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I would like to extend a gracious thank you
to the amazing N.J. for hosting me today at her wonderful Writer’s Wednesday
blog. I’m so excited to visit with you all.
…Breathing History into Life…
I love history…and everything this compelling
statement entails. And, as a romance author,
I love the challenge of crafting that past into words. Via sights, sounds, smells and events, I
weave the external plot of each chosen time period around the internal drive of my characters.
The historical detailing of my
just-released novel, An Unlikely Hero, the third book in my Cutteridge Family
series, takes my characters on a hard-won journey from an 1873 Washington D.C.
train station, through the harshness of an ever-expanding America, to reach the
wilds of the great southwestern Arizona territory. Along the way, they traverse the great steel
beast as far as the track can take them, then by stagecoach and horse through
the dangers of the Colorado Rockies. Eventually they reach the stark beauty of
the Sonoran Desert. Painted across this epic canvas swirls a passion-driven
love story of two mismatched people and their monumental quest for survival.
I hope you fall in love with Dillon and
Alma, as well as the other characters in my first two novels. Wrapped around an
authenticity that breathes them into life, they’re as real as I can possibly make
them. As you peek into their world, I
hope you feel the same…
AN
UNLIKELY HERO
Chapter
One
Washington
D.C.,
May
1873
Who
in the hell came up with this asinine plan?
Dillon Reed grimaced at the stench of
burning coal as he jammed the colonel’s telegram into his coat pocket. He cut
his gaze across the station platform to the nearby locomotive. In a deluge of
color, passengers descended the railcar’s iron steps; he kept his attention
riveted on the opening.
An exasperated sigh escaped from between
clenched teeth. He’d delivered the governor’s territorial reports to Washington
in just under three weeks, a remarkable time, and he looked forward to a swift,
unencumbered return home. But, when he’d checked the telegraph office for
messages before heading out, this newest malarkey of an assignment waited. He’d
also been instructed to shave and freshen-up prior to meeting this train from
Boston, but Hell’s chambers would freeze solid before Dillon would make the
effort. I’m an army scout, for Christ’s
sake, not some damn nanny.
A grating responsibility rolled into focus
when a peach-colored parasol, the signal he’d been awaiting, popped open to
fill the train’s doorway. Dillon shoved from the depot’s wall and straightened,
the crown of his slouch hat bumping a sign that read Washington, District of Columbia – The Capitol of Your Country. The
plank swung back and forth on squeaky hinges. Heat fused with anger when his
contact’s traveling boot glided to the first iron step. Good God, her entire
foot could fit in his right hand. His gaze climbed a dark-green dress rigged
with a ridiculous bustled contraption, raked over a fur encircling slender
shoulders like a buffalo mane, then finally came to a stop on golden curls
swirling upward into a tarnished knot. Atop the silken mass, a scrap of hat
perched at a cockeyed angle. A dozen blue and green ribbons fluttered in the
afternoon breeze with all the spectacle of a peahen.
Dillon’s throat tightened as the woman
descended to the platform, radiant among the other travelers. Her ability to
stand out in a crowd added another sting to the onerous assignment. For a full
minute, he waited while she scanned the throng, anxiousness shadowing her face.
Narrow of waist, she stood barely five feet tall…a good stiff wind would blow
her over.
Another curse welled inside him.
The urge to walk away warred against every
ounce of military commitment he possessed. What did he do to the colonel to
deserve such wretched torment? Dillon straightened, then stepped from the
shadows of the depot to collect his damnable…assignment.
Boots thumped against weathered wood as
each stride echoed his resentment. How could this slip of lace endure the miles
they’d have to travel, or the harsh sun of the desert? Christ Almighty, she’d
end up sick or dead and slung over his saddle in no time. As his shadow
darkened the woman’s diminutive form, he retrieved the telegram from his coat
pocket, then tightened his jaw.
“Alma Talmadge?” he snapped.
She swung to face him, her eyes widening.
Dillon thrust the telegram forward, his
words cleaving the air. “Per these instructions from your uncle, I’ve been
assigned as your escort on the trip westward to Fort Lowell.”
A well-shaped brow arched with suspicion.
Her mouth tightened as she abruptly scanned the words, her golden-tipped
eyelashes raising and lowering with each haughty sweep. A moment later, her
gaze lanced back to his. “I was told to expect a proper attendant.”
“Proper?” he snorted. “I’m as proper as
you’re gonna get.”
Her attention riveted on his sweat-stained
Stetson, then slid all the way down him to his scuffed-up cavalry boots. When
their gazes reconnected, disgust dulled the spark in her indigo eyes. “But …
you’re no gentleman.”
“Where we’re going, lady the last thing
you’ll need is one of those dupes who can’t find his ass with both hands.”
Repulsion cascaded scarlet across her face.
She pressed a dainty, lace-edged hankie to the column of her throat. “I cannot
possibly travel with the unkempt likes of you. Y-You’re not even clean.”
The insistent urge to walk away blistered
deeper. “The job is to deliver you safely to the fort…which I intend to do.
Cleanliness does not increase my skill.”
AUTHOR’S
BIO:
Say hello to Bestselling Historical Romance writer, CINDY
NORD...the USA Today Lifeblog 'Recommended Read' author of NO GREATER GLORY,
the #1 Civil War Romance at Amazon for over one full year, and book one in her
four-book 'The Cutteridge' Series. WITH OPEN ARMS, book two, debuted in August,
2014, and zoomed straight to a #1 Bestselling Western Historical Romance. Book
three, AN UNLIKELY HERO, made its debut the summer of 2016. Book four, BY ANY
MEANS, is due for release winter of 2017. Cindy is also honored to be a
contributing author alongside notable NYTimes writers in the delightful
SCRIBBLING WOMEN & THE REAL-LIFE ROMANCE HEROES WHO LOVE THEM. All proceeds
from this non-fiction anthology go to charity. She is a member of numerous
writers groups, and her work has finaled or won countless times in competitions
-- including the prestigious Romance Writers of America National Golden Heart
Contest. A luscious blend of history and romance, her stories meld both genres
around fast-paced action and emotionally driven characters.
Please join Cindy at her Facebook "Coffee Klatch" -- as well as on Twitter at @cnord2.
Indeed, true love awaits you in the writings of Cindy Nord.
Please join Cindy at her Facebook "Coffee Klatch" -- as well as on Twitter at @cnord2.
Indeed, true love awaits you in the writings of Cindy Nord.
AUTHOR LINKS:
CONNECT
with Cindy via her SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: My webpage: https://www.cindynord.com
Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/www.cindynord.com
Facebook ‘Coffee Klatch’ site: https://www.facebook.com/cindy.nord.9
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/cnord2
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/cnord2/
1 comment:
What period in U.S. history excites you the most, Cindy?
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