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! 

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! 

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.  

WeWriWa - July 26, 2015 - Charlotte and Sanderson - A Heart on Hold

Welcome back to where we are working our way through Chapter One of A Heart on Hold, book one in the Everlasting Heart series. Last week, we left off with Sanderson and Charlotte reminiscing about the beginnings of their schoolyard romance and Sanderson had covered Charlotte's hand with his, taking her breath.

Charlotte focused on controlling her breathing. What is it about this man that makes my senses take leave and commence to operate on their own accord? “I sat under that tree a thousand times during your absence,” she whispered, careful not to move her fingers and shatter the tender moment. Please say that you didn’t share any experiences like this with any of those New York floozies. 

With his free hand, he gently guided her chin upward so that their eyes met. She felt every muscle in her body go flaccid as she waited for what would happen next. 

“Thank you for waiting for me.” His breath was warm on her face in contrast to the mountain chill that had begun to brush her cheeks. 

Thank you for stopping by to fall in love with Charlotte and Sanderson from the very beginning. 

To get back to the WeWriWa bloghop featuring other amazing authors, click here!

Be sure to stop by Prairie Rose Publications Fandango and celebrate Christmas in July where all 26 featured books are just .99 or 1.99 if it is a duet. Register for the Fandango here and be sure to look for my contribution - The Bank Robber's Lament! 

WeWriWa - A Heart on Hold (An Everlasting Heart #1) - Charlotte and Sanderson

Welcome back to Charlotte and Sanderson's meadow as we continue through chapter one of A Heart on Hold. Last week, we learned that Charlotte's frog could beat Sanderson's in a long-jumping contest, at least back in their school days.

Sanderson flung his hands up as though he’d just been reminded as to the location of buried treasure. “Of course that’s the best part!” he exclaimed loudly. The sudden booming of his voice quieted the birds that had only begun their nightly song. “How could I have forgotten?” Then he leaned in close. 

He moved so quickly and so precisely that Charlotte's breath caught in her throat at the prospect of what he was about to do -- kiss her? She felt color rush to her cheeks again as his soft lips brushed her ear. “The best part was that I never had to suffer through another day without you, after that.” His fingers came to rest on hers. “And I made it official by carving our initials in the old oak tree after school.”

Pop back over to the awesome wewriwa gang here!

Did you know that A Heart on Hold is being looked at for the big screen? 

Get your series here! 

War. Devotion. Deceit. Death. How long can a heart hold on before it breaks? Most women would carry on with their lives after being thrust into widowhood, but not Charlotte Adamsland. Upon learning that her husband, Captain Sanderson Redding, was killed in a botched escape from a Confederate prison in Illinois, she clings to his promise to return to her no matter what, and quickly heads north through a war-ravaged country with only her faith in God and her beloved horse to bring her beloved Sanderson home – one way or another.

The War is over, Sanderson is home, and life is good … until the Army comes knocking. They have charged Sanderson with the murder and sentenced him to “hang by the neck until dead” – unless he bring to justice the notorious outlaw William Quantrill. With Sanderson gone, Charlotte must endure a hard pregnancy and battle a rash of hydrophobia that threatens the countryside –Sanderson included.

 Gold. Massacres. Indians. Soldiers. Can Charlotte survive life on the trail or will the wildness of the west tear her family apart? 

Charlotte leaves behind her life in Arkansas to journey west with Sanderson, the man she loves and whose child she is carrying. However wild animals, natural disasters, and a heavy Indian presence test not only Sanderson and Charlotte's strength and endurance, but their faith in each other as well. Meanwhile, Minerva packs up the little rock cottage to journey west in the company of infant Jay Jay and Cotton just as peace Sanderson is trying to bridge between the Army and the Snake River Indians begins to fall apart. From Quanah Parker to Wyatt Earp, Charlotte and Sanderson rub shoulders with some of the west's most notable characters while struggling to remember what truly makes a home ... is love. 

