introduce Jacqui Nelson. She’s a very good friend, a RWA conference roomie and
a very talented writer. Jacqui has finalled in and won a huge number of
contests including RWA’s prestigious and highly coveted Golden Heart. She’s one
of today’s writer’s whose dream is to be traditionally published and – no doubt
– she will be one day. In the meantime, I know there are many readers who will
love her self-published work.
Thank you, Mimi, for inviting me to be your guest today and
for hosting me and my anthology partners yesterday as well. When I moved to
Victoria in the spring of 2009, it was truly my good fortune to meet you and
then (just a few short months later) be your RWA conference roommate in
Washington, DC. What a blast I had at my first national conference with you by
my side!
partners and I discussed what had inspired our anthology. Today, I’d like to
share what inspired the next step—writing my individual novella, Adella’s
Enemy.
to another time and place. So what adventure could I craft around a cutthroat
railroad race set in 1870 Kansas?
construction race between the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad (aka the
Katy) and its rival, the Border Tier Railroad.
TV series which follows the making of America’s Transcontinental Railroad.
possible characters as a group, a railroad foreman was mentioned. Many of the
men working on the Katy Railroad were Irish, so that was the next logical
attribute for my hero. And why not make my Irish foreman a relative newcomer to
America, a man who hasn’t lost his delicious Irish accent? But what else?
country while dealing with a difficult past from his homeland. Ireland’s Great
Famine sprang to mind. Approximately 1 million people died during this famine.
Anyone who did survived would’ve known someone who died, someone they might
have wished they’d been able to save.
watch. He has a railroad to protect and men to keep employed. And if the Katy
doesn’t reach the Indian Territory border before its rival, then the Katy loses
the race, and the men lose their jobs. Even worse, they might lose their lives
as the desire for rivals to best each other heats up. If any of that happened,
my hero would feel he’d failed those who depended on him. Again.
tortured Irish foreman?
anthology partners and I tossed around several ideas: schoolmarm, suffragette,
shop keeper. To me, none of the these said, “High adventure.” Then another word came to mind: spy. A female
spy sent to provoke unrest and slow down my Irish foreman’s railroad so the
rival railroad could win.
our anthology, the American Civil War had ended only 5 years earlier. Many men
working on the railroads were veterans of that war. Could my heroine have a
connection to the war as well? Had she been a spy in the war and lost someone
dear to her? I decided my heroine was on her own private mission against the
man responsible for her twin brother’s death, a man connected to the Katy
Railroad.
talents and a ton of grit. But she just might meet her match in one determined
Irish foreman who is as highly invested in keeping the Katy rolling forward, as
she is in halting it.
and she went as still as Cormac. Blast! She’d forgotten about the telegram! She
needed Cormac to stay in her hotel room, but she couldn’t let him see the
telegram.
time.
devoured the gap between them. Then his mouth claimed hers in a hot, heady
possession.
back. She did so with abandon. Her skin tingled, and her blood raced as if her
body had woken from years of sleepwalking. She didn’t want the feeling to stop.
She wrapped her arms around Cormac’s neck and pulled him closer.
murmured against her lips. “And I don’t mean merely claiming everything that’s
under this dress.” His hand slid up her ribcage to cup her breast.
both hands. The corner of the telegram brushed her palm. Thank Dixie. It was
still there. But had he seen it? She pressed back against the door.
through hair that was already disheveled. Had she done that? He reached for the
doorknob and she jumped aside.
without his customary restraint. It banged against the wall. “And, for God’s
sake, stay out of trouble. Don’t provoke a man beyond his patience.”
Enemy by Jacqui Nelson, Eden’s Sin by Jennifer Jakes, and Kate’s Outlaw by E.E.
Burke—can be purchased on Amazon at http://bit.ly/PassionsPrizeKDP and is also
available at B&N Nook store and the Apple iStore.
of her new E-book, Adella’s Enemy.
your
lead to a new love?
War, a Kansas railroad race heats up as former Rebel spy Adella Willows
receives her mission from a Washington senator. Play havoc with the Katy
Railroad and derail its bid to win the race. The senator craves wealth. Adella
craves revenge against the man responsible for her brother’s death. But her
plans crumble into chaos when she matches wits with the railroad’s foreman, a
handsome Irishman torn between two desires: winning the race or winning
Adella’s heart
Jacqui Nelson writes historical romantic adventures set in
the American West and Victorian London. Her love of Western stories came from
watching classic Western movies while growing up on a cattle farm. Her passion
for Victorian London wasn’t far behind and only increased when she worked in
England for four years and explored the nooks and crannies of London on her
weekends. Jacqui currently lives in Victoria on the west coast of Canada where
she works as a book seller. Her previous jobs have included animator, systems
analyst and fundraising event coordinator.
Writers of America® Golden Heart® winner and three-time finalist.
Congratulations on your publication Jacqui . ADELLA'S ENEMY looks & sounds fabulous.
In answer to the question, it would depend upon why they were enemies in the first place.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thanks for dropping by, Mary, and leaving a comment! Very wise reply to my novella's tag line: "Can the pursuit of an old enemy lead to a new love?" You are so right!
great excerpt, jacqui! and ain't nothing like a deep irish brogue to set one's heart aflutter…
Hi Jacqui! *waves* Just wanted to stop in and say how much I loved writing with you! Adella and Cormac are a great pair with a great love story!
Hugs-
Jenn
Yay, Jacqui!!! I just love reading about how characters came to be. Such good stuff!!! And I love the hot excerpt! WOW!
I love this time period in American history and this sounds like an awesome story!
susanmacatee(at)aol(dot)com
Nora, I do love a good accent…and a heroine who packs a derringer, as you well know. But that's another scene 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and for buying my book!
Jennifer, thanks leaving a comment! Love the support of my anthology buddy!
Lani, now you get to see how Cormac and Adella came to life, rather than just seeing my heavily mulled over final draft 🙂
Susan, great to meet another fan of the American West. Happy to hear that you think my story sounds awesome!
Happy debut! The story sounds great! You're off on your own high adventure 🙂
Oooh, I like that — I'm definitely off on my own high adventure. Thanks, Jessa! And thanks for stopping by!
Great excerpt Jacqui & a fantastic cover. I'm sure you'll do very well with this book.
Thanks, Jodie! It was great seeing you at the VIC chapter meeting today. It's always fun when you are near 🙂
Hi Jacqui
I love love love your hero. When you refer to him as Celtic and talk about his eyes, the image of a Gaelic giant in cowboy clothes pop out of the page for me. Can't wait to read your next story.
Best
Jo-Ann
Glad you enjoyed my Irish giant with eyes "as silver as newly minted dollars," Jo-Ann! It was wonderful seeing you at the VIC meeting. Had a great afternoon catching up with great writing friends. Starting Monday I'm going to be working on getting my two other Western romance novels revised and uploaded to Amazon. So much work will keep me out of trouble…I think 🙂
Thanks everyone for visiting my guest blog with Mimi. And the winner of the free Kindle copy of "Adella's Enemy" is…
Susan Macatee!
I'll be sending you your copy very shortly, Susan. Hope you enjoy reading "Adella's Enemy"!