Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands by Carrie Fancett Pagels & Other Authors (Blog Tour Guest Post & #Giveaway)


Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands
by Cynthia Hickey, Susan Page Davis , Darlene Franklin, Gina Welborn, Carrie Fancett Pagels, Patty Smith Hall, & Susanne Dietze
Christian Historical Romance, Novella
Paperback & ebook, 448 Pages
June 1st 2017 by Barbour Books

Summary

Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas, finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn t return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved?

Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels

When a British dime novel enthusiast finds himself flat broke in Kansas, he discovers what western life and true love are all about. Barden Granville IV grew up at Cheatham Hall, Kent, England, devouring cowboy stories and dreaming of the day he, with no prospects of inheriting estate nor title, could escape to the American frontier. Educated and ordained an Anglican priest, his trip to America is his “last hurrah” before accepting a vicarage in a small town far from his aristocratic family’s estate. When a series of misadventures leaves him without money and stranded, he must take up employment immediately.

​After her father dies, widow Caroline Kane becomes the owner and proprietor of a restaurant and inn. She also assumes responsibility for her five teenaged siblings. Caroline’s busybody married sister insists that an Englishman who purports to answer an ad for help, is the perfect candidate for Caroline’s next husband. While she’s relieved to have help, Caroline finds Barden’s primary asset to be his silver tongue. When his efforts finally bring fruit, Barden receives word from England that could leave Caroline worse off than before, for her heart will leave with him. Will Barden answer his heart and God’s call in Kansas, or will his family responsibilities compel him to leave his dreams behind?

(Affiliate links included, meaning I receive a small kickback when you make a purchase using my links.)

Guest Post: All Those Siblings!
From Author Carrie Fancett Pagels for Dime Novel Suitor

My heroine, Caroline Kane, has an older sister and quite a few younger siblings she’s taking care of, in “Dime Novel Suitor,” my novella in this collection. Many times I and my reader and reviewer friends have discussed how often, in historicals, there are only a few or no siblings. But that wasn’t the case for most families, if you look at genealogy and statistics. While many children may have died in infancy or from untreatable illnesses, large families were the norm. However, since this was a novella, I wasn’t sure about whether I could manage all those kids!

It turned out, as I developed the character, Caroline wasn’t doing such a great job of managing the siblings, either. Whenever you take a sibling and have to place them in charge of managing the rest of them it can become problematic. In Caroline’s case, she was also tasked with managing her family’s inn. And although her older sister had married, she’d not wanted any of the siblings to come and live with her. So we have Caroline, a young widow, the second eldest sibling is now left managing the inn and caretaking her siblings. You just know she had to be resentful! So I had to be careful to show a young woman grieving the recent loss of her father, who has lost her childhood sweetheart earlier, and who is getting no help from anyone.

Not only is my heroine not receiving help from her older sister, but that sister is trying to boss Caroline around. Caroline does need help, but it goes against her very grain to consider the idea of a mail-order husband. Still, when Barden Granville IV arrives, and her siblings immediately love him and he helps with them, it is almost as though a pressure valve has been released in Caroline. She can relax a little, for the first time in a long while.
But then the army comes to visit in their town. And her siblings wishes and desires mesh with the goals of the army, who is enroute to the fort on Mackinac Island, Michigan. And Barden unwittingly becomes part of Caroline’s siblings’ plans! Can you imagine how angry she’d be to discover/believe he has interfered in a way that goes against his plans? God makes each sibling different in real life and He has a plan for each of us – that’s something Caroline has to learn.

Author Question: When you look at your own family’s genealogy do you see lots of siblings or just a few?

About the Author


Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D., is an ECPA bestselling and award-winning author. With a dozen Christian historical romances published, this former “Yooper” writes Christian historical romances about overcoming. She grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where many of her stories are set. Possessed with an overactive imagination, that wasn’t “cured” by twenty-five years as a psychologist, she loves bringing characters to life. Carrie and her family reside in Virginia’s Historic Triangle, which is perfect for her fascination with history. Carrie enjoys reading, traveling, baking, and beading-but not all at the same time!

Her short story, The Quilting Contest, was Historical Fiction Winner of Family Fiction’s “The Story” national contest. Her novella, The Substitute Bride was a 2016 Maggie Award published finalist for Romance Novellas. Grand Exposé was a 2014 Maggie Award honorable mention for a novel set on Mackinac Island (now entitled My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude’s Mooring, Barbour, July 2017). All three of her Christy Lumber Camp books were long list finalists for Family Fiction’s Book of the Year and The Fruitcake Challenge was a Selah Award finalist. Her novel, Saving the Marquise’s Granddaughter (White Rose/Pelican, June, 2016) received a Starred Review by RT Book Reviews.


Tour Schedule

May 29--Reading Is My SuperPower | Soulfully Romantic | Zerina Blossom's Books
May 30--Puddletown Reviews | Wishful Endings | Bookworm Lisa
May 31--Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen | Mel's Shelves | Blossoms and Blessings
June 1--Singing Librarian Books | Heidi Reads... | Bookworm Lisa
June 2--Cafinated Reads | Smiling Book Reviews | A Baker's Perspective
June 3--aTransParentMom | Paulette's Papers

Tour-Wide Giveaways


Blog Giveaway: An autographed paperback copy of Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands*

*If 10+ unique commenters post on this blog, one commenter will be selected to receive a print copy of Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands (US only).

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Grand Prize Giveaway: Kindle Fire + Postcards of Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order, bookmarks from upcoming release My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude’s Mooring, print copy of Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands, cowboy-themed earrings, and an ebook copy of Holt Medallion finalist “The Steeplechase.”

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