 When all of their dreams come true, will Sanderson and Charlotte still have what started it all – their everlasting love? 
In this final installment of the Everlasting Heart series, Sanderson and Charlotte must make a home for themselves in the Army town of Fort Bidwell, California. When the job as an Indian agent begs him to round up the peaceful area Indians for execution, Sanderson again runs afoul of the government. In answer to the broken promises of the Army, Sanderson and Jerry turn to a well-paying job with the railroad. However, they are warned to turn a blind eye to the treatment of their Chinese workers ... or else. But can money buy this formerly-happy Arkansas family the happiness they are so desperately searching for? Meanwhile as Charlotte stands up for Cotton against the town bullies, she accidentally falls into favor with Johnny Tan, the handsome young outlaw who slowly transforms into both Sanderson’s nemesis and his saving grace. In a world where women are expected to be silent, can Charlotte be a parent Cotton, a wife to Sanderson who seems to have fallen more in love with money than with her, and friend to Minerva, who seems to be drifting farther and farther away? 

*A Heart Forever Wild is in the running for the 2015 Romance Novel Excellence Award!*

Surprise! Cover reveal time! Here is my forthcoming release, Old Amarillo (Amish Journeys #1) from 5 Prince Publishing. September 3. <3

WeWriWa - A Heart on Hold - Charlotte and Sanderson- July 5, 2015

Welcome back to this week's eight to ten sentence snippet where we are enjoying the opening chapter of my debut novel, A Heart on Hold. We are in the meadow with Charlotte and Sanderson, getting to know our hero and heroine a bit. 

So without further ado . . . 

“If they were really smart, those in charge would find a way to overcome their differences without so much waste and war!” Charlotte swiped absentmindedly at the perspiration that had beaded in the hollow of her throat. “What do you think, Sanderson?” she demanded. 

“Well, my dear, if I thought hard enough, I think that I would think …” His voice was edged in the gentle jocularity that was reserved solely for teasing her. 

Charlotte shook her head in defeat and turned so that Sanderson couldn’t see the smile that had crept back onto her lips. When he got into a witty mood, it would have proven easier to shear a pig than have a serious conversation with him. 

“Think, think, think,” Sanderson tapped his finger to his chin lightly. “I definitely think my schoolyard bullfrog, BobBob, could have beat Betsy in that frog-jumping contest, had I not fed him that extra cricket for breakfast.” Feigning disinterest, he pointedly pretended to take in the sunset before cutting his eyes over to Charlotte. 

Thank you for stopping by! Would you like to go back to sample more delectable tidbits from other Weekend Writing Warriors? Go here. 

Go here if you like to purchase your copy of A Heart on Hold or of the entire four book Everlasting Heart series box set. 

Check out my website or follow me on Twitter @TheSaraBarnard :-) 

Hello from our new Home-uh!

I have missed the last three weeks of eight-sentence posts and I would like to answer a few of the questions I received via email, right here on my blog! 

A sweeping storm coming in from the north

First of all, thank you so much for getting in touch and making me feel missed and loved. <3 We were in the process of moving from our home in the deep recesses of west Texas back to our favorite part of friendly, green, and historic Oklahoma. Thus the reason for my cheeky title -- Oklahoma, our new home-uh . . . get it? :-) 

Secondly, we have been here about three weeks and we just were hooked up to internet today. How we managed working just off our phones is a minor miracle, but we survived! It is good to be back online. 

Here are a few of the things that have changed in the three weeks since I saw you last . . . 

We gained some pets, 17 exactly. All Easter Egger hens, arrived to us two days old. Each one has a name, courtesy of my daughter, who will be raising them. I may hold a contest later to see who can guess them with some creative hints. Right now, they live in a brooder box that Dear Hubby built just for them (we call it Chicken Palace) between the laundry room and the hallway. (The garage was too hot!)

Soon, these two cuties will be joining us, too!

 


 Banana to the left and Carrot to the right. They'll be here in early July to join the brood!


Lastly, eight sentence snippets start again Sunday :-) 

Thank you again for all of your support!!