#inspirationalromance

The Secrets Beneath by Kimberley Woodhouse

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Kimberley Woodhouse is joining us today to talk about … dinosaurs and her soon-to-release novel!

A couple of years ago, I asked my Facebook reader friends if there was a subject they would like to see covered in Christian Fiction that really hadn’t been tackled before. It generated a lot of conversation and several great suggestions. But in the middle of all of those comments, one caught my eye. 

Dinosaurs.

 

Photo Credit: Renette Steele

At first, I was a bit hesitant to try and wrap my brain around paleontology, science and faith. Dinosaurs are so fascinating and the history around them is vast. And anytime science and faith intersect, it can get interesting. (Let’s just say writing this book had me praying a whole bunch.) 

 

But what came out of this adventure into paleontology is my new book, The Secrets Beneath, releasing September 26! 

 

I am SO excited about this book and this series. One – it’s a series that explores the joy of God’s creation and digging to see what treasures one can find in the dirt. Two – I got the opportunity to learn about women in paleontology from the early 1800s into the 1900s. Their passion and love for fossils and learning was inspiring. And three – it has been one of my favorite books to write. Ever. 

The best part about writing this was the research. I traveled to Dinosaur National Monument, which is on the northwest border of Colorado and Utah in the Uinta Mountains. There you can see incredible skeletons of dinosaurs, all shapes and sizes, on display.

 You can also travel through the park and get the chance to dig to some of your own fossils, a fantastic souvenir to take home, if you find one. The beauty and majesty of this park stretches on for miles and miles. The scenery is breathtaking.

And highly inspirational for an author! 

 Dinosaur National Monument is home to a massive bone quarry was found in 1908 by Earl Douglass, a paleontologist for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. It was his story, struggle and passion for exploring the secrets hidden beneath the layers of dirt and rock in our world, that inspired much of this story. I had the pleasure of meeting his granddaughter, Diane Douglass Iverson. She spoke with me at great length about Earl’s persistence in a profession that was often painstakingly slow with little reward. Diane also shared about her grandfather’s love for God’s creation, and the songs and prose it inspired in him. He once wrote, “Every little untouched spot of nature, every tree, every plant suggests new ideas and and is a little incentive for the world of the imagination.” (Speak To the Earth and It Will Teach You: The Life and Times of Earl Douglass, 1862-1931) What a beautiful thought. 

 I am deeply indebted to Diane for the generosity of her time, and the permission to share quotes from her grandfather throughout this book. 

 My prayer for The Secrets Beneath is that readers come away with a sense of awe for the power and creativity of the Lord. As readers get to know Anna and Joshua, I hope they are inspired by their love for the West with all it’s grandeur and danger, each other, and their journey to gain a deeper understanding of the love and grace of Jesus. 

To celebrate my new release, I’m doing two giveaways! One on my website, that celebrates my other series set in the West: Secrets of the Canyon Giveaway. This giveaway has a grand prize with a ton of goodies! (And a pre-order of The Secrets Beneath counts as an entry.) 

 I’m also doing a giveaway here on Petticoats and Pistols!

Comment below and let me know what your favorite dinosaur is.

If you don’t have one, I’d love to know: what your favorite thing about historical fiction?

I’ll pick two lucky winners to get a copy of The Secrets Beneath. 

 

Until then, enjoy the journey! 

Kimberley 

Get your copy of The Secrets Beneath

(40% off plus free shipping)

Kim has been writing seriously for more than twenty years. Songs, plays, short stories, novels, picture books, articles, newsletters – you name it – she’s written it. It wasn’t until a dear friend challenged her to “do something with it” that she pursued publication. Now, she is a best-selling author of more than two dozen books, with more on the way. She has won The Carol Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Holt Medallion, and has finaled in the Selah Awards and the Spur Awards.

She is passionate about Bible study, reading, music, cooking, and pretty-much-all-things-crafty. Kimberley has been married to her incredible husband for twenty-nine years and counting and they have two married adult children.

Learn more about her on her website: Kimberleywoodhouse.com 

 

 

Tracie Peterson’s Wild West Extravaganza!

