THE MISFIT BRIDE - Peggy Trotter - One Free Book

Welcome back, Peggy. It's a pleasure to have you on my blog again. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon? He has! I’ve been blessed with being able to work as a writer almost full-time for the last three years, and I am so grateful for the time to write. Right now, I have two more books coming out in this series, Society of Outcasts. The Misfit Bride released June 1st. The second, The Lowborn Lady will release on 12/1/21. Then, the last in the series The Spellbound Schoolmarm will release on 6/1/22. But I already have another series started, so I’ll be working on that next.

I’ll want to feature each of these books, and the next series, on the blog if you want me to. Tell us a little about your family. I married my college sweetheart, and we will soon be celebrating our 37th anniversary! I call him my Batman, because he truly rescues me on a daily basis. He is an amazing, patient, humble man, and without him, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. Plus, he’s the basis for all my loveable male characters. I have two children who are now grown and are raising kids of their own. I will soon have my fourth grandchild, yahoo! Grands are the best. We are a very closeknit family, small but mighty in the Lord.

James and I have been married almost 57 years, and we now have eight great-grands. They are wonderful, too. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how? Actually, yes. As much as I love historical fiction, writing in it and reading in it for many years, I find that I need to venture into other genres. Sometimes, I find myself growing cynical of the writing and the story lines, and I love the genre too much to do that. So, I have started reading in the biography line, the YA section, and I’ve even dabbled into fantasy. Doing that gives me a bit of a break, and I’m ready to come back to what I love.

I read a lot of different genres, too, all Christian. What are you working on right now? I am actually working on the second book in a new series. But I am also editing two others, which will come out before this new series is even finished.

What outside interests do you have? I’m a DIY nut. I am always dreaming up something that needs repainted, refurbed, or re-done. Which is good because I live in a 100-year-old house. I just re-did some wallpaper. I also am a bit of a hobby junkie. I’ve done crocheting, knitting, painting (on canvas), beading, latch hooking, sewing, building, crafting, stain-glass windows, lettering signs, etc. But my favorite is crocheting and crafting. My father once said, if you can find a book on it, you can do it. I’ve taken that to heart. And with the internet, nothing is off the table, haha. Trailing after my grandchildren’s sports activities has also become a bit of a career.

How do you choose your settings for each book? A lot of times I write about places I’ve been. But sometimes I use a place visited via an online map. Usually, a historical map, but not always.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why? Abraham Lincoln. He is fascinating to me. I’ve read quite a bit about him, and I would like to meet him and delve into his personality and his steadfast trust in God.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels? I wish I had known how it changes the way I enjoy a novel. It’s probably the one thing I really miss. It’s so hard to shift into total enjoyment of a book now. My writer’s brain is usually noting the sentence structure, the editing, the story progression, etc. I miss being oblivious to all the writing aspects and just loving being in the story.

Yes, it takes a fantastic story to shut off my editing side when I read. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now? He is teaching me to enjoy the place I’m in. I’ve always been a person that told myself when I accomplish XYZ, I’ll be happy. When I manage to complete the XYZ, it will get better. When I earn XYZ, all will fall into place. And the truth is, XYZ never fully happens. There is always something more I’m striving for, to the point that I sometimes miss the now. I love the now. And I want to fully embrace it and be present to enjoy God’s blessings.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful? It’s not about sales/popularity. It’s about writing your story. The Lord impresses each author with a special assignment and where it goes is up to Him.

Always be teachable. There’s always something new to learn. Some of these concepts will fall to the side. They are not for you. But some make you grow. They make your writing better, fuller, sharper.

Someone else’s writing journey is not yours. Although you may wish to clone their trail, you have your own path to blaze. And it may just lead to a place you least thought you’d go.

