*** Congrats to Jamie S – you are the winner of Linda’s book!***
My friend Linda Broday joins us today to talk about Gentleman’s Clubs and her new book release. Let’s give her a warm welcome!
For centuries men have always had places to gather that excluded women but the British made them extremely popular during the 1800s when they were reserved for the upper class.
On the American frontier, saloons fit the bill for most, but some of the higher class wanted more private, and more luxurious accommodations.
Reasons For Them:
- Escape From Their Wives
- Drink in Private
- Gamble
- Share Information about cattle, weather, prices, etc.
- A Place to Escape Loneliness
- A Place to Socialize
The Somerset Club in Boston and The Yale Club in New York are two of the oldest and most well-known in the United States.
But there was The Cheyenne Club in Cheyenne, Wyoming in the 1880s that provided a benchmark for elite and prestigious men’s clubs. It was a huge mansion for wealthy businessmen, politicians and prominent cattlemen.
The Cheyenne Club had private rooms for dining, smoking and reading where newspapers from across the United States were served up in addition to the latest copies of The Drover’s Journal.
It also provided six private sleeping rooms. I suppose as a refuge when men were having spats with their wives.
There were all kinds of men’s clubs. One of my friends told me about The Society for the Protection and Preservation of Male Independence in the 1800s. Too funny. Poor men to feel so threatened!
In TEXAS MAIL ORDER BRIDE that just released, Cooper Thorne along with his blood brothers Rand Sinclair and Brett Liberty form the Battle Creek Bachelors’ Club as a statement to give women notice that they have no intention of tying the knot. Ever.
Each of the blood brothers have their own reasons for evading matrimony. Cooper Thorne’s is the past horror of watching his father beat his mother to death when he was only seven years old. He knows his father’s killer blood runs in his veins and he vows to end the cycle of violence with him.
So when Delta Dandridge steps off the stagecoach with claims that he sent for her, he’s fit to be tied and promptly sets her straight. Only, she refuses to leave and that makes Cooper mad enough to spit. He finds himself running into her at every turn, reminding him of everything he’s trying to forget.
Then she organizes the women and forms the Women of Vision Club. He watches as she and her petticoat army transform the dying little town, bring in a school teacher and set up a seed library where people can get free seeds for their gardens.
Admiration forms in spite of everything and Cooper realizes that the only place he wants to be is in her arms. But a villain appears from his past to threaten everyone and everything he holds dear. Will he lose the woman who brought meaning to his life?
This story is about hope and love and finding a way to trust again.
Texas Mail Order Bride is on sale online and in bookstores everywhere in your favorite format. Here are a couple of links:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/1492602817
Barnes and Noble: http://goo.gl/2lLWmO
Check out the book trailer:
Have you ever been a member of a club or maybe wanted to be?
To celebrate the release, Linda is giving away a copy (winner’s choice of format) of Texas Mail Order Bride to one person who leaves a comment!
About Linda:
I reside in the Texas Panhandle and I’m a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. I published my first book in 2002. I love scouring history books and the internet for little known details to add to my stories and I’ve been accused, quite unjustly I might add, of making myself a nuisance at museums and libraries. Humble roots and the love of family have become focal points of each book I write.
