Carol Cox's Blog

Free Through April 26th–A Bride So Fair, Book 3 in A Fair to Remember!

The great fair comes to a close with Book 3—A Bride So Fair—now available on Kindle.

You can add this new release to your digital bookshelf FREE through April 26th!

 

 

 

Things aren’t always what they seem…

 

Checking a lost little boy into the Children’s Building at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair is all in a day’s work for Emily Ralston. But at the end of the day, no one comes to claim little Adam. Rather than turn him over to the authorities, Emily decides to care for the child herself while she tries to locate the boy’s family with the help of Stephen Bridger, one of the fair’s Columbian Guards.

Their quest proves far more difficult than they expected. As the historic fair draws to a close, Emily and Stephen must find a way to solve a deadly mystery—and discover who Adam really is—before time runs out.

 

 

 

Click here to grab your copy of A Bride So Fair right now!

I hope you enjoy this excursion into the moment that ushered in the 20th century in America.

If you know anyone who’s looking for something to read, please feel free to share this with them…and be sure to get your own copy before the promotion ends on Sunday, April 26th!

 

Until next time… stay safe!!

 

Fair Game – FREE through April 16th!

A Fair to Remember continues with Book 2—Fair Game— now available on Kindle.

And…you can get it FREE through April 16th!

 

 

Dinah Mayhew takes on more than just a new job at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair…

 

Hoping to reconnect with her estranged father, Dinah Mayhew takes on a job at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. She never expected to join forces with Seth Howell, an intriguing young pastor who ministers to the city’s poor.

Or for her overbearing cousin to show up in Chicago…and then vanish without a trace.

Checking into the disappearance leads Dinah and Seth deeper and deeper into a cruel man’s dark secrets, putting their budding romance—and their very lives—at stake.

 

 

 

 

You can head over to Amazon right now by clicking this link to grab your copy of Fair Game!

If you were one of the hundreds who downloaded Ticket to Tomorrow last week, thank you!! I hope you’re enjoying your excursion through this amazing moment in history. And if you are, I’d appreciate it greatly if you’d take a moment to leave a review on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be long–a sentence or two will do–but those reviews truly make a difference!

Don’t forget–A Bride So Fair, the final book in the series, will release next week, and I’ll run the same 3-day free promotion when it does.

 

If you have friends who are looking for something to read, please feel free to share this with them…and be sure to get your own copy before the promotion ends on Thursday, April 16th!

Praying that you and yours stay safe and healthy during this crazy, stay-at-home time.

 

Until next time…

Ticket to Tomorrow – FREE through April 9th!

Here’s an announcement I’ve been waiting to make for a looong time! Ticket to Tomorrow—Book 1 in the series A Fair to Remember—is now available on Kindle.

 

Better yet, you can get it FREE through April 9th!

 

 

 

 

Annie Trenton has two goals when she travels to the dazzling White City…

First and foremost, she is determined to see her late husband Will’s genius recognized by displaying his last invention, a horseless carriage, at the great exposition. 

Secondly, she hopes to heal the breach between herself and her in-laws.

Her plans never included feeling an attraction to Nick Rutherford–a handsome performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show…

…or learning that her in-laws are scheming to steal the rights to Will’s invention…

…or an innocent mix-up at the station that will throw her and Nick into a world of deceptions, conspiracies, and danger.

 

 

 

 

 

Longtime readers may remember this series set during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. I have wanted for years to be able to get those books back into circulation.

 

Well, I’m delighted to be able to tell you that day has finally arrived! Decked out in brand-new covers, the entire 3-book series will be available on Kindle, where readers can once again discover the incredible sights, innovations, and characters that made up that epic turning point in American history.

 

My original plan was to release the first book on Mother’s Day and then have the others follow in June and July.

 

But then the world turned upside down.

 

With so many of us staying at home and needing things to fill our time, it seemed like a change of plans was in order, and the right thing to do would be to release them all right now.

 

So here’s the new plan…Ticket to Tomorrow is now live on Amazon and will be FREE through Thursday, April 9.

 

The other titles, Fair Game and A Bride So Fair, will release over the next two weeks—AND I’ll be doing the same 3-day free promotion during the week each one comes out.

 

I hope you enjoy this excursion into the past as much as I did! And if you have book-loving friends who might enjoy this series, please feel free to share this with them.

