Saturday, August 27, 2011

Maps of Fate Book 2-The Saga Continues


 



We're delighted to bring you the next excerpt from upcoming Maps of Fate Book Two of the #1 best-selling, national award-winning Threads West American Saga series. The threads of the disparate lives of the vanguard of characters whom you've met and care for in Book One, Threads West, have intertwined, propelled by destiny to an unknown rendezvous with life, fate, each other and new characters to be introduced. They are the point of the spear in the great American westward migration of the mid 1800’s. The power, vastness, and energy of the land, the harsh realities of life in an untamed wilderness and a growing sense that they are part of something larger has begun to transform them, each in their own way internally and in their interactions laden with enmity, friendship, loyalty, and romance. 



 



Revelation 



From a Chapter of Maps of Fate—Book Two of Threads West, An American Saga 



 



    Rebecca drew up her skirt and shook her head at the tiny explosion of trail dust every time she touched the fabric. After checking carefully for cactus, she eased herself down into a small grassy nook between the boulders along the riverbank of the Missouri. The circle of wagons was not more than one hundred feet away. 



 



    Above the gentle murmur of river current where it caressed the shore, she could hear the crackle of the campfires, tired laughter, and the clang of stirring ladles chiming dully against the interiors of the great iron pots suspended from tripods as dinner was prepared. Occasionally, muted male voices cursed softly in unison with the snorts of horses and the low brays of oxen as men carried water buckets to the livestock. 



 



    A diffused steel-gray curtain of approaching dusk stole towards her like a phantom from the east, downriver, gradually swallowing the rolling gold of the gently waving prairie grasses. To the west, the last rim of retreating sun blazed in an orange glory, its fading rings of red, then crimson, then pale yellow bidding a farewell to the day in concentric arcs of flaming color. 



 



    The vastness, the emptiness, the sheer space enveloped her, and the promise of tomorrow etched in the direction of the dying sun stirred a feeling of excitement and promise deep in her core. 



 



    “I wonder how you are, Mother,” she said aloud, sighing reluctantly to the remnants of blue disappearing into the evening sky. She tried to remember her bedroom and the cobblestone street lined by similar stately row houses outside the great front door of their elegant London home. She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the cooling breeze to focus on the memory, but the image remained fuzzy, as if from a long-ago dream. 


Friday, August 26, 2011

The Emancipated

It is their first taste of freedom. And the spirit of liberty is not something they ever intend to lose again. Tired, cold, and hungry they must make a choice. Let us introduce you to two new characters in the Threads West, An American Saga series, Lucy and Israel.
From a Chapter of Maps of Fate—Book Two of Threads West, An American Saga From Chapter “The Emancipated”
    The whisper of the river entwined itself with an almost imperceptible breeze that drifted down valley from the west. The silhouettes of mountain peaks towered sharp and dark against a sky that had almost lost its day glow. The luminescence of the coming moon shadowed silver above the ridge lines.
    The medium-height, slightly overweight figure of a man, his short, curly salt-and-pepper hair dully reflecting the slight sheen from the emerging lunar light, turned to a small, slightly hunched female figure. “Lucy, keep that mule quiet. We didn’t walk all this way as freemen to have no trouble now.”
    “I’ll sure enough keep him quiet, Israel. What do you think we should do? I’m hungry. Do you think it’s safe?”
    There was a silence as the two peered intently upriver to the dim but beckoning glow of oil lamps from a ranch house’s windows. Other than the bright points of Venus and the first night stars, there was no other visible light.
    Israel spoke slowly, thinking. “Well, this is the edge of the country. We sure are a long way from Oklahoma. This ain’t no plantation and I’m bettin’ all that grows here is hay. You can hear them cattle. It’s going to be cold tonight. These thin clothes of ours ain’t going to be much help with winter coming on. We’re about out of food, and I lost my last fishhook yesterday. I don’t see as we have much choice. We have to take our chances.”
    Lucy continued to stroke the muzzle of the mule and laid her free hand lightly on Israel’s forearm. “You’re my man, Israel. I’ll do what you think.”
    They gazed for a moment at the halo of light a mile or so out. “Maybe folks this far out will be happy to have company.” There was a tinge of doubt edged in the hope of her tone.
    “Well, let me do the talking, woman. And if there’s any sign of trouble, we’ll just back our way out of there somehow. Let’s tie off the mule before the house. They don’t have to know we have a critter just yet.” He squeezed her arm and smiled grimly into the darkness. “One thing I’ll tell you, we’ll freeze to death and starve before we are slaves again.”

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Book Two-It Begins!



The Threads West team is hard at work, immersed in the details of the up-coming Maps of Fate, the second book of the six novel Threads West, An American Saga series. I am engrossed in the writing of the next installment of this saga of the adventure and romance of the West wrapped in a silver bolo of the American spirit. 

Maps of Fate will span a period from 1855 to the early 1870s. The threads of lives of new characters will enter the arc of the story. You will be introduced to the generation who will eventually succeed the courageous, independent but conflicted personalities that comprise the vanguard of unforgettable characters that fuel the tale begun in the #1 Best Selling, Multiple Award Winning first book, Threads West

This is the initial of a number of excerpts from Book Two. The life threads of the original characters, seven of whom hail from Europe, have begun to twine together. The wrenching combustion of their interactions, journeys, romance, tragedies and triumphs hurtles them with ever-increasing velocity towards their destinies in the wild and untamed spine of America, the Rocky Mountains. 


