Happy Mother's day!!!!
This week I'm just cruising. I'm working on my next novel, Desperation's Bride when the mood strikes, but wanted to share the beautiful cover done by Charlene Raddon. I'm a visual person, so having a perfect cover inspires me. I guess you can guess this is a western historical about a mail order bride. *lol*
Here's a sneak peek of the cover and the contents:
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| Char Raddon |
Here'e the scene I wrote yesterday to coincide with the cover....see if you like it: (Remember this is the first unedited draft.)
Breakfast over, the children fed, outside playing, and the
dishes washed by Clare, she followed Jason into his room. “The dresses are in this trunk. Don’t know why I saved a couple when I
decided to put Mary’s wedding gown aside so Susanna might wear it one day…maybe
because I like the color blue.” He
opened the dusty lid.
Clare spread up Justin’s bed while he fished through the
contents. “I think Susanna will be happy
to have a memory of her mother, even if she doesn’t wear her dress. You're very thoughtful.”
Strange, Clare thought.
She wasn’t bothered by the idea of wearing a dead woman’s clothes,
let alone the deceased spouse of her intended.
Justin shook the creases from a beautiful long-sleeved, blue dress with
lace at the collar and ruffles across the shoulders and down the front to the
waist. “This was always a favorite of mine. You look to be the same size as Mary so I
doubt there will be much to alter.” He
laid the garment on the bed and unfolded a floral with blue cornflowers as the
prominent pattern. “Here’s the only
other one I kept. Mary liked to wear
this warm weather because it’s made of light cotton and has shorter sleeves. She always wore…what are those things that
make the skirt’s fuller?”
“Crinolines?”
A WHILE LATER, I WROTE THIS TO ACCOMPANY IT:
While the children washed up at the kitchen pump, Clare
slipped back into Benjamin’s bedroom, spread up the bed, and filled the
bowl on the night table from the matching pitcher. She dipped a soft cloth into the water and
washed her face, neck and other places not covered by clothing. After disrobing, she washed her armpits, ran
a bush through her hair, fished in the armoire for her toilet water, and applied
some sparingly. She wriggled into Mary’s
blue gown, and smiled at the immediate fit. Clare spanned the waist of the luscious material with her hands and spun around, feeling like she danced on a cloud.
Visions of walking down the aisle to meet her groom flashed in her head and she walked to the window to make sure she hadn't imagined her new home. Fingering the real glass in the window, she appreciated how smooth and wonderful the panes felt given the fact that
Linus’ windows only had shutters to ward off the cold air and protect from the weather. A thought donned. Her groom waited, so she cut her musing short, perched onto the side of Benjamin's neatly made bed, pulled on her
worn-out shoes, and quickly laced them.
Was this really happening? Was
she going to marry the man that dreams were made of? Her cheeks hurt from smiling, and when she
stood, she gazed down at the dress, deciding the small earrings she’d brought
with her…one’s that Ma had given her, would be the perfect touch. She found them in a small box at the armoire's bottom and clipped them on. Pleased with her appearance, she swept out
the door and went to meet her new family outside.
Check for this release of this one, hopefully by the end of the year. In the meantime...hop on over to the following blogs and check them out:
