A COURAGEOUS BETROTHAL - Denise Weimer - One Free Book

Bio: Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance from her home in North Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions and Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother of two daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses

Welcome back, Denise. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

That’s a great question! I often find themes of emotional healing and redemption weaving into my stories. In A Courageous Betrothal, the theme has to do with accepting ourselves as God made us. The heroine is inspired by a real-life Revolutionary War Patriot heroine, Nancy Hart, who was six feet tall, red-haired, big-boned, pock-marked, and cross-eyed. She was also a crack shot the local Indians called “War Woman” and successfully spied on and captured Loyalists and British Regulars in the Georgia backcountry…all while defending her family. My heroine, Jenny White, is a bit softer, but she feels gawky and unattractive next to her pretty, petite little sister. The hero, Scottish militia scout Caylan McIntosh, has a hard time convincing her that he finds what she thinks are her weaknesses to be strengths, especially on the frontier.

What other books of yours are coming out soon? The Scouts of the Georgia Frontier books continue to release into 2024. Book three, A Cherished Betrothal, just came out in January and follows the beginning of Revolution on the Georgia/South Carolina border. There will be two more coming later in the year, as well as my novel about the 1865 sinking of the Sultana, When Hope Sank, part of Barbour’s A Day to Remember Series. Plus, my first-ever novella, Redeeming Grace, will re-release this July in Wild Heart Books’ Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts Series with a new cover and title, A Summer at the Niagara of the South.

If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why? You know, it would be interesting to learn from Francine Rivers about her publishing journey.

I met Francine over a decade ago, and she gave her testimony. I bought the CD of that session. It was very interesting. What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

I never know how to answer that one since there are so many fascinating historical people. I’d have a hard time choosing between religious leaders, military leaders, brave pioneers, and the American founding fathers.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers? First, I’d encourage them to make sure they have a solid grasp on the writing craft and the industry expectations for submitting proposals. Read up on those things and ask experienced, traditionally published authors or editors. Once that is in place, it’s important to make sure they are submitting to publishers seeking the same genre, length, and style of material…and then, following submission guidelines. One hurdle I find with submissions I review as Acquisitions and Editorial Liaison at Wild Heart Books is that some authors are still writing in narrative style rather than deep POV (point of view). Or submitting historical fiction rather than historical romance…or are truly unfamiliar with industry expectations or formula for historical romance.

Finally, it’s more than possible that they just haven’t found the right fit yet. Publishers will often favor certain tropes, time periods, or settings. They may be seeking lighter material or more serious material. They may have just accepted something very similar. At other times, they may have just received a glut of submissions, and their production schedules may be filled for the foreseeable future. Editors who wear more than one hat sometimes struggle to have time to read through lengthy proposals and sample chapters. If they are deep into projects with current authors, they may put off manuscript review for a specified time in the future.

There are so many factors at play, but ultimately, none of these things take God by surprise. He knows just which editor needs to open your email on the right day. He knows just what you need to learn and where you need to be in life before you are ready for publication…or before the world is ready for your book!

That’s very valuable information. Please tell us about the featured book. A Courageous Betrothal is a short but action-and-romance-packed 20K-word novella originally entitled Across Three Autumns and included in Barbour’s Backcountry Brides Collection. Because of the short word count and long time span covered, I chose to use only the heroine’s point of view.

Red-haired, freckle-faced, and almost six feet tall, Jenny White has resigned herself to fame over love. Possessing the courage and wits to guard her younger siblings against nature, natives, and loyalists in Georgia’s “Hornet’s Nest” gives life meaning until she meets scout Caylan McIntosh.

From the time Jenny nurses the young lieutenant back to health after the Battle of Kettle Creek, she can’t deny her attraction to the vexing Highlander, who seems determined to dismantle her emotional armor. But when Georgia falls to the British and Caylan returns to guide Jenny’s family on a harrowing exodus into the North Carolina mountains, will his secrets prove stronger than his devotion? Or will their love be courageous enough to carry them through the battles ahead?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Prologue

Late June, 1778

Wilkes County, Georgia

She first sensed someone watching as a prickle of awareness on the back of her neck as she and Hester floated, shift-clad, in the creek. Even in the cool waters, the fine ginger hairs from Jenny White’s nape to her arms stirred, and she froze.

Casting a glance over her shoulder, she saw him—a brown bare-chested native, his face smeared with black-and-red war paint. He did not even attempt to conceal himself. After all, the White family may have brought their livestock out from Augusta and built a cabin four years prior. They might have planted their small patches of corn, wheat, and flax alongside the vegetable garden Jenny and her sister had been weeding in the fork of Long and Dry Fork Creeks before yielding to the urge to cool down from the sun’s blistering rays. But this had been his land. Whether Hitchiti Creek of the first people in these parts, or Muskogee who came from the west many years ago, he belonged and she did not.

But the brave’s alliance with the British made him Jenny’s enemy. She was old enough to remember from North Carolina what the British could do. She had given up too much—her little brother’s life and her best years to make a good match, for starters—to just hand over this land.

Thank God Gabriel had not taken the Brown Bess hunting today. She’d left it propped against the giant oak that marked the ford. With the steady diagonal trajectory of a water bug, she waded toward Hester and the tree.

Hester’s head—curly strawberry-blonde hair darkened and dripping—broke the surface. She started to let out an exclamation of delight but gave only a gasp when Jenny’s firm hand encircled her wrist. Green eyes wide, she allowed herself to be towed toward the shore.

“Hester, run for the house. Make sure Ma and the baby stay inside.”

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Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Courageous-Betrothal-Scouts-Georgia-Frontier-ebook/dp/B0CHMXGLJG/

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