Release day! Whoo hoo! Join me in a happy dance! And, as promised, here’s the excerpt, to whet your appetite. Today you can purchase the ebook or print version online here: https://www.amazon.com/King-Kinsella-Mail-Order-Papa-ebook/dp/B0CDFK6LYV and check out the rest of the series here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5F246HT
A Peek Inside A King for Kinsella:
Chapter 1
Whistler’s Gulch Ranch near Loveland, CO
March 14, 1878
Kinsella Jackson stared out over the dry and barren landscape from where she stood in the church cemetery. Winter grass crunched under foot. Snow-capped the mountains in the distance. A chill breeze careened off the foothills, raced along the valley, and rattled around her insides as though she had no skin or substance holding her together.
She pulled her shawl around her shoulders, wishing for a warmer covering. But she’d cut up her winter coat to make ponchos for her two youngest. And Abe’s overcoat? Worn even now as cloaks by her two oldest.
And why not? Abe had no need for it. Not now. Not since three days past.
She sniffled, holding back the tears as the preacher read Psalm Twenty-Three. Yay, though I travel through the valley of death, I will fear no evil.
Beside her, hers and Abe’s children. Stoic, broad-shouldered like their father, stood her eldest. Thomas, at fifteen, had already assumed the role of head of the house by taking on his father’s chores. But she knew him better than he knew himself. He looked tough and strong on the outside, yet the yearning to be her little boy and avoid this heartbreak was evident in his eyes.
Next in line as well as in age, Emily. At thirteen, caught in that alien space between child and adult. Temper tantrums one day, kind and nurturing the next. Kinsella never quite knew that to expect from her daughter any longer. Yet she, too, had been most helpful these past days once the shock of Abe’s death had passed.
Or had it? Emily seemed to spend far more time staring out the windows, her head tilted to one side as though listening. For what? Her father’s step? Well, that wouldn’t come again, would it?
Sometimes Kinsella wanted to shake the child back to reality. Then she remembered that Em was still a child.
Sarah, at nine, believed everything she was told. When Kinsella had told her children that their father had fallen to his death in the barn and was now with Jesus, Sarah cried. “Mama, I want to be with Papa and Jesus, too.”
At that moment, Kinsela would gladly have joined the pair of them.
But then she remembered her other children. They needed her. Abe was beyond her love or her service, but not their offspring.
And William, the youngest at six, trying so hard to be older than he was. Fretting at Thomas leaving him behind “With the girls”, as he often complained.
He now leaned forward and made eye contact with her, as though making certain she was there. He clung to her much more in recent days. Not that she minded, even welcoming him into her bed. The nights were chilly, and it had been a long time since she’d slept alone.
She smiled, hoping to reassure him, then she glanced along the valley. Their house and ranch lay tucked below in a far corner. Abe had built it into three sections and was saving money to purchase a fourth in a couple of years. Well, that dream died with him, along with many others.
Her teeth chattered, almost blocking out the preacher’s next reading. The one about being absent from the body was better, and that Abe was now present with Jesus.
Well, that was all well and good. Except what did Jesus need with him? She—and his children—needed him here.
When the preacher intoned a solemn Amen, Kinsella turned back to the funeral service. Four stalwart pallbearers lowered the handmade and rough-hewn casket into the ground. Kinsella stepped forward and picked up a frozen clod of dirt, tossing it onto the coffin. The clump thunked on the lid and broke apart, individual grains skittering across the wood like water droplets in a hot skillet.
Like her life. Her thoughts. Her hopes. And her dreams.
Thomas followed, dropping his handful of dirt, as did Emily. Sarah and William held back. Kinsella had explained what would happen today, but the younger ones struggled to remember.
Or perhaps, inside, they didn’t want to participate in this macabre dance.
Well, truth was, neither did she. If only she could roll back the days to the morning when Abe headed to the barn to toss down hay for the cows. Maybe she could have saved him if she’d found him quicker. Perhaps she could have talked him out of—no, she wouldn’t travel that road. There was no evidence he’d taken his own life, the sheriff said. A simple accident.
