The Mail Order Bride’s Secret

And With the Bang of the Gavel…

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Judges today have a lot of control and clout, but nothing like in the 1800s. And except for federal judges, they have to answer to the people who elect them. In the past, state judges were appointed by the governor and wielded a lot more of power. In addition to hearing cases, they could:

  1. Appoint Deputy U.S. Marshals (the president appointed U.S. Marshals)
  2. Form a posse
  3. Notify a traveling hangman that he was needed following a verdict
  4. Oversee hangings if a sheriff either refused or couldn’t
  5. Step in and take over for a crooked sheriff and/or appoint a new one until election time
  6. In some cases, he could form a sort of task force (or single person) to handle a particular problem
  7. Choose jurors
  8. Oversee census taking and other duties of a lawman if there was none

So you see, they were pretty powerful and answered to no one. As a result, there were a lot of corrupt judges. But the majority were dedicated, followed the law, and did their jobs well.

I’ve never written a judge hero…until now.

In my March book, Crockett Legend is a judge working out of Quanah, Texas. Quanah is only forty miles from the Lone Star Ranch so he spends a lot of time on the ranch, traveling back and forth by train.

However, the Legends’ neighbor the Mahones have started a feud with them, killing their cattle and shooting at range riders. The feud ramps up when Joe Mahone dies under mysterious circumstances and Joe’s only son, Farrel, accuses them of murder.

Crockett has always loved Paisley Mahone only now she’s taken a stand with her brother in the feud and she refuses to talk to him. Crockett doesn’t give up and hopes she’ll soon see reason. It takes a hilarious matchmaking talking parrot to bring them back together.

The theme of this story is things aren’t always as they seem, and perseverance is crucial when it involves softening a woman’s heart. This concludes the Lone Star Legends series but never fear. I’ve started a brand new series that I think you’ll love.

I’m a little sad that I’m leaving the Legend Family behind. I’ve done three series using them in various degrees. That’s ten books.

Question for you: How do you feel about the length of a series? Do some get too long? At some point, do you ever feel they’ve run their course? I sometimes do.

A Man of Legend comes out on March 29th. It’s available for preorder now HERE. Please don’t confuse this with the first book of the series – A Cowboy of Legend. The two are completely different.

I’ll have more next month about A Man of Legend and some giveaways so watch for that.

Right now I have a sale to announce. The Mail Order Bride’s Secret is at $1.99 and will be the rest of the month. If you missed it, you can get it cheap. Click HERE. This is Book #3 of Outlaw Mail Order Brides. She came with a secret that would destroy the man she’d come to love.

A New Book and Giveaway by Linda Broday!

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“Broday concludes the Outlaw Mail Order Bride series with a sizzling finale that features a tantalizingly slow build to intimate trust that catapults into adrenaline packed ardor.”  ~Booklist

Next week on November 24th, I’ll release the fourth and final book of my Outlaw Mail Order Brides series. I’m warning readers to put their feet in the stirrups and hang on tight because this story is full of twists, turns, and surprises as Ridge and Addie fight tooth and nail for their HEA.

Ridge Steele is an ex-preacher weary of the outlaw life on the run and yearns for someone to share his days and nights with. He’s excited when Adeline Jancy agrees to marry him sight unseen and makes arrangements.

She’s as beautiful and kind as he’d dared hope for—except she can’t speak a word. She resorts to written communication only.

The look in her pretty eyes shows sadness…and the fear that he’d send her back. Only he’d been through enough hard times to know he can’t do that to her. He’s in it for the long haul.

But married life isn’t easy. They both find it littered with one problem after another that threatens to steal their happiness and culminates in a soul-jarring fight for the justice they both seek.

I think readers will find the story very thrilling and the conclusion satisfying. From the moment Ridge and Addie walked onto the page, I knew they were perfect for each other and early reviews have stated the same. This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish.

Click HERE for an excerpt and links.

I’m sad to say goodbye to these outlaws with heart and the town of Hope’s Crossing but it’s time. I’ll start a new series called Lone Star Legends in April with the first book A COWBOY OF LEGEND. I hope you’ll like Gracie Legend’s story.

But first, give Once Upon a Mail Order Bride a try and find out how tough Ridge and Addie have to get to survive long enough to claim their love.

Here’s all four books of the series in order of their release in case you missed any or all.

