often as I can, especially while the kids are watching television and I have the opportunity to open a book and disappear for awhile…usually until they demand food. ;) I love getting lost in a story with characters and plots that are so wild and imaginative, I have to keep reading just to see where the writer will take me next!

Nan: Me too!!

NAN: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

SHELLY:  Definitely tea, loose leaf preferably, and I’m always on the hunt for the perfect almond tea. An almond rooibos is the closest I’ve come yet. Besides, I need a good excuse for why I have so many teapots. ;)

Nan: I love that teapot. (I just bought a frog teapot!)

NAN:  What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

SHELLY:  I’m a collector. A collector of quirky treasures, juicy swears, teapots, family history, and interesting people. The people part probably sounds creepy, but I mean collecting them as friends / acquaintances, that’s all, I swear! I collect things that I find beautiful, that make me happy or curious, or that need me to remember or protect them. 

Nan: I'm not sure what a juicy swear is?? But the rest is fascinating.

NAN: Why do you write what you do?

SHELLY: I write humorous paranormal primarily because that’s also what I love to read – who doesn’t like a laugh and a bit more magic in our world? I also sometimes find it easier to enjoy and get lost in the story when there’s some kind of fantasy element (this includes historical too) because it’s disconnected from our modern world and the fact that real romance takes real work…and disappointingly doesn’t always end in a happy ending.

Nan: We need more laughter and magic in the world!

NAN:   Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?

SHELLY: Fashion-wise, I wish we still all had to dress like in the forties and into the early fifties (post-war years when the skirts start to widen again.) Seriously, men are so gorgeous in those suits, and those skirts and women’s suits are gorgeous! I have to content myself now with collecting vintage sparkly jewelry (it’s possible I’m part magpie), and which I always wear at conference. 

Nan: Pretty! And the colors match your book cover!

NAN'S GOTTA ASK: Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

SHELLY'S GOTTA ANSWER:  I’d love to have dinner with Loki. He isn’t the hero in this book (shh, don’t tell but he has to wait until book 4), but when Loki enters a room, everyone notices. He founded my imaginary town of Beckwell on the mouth of a magical vortex where all magical things end up mostly just to see what would happen. I’d probably be pretty tongue-tied since he is gorgeous, but I’d like to ask his side of the story. So often he’s cast as the villain in myth and modern incarnations, but there are curious inconsistencies when it comes to his history, so I’d like to find out the truth. Plus, you know, drool over him a bit.

Nan: LOL!

FIND SHELLY CHALMERS 

Contact: shellychalmers@scchalmers.com

Website: https://shellychalmers.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ShellyC.Chalmers/

Twitter: @scchalmers

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17169147.Shelly_Chalmers

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/shellychalmers5/

Blogs: https://shellychalmers.com

UP NEXT

Right now I’m working on MUST LOVE FAMINE, the second book in the Sisters of the Apocalypse series. Ginny Lack has a sexy-new husband she doesn’t know, a dirty-minded grasshopper who won’t stop talking, and a looming apocalypse to deal with. She’s going to need wine and chocolate. Coming early 2018.

Nan: These books sound like so much fun!!

SHELLY WANTS TO KNOW:     

I love looking for the potential other side of the story, like with Loki. So do you have a favorite myth/ fairytale or paranormal creature you think should have their story told? Maybe even a romance of their own?

Shelly is giving away 2 ebook copies of Must Love Plague (winner’s choice of platform) to  lucky commenters. Make sure you leave your email address!

Jacqui Nelson has a story for YOU!

It’s been seven years since I had the good fortune to win the 2010 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® award. Many lucky events have happened since. A few are...

2013: I became a Golden Heart double finalist and that autumn I self-published my first book, Adella’s Enemy. The best part about entering the publishing world was doing so with a group project (the Passion’s Prize anthology) and fellow Golden Hearts finalists Elisabeth Burke and Jennifer Jakes.

 

2014 - 16: I published two of my Golden Heart nominated books plus a couple of others which made my total published book count come to five. I’m not a fast writer but I’m tenacious, or some might say stubborn J

Then 2017 rolled around and I thought, hey I should write a free read for my newsletter subscribers. For some reason this story (even though it’s fairly short) took as long to write as a story with double the word count. I’m still happy I wrote it, because I always fall in love with my characters and my favorite story is always the one I’m writing. Now I’m thrilled to have the chance to join Get Lost in a Story and say, Choosing Bravery is done and ready to be shared!