The Emancipated 
From a Chapter of Maps of Fate—Book Two of Threads West, An American Saga 

    The whisper of the river entwined itself with an almost imperceptible breeze that drifted down valley from the west. The silhouettes of mountain peaks towered sharp and dark against a sky that had almost lost its day glow. The luminescence of the coming moon shadowed silver above the ridge lines. 
    The medium-height, slightly overweight figure of a man, his short, curly salt-and-pepper hair dully reflecting the slight sheen from the emerging lunar light, turned to a small, slightly hunched female figure. “Lucy, keep that mule quiet. We didn’t walk all this way as freemen to have no trouble now.” 
    “I’ll sure enough keep him quiet, Israel. What do you think we should do? I’m hungry. Do you think it’s safe?” 
    There was a silence as the two peered intently upriver to the dim but beckoning glow of oil lamps from a ranch house’s windows. Other than the bright points of Venus and the first night stars, there was no other visible light. 
    Israel spoke slowly, thinking. “Well, this is the edge of the country. We sure are a long way from Oklahoma. This ain’t no plantation and I’m bettin’ all that grows here is hay. You can hear them cattle. It’s going to be cold tonight. These thin clothes of ours ain’t going to be much help with winter coming on. We’re about out of food, and I lost my last fishhook yesterday. I don’t see as we have much choice. We have to take our chances.” 
    Lucy continued to stroke the muzzle of the mule and laid her free hand lightly on Israel’s forearm. “You’re my man, Israel. I’ll do what you think.” 
    They gazed for a moment at the halo of light a mile or so out. “Maybe folks this far out will be happy to have company.” There was a tinge of doubt edged in the hope of her tone. 
    “Well, let me do the talking, woman. And if there’s any sign of trouble, we’ll just back our way out of there somehow. Let’s tie off the mule before the house. They don’t have to know we have a critter just yet.” He squeezed her arm and smiled grimly into the darkness. “One thing I’ll tell you, we’ll freeze to death and starve before we are slaves again.” 

Maps of Fate - It Begins!





The Threads West team is hard at work, immersed in the details of the up-coming Maps of Fate, the second book of the six novel Threads West, An American Saga series. I am engrossed in the writing of the next installment of this saga of the adventure and romance of the West wrapped in a silver bolo of the American spirit. 

Maps of Fate will span a period from 1855 to the early 1870s. The threads of lives of new characters will enter the arc of the story. You will be introduced to the generation who will eventually succeed the courageous, independent but conflicted personalities that comprise the vanguard of unforgettable characters that fuel the tale begun in the #1 Best Selling, Multiple Award Winning first book, Threads West

This is the initial of a number of excerpts from Book Two. The life threads of the original characters, seven of whom hail from Europe, have begun to twine together. The wrenching combustion of their interactions, journeys, romance, tragedies and triumphs hurtles them with ever-increasing velocity towards their destinies in the wild and untamed spine of America, the Rocky Mountains. 


The Emancipated 
From a Chapter of Maps of Fate—Book Two of Threads West, An American Saga 

    The whisper of the river entwined itself with an almost imperceptible breeze that drifted down valley from the west. The silhouettes of mountain peaks towered sharp and dark against a sky that had almost lost its day glow. The luminescence of the coming moon shadowed silver above the ridge lines. 
    The medium-height, slightly overweight figure of a man, his short, curly salt-and-pepper hair dully reflecting the slight sheen from the emerging lunar light, turned to a small, slightly hunched female figure. “Lucy, keep that mule quiet. We didn’t walk all this way as freemen to have no trouble now.” 
    “I’ll sure enough keep him quiet, Israel. What do you think we should do? I’m hungry. Do you think it’s safe?” 
    There was a silence as the two peered intently upriver to the dim but beckoning glow of oil lamps from a ranch house’s windows. Other than the bright points of Venus and the first night stars, there was no other visible light. 
    Israel spoke slowly, thinking. “Well, this is the edge of the country. We sure are a long way from Oklahoma. This ain’t no plantation and I’m bettin’ all that grows here is hay. You can hear them cattle. It’s going to be cold tonight. These thin clothes of ours ain’t going to be much help with winter coming on. We’re about out of food, and I lost my last fishhook yesterday. I don’t see as we have much choice. We have to take our chances.” 
    Lucy continued to stroke the muzzle of the mule and laid her free hand lightly on Israel’s forearm. “You’re my man, Israel. I’ll do what you think.” 
    They gazed for a moment at the halo of light a mile or so out. “Maybe folks this far out will be happy to have company.” There was a tinge of doubt edged in the hope of her tone. 
    “Well, let me do the talking, woman. And if there’s any sign of trouble, we’ll just back our way out of there somehow. Let’s tie off the mule before the house. They don’t have to know we have a critter just yet.” He squeezed her arm and smiled grimly into the darkness. “One thing I’ll tell you, we’ll freeze to death and starve before we are slaves again.”