THE LOWBORN LADY - Peggy Trotter - One Free Book

Welcome back, Peggy. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about? My favorite theme is taking rejected, abandoned, or forgotten characters on a journey to find their worth in Christ. I feel that a lot of people, myself included, get wrapped up in their own emotions of failure, faults, or past mistakes and can’t see, can’t comprehend how God could love them as they are. Just the other day I found a long-forgotten note in an old Bible which reminded me how finding worth in Christ is a lifelong battle.

On it were some interesting verses. Psalms 94:18 said, “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.” (NIV) I could picture myself climbing a mountain, my hands outstretched, my foot sliding from the tiniest crevice, and feeling that stomach-dropping fear that I would fall into the yawning valley below. Clearly, that verse I’d saved from long ago still fits me. Only now, I invent characters whose feet have slipped from beneath them, and they must strain toward God’s promises, believe his word, live his word.

What other books of yours are coming out soon? The Lowborn Lady is the second of a series, the Society of Outcasts. The Misfit Bride was the first and the third will come out on June 1st, called The Spellbound Schoolmarm. And, here’s a little exclusive secret. The next series is Up from the Miry Clay about former trollops who find their new identities in Christ.

I’ll want to feature each of those books, too. If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why? I would love to spend a night with my old Pastor’s wife, Donna Miller who passed away some years ago. She will live on in my memory as the kindest most supportive woman I have ever met. Having a night in her living room, laughing over the shenanigans of my children (once, my daughter, as a toddler, sprayed the pastor with a water hose!) It would be wonderful to ask her advice and bathe in her gentle, loving presence. I’m positive she would be my biggest fan.

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why? King David. I am most interested in the stories that show how he had incredible wisdom. (Perhaps not with Bathsheba, but we’re all human.) But the story of how his best fighting men broke through battle lines and brought him fresh water from his favorite spring near the gate of Bethlehem. Then, because of the valor and bravery of the men risking their lives, David poured the water out on the ground to God.

When I read this I remember thinking, man, I would have guzzled down that water! Hot, thirsty, bound in battle and his men thought that much of him? To risk their very lives? But he didn’t. He valued God above his needs, his tremendous thirst and desire. Or the many times he refused to eliminate King Saul, even though he’d tried to kill David over and over. That’s a nobleness that not many have.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers? My favorite saying is: A successful author is one who did not quit. Are rejections hard? Yes, horribly so. Is writing difficult? Yes, among the most difficult professions there are. But there are also varying definitions of “success.” And sometimes along the way, we discover a talent we didn’t even know we had. I’ve seen writers become successful bloggers, reviewers, devotion writers, journal creators and more. The thing is to keep learning, keep seeking, keep trusting in God’s guidance. Firmly believe and implement Proverbs 3:6 “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct Thy paths.” (KJV) Rejected, budding authors, take a breath (and maybe a few days of clarity), look for the good advice, reject the bad, and repeat to yourself, God’s got this! Even if success doesn’t look like what we thought.

Tell us about the featured book. It takes a former character, a very irredeemable character and mixes in deep dark secrets and a very dangerous mission! Here’s the blurb: Rhapsody Hastings finds herself in the arms of a ruffian, Cavanaugh Blackledge, when her carriage breaks down on a dark country road. Wedding him stills the scandal of their late-night tryst while soothing the guilt she holds of her first husband’s untimely death. So, she accepts the arrangement as her own personal penance. Yet, an unexpected mission wakens her dead heart despite the fact that a high society lady shouldn’t be involved with such…dangerous illegal conspiracies.

Using his new marriage to shield his clandestine operations proves to be an unanticipated godsend for Cav. And how could he not appreciate the fetching Rhapsody’s presence, creating the perfect buffer when he must face his former true love, now his smug brother’s wife.

But their artificial life turns ugly when information surfaces, putting both Rhapsody’s and Cav’s covert efforts in jeopardy. Secrets reveal even more scandalous secrets, and the skeleton discovered in Rhapsody’s closet may not only undo her, it may make them both very dead.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Remember ladies. Grace…at all costs.

Miss Bickle’s finishing school mantra berated Rhapsody Hasting’s brain while the hand of her dead husband weighed on her shoulder. Rhapsody tightened her grip on the armchair to repress the instinctual recoil. Surely the woman who’d dispensed such wisdom had never—never sat for a mourning portrait.

“Mrs. Hastings, please move your head a bit to the right. And here,” the brown tweed-coated man appeared from beneath a black sheet shielding the back of the camera, “if you could reach up with your right hand and lay it over his.”

Rhapsody shifted her chin slightly, bringing her husband’s pale rigor mortis fingers into her peripheral vision. Nothing gleaned from Miss Bickle’s Ladies’ Etiquette and Finishing School had prepared her for this. Mindful of the twitch that tended to pulsate below her left eye, Rhapsody tensed her jaw. Miss Bickle intruded into her thoughts again.

A true lady never reveals any distress or disappointment. Your countenance remains unimpassioned, imprisoning all the uncouth, lowly desires of the commoner. Miss Lennox, still that tic near your eye. Miss Bickle would snap her waspish figure to attention in front of Rhapsody, making sure the terrible malady had been controlled. Always remember, Ladies. You are to be graceful, elegant, and refined. Sacrificing everything for dignity.

Yes, Miss Bickle. All girls had promptly replied in low, controlled tones. Too loud and one earned a wooden spoon to the head.

Reality pressed the fog of childhood away. The brown tweed coat approached her. The best photographer in the city, she’d been told. His downtown, spacious office perched near the Ohio River amongst the thriving businesses of New Albany, Indiana, catered to the elite of the city, both here and in Louisville. The man had the latest and best equipment money could buy in 1853. But that did not stop him from grasping Rhapsody’s wrist most unwelcomely.

“If you could just clasp this area of your husband’s hand, it would make such a…fine picture.”

In other words, make the dead appear alive.

Wow. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Oh, lands. So. Many. Places.

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

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/peggy_trotter_author/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/PeggyTrotterAuthor/

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 book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Lowborn+Lady&ref=nb_sb_noss

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com