Some highlights from Choosing Bravery are: a bear, a mountain cave with volcanic origins, an impatient Frenchman searching for a grand discovery, a legendary but traumatized fugitive tracker from the Far North named Lachlan Bravery, an equally legendary (at least on her mountain) wilderness guide named Élodie Rousseau, and a mystery involving a lost mentor, goldmine thieves and a vengeful spirit walker.

CHOOSING BRAVERY

Cascade Mountains, Oregon – 1868

When legends collide, will the sparks ignite their love or drive them apart?

After her parents vanished in the wilderness, Élodie Rousseau found a home with an Osage warrior and a logging camp schoolmistress who joined forces to return Élodie’s beloved spirit horse. With them as her teachers, she became the legendary mountain guide, Yellow Feather. She knows everything about surviving and thriving in the wild, but something is missing.

Brave the wild. Bury the past. Choose your destiny.

READ A LITTLE OF THE STORY:

from Chapter 1 when Élodie and Lachlan first meet:

“Trust me,” Élodie urged. “Open your eyes. I’m not your enemy.”

A tortured grimace sealed his eyes even tighter.

“We don’t have time for this.” She tamped down the impatience hardening her voice and strove for a sweeter tone. “I can help you. Ask any of the locals. They’ll tell you I’m a first-rate guide, a steadfast friend.” She stifled her sigh.

They’d also say she was dangerously impulsive, to herself and to him. If she hadn’t charged blindly to the rescue, she wouldn’t be wasting precious seconds scrambling to gain his trust before he died.

The pressure of his rifle against her eased. His strength was fading.

Her mind sped through the steps to save him: stitch his wounds, splint his leg, and drag him down the mountain to the nearest settlement.

On the long trail westward, Auntie Hannah had saved Uncle Paden’s life using a travois. This man shared Paden’s sturdy size. A small concern. Hannah had shown that a man’s weight was no match for a woman’s determination.

The snow would help. She could build a sled from fir branches and cheat the reaper as well—if this man let her.

“Lay down your weapon and we can help each other. Together we’re stronger.”

“Lies. All lies!” His words exploded with surprising strength.

The click of his rifle being cocked said the rest. Disbelief shook her like a deer realizing too late she’d run up against a wolf. She’d die here after all.

WANT TO READ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Choosing Bravery is book 3 in my Lonesome Hearts series, but you don’t need to read book 1 or 2 in order to jump into this story. It’s a standalone read and, as I said above, it’s free!

Sign-up for my newsletter on my website and get your free copy of Choosing Bravery today.

CONNECT WITH JACQUI…

Facebook | Twitter @Jacqui_Nelson  | Amazon | Goodreads  | BookBub 

Lena Diaz & the Golden Heart

Read a little -- Buy the Book

THIS WEEK soon-to-be-published authors are gathering in Orlando to see who wins the RWA Golden Heart award. I met Lena Diaz in 2010 when we became GH sisters. Lena and I became friends...and I'm so grateful for her constant, uplifting support.

I asked her to share today about being a finalist and how it changed her career.

How Does a Writer Measure Success? And How SHOULD They?

Over 2,000 romance writers will soon converge on Orlando, Florida for the annual Romance Writers of America® conference. I’ll be one of them. I was there in 2010 too, as an unpublished hopeful, the last time the RWA conference was in Orlando. But since then, EVERYTHING has changed. For ALL writers. 

In 2010, the publishing industry was all about traditional New York publishing houses. The only viable alternative was “vanity publishing”, where you paid to produce a book. Vanity was considered second-class, taboo, the route taken only by those who couldn’t get a trad contract. Ebooks were considered a fad that might never really catch on.

Skip ahead seven years.

Print as a format is suffering. Borders is gone. Barnes and Noble is struggling. Amazon has blasted through barriers, allowing an explosion in the digital realm. Ebooks are here to stay. The stigma of paying to publish your book is gone. Now it’s called independent-publishing, or Indie. The tiers of newbie, mid-list, and mega-star that have always existed in traditional publishing now exist in the Indie world too, including Marie Force, Bella Andre, Barbara Freethy, Lilliana Hart.

