Tag: Sample Saturday

Sample Saturday

January 28, 2017 / Marsha Ward

I’ve been dealing with winter storms and power outages and 18-20 inches of snow piled up around my place, so I am treating myself to a bit of diversion by bringing back Saturday Sample today.

Here’s a tidbit from a piece I’m working on that I hope to publish later this year.
~~~

Julia Helm wiped the streaming tears off her cheeks, then climbed up onto the wooden spring seat of the farm wagon weathered almost white. Jonathan’s firm hand on her elbow steadied her some, but the overwhelming sadness that had brought the tears remained. She looked at the stone house, the wooden barn with its wide doors, the early spring fields smelling of molding corn stalks. Why this sadness? I’ll see it all again in two months.

She pulled her brown wool cloak more tightly around herself and wrenched her gaze from the house. Couldn’t she just tell Jonathan she had changed her mind? Tell her brother to unhitch the team of gray horses while she ran back inside the house and into her small, cozy room to curl up in the comfort of Papa’s upholstered chair? Cousin Camilla didn’t need her help to prepare for her wedding. Virginia was so far away. The trip would take two weeks! Two weeks of travel behind the rumps of the horses, being jostled and jolted until her young bones couldn’t stand another yard, let alone another mile. And all for what? Camilla’s gratitude? The chance to see Aunt Susannah again?

The wagon groaned and creaked as Jonathan climbed into the wagon seat on the other side, pausing before he lifted the leather lines to lean over and tuck a brown woolen blanket under her far knee. “Mind you tell me if you get cold,” he said, and grinned at her like a crazy man, his breath clouding around his ruddy face underneath his knitted cap.
~~~

What do you think? Does it engage your interest? Tell me if you know who the characters are.

Until the next time, stay warm and healthy!

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Sample Saturday: Blood at Haught Springs

May 14, 2016 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Welcome to Sample Saturday. Later this month, I’ll release a novella, which will be the first of several tales in a new series: The Men of Haught Springs. Here’s a snippet from the story of brothers at odds, Blood at Haught Springs.
~~~

The Men of Haught Springs

By closing time, Lonnie had not returned to the store. Wes shrugged off his dissatisfaction. His brother had probably headed home early to bear tales to Dad of how badly Wes had treated him. Sack of lazy bones, he thought, and locked the front door. He had one stop to make at the butcher’s, then he’d get home.

The house was a mere block away when Wes had completed his errand, and he covered the distance at a fast pace, gripping the valise in one hand, and a parcel containing a cut of beef in the other. Maggie, the Haught’s housekeeper, had requested a roast for tomorrow’s dinner. Wes had first thought of bringing home a goose someone had brought in to trade for groceries, but had dismissed the idea. Dad shouldn’t have rich poultry yet. Beef broth is better for him while he mends.

Grove Haught’s injuries had come about when he was thrown from the seat of a freight wagon and run over by a wheel. Fortunately for him, Wes had run to stop the team before the second wheel crushed his father’s chest. Even so, the first wheel had done significant damage, and Dad had been in bed recuperating for some time.

This morning, he had seemed better, and said he wanted to get out of bed and sit in the parlor for a while. He had grudgingly accepted Wes’s assistance, after asking why Lonnie hadn’t volunteered to do the task. Wes had to explain that Lonnie had already left the house to get in his gun practice before the store opened.

Wes hoped the evening at home would go better than the morning had. Someday Dad will see I’m of more worth than a dozen of Lonnie. He half expected his father to fit out his brother in a coat of many colors, like the man in the Bible had done for his favorite son. Before Lonnie could gain more favor with their father, Wes was determined to prove his worth. Today, he had made a good start, getting those leases sewn up.

A wash of satisfaction swept over him, and he grinned. Another pleasant thought popped into his mind. Miss Nina. Matters could not look better in that department. She as much as begged me to see her again. He realized he hadn’t firmed up any plans to that effect. I’ll have to make an appointment to take her on a picnic or to a dance as soon as possible. He inhaled a lungful of sweet night air and decided that, on balance, it had been a splendid day.
~~~

Watch for next week’s cover reveal for Blood at Haught Springs.

Have you picked up a copy of my new novel, The Zion Trail?
If you’ve already read it, please post a review at Amazon. Thank you!