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As I conclude my Brookstone Brides series with the third book What Comes My Way, it seemed only right that I should offer some insight into the research done for this series. The Brookstone Wild West Extravaganza was a fictional wild west show I created with all-female performers. The show consisted of trick riders, Roman riders, bow and arrow trick riders, and trick shooters and because of this, I needed to know more about each of those things.

To learn more about trick riding in general, I was invited to come to a training camp at the Vold Ranch in Colorado. Karen Vold, (standing with me in the picture right) a former trick rider and rodeo company owner and her right-hand lady Linda Scholtz (also a former trick rider and in the picture below) conduct clinics each year to teach new up and coming trick riders the old art. They are a couple of amazing ladies, and I learned so much in talking with them and watching their instruction. They were always on hand to answer my questions and it turned out that both were strong Christians, as well.

 With the trick shooting, I was able to talk to my husband’s uncle, John Peterson. John’s father was once asked to do performance shooting for one of the major rifle manufacturers. As an avid collector and researcher of old weapons and trick shooting, Uncle John was able to point me in the right direction for research. I was able to lay my hands on a lot of interesting accounts of trick shooting and performances thanks to the help my daughter Julie gave. We made it a family affair and I was even able to do a little shooting.

Throughout my research regarding these performing arts, I was reminded of the long history of each. Roman riding is as it suggests an art that goes back to the Romans and beyond. This is the art of standing on the backs of horses and leading them through a series of tricks or races while managing the team of 2 or 4 and sometimes more horses.

In America, we don’t have to look any further than the American frontier and Native Americas for talented abilities with trick riding. Being able to maneuver with great skill on a moving horse was something the native warriors were known for, and of course, the wild west shows of Buffalo Bill Cody and Pawnee Bill were famous along with numerous other shows for perpetuating these talents.
These shows were developed to bring the wild west into the big cities where people held an absolute fascination for all things frontier. Today’s rodeos take their place for the most part and you can still catch plenty of trick riding at most.

Seeing these great performances and knowing what kind of work went into such shows gave me a much greater appreciation for those who performed and continue to do so…all in order to keep the history of the past alive for folks today. It made the perfect backdrop for my series and I hope my readers will enjoy the tales of Lizzy, Mary, and Ella as they conclude their performances in What Comes My Way.

amazon

 

Have you ever seen or read about trick riders or trick shooting competitions? Leave a comment for a chance to win a set of all three books.

 

Why We Need Heroes by Patricia PacJac Carroll

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I’d heard about the TV show, Yellowstone, and thought I’d give it a try.

Well, I didn’t last the entire show. It’s just not my style or idea of a western.

I like the old kind of stories that I grew up with.

The ones that had a hero.

Where good was good and bad was bad, and the good triumphed over the evil.

And that’s what I write. I believe today we need heroes and heroines. Not that stories have to be Pollyannaish, but I do like stories that end well. Happily-ever-after stories. Our world confronts us with darkness every day, and I, for one, could use a break.

Come away to the 1880s, or to a tale of a knight from the round table, or on another planet. Temporarily escape the pressures of this world and step into the worlds we create to entertain, teach, and encourage.

That’s why I write. My goal is to make readers happy and leave them feeling better than when they started my books.

My alternative to Yellowstone is my series – Montana Brides of Solomon’s Valley. It is set in Montana in the 1880s and begins with Judge Solomon Taggart in The Judge’s Bride. The judge has amassed an empire with the valley’s biggest ranch, some gold, and Shirleyville, a town he named after his late daughter.

In all his wealth, he realized he had no one to share it with or pass it on to. Women are scarce in Montana and the West, so he sends off for a mail-order bride. Add a couple of feuding families and the judge has his hands full.

The Judge’s Bride  Book 1  Love Happens … Even when you have 10 kids. 

Zebulon’s Bride Book 2 He wants to leave home, and then his mother orders him a bride.

The Sheriff’s Bride Book 3  Levi came to town to settle a score but was too late.

Bridgette Book 4. Bridgette is not just a pretty face.

Sarah  Book 5  Her heart is broken, and then the new doctor and preacher come to town.

Cassidy  Book 6 The wildest of the Howards may have met her match.