But with change comes uncertainty, confusion, and fear. Both the path to success and the definition of success continue to evolve. In 2010, my goals were to get published with a trad house, hit the New York Times best seller list, and earn enough money writing to quit my day job. Did I achieve them? I’m published with two trad houses. But the other goals remain unattained. Am I a failure? Let’s look at what I’ve done in the past seven years and see.

·         Became a Golden Heart® finalist in 2010

·         Signed with an agent

·         Sold my Golden Heart book to Avon Impulse and saw it published in 2011

·         Sold to Harlequin Intrigue in 2011

·         Got a very lucrative print deal in Germany through Avon Impulse in 2011

·         Avon and Harlequin translated and sold my books in many countries

·         I “graduated” to Avon Books in 2014 (moved from digital-first to print)

·         Won the Daphne du Maurier award 3 times

·         Won the Booksellers Best Award

·         Won the Tara, the NERFA

·         Was a finalist in other awards like the Carolyn Readers Choice and the Holt Medallion

·         Had a Top Pick in RT

·         As of today, I have 18 books published with two more slated for release in 2018

So, am I a failure? If I measure success against my goals from 2010, the answer is—yes, I’m a failure. But looking at that list of accomplishments, I have to say, I did pretty well. Maybe the problem isn’t what I did or didn’t do. Maybe the problem is that I set some really sucky goals. And because of that, I have a hard time taking pleasure in the things that go right in my career. I know I’m not alone here. Imposter syndrome anyone?

Writers, whether they’re published or not, Indie or trad, newbie or megastar, all struggle with some of the same fears. We can be insecure, especially with the industry changing so much, so fast. We can be negative and feel like nothing is going our way, and really put ourselves down because of it. We can look at others, who seem to be doing so much better than us, and feel like nothing we’ve done really matters. There’s a lesson in there somewhere. What’s the lesson? We need to cut ourselves some slack and set better goals!

Seriously.

Instead of being our own worst detractors, let’s work at becoming our own best champions. I challenge all of you to examine what’s really important, something that you can control. Then define new goals to measure your success. Here are some suggestions:

·         Finish a manuscript!

·         Take craft workshops to improve your skills.

·         Read craft books.

·         Learn about the industry.

·         Network! Meet fellow writers and learn from their experiences (like at this upcoming RWA conference.)

But don’t stop there. Look at your non-writing goals. Make them measurable and attainable. Here are some of mine. Feel free to borrow them.

·         Make someone smile today

·         Help someone in need

·         Read that book you’ve been wanting to read for ages

·         Be nice and open to other peoples’ points of view

Being successful is really as simple as living life to its fullest and not being so hard on yourself. To all of my writer friends going to conference this week, I strongly urge you to set conference goals that you can achieve, and ENJOY the experience.

Smile. Don’t worry. Be happy.

Easier said than done, I know. But we’d all be a lot better off if we could go easier on ourselves, and each other, and just have fun. After all, life isn’t a destination. It’s a journey. Enjoy the trip!

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WHAT'S YOUR GOAL FOR THIS WEEK?

Is the Earl Really Unseducible? Sheri Humphreys talks!

Please give a warm welcome to SHERI HUMPHREYS--one of my Golden Heart sisters! She's giving us the lowdown on THE UNSEDUCIBLE EARL, Book 1 of the Nightingales Series. It will release in July--so you get the details before everyone else.

Before we get too far--I want to make sure you know that Sheri is giving away an ebook or print copy of THE UNSEDUCIBLE EARL to a lucky commenter. See below for her question.



MEET SHERI HUMPHREYS

Sheri Humphreys used to be an Emergency Room nurse, but today applies bandages, splints, and slings to the characters of her Victorian romance novels. She loves to ignore yardwork and housework and read—usually a book every one to three days. Having conjured stories in her mind her entire life, she wondered if she were normal. Then she began putting stories to paper and became a two-time Golden Heart® finalist. She lives with a Jack Russell mix rescue, Lucy, in a small town on the central California coast.

A Hero to Hold received a prized Kirkus Star and was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2016. 

Let's find out more about THE UNSEDUCIBLE EARL


THE STORY BLURB

The end of the Crimean War brings Victoria Thorne home to face a society that isn’t ready for a lady with the education and experience of a physician. While nursing a Crimean veteran she proves herself able to deal with medical challenges and discrimination, but she’s dismayed when she develops an attraction to her patient’s betrothed brother, the Earl of Cheriton.

