A COURAGEOUS BETROTHAL - Denise Weimer - One Free Book
Bio: Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporaryromance from her home in North Georgia and also serves as a freelance editorand the Acquisitions and Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife andmother of two daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and oldhousesWelcome back, Denise. What are some of the spiritualthemes you like to write about?
That’s a great question! I often find themes of emotionalhealing and redemption weaving into my stories. In A Courageous Betrothal, the theme has to do with acceptingourselves as God made us. The heroine is inspired by a real-life RevolutionaryWar 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 BritishRegulars 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 herpretty, petite little sister. The hero, Scottish militia scout Caylan McIntosh,has a hard time convincing her that he finds what she thinks are her weaknessesto be strengths, especially on the frontier.
What other books of yours are coming out soon? TheScouts of the Georgia Frontier books continue to release into 2024. Book three,A Cherished Betrothal, just came outin January and follows the beginning of Revolution on the Georgia/SouthCarolina border. There will be two more coming later in the year, as well as mynovel about the 1865 sinking of the Sultana,When Hope Sank, part of Barbour’s ADay 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 wouldbe interesting to learn from Francine Rivers about her publishing journey.
I met Francine over a decade ago, and she gave hertestimony. I bought the CD of that session. It was very interesting. Whathistorical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?
I never know how to answer that one since there are so manyfascinating historical people. I’d have a hard time choosing between religiousleaders, military leaders, brave pioneers, and the American founding fathers.
How can you encourage authors who have been receivingonly rejections from publishers? First, I’d encourage them to make surethey have a solid grasp on the writing craft and the industry expectations forsubmitting proposals. Read up on those things and ask experienced,traditionally published authors or editors. Once that is in place, it’s importantto make sure they are submitting to publishers seeking the same genre, length,and style of material…and then, following submission guidelines. One hurdle Ifind with submissions I review as Acquisitions and Editorial Liaison at WildHeart Books is that some authors are still writing in narrative style ratherthan deep POV (point of view). Or submitting historical fiction rather thanhistorical romance…or are truly unfamiliar with industry expectations orformula for historical romance.
Finally, it’s more than possible that they just haven’tfound the right fit yet. Publishers will often favor certain tropes, timeperiods, or settings. They may be seeking lighter material or more seriousmaterial. They may have just accepted something very similar. At other times, theymay have just received a glut of submissions, and their production schedulesmay be filled for the foreseeable future. Editors who wear more than one hatsometimes struggle to have time to read through lengthy proposals and samplechapters. If they are deep into projects with current authors, they may put offmanuscript review for a specified time in the future.
There are so many factors at play, but ultimately, none ofthese things take God by surprise. He knows just which editor needs to openyour email on the right day. He knows just what you need to learn and where youneed to be in life before you are ready for publication…or before the world isready for your book!
That’s very valuable information. Please tell us aboutthe featured book. A Courageous Betrothalis a short but action-and-romance-packed 20K-word novella originally entitled Across Three Autumns and included inBarbour’s Backcountry Brides Collection. Because of the short word count andlong time span covered, I chose to use only the heroine’s point of view. Red-haired, freckle-faced, and almostsix feet tall, Jenny White has resigned herself to fame over love. Possessingthe courage and wits to guard her younger siblings against nature, natives, andloyalists in Georgia’s “Hornet’s Nest” gives life meaning until she meets scoutCaylan McIntosh.
From the time Jenny nurses the younglieutenant back to health after the Battle of Kettle Creek, she can’t deny herattraction to the vexing Highlander, who seems determined to dismantle heremotional armor. But when Georgia falls to the British and Caylan returns toguide Jenny’s family on a harrowing exodus into the North Carolina mountains,will his secrets prove stronger than his devotion? Or will their love becourageous 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 awarenesson 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 herarms stirred, and she froze.
Casting a glance over her shoulder,she saw him—a brown bare-chested native, his face smeared with black-and-redwar paint. He did not even attempt to conceal himself. After all, the Whitefamily may have brought their livestock out from Augusta and built a cabin fouryears prior. They might have planted their small patches of corn, wheat, andflax alongside the vegetable garden Jenny and her sister had been weeding inthe fork of Long and Dry Fork Creeks before yielding to the urge to cool downfrom the sun’s blistering rays. But this had been his land. Whether HitchitiCreek of the first people in these parts, or Muskogee who came from the westmany years ago, he belonged and she did not.
But the brave’s alliance with theBritish made him Jenny’s enemy. She was old enough to remember from NorthCarolina what the British could do. She had given up too much—her littlebrother’s life and her best years to make a good match, for starters—to justhand over this land.
Thank God Gabriel had not taken theBrown Bess hunting today. She’d left it propped against the giant oak thatmarked the ford. With the steady diagonal trajectory of a water bug, she wadedtoward Hester and the tree.
Hester’s head—curlystrawberry-blonde hair darkened and dripping—broke the surface. She started tolet out an exclamation of delight but gave only a gasp when Jenny’s firm handencircled her wrist. Green eyes wide, she allowed herself to be towed towardthe shore.
“Hester, run for the house. Makesure Ma and the baby stay inside.”
How can readers find you on the Internet?
Connect with Denise here:
Thank you for sharing ACourageous Betrothal with us.
Readers,here’s a link to the book.
https://www.amazon.com/Courageous-Betrothal-Scouts-Georgia-Frontier-ebook/dp/B0CHMXGLJG/
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