Author Regina Jennings – Historical Romance

 The Trust Chronicles: Molly Lovelace     

To Do List:  Change My Name and Move to a New Town

                        Burn Every Last One of Bailey’s Letters

                        Buy Chocolates for Myself

Dear Rosa,

If I weren’t in such a tizzy I’d apologize for writing on a page torn from my journal, but I’m too furious to be concerned with niceties.

Can you believe that man? Has he taken leave of his senses? I could feel the disapproval of the whole congregation as Bailey confessed his temptation…namely me…so I surely couldn’t stay for the dinner afterwards, however much I wished to hear your thoughts after witnessing his scandalous performance.

So I ask you—What could cause Bailey to reject me so coldly when he claims to love me? Can he honestly believe he’s following God’s wishes? Would a loving God tell him to stop loving me?

Knowing you, all sorts of colorful Spanish proverbs are bubbling up. The only proverb that comes to my mind is:

A whip for the horse,

A bridle for the ass,

And a rod for the fool’s back.

That’s in the Bible. I looked it up, and if your husband Weston would like to impart this bit of Biblical wisdom onto his cousin, I’d be much obliged. I’d do it myself, but I’ve made a solemn vow never to touch Bailey Garner again, even with a hickory switch.

“Molly” by Monica Bruenjes

I only wish I understood what I’d done to deserve this treatment. I thought I could trust Bailey. I thought he cared for me and wanted what was best for me. My parents have failed me. Time and time again they’ve chosen what’s easy for them, what satisfied their ambitions. Bailey was different. I could rely on him. Even now he claims to be breaking our courtship for my own good. Not that I believe him—

So, who does that leave to champion my cause? And before you recommend that I take my problems to God (see how well I know you) I will remind you that God is the one who got me into this mess. If Bailey has broken our relationship because I’m a big sinner, then obviously God doesn’t want anything to do with me either. No, it looks like I’m on my own. I guess when it comes down to it, you can’t trust anyone but yourself. At least, that’s my experience.

And yet I can’t help but wish…

Maybe someday I’ll find a safe haven. Maybe someday I’ll clean up enough that Bailey won’t run when he sees me coming. Maybe someday I’ll be a fine lady and even God will approve, but I doubt it.

Yet, there’s nothing to do besides sally forth and try to make the best of an unfortunate situation. Don’t worry about me, friend. According to my father, in a week I won’t even remember Bailey Garner’s name. This pain will be long forgotten.

So he says.

And I don’t want to trouble you, either. In fact, I feel better already just writing these words. Whether I mail this letter or not is inconsequential, now. Instead I’ll go to the millinery and pick out a new hat. Fashion should remedy heartbreak…and cause less distress to my corset strings than chocolate.

I’ll find my way out of this mess. I can do it on my own. Just wait and see.

Optimistically,

Molly

Thank you for sharing in our fun project! And now for more information on Molly’s Giveaway Bundle:

Molly’s Giveaway Bundle includes a signed copy of Love in the Balance, a journal, and a Blue Bayou Navy Crystal Cuff Bracelet by 1928 Jewelry.

To be entered to win the Molly’s Prize Package please leave a comment on this post between May 13th and May 17, 2013. The winner will be drawn on May 19th and will be notified via e-mail and announced here and on The Trust Chronicles home page. (The giveaway is open for residents of the U.S. and Canada who are 18 or older.)

Last week I got the awesome opportunity to attend a Civil War Reenactment in my family’s hometown Hartville, Missouri. Knowing that I was going I asked readers what questions they’d like me to ask the soldiers. First off, let me say that the reenactors I met were AMAZING! These men are passionate about history and about their country. I’m so grateful to them for presenting our history in such a tangible way and making it accessible to the youngest participant. And at the same time, they aren’t just dressing up and playing war. The men I spoke with had done extensive research into the character they were portraying. They could tell you their troop’s movements, battles, and commanders as if they’d really lived it. And they spoke passionately in characters about their reasons for fighting, their families and what their country…or their state, as the case may be…meant to them.

