A Book Tour + GIVEAWAY "The Bartered Bride" by Lena Goldfinch
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I
know Monday gives many people the blues, but I have a little something to
brighten your day. Lena Goldfinch is releasing her new novel The Bartered Bride! It's the third book
in her Bride series, a collection of inspirational Western romance novels.
About the book
Jem Wheeler has always been a survivor. He
just wants to make a fresh start in Colorado Springs after the loss of his
wife. But then he happens upon a young mute woman being sold off to the highest
bidder. He wasn’t looking for a mail-order bride. He wasn’t looking to rescue
anyone either. But desperate circumstances can drive a good man to do things he
hadn’t planned on doing...
When Jem steps into Annie’s life, she’s not expecting anyone to save her. Mute from birth, she’s just using all her wits to survive. All she’s ever really wanted is a family of her own. For someone to see her. To look at her long enough to hear the things she can’t say.
Can a rescued bride who can’t speak communicate her love for a grieving widower and his little girl? Will her love ever be returned?
When Jem steps into Annie’s life, she’s not expecting anyone to save her. Mute from birth, she’s just using all her wits to survive. All she’s ever really wanted is a family of her own. For someone to see her. To look at her long enough to hear the things she can’t say.
Can a rescued bride who can’t speak communicate her love for a grieving widower and his little girl? Will her love ever be returned?
Excerpt from The
Bartered Bride
Jem took the apple core from his daughter and
passed her one of the remaining crackers with a piece of cheese on it. Mae
munched that down and looked to him immediately for another, the last one.
He gave it to her, then showed her his empty hands.
She frowned. “More?”
“No more,” Jem said, and showed her his empty
hands again, making a bigger gesture out of it, as if the little girl was
accusing him of hiding some.
If Annie weren’t so intent on eating her share
of cheese and crackers she might have smiled at the sight of them, one of the
most dangerous men she’d ever seen sitting side by side with that tiny little
girl. They made quite a mismatched pair.
Mae looked over at Annie, at the last cracker
in her hand and the last bit of cheese.
Annie gulped down the mouthful she was
chewing. She looked down at the last of her meal and back at the little girl.
To her shame, she didn’t want to give up her last cracker. She could barely
remember the last meal she’d eaten.
“That’s Annie’s food,” Jem admonished the
little girl. “You’ve had yours.”
Mae bit her lip. She glanced down at her lap,
then back at Annie again.
I can share, Annie attempted to tell Mae with her eyes alone. She
snapped her cracker in half—simply unable to bear parting with the whole
thing—and passed it across to the little girl. Mae took it and popped the whole
thing in her mouth, making Annie smile.
“Mae!” her father said.
She looked at him wide-eyed, her mouth full of
cracker. “Whaf dafdda?” she said, muffled, spraying a few cracker crumbs
onto his trousers.
He closed his eyes briefly and brushed them
off. “You didn’t have to give her any,” he said to Annie, “but thanks.”
Annie grunted, her way of saying she didn’t
mind that much. She looked down quickly and finished her last bit of food. The
crackers had been crispy and the cheese silky and smooth. They’d tasted like
heaven.
“You must be thirsty,” he said. “Do you mind
sharing?”
She shook her head and automatically lifted
two fingers.
“Two’s no?” he asked.
She nodded, pleased, and lifted one finger.
She’d grown up sending signals through the floor of the Ruskins’
house, one stomp for yes, two for no. It came natural as rain now.
“And one’s yes,” he said, catching on quick.
Annie drank deep when he passed her the flask
of water, amazed he’d let her drink from it. She tried her best to pour it down
her throat without touching her lips to the flask, so he wouldn’t regret giving
it to someone so dirty. She wished she could tell him thanks, but after Mae had
her fill and he took his own swallow, he was back under his hat, likely going
over the events of the day.
How he’d stuck himself with her.
How he probably regretted even stepping off
the train at the last stop.
She couldn’t say she blamed him.
She hadn’t much wanted to marry
a stranger herself.
About the author
LENA GOLDFINCH writes sweet
Historical Western Romance / Inspirational Romance and books for teens. She’s
always been a sucker for a good old-fashioned romance, whether it’s a novel or
short story, young adult or adult, fantasy or realistic, contemporary or
historical. Lena has been a finalist in several national writing contests,
including the RWA Golden Heart and ACFW Genesis contests. She enjoys life in a
quiet, small town with her husband, two kids, and two very spoiled Black Labs
Find Lena at:
Book links:
The Bartered Bride
The Unexpected Bride
Sleigh Bells and Mistletoe
In celebration of The Bartered Bride's release, Lena is
giving away some amazing prizes to three lucky winners.
The third place prize is all three books in The Brides
series (open internationally).
Second place prize is a paperback copy of The Bartered
Bride (open to US residents only).
And the grand prize is a $25 gift card to Amazon, Barnes
and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, or Google Play (winner's choice!) + all three ebooks
in The Brides series (open internationally).
To enter the giveaway, just fill out the information in
the Rafflecopter form below. Winners will be chosen after the end of the blog
tour on December 19, 2015.
I'd also like to thank Lena and Amber for organizing this
book tour and allowing me to take part in it. It's been great fun! God bless
the both of you in all your endeavors.
-Miranda Atchley
Hi, Miranda! Thanks for sharing the news about my new release and giveaway! God bless and wishing you a very Merry Christmas. :)
ReplyDeleteNo problem, Lena! Glad to do it. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you! :-)
Delete