Except not so simple. One misstep, one moment of mis-attention, and he was gone.
The preacher stood in front of her, offering his condolences. Well, a fat lot of good his words did. A widow at thirty-five, four children to raise and feed and clothe, and a ranch to run.
But instead of voicing her thoughts, she pasted on a tiny smile, thanking him for his kind words.
He gripped her hands in his own. “Perhaps we’ll see you at church more often.”
“Perhaps.”
Abe wasn’t a church-goer. She’d have been there every Sunday, but her husband always found a reason to lollygag, ensuring they would be late.
Maybe she would make more of an effort.
She wrested her hands from his grip and turned to walk back to their wagon, which Thomas had driven here and parked outside the cemetery. She nodded to several people she knew by name but avoided stopping to talk. There was no money to host a reception—not in the church nor in their home.
As she reached the gate, a man hurried toward her. She groaned. Not Albert Walker, who owned the mercantile. At this rate, she could be here all day.
“Widow Jackson? A moment, please.”
She slowed then turned to face the portly, balding man. “Mister Walker.”
“I’m sorry for your trials, ma’am.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I know this may seem like an inopportune time to consider marrying again, and I’m not expecting you to make a decision today.”
Her brow pulled down, and his words chilled her core. “Decision?”
“I would be pleased to take you on as wife, and your children as my own. We’re of the same age, I am unencumbered, and could afford to provide comfort and solace in your distress.”
She stifled a giggle. A most inappropriate giggle, at that, she was certain. “Thank you.”
“Then you accept?” He wrung his hands together. “Oh, that is--”
“No!” Heads turned her way, and heat rushed up her neck and cheeks. “I mean, thank you for the offer, but the children and I need time to work through our grief.”
“More than past tomorrow?”
She smiled and patted his arm. “I’ll let you know. But if you find another in the meantime, please, don’t consider yourself beholden to me.”
He studied her for a long moment. Then he sniffed. “You mock me.”
“No, sir, I do not.”
“You do. You have no intention of settling with me.”
She drew herself up to her full height. “You’re right. I was trying to be civil.”
The man pivoted and stalked away, leaving her free to climb into her wagon, where her children waited.
Thomas glanced over his shoulder as Mister Walker mounted his horse and rode off. “What did he want?”
“Nothing.”
She hated lying to her children, but how to explain that she’d turned down a marriage proposal before leaving the cemetery where they’d laid their father to rest?
The wagon wheels crunched over the frozen earth as they rode back to their ranch. As they made the last turn from the main road onto their drive, she turned in her seat.
“Children, we need to talk.”
She waited until they quieted, then smiled at the three somber faces staring up at her. “We are on our own. Papa would want us to smile and laugh and play again.”
Emily’s bottom lip jutted out. “But everything has been so dismal since Papa—since he—”
Sarah piped up. “Since Papa went to be with Jesus.”
Kinsella nodded. “I know it’s been difficult for us. But we must continue.”
Thomas swiveled in his seat. “I heard a couple of men talking at the mercantile. One said he’d buy our ranch if you were to sell it.”
Sarah’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “Where would we go, Mama?”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
That seemed to settle their minds and their nerves, and when they reached their house, the children jumped down and headed out to do their chores. Kinsella went inside, stoked the fire in the stove, and pulled meat and bread from the pantry.
They might not have much, but at least they had each other.
~*~
Durbin, Australia
“Get out and stay out.”
Strong hands gripped Kingston Marchmont’s shirt and propelled him out the door and into the alley, where he landed in a lump in the litter.
He grunted and jumped to his feet, fists clenched, but the barkeep had already shut—and locked—the door.
He looked up and down the alley, thankful nobody had seen what just transpired. That was his fourth job in three months. Not a good track record. And it wasn’t his fault. He worked hard. Turned up for his shifts on time. Shaved every other day. Bathed once a week whether he needed to or not.
But life as an ex-convict wasn’t easy. Particularly this transportee to Australia accused of a crime he hadn’t committed. Mayb he should have served his sentence and walked away from the past. Free and clear.
