A Bride for Luke, Book 36 of The Proxy Bride series
Blurb:
Each is struggling to build a better life . . .
Two strong-willed people are bound to clash . . .
Danger forces them to focus on what is at stake . . .
Maeve Kelly came to America for a better life but found only signs that said No Irish Need Apply. When the cousin with whom she is staying leaves Boston, Maeve is left desperate. Her job at the laundry doesn’t pay enough for her to survive alone. Her friend suggests a way out, Maeve resists a proxy marriage but finally accepts. What else can she do?
Sheriff Luke Sullivan is proud of his accomplishments. Known for his strong principles, he is admired and well-respected in the community. When he learns his mother and aunt have schemed to get him a proxy bride he’s furious. If he’d wanted a wife he would have found one. He respects and loves his mother and finally agrees to the marriage. Before he and his bride can adjust to one another, Luke is caught in the middle of an explosive situation between striking miners and the railroad.
Threats against Luke by each side have him fearing for the safety of his wife, mother, and aunt. He must resolve the strike to protect his family and many others. Will he succeed in time to save lives?
Excerpt:
He pushed back from the table. “How can I keep you safe if you don’t follow orders? Do you understand?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Oh, so it’s orders you’re giving me, is it? Weel, Lucas Brady Sullivan, I take orders from no man. Do you understand?”
“Mae, you’re making something from nothing.” He tapped his chest. “I’m your husband. You promised to obey me when we wed.”
That brought her temper down a notch. She had promised and Father Patrick had lectured her on the husband being the head of the household.
“Mayhap I did, but not high handed orders.”
“And what would you consider obeying? You want a written invitation to remain home? Shall I show you the other wanted poster and suggest you avoid that man? You’ve no idea what these other men look like so how would you know if they were walking down the street or shopping in the Mercantile? How can you know who’s an upstanding citizen and who’s a stranger in town? You were in front of the Mercantile when Higgins accosted you.”
She turned toward the sink, hands on her face to hide her shame. “Aye, ‘tis sorry I am. The worry of what’s going to happen has me in bits. I can’t get out of my mind the fact someone may shoot at you from an ambush.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t fret, honey. I’m doing my best to keep this situation from becoming violent. I can’t focus on my job if I’m worried about where you are and what you’re doing and who’s around you.”
She leaned her head against his broad chest. His strong heartbeat reassured her. “I see the way I was wrong. ‘Twas my mistake and ‘tis sorry I am.”
She looked up at him. “But, for us to have a peaceful marriage you’d best consider making requests instead of giving orders.”
Buy link: Available in eBook and print, and in KU http://mybook.to/Maeve
Let’s meet Caroline:
NA: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
CC: The general premise was conceived by Christine Sterling, who then invited other authors to participate in her multi-author project (MAP). The premise is that instead of a mail-order bride, we have a proxy bride. I thought this was fascinating and have enjoyed writing in this MAP. Other than the general parameters, each author comes up with his or her own characters, plot, setting, etc. I tried to come up with something I’d never used before. This is harder than you might think.
NA: What sort of research did you do to write this book?
CC: First I researched proxy marriages and learned they are still in use. Then I researched the railroad in Wyoming Territory. This led me to the coal mines and the interaction between the miners and the railway.
What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book?
NA: A fun fact about writing your book.
CC: I love pretty much everything Irish, especially the lilt. While writing this one I’d start thinking in an Irish brogue. Then when I started on the next work, I had to break the habit and think in English. Switching from editing this one to writing the next one, I forgot and wrote an entire scene of a heroine with an Irish brogue. I had to stop and correct her speech.
NA: Do you have a day job? What was your job before you started writing full time?
CC: I had several day jobs that included secretary, bookkeeper, assistant to the editor of a psychology journal, and newspaper columnist/reporter. Before I quit work to write full time, I was bookkeeper for the local county tax assessor/collector. I enjoyed each of those but nothing compares to being a full time writer. I set my own hours—although they’re long—and choose my own projects. I can wear pajamas to work (guess what I’m wearing now). I have no commute. I get to write hope and happy endings every day.
NA: What started you on the path to writing?
CC: My dad always encouraged me to write. I also had a wonderful journalism teacher who encouraged me. Strangely enough, though, it was my mother-in-law who suggested I write a book instead of newspaper articles. On one visit she brought me a grocery bag of romance novels and told me I could write them. She decided this from the long, long letters I wrote people in the family and filled with anecdotes from our daily life. After I started writing romance books, my sister Clarice complained that she never got those nice long letters any longer. I admit she was correct.
