Friday, September 26, 2014

Love At First Sight

Love at first sight
is easy to understand.
It's when two people have been
looking at each other for years
that it becomes a miracle.
     ----Unknown

I love this saying.  I remember finding the plaque with this saying on it at a craft fair one year and decided to give it to my folks who had been married over fifty years. 

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I remember the day I met my husband. We clicked. Something about him drew me in. We talked all evening and just had a great time.  By the way it was a blind date.  So, some blind dates aren't all bad.

We've been together twenty-seven years.  Most have been pretty good. Notice I didn't say perfect (lol) but we've had a good life together.  And yes, we've both changed over the years. Gotten older.  Hair has turned greyer. We don't have quite the get up and go we used to have, but it's not all bad. We're comfortable together.  Yes, comfortable.

I know people who hate the idea of getting comfortable but I think it's a good thing. We know what each other likes. I even laugh sometimes because it seems we can read each other's mind.  Scary? Sometimes.

Yes, I believe in love at first sight. There's that excitement, that passion, that wonder about what will happen next.  It makes the world go round.  But, after being together for a lot of year, I enjoy the comfortable too.

What about you?

In my newest story, A Tug At My Heart, Catherine and Zed experience the first stirrings of being drawn together even though they are both not in a place to start a new relationship. As they run into each other and spend time together, that stirring in the loins and the beating of their heart definitely pulls them.  Do you think they will survive the test of time?

I'd love to hear your comments.

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey
www.KRBailey.com

Monday, September 22, 2014

What Gift Would You Prefer?

In 1892, what kind of a gift would you like?

You're a widow with a baby and have just survived a long, cold winter in a small cabin in the Rocky Mountains of Northern Utah. What type of special gift would brighten your spirits?

Fabric for a new dress -- of course.

Fresh beef or venison -- always a welcome gift to restock your larder.

A visit from a friend or perhaps someone to help chop some badly needed firewood.

Any of these things would be greatly appreciated, but what about an organette?

Never heard of them? Neither had I until watching a television show one night that got me wondering about them.

Organettes are a small hand-cranked reed organ, usually designed for tabletop use.  Popular from the 1870s through the early 1900s, hundreds of models were manufactured, playing thousands of tunes.  Hymns, popular music, classical - they were all available as you turn the crank. (info from The Organette Music Repository at www.organettes.com)



In My story, A Tug At My Heart, Zed brings Catherine a presents of an organette.



Being so far away from civilization,
this would be like giving her a radio, something to bring music into her home and she is thrilled to receive it.

The pictures here show you a few types of organettes.

Hopefully when you read that chapter, you'll have an idea what an organette is and why she is so excited to receive one.





Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey
www.KRBailey.com

Monday, September 15, 2014

Book Review


I enjoyed this story. Hidden Flaw by Doree Depew is an easy read novella. The author developed the heroine's feelings of insecurity after losing a limb in the military really well.  What I loved was the way the hero saw past her handicap. It was a story of hope and love. I'd highly recommend it.

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey
http://www.KRBailey.com


Thursday, September 11, 2014

It's Release Day!

My story, A Tug At My Heart, released today.  It's available in ebook format exclusively on Amazon.com.



In 1892 only a strong woman can survive alone after her husband’s death.  Catherine McHenry is determined to do just that, and amidst the torrential rain and storms, threats of wild animals, and hard work, she finds a way to deliver her baby and survive the long winter.  Determined to raise her child and keep the memory of her husband alive, she’s not prepared for the turbulent feelings she has whenever Zed Logan is around.

Zed Logan is the foreman of the Sundown Mine and Ore Company and hopes one day to be the boss.  Zed struggles to keep the La Plata mine operating efficiently, keeping miners working, and producing the ore his boss is expecting. He’s also a man of honor who is betrothed to the boss’s daughter, but whenever he thinks about the beautiful grieving widow, something about her tugs at his heart.

Just when Zed feels like he’s on the path to gain everything he planned for, his life spirals out of control and he must face some difficult decisions. But that’s the easy part as life throws several obstacles his way and right into Catherine’s world.

She now holds his life and his fate in her hands.
The print book should be available shortly.

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey
http://www.KRBailey.com

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

What Inspires A Book Location?

Whenever I read someone's book, I find myself wanting to be in the same places, experience the views, and see what the characters are seeing.  Don't you?

This weekend I took some pictures of the area that inspired my new western historical, A Tug At My Heart.  I thought I'd share some of them with you.


 Can you imagine riding in a buckboard down this dirt road where the trees are tall and the underbrush is thick?  This would be one of the roads I imagined Catherine (the heroine in A Tug At My Heart) travels taking baked goods and mending to the miners in La Plata.  It's a gorgeous area, but at night, it gets really dark unless there is a full moon.  Tree bats fly when the sun goes down. We've seen mountain lions and heard of bear sightings in the area so she definitely would have reason to be nervous of the night sounds in the dark night.




This late in the fall, most of the pretty wildflowers have dried up, but we were able to capture pictures of the Indian Paintbrush that dots the hillside. The pretty orange flowers peek through the thick foliage and add lovely color to the landscape.



 
Everywhere you can see the small purple daisy-like flowers I've been told is chamomile.  I talk about chamomile in my story. It's often used for tea.
 

 Here and there are small yellow flowers. I don't know their name, but they grow alongside the dirt trails and road.

In my story, A Tug At My Heart, Catherine and Zed share a picnic on the hillside where these flowers dot the view alongside the Indian Paintbrush. Even in the fall when most of the grasses are drying out, the flowers make it a lovely place to relax and have a picnic.


Tall sunflowers bloom at the bottom of what we call Rocky Ridge.
                    
Years ago, that ridge was called Rattlesnake Pass.  Even today, we see a lot of rattlesnakes going over that pass. The above picture is what Rocky Ridge looks like today.
 
 
I hope this gives you a bit of an insight into the location of my book, A Tug At My Heart.  It's my first western historical romance, and I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

A Tug At My Heart should be available shortly.

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey
http://www.KRBailey.com