Robb Merrick, Earl of Cheriton, is engaged to a darling of society, yet finds himself drawn to his brother’s nurse. She makes him feel connected with the world instead of cocooned by his title and position. He craves the freedom to pledge his love and loyalty, but ending his betrothal means entangling them all in scandal. How can an honorable gentleman be expected to keep his vow when doing so means destroying all hope of happiness?

Nan: Ooh sounds delicious! And what a gorgeous cover.

READ A LITTLE

Victoria barely glanced at the room that served as parlor, kitchen and dining room. A toddler with wide eyes sat on a rug in front of the fireplace, a wooden horse clutched in one chubby hand. An iron stove and a substantial table dominated the left end of the room. A ribbon of steam wafted from a kettle.

She made for the doorway at the parlor end. A woman’s voice cried out from the next room. “Take care of the baby, Arthur,” Victoria said, and hurried through to the bedroom, Cheriton at her heels.

A woman lay abed in her nightshift. Her chest heaved. “Thank you, Lord.” The woman’s dark, glittering eyes pleaded for help. Sweat beaded her face and turned her dark blonde hair brown. Her hands clutched her maturely pregnant belly.

Cheriton stopped in the doorway and turned aside from the room. “Mrs. Brown, this lady is Miss Thorne. She’s staying at the Court, nursing my brother. Please, let her help you.” 

Mrs. Brown’s gaze flicked between Victoria and the earl, then locked on Victoria. “It’s too soon, and all wrong. It started so quick and hard, but the babe won’t come.” Her hand reached for the bedsheet and pulled it up, covering herself from the neck down.

Victoria heard both puzzlement and fear in the woman’s voice. Mrs. Brown’s gaze dropped to her belly. She moaned, grabbed up fistfuls of the bedsheets, and arched her back.

She’s scared to death. Victoria looked at Mrs. Brown’s clutching hands and placed one hand on the laboring woman’s hard belly. The lack of resilience there meant the woman was having a contraction. Her low moan gained in volume, climbing to a crescendo. The contraction ended, she gasped, and her body sagged.

Victoria picked up the woman’s hand and gripped it, trying to transfer some of her own resolve to the laboring woman. “I’m going to help you, Mrs. Brown. I’m an experienced nurse, and I’ve had midwife training. I’ve delivered many babies.” Mrs. Brown’s crimped lips trembled and her hand tightened around Victoria’s.

The woman blinked. Two tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and slid into her hair. She bit down on her already ravaged-looking lower lip and nodded. Victoria gave Mrs. Brown’s hand an answering squeeze, then released it and stepped to the foot of the bed.

She tugged the sheet loose from the bottom of the mattress and folded it back, exposing Mrs. Brown’s bare feet. Using as much discretion as she could, she lifted the woman’s hem. Bloody fluid spread under her hips, the buttocks and two small purple legs protruded from the birth canal. The loop of umbilical cord dangling alongside the legs stopped Victoria’s heart. If the baby was to have any chance of surviving, she had to remove the infant from the womb now.

She drew in a sharp breath, shoved her feelings aside, and concentrated on Mrs. Brown. No matter what happened, she needed to be collected and decisive. She let the sheet fall and looked at Cheriton’s broad back. He stood in the doorway, head down, studying the toes of his boots. Waiting. Mrs. Brown moaned with another contraction.

“I need towels, a blanket, string or yarn, and a knife.” She hurried to the pitcher and bowl sitting atop a

dresser and began a fast scrub of her hands. Even with every minute crucial, her belief in Florence Nightingale’s philosophy of cleanliness held. Cheriton lifted his head and looked at her.

Drying her hands, Victoria crossed to the doorway. “Wash in the scullery. Then get those supplies.” She paused, grabbed his arm and searched his eyes, the flecks of gold and green bright in their pools of treacle brown. He needed to understand. “The baby’s in the breech position and the navel string is hanging out. It’s . . . dire.” He turned to the main room and she returned to Mrs. Brown.

Victoria folded the bedsheet and Mrs. Brown’s shift back to her knees. With her legs bent, the fabric made a tent and obstructed the view of any but someone at her feet.         