A brief disclaimer…I jotted down their answers long hand as they spoke and I missed a lot. Any historical mistakes are 100% my fault. It was rainy, muddy, and I had children afoot. Next time I’ll bring a recorder. Disclaimer #2 – My conversation in the Confederate camp was with two officers. They both contributed to the conversation.

Reader Question #1 - How do you feel fighting against your fellow Americans?

Union Soldier (1st Lieutenant Michael Mandrick, 30th Missouri Volunteer Brigade a/k/a The Missouri Irish Brigade) – I am fighting to preserve the Union. These miscreants don’t understand that the Constitution must be protected and if they can’t be persuaded by logic, then we must use force. I took an oath to apply all laws equally, not pick and choose which ones I’d like to apply.

Confederate Soldiers (Or more accurately the 1st Regiment of Missouri Volunteer Militia – Captain Robert Jackson and Lieutenant Patrick O’Brien) – I’m fighting a foreign invader and I’ll defend the State of Missouri to the end. President Lincoln promised that Kentucky and Missouri could remain neutral, but then he moved against Virginia and we believe he will send troops against us as well. General Lyons has disregarded the wishes of the people of Missouri and chased our elected officials from the capital. He illegally armed Dutch immigrants and marched on St. Louis where he opened fire on civilians. That is an attack against my state and my people. How could I not respond?

Reader Question #2 – Considering the loss of life you’ve seen, do you think this struggle for/against slavery is still worth it?

Lt. Mandrick, U. S. Army – I’m fighting to preserve the law of the land. The Bible teaches about slavery and doesn’t condemn it, so I’m not sure whether God doesn’t allow it in certain circumstances or not. President Lincoln has issued a proclamation of emancipation and that’s good enough for me. If that’s the law, then it should be honored, but truthfully I’m not fighting for the abolition of slavery, but for the Union.

Lt. O’Brien, Missouri Militia – If the Federals lose, they will go home and their world will not change. If we lose we lose our whole way of life, our freedom to chose our own government.

Captain Jackson, Missouri Militia – The Federal Army likes to report that they are freeing Negroes. I know the men in my unit. Most cannot afford a single Negro. If they had that money they would buy more farmland for their family, not a slave. But I think we should be able to conduct our trade freely, uninhibited by the federal government. We must stand up for our rights to self-govern and not be dictated to by Washington.

Lt. O’Brien, Missouri Militia – I disagree with slavery, but I will not walk away from my family. I will fight to protect them.

Reader Question #3 – Why are you fighting?

Lt. Mandrick, U. S. Army – Many of us in the 30^th Missouri Volunteer Infantry are Irish and German immigrants. We know how bad the situation was against us at home. This country has been good to us and we want to defend her.

Capt. Jackson and Lt. O’Brien, Missouri Militia – We are fighting because Lincoln has broken the Constitution. He has not honored the rights guaranteed the people by the Constitution. The federal government has usurped the states’ rights that were intended by the founders.

Not only that, but many of the soldiers fighting against us are mercenaries. The U.S. Army meets the ships of immigrants at the docks and offers them $12 and a gun if they will take up arms against us. We are supposed to be brothers, but they are arming foreigners to march into our land. In Missouri, they’ve conscripted every man between 17 and 45 and forced them to aid the Union. They allow for no neutrality. We are forced to fight and actions such as these should make it clear why we must fight against the Federal Government.

In Conclusion:

I can’t exaggerate how impressed I was with the historians I spoke with. This is their passion and they are serious about preserving history. They roughed a very cold, wet and MUDDY weekend to educate and entertain us and no matter which camp I visited, Union or Confederate, I met people who cared deeply for the Constitution and their country.

I’m grateful.

If you’ve read Love in the Balance then you already know that the Caldwell County Courthouse figures large in many scenes. And how could it not? It’s gorgeous!

