Book News: Guest Post Lori Connelly

Posted 4th May 2015 by Emma in Book News, Guest Post, Meme / 1 Comment

Book News: Guest Post Lori Connelly

It’s week two of Harper Impulse Fortnight and today I am delighted to welcome Lori Connelly.

I was blessed (or cursed) with an active imagination and a curious mind.  Stories of all sorts fascinated me, especially those grown from tidbits mined out of real people’s lives.  When I became interested in genealogy, researching my family history delivered some valuable nuggets.

Although I’d loved the Little House on the Prairie series (both the books and TV show) the American west felt far in the hazy past until I learned my material grandfather was born in 1896. Although I’d never had the pleasure of meeting him, he passed away before I was born, suddenly the 1800s didn’t seem so long ago. Honoring this connection is why my Men of Fir Mountain series is set in the 1890s.

my grandfather

Next, my grandmother mentioned her grandmother often told her stories of coming west in a covered wagon. That tidbit fascinated me, compelling research. I soon learned my maternal great, great grandmother, Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassmann, was the daughter of Montana’s First Territorial Governor, Sidney Edgerton. She was also the first white woman to live in Great Falls Montana arriving in May of 1884 and the first woman newspaper editor (Great Falls Leader) in Montana.  She undertook a series of business ventures including life insurance sales, poetry writing, and cattle ranching. She also wrote over 500 historical articles during the 1920s and 1930s covering a wide range of topics, including fur trappers, explorers and vigilantes as well as her autobiography.

greatgreatgrandma

My great, great grandmother inspired the newspaper article writing heroine, Claire McConkey, in The Lawman of Silver Creek.

lawman 33333

A snippet from The Lawman of Silver Creek:
’With her arms wrapped around her waist, Claire stared out of the window into the night. The stubborn man had followed her home. It annoyed her a little, but also warmed her heart. She’d been hovering close to the barn door until her family had pulled up, torn. The desire to run back into his arms had been so strong that she nearly had.

Lighting a candle seemed too much effort, so Claire shuffled in darkness to her room. She loved Matt with a fierce passion, but finding a way for them to be together, happily, eluded her. Ever since the incident with the Nash brothers, he’d been completely unreasonable.

Claire paused at a small writing desk on her way to the bed. She’d been patient with him being overprotective at first, certain that he’d relax, given time. But he hadn’t. The last straw for her had been when Matt insisted that she would have to give up her writing after they married.

One hand slid over her leather bound journal. Newspapers in Corvallis and Salem had published her stories. Matt had been so proud. They’d celebrated each story sold together. A tear rolled down her cheek. One stupid mistake changed everything.’

And for my grandma who spent hours sharing our history with me, my heroine in The Outlaw of Cedar Ridge is named Evie in honor of Martha Evie Way.

15

More Men of Fir Mountain books are coming this fall.

The Men of Fir Mountain books available now:

The Outlaw of Cedar Ridge:

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/cedarridge

iTunes: http://smarturl.it/itunescedarridge

Nook: http://smarturl.it/outlawnook

Sainburys: http://www.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/book/The-Outlaw-of-Cedar-Ridge-HarperImpulse-Historical-Romance-The-Men-of-Fir-Mountain-Book-1-Lori-Connelly/7638137

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-outlaw-of-cedar-ridge-harperimpulse-historical-romance-the-men-of-fir-mountain-book-1

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lori_Connelly_The_Outlaw_of_Cedar_Ridge_HarperImpu?id=KS4TAAAAQBAJ

The Lawman of Silver Creek :

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/silvercreek

iTunes: http://smarturl.it/lawmanitunes

Nook: http://www.nook.com/gb/ebooks/the-lawman-of-silver-creek-harperimpulse-historical-romance-a-novella-by-lori-connelly/9780007544509

Sainburys: http://www.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/book/The-Lawman-of-Silver-Creek-HarperImpulse-Historical-Romance-Novella-Lori-Connelly/7702791

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-lawman-of-silver-creek-harperimpulse-historical-romance-novella

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lori_Connelly_The_Lawman_of_Silver_Creek_HarperImp?id=2TKjAQAAQBAJ&hl=en_GB

Free reads from Written Fireside:   http://writtenfireside.blogspot.com/

Or if you’d prefer some are available on Amazon:

Naughty or Nice?  http://smarturl.it/naughtynice

Loving Winter Nights, Love Romance

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00GFD7I60/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GFD7I60&linkCode=am2&tag=loriconn-20&linkId=CFFKGQLF2YYVSATX

A Witch by Chance http://smarturl.it/awitchbychance

About Lori Connelly

I was born and still live in Oregon.
Despite being a good student, my teachers complained about my tendency to daydream. The tales dancing through my imagination were frequently far more entertaining than real life. As far back as I can remember I made up stories, to calm my sister after a nightmare, entertain myself in boring classes and write in countless notebooks, many never again to see the light of day.
I married my best friend almost twenty years ago. I've three brilliant, handsome sons, one amazing daughter-in-law, a beautiful granddaughter and two spoiled dogs. When not writing I love to read, hike, camp, rock hound, and take long walks with my husband just after it rains.
Find out more about me at www.loriconnelly.com, loriconnelly.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/lorilconnelly and if you'd like notices about new releases or future Written Fireside stories please sign up for my eNewletter http://eepurl.com/0-caz

About Lori Connelly

I was born and still live in Oregon.
Despite being a good student, my teachers complained about my tendency to daydream. The tales dancing through my imagination were frequently far more entertaining than real life. As far back as I can remember I made up stories, to calm my sister after a nightmare, entertain myself in boring classes and write in countless notebooks, many never again to see the light of day.
I married my best friend almost twenty years ago. I’ve three brilliant, handsome sons, one amazing daughter-in-law, a beautiful granddaughter and two spoiled dogs. When not writing I love to read, hike, camp, rock hound, and take long walks with my husband just after it rains.
Find out more about me at www.loriconnelly.com, loriconnelly.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/lorilconnelly and if you’d like notices about new releases or future Written Fireside stories please sign up for my eNewletter http://eepurl.com/0-caz

Emma

One response to “Book News: Guest Post Lori Connelly

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.