 

Praying for you and your loved ones to stay safe and healthy.

 

Until next time…

 

 

A New Release…At A Special Price!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

 

I hope you’re having a wonderful time with friends and family, enjoying the last days of summer.

 

I always enjoy this time of year, when the summer heat is near an end and we’re ready to make the shift into the cooler days of autumn. This year, I have one more reason to celebrate–the release of The Arizona Territory Brides Collection, a compilation of some of my favorite stories set in the early days of Arizona!

 

I know many of you have read one or more of these titles–Land of Promise, Refining Fire, Road to Forgiveness, and Copper Sunrise. Here’s your chance to own all four books in one volume!

 

 

 

Meet the Arizona Territory Brides–

Elizabeth, Jenny, Hallie, and Catherine.

 

Four strong, independent women—

each determined to stand on her own two feet,

and not one of them looking for romance.

But sometimes love shows up when you least expect it…

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a thank you for your loyalty and support over the years, I’ve set a special introductory price of only 99 cents. (That works out to less than 25 cents per title!)

 

This offer will expire next Wednesday, September 4th, so get your copy of The Arizona Territory Brides Collection now on Amazon and start reading today!

 

And if you have friends who enjoy stories of the men and women who played a part in taming the Western frontier, be sure to let them know right away so they won’t miss out on this special deal! Just click the buttons under “Share the Post!” below.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

 

I love fall. It means crisp days, cooler weather, and relaxing in front of the wood stove with good book and a mug of chai tea. There’s something comforting about the idea of the year winding down and getting ready to settle in for the winter.

 

It also means the garden I’ve enjoyed all summer will soon be a thing of the past, at least for the next few months. I’ll miss the fresh tomatoes, the fresh-picked salad greens, the bright, splashy colors of marigolds, sweet William, and cosmos.

 

 

And then there are the herbs! I love every aspect of tending them, not to mention the way their pungent fragrances cling to my hands long after I’m finished.

 

I’ve long been fascinated by herbs and their many uses. And with every year that passes, I find myself giving them more and more space in my garden. Clumps of sage, thyme, and basil add shades of green to my flower bed, while chamomile and several varieties of mint are sprinkled through the vegetable plot.

 

During the summer, I get a little spoiled by being able to go out and harvest them whenever I want to add a little zing to a recipe.

 

Sprigs of rosemary on tonight’s salmon? Snip! There it is!

Would a little basil and thyme help perk up a sauce? Snip, snip! 

How about some mint in the iced tea? Another snip and we’re ready to go!

 

But eventually autumn arrives, and the summer growing season is over. While colder weather may mean saying goodbye to those fresh additions to our meals, it doesn’t mean I can’t continue enjoying their flavor all winter long. A character in one of my historical novels would have hung bunches of herbs to dry from strings stretched across her farmhouse kitchen, but I use a more modern method–a dehydrator.

 

Early one morning, when the flavors are at their peak, I make another snipping foray into the garden and come back with my arms laden with fragrant stems to line up on the kitchen counter. “Bringing in the sheaves,” my husband calls it.

Arizona Territory Brides, Book 2…at a Special Price!

 

Happy Fall!

 

I hope you’re enjoying the cooler days and brilliant colors of autumn. This is one of my favorite times of year, and this fall is even more special because of all the new books I’ve been releasing—with a new title coming out every few weeks. Definitely something to celebrate!

 

Being able to launch the Arizona Territory Brides series last month was a dream come true, and here’s a huge shout-out of thanks for all the enthusiastic emails you’ve sent about Book 1, Land of Promise.

 

If you’ve already read Land of Promise—and if you haven’t you can get your copy here 

A New Fall Release…at a Special Price!

 

It’s been an exciting week–and a busy one! Just yesterday, we made our last woodcutting trip of the year. Next week, we’ll be splitting and stacking enough firewood–aspen, oak, and juniper–to keep us warm during the winter months.

 

Even with all the work involved, I love getting to spend time up on the side of a mountain, enjoying the gorgeous scenery. And right now, with the aspens beginning to paint the hillsides with patches of blazing color, it’s no wonder fall is one of my favorite times of the year.

