Dear Readers,
Patricia Pacjac Carroll is a dear friend. She’s been a member of the Lena
Nelson Dooley Critique Group for a number of years. I’ve watched her writing
grow and develop, and now she’s a very successful Indie author. She’s often on
Amazon bestseller lists and on Amazon’s Most Popular Author lists. If you’ve
never read any of her books, now’s the time to start.
Welcome back,
Patricia. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?
I love to write about forgiveness and redemption. The world
is full of so many broken people that I want them to know there is a way back.
What other books of
yours are coming out soon?
I have Nettie’s Love releasing on Aug. 6th.
And then I have a logjam of stories I am working on. Some are in Boxed
collections that will be available in October. A very special secret project
that will be available Dec. 15. And then who knows : ) Just last night a story attacked me, so you
just might see it in the near future.
If you could spend an
evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would
it be and why?
These questions are always hard for me. I love my family and
friends and enjoy spending time with them. As far as a famous person? Hmm, I
guess I would have to say that I want my heart open to the Lord to see who HE
would put in my path. Everyone is valuable in His sight.
What historical
person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?
Ah, here’s another one of those. : ) I’ll pick Lewis and Clark. I am adventurer at
heart and can’t think of anything more fascinating than traveling and exploring
over the next hill.
How can you encourage
authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?
Learn the craft. Don’t be discouraged because we are in the
age of author freedom. Once you have a good handle on crafting sentences and
stories, go Indie. Amazon has given the opportunity for anyone to publish a
book and it doesn’t have to cost you anything. The biggest thing to do is to
write and write often. Find someone that can critique your work and then write
some more.
Tell us about the
featured book.
My newest is
the first in a series set in Texas .
Nettie’s Love is about a
40-year-old spinster in Minnesota .
She’s known only life on the farm and now that her father has died, everything
is sold out from under her and she’s to live with her brothers and their
families.
In the 1867,
many states reserved virtually no protection for women. They couldn’t own land.
Sad but true. Texas and California were different because of their
Spanish heritage. But for Nettie, she had nothing but the promise of more
back-breaking work.
She finds an
ad in the paper for a sheriff wanting a mail-order bride in her forties. He’s
45, and the town is retiring him. Reed Andrews doesn’t like the idea of
retiring but has little choice. To make it tolerable, he sent off an ad for a
mail-order bride, holding little hope of a woman wanting to come to Bluebonnet,
Texas .
I think you’ll
enjoy the story. There is sweet romance, a mystery, and wild west adventure as
Nettie and Reed fall in love and set up Misfit Ranch in Bluebonnet, Texas,
where in later books, Reed will help misfits find themselves and Nettie will
find them brides.
I can’t wait until I
can get my copy of the book. It will go
to the top of my to-be-read pile. Please give us the first page of the book.
Nettie Wellesley picked up a handful of the dark, rich soil
and let it fall through her fingers to her father’s casket. He’d loved the
land. More than her mother, her brothers, or her. Arnold Wellesley had been a
farmer first. Now, he was gone and in the soil that he’d loved so dearly.
The spring wind blew against her face as she gazed at her
brothers and their families. She was alone. She always had been. The only girl.
Even her mother sided with the boys. It was as if at birth, Nettie, formally
Annette, Wellesley
was born to serve.
A worker bee. She did the dishes. Milked the cows. Collected
eggs. Helped make dinner. Harvested the crops. Yes, the boys worked hard, too.
It was a farm. All of them worked sunup to sundown. Nettie shoved aside the
nagging sense of duty to milk the cows, reminding herself the barn was now
empty.
The brothers had seen to it that as soon as Pa was in the
ground, the farm changed hands. They’d arranged to sell everything out from
under her sleeping father. Stroke, the doctor had said. After slumbering for a
week, he’d slipped into the next world and the farm into the hands of
strangers.
She accepted the pastor’s condolences and well-meaning words
from neighbors who couldn’t even look her in the eye. Seems they had all
profited on the demise of her farm. Her brothers had their own places. She, the
only daughter and her father’s caretaker, was left with nothing and nowhere to
go.
David rested his big hand on her shoulder. “Nettie, we,
Jack, Bill, and I, decided you would come and live with me first.”
She stared into the image of her father in his younger
years. David, the first-born. The dutiful son. With nothing of her own but the
few clothes in her satchel, she nodded. They had decided. No one had seen fit
to ask. Nor had any of the funds from the sale made it into her hands.
David shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s the way of the law, of
family. We promised Pa to take care of you.”
She de-petaled a rose and threw the stem to the ground. “Of
course. When do we go?”
He stared back to his family. Or more specifically to Annie,
his wife. She stood with arms folded and lips set in a stern line on her
already unfriendly face.
David turned back to face Nettie. “When you’re ready, we
have a room for you. Off to the side.”
Wooden. It’s how she felt. As if she were already in her
coffin and unable to stretch, breathe, or live. He wanted her to accept her
fate graciously. Truth was, after taking care of an invalid mother for ten
years, the farm, and then her father, she was just, God forgive her, plum out
of grace.
“We’ll be at the wagon. Come when you’re ready.” He left
her.
She could feel his relief at leaving. She’d felt it years
ago when he’d married and taken over his wife’s family farm. And one by one,
the brothers left her. No one came to her rescue. No man found her interesting.
Oh, there’d been that salesman, but father had chased him
away with the old shotgun. Told her all the jasper wanted was her female prize,
and when she later heard what happened to Lola Prater, she had to admit her
father had been right.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
You can find
my books on Amazon:
Patricia
PacJac Carroll http://www.amazon.com/Patricia-PacJac-Carroll/e/B008R9JCN2/
~Please sign
up for my Newsletter and get updates about my new releases: PacJac News
Oh, my goodness,
Patricia. I’m going to love this new series. Thank you for sharing it with us. I've loved all your books.
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15 comments:
Looks like a great book! I'd love to read it.
J.C. -Indiana-
This book sounds wonderful! Count me in!
HI Patricia. Sounds like many women had a hard time back then. It's a shame that they seemed to be so worthless to men. Sure glad the laws changed. Those brothers could have owned the land and still let her live there. I would sure love to win your book. Thanks for the post and giveaway. Maxie > mac262(at)me(dot)com <
Hi Patricia, it was really nice to "meet" you via the author interview :-) Your book sounds good, as mail order brides are among my favorite storylines. Right up there with marriages of convenience! Thank you for taking time to tell us about yourself and your book & for the chance to win a copy!
Blessings,
Trixi in OR
I'm going to love Nettie. I think I already do.
Mary P
QLD AUSTRALIA
The first page has me hooked! I love mail-order-bride stories. Thanks for the chance to win.
Beth in Montana
oh this sounds wonderful. thanks for the chance to win
live in ND
ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com
Sounds like a great book! Shelia from Mississippi
What a lead in! I'm already sympathizing with her! ! I'd like this one :)
Dee S in NEBR
Thank you all for your comments. I hope you enjoy Nettie's story. Have a blessed day.
This sounds like quite an entertaining book.
Edward A in VA
Thanks for the interview. I can't wait to read the rest of the book. Thanks for the giveaway.
Brenda in VA.
Mail order bride books are a favorite of mine. Amazing how many of them worked out well! I enjoyed the interview.
Beth from IA
Oh my, the first page makes me feel Nettie's pain. I hope she gets her chance at "happy ever after".
Thank you and blessings!
Connie from KY
The idea of Mail Order Brides is so foreign to most westerners. I think that's why the concept is so appealing in a book. So many variables at play. I loved getting to know you a little bit, Patricia. Many blessings in your present and future books.
Terrill of WA (state)
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