NA: The biggest surprise you had after becoming a writer
CC: Before I got into writing, I thought a writer only had to write a good book and then start the next one. Imagine my surprise when I learned how much depends on marketing! I know excellent writers who sell almost no books and less skillful authors who make a lot of money. Writers have to do our best to let people know about our books.
NA: Do you outline books ahead of time or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?
CC: I work from an outline. I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop on “Story Magic” by Robin Perini and Laura Baker. I cannot overemphasize how helpful this has been for me. Each writer works differently but the Story Magic plotting system works best for me.
NA: What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an author?
CC: Having readers tell me they enjoyed my book or that they always read my books is like the old television commercial said… priceless!
NA: Which kind of scenes are the hardest for you to write? Action, dialogue, sex?
CC: Hardest for me to write is internal conflict. Basically, I like the hero and heroine to get along so I tend to have them reconcile differences too soon. One of my friends says she loves my books but I have no internal conflict. Sigh. There’s a lot of external conflict so perhaps that makes up for the other.
NA: What are your top three favorite books of all time?
CC: That’s a really hard question to answer because there are so many great books from which to choose. I’ll tell you the three I re-read periodically. The first is PRINCE CHARMING by Julie Garwood, which combines the English setting with a western. I love this book. Second is LORD PERFECT by Loretta Chase. How can you not love a heroine named Bathsheba who encounters a set-in-his-ways imperious bachelor? Third is a tie between FALLON by Louis L’Amour and THE PROMISE OF JENNY JONES by Maggie Osbourne. Fallon is a man who thinks he’s unredeemable and learns he’s made of better stuff. Jenny is a woman whose life has been horrible but who has a strict moral code which includes always keeping her word. Each of these books is worth reading for the phrasing alone. Each is also a wonderful character study.
NA: A pet peeve.
CC: People who speak in redundancies – each and every is an example of the one I hate most. [NA: LOL!}
NA: First thought when the alarm goes off in the in the morning?
CC: Thank you, God, for another day. Do I have to get out of bed?
NA: What errand/chore do you despise the most?
CC: I absolutely hate doing laundry. Why do we have all these laundered things to fold and put away when we don’t really own this many clothes? I suspect a family of ten is sneaking their dirty clothes into our hamper somehow.
NA: What are you working on now?
CC: My current work in progress is STUART, Bachelors and Babies, book 10.
In this premise created by Charlene Raddon (who also does the covers), a bachelor finds a baby and must cope with the situation. Bachelor Stuart McGee is a bounty hunter/rancher who finds an almost eighteen month old girl whose parents have been killed by the wanted men he’s chasing. This book combines romance, adventure, and humor. Well, humor is subjective but I think parts are funny. I hope readers will.
NA: What is any question we didn’t ask that you would like to answer?
CC: Do I like to hear from readers? Yes, I do. They can PM me or send an email. They can also find me on the Facebook readers group Caroline’s Cuties.
Caroline Clemmons:
Through a crazy twist of fate, Caroline Clemmons was not born on a Texas ranch. To compensate for this illogical error, she writes about handsome cowboys, feisty ranch women, and scheming villains in a tiny office her family calls her pink cave. She and her Hero live in North Central Texas cowboy country where they ride herd on their three rescued indoor cats and dog as well as providing nourishment outdoors for squirrels, birds, and other critters.
The books she creates in her pink cave have made her a bestselling author and won awards. She writes sweet to sensual romances about the West, both historical and contemporary as well as time travel and mystery. Her series include the Kincaids, McClintocks, Stone Mountain Texas, Bride Brigade, Texas Time Travel, Texas Caprock Tales, Pearson Grove, and Loving A Rancher as well as numerous single titles and contributions to multi-author sets. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, reading her friends’ books, lunching with friends, browsing antique malls, checking Facebook, and taking the occasional nap. Find her on her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, and Pinterest.
Join her and other readers at Caroline’s Cuties, a Facebook readers group at for special excerpts, exchanging ideas, contests, giveaways, recipes, and talking to like-minded people about books and other fun things.
Click on her Amazon Author Page for a complete list of her books and follow her there.
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She loves to hear from readers at caroline@carolineclemmons.com