IDAHO BRIDES - Erica Vetsch - Free Book

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

History and romance were a natural mix for me. I’m a sucker for a happy ending, and I’ve always been interested in history. I taught history when my kids were small, and I love museums and history books. I admire the pioneer spirit of 19^th Century Americans, and I love learning more about their lives.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

This is a tough one. I’ve had a wonderful life so far. My wedding day was amazing, but then so were the days when my babies were born. The day I held my first published novel in my hands is a day I will never forget.

How has being published changed your life?

Deadlines! I’ve released nine books in the last 20 months, with six more in the pipeline. Barbour has really kept me hopping.

What are you reading right now?

An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. My mom recommended it.

What is your current work in progress?

I’m currently working on a novella collection that will come out next spring entitled Sagebrush Knights. Four sisters become mail-order brides in Wyoming Territory.

We must feature it. Let me know when you have a pub date. I love mail-order bride stories. My Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico, is one. What would be your dream vacation?

I’d love to spend about a month touring New Zealand. Ever since high school when I first read romances by Essie Summers, I’ve longed to see New Zealand.

I read a lot of Lucy Walker romances set in Australia, and I love to go there. How do you choose your settings for each book?

I’m always on the lookout for an interesting historical site or event to set a story around. My debut novel was set in Duluth, MN and features a shipwreck that actually occurred in 1905. The Idaho Brides stories were a bit different because I was filling an open slot that Heartsong had for an historical series set in Idaho.

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

I think I’d like to have dinner with George W. Bush. I’d like to hear his testimony, and talk with him about his time in the White House.

I’d love to be there with you. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Visiting museums. Watching movies. Building jigsaw puzzles. I particularly enjoy building Charles Wysocki puzzles.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Focusing while at home. I have a hard time writing at my house, so I overcome this by writing at a coffee shop or at the library.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

I’d advise a new author to write a letter to themselves. Put in all the reasons why you love to write and want to be a writer. Tell yourself what you’re going to do when the going gets tough. Put it away, and when disappointments come, rejections, long waits, setbacks, etc. take the letter out and remind yourself of why writing is precious to you and why you’re going to keep going.

Tell us about the featured book.

Idaho Brides - Experience the Wild West through the eyes of the three McConnell brothers who long to overcome their troubled childhood as drunkard’s sons. Can Alec show that he’s worthy of the ranch boss’s daughter? Can Trace help a distraught woman trust again? Will Cal prove his innocence to a U. S. Marshal in disguise? Will they each find a woman with whom they can trust their tender hearts?

Justice is demanded from the McConnell brothers who are tainted by association with their abusive father. Can Alec show that he’s worthy of the boss’s daughter? Can Trace help a distraught woman trust again? Will Cal prove his innocence to a U. S. Marshal in disguise?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Clara and the Cowboy – Book One of Idaho Brides

Idaho Territory, 1883

A bullet shattered the window frame beside Clara Bainbridge’s cheek,

and in an instant drowsiness fled. Robbers! She gritted her teeth, heart

thumping.

Another shot ricocheted off the door. The driver cracked his whip, shouting

at the six-horse team. The coach lurched like a drunken cowboy.

Clara tumbled to the floor amid the packages and parcels that had shared her

seat. She hit her chin on a fellow traveling companion’s knee, rattling her teeth

and sending a jolt through the top of her head.

“Wha—?” The passenger—Sparks, ma’am, call me Sparks—rocketed upright,

blasted from his nap by the commotion. He blinked, floundering. “What’s

going on?”

Clara scrabbled and swayed, trying to find a good purchase to propel herself

upright again. Her pulse threatened to jump out of her throat. More gunshots

sounded, some thudding into the coach, others whining past overhead.

Sparks’s flailing elbow dislodged her hat and sent her carefully pinned hair

tumbling into her eyes. Sprawled as she was in the minimal floor space, she

could hardly tell up from down. Her hand found the edge of the bench, and

she dragged herself onto the seat once more.

“The floor might be a safer place for you, Miss Bainbridge.” Mr. Devers, the

other man in the coach, raised his voice to be heard above the clamor. Polished,

polite, and devilishly handsome, he seemed none too worried over their

present situation. The poor greenhorn had no idea the peril they were in. He

and Mr. Sparks had boarded the stage in Elko and appeared to be traveling

together. Though truthfully, Clara hadn’t paid too much attention to the pair.

She had focused all her attention on how close she was to home. And seeing

him again.

Of course, all that had changed when the first bullet hit the stage.

“How many are there?” Sparks tried to stick his head through the window

but yanked back when a bullet chipped the paint near his ear. He drew his pistol

and checked the chambers.

Mr. Devers stuck his head out then pulled back in, blinking hard.

All right. I’m hooked. How can readers find you on the Internet? 

I blog at: http://onthewritepath.blogspot.com/

You can find me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/erica.vetsch

and Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/EricaVetsch

And on the web at: http://webpages.charter.net/ericavetsch/home.html

Thank you, Erica, for spending this time with us.



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