When love happens…
Do you question the cost?
About a year ago, a group of authors I blog with at another blog ~ Sweet American Sweethearts ~ decided to collaborate with a collection of stories that were loosely connected. We brainstormed and found that many of us enjoyed the pioneer craft of quilting. Out of that brainstorming session came the Series ~ Grandma’s Wedding Quilts.
Grandma Mary’s traditional gift to each of her grandchildren on their wedding day was a hand-pieced and hand-stitched quilt, made with love and woven with memories, wisdom, and a family legacy of enduring love. Starting in present day with the prequel, Hannah, the assistant curator at a museum, opens a trunk that has been donated and discovers an unusual sampler quilt. The strange connection she feels to that quilt leads her on an investigation that will eventually mean more to her personally than she can ever realize.
Even though the rest of the books in the Series are historical Western romances, my “granddaughter” Gloria, ended up in the east. This happened when her father, Stephen Palmer, left Grandma Mary’s ranch looking for a better shipping price for their cattle. He traveled east to negotiate with the big railroad tycoons and ended up marrying one of their daughters and settling down to help run his wife’s family business.
While the great west was being explored and settled, many other things were happening back east. The Gilded Age was in full swing with all of its disparities between the upper class and the lower. In the book industry, stories that went on to become classics were being published.
- Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ
- Treasure Island
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin
- Pinocchio
- The many westerns of Zane Grey ( Riders of the Purple Sage.)
It was also at this time that Tin Pan Alley in New York City was forming. Printed music f
or the masses increased in popularity as pianos, built right here in America, became more affordable to everybody. Popular music at the time of my story takes place included ~
- Where Did You Get That Hat?
- Home on the Range
- Oh, Promise Me!
- The Washington Post (march)
- Down Went McGinty
- My Old Kentucky Home
- Clementine
Gloria’s Song is a story I have wanted to write for a long time–a story of disparity between the classes and the common thread of music that can speak to a person’s soul no matter how rich or poor one might be. I dedicated this book to my mother, whose name just happens to be…Gloria. My mother’s family hails from the Alexandria, Virginia area of the country where I have set this story. Much like the Gloria in my story, my mother is a well-versed pianist (and also a red-head) although that is where the similarities end.
*~*~*~*
“Music speaks what cannot be expressed,
soothes the mind and gives it a rest,
heals the heart and makes it whole,
flows from heaven to the soul.”
—AUTHOR UNKNOWN.
*~*~*~*
BLURB:
GLORIA’S SONG ~ Book #11 in the GRANDMA’S WEDDING QUILTS Series
Gloria Palmer has always done the proper thing expected of her as the daughter of a shipping tycoon. The approval of her family and friends mean everything. And yet, when the perfect suitor offers for her… she hesitates.
Colin McDougal has little use for those living on the fancy side of the trolley tracks. He is too busy managing the family pub and, in his spare time, writing down the lively tunes in his head. So, when Miss Palmer asks for his help to prepare for a music audition, he is flummoxed. What does he know of highbrow music?
But with each practice session, their feelings for each other grow. When it comes time for Gloria to make a choice between what is proper and what she desires, will she realize that if music can cross class lines, it might also be able to harmonize two hearts?
*~*~*~*
For an excerpt of Gloria’s Song, click HERE!
You will want to enjoy the love stories of Gloria’s siblings and cousins! There are eleven in all! And remember to start with the prequel which sets up the entire series.
These Sweet Historical Romance Novellas and Novels are from Eleven USA Today Bestselling, Amazon Bestselling, and Award-winning Authors. Each book of this series is a sweet, clean (wholesome) romance, and each is complete with its own happily-ever-after.