Ronan’s Bride Book 7 Ronan gets caught up in trouble he can’t get out of, and love might just be the trap that puts him behind bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So there you have my answer to Yellowstone. Seven books full of interesting characters, some likable, some who need a little work to get there, but all of the books will leave you feeling good.

My favorite character is Bridgette. She’s smart and has great ideas to help those in need. Of course, she has ambitions to be Queen of Montana. She keeps the town, her husband, and the judge busy with her schemes.

 

What about you? Do you believe we need heroes and heroines?

Post your answer for a chance to win an ebook of your choice from my Montana Brides of Solomon’s Valley series!

 

 

I write Christian historical western romance with a little faith, fun, and always a happily-ever-after.

I am a writer, Christian first, and blessed beyond my imagination. I live in the Dallas-Ft Worth area of Texas with my wonderful treasure of a husband, my spoiled dog, Jacs, and my awesome son, Josh. Did I say I was blessed? The PacJac is from my initials and my husbands. I wouldn’t be able to write if it weren’t for him. I love adventure and the open road. The stories of the western era have always been a favorite of mine. I enjoy writing, and my goal is to write stories readers will enjoy.

Connect with me online:

Website:  http://patriciapacjaccarroll.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PacJac    
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/patriciapacjaccarroll
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/pacjaccarroll/

Have a blessed day,

Patricia PacJac Carroll

Not Just Another Cowboy Romance

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A great follow-up to “Her Cowboy Reunion”…

Just released and on shelves nationwide right now…

I’m hoping this story touches hearts and souls across the U.S. of A. and not for the obvious, that it’s a biracial romance although I’m thrilled to be able to use this kind of reality in my stories….

It will touch hearts and souls because the characters win you from the get-go.

All Jace Middleton wanted was to be able to make a solid living in his hometown of Shepherd’s Crossing, the town his ancestors helped settle after some very long cattle drives out of Texas…

But the town has fallen on hard times, there’s no work for a talented contractor/carpenter/cowboy like Jace and even though he likes working on his friend’s ranch, that’s not his dream. His dream is to build and run his own spread but that option has withered away the past few years. So now– it’s time to go.

Until a grumpy, crotchety, eccentric old white woman shows up, claiming she’s his grandmother. Of course she’s bonkers.

Isn’t she?

But when she produces his birth certificate–his REAL one–he realizes that he’s spent 30 years living a lie. And toss in two baby nieces  with blond hair and blue eyes, abandoned by their mother, a half-sister he never knew he had and Jace’s life hasn’t just taken a hit. It’s done a full 180. And when his eccentric and wealthy grandmother asks him to renovate her falling down ranch house, Jace realizes he can stay if he takes the job but at what cost to his self-respect? The thought that well-kept secrets secured a phony life for him rankles…

And when his biological grandmother wants Melonie Fitzgerald, one of the new co-owners of Pine Ridge Ranch, to design the home makeover, Jace almost wishes he’d been nice to her when she treated him like pond scum a few days before.

Oops.

He’s roped tighter than a calf in a rodeo, and just as angry, but as old truths make their way to the surface, and Jace sees the innocence of two little lives, he begins to realize that maybe– just maybe– there’s a reason for all of this. And when he realizes that he’s falling for Melonie, and that she’s a ridiculously talented designer, he starts to see new possibilities….

But Melonie has a healthy fear of horses and no great love of ranching and her dream of having a Fixer-Upper type cable show means she won’t be staying in their sleepy little town any longer than she absolutely has to and Jace had his heart broken in a public display a few years back… he’s got no interest in running that route again.

But it’s no accident that Jace and Melonie have been thrown together, and when God sets a plan in motion, eventually the people get a clue, right?

I had so much fun writing this story. A few tears, lots of smiles, and as a mom and grandma, I know lots of families where children aren’t necessarily being raised by moms and dads… and to take this very real situation and weave it into the threads of a romance gave me the depth of realism that I wanted.

In proper cowboy fashion– when the chips are down– Jace comes to his senses but only after he realizes that Melonie Fitzgerald isn’t the retiring Southern Belle he thought she was, but a hard-working, talented woman that isn’t afraid to stand her ground with tough old women, teething babies  or stubborn cowboys. Exactly the kind of woman he needs.

