A Tailor-Made Bride

Sneak Peek

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Starting a new project is always fun. Yet, there is something special about honoring characters from the past and evolving them into something new that excites me even more than starting completely from scratch. My next project has that exact element of excitement, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

When an opportunity arose for me to participate in a “secret” project with a group of western romance writers I’ve long counted as friends, I was eager to join in the fun. I can’t give away too many details yet because the project is still in the preliminary stages, but I can reveal, that I will be writing a novella to kick off this new series.

At first, all I really knew about my story was that it would take place in 1893 and that my heroine would have an encounter with the amazing Annie Oakley following her run with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show that took place in conjunction with the World’s Fair in Chicago. Annie Oakley had a passion for teaching women how to defend themselves, so I knew my heroine would seek out a lesson from the legendary markswoman, but I didn’t yet know who my heroine would be.

Then one of the authors in our group mentioned how much reader’s love reading stories about secondary characters, and she got my mind swirling with possibilities. Most of my adult secondary characters had already had their own stories written, but what if I went back and pulled out children from my previous stories?

I started calculating dates to see which, if any, of my juvenile secondary characters might work for a romance taking place in 1893. I came up with two likely candidates:

  • Tessa James – She was the young girl of a widowed mother who became a dressmaking assistant to Hannah Richards in my debut novel, A Tailor-Made Bride. Tessa was 8 years old in that book (set in 1881), so she would be 20 in 1893.
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  • Jackson Spivey – He was 12 years old and the son of a negligent father in Stealing the Preacher (1885). Joanna Robbins took him under her wing despite the fact that Jackson had a massive crush on her. When Crockett Archer came into the picture, he won Jackson over with respect, straight talk, and his skill with a rifle. Jackson would also be 20 in 1893.

So which one should I use? Both have potential. Both are interesting characters in their own right. And both provide a level of emotional attachment to me and to readers.

Then it hit me. Why not use both Tessa and Jackson? So that’s what I did!

This will be my first time featuring such a young hero at only 20 years of age, but Jackson’s rough upbringing forced him to grow up fast, so I think it will work. My son and his new wife were both the same age when they married at 22, so the more I thought about pairing Tessa and Jackson, the more the idea grew on me.
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I decided not set the story in either Coventry (A Tailor-Made Bride) or Deanville (Stealing the Preacher) but chose to give both characters a fresh start in a different location. They are both starting out as young professionals, struggling to find where they fit in a world wider than their hometowns. Tessa is working as a seamstress in a new shop in Caldwell, Texas, and Jackson works in a gun shop off the courthouse square. Not only did I want to move these characters out from under the shadows of the heroes and heroines who preceded them, but I wanted to make sure new readers could follow the story without being familiar with my previous books.
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I’m about 2/3 of the way done writing Tessa and Jackson’s story, and I’m really enjoying the pairing. After Jackson lost his first love (Joanna) to the man who become his mentor and best friend (Crockett), I’m excited to bring him his own special woman to love. Even if she has to chase him down to convince him he’s worth loving.
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Do you enjoy reading stories about characters who were children in previous books?

Cordelia’s Apple Muffins

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TailorMadecover1In my very first book, one of the secondary characters, who also happened to be the hero’s sister, was a fabulous baker. Seeing as how I adore baked goods, I knew I had to share one of Cordelia’s recipes with you today.

I actually adapted this recipe from one I found on the Food Network, and made it myself. It is delicious! Makes wonderfully moist muffins with just the right amount of sweetness. I hope you enjoy!

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Cordelia Tucker (A Tailor-Made Bride) supplied Coventry’s general store with fresh baked goods. Her bread and rolls were in great demand, but for those with a sweet tooth, her apple muffins were irresistible. She welcomes the heroine, Hannah Richards to town with a batch of these muffins in chapter 5.

Muffinsapple muffins

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced

Topping

  • 2 Tbls brown sugar
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon

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Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-capacity muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk the ¾ cup brown sugar and oil until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add applesauce and vanilla.

Whisk in the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk, until combined. Gently stir in the apple chunks.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups nearly to the top. Sprinkle with the topping mixture. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove them from the pan to finish cooling.

  • What is your favorite muffin flavor?