THE CONFIDENTIAL LIFE OF EUGENIA COOPER - Kathleen Y'Barbo - Free Book

I rejoiced with Kathleen when she signed the contract for this book. Now I'm pleased to feature her and the book on this blog. Welcome, Kathleen. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

Good question! I wish I knew – or maybe I don’t. I just know that God has blessed me with so many wonderful things lately that whatever’s next will be awesome as well. I love surprises. Don’t you?

I do. I'll be surprised right along with you. Tell us a little about your family.

I have three sons who give me ample hero material. Josh, 27, is an artist living in London and working on his MFA. Andrew, 25, is a Houston-based engineer on the verge of returning to the University of Texas for his MBA. Jacob, 22, is the general manager of an Austin-area store who can’t wait for his brother to join him –though I dare not contemplate for what :D. Each are alike and different all at the same time, and anyone who has seen them in the same room will attest to that – and to the fact it’s obvious they’re all related. Hannah, 18, is my butterfly about to flutter out of the nest and off to college in the fall. She’s aiming for admission to the Public Policy MBA course offered at Texas A&M through the George Bush school.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Yes, it has ruined me! I have to work hard to turn off my internal editor and just enjoy the storytelling.

What are you working on right now?

I’m finishing ANNA FINCH AND THE HIRED GUN, the follow-up to THE CONFIDENTIAL LIFE OF EUGENIA COOPER. The book picks up the story of Anna, best friend to Gennie Cooper.

You'll have to come back when it releases. What outside interests do you have?

I’m interested in sitting outside on my porch while I write. Does that count? :D

You always know how to make me laugh. How do you choose your settings for each book?

They often choose me. In the series I’m doing for Waterbook, my editor Shannon Marchese suggested a Colorado-based story line. I’d read about Leadville and was intrigued so, between that and a stint researching the silver market and dime novels, a setting was chosen.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Honestly, I’d give anything to spend one more evening with my dad. He went to be with Jesus in 1993, and I miss him terribly.

I understand that. James and I have missed both of our parents since they've been gone. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

That getting published wasn’t the only reason to write.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

Where should I start? Humility is big on His list right now. With all the blessings He is showering on my and mind, I can’t help but be humbled by it all. Then there’s the element of faith that’s foremost in my mind most days. I won’t bore you with details, but suffice it to say this His timing and mine are a little different on some things.

I'm very familiar with that feeling. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Love Jesus, love writing, and write even when you don’t love writing.

Tell us about the featured book?

Seizing a rare chance to step into the world of the dime novels she secretly loves, New York socialite Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper never plans to stay out West any longer than a day or two. After all, she has a perfectly happy life back home that includes a man her father believes would make a grand husband. Gennie's well-thought-out plans go awry when a ten-year-old girl and her widowed Denver silver baron father derail her quick return to New York. Will Daniel’s secret and the danger associated with it bring a quick end to their gilded-age love story or, like silver refined, will the pair allow God to bring them safely through?

Please give us the first page of the book.

“Sometimes what a person wishes for is neither what they really want nor what they need. Sometimes, it’s the wishing that’s the best part.” Mae Winslow, Woman of the West

Chapter 1

The warning came too late.

Mae Winslow’s finely tuned senses jumped as the fire bell rang, setting the populace into a motion akin to the stirring of a nest of hornets, and sending Mae into a fit of the vapors.
Before the sounding of the alarm, the only stings fair Mae felt in the bleak light of dawn were from her heart and her conscience. She had disappointed dear Henry once again, allowing the calamity that dogged her steps to set her on yet another path leading away from the home and hearth he so freely offered. Surely the longsuffering Henry understood that beneath her buckskin-clad exterior beat a heart that held nothing but love for him despite the vagabond life she must lead.

At the moment, however, her mind must turn from the excess of emotion thoughts of Henry Darling brought and toward the situation at hand. With the practiced eye of one far too well-trained in the ways of desperate outlaws and lowly curs, she lifted the sash of the boardinghouse window and lowered her gaze to the street below.

With the fresh wind came the bitter scent of smoke. Alas, the odor did not emit from below or beyond the bounds of the quaint structure, but rather swirled from behind, as if seeping beneath the slightly crooked bedroom door.

Mae made to turn when a shot rang out. A bullet chipped away several layers of paint on the sill and sent her scrambling to the floor. There, with her breath coming a bit freer, she crawled toward the bed, where her pistols hung on the bedpost.

“So,” the fair jewel breathed as she wrapped her small fingers around the cold metal that had saved her life more times than she could count, “they’ve found me.”

* * *
New York City
July 5, 1880

Something tickled her nose. Eugenia Flora Cooper batted at the offending object, then opened her eyes to see that she’d tossed a fringed pillow onto her bedroom floor. A thud told her the book she’d been reading last night had gone flying as well.

The book, a brand new episode of Mae Winslow, Woman of the West. Gennie sighed and pulled the silk and velvet coverlet over her head as she snuggled down into the soft feather mattress. Despite the fact she was required to attend a post-Independence Day breakfast with the Vanowens this morning, then catch a train to Boston at noon, she’d devoured every word of the dime novel last evening, staying awake late into the night.

After completing Mae’s latest adventure, Gennie reluctantly closed her eyes. Even then, the story continued, this time with Gennie as the subject. She’d been running alongside a moving train full of stolen gold, her borrowed cowboy boots dangerously close to tripping her, when the dream abruptly ended. And like Mae, she’d been fleeing the bonds of a man bent on prematurely tying her to home and hearth.

Gennie, like Mae, could admit no real aversion to marriage and family. In fact, she welcomed the idea of a life spent in such a way.

Just not yet.

Like Mae.

Perhaps that was what drew her to Mae’s stories over other novels. It seemed Mae was the only woman whose books never quite ended with a happily ever after. Each one promised it could be—even should be—and then the adventure took a turn, and so did Mae. By the end of the book, the bad guys were caught but Mae was not.

Someday, if Gennie ever had the nerve, she’d just head west down Fifth Avenue and keep walking until she reached South Dakota or Wyoming. Colorado, maybe.

What a teaser! I need my book right now! I'm hooked! How can readers find you on the Internet?

My new website will be up soon. You’ll find it at http://www.kathleenybarbo.com/

Kathleen, I've really enjoyed our little visit.

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