I’ve got a copy of this wonderful book to give away today, and yes, I hope the winner loves it! So tell me…

Do you know families that have had to shift custody of little ones around for whatever reason?

And how hard would it be to step into the role of parent when you least expect it?

Give me a shout below and wishing you all the happiest of New Year’s blessings!

Amanda Cabot: Fort Robinson – A Story of Reinvention

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Ready for a trip to northwestern Nebraska’s beautiful Pine Ridge area?  I hope so, because today we’re going to visit Fort Robinson, a former army post that’s the poster child for reinvention.

It all started with the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 in which the government agreed to provide food and supplies, what some called annuities, to the Native American tribes who agreed to live on reservations.  In 1873 the government established the Red Cloud Indian Agency at what is now Fort Robinson to distribute those annuities to Red Cloud’s Ogalala Sioux.  Unfortunately, not everything went as smoothly as some might have expected.  When nontreaty bands of Indians threatened the agency, demanding supplies, shots broke out, resulting in several deaths, including that of the acting agent.  But it was the death of Lt. Levi Robinson near Fort Laramie on February 9, 1874 that had the greatest impact on the area, since when troops were sent to establish a tent camp to protect the agency, they honored the lieutenant by naming it Camp Robinson.

Two months later, the camp was moved a mile and a half away from the original site, and tents were replaced by the permanent log and adobe buildings of what is now called the “old post.”

Primary responsibilities of the soldiers stationed at Camp Robinson were protecting the Red Cloud Agency and keeping the peace during the Indian wars.  As you might guess, that proved difficult, and the camp’s history includes the death of Crazy Horse, who was mortally wounded in a scuffle when resisting imprisonment in 1877, and the Cheyenne Breakout of 1879, which resulted in the deaths of 64 Cheyenne and eleven soldiers.

Though the Red Cloud Agency was relocated to a Missouri River site in 1877, Camp Robinson remained an important part of the western military, and in 1878, its permanence was recognized by renaming it Fort Robinson.

More changes were coming.  When the railroad reached the fort in 1887, the army expanded the post, creating what was in essence a new post, complete with a much larger parade ground and additional housing, all needed because it had become the regimental headquarters for the Ninth Cavalry, a unit of African American soldiers. 

Within a short time, Fort Robinson had surpassed Fort Laramie as the most important military post in the area.

Times changed, and by WWI the fort was all but abandoned.  Abandoned, but not forgotten, because in 1919, it became the quartermaster remount depot, providing horses and mules to the army.  When the army replaced horses and mules with motorized vehicles, Fort Robinson was once again in limbo.

Time for more reinvention.  From 1933 through 1935, it became a regional headquarters for the Civilian Conservation Corps, and during WWII it was not only a site for K-9 training but – more importantly – a camp for 3,000 German POWs.  After WWII, the USDA turned it into a beef research station, and then in the 1950s it had its final reinvention, emerging as Fort Robinson State Park, a place where you can not only learn about history but where you can also spend a night or two in the same buildings where the army once lived.

What does all this have to do with my new release?  Very little.  A Borrowed Dream takes place in the Texas Hill Country, not Nebraska’s Pine Ridge.  Its characters have no connection to the military.  But like the fort itself, they’ve had to reinvent themselves.  Catherine’s life has been shattered by her mother’s death and the realization that the man she had hoped to marry was fickle, while Austin has had to flee Philadelphia, abandoning his life as a successful surgeon to protect his daughter.  What choice do they have but to create new lives?

I hope you enjoyed reading about Fort Robinson and hope it’s piqued your interest.  And, of course, I hope you’re intrigued by the premise of

There is no such thing as an impossible dream . . .

 Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the local doctor’s treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as Cimarron Creek’s dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life where dreams rarely come true.

Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He’s managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.

With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.

I’m offering a signed copy of it to one commenter. 

US addresses only.

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy, the Westward Winds series, the Texas Crossroads trilogy, A Stolen Heart, and Christmas Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages.  Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming.

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