I’m sure there were many men in the 1800s who’d turn away a mail order bride with any kind of impediment or deformity. My question…Would you turn her away or open your heart? I’m giving a copy of Once Upon a Mail Order Bride to TWO commenters.

**Announcement** The Mail Order Bride’s Secret is on sale across all outlets. $1.99 until Nov. 22, 2020.  Click HERE for the links and an Excerpt.

 

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The Meaning of Colors

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Color is all around us and writers use a lot of color in telling a story. Readers visualize the characters knowing the color of their eyes, hair, and clothes. Animals, landscape, foods–it’s impossible to write a story without using the various shades and hues.

There’s a reason why hospitals use a lot of blue, churches employ white, firetrucks are red, and nobility wear purple.

Here’s a little of what I discovered:

WHITE – purity, innocence, and wisdom. i.e. angels

BLACK – negativity and judgment

RED – energy, vigor, power, strength

PINK – love and compassion

PURPLE – royalty, blending of mind and spirit, uplifts

BLUE – prime healing color, relaxation, sleep, peace

BROWN – the earth, commitment

GREEN – balance and harmony, sensitivity, abundance

YELLOW – the emotional self, cleansing, creativity

ORANGE – cheerful and uplifting, warmth

TURQUOISE – brotherhood, friendly, the color of the freed soul

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My new book – THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE’S SECRET – will release on Jan. 28th. This is Book 3 of my Outlaw Mail Order Bride series and tells Tait Trinity’s and Melanie Dunbar’s story.

Melanie has turquoise (green/blue) eyes and Tait describes them as the color of ancient stones. His eyes are an icy gray, the color of quicksilver. Her hair is red and his sun-streaked brown. Color says a lot about these two.

Tait is an outlaw and has a large bounty on his head for a string of train robberies so when his sister’s twin boys and four-year-old daughter appear on his doorstep, he’s totally unprepared for the responsibility. The last thing he needs are children to raise, yet he can’t let them go to an orphanage. His friends advise him to send for the mail order bride he’s been writing, but when she arrives, she’s nothing like what he expects.

Melanie is thrown as well to see there are kids involved. She lets him know right off that she’s not going to be his nanny, housekeeper, laundress, or cook while he rides out and stays gone for weeks or months at a time. Wife is the role she’s agreed to, but she comes with secrets—big juicy ones.

How long will it be before Tait figures out her true reason for marrying him? And he does.

I hope you give this book a try. The children provide ample humor and the ending is the most powerful I’ve ever written. The old western series Paradise provided a lot of inspiration. Book 4 will release the end of the year and complete the series with Ridge Steele and Addie Jancy.

Question: How does color affect your life? Do you have a favorite and why?

Giveaway: Two people who comment will win a copy (their choice of format.)

Cover Reveal and a Giveaway

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Sometimes a book creates a life of its own and the author simply goes along for the ride. That’s the case with my January release, The Mail Order Bride’s Secret (Book #3 Outlaw Mail Order Brides.) Outlaw Tait Trinity finds himself the guardian to twin nephews and a four-year-old niece. He doesn’t want the job but it seems he’s the last resort.

What did a wanted man with a price on his head do with three children?

He takes his friend’s advice and sends for a mail order bride and she can’t come soon enough.

Yet, when Melanie Dunbar arrives with a whiskey flask in her pocket and a secret agenda, the woman gambler is anything but childrearing material.

This is the biggest gamble of her life and it’s anyone’s guess how it turns out.

I got the inspiration for this story from the old western series Paradise that starred Lee Horsley. That series was fresh and different. If memory serves, there were four children and they were a bit older. But Ethan Cord shares a lot of similarities with Tait Trinity. Both have a violent past and an unsure future with the law breathing down their necks.

Although married life gets off to a rocky start, Melanie is committed to making it work—at least until she gets the stolen money to save her sister. She just didn’t count on the children worming their way into her heart and falling in love with her handsome husband.

Plans have a way of changing for both Tait and Melanie.

This story has a lot of twists and turns and just when you think you have it all figured out, it takes off in a new direction. I think readers will love this story of love, redemption, and hope.

This book releases on January 28, 2020 and is available for preorder. The fourth and final book of this series will come out later in the year.

AMAZON  |  B&N  |  APPLE  |  INDIEBOUND

 

Question: What do you think about secrets? Are there any good ones?

I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to someone who comments.