Two years ago my friend Shanna and I visited Caldwell County for research in preparation for The Ladies of Caldwell County Series. I drove and she took these amazing pictures.

Lockhart is full of beautiful architecture like the courthouse, the library and this…the old Jail.

Now, Molly didn’t go visit her friend in this jail.  The Caldwell County jail in 1880 looked like this…

And notice I didn’t say which friend she was visiting there. No spoilers.

Now you might be wondering about the little town of Prairie Lea. Yes, it is still there and just as quaint as you’d imagine. Discovering how the town was laid out 130 years ago was very simple. The streets are named Church Street, Market Street and School Street. I asked some locals if they knew where an old sawmill existed – the Lovelaces were inspired by the very prosperous Mooney family of Prairie Lea. They’d never heard of the Mooney’s old sawmill. But then I found this…

Yep. There’s a “Mill Street” and it leads right to the banks of the San Marcos River. By the way, I’d never seen street signs like this before. Newer ones were up, too, but a few intersections still had these. Are they common where you live?

We didn’t want to trespass our way to the river to look for the Mooney’s…I mean the Lovelace’s….sawmill, but we did find one nearby in Luling.

Now known as Zedler’s Mill this mill was owned by Merriweather family in 1880 and is contemporary to the story. The City of Luling is doing a fantastic job preserving this landmark and it helped me greatly to understand how a mill works, all the various tasks that could be performed with a waterwheel and how many separate buildings were required. A large mill was a small town by itself.

Unfortunately the waterwheel is not in place yet, but can’t you picture Bailey here, fishing by the dam?

Don’t you love to visit communities that treasure their heritage?

So that’s Molly’s Caldwell County for ya. Of course now Lockhart offers all the modern conveniences you could imagine…and the best Bar-B-Q in the world (just ask them). So if you’re ever in Austin, it’s worth the drive out to Lockhart and Luling to see these rich, historical sites.

And tell ‘em Molly sent you.

Have you entered the Love in the Balance Kindle Fire giveaway? If not you are running out of time! Not only are we giving away a Kindle Fire, but also books, gift certificates and some lovely prizes…I think I heard someone mention Moleskin journals.  I don’t know how many moles it takes to cover a journal, but anyway…

Go to the link below to enter…and I’d love to chat with you this Thursday night on Facebook!

Enter the Love in the Balance Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Thank you all for coming to our Book Banter party! You had some great questions and they are still up on the Bethany House Facebook Page if you missed them the first time.

And please mark your calendars for April 4th! That’s another big bash where we’ll announce the winner of the KINDLE FIRE among other things. Click on the link on the left-hand side for more info.

So, let’s announce our lucky winners of copies of Love in the Balance!

They are:

Candice Brooks Patterson

Sara Ella

Heather Louise Navarro

April Moser

Joelle Strandquist

Michelle Corning

**If you are a winner, please email Noelle your mailing address. Her email is noelle.buss@bethanyhouse.com.

Thanks again for visiting and please tell your friends about Love in the Balance!

Love,

Regina

Come on over to these blogs where I’m guest blogging:

March 25th – Suzanne Woods Fisher – Author Spotlight

March 21st – Relz Reviewz - Molly & Bailey: Character Spotlight

March 13th – Tag(g)lines - Quirky Q & A

March 8th – Seekerville - “Courage”

March 6th – Crafty Booksheep - Interview

What made my second launch party even better than the first? For one thing, I didn’t worry about all the strange stuff that bothered me a year ago. You know…calling myself an author, having people actually (gasp!) read what I’d written. Although I still have flashes of panic, most of the weirdness has worn off.

Instead I could focus on getting together door prizes….

And desserts. Okay, the tearoom provided them, but you’d be surprised how much I worried that there wouldn’t be enough. (Right, Jennifer?) We had plenty.

Old friends brought new fans.