 

 

Along with that, I’ve been focused on the final stages of another writing venture. Some time ago, I set a goal–resurrecting my earlier titles from the publishing black hole known as “out of print” and giving them new life as ebooks. The process has been a roller-coaster ride of an adventure, but this week marks a major milestone…

 

I’m thrilled to announce the release of Land of Promise! As a third-generation Arizonan, this book holds a special place in my heart. My grandparents came to Arizona back in 1917– a mere five years after it became a state–and I grew up listening to the stories told by families who settled here during the territorial days. Those stories sparked a lifelong fascination with the tales of Arizona’s formative years. To do my own small part in keeping the past alive, I wrote this book and the three that follow.

 

Land of Promise is Book 1 in the ARIZONA TERRITORY BRIDES series, the stories of four strong, independent women–each determined to stand on her own two feet, and not one of them looking for romance. But sometimes love shows up when you least expect it…

 

 

Elizabeth Simmons longs to escape the mold society has for her and realize her dreams of independence.

 

When offered a job caring for an injured family acquaintance, Elizabeth gladly leaves her pampered life in Philadelphia behind and sets off for the newly-formed Arizona Territory. However, she soon discovers the awful truth behind her new arrangement.

Michael O’Roarke stepped away from bright prospects back East in order to keep tabs on his unprincipled father in frontier Arizona. That burden, along with the demands of starting his own freighting business, claims all his attention…until he finds himself captivated by the feisty Elizabeth.

Will losing her heart to Michael undermine the independence Elizabeth has worked so hard to achieve? Or could this land of danger and hardship also prove to be her land of promise?

 

 

 

As a thank you for being such faithful, supportive readers, I’ve set a special introductory price of only 99 cents. This offer will expire next Tuesday, October 4th, so get your copy of Land of Promise now on Amazon and start reading today!

 

And if you have friends who enjoy stories of the men and women who played a part in taming the Western frontier, be sure to let them know right away so they won’t miss out on this special deal! Just click the buttons under “Share the Post!” below.

 

In the meantime…happy reading! I’ll be sure to let you know when books 2 – 4 come out later this fall.

Cruisin’ Arizona – the London Bridge

 

I admit it—I’m a history junkie. If you’ve read many of my books, you already know about my love of Old West history, but after doing some research on my family background, I’ve developed a fascination with English history as well. I’m longing for the day when I can travel across the pond and do that research in person. But during a recent family road trip, I was reminded that a perfect opportunity to study a bit of England was waiting for me right here in Arizona.

 

The London Bridge most of us sang about in our nursery-rhyme days was built between 1176 and 1209, replacing an even older bridge. And it survived for over 600 years (a fact I often ponder when yet another road repair project begins in our area).  By 1799, it, too, had seen better days and had to be replaced, leading to the “new” London Bridge, which was completed in 1831.

 

But those 18th-century designers could never have foreseen the stress created by modern automotive traffic, and the bridge was in danger of sinking into the River Thames. Having no intention of allowing it to fall down, the Common Council of the City of London put the bridge up for auction instead. In 1967, it was purchased by Robert P. McCulloch (of McCulloch chainsaw fame) to serve as the crown jewel of his new development, Lake Havasu City. And that’s how the London Bridge wound up in Arizona.

 

That’s the short version, anyway. Bringing it all to pass took a considerable amount of effort. Before the bridge was disassembled, each and every one of the granite blocks on the bridge’s exterior was numbered and recorded on a schematic.

 

Then the stones began the long journey that would take them across the Atlantic and through the Panama Canal to California, where they were then trucked from Long Beach to their final destination in Arizona.

 

There, each one of those numbered stones was identified and meticulously reassembled. The numbering can still be seen on many of the stones today.

 

Spanning the Bridgewater Channel Canal on Lake Havasu, the bridge draws tens of thousands of visitors every year, making it one of Arizona’s top tourist attractions.

 

Looking up at the arched expanse, I could almost imagine myself transported to a European setting. But the sight of an eating establishment across the water—named the Javelina Cantina—kind of gave the Arizona location away.

 

After spotting an eatery with such an intriguing name, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stop in and see what kind of fare the Javelina Cantina offered. I was pleased to find their food definitely ranks high on the “yum” scale. Better yet, they offered seating on an outdoor patio overlooking the bridge, where diners can enjoy a meal while watching seagulls soaring high, then swooping down over the turquoise water below.

