Sample Saturday: Bloodied Leather

The short story Bloodied Leather will be published in two weeks. Here's a sample to whet your appetite:

San Francisco, California. 1886

Isabelle Gilbert pulled a blonde curl down alongside her cheek. She repeated the effect with a second lock of hair, then adjusted the coiffure on the other side of her head for symmetry’s sake. She frowned. Mama had such sharp eyes. If the bruise weren’t entirely hidden, she would spot it in one second and ask about it in the next. How would Isabelle ever explain how it had happened?

Surely Percy hadn’t meant to strike her. He’d been so excited about attending the prizefight, and when she had declined to accompany him... I never imagined what trouble a fiancé could be to a girl. I must work harder to make him happy.

Isabelle determined at last that three dangling curls did the job of masking the unsightly discoloration. She gave her hair one last pat and rose from her dressing table to choose her outfit for the day.

Something simple. Nothing to call Mama’s attention to me.

Since Isabelle would not make any calls on friends today, she chose a pale blue bodice with puffed sleeves and a matching skirt with only the slightest of bustles. Something comfortable would be best. After all, she’d only be working on her trousseau. She grimaced. The hand towels must be embroidered with intertwined initials to herald her upcoming marriage to Percival Egmont.

She didn’t call him Percival. Who would? She had chosen to call her fiancé Percy, even though he pressed her daily to use an endearment like “dear” or “darling.” It didn’t suit her to bestow such sweet names on him yet. Especially after last night.

She had left Percy in the parlor on his knees, swearing he had not meant to lay a hand on her. Well, he had done so, and her remembrance of the blow stung as sharply as had the blow itself. Fortunately, Mama hadn’t caught her on the stairs afterward or she would have known something was amiss. Isabelle wondered what action, if any, Mama would have taken in regards to the man. Mama was sometimes a puzzle.

Look for a Cover Reveal next week.

Cover Reveal

How did the Owen Family Saga begin?

With a love story, of course, the most romantic love story of all: when Rod and Julia met.

God must have conspired with the angels to put Roderick Owen of Shenandoah County, Virginia, and Julia Helm, of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the same place on one magical day in Spring, 1840. All nature paused, as though holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen.

In this short novella, Marsha Ward tells the story of the Owen Family origins, describing in her delicate language the tender feelings of two people who need to find each other in a very small window of time.

Coming July 14...

July 2017 Events

Yup! July is here, signaling that half the year has gone. However, there's plenty of excitement going on this month.

Smashwords' Summer/Winter Sale

July 1 through July 31
Only at the Smashwords site

Each July, Smashwords, the online ebook distributor and retailer, holds a world-wide ebook sale celebrating both Summer and Winter (in the Southern Hemisphere).
 
From July 1 through July 31, ebooks from many thousands of participating authors are discounted from 25 to 75 percent on the Smashwords site only. Some ebooks are offered free.

This year, I'm offering Gone for a Soldier, Book 1 in the Owen Family Saga, at 50% off. You pay only $2.50 at checkout, using the coupon code mentioned on the book detail page. Also marked down to $2.50 with the coupon code is From Julia's Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery, the mash-up of fiction and reality, with actual historical recipes and fictional introductions to each one.

No More Strangers is a collection of my prose and poetry of the West. It's free during July, using the coupon code at checkout.

Each book detail page has a button for buying the book at its sale discount. I also have some items that are free all year long. Check out my profile page for those ebooks.

Check out other discounted ebooks at the sitewide sale page.

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COMING SOON!

That Tender Light, a novella set in the U.S. in 1840, is scheduled for release on July 14. For readers of The Owen Family Saga, the wait will soon be over. Get to see Rod and Julia Owen in a new, delightful light while learning the romantic story of how they met.

Watch for the cover reveal next week!

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For those of you who live in Arizona and want a delightful day trip for the family in the cool pines, come to the Payson Book Festival.

This family-friendly event features speakers, presenters, panels, and children's activities, all at the Mazatzal Hotel & Casino Ballroom at the south end of Payson.

* Free to the public, this event promotes literacy and showcases local and Arizona authors representing many genres of fiction and non-fiction.
* Meet 80 authors; enjoy book signings and presentations
* Kids can meet “Story Monster” and enjoy story time
* Free entertainment and door prizes
* Raffle and Silent Auction

Look for me at Table 20. A limited quantity of my novels and stories will be for sale in the bookstore, and I'll be happy to personalize and sign them for you.

See you there on Saturday, July 22 from 9 am to 3:30 p.m.

Cover Reveal: From Julia's Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery

Early next month I’ll publish an exciting new project: From Julia’s Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery. This ebook contains Julia Owen’s prized recipes, plus a note on each recipe telling about it.

Of course the idea that a fictional character has collected recipes, or “receipts,” as they were sometimes known in those days, is pure fiction, but the recipes are real. Sign up for my Readers mailing list below to get the first notice of the release of From Julia’s Kitchen, right in your inbox.

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