Cheriton appeared at the door with a stack of towels and stood sideways, face turned away. “Where do you want these?”

“Over here. I’m going to need your help with her.”

 “What?” His head jerked around and he stared as if he thought her an escapee of Bedlam.

“I need your help,” she repeated, trying to put all her consequence and feeling of urgency into her voice.

He frowned; shook his head as if rolling the idea from one side of his brain to the other. “That’s outrageous. I can’t help you.”

She hurried to him, grabbed the towels from his arms, and put her face within inches of his. “I can’t do this without you.” He opened his mouth, probably to voice another protest, and she rushed ahead. “Whether your objection is due to the lack of propriety, a squeamish stomach, or something else, there’s no choice and very little time.”

He glanced at Mrs. Brown, who was mumbling a prayer. His mouth firmed and he gave Victoria a short nod, looking decidedly aggrieved. “Let me fetch the rest of the supplies. I’ll be quick.” He disappeared into the main room.

Victoria turned to Mrs. Brown. She hated adding to the woman’s distress, but she had to know what lay ahead.

“Your babe is coming out feet first. I’m sorry. This may be difficult and painful, but we haven’t any time to waste.”

Mrs. Brown’s chin quivered. “Will the baby be all right? I’m so scared,” she said, voice thick with tears. A strangled sob escaped. “I don’t want to die.”

For every woman, childbirth meant facing the looming possibility of death. At this moment, Mrs. Brown’s fear must be overpowering. Victoria wanted to reassure her, hold her hand and comfort her, but she couldn’t take time. The woman’s infant was in extreme jeopardy.

She willed Mrs. Brown to meet her gaze, and when she did, Victoria tried to communicate her determination. “I’m doing everything in my power to get both you and the baby through this. We’re going to do it together.” Victoria kept her voice firm. “Now, I’m going to feel your womb.”

Taking a deep breath, and mentally throwing out a quick “please, God,” she slid two fingers up the birth canal and felt the smooth, firm rim of Mrs. Brown’s womb. The baby’s buttocks were past the womb opening. Why hadn’t the delivery progressed further?

Victoria located the prolapsed umbilical cord and advanced her fingers past the cervix and into the womb, lifting and alleviating pressure from the cord. That reduced compression of the cord, allowing return of circulation to the infant, who was small. Slow and cautious, she stretched her fingers along the babe’s warm, slick curves.

Victoria let out her pent-up breath and took in air. She’d determined the orientation of the child by feel. The arms were extended above the infant’s head, the shoulders the probable reason delivery had stopped. She slid her hand farther, index and middle fingers feeling for the shoulder joint. Finding it, she hooked her finger over the infant’s upper arm and pulled it down. In the tight confines of the uterus it was difficult, even given how flexible the babe’s bones and joints were.

Mrs. Brown shrieked and thrashed her head back and forth. She dug her heels into the bed and pushed away from Victoria’s hands. No. She’d never be successful if Mrs. Brown struggled against her.

“Cheriton,” she called. “I need you.”

Nan: Wow! I want to know what happens! Please let the baby live!

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A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH SHERI HUMPHREYS

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

SHERI:  I read a lot, and usually do get lost in the story, at the very least for a portion of the book. I just read TISHA by Robert Specht, for my book club. It’s a biography about a teacher in rural Alaska in the 1920s. The last quarter of the book, a chase in a dog sled, was gripping! I couldn’t put it down.  

Nan: That does sound fun.

NAN:    What’s your favorite fairy tale?

SHERI: I don’t know that I can choose just one. As a kid, I read and re-read fairy tales. Now I like to give fairy tale books as baby gifts, hopeful that mom or dad will read them aloud. Beauty and the Beast was always a favorite, and it’s a romance trope I enjoy to this day.

Nan: Start those romance readers young!

NAN:  What do you do to unwind and relax?

SHERI:  I moved from Central California to the Central California Coast four years ago. Recently, I started walking on the beach pretty much every day. I take my dog, and she adores it! I’ve been posting daily pictures on Facebook and am amazed how each visit I notice something new and interesting. I love looking for and finding moonstones and sea glass (the beach I walk on is called Moonstone Beach), and love the way the ocean and sky constantly change.

Nan: Your beach walks sound wonderful.

NAN: What three things are, at this moment, in your heroine’s purse, satchel, reticule, weapons belt or amulet bag (whatever she carries)?

