Saturday Snippet: He Hoped the Gelding Was Not a One-Man Horse

Today's snippet is taken fro

Escape from Gold Mountain 

Gold Mountain series 

 

I will soon be publishing a short Christmas book inspired by an incident in my earlier book, 

Escape from Gold Mountain. 

Here is the scene: 

 

          Deciding no one was about the homestead, Luke almost nudged his horse toward the house when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement coming from the south. In order to see who approached, he turned his horse farther back in the trees to wait. He dismounted and put his hands over his horse’s nose to keep it from whinnying to the new arrival.

          A young man wearing a heavy brown jacket and wide-brimmed Stetson road into the yard and dismounted. He unsaddled his mount and turned it loose into a small, fenced-in pasture. Luke watched as the man stooped to enter the chicken coop, turn the fowls loose, and toss some grain in their enclosed yard. After, he hurriedly entered the barn and brought out the horse Luke recalled from his last visit. He put a feedbag over its head while he hitched the horse to a small wagon. He returned for what looked like hay and more feed for the horse. After making sure he secured everything, the man climbed onto the wagon seat and flicked the leads. He steered the horse and wagon towards Bridgeport.

          Luke waited several minutes after the wagon and its driver disappeared before he slowly made his way towards the house, careful to lead his horse where it would not leave obvious hoof prints. He entered the yard and tied his mount inside the small barn before he walked out in the pasture to take a closer look at the horse the man left behind. The gelding watched him warily, but let him approach. Luke reached out and patted the animal’s neck as he studied the horse. It wore the Caldwell brand.

          Luke shook his head. The horse he had come for, the one that would have been more suited for a pack horse, was the one that had been hitched to the wagon and driven in the direction of town. From listening to the talk around the bunkhouse the night he had stayed with the Caldwell hands, Luke knew about the horse the widow’s fiancé had loaned her. He had already decided the fifty dollars he allotted for the widow’s loaner horse was more than fair compensation. However, the horse before him, the only one he had access to at this time, was worth far more than fifty dollars.

          Luke reached for the gelding’s halter and walked him to the barn. He found the bridal for the horse, and put it on. He brushed the horse down to prepare him to take the saddle. He had a pretty good idea the horse would not do well as a pack animal. He would ask his mare to take on that role. He only hoped the gelding was not a one-man horse.

 To find the book description and purchase link for 

Escape from Gold Mountain, please CLICK HERE.

 

Please CLICK HERE and “Like” my Eastern Sierra Nevada Books page on Facebook.

The story planning and writing the manuscript is well on its way. The cover reveal and pre-order purchase link will not be available until next week. However, to give a hint regarding the cover, parts of this photo of a section of eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains is included on the cover.

 

 

 

  

 

OSKAR AWARD: Best 2019 Novel Written by Zina Abbott

I am now on the final day of my "Oskar Awards" for my 2019 books. Today, I am featuring five of my six books published last year.  I chose them, not based on my favorites, because I greatly enjoyed writing them all. I selected these mainly based on the reception to them I received from my readers. These are the top five books I wrote in 2019:

Diantha:
          A widow, Diantha runs her late husband's hotel she inherited and the post office until Hank Cauley shows up bearing the news that he has been awarded the postmaster's position in place of Diantha's late husband. In a secondary romance, Buck returns to Wildcat Ridge to see if there can be a serious relationship between him and Hilaina. If so, can he find enough paying work to someday ask her to marry him?

Virginia's Vocation:
          Unwilling to settle for the expected role of women, Virginia uses her talent for writing articles published in a political magazine of the day. When her older brother and guardian decides to move west to Kansas Territory, she chooses to attend Oberlin College. There she meets Avery, one of her instructors and an aspiring writer who is envious of the success of Virginia pseudonym.

Escape from Gold Mountain:
          Based on real events and people, this tale of the stagecoach abduction of a Chinese woman held for ransom for eight days was taken from newspaper accounts and local histories. Woven with fictional characters and events, it is an alternative history bordering on the truth. 

Two Sisters and the Christmas Groom:
          Annie comes to Jubilee Springs to work as a maid for her former employer's daughter. Kate writes to a miner in Jubilee Springs in her attempt to escape the dead-end poverty of lower east Manhattan. Michael has been selected to live in company housing provided by Prosperity Mine as soon as he marries. As he gets to know both sisters, which will he choose?

Nathan's Nurse:
          Nothing at home for her after the death of her father, Dahlia agrees to write to men for the intent of finding a husband. Nathan offers a company house provided by his employer, Prosperity Mine, as soon as the two are married. Just before Dahlia arrives, he is injured in a mining accident and ends up in a coma. Between his injuries and a questionable marriage by proxy, the future does not look promising for this couple. 


And my choice for my best novel for 2019 is:

Escape from Gold Mountain

Escape from Gold Mountain was not historical fiction as much as it was fictionalized history. I spent more time doing research for this book than any other to date. I read several fiction books set in the same era which were written by Chinese-American authors to get a feel for the Cantonese Chinese culture. This book was almost a three year project. It is my longest novel to date. 

In my opinion, it is my best work, not just for 2019, but to date. 

For the full book description and purchase link,

please CLICKHERE.

If you missed the Oskar Award for Zina Abbott's best 2019 hero post, CLICK HERE. 

If you missed the Oskar Award for Zina Abbott's best 2019 heroine post, CLICK HERE. 

If you missed the Oskar Award for Zina Abbott's best 2019 secondary male character post, CLICK HERE. 

If you missed the Oskar Award for Zina Abbott's best 2019 secondary female character post, CLICK HERE. 

If you missed the Oskar Award for Zina Abbott's best 2019 antagonist/villian post, CLICK HERE.