Saturday, February 27, 2016

Sample Saturday - Blood at Haught Springs

Although I hate to leave The Zion Trail behind, I will share a tidbit from a new work that will launch later this year. Here's the description:

Wes Haught wants his brother to grow up and take on his share of the chores at the family's general store. Lonnie Haught dreams of the day he can leave home and use his gun. Both brothers resent the added work their father's recent accident has laid on them.

When a new family arrives in Haught Springs, Wes falls for the fair-haired daughter, while Lonnie seizes upon the father's offer of a job as his chance for escape. But lies unravel and lives hang in the balance as brother fights against brother.

Fiery emotions clash in a new Western adventure from the author of the acclaimed Owen Family Saga.

~~~

Wesley Haught opened a barrel of beans, set the wooden top aside, and prepared to sack up ten pounds for his waiting customer, Mrs. Slonaker. The bell over the door of the store jangled, and he looked up. A tall, bearded man came through the door. Wes was sure he hadn't visited Haught's General Store and Commercial Emporium before. Perhaps he was just passing through town. Wes appraised the dark suit the man wore, made of expensive fabric and nicely cut. He must have money. Maybe he’ll spend some of it today. He smiled at the thought.

“Morning,” Wes said. “I'll be with you shortly.”

“Take your time,” the stranger replied, but with a terseness to his voice that indicated he was not in the habit of waiting his turn. He stroked a nicely trimmed yellow beard that had two streaks of gray. His hair—that is, what Wes could see below the man’s bowler hat—was a lighter color of yellow, as though it had faded over the years.

Wes bagged and weighed the beans, then tied the sack closed with a bit of twine. He'd just turned to add the beans to Mrs. Slonaker's order piled on the counter, when the door's bell jangled again as it opened. A rustle of skirts told him he had another female customer.

“Lonnie,” he called over his shoulder into the back room. Lazy lay-about, he thought, his mood turning sour. At nineteen, Lonnie was three years younger than Wes, and he was the worst brother in town. In his mind's eye, he saw Lonnie sitting at the work table, feet propped on the top. Playing with a pistol. As usual. The fact that Dad didn’t seem to see Lonnie’s shiftlessness was like a knife in Wes’s guts.

“Lonnie! Get out here. Folks are lining up.” He hated using a brusque tone of voice in front of customers, but Lonnie wouldn't move unless he thought Wes meant it.

“In a minute,” Lonnie hollered.

From the sounds
coming from the back roomthe clicks of rotation and soft swishes of metal seating into metal, Wes knew his brother was fitting cartridges into the cylinder of his pistol. “Humph.” Wes turned back in time to see the new arrival close the door, sashay toward the man in the suit, and take his arm.

“Father,” she said. “Annie and the driver are at the hotel.”

~~~

I hope you got your copy of The Zion Trail by now. If you haven't, here are purchase links for you:

Kindle | Barnes and Noble (Nook)
iTunes (Apple iBook Store) 
Kobo | Smashwords (all formats)

I received the proof for the print book edition yesterday. When I finish reading through it yet another time to check for any possible errors, I'll take whatever action I need to, and the book will proceed on its path toward actual printing. I'll let you know when it's available as a print edition.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Sample Saturday - The Zion Trail


I hope you got your copy of The Zion Trail by now. If you haven't, here are purchase links for you:

Kindle | Barnes and Noble (Nook)
iTunes (Apple iBook Store) 
Kobo | Smashwords (all formats)

"Once again, Marsha Ward has woven an exciting historical novel. Elijah Marshall's adventures, trials, and faith building experiences as he journeys on The Zion Trail will keep readers turning pages until the end!"
~Loralee Evans, author of The Shores of Bountiful, and other novels.

In this week's excerpt, Lije Marshall has come in from the fields for the noon meal and is surprised at the fare.
~~~

Ma was in the kitchen, putting slices of cold beef between slabs of bread.

“Is this for dinner, Ma?”

“Lije, it takes less time to prepare sandwiches than a meal. I don’t want to miss any more of the elders’ talk than I have to.” She wiped her hands on her apron, and I again noticed the bulge on her front side. Ma caught me looking at her stomach, and she laughed. “Yes, I’m going to have a child, Lije. This one will grow up knowing the right way to live.”

“What do you mean, Ma?” I suspected I knew the answer, but wanted confirmation.

“I’ll let your pa say. You go in and listen to the elders. I fear you haven’t heard enough of their preaching.”

“There’s been the work. Pa hasn’t ever let the work go before.”

She must have taken notice of my concern. “It’ll be all right soon, Lije. Pa’s been discussing religion with the elders all morning, and he’s about learned all there is to know about their church.” She smiled, a warm, secret smile that as much as told me what I wanted to know. “Now go in and take heed of the message.”

I went.
~~~


Remember to get your ebook copy of The Zion Trail:

Kindle | Barnes and Noble (Nook)
iTunes (Apple iBook Store) 
Kobo | Smashwords (all formats)

See you next week!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Fresh Book Friday - The Zion Trail

It's Friday!!! Can't stop dancing around the room. I get to feature my own novel today for Fresh Book Friday, so here are all the details:

Title: The Zion Trail
Author: Marsha Ward
Genre: Western Religious Fiction

Publisher: WestWard Books
Date of Publication: February 19, 2016

Price: $3.99 (ebook formats)
Print edition (March 25) $12.99

Book Description:
On a hot summer day, young Elijah Marshall stops plowing to give a drink of water to two strangers and invite them to lunch with his family. His neighborly act sets in motion events that will drastically change his future.

