If this is your first time visiting a First Line Friday post, you’re in for a treat! For First Line Friday, we normally grab the book nearest us and share the first line. But today is extra special because I am also sharing a special guest post by author Debra E. Marvin and a chance to enter not one but TWO giveaways!!!

To get us started, here is the first line from Debra’s novella, A Heart So Tender, which is included in The Backcountry Brides Collection (description below):

Fort Niagara 
Monday, July 10, 1764

A Lake Ontario breeze trifled with the Union Jack overhead, but failed to cool Lieutenant Archibald Waters’ frustration.

Don’t forget to leave your first line in the comments below!

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Welcome to the blog tour and giveaway for The Backcountry Brides Collection, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Backcountry Brides Collection
Author: Angela K. Couch, Debra E. Marvin, Shannon McNear, Gabrielle Meyer, Carrie Fancett Pagels, Jennifer Hudson Taylor, Pegg Thomas, and Denise Weimer
Publisher: Barbour Books
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Genre: Inspirational Historical Fiction collection

Travel into Colonial America where eight women seek love, but they each know a future husband requires the necessary skills to survive in the backcountry.

Living in areas exposed to nature’s ferocity, prone to Indian attack, and cut off from regular supplies, can hearts overcome the dangers to find lasting love?

PURCHASE A COPY: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | CBD | Book Depository

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ABOUT THE NOVELLAS

Shenandoah Hearts by Carrie Fancett Pagels
1754 – Great Wagon Road, into the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia)
As the French-Indian War commences, Magda Sehler wonders if Jacob Owens lost his mind to have abandoned his Philadelphia business and moved to the Shenandoah Valley. Or has he lost his heart?

Heart of Nantahala by Jennifer Hudson Taylor
1757 – (North Carolina)
Joseph Gregory plans to buy a lumber mill, but Mabel Walker becomes a formidable opponent. When she’s forced to make a painful decision, she must choose between survival and love.

Her Redcoat by Pegg Thomas
1763 – Fort Michilimackinac (Michigan) during Pontiac’s Rebellion
Laurette Pettigrew grew up in the northern frontier. Henry Bedlow arrived against his will. Their chance meeting changes everything. Will a deadly clash of cultures keep them from finding happiness?

A Heart So Tender by Debra E. Marvin
1764 – (New York)
As thousands of Native warriors converge on Fort Niagara, jaded British Lieutenant Archibald Walsh and idealistic schoolmistress Susannah Kimball learn the greatest risk lies in guarding their hearts.

A Worthy Groom by Angela K. Couch
1771 – Sapling Grove settlement on the Holston River (Tennessee)
The Cowden temper has been Marcus’s lifelong bane. A trait Lorinda Cowden curses. Now, winning the heart of his bride hinges on fighting a war without raising a fist.

Across Three Autumns by Denise Weimer
1778-1780 – (Georgia)
Fighting Loyalists and Indians, Jenny White settles for strength over love . . .until Scottish scout Caylan McIntosh leads her family on a harrowing exodus out of Georgia’s Revolutionary “Hornet’s Nest.”

The Counterfeit Tory by Shannon McNear
1781 – (South Carolina)
Tasked with infiltrating an infamous Tory gang, Jed Wheeler has no wish to endanger the leader’s cousin, Lizzy Cunningham. He risks not only his life. . .but his heart.

Love’s Undoing by Gabrielle Meyer
1792 – Fur Post on the Upper Mississippi River (Minnesota)
When Englishman Henry Kingsley meets Abi McCrea, the daughter of a Scottish fur trader and Indian mother, will their worlds keep them apart, or have they finally found somewhere they truly belong?

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Carrie Fancett Pagels is an ECPA bestselling and award-winning author of Christian historical romance. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn’t “cure” her overactive imagination! She resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia, which is perfect for her love of history. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time!

TO CONNECT WITH CARRIE: website│facebook│twitter

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Jennifer Hudson Taylor is an award-winning author of inspirational fiction set in historical Europe & the Carolinas. She provides keynotes and presentations on the publishing industry, the craft of writing, building an author platform & digital marketing.

Jennifer graduated from Elon University with a B.A. in Communications/Journalism. When she isn’t writing, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, visiting historical sites, horseback riding, cycling, long walks, genealogy and reading.

TO CONNECT WITH JENNIFER: website | facebook | twitter

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Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” An avid reader and writer, she enjoys fiction stories threaded through historical events and around historical figures. Civil War and Colonial are her favorite eras.

Pegg is a regular blogger at both QuidProQuills.com and ColonialQuills.com. When not working on her latest novel, Pegg can be found in her garden, in her kitchen, at her spinning wheel, tending her sheep, or on her trusty old horse, Trooper. See more at PeggThomas.com.

TO CONNECT WITH PEGG: website | facebook | twitter

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Gabrielle Meyer lives in central Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing fictional stories inspired by real people, places, and events. She loves connecting with readers!