SHERI: : Victoria Thorne in THE UNSEDUCIBLE EARL carries a Victorian nurse’s satchel. Among other things, it contains dressings/bandages made of cotton fabric, needle, suture material (silk and catgut ligatures), lancet, lint (cotton), salt, sodium bicarbonate, oak bark decoction, laudanum, tincture of white willow bark, and honey. 

Nan: Honey! Good for burns?

NAN: Who's your celebrity crush and why?

SHERI:  I cast all my characters with actors, past or present (appearance only), and have a tiny crush on each of my heroes. I have a Pinterest page for each book, with characters, locations, clothing, pets, etc. Frequently, when I describe a heroine’s dress, I’m describing a real dress I’ve found depicted on some historical website. Here’s a list of my heroes:

David Scott from A HERO TO HOLD: Aaron Eckhart

Robb Merrick, Earl of Cheriton from THE UNSEDUCIBLE EARL: a young Rob Lowe

Jamie Merrick from BY THE LIGHT OF A CHRISTMAS MOON: Kevin McKidd

Cameron MacKay from THE SEDUCTION OF CAMERON MACKAY (coming later this year): Daniel Craig

I saved this picture because I loved the dress and hoped to use it in a book. I did. Charlotte Haliday wears it on her last day at the office in A HERO TO HOLD.  

It wasn’t the kind of dress she’d normally wear to the Patriotic Fund offices, being as she’d ordered it with Rose Cottage in mind. Beribboned bouquets of red roses danced upon a cream-colored skirt. A robin’s egg–blue jacket, trimmed with matching rose fabric and crocheted lace, topped the flouncy skirt. It was a dress made for laughing and kissing, and she hoped David got a look at her in it. It would serve him right. ~ Excerpt from A HERO TO HOLD

Nan: That's a great list of heroes and I love the excerpt!

NAN'S GOTTA ASK: Is there something special you do (listen to music, go to a special location, etc.) to help you write?

SHERI'S GOTTA ANSWER: I’m pretty analytical, and decided early on that the human brain should be able to write in any environment. Professional athletes are expected to think and perform at their top level while thousands of people watch and yell. I told myself if they could do that, I should be able to write anywhere, anytime, and using a variety of tools. I acknowledged there might be a learning curve and told myself to be patient and keep at it.

I’ve written in my car and on planes and trains, in airports, on boats, a winery tasting room, and a workplace lunchroom. I’ve used a clipboard and lined notebook paper; I’ve dictated into a digital recorder while I drive the freeway. I’ve used an iPad, and paper napkins. Some days it’s slow, others it’s smooth, but I’m always able to produce something useable. The one thing I find really helps is having the last couple paragraphs that precede the section I’m working on.

I know lots of writers find music beneficial. I don’t. I tend to get involved in the music. I have no trouble “tuning out” TV or environment noise, but I find ignoring a tune I like next to impossible. I experienced a pretty big learning curve with the digital recorder, but when I went on a road trip I looked at the journey as an opportunity to become accustomed to dictating. I’m a big believer in people being able to do what they believe they can do, and that was at the center of my decision to write anywhere and anytime.

FIND SHERI :

Contact: sheri@sherihumphreys.com

Website:   http://sherihumphreys.com 

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Twitter: @Sheri_Humphreys

Goodreads: Goodreads

Blogs: Sheri’s Blog

Previous GLIAS INTERVIEW: Click HERE

UP NEXT

Next will be book #2 in the Nightingales series: THE SEDUCTION OF CAMERON MACKAY.

Nurse Elissa Lockwood meets Crimean War surgeon Cameron MacKay in a British military hospital in Turkey. When they surrender to a private moment, Elissa is sent back to England in disgrace. She finds work in London, and is shocked to discover Cam employed at the same hospital. He’s not the confident surgeon she knew. He’s drinking, he’s lost his nerve and spirit, and he’s not performing surgery. Their problems seem insurmountable. They’re ready to admit they don’t belong together when a man with a soul-consuming grudge puts both their lives in jeopardy.

Nan: Sounds great!

SHERI WANTS TO KNOW:  

How many sex scenes in a book are too many? 

One lucky commenter will win an eCopy or print copy of THE UNSEDUCIBLE EARL once it releases in July.  NORTH AMERICA only.