The strangers share a new religion, which the family embraces. But the neighbors want no part of Mormons. Multiple acts of unkindness and starvation drive the Marshall family to flee to the Mormon city on the banks of the Mississippi River, Nauvoo.

Then the path of Elijah's life takes perilous detours, with twists and turns he never expected to make.

In a 19th century coming-of-age story ranging from Pennsylvania to the Great Salt Lake Valley, Elijah plunges into harrowing adventures filled with sorrow, danger, and romance.


Excerpt:
I spent a nervous night under the wagon, anticipating my meeting with strangers. In truth, my family and I would be the interlopers, but that thought did not calm my anxiety. At last the dawn came, and with it, the Sabbath day. I ate the food Ma gave me, but it sat upon my stomach like a lump of rock: undigested and indigestible.

We left our camp nearly forty-five minutes before the appointed hour for the meeting, in case we should get lost. I had worked myself into quite an unsettled condition by the time I pulled the horses to a halt at the appointed street corner.

We had arrived in the center of the town. The streets were practically deserted, cloaked in an appropriate stillness for the Lord’s Day. However, I could see no building resembling a church.

“Are we there, Lije?” Mary Eliza called from the back of the wagon.

I groaned inwardly. She had asked that same question time and time again during our travels. I wondered how Pa stood her infantile questions.

“I’ll find out, Pumpkin.”

I looked from one building to the next, seeking to verify that we had come to the correct intersection in the city. Ma, who sat beside me on the wagon seat, looked as puzzled as I felt. She glanced at the paper in her hand, furrowed her brows, and nodded to me.

We were at the right location, but the directions we had been given had brought us to a saloon.

I stood and surveyed the four corners of the intersection. I was mistaken. I counted one, two, three, four saloons, each one firmly planted on its own corner.

“This cannot be correct,” I muttered, wrapping the lines around the brake handle. “I’ll go ask where the Mormon’s church house is to be found.” I vaulted to the ground and looked around for a friendly face I might approach for guidance.

A sandy-haired man dressed in his Sunday best, accompanied by a woman and four children, came into view from around a corner, walked past us, then stopped before the saloon closest to us. He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket.

Surely he wasn’t taking his family into that den of iniquity?

Sure enough, he unlocked the door, opened it, and headed inside.

Perplexed by his actions, I looked for another avenue for enlightenment, but none was at hand. Needing information, I sidled toward the man and his family, who were filing after him through the doorway.

I caught up to him inside the saloon. “I beg your indulgence,” I said. “Might you give me directions?”

“Certainly, brother,” he replied, which I thought was a strange greeting.

“I’m looking for the Mormon edifice.”

“Edifice?”

Perhaps I hadn’t imagined a grand enough structure. I tried again. “Cathedral?”

“Oh, you’re looking for their meeting place.”

“Yes, I—”

“You’ve found it, lad.”

“What? Here?” I looked around the bar room in confusion. A depiction of a wanton woman hanging behind the bar caused me to blush.

The man chuckled as the woman I presumed to be his wife handed him a covered basket. “Yes. We have no building of our own, so we rent the saloon. It’s closed on Sundays, you know.”

“You’re a Mormon?”

“Indeed, I am.” He stuck out his hand and grasped mine. “Ralph Peters, at your service. I’m the branch president here.”

“Branch president?” I shook his hand, wondering what the words signified.

He must have guessed at my confusion. “I’m the local leader. Are you of our faith?”

“Newly baptized,” I told him, and pointed toward the door. “My mother and my brother and sister are outside. The elders said we were to come here to meetings.”

He nodded and placed the basket upon the bar. As he took off his hat and coat and began to roll up his shirtsleeves, I shifted my gaze sideways at the bottles lined up behind the bar and noticed that a piece of cloth had been draped over the painting, thankfully covering the nakedness of the soiled woman.

I looked further around the room. A young man of about my age and his younger brother were engaged in stacking the tables in a corner. Bright red hair peeked out from under their caps. A girl nudged a chair into a row. Her braids were not red, but a pleasing yellow color.

Evidently ready to engage in more conversation, Mr. Peters said, “When they last stopped by, Elders Caldwell and Long mentioned they had made converts of several families out in the county. Did your father not come?”

“He’s laid up with injury,” I said. “My older sister is tending to him. He thought it important that we come.”

“And rightly so,” Mr. Peters said. “Saints must gather together for strength, particularly hereabouts.”

Remembering my manners, I gave my name, and that of my mother and siblings.

“Well now, young Brother Marshall, bring in your family and help us make the place decent. We’ll begin on the hour.”


