It is less than a week to when Grass Valley Brides releases on September 14! I can hardly wait for you to read these three sweet historical romances, all set in Grass Valley, Oregon.
Grass Valley is an actual town that was established back in 1878 by a doctor. Grass was said to have grown as tall as a man’s head before farmers came in and plowed it up to make way for wheat fields.
I was very fortunate to find a booklet full of historical recollections from pioneers, and a few old maps, including one that showed the streets and businesses of town around the turn of the twentieth century. That information helped shaped my fictional version of Grass Valley.
One of the most prominent sights in Grass Valley today is the old Methodist Church. No one is exactly sure what year it was built or when use discontinued, but I loved envisioning how it must have looked when it was new, especially with all those gorgeous cathedral windows.
The church is an important part of a few scenes in Grass Valley Brides. In fact, I asked the cover designer to make the church part of the cover because it’s such an iconic part of Grass Valley.
Here’s the scene from the first time Daisy sees the church:
~*~
“Let’s go.” Dane eyed her for a moment before he grabbed her coat and held it open.
Daisy slipped her arms in the sleeves and felt a little shiver of delight when Dane’s fingers brushed across the exposed skin of her neck.
He stepped back then marched to the front door. “I don’t want to be late.”
Daisy accepted the hand he offered as she climbed onto the high wagon seat next to Ruth. The ride into town didn’t take long, and the air wasn’t quite as nippy as it had been the day he hauled her out to the farm. Daisy looked around with interest as they turned onto the main street in town and headed south. Dane guided the horses to the right. A beautiful little church with gorgeous stained glass windows stood in welcome on a slight hill.
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Daisy said as Dane stopped the wagon. He helped Ruth and then her to the ground.
“The construction on the building finished in October,” Ruth said, taking Daisy’s hand in hers and pulling her toward the door. “Wait until you see inside.”
They’d just started up the steps when the bell in the steeple began to peal.
“Right on time,” Dane said as he pulled open the door and waited for Daisy and his mother to walk inside.
Daisy didn’t know when she’d seen a prettier sight than the sunlight streaming in the dozen cathedral windows and the one round window located high on the wall behind the pulpit. Refracted shards of colored light danced across the gleaming floors as well as the wood-lined walls and domed ceiling.
Ruth led the way to a pew three rows back on the right side of the church. Daisy took a seat next to her then scooted over when Dane sat beside her. The scent of him—soap and something she could only describe as all man—threatened to leave her senses reeling, so she did her best to block it out and keep her attention on her reason for being in the church. Ruth had explained on the way into town that Grass Valley did not yet have a pastor for the church. A circuit-riding preacher passed through every few months, but in the meantime, members of the congregation took turns leading the Sunday service.
An older man rose from his seat on a front pew and lumbered around behind the pulpit. “Howdy, folks, and good morning. Let’s start this fine Sunday by singing ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee.’”
~*~
I hope you’ll enjoy Grass Valley Brides and the other stories in the brand-new Regional Romance Series I’ve been working on with Kari Trumbo, Kit Morgan and Peggy L. Henderson.
We are each writing three stories and bundling them together in one book. So if you buy all four books, you are actually getting twelve brand-new romances! How awesome is that?
You can find all four books (twelve stories) available for $2.99 on pre-order on Amazon.