Those are very good things for every author to learn. Tell us about the featured book. The Misfit Bride is just as the title indicates. It’s 1853 in southern Indiana, and Cora is an out-of-place misfit. She’s an abnormally tall tomboy who’s already reached her nineteenth birthday. And, as the local gossips love to tell it, totally unmarriageable. Her father persuades an older man to court her. After all, he needs a mother for his five children. But Cora yearns to find a love match. And that’s where the trouble begins. Here’s the blurb:

Zero. That’s how many suitors Cora “Too Tall” Taggart’s entertained in her nineteen years. That is, until her father corrals a man nearly twice her age needing a mother for his children. However, Cora’s heart aches to find true love with a man who would embrace all of her misfit qualities.

When Trigg Gentry discovers Cora in a back alley, using his horse as her own personal writing desk, sparks fly between them. While he searches for his runaway sister, Trigg crosses paths once again with Cora on a steamer bound for St. Louis, and neither Trigg nor Cora can deny their blossoming relationship.

But Trigg’s unexpected exit from Cora’s debutante cotillion comes under suspicion. The guests’ jewelry is missing, and he’s linked to a murder case. Cora fears these accusations will make it impossible to avoid her father’s arranged marriage. And to make matters worse, her heart belongs to the man now pegged as a criminal. How can Cora convince her father that Trigg isn’t involved in either crime when all the proof points straight at him?

Sounds like a wonderful read. Please give us the first page of the book.

It was exhausting being a mannequin head. And painful to boot.

Cora Taggart’s bent back ached, her chin digging into the wirework dressmaker’s form. Adjusting her bonnet, she glanced back. Bolts of cloth spewed from various cubbyholes. Why hadn’t she crouched behind those shelves? Poor choice slipping through the curtain into the window display. Yet there’d been no time to search for a better spot. She froze, unblinking, as two ladies breezed past the window.

“Ill-bred little thing.” Widow woman Pearl Dixon’s voice drifted from the counter. And then a sniff. “Only not little. Overly tallish is more the truth. Miss Too-Tall Taggart nearly steps on most of the men folk.”

Cora clenched. Too-Tall Taggart. Holy tarnation, she hated that moniker.

“Och, Pearl, ’tis not kind what ye say. What a bonny lass she is,” Miss McGarlee’s Irish Quaker voice interrupted. Oh, the spunk of the woman defending her touched Cora’s heart. “Crocheted the scarf in ma window with its fancy stitch, she did.”

Cora’s gaze shifted to the wooden milliner’s head below her. That very scarf lay nestled around the dummy’s neck. The mental image of the ginger-haired spinster gesturing toward the window forced a whispered plea. Please don’t let them draw the curtain aside.

Parting with the soft yellow scarf had wrenched her heart a bit. Being nineteen, she had to earn some sort of wage. And there weren’t many opportunities in New Albany, Indiana, to do so. In these modern times of 1853, earning her own spending money proved difficult. But the scarf would bring a good price.

She sucked in a deep lungful of air tinged with fresh linen and something like the underside of her four-poster bed. Her throat tickled, and she struggled not to cough. Thankfully, no footsteps approached. Perhaps she’d avoided disaster.

The widow snorted. “Bonny? Cheeky is what I’ve overheard, walking around muttering to herself.”

Cheeky? The muttering, maybe, but cheeky?

Eyeing more passing shoppers, Cora stilled. Once safe, she mouthed a verse in silent cadence. “Love your neighbor as yourself. Love your neighbor as yourself.” She let her eyes slide closed and then whispered an addendum, “Even when you want to poke them with a finely sharpened stick.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Almost everywhere! But here are my links. I love to connect with readers!

peggytrotter.com

peggytrotter.blogspot.com

diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Peggy_Trotter

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/PeggyTrotterAuthor

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13778873.Peggy_Trotter

Amazon Author’s Profile Page:  amazon.com/author/peggytrotter.com

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LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggy-trotter-44a29b95/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13778873.Peggy_Trotter

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peggy-trotter

MeWe:  mewe.com/i/peggytrotter

Parler:  https://parler.com/profile/PeggyTrotterAuthor

Usa.life: https://usa.life/PeggyTrotterAuthor

Gab: https://gab.com/PeggyTrotterAuthor

Thank you, Peggy, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. I know they are as eager to read it as I am.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/3wfxMp3 - Paperback

https://amzn.to/3vd1Sb9 - Kindle

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