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Sample Saturday Mended by Moonlight

December 12, 2015 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Welcome to Sample Saturday. This snippet is from my new Work-in-Progress (WIP), Mended by Moonlight.
~~~

from Chapter 3, Mended by Moonlight

Dr. Alexander Marshall opened the door to his small office, thrust his fingers through the front of his straight black hair, and stopped abruptly. A woman dressed in black clothing from tip to toe sat in the chair facing his untidy desk. She turned her head at the sound of his entrance. The skin of her face was pale as the pallor of death, but her features were fashioned with exquisite symmetry. Pale blonde hair peeked out from under her black bonnet, and he drew in his breath, startled by the unexpected sight of such beauty in these dismal circumstances.

She was a young woman, scarcely old enough to put up her hair, although he could see signs of wartime privation in the hollows of her cheeks. He noted the lack of a companion, and wondered who she could be, come here so boldly, so alone.

He let go of the doorknob and allowed the door to swing shut behind him, enclosing the two of them together—alone—in his crowded office.

The woman had shifted the paperwork that had previously occupied the chair to the floor. He felt the annoyance, no, the embarrassment of having put her to undue labor because of his untidiness.

Suddenly aware that a bloody apron still covered his clothing, he removed it with haste, balled it up, and flung it into a corner. Then he dipped a hand into the pocket of his trousers and took out the unread note he’d received that morning from Dr. Clark, the hospital director.

The only response from his guest came from her large blue eyes, which followed his every move. Otherwise, her rigid posture and tightly-clasped hands indicated uncertainty—or fear.

“Miss . . .” he began, then realized she wore the attire of a widow. He glanced at the note. Please attend to Mrs. Allen before noon. She suffers headaches. “Mrs. Allen, I am Doctor Marshall.” He dropped into the chair behind his desk and laid the note on the surface before him.

“I am Mrs. Benjamin Owen,” the widow said, her voice firmer than he supposed it would be.

“I beg your pardon,” he answered, looking at the note again.

“My mother, Mrs. Theodore Allen, arranged for this visit. I am Mrs. Owen.” Again, her voice conveyed her statement with firmness.

He inclined his head. “Mrs. Owen. How may I be of service?”
~~~

Thank you for visiting my website blog. I hope you enjoyed this short piece from my new work, Mended by Moonlight.

My latest novel, The Zion Trail, will be published in 2016 as an ebook, and if there is sufficient demand, in print. To keep up-to-date on when The Zion Trail will be published, along with other new releases, and to learn of special offers and sales, click here to join my Readers email list. In your inbox, you will also receive instructions on how to download a free ebook of my last novel, Gone for a Soldier.

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Sample Saturday The Zion Trail #5

December 5, 2015 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Welcome to Sample Saturday. This scene is an excerpt from my forthcoming novel, The Zion Trail, which will be available in ebook format early next year. Lije expresses his concerns to his father following John’s altercation with neighbor boys. Caution: Mormon beliefs are briefly discussed in this excerpt.
~~~
By suppertime, John looked like a new man—well, boy at least—with his damp hair combed into submission and the egg residue absent from his person.
Ma said she would sit with us at the table that night. She told John he was to take the tray into Pa’s room to explain his altercation and help Pa eat, if he needed any assistance.

Before we sat down to supper, I looked in on Pa. He looked better with the color fading from the bruise on his face. He was able to open his eye now. I could tell he chafed at Ma’s insistence that he stay in bed, as he wasn’t a man to be idle.

“Elijah,” he greeted me.

I sat beside his bed and gave him a report on the farm work. When I had finished, he stared into my eyes for a long moment, then nodded.

“You are doing well, son, but what is troubling you?”

I don’t know why I was surprised that he had read me so easily. I took a moment to formulate an answer.

“Reverend Silcoe has added to our woes,” I said. “He preached against us on Sunday, according to John.” I paused. “I should let him tell the tale. He’ll be here shortly with your supper.”

“All right. I’ll hear him out. You are fretting, Lije.”

“I didn’t expect folks to beat you and pick on John merely because we chose to join a different church. Ma said the same.” I looked down. My fists were clenched so tightly that my knuckles appeared as snow-capped mountains. I eased my hands open and gripped my knees instead.

Pa reached out his hand, and I took it gingerly. “That book the elders left. The Book of Mormon. At the beginning, the prophet Lehi was laughed to scorn because of his belief in God’s word. His sons were in danger of their lives when they returned to gather records. Can we expect better treatment?”

I shifted in the chair, remembering my promise to President Peters to read that book. “I guess not.”

Pa nodded. “So it was anciently. So it is today. People sometimes fear truth, especially when it calls for change.” He squeezed my hand. “Go to supper, Lije, and give no more worry to the matter.”

I left him then and went to eat, trying to let his counsel sooth my own fears.
~~~

Thank you for visiting this Sample Saturday post. The Zion Trail will be published in 2016 as an ebook, and if there is sufficient demand, in print. To keep up-to-date on when The Zion Trail will be published, along with other new releases, and to learn of special offers and sales, click here to join my Readers email list. In your inbox, you will also receive instructions on how to download a free ebook of my last novel, Gone for a Soldier.

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