TO CONNECT WITH GABRIELLE:website | facebook |twitter

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To keep from freezing in the Great White North, Angela K Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in there, as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and warm) by chasing after three munchkins.

TO CONNECT WITH ANGELA: website | facebook | twitter

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Denise Weimer holds a journalism degree with a minor in history from Asbury University. She writes time slip romantic suspense, as well as both contemporary and historical romance.

A wife and swim mom of two daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, old houses, and to write any story God lays on her heart.

TO CONNECT WITH DENISE: website | twitter

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After more than two decades in the South, Shannon McNear now makes her home on the windy northern plains with her husband, four of their eight children, two German Shepherds, four cats, several chickens, and a noisy flock of guinea fowl. She serves in worship and youth ministry, and has been writing novel-length fiction since age 15. Her first novella, Defending Truth, from A Pioneer Christmas Collection, was a 2014 RITA® nominee.

When not sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the Dakota prairies

TO CONNECT WITH SHANNON: website | facebook |twitter

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Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Bridges Ministry in Seneca Falls, NY. She is published with WhiteFire Publishing, Forget Me Not Romances, Journey Fiction, and Barbour Publishing…and a judge for the Grace Awards for many years.

Debra works as a program assistant at Cornell University, and enjoys her family and grandchildren, obsessively buying fabric, watching British programming and traveling with her childhood friends

TO CONNECT WITH DEBRA: website | facebook | twitter

 

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GUEST POST by Debra E. Marvin

Using an actual event for my novella, A Heart So Tender, didn’t leave me a lot of wiggle room! And that was fine. I love doing the research and in this case there was a fair amount of documentation that took a long time to gather.

 

 

A Heart So Tender takes place in July of 1764 during the event known as The Great Gathering. At the time, Sir William Johnson, a popular and effective “Indian Agent for the Crown”, living in the Mohawk Valley, requested all Indian tribes (from far and wide) to come to Fort Niagara for peace talks.  This wasn’t just talks between the settlers/soldiers and the native peoples, but to encourage talks and treaties between some of the tribes as well.

 

 

Fort Niagara is a wonderful place to visit and ‘imagine’ the past.  I knowingly changed a few details. The existing redoubts (blockhouses/guardhouses) were actually built a few years after my story to replace the previous lookouts.  The third floor of The French Castle didn’t have rooms as it does in my story, as it was used almost as a ‘gun deck’ and storage area for the building.

 

 

Of course I made up the names of my leads and the commanding officers, but the names of the regiments were accurate. Unfortunately, the Massacre at Devil’s Hole was real and became the driving backstory for my hero’s journey.

In every historical novella I’ve written, I’ve centered around an actual event and done as much as possible to incorporate the facts. This could never be done without the aid of online resources (Google books tends to have really great and obscure books!) and finding a historian, librarian or ‘expert’ to overwhelm with questions!

I can’t speak for every Barbour Collection but I know that the authors of THE BACKCOUNTRY BRIDES Collection are all consummate lovers of history and that means we all love the research. Plus research is more fun than facing that ugly first draft!

Because I placed my story in upstate New York, I can say that I’ve been gathering details since I first studied New York State history.  Sir William Johnson was such a ‘big name’ character, there are plenty of resources about him, including his own records.

 

 

Johnson did employ tutors such as Mr. Kimball in his village, so creating Susannah and her family wasn’t much of a stretch.  If I have one regret, it is that authenticity in a historical context means use of terms such as Indian, redskin, savage when I would have preferred not to. Even the name Iroquois, which is so very common and designates the native people of this region is not their preferred name, but in the interest of the story, I had little choice.  What I hope happens is that readers find our stories a spark for looking into the frontier history of their own regions with a new eye.

Thanks so much for hosting me, Kathleen! I’d love to hear from your readers.

What fictional stories have driven you to dig deeper into history?

For more about Debra, look for Debra E. Marvin in various places. She tends to genre hop between historical romances and historical mystery. New Subscribers to her newsletter in May, June and July will be in a drawing for a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card.

She likes to hang out on Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest and chats with her readers on her Facebook Author Page.

Debra blogs at the group blog Inkwell Inspirations where both authors and reviewers bring bookish news almost daily, or at Colonial Quills blog.

 

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GIVEAWAY #1

(1) Winner will win a prize pack consisting of one print copy of The Backcountry Brides Collection, a pair of handmade earrings from Carrie Fancett Pagels and book swag plus CHOICE of (1) copy of any book by Carrie Fancett Pagels OR a $25 Amazon (or Barnes & Noble) gift card. (US only, however the gift card is also open to international winners except where prohibited by law. Giveaway is subject to policies found here.

To enter click on the image below. Be sure to stop at every post on the tour for additional entries!

GIVEAWAY #2

During the month of May 2018, the authors of The Backcountry Brides Collection are also hosting a giveaway that includes a print copy of the novel, a Kindle Paperwhite, and lots of Colonial-themed goodies!

To enter click on the image below.

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Launch Page @ JustRead