Ladies had an excuse to get together and visit on a winter Saturday.

And we signed books..

And after it was all over I realized that this was the only picture I looked up for. This is my friend Kim. She’s awesome, is always trying to get me to eat better and has put together a killer workout for me…AND she goes to every book signing in central Oklahoma. Plus she did not ask me to sign her bicep with a Sharpie. She wouldn’t do that. No, never.

While I wish I’d thought to get better pictures with friends and family, we were all having too much fun to stop and worry about it.

Thank you for celebrating with me. You are such a blessing!

It’s here! It’s here!

After a year of writing and a year of editing, Love in the Balance is finally hitting the bookshelves (and mailboxes). Launch season is always busy, so this time around instead of competing with my guest posts by posting here as well, I’m going to link to the other fine blogs I’m visiting. Maybe you’ll find some new websites to bookmark.

And before I get started I want to invite you to the Love in the Balance Launch Party in Mustang, Oklahoma. It’s on Saturday, February 23, from 3:30 to 5:30 at LD’s Gourmet Cafe, 234 N. Mustang Rd. We’ll have door prizes, yummy desserts and of course autographed books. I’d love to meet you there.

Guest Blog Posts:

2/18/13 – Christian Mom Thoughts (Why Fiction is Important in the Development of Kids’ Faith)

As you might know, my publisher Bethany House is famous for their historical romances. They pioneered Christian historical romance (Janette Oke, anyone?) and have led the genre ever since.

What they are not famous for are their novella collections. Bethany House hasn’t had a novella collection for decades.

Until now….

So if Bethany House were going to publish a novella collection what would the genre be? Almost guaranteed it’d be historical romance. What setting? What tone? Hmm…Western settings are popular. Humor is always good.

Naturally they’d want an author who has a huge following and many books already penned. One who writes funny cowboy stories like -

and

And they’d want another author with years of experience under her belt and a faithful following. One who’s written numerous novellas and over 25 books like -

and

Two down, two to go.

Now they might look to their newer authors. Of course they’d want one who is racking up awards like skeeball tickets. One with adoring readers who beg her to write more than one book a year. An author who produces great books like -

 and

Their work is almost done. They have a novella team of Mary Connealy, Carol Cox and Karen Witemeyer. One spot left to fill.

Here they evaluate the team they’ve put together. Western writers? – yes. Strong romantic elements? – check. Humor? – absolutely. Who would be their fourth writer to meet these criteria? Maybe someone newer? Someone who’s just getting her writing career started with books like -

and

Can you hear me squealing? Is your screen bouncing from me jumping up and down?

Keeping quiet this long has taxed my self-control, but it’s so worth it.

But the wait isn’t over. Bethany House’s first Novella Collection since the Reagan years will come out in January 2014. History in the making. And you’re the first to know.

Ummm, more books? Of course! But that’s tricky. Book lovers can be a tad snobbish when it comes to receiving books. They tend to have opinions regarding what they read and if you choose poorly…well, you know the look.

So here’s a few suggestions on gifts for your literary friends and maybe something you’d like to pick up for yourself. (If the links are working correctly you should be able to click on the photo to visit the site.)

It might be counterproductive to give a Shakespearean Insult Mug to your favorite curmudgeon, but perhaps they won’t use the bard’s wit against you.

www.bookloversgifts.net – $12.95

And if they need help organizing all those shelves and have a sense of humor these book ends might be appreciated.

www.bookloversgifts.net – $16.00

 

For those willing to loan their books, an embosser would ensure the books are returned.

www.williams-sonoma.com – $39.95

 

If she likes to tote her books with her, this bag’s a must:

www.theliterarygiftcompany.com

 

Or for a less pretentious gift -

www.etsy.com – $18.00

 

And something I’d love to have for my office…

www.amazon.com – $8.99

 

I hope this helps. Feel free to share links to your favorite bookish gifts and send some business to your favorite retailers.

Merry Christmas!