TWICE A BRIDE - Mona Hodgson - One Free Book

Welcome, Mona.

Hi, Lena! Thanks for the invitation to join you here.

Hello, everyone!

What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

God’s amazing grace and our desperate need of it are central spiritual theme in my Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek novels. As a result of accepting and growing in God’s grace, we experience reconciliation, restoration, and second chances.

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

Twice a Bride, the fourth and final book in the Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series just released in October.

February 12, 2013 is the release date for Dandelions on the Wind, the first of three eNovellas in The Quilted Heart stories. Bending Toward the Sun, April 2013 and Ripples Along the Shore, May 2013.

These novellas introduce the Saint Charles Quilting Circle and serve as the prequel to my next series, Hearts Seeking Home. We’re headed west in a caravan of covered wagons.

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

Harriett Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and many more works. Harriett’s passion for people and her love of words made a difference.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

I’ve signed contracts for eight novels and novellas with a publisher from whom I had previously received a rejection or two. I wasn’t ready.

Recognize and remember that writing for publication is a process and a journey. Expect delays, and detours. Enjoy the adventure! Make the most of writers’ conferences, writers’ market guides, and critiques by published writers.

Tell us about the featured book.

Readers met Kat and Nell Sinclair, the two middle sisters, in Two Brides Too Many and Ida Sinclair, the eldest sister, in Too Rich for a Bride. In The Bride Wore Blue, the baby sister, Vivian Sinclair arrived in Cripple Creek with a secret. Now, in Twice a Bride, it's time for a family reunion as Mr. Harlan Sinclair makes his way back to his four daughters and their families.

Love lost doesn't mean love lost forever!
Can unexpected romance deliver a second chance for two deserving widows?

Full of resolve, young widow Willow Peterson decides to pursue her dreams to be an artist as she settles into a new life in the growing mountain town of Cripple Creek. When she lands a job working as a portrait painter with handsome entrepreneur and photographer Trenton Van Der Veer, the road before Willow seems to be taking a better-than-anticipated turn.

With questions tugging at several hearts in town, including the Sinclair Sisters’ beloved Miss Hattie, change is traveling down the tracks as several unexpected visitors make their way out West. Will the new arrivals threaten the deep family bonds of the Sinclair sisters and the roots of love that are just taking hold for Willow?

Filled with the resonating questions that all women face, this romance awakens hope against grief, love against loss, and dreams against life’s unexpected turns.

See The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series Book Trailer and Read a Chapter One Excerpt from Twice a Bride here. http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=212055

Please give us the first page of the book.

1898
Jagged edges marked the sculpted granite at Willow’s feet. Love was like that. Smooth in places. Sharp and dangerous in others.

’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Willow stared at the white rose in her hand. She agreed with Alfred Lord Tennyson’s statement. But on this last day of August, churned clods of Colorado dirt formed a blanket over her father’s grave. Was it the loss of her father so soon after their reunion, or was it fear threatening to rob her of air? Both were cunning adversaries.

She glanced at the shiny black carriage where her loved ones awaited her. Aunt Rosemary hadn’t looked at her today, but Willow had seen the apprehension clouding Mother’s eyes. Her brother, Tucker, had stared at her during the graveside service, worry rutting his brow. Even her sister-in-law watched her the way one would watch a pot on the brink of a boil.

If Willow dared to look in a mirror, she’d see the same question lurking in her own features. Could this insatiable sorrow pull her back into a tide she couldn’t withstand any more than Sam could survive the undercurrent in the San Joaquin River?

She bent to the ground. “Father, I’m sorry for the anguish I’ve caused you. I wanted to be strong.” She laid the rose on the grave. “I won’t be a Weeping Willow this time.” Squaring her shoulders, she brushed away the tears spilling onto her cheeks. At what point after Sam’s death had her mourning become abnormal? Would she recognize warning signs if it were to happen again?

“Willow?” Tucker’s voice wafted on the breeze, just above a whisper.

Drawing in a fortifying breath, she looked at her brother and stood. His eyes narrowed as though he expected her to crumple.

Tucker had been the only one to visit her at the asylum after Father had her committed, and he’d visited her once a week despite never receiving notable response from her. Tucker met her gaze. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She brushed a blade of grass from her mourning gown. “I needed some time.”

“I can’t help but worry about you.”

She offered him a slight grin. “I know.”

He slid his hands into his trouser pockets. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

Willow agreed. She’d expected by this time in her life to be a pastor’s wife and herding at least two or three little Peterson tykes.

“I’m not alone.” Was she trying to convince him or herself? “Mother and Aunt Rosemary are at the boardinghouse with me.”

He looked at the rose she’d placed on their father’s grave. “Saturday they’ll return to Colorado Springs.”

“But Miss Hattie is under the same roof, and she’s not going anywhere.”

Willow added a lilt to her voice to see if she could cause his brow to soften. “And I have you.”

Perhaps it was a mistake to live this close to her brother. He had a wife, a church to shepherd, and the Raines Ice Company to oversee. Worrying about her was not a pleasant way for Tucker to live. But if she didn’t settle in Cripple Creek, where would she go? Nothing, and no one, awaited her in Stockton, California, where she’d grown up and married Sam.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

You can learn more about me, my books, and my speaking ministry at www.monahodgson.com. You can also connect with me on Hindsight by Mona Hodgson at http://monahodgson.wordpress.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/Author.Mona, and on Twitter, LinkedIn, and NovelCrossings.

Thank you, Mona, for visiting with us today.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Twice a Bride: A Novel (The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek) - paperback
Twice a Bride: A Novel (The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek) - Kindle


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