Saturday Snippet: Confounded Woman

 The following snippet is taken from

Mail Order Penelope

Book 23 in the series,

Widows, Brides & Secret Babies

          Rather than peer through the window to assess what he would find inside, he jerked the door open and stepped forward. His gaze was drawn to a man sprawled across the forward-facing bench. Sitting on the center bench, Mrs. Humphrey bent over him and held a white cloth to his arm.

          “You’ve got wounded in here? Move aside, Mrs. Humphry and let me take a look.” Marcus placed his foot on the metal rod that served as a step as he prepared to enter the coach. He quickly realized Mrs. Humphry had not moved one inch. He might as well have not spoken. The only indication she heard him was the ripple in her jaw muscles and the tightening of the skin around her eyes.

          Without looking at him, Mrs. Humphry snapped out a response with what he recognized as an irritated tone. “Not now, Captain. I’m busy.”

          In dead silence, Marcus clenched his back teeth and stared at her. So much for a hysterically crying woman crumpled on the floor. He was the surgeon. He was the expert. He was an officer and was accustomed to being obeyed. Yet, she dismissed him as irrelevant. Confounded woman.

 

 Please click on the book title to find the book link for Mail Order Penelope.

 

To sign up for Zina Abbott's newsletter, please CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

Saturday Snippet: They're Just Rocks Standing Up in the Middle of Nowhere

 The following snippet is taken from

Mail Order Penelope

Book 23 in the series,

Widows, Brides & Secret Babies

 

As she stared at the white rock formation jutting up out of the otherwise flat landscape barren of everything except brown grasses, Penelope sucked in her breath. “What is that? Do any of you know? It almost looks like a white cloud resting on the prairie.”

          Mr. Tucker twisted his body to look out the window behind him in the direction they were headed. “That’s Castle Rock, ma’am. It’s something to behold, isn’t it? It means we’re coming up on the next station to swap out the team.”

          “Oh, my. Are there more rocks shooting up out of the ground like this?”

          “Yes, ma’am. Heard-tell some say this must have been under the ocean at one time because there are seashells stuck inside some of these rocks.” He settled back in his seat and wriggled his back. “We got a few stations to go, if I recollect correctly, but the Pyramid Rocks are something to see.”

          “Pyramids? Like the ones they have in Egypt?” Before life grew difficult for Penelope and her mother, she had attended school until the spring after she turned sixteen. Her world history and geography study of that year had included Egypt and the pyramids—a topic she had found fascinating.

          The man yawned. “Naw. They’re just rocks standing straight up in the middle of nowhere. A lot of folks call them Monument Rocks. That’s where the next home station is. If I understood correctly, it’s where the doctor is headed to treat some soldiers stationed there.”

 Please click on the book title to find the book link for Mail Order Penelope.

Yesterday was my birthday! To celebrate, I offered as a gift to my readers a free copy of the first book I wrote as part of a multi-author series. Kizzie's Kisses. It is available until the end of today, Pacific Daylight Time.

If you live in the USA or UK, you may receive your copy of this book by CLICKING HERE.

If you live in another English-speaking nation, you may get your copy, please CLICK HERE.

It later became the third book in my Atwell Kin series, which also includes my books written for the Lockets & Lace series. Starting with the first book in the series, Charlie's Choice, the romance for Charlie Gray Cloud who plays a role in each book, the Atwell Kin series will end with the September 23, 2020 publication of the final book in the series, Hannah's Highest Regard, now on preorder.