Sunday, May 6, 2018

BACKCOUNTRY BRIDES COLLECTION. What inspired Shannon McNear to write The Counterfeit Tory?

Deb's next co-author guest is Shannon McNear. I had the pleasure of meeting Shannon (and seeing her in colonial costume!) a few years ago and I'm so happy that she's part of this collection. She really brings the love of this era into her stories!



Welcome Shannon!!



                  I had no particular inspiration for this story, besides the dozens of accounts I’ve read of loyalists and their side of things during the American Revolution, and of the many conflicts that took place within the Carolinas over the course of the war. It was fun, of course, to get to come up with a story for the devil-may-care cousin from The Highwayman. I knew that after five years of war, Jed Wheeler would have grown wiser as well as older, and far more world-weary. He needed an adventure that would appeal not only to his craving for excitement, but for significance as well. And years of trolling South Carolina Revolutionary War history has taught me that the time period of the Southern Campaign and after is a very lightly mined era. I love South Carolina history in particular, having lived there for more than 20 years and walked a lot of historic sites. (And what area in that part of the country is NOT a historic site, really?)
                  I also love stories that present some sort of moral dilemma but are firmly redemptive, even if they don’t present, you know, the explicit gospel of Christ. So while I’m not fond of the level of historicity of films like, say, The Patriot, I like the moral complexity portrayed there. And I love stories where a guy goes in to just do a job and finds himself emotionally entangled by a different cause than the one he expected.
                  For my heroine’s journey, it was the idea of her suddenly being thrown a strand of hope in the midst of an otherwise hopeless situation … opening a well of vulnerability in an otherwise tough girl. For my hero, it’s the gift of a fresh hope as well, after years of fighting a war in which he lost many of those closest to him.

Thanks so much for visiting, Shannon! I love how you point out that every part of the country is full of history...if we just want to find it! I'm certainly intrigued by your prequel! What a great idea!
BUY LINKS:



Shannon's BIO:
After more than two decades in the South, Shannon McNear now makes her home on the windy northern plains with her husband, four of their eight children, two German Shepherds, four cats, several chickens, and a noisy flock of guinea fowl. She serves in worship and youth ministry, and has been writing novel-length fiction since age 15. Her first novella, Defending Truth, from A Pioneer Christmas Collection, was a 2014 RITA® nominee. When not sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the Dakota prairies.

Colonial Quills

 Love on Colonial America’s Frontier

Travel into Colonial America where eight women seek love, but they each know a future husband requires the necessary skills to survive in the backcountry. Living in areas exposed to nature’s ferocity, prone to Indian attack, and cut off from regular supplies, can hearts overcome the dangers to find lasting love?

Shenandoah Hearts by Carrie Fancett Pagels
1754 - Great Wagon Road, into the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia)
As the French-Indian War commences, Magda Sehler wonders if Jacob Owens lost his mind to have abandoned his Philadelphia business and moved to the Shenandoah Valley. Or has he lost his heart?

Heart of Nantahala by Jennifer Hudson Taylor
1757 - (North Carolina)
Joseph Gregory plans to buy a lumber mill, but Mabel Walker becomes a formidable opponent. When she’s forced to make a painful decision, she must choose between survival and love.

Her Redcoat by Pegg Thomas
1763 - Fort Michilimackinac (Michigan) during Pontiac’s Rebellion
Laurette Pettigrew grew up in the northern frontier. Henry Bedlow arrived against his will. