First Post by Madeline McCandless for WeWriWa. March 13, 2016

Good morning, Weekend Writing Warriors and a giant THANK YOU to Sara Barnard for hosting me on her blog today so I could share a bit of my first novel with you while I work on constructing my own blog! 

My name is Madeline McCandless and SILVER SKY AT DAWN is my debut novel. I hope you enjoy these first ten lines. Any and all comments are welcome! Thank you!           

Fiery anger coursed through my veins, sending a tremble into my fingers until it engulfed both my hands. Spilling the glass of water on my husband’s phone was an accident. The text message secrets the dying phone revealed to me, as screens and apps flashed and closed, proved that my gut instinct had been right all along.

I fought the urge to snatch up the soggy phone and bean him with it. To beat his dimpled face until he hurt as bad on the outside as I did on the inside. Tears of betrayal pricked my eyes as I glanced wildly about our room, anywhere but at the man I’d promised to love in sickness and in health. The realization of his arm across my middle sent a slimy shudder across my skin. How dare you touch me. I flung it off, taking no care to be gentle.

           

“Huh,” he snorted, “Wha…?”

Thank you for reading. To get back to the Weekend Writing Warriors, click here! 

Switching it up today -- WEWRIWA 8/23/15 - The Orphanage

Hey everyone,

I thought we would switch things up today at this blog in honor of one of my new releases, The Journey Home, that finishes out my 4 book Indian Em'ly saga, which is at this very moment becoming an audio book, like all the rest of mine.

Journey with me back to the 1890's . . . where two Apache children have been kidnapped by the Army. Third in the series.

White as the snow that Pale Face Joe had pointed out on the tips of the Truchas Peaks, the walls surrounding Santa Fe were thick and blinding.

            “Where is Joe, Knocks Down?” Cactus’s arm hung in the sling I’d made her from one of Joe’s old shirts. The old pale face had done his best to make the trip to Santa Fe as enjoyable as he could. I had even smiled once or twice, mostly because Tom was never around. I had also quit dreaming about killing him, so I slept better at night.

            “They sent him to something called a Sanitarium this morning,” I answered. “His cough was too bad. He promised he would come for us when he was able.” Strange as it felt, I couldn’t deny that I was looking forward to seeing the old man again because unlike the others on the Army train, Joe cared for us and he wasn’t afraid to show it.

To get the first two books in the series in this awesome 5 book set,all for just 99 cents, click here.

To get your copy of THE ORPHANAGE, click here. 

Back to the weekend writing warriors

The Saga of Indian Em'ly: The Journey Home is here! And just .99 cents!

The fourth and final installment of the Indian Em'ly Saga is here . . . and just .99 cents! This is by far my favorite of the series, and I hope it will be yours too. Get yours here! 

BLURB

Twelve-year-old Knocks Down and his little sister, Cactus Flower, manage to escape the evil orphanage along with a new pale face friend, Kid McCoy. But once they escape, they are set upon by a gang of murdering claim jumpers who steal Cactus and leave Knocks Down for dead. 

Determined to find his little sister, Knocks Down gets to the nearest town where they’ve taken her, only to discover she has been sold as a slave! With Kid McCoy’s help, Knocks Down goes after her. Escaping once more, they encounter an old nemesis, a soldier from the nearby fort that was responsible for their mother’s death—and he’s set on seeing Knocks Down and Cactus Flower dead, as well. 

How can a boy defeat a battle-hardened soldier? Just when Knocks Down is about to give up, the biggest surprise of all changes everything on THE JOURNEY HOME…

EXCERPT

    The day passed quickly and in relative silence until Kid realized something. “Say Chief, where is it we’re headed, anyway?”
    I scanned the foreign horizon, an odd feeling suddenly gripping my backbone. “South,” I whispered, “back home, to the land of the Comanche.” Without thinking, I dropped to a crouch and let every sound fade away. Chirping birds, whistling wind, even the breath of Cactus and Kid. Every sound disappeared except the one that had pricked my ear and shot the rash of tingles in the first place. 
    “Something has happened nearby.” 
    Cactus slipped her hand into mine. “I hear it, too. Let’s go.”
    Kid scratched his head. “What’d I miss? I don’t hear nothin’.”

    By the time we arrived at what was left of the pale face camp, Kid heard it too. The dog’s whimpering had grown louder with each step, and more mournful. There hadn’t been but six people in camp, two of them children, and no survivors. The dog, a hulking black beast with pointed ears, low hips and a long tail, lay by the body of the girl. Whining, he licked her face and nuzzled her hands, as if trying to wake her from a deep sleep.

WeWriWa - 8/15/15 - A Heart on Hold - The War's A-Comin'.

Welcome back to this week's ten-sentence snippet from A HEART ON HOLD. Click here if you would like to be a part of my blog tour for my forthcoming Amish Western, Old Amarillo, September 4-11, courtesy of Loving the Book blog tours. I would be honored to be hosted by my WeWriWa friends! Find my launch party on the 3rd of September here!

Without further ado, let's see what's in store for Charlotte and Sanderson. 

“Of course we will. This war business has been too long in coming for anyone to put it off any longer, once the wrong people get their feelings hurt, they start trying to prove how right they are and before you know it, there’s a war going on.”

Charlotte considered his words. “What’ll happen?”

He held a branch back so Achilles could walk into the clearing where her house stood. “Well, a war’s a war. None of us are promised tomorrow. You know that as well as I.”

   Charlotte’s palms were sweaty against the saddle horn as unpleasant thoughts churned in her mind. He was right, her mother and baby sister hadn’t been promised any tomorrows. It was just luck that the sickness hadn’t wiped out the whole lot of Adamslands altogether. 

Thank you for popping by. Follow this link to get back to the other contributors for the weekly Weekend Writing Warriors blog hop where authors in all phases of publication post eight to ten sentences of the work of their choice and add their link so that readers may enjoy their work. Comments from others are what make this something we all look forward to each week, so feel free to let those fingers fly and tell how you feel about this and all of our snippets! 

Would you like an advance review copy of OLD AMARILLO (Amish Journeys #1?)

Would you like a FREE advance copy of Old Amarillo (Amish Journeys #1) in exchange for a review? Sign up here to be a part of my blog tour through Loving the Book book blog tours!

Sara Barnard's OLD AMARILLO Book Blog Tour for AMISH JOURNEYS #1

How about coming to hang out at the release party on September 3, for prizes and trivia and stuff? 

OLD AMARILLO Release Day Party!!

A Heart on Hold - An Everlasting Heart #1

Welcome back to A Heart on Hold, my debut novel, as we fall in love with Sanderson and Charlotte snippet by snippet in pre-Civil War Arkansas.

Just having snapped out of their dreamy, nostalgic time spent in the meadow, let's see what we have in store for these two next.

“Do you think we’ll really see a war, Sanderson?” Charlotte mused as she placed her bare foot in Sanderson’s proffered hands. He had laced his fingers together and crouched to hold them at her level.

Not wanting to reject him, Charlotte had obliged and used his hands as a step. Holding onto Achilles’ longish silver mane, she hoisted herself into place atop his wide back. She shuddered as Sanderson’s gaze remained steadfast on her bare leg. She curled her toes toward Achilles’ sides and readjusted her seat.

“Hmm,” Sanderson answered, his voice dreamy, “what?”

“What are your thoughts on a war?” Achilles’ hooves crunched through the twigs and leaf litter leftover from winter. 

What do you think, will a war come and shatter their tender world? Reclusive writers thrive on your comments, so give freely <3 Follow this link to enjoy the rest of the Weekend Writing Warrior bloghop.  

8/2/15 - Charlotte and Sanderson -- What does the future hold?

Welcome back! Let's continue right on with the romance in the meadow, shall we?

“I’m a fool for not doing this before.” His calloused hand stroked her cheek. The intense glimmer in his eyes reminded her of embers that smoldered deep within the charred heart of firewood, begging for a bit of tinder so they it might erupt into a full-blown flame. A foreign reaction gripped her insides, leaving knots where its fingers touched, causing her to feel queasy. And strangely vulnerable.

“I love you, Charlotte. You and only you.”

Without giving her time to respond, he hopped deftly to his feet, leaving her dizzy in his intoxicating wake. “It’s dark. Let’s get you home before George starts to worry.” 

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