Release Day for A Groom for Josette!

It's an exciting day in my little corner of the world! It's release day for my second published story, A Groom for Josette in The Convenient Bride Collection from Barbour Publishers!! (Insert hand-clapping, cheering, and foot-stomping!) 

 

The real celebration will begin next Monday, July 6th as all the authors in this collection kick off a week-long blog hop. I'll be sharing more about A Groom for Josette next week, with a look at the characters, the setting, and my inspiration for the story.

But best of all, at the end of the week, we're giving away an incredible gift to one lucky winner! A loaded 7" Kindle Fire.

But why wait to give something away??

In honor of Release Day, I'm giving away two books this week!! One lucky winner will receive a copy of both of my summer releases: The Convenient Bride Collection as well as The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection!! I'll pick a winner on Sunday, July 5th and announce the winner on Monday's blog post.

All you need to do is enter the Rafflecopter below!! Thanks for stopping by to celebrate!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection Blog Hop - Kathleen Y'Barbo

Today is the final day in The Most Eligible Bachelor Blog Hop Tour and I have the honor of welcoming author Kathleen Y'Barbo to my blog. Here's a little about Kathleen's story, and about her. Don't forget to enter the grand prize giveaway at the end of this post!

Name of Story: THE FINAL BAKER BRIDE

Bachelor's Name: Merritt “Rit” Baker, youngest of the Baker clan

 

 

Story Setting/Era: 1889, New Orleans and Texas

What makes him so eligible?

Rit is the heir of Baker Shipping, and when he’s not running his father’s company, he’s on horseback at the Baker Ranch in Texas

Does he want to be eligible, or is it something thrust upon him?

Definitely thrust upon him ... his father’s will has obligated him and his brothers to marry before they can receive their inheritance. His brothers quickly complied, but he is reluctant to marry for anything but love.

Who are the ladies contending for the bachelor?

Half the unmarried ladies in New Orleans! And Octavia Derby, heiress disguised as a middle-class typist with no experience. Because her mother has convinced her she will never be loved for herself if it is known she is an heiress, the last thing she wants is to marry a man with money, or let it be known that she’s also wealthy, before she can find a man who’ll love her for herself.

What must the ladies do to win his hand?

Rit is beating them off with a stick. And he’s using Octavia to help!

Inspiration for the story: While doing research on acceptable careers for 1880s women other than teaching or acting as governess for another novel, I came across a story about typewriter girls. Basically the forerunner of today’s admin or secretary, these woman did exactly as it sounds: they typed. Unlike their modern counterparts, there was little to no interaction with clients. Rather, they were generally closeted away on some top floor with their typewriters and their assignments. I imagined how a wealthy heiress on the run from an arranged marriage might relish that sort of anonymity, even if she can’t figure out how to use a typewriter. As I played with that idea, Octavia was born.

About Kathleen

 

 

Author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of more than fifty novels with almost two million copies of her books in print. A tenth-generation Texan and certified family law paralegal, she has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award as well as a Reader’s Choice Award and several Top Picks by Romantic Times magazine. A member of ACFW, NINC, and a former member of the Texas Bar Association Paralegal Division, she is currently a proud military wife and an expatriate Texan cheering on her beloved Texas Aggies from north of the Red River. She is especially excited that her novel Sadie’s Secrets, has just been named the 2014 Inspirational Romance of the Year by Romantic Times Magazine.

www.kathleenybarbo.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/KathleenYBarbo

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Kathleen.YBarbo

Today is the last chance you'll have to enter the grand prize drawing for a fabulous gift basket by the nine authors of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection. You can find the link here at Coffee Cups & Camisoles blog.

Here's a list of everything in the basket:1. Collapsible storage cube.
2. A box of Ghirardelli chocolates
3. A book of MN stories called Bring Warm Clothes
4. A DVD (Nim's Island, Night at the Museum, & Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium)
5. A Gifts in a Jar recipe book
6. A whimsical little book of Dr. Seuss quotes.
7. A CD of Victorian Love Songs
8. A vintage-dressed lady Christmas ornament
9. A jar of preserves
10. A packet of lovely note cards
11. A little treasure box
12. A stuffed cow.
13. Dangly, sparkly earrings
14. A Starbucks gift card
15. A cotton tea-towel with a vintage typewriter on it
16. A turquoise cotton tea-towel
17. An apron
18. A miniature post office counter
19. In infinity scarf and fingerless gloves (In colors inspired by Egypt.)
20. A sweet little notebook with a penny-farthing bicycle on the front.
21. A copy of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection -- AUTOGRAPHED BY ALL NINE AUTHORS!

The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection Blog Hop

Today I have the privilege of kicking off a fun blog hop! The authors of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection are talking all about our bachelors this week (could it get any better than that?!?!), and giving away a fabulous gift basket to celebrate the release of our novella collection. Read to the bottom to see how you can enter!

To get the party started, here's a little about my story, Four Brides and a Bachelor, and my very eligible bachelor, Luke Longley.