Kingston shook his head. There was no such thing as free and clear for men like him.
As the sun set over the city, he sought a place to sleep. Somewhere safe. Out of the elements.
Shrugging his shoulders down into his thin overcoat, keeping his eyes on the ground—he’d learned early never to attract attention to himself—he eyed his surroundings.
He grunted. So much for remaining invisible.
A lock of hair drooped over his brow. With an impatient if well-practiced twitch of his head, he moved the offending curl aside. A drunk propped in a doorway muttered something unintelligible as he passed. A dream or perhaps even a vision from a wine-induced intoxication.
Thankfully, Kingston had never fallen victim to the lure of alcohol.
One of the few vices he’d avoided in his nearly forty years on this earth.
Because the truth was, although innocent of the crime that resulted in his conviction in a court of law, estrangement from his family and all he knew, transportation to Australia, then languishing for seven and a half years before escaping, would have sent a lesser man over the brink into mind-numbing oblivion.
Just his luck he was convicted in the final year of the transportation to Australia program. Ten years ago. And he’d spent the past two and a half years looking over his shoulder. Expecting a meaty hand halting him in his footsteps.
Or a bullet between his shoulders.
But still he lived free.
Sort of.
A wooden crate the size of a piano loomed in the dusk. That might work for tonight. March heralded the coming of fall in the southern hemisphere, opposite to the clime in England, where spring was making an appearance with warmer temperatures, leaves, and flowers..
Kingston tucked himself into the box, then grabbed at fluttering papers nearby. A couple of newspapers to keep himself warm, and—hey-ho, what was this? A penny magazine. Mystery and Mayhem.
He chuckled. How appropriate. Summed up his life perfectly.
With the light fast dimming, he scanned the pages, then closed the edition and set it beside him, planning to read it in the morning.
As he did, an advertisement caught his eye.
AMERICA. THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY. NEED A FRESH START?
Did he. And how.
He picked up the magazine, shoved his makeshift paper blankets aside, and scooted out. Standing beneath the nearest streetlamp, he read more.
Men needed in the West. Looking for adventure? Requirements: white, free, able. Passage paid. Apply here.
Well, he fit all of that.
Sounded like an answer to prayer.
Especially the part about needing a fresh start.
Question for readers: Leave a comment to enter a random drawing for an ebook copy of A King for Kinsella by answering the following question. Leave a comment on yesterday’s post and on the day before’s, and that earns you a total of 3 chances to win.
What’s your favorite setting for a historical novel?
About Donna:
A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She is taking all the information she’s learned along the way about the writing and publishing process, and is coaching committed career writers. Learn more at https://www.donnaschlachter.com/the-purpose-full-writer-coaching-programs Check out her coaching group on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604220861766651
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Written in Love series: What happens when a romance writer and a book publisher come together? Love!
Cactus Lil and the City Slicker (Book 1)
A rough-and-tumble cowgirl, “Cactus” Lil Duncan longs for true love, but is afraid to let down her prickly exterior when a city slicker from New York City, with less-than-honorable intentions, tries to win her trust and her hand.
Written in Love (Book 2): Cactus Lil's Big City Debut
Lily and Peter Golding arrive triumphantly in the Big City. But when they learn of Uncle Phillip’s mysterious disappearance, Peter and Lily are pulled into the dark underside of the Big City, then thrust onto the front pages of the newspapers as ‘persons of interest’ in the investigation.
Can they survive the onslaught of attention on themselves, their marriage, and the seedy side of the publishing industry? Can they survive? Period? Or can they discover who is behind this nefarious act, save Uncle Phillip--and themselves?
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Carly Turnquist, forensic accountant, responds to a call from her friend, Anne, who is in the middle of a nasty divorce, and travels to Wyoming to help find assets Anne thinks her husband has stolen. But the mystery begins before Carly even arrives when she sees a man thrown off a train. Except there’s no body. Husband Mike uncovers an illegal scam in a computer program he has been asked to upgrade, and then Anne is arrested for her ex’s murder. Can Carly figure out what’s going on, and why a strange couple is digging in Anne’s basement? Or will she disappear along with the artwork, coins, and money?