Endorsements: 
Once again, Marsha Ward has woven an exciting historical novel. Elijah Marshall's adventures, trials, and faith building experiences as he journeys on The Zion Trail will keep readers turning pages until the end!
 ~Loralee Evans, author of The Shores of Bountiful, and other novels.

Marsha Ward's genius rises to her highest peak in The Zion Trail, with spot-on period terminology and meticulous attention to detail. It pulled me back to that time when my fourth-great-grandfather converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and took that Zion trail, and beyond. 
~Debra Erfert, author of Window of Time, Changes of the Heart, It Takes a Sleuth, and Relative Evil.

“Marsha Ward has long been one of my favorite Western authors. She is a masterful storyteller who paints a picture so vivid, I feel as though I'm peeking back in time and catching a glimpse of life a hundred years before I was born. I highly recommend The Zion Trail.”
~Amelia C. Adams, author of the Kansas Crossroads series.


“A wonderful book with heartwarming characters. I enjoyed every moment of it.”
~Rebecca Shelley, author of the Dragonbound series.


“From an unexpected beginning in Pennsylvania, Elijah Marshall travels through heartbreak to claim his purpose in life. While the story illustrates the early history of the LDS church, the message is one of personal triumph through perseverance, culminating in a most satisfying resolution you won’t want to end.”
~Carolyn Steele, author of Soda Springs and Willow Springs.


Purchase Links for ebooks:
Kindle | Nook | iTunes | Kobo | Smashwords (all ebook formats)



Author Bio:
Amazon best-selling author Marsha Ward writes authentic historical fiction set in 19th Century America, and contemporary romance. She was born in the sleepy little town of Phoenix, Arizona, in a simpler time. With plenty of room to roam among the chickens and citrus trees, Marsha enjoyed playing with neighborhood chums, but always had her imaginary friend, cowboy Johnny Rigger Prescott, at her side. Now she makes her home in a forest in the mountains of Arizona. She loves to hear from her readers.

Find Marsha online:
marshaward.com
facebook.com/authormarshaward
marshaward.blogspot.com

twitter.com/MarshaWard
authormarshaward@gmail.com

Join Marsha's Readers Mailing List to be notified of new releases: Click here
 


Saturday, February 13, 2016

Sample Saturday: The Zion Trail is launching next Friday!

Yes, my new novel, The Zion Trail, is "dropping" next Friday, February 19th. Want to make sure you receive it? It's ready to pre-order at these online vendors, so get your copy reserved now:


Here's an endorsement a fellow writer gave the book:

“In The Zion Trail, Marsha Ward weaves an intriguing tale of a young man’s journey in faith. From an unexpected beginning in Pennsylvania, Elijah Marshall travels through heartbreak to cross the American plains to claim his purpose in life. While the story illustrates the early history of the LDS church, the message is one of personal triumph through perseverance. The relationships kindled throughout the book lead through unimaginable trials, culminating in a most satisfying resolution that you won’t want to end.”
~Carolyn Steele, author of Soda Springs and Willow Springs

Today's brief tidbit shows one of the relationships Mrs. Steele talks about: that of Lije and his younger sister, Mary Eliza.
~~~

By the time Pa dismissed us to go about our assigned tasks, Mary Eliza had awakened and gotten herself to the table. She had a cold bowl of porridge before her, into which she had slopped a healthy portion of milk. Her hair hadn’t been combed and hung halfway into her face. I chuckled and patted her on the head as I proceeded on my way outside, and felt her squirm under my hand.

“Lije,” she protested. “Don’t mess my hair.”

I squatted to look into her face. “You look beautiful, Pumpkin,” I said. “Eat hearty. We’re going on an adventure.”

“A ‘venture, Lije?”

“You’ll see tomorrow,” I told her, and left her with those teasing words hanging in the air.

~~~
Remember to reserve your ebook copy of The Zion Trail at these online retailer's stores:

Saturday, February 06, 2016

Sample Saturday: The Zion Trail is getting ready for Launch Day

So, it's "next month" now and The Zion Trail is almost ready for Launch Day. "And when is that?" you ask.

And I answer: "Soon. Very soon. But the first folks to get that info are the Subscribers to my Readers Mailing List." See that box over there? --->

That's where you subscribe, so, you know, you are the first to get the word - and to learn about the special offer!

I can't hold on to the release of all that yummy goodness to my Mailing List much longer, folks. I'm looking to send it out on Monday, so this is your last chance to sign up before I hit the "Send" button!

Here is the REAL cover for the ebook. I jumped the gun with what I thought was the final version last week, but this one is the real deal. Pretty, huh?


Today's Sample is the tidbit below, featuring part of the book description and part of an awesome endorsement by author Loralee Evans. The print depicts Fort Bridger, one of the final mercantile stops along the Mormon Trail.


I have more endorsements coming in, some of which will make it onto the back cover of the print version coming out in March.

Go put your email address in that box and hit the Subscribe button. Now. Then check your inbox for the confirmation message.

See you next week!
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