MAIL-ORDER BRIDE SURPRISE - Linda Ford - One Free Book

Welcome to my blog, Linda. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon? If I had charge of my future, I would say I plan to write until they have to pry the pen out of my cold, dead hands. I can’t count on that. But I can count on God being with me whatever the future holds.

Amen to that. Tell us a little about your family. Where do I start? I gave birth to four children. We adopted ten more. Four of those have disappeared from our lives. So, our nuclear family consists of 10 children. Some of them have spouses, some do not. Some have children. Others don’t. We often have family gatherings which are loud and busy.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how? Unfortunately, it has. I used to pick up any book and enjoy reading it but now I find it hard to read without critiquing. Or conversely, feeling despair because I can’t write like that author.

I understand, but I can turn off my mental editor when a story is really good. What are you working on right now? My 100th book—Mail-Order Bride Substitute—comes out Mar. 29, 2023 so I am working on publicity for that. As well, I planned 10 books in the Montana Mail Order Brides series and am currently working on the 8th one.

What outside interests do you have? In the summer, I grow a big vegetable garden where I spend a lot of time. I find ‘angry hoeing’ a great stress reliever. Lol. I enjoy walking in all seasons. In the summer I try and do a few hikes in the nearby mountains and am looking forward to doing one of those soon. Being in nature, seeing the waterfalls and wild animals is so refreshing and renewing.

How do you choose your settings for each book? I try and choose settings I am somewhat familiar with. Hence, I write western Canada and western USA. I like either a mountain setting or the prairies.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why? It would be Colonel James Macleod who led the North-West Mounted Police (now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police—aka the Mounties) from 1876-1880. He was considered a wise leader and was respected by those under his command and the people in the area he policed—both the whites and Indigenous. I’d love to get a first-hand account of those times. Which reminds me, deep in my brain, I have plans to write a series about wagon trains traveling the same route the Mounties took.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels? Perhaps how hard it was but also how rewarding. But the one thing I point out to others is how important it is to learn the craft. Take courses, attend conferences and workshops, study books on the craft, but realize your method might differ from others and that’s ok.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now? Patience, which He has been teaching me most of my life. I find it hard to accept some of the changes of life—COVID, aging, the loss of friends and family, the rise and fall of world economics—and not grow weary and impatient with people and society. Praise the Lord, He is patient with me.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful? If you want it bad enough, nothing will stop you. I wrote many, many failed stories as I learned the craft. I know not all writers go through as long a learning curve as I did but far too many quit because it’s hard.

Seek advice. Assess it and apply it where you can. In part I mean advice from editors, and fellow writers who are learning things.

Trends are great but for many of us, it’s vital that we develop a brand that holds our readers.

Tell us about the featured book. There are four Shannon brothers operating a ranch in western Montana in the 1800s. Among them are twins, Matt and Luke. Matt’s story is told in Mail-Order Brides Mommy (#1 Montana Mail-Order Brides). When Luke sees how well Matt’s mail-order marriage has turned out, he wants the same thing. A woman just like Matt's wife. But that isn't quite what he gets. Instead, the woman is full of surprises. And it turns out he has one or two of his own.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Montana, 1890

She would do whatever was required to achieve her goal.

Honor Ward wound her long braid into a bun at the back of her head and fixed it in place with a dozen hairpins. Please stay tidy. She donned a gray bonnet and tied it under her chin. Her friend Tammy had said the hat was appropriate. Honor took her word for it.

She smoothed her dark gray skirt and adjusted the matching jacket. Both showed the signs of travel, and both still felt uncomfortable, but Tammy had insisted they were necessary as were the two dresses she’d given Honor as a going-away present. She owed so much to her friend, not the least of which…

The train jerked to a stop.

“Crow Crossing, Montana.” The conductor patted her shoulder. “It’s your destination, my dear. May God be with you and grant you your every dream.”

“Thank you.” The man’s words strengthened her resolve.

She picked up her satchel. Tammy had offered to give her one, but Honor had used the last of her meager savings to buy her own. Holding her head high and ignoring the frantic, erratic beat of her heart, she marched down the aisle, prepared to face her unknown future.

She let the conductor assist her from the train and stood on the wooden platform, trying to take it all in at once. A woman and child hurried away. A porter unloaded luggage from the freight car. Her own trunk was placed on a trolley.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.lindaford.org (where you can sign up for my newsletter and receive a free book)

Linda Ford, author (facebook.com)

Linda Ford Books - BookBub

Thank you, Linda, for sharing Mail-Order Bride Surprise with my blog readers and me.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Mail-Order-Bride-Surprise-Montana-Brides/dp/B0BW2GW192/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1679075115&sr=1-1  

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