 

After lunch, we took a stroll across the famed bridge. What an amazing feeling to realize we were treading on  stones that had witnessed so much history! Even the lamps that line the bridge have their own stories to tell, as they’re made from the melted-down cannons of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army.

 

Okay so it wasn’t really a trip to England, but it’s enough to give me an England fix…at least for the time being.  Until that longed-for trip comes to pass, I’ll be looking for more Arizona adventures to share with you.

 

In the meantime…if you’d like an armchair visit to the Grand Canyon, click this link to read about my latest release, Danielle!

Until next time…

 

 

Arizona’s Beautiful Grand Canyon…and a New Release!

Growing up in Arizona, I didn’t have to travel far to see one of the world’s most stunning natural wonders—the Grand Canyon. Since my first trip there at age nine, it has been one of my all-time favorite places to visit.

Last fall, I spent my birthday at the canyon with my family, which also gave me the chance to do some research on the setting for my latest release, Danielle. As many of you already know, my current project is breathing new life into my earlier titles. What better way to double-check the details in this novella and make sure they were still accurate? I love a win-win!

 

Here’s a close-up view of a few of the things I had on my checklist:

Like Dani, I’ve worshiped at the Shrine of the Ages…

 

…and walked the Rim Trail, where I discovered the crest of rocks that serves as an important location in the story.

 

In a place teeming with gorgeous vistas, Grandview Point remains one of my favorites.

 

Here’s a fun bit of trivia–my husband once officiated at a wedding out on Grandview Point, right inside the circle of rocks you see below. (Once you read the story, you’ll understand the significance!)

The bride and groom drove all the way from North Carolina to be married there at sunset, and what a scramble it was for them to drive cross-country, stop at the courthouse in Flagstaff to get their marriage license, and meet us at the park in time to pull it off!

 

If you make a visit to the canyon, let me know what you think once you’ve checked out Grandview Point for yourself, as well as other places from the story, like the Canyon Village Deli.

They serve a yummy assortment of gluten-free sandwiches here!

It was such a joy to spend a day in that beautiful setting–and it’s even more exciting to offer the novella to my readers again…and so I’m very pleased to announce the release of the new, updated Danielle.

 

 

 

Easygoing Danielle Gallagher loves her job in a gift shop at the Grand Canyon. Spending her days with visitors from all over the world and living in one of the most beautiful spots on earth, she savors each day to its fullest. 

Dani has turned her back on the pitfalls of the dating game and made a commitment to wait for the man God has in mind for her, instead of searching for Mr. Right on her own. That decision set her free…free to be herself and take life as it comes, using her creativity to serve the Lord instead of wasting her time on dead-end relationships.

Chase Sheppard once made the mistake of giving his heart to a woman who didn’t share his priorities. He isn’t about to make the same blunder twice. A committed Christian, Chase has no intention of getting involved with a woman who isn’t as serious as he is about pursuing a relationship with God…and that most certainly applies to carefree Dani Gallagher, with her lighthearted approach to life.

Despite some well-intentioned meddling by their friends, neither one of them is remotely interested in the other. But does God have something more in mind—a way to create harmony from these clashing personalities?

 

I hope you’ll check out this latest, updated release—and that you have as much fun reading Dani’s story as I did writing it.

And if you do, I would deeply appreciate it if you’d take a moment to leave a review on Amazon. The reviews readers leave mean far more than just stroking an author’s ego. They can help immeasurably in getting the word out and making a book more visible…thereby paving the way for more books from your favorite authors – another win-win!

 

If you’d like to help spread the word even more, just click the buttons under “Share This Post!” below to let your friends know. Thanks so much!

 

Until next time…

Truth Be Told: Tea with Amelia Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Truth be Told, (my 30th book), I wanted to do something special for some of my favorite people– my readers!

After a hard day’s work at the press, my heroine Amelia likes to indulge in a cup of tea, poured into her favorite Blue Willow teacup. Now you have a chance to win a vintage cup and saucer in the same Blue Willow pattern…along with a supply of Arizona Desert Prickly Pear Herbal Blend tea from Maya Tea.

 

And if you took part in the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt this spring, you’ll remember the five lovely custom newspaper initial necklaces I gave away. So many of you told me how much you’d hoped to win, I decided to offer three more, as second prizes!

To enter, just complete the entry form below. The giveaway ends June 30, 2014 and winners will be notified by e-mail on July 1st.