Petty Cash (Book 7)
Can Carly enjoy a peaceful vacation on Cape Cod, or will a local ghostly legend and a murder keep her too busy to notice what else is going on around her?
A Deadly Dissolution (Book 8)
Carly loses more than daylight when the total lunar eclipse and crime come to town. Can she figure out what’s going on before the suspects escape?
Silent Partner (Book 9)
Carly and Mike take the vacation of a lifetime--an Alaskan cruise. Unfortunately, Carly can't turn off her nose for trouble. Or mystery. Pretty soon she's embroiled with a series of allegations, innuendoes, overheard conversations, and even a shoving match. And before she knows it--a body. Can Carly figure out who the killer is before she ends up floating on an iceberg--or worse?
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(Book 10)
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Carly looks forward to a vacation when Mike is hired to assist a rancher family in western Colorado catalogue their various mineral rights following the discovery of a large copper field on their property. However, Carly soon learns that the real wealth—and the real danger—aren’t below ground. Someone is out to keep a secret bigger and more profitable than copper. And they’re willing to kill for it.
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When Carly is confronted with three terrible monsters, will she survive all three – or will this be her end?
Carly can’t ignore a good mystery. But when her investigations come close to home, she must decide whether to step back or continue, because now her family—and her own life—are at stake. Will she continue? Or will she retire gracefully? Perhaps she can do both.
Mysterious Ink Mystery Bookstore series: Join Margie Hanson, Carly Turnquist’s now-adult granddaughter, as she inherits a mystery bookstore in Edgewater, Colorado. This light-hearted cozy mystery with a dose of romance series is sure to delight you as Margie finds herself in the midst of missing books, murder, hidden secrets, and clandestine affairs. She undoubtedly inherited her grandmother’s sleuthing gene.
The Game is Afoot
(Book 1)
When Great-Aunt Roselda calls, everybody comes running. But by the time Carly Turnquist, forensic accountant, and her now adult granddaughter Margie Hanson arrive, Roselda is dead. Follow Carly on her absolutely final case as she mentors Margie into the finer art of solving a murder.
Little Grey Cells
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During renovations to her inherited house, Margie Hanson, library science graduate, discovers a suitcase with several items, including a wedding album, a baby's bonnet, and a rare manuscript. Who hid them there? And why? And where did two people and a newborn disappear to?
Heavier Than Broken Hearts (Book 3)
Dead men are heavier than broken hearts—at least according to Philip Marlowe, the legendary detective. Margie Hanson discovers a copy of “The Big Sleep” in a box lot of books at an estate sale, and she snags it to sell in her bookstore, along with a spice rack and spices for her kitchen. At home, she discovers neither is what she first thought. Can she solve these two mysteries before somebody succeeds in snuffing her permanently?
Nothing is Easy (Book 4)
Margie hosts a Christmas mystery month, featuring four different mystery books for the month. When a series of murders mimics the plot in the books, and she is the prime suspect, she soon learns that nothing is easy.
Christmas Ridge Romance series: a small town in the Colorado mountains. A community center that is the heart and soul of the town. Can the entire town’s Christmas wish list come true?
A Mommy by Christmas (Book 2)
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Business partners Felicity Anderson, the cake baker; Kiki Bell, the seamstress; Cassie Blackthorn, the coordinator; and Chef Saffron Delarosa are best of friends in a town that is a romantic wedding destination for many couples—who work together at Weddings by Design to make every bride’s special day perfect. Could each falling into their own romance be the key to working out their differences and learning to trust each other—and God—with their futures?
A Mistletoe Mystery (Merry Little
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Christmas trees, cattle—and mayhem. Can Holly & Ivy Christmas figure out who is behind this nefarious deed?
Christmas Past, Christmas Present
A widower and his two daughters; a boy lost in the woods -- all in desperate need of a Christmas miracle.
Can Grace and Luke solve the clues in her grandmother’s scavenger hunt and uncover the truth about their real feelings, or will the tension and their differences in goals and faith drive them apart?
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Published by: PLS Bookworks