E.E. Burke's Valentine Unveiled

Valentine's Special: 99 cents 

Meet a hero named Valentine

The first book in my series The Bride Train features an English aristocrat named Valentine. It wasn't by accident that I chose the name. Releasing a book around Valentine's Day might've had something to do with it. I wondered where the name had come from, and in researching the origins, conceived a story about a man who sets out on a journey to live up to his name.

The surname Valentine is a very old, distinguished Anglo-Saxon name, and my hero, Constantine Valentine, is a second son of one England’s noblest families. 

In the late nineteenth century, a number of aristocratic families sent their sons to America to toughen them up, and in hopes that they might make their fortunes, or at least make something meaningful out of their lives. 

Val sails to America after losing his inheritance and embarrassing his family with his flagrant lifestyle. He hopes to regain his fortune and return home to repair his tarnished reputation.

What's in a name?

Valentine comes from a Latin name Valentinus, from the root word valens, which means strong and healthy. The word “valor” comes from this root. 

Indeed, Val is very strong man. He stands six feet-six inches, which in his day meant he towered over other men. He’s also strong willed. But even a strong man is bound to have a weakness. In Val’s case, he suffers from what we know today as Attention Deficit Disorder. Being misunderstood and ridiculed for his impetuous nature has a devastating impact on his life, and it takes a special woman with a great capacity for love to help Val overcome his past.

Meet Valentine's Rose

Rose Muldoon, an Irish laundress, grew up in Five Points, a crime-ridden slum in New York City that housed a large Irish immigrant population. After tragedy strikes, Rose signs on with The Bride Train, and heads west to replace what she's lost. Val’s aristocratic background as far from her world as the sun is from the moon, but Rose is determined and knows what it means to fight for what’s important, things like family and love. 

I won’t spoil the story by telling you how Rose and Val end up together, but I will say these characters discover things in each other, and themselves, that make them a surprisingly well-suited couple. It just takes awhile for Val to realize this.

I’m running a Valentine’s Special on this book through February 15. Buy it for only 99 cents (normally $2.99). 

Apple iBooks | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | 

Tomorrow, I’ll give you a sneak peek at Book 4 in The Bride Train series, with a cover reveal and exclusive excerpt.

Win a sweet treat!

Over the next two days, you can enter a Valentine’s drawing for a chance to win artisan chocolates from Christopher Elbow (my favorite local Kansas City chocolate artist), or a copy of Valentine's Rose.

Do you remember your first or favorite Valentine? It can be a card or a gift or a story. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

E.E. Burke's The Bride Train: Board The Bride Train and Meet the Grooms

E.E. Burke

How much do you know about The Bride Train? Yesterday, I shared some interesting facts about three of the brides and the first book in the series. Today, we'll take a look at the the grooms and the second book, plus some cool giveaways.

Not your typical Western hero... 

Constantine Valentine, an English nobleman, is leading man in Valentine's Rose. Val is somewhat lost in America on a fruitless search for riches and purpose, neither of which he finds until he meets his sweet Irish Rose. He's understandably concerned about how his aristocratic family will react to his marriage to a destitute Irish laundress. Not well, he can assure you.

Did you know that during the Victorian era, some of England’s noblest families were sending their sons to America to toughen them up? Often, these were spoiled, second-born sons who wouldn’t inherit land or title and their fathers hoped they might be able to make their fortune in America--or at least make something meaningful out of their dissolute lives. 

Why name a hero Valentine? Well, for one, it's a noble English name of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the Latin name Valentinus, which comes from the root word valens, meaning "strong and healthy." The word valor comes from this root. 

Constantine Valentine in many ways reflects his surname's meaning, but even a strong man is bound to have a weakness. Besides having gambled away his inheritance, Val suffers from what we know today as Attention Deficit Disorder. Being misunderstood and ridiculed for his impetuous nature has had a devastating impact on his life and it takes a special woman with a great capacity for love to help Val overcome his past.

** Sign up for my newsletter and read Valentine's Rose FREE.

Opposite Val in just about every way is Patrick O'Shea, the main character in Patrick's Charm. A poor Irish immigrant and disabled war veteran, Patrick hasn't experienced much good luck in his life. Upon landing in America, he was mustered into the Union army. This practice of recruiting immigrants "fresh off the boat" went on for as long as the government needed fresh soldiers to the fight the war. 

Patrick's permanent injuries are a constant reminder of his bad luck. Wounded soldiers were routinely dosed with opium for pain. Many, like Patrick, became dependent on the painkiller. Opium addiction among former troops was so widespread it was given the name, Soldier’s Disease. Today, it’s difficult to imagine the strength it would’ve taken to cope with injury, addiction and the rigors of starting a new life on the frontier. I think you’ll find Patrick a fascinating character.

Purchase now

Patrick’sCharm, Book 2, The Bride Train series

An actress who believes in nothing, a disabled veteran who has nothing left to believe in…until Luck changes her mind.

Lady Luck hasn’t been kind to Patrick O’Shea. The Irish immigrant has suffered loss, betrayal and bitter disappointment since arriving in America. When a talented performer shows up at his saloon looking for a job, it appears his luck is about to change.

Charm LaBelle would rather take a job singing in a saloon than be forced to marry. The famous actress, on the run from danger, has learned the hard way not to entrust her life--or her heart--to any man; in particular, her charming employer.

Patrick is determined to hold onto his good luck through whatever means necessary, including marriage, but Charm won't give up her freedom or her secrets. It's only a matter of time before their luck runs out...

Archer Childers, both a scoundrel and a sweetheart, takes center stage in Tempting Prudence. When I started researching potential grooms, I came across what I consider a quintessentially American character, but not the sort you often see in a Western Romance. Did I mention, I love atypical heroes? 

Whereas Patrick and Val represent the burgeoning immigrant population, Arch comes from relatively long line of American descendants. His ancestors migrated from the mountainous areas in the Carolinas and Tennessee westward to Missouri in search of cheap land and better opportunities. Along the way, they took with them their knowledge about making whiskey. 

Arch is a bootlegger from southwestern Missouri who stakes a claim on land over the border in Kansas. He sells illegal liquor to area saloon owners (who are more than happy to purchase it). While he has bigger dreams, he takes pride in running his family's business and has earned a certain amount of respect among his colleagues and customers. At the same time, illegal whiskey peddlers were looked down on as lawbreakers and considered outside of “proper society." Victorians privately enjoyed vices they publicly condemned.

It goes without saying that Arch has his work cut out for him when he decides to wed a spinster who opposes, among other things, "strong spirits."

Tomorrow, you'll meet Arch and Prudence and learn more about their story...

Do you have any favorite types of heroes in terms of occupations or pursuits? What makes them so intriguing?

Leave a comment and enter the drawing for a copy of all three eBooks in the series, an autographed copy of the book of your choice, or a $10 Amazon gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

E.E. Burke's Best of the West: Here Comes The Bride Train With a New Release and a Special Offer

E.E. Burke
Follow me on BookBub

This Thursday, Aug. 11, the latest release in The Bride Train series arrives. Over the next three days we'll be featuring each of the books in this top-rated series along with interesting tidbits about the brides and grooms--plus, some cool giveaways.  

Hop aboard The Bride Train and hold onto your hat...

A little history on The Bride Train 

Ship in women to pacify rioting men? This idea was actually proposed in 1869 when settlers in Kansas were burning ties and tearing up tracks to protest what they viewed as unfair railroad land policies. The unusual matchmaking program never got off the ground, but what a great idea for a romance series!

The Bride Train follows seven women who are among those answering a railroad advertisement seeking single young ladies to become brides for settlers on the Western frontier. 

The Bride Train takes them to a land plagued by violence and unrest...a place where passion rules, and only a woman's touch can tame it into love.

Meet the brides

While researching the railroad-sponsored bride immigration program, the first question that popped into my head was: “What kind of woman would answer an advertisement to leave everything behind and go to an uncivilized land to marry a virtual stranger? 

Valentine's Rose, Book 1, features destitute Irish laundress Rose Muldoon, who grew up in Five Points, a crime-ridden slum in New York City that housed a large Irish immigrant population. 

The descriptions of this slum were so awful it made me wonder why more people didn’t leave. Crowded, unsanitary, crime-ridden…but to the immigrants who lived there, it was home. For Rose, it takes more than poverty to drive her away. After unimaginable tragedy strikes, she leaves behind the familiar and ventures into the unknown, longing to replace the family she’s lost and find a place to belong.

Valentine’s Rose, Book 1, The Bride Train Series

An English nobleman, an Irish laundress… Only in America could Fate be foolish enough to bring them together.

Read it for FREE

One choice can change lives for better, or for worse. 

Constantine Valentine, the second son of an English baron is in America for one reason—to make a fortune so he can return home and repair a tarnished reputation. Wedding a destitute Irish laundress isn’t his first choice, but a strange twist of fate makes a hasty marriage the key to gaining riches.

Rose Muldoon, who grew up in a New York slum, has battled hardship, hunger and heartbreaking loss. Against impossible odds, she still trusts love—something her privileged husband has never experienced, and can't accept.

Rose longs for home and family. Val has no intention of staying in a marriage of convenience, not even for a beautiful woman who fires his blood and makes him yearn for what he doesn't have…or deserve. But when the unforeseen happens threatening everything Val holds dear, he must make a choice.

Want to read Valentine's Rose FREE? Sign up for my newsletter and I'll send you a link to download a copy. As a subscriber, you'll receive updates on my new releases along with special promotions and exclusive content.

The young bride in Patrick's Charm is far different from Rose, but in some ways, just as desperate. Charm LaBelle is a famous actress traveling incognito. Her character is loosely based on the famous 19th century performer Charlotte "Lotta" Crabtree, who got her start as a child entertaining miners in San Francisco. 

19th century actress Lotta Crabtree

Making acting a profession in the 1800s required enormous courage and fortitude, especially for women. Traveling through the wilds was bad enough. Performances were held in mining camps, saloons, or on makeshift stages. Only a famous few appeared in large theaters. 

Actresses who traveled the West were strong-willed and independent and certainly didn't fit the ideal of Victorian womanhood. In fact, the term "actress" was a euphemism for prostitute. Little wonder these women had difficulty finding suitable mates or forming relationships with ladies outside their circle.

Charm signs onto the bride train as a means of escaping danger. Rather than be forced to marry a stranger, she takes a job as a saloon singer. Her decision has far-reaching effects, but I won't spoil the story by going into them. I'll share more about Patrick's Charm tomorrow.

You'll meet Prudence Walker on Thursday when I introduce my latest book, Tempting Prudence. Like Rose and Charm, Prudence sets out in a desperate bid for a new and better life. In her case, she longs to escape loneliness as a spinster. Plain and unassuming, unable to inspire desire, Prudence is willing to settle for a husband who respects her...but she does have her standards.

Prudence is one of the many women of her day who strongly opposed drinking--the Western man's favorite past time. Although Prohibition didn't come about until after the turn of the century, women were campaigning for abstinence long before.

I wondered what might happen if a temperance crusader was mistakenly kidnapped to become the bride of a bootlegger?  Stay tuned for more on Prudence's story Thursday...

If you could travel back to the Old West, would you choose to be a mail-order bride or to make your living some other way besides marriage? 

Leave a comment and enter the drawing for a copy of all three eBooks in the series, an autographed copy of the book of your choice, or a $10 Amazon gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway