Wow, this re-release schedule is HECTIC.
Gingham Mountain is book three in what will be a NINE book series called
PETTICOATS AND COWBOYS
(I love that because it sounds so much like Petticoats and Pistols!!!)
Right now it’s listed as book 3 out of 6, but three more are coming.
I always consider this book the story of my own life growing up. The tiny house…full of kids. All outside playing really year round…yep, it’s Nebraska. COLD in the winter. HOT in the summer.
But honestly our heater was pathetic and the air conditioning…well, I’m not sure air conditioning had been invented yet. Least ways there wasn’t much of it around my house.
So outside was actually cooler than inside in the summer. And it wasn’t that much warmer in the winter. Plus my mom’s solution to about 90% of discipline problems was GO OUTSIDE!!!
None of us are in jail (I’m reasonably sure none of us even is on the run from the law)
So I’m claiming that as a good discipline tool.
There were EIGHT OF US. In a TWO BEDROOM FARM HOUSE. Well, later it was a three bedroom farmhouse. So I exaggerate!
It was the baby boom. These things happened. Our neighbors across the road built a four bedroom house for their seven kids and man, was that fancy.
Anyway.
So Grant stacking kids in his ramshackle house was the absolute truth. I knew it could be done.
And Hannah, such a little pill. Driving Grant CRAZY trying to save the orphans he kept adopting. Her heart was in the exact right place. And Grant would have handled it better if she didn’t make his heart skip a beat every time he saw her. And if he didn’t end up kissing her a few times which was absolutely NOT his plan.
I love this book. It is, I believe, the bestselling book of all I’ve written, which is weird. I just figured that whole three book series just built and built and built. Until BAM Gingham Mountain.
What did you do back then that is absolutely NOT allowed today? My city grandkids can NOT be told to get out of the house. It’s DANGEROUS OUT THERE. Hah, as if we didn’t flirt with death all day every day climbing around the rafters of buildings and wandering into yard with killer bulls.
Leave a comment about your own childhood to get your name in a drawing for an ebook copy of Gingham Mountain. It’s available now for pre-order but it’s coming SOON!!!
A devoted bachelor rancher, a determined schoolteacher, and the orphaned children who bring them together.
Grant Cooper has dedicated his life to taking in orphaned children others have overlooked, building a loving family on his rugged Texas ranch. When a new schoolteacher arrives in Sour Springs with strong opinions about his unconventional household, he finds himself drawn to her fierce spirit—even as she challenges everything about his carefully ordered world.
Hannah Cartwright’s own painful past as an orphan makes her wary of the bachelor rancher raising children alone. But as she gets to know Grant’s extraordinary family, she discovers there’s more to him than meets the eye. When dangerous enemies threaten both their futures, Hannah and Grant must learn to trust in God’s plan—and each other.
Can a man who’s sworn never to marry risk his heart for love? And can a woman who’s known only betrayal find the faith to build a true home at last? A touching story of healing, hope and the family bonds that transcend blood.
Author of Romantic Comedy...with Cowboys including the bestselling Kincaid Brides Series
https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules
Congratulations on your upcoming re-release!
I remember riding in the back of my dad’s pickup truck with no cap, and later with a cap. We rode back there the whole 500 miles to Tennessee–my dad had built a seating/bed system for us with storage underneath for luggage and toys. We sometimes crawled through to the front, too, in the club cab. Dad rigged up a hose to put heat in the back of the truck, too.
Wow, Dad was inventive. I hadn’t thought of this but we rode all the time in the back of the pickup. Death defying now! Also most likely illegal
My Dad took out the middle seat of our Volkswagen bus so my baby sister’s playpen would fit in the car for the ride from MD to MA (sometimes we went to visit his folks; other years Grandma and Grandpa came down to see us in MD). That car didn’t have seat belts. This was 1960 or ’61.
Going to elementary school meant walking about a mile. This was children only and the crossing guards (Safety Patrol) were students.
Seat belts? Nope. If we ever had a car that had them, they’d slid down under the seat. We walked to school everyday. One half mile. The neighbor across the road, on the coldest days, would pile us in his car.
Your childhood sounds just about like mine: 5 kids in a 2 bedroom house (later a 3rd bedroom added) with a Mom like yours (go outside -summer and winter!). I feel like I spent my entire childhood outside – it was a great time! ?
Inside was hot or cold, crowded and boring. we had a TV, 13 inch black and white and it was a miracle of a machine. But not right at first. We went outside all the time.
Grew up in the country. Loved it spent time in the summer playing baseball and gardening. Winters we would go sledding. Would not trade it for anything.
My daughter in Omaha with three about teenage children says, “This newest generation is protected physically from all danger, and mentally from NONE. Internet. Phones. No idea what they’re are looking at.”
We had nothing but adventure
Summers in Maine was my favorite place.
I’ll bet it was beautiful, Kim. In the fall with the vivid trees.
“My city grandkids can NOT be told to get out of the house.”
Good grief… Here in Finland my nieces and nephews who all lived in Helsinki would go out or walk/ ride by bicycle/ take the bus/tram/local train to go to school or where ever they needed to go all by them selves, even as kids. And now, once their kids are a little bit older they can do the same.
I really think ‘stranger danger’ is overblown but it seems to rule all decisions.
play outside by yourself
I suppose it helped to have eight of us. Being by myself never ever happened. It might be why I’m a writer now. A desperate need to be alone in my mind.
There were only 2 children in my family, myself and my brother 4 years older than me. We lived out in the country and played outside most of the time. My brother liked to build tree houses, we played soft ball, helped mom with the garden, and explored the woods around the house. On summer nights, some of the neighbor kids came to our house and we played hide and seek after dark. In the winter we played in the snow, sledding, making snowmen, and snow ball fights. We had a great time.
Outside after dark. That was the BEST. Fireflies and the woods all around. We played baseball in the front yard so much we wore a diamond into the grass.
Growing up I lived in the suburbs of a huge city. We were outside from morning till dark in the summer. We ran around our neighborhood looking for adventure. I can’t imagine now anyone allowing their children to run so freely.
That’s a shame isn’t it, Deb? But I am with you in not being able to imagine it.
We lived in the country, and we roamed around lot.
We had one horse for the eight of us. But the neighbors had three and my best friend and I rode a lot. Not as much as our two big sisters though. They were fanatics.
oh my another series I can’t wait to read. LOL it’s a good thing we are not moving. LOL. My first nine years I lived in Pasadena, CA. And I walked nine city blocks to get to school. Half way there, there was a small grocery store that my friend and I always stopped at. The owner got to know us and periodically he would give us free stuff, or let us know what was coming. We roamed the neighborhood (I didn’t realize at the time that mom had other moms watching out for us as she did with other moms) I was the oldest of five. And yes we had to be home by a certain time. When we moved to Apple Valley, CA onto a ranch, I joined 4-H. I had a Palomino horse and a heifer and a pig. All great friends. Goldie (horse) and I would ride all over the place and to friends houses. Of course mom didn’t let me do this until I knew how to take care of snake bites/tarantula bites/etc. And I had a first aid kit in my saddle bag. Thank the Lord I never needed it. Burgundy (heifer) and I would walk all over the place. I told myself I was teaching her to obey me. I suppose it worked because we went all the way to state (won CA,NV,AZ trophy) and then national. And my runt of a pig that I saved, we were just great friends with other people and they kids loved to come and meed him. Squeak would squeak all his way to the gate every time he heard someone coming through. He was a favorite at the fairs. At those times we were allowed to roam the fair grounds freely. As long as we paid attention to the time and were back when we needed to be. Wow what a trip that all was. I grew up with a lot of freedom, but at the same time responsibility and learning to care about other people and animals.
Lori! We were in 4-H, too. Our horse was Sparky and my sister took him to the fair a few times. Mostly not though. We milked cows and we’d always take a calf to the fair.
I shared a bedroom with my two sisters in a 3-bedroom 1-bath house in the suburbs. We weren’t packed in, but they were older and so the space wasn’t evenly divided. I got the bottom drawer of the dresser and the farthest corner of a very small closet… I was the only one of us who ever made her bed… sigh… Great post, Mary! Congratulations on your upcoming release!
Nan I slept for a few years on a couch in what we called ‘the middle room’ but most of my life I shared a room with three other sisters. The two oldest in a double bed. Me and the next younger sister in a bunk bed. And that was a tiny room. I had my own drawer!
We road our bicycles where ever we wanted to, stayed outside until it was too dark not to, drank out of hoses,
never worried that what we were doing might be considered dangerous – how high could I climb the old walnut trees? Fortunately my grand kids live on ranches and get to experience what it’s like to do things without being told it’s not safe or you might get hurt.
Congrats on your release. we were also told to go outside. we spent the whole day wondering around and having fun.
This sounds like a series I am going to love! I grew up all over the U.S. and in Lima, Peru (my Dad was a fighter pilot in the USAF) so I’ve experienced a lot of adventures. We played outside until it was time for supper and then went back out until dark, no matter where we were living, or what the weather was like. I was oldest of 4 kids and we never had a house with more than 3 bedrooms – one for my parents and the other two were for us kids. I remember sleeping in the back window of our car on long trips when we had to move. For years the longest we stayed in one place was 3 years. At one point while in Peru there was a scare regarding American kids being kidnapped for ransom, so we were issued dog tags and had to wear them all the time but that didn’t stop any of us from riding our bikes all over the city. LOL
We spent our days outside playing in the yard. My mother would call us in for meals and then send us back outside to play. We didn’t have air conditioning and heated the house with a coal stove in the winter. We road in the back of a pickup truck and didn’t have seatbelts in the cars. We didn’t sass our parents and done what we were told and also had chores to do.
Don’t ride in the back of a pickup. We did with the tailgate open and our legs hanging off.
Oh, so many things we did as children growing up in the late 50s and 60s. I walked to the public pool (about 1/2 mile away, although it seemed farther), took my lunch, stayed there until supper time, came home to eat then went back until it closed at 8 pm. Rode my bike with my best friend to the next town to go to the park there. Played hide and seek after dark over several blocks and neighborhoods. We walked or rode our bikes everywhere. We lived in a small town and always felt safe, although there were some bad things that happened. All in all, it was a great childhood.
I’ve read romances where one of the adults had a child that helps push them together. Never have I read a book with orphans pushing two people together. I love the concept, a lot. I also love that cover!
We were told to come home when the street lights came home and just play outside and entertain ourselves a lot
I always told Dad & Mom never got to ride in a convertible but that is when they told me yes you have you rode in a convertible when you were a Baby
I rode in the back of the pickup truck, stayed out until dark, walked to school, we rode our bikes or walked where we wanted to go. I lived in a small neighborhood and all the neighbors knew us. No one hardly locked their doors.
Except for the location (the New York Canadian border for me), our childhoods were very similar. Six children and three bedrooms. Since we lived in the country, we sometimes had an additional 8 to 10 cousins over on the weekends and during the summer. You are so right about spending most of our time outside any time of the year. Hide and seek at night was interesting. It is so dark with just the stars and maybe the moon for light. You were also right about what we could get into. I used to love to climb to the very top of trees and swing back and forth as far as I could. We climbed around in old barns, made rafts for ponds and had them fall apart on us while “sailing.” We helped the farmer load the bales of hay from the field next door, and walked cross lots, about 1 1/2 miles at least, to the farm to “help” with the feeding and milking. Of course cutting across the pasture full of cows was a bit iffy, as was looking for calves that were born in the field and hidden. We had a great toboggan hill behind the house. There was a bump at the bottom which sent you up in the air. I flew off once, Landing on the bump on my back. it took a long time to get up from that. But then, falling while ice or roller skating, riding a bike, skiing (which I never dared) or horseback riding (our daughter) were dangerous enough for scrapes, broken bones and the occasional concussion. Thanks for bringing back some great memories.