Luke Longley is dedicated and passionate
about his work with the Chippewa Indians
in Northern Minnesota--but he's also a
rule-follower and bends to the will of the
Mission Board, who demand he find a wife

Luke is a missionary working on the Red Lake Mission in northern Minnesota in 1852. The missionary board has told Luke he must be married by the end of August, or return east, forfeiting over two years of work with the Chippewa Indians. Luke has heard a single female missionary is living a hundred and fifty miles down the Mississippi River at the Belle Prairie Mission. With nothing to lose, he takes a canoe downriver and when he arrives at Belle Prairie, he discovers there is not one single female, but four, and all are eager to marry!
Here are the four young ladies he encounters. Forgive their unsmiling faces. They were actually quite excited to meet the handsome missionary. :)

Genevieve Pinet is beautiful, hard-working, and
intelligent. But she's also very aloof and distant,
and Luke wonders if she'll open her heart to love.

Hazel Smith has the most mission
experience, but her practical personality
leaves Luke wondering if she'll find time
for the little pleasures in life.

Mary Cooper is filled with joy and merriment,
but Luke questions if she'll hold
up under the realities of frontier life.

Sarah Ellis has a gentle, kind spirit, and all the
mission workers love her, but she tends to
break rules set in place to keep her safe.
Luke is a rule-followers, and fears he cannot
marry a woman who doesn't do the same.

The story is set on Belle Prairie in central Minnesota, along the banks of the Mississippi River. The setting is a real place, where a real mission existed over a hundred and fifty years ago, and the premise of the story is real, as well. One of the actual women involved was named Harriet Nichols and she wrote a letter home to her brother about the incident. She said: "There was romance enough acted here to write as good a story as you will find in any novel."

The Mississippi near Belle Prairie

Belle Prairie today

In the fictionalized story, all four ladies have been given the same instructions by the mission board: marry, or return east. But none of them are eager to go back to their old lives. Luke not only represents a way for them to stay in Minnesota, but he's also handsome, hard-working, dedicated to his calling, and passionate about his faith.

Luke spends the week getting to know each woman, and over the course of several outings, his heart begins to fall for one of them...but will he overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of his happily-ever-after?

Now for some fun giveaways!

Hop over to the Coffee Cups & Camisoles blog (here), to enter the grand prize drawing pictured below, and don't forget to leave a comment on this post to be entered to win a signed copy of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection from me! I'll draw a winner on Friday after 7:00 p.m. CST.

Stop by Author Shannon McNear's blog today to learn more about her eligible bachelor, too. You can find that here.

 

Here's a list of everything in the basket:

1. Collapsible storage cube.
2. A box of Ghirardelli chocolates
3. A book of MN stories called Bring Warm Clothes
4. A DVD (Nim's Island, Night at the Museum, & Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium)
5. A Gifts in a Jar recipe book
6. A whimsical little book of Dr. Seuss quotes.
7. A CD of Victorian Love Songs
8. A vintage-dressed lady Christmas ornament
9. A jar of preserves
10. A packet of lovely note cards
11. A little treasure box
12. A stuffed cow.
13. Dangly, sparkly earrings
14. A Starbucks gift card
15. A cotton tea-towel with a vintage typewriter on it
16. A turquoise cotton tea-towel
17. An apron
18. A miniature post office counter
19. In infinity scarf and fingerless gloves (In colors inspired by Egypt.)
20. A sweet little notebook with a penny-farthing bicycle on the front.
21. A copy of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection -- AUTOGRAPHED BY ALL NINE AUTHORS!

 

Also, stop back here on Wednesday to meet one of the other authors from the collection, Kathleen Y'Barbo.

Galley Edits for Four Brides and a Bachelor

I took one more step towards the publication of Four Brides and a Bachelor. The galley edits arrived!

A collage of the images I used while writing my story.
Starting from left: Hazel, Mary (who is much more subdued
in this photo than she is in the story!), Genevieve & Sarah.
Which one will capture Luke's heart?

After the book is laid out and formatted, a copy is sent to the author and this is called the galley edit stage. According to Wikipedia, "Galley proofs [or edits] are so named because in the days of hand-set letter-press printing, the printer would set the page into galleys—the metal trays into which type was laid and tightened into place—which would then be used to print limited copies for proofreading. The printer would then receive the edits, re-arrange the type, and print the final copy."

Some galleys are printed on paper and sent to the author for final proof, and some are sent electronically, as mine were.

This is the very last time I'll have a chance to change anything in my story. I'm able to make small changes, here and there, but nothing major. The time for the major edits has come and gone.

It's so much fun seeing my story formatted for a book! I thought I'd share the first and last page of the galleys for you. :)

I was especially excited to see the galleys, because it's the first time all nine novellas are in the same place. I was able to take a sneak peek at the other stories in the book! You guys are in for a treat!!

Your Turn: Have you ever heard of galleys before? For writers, what is your favorite stage of the publishing process? For readers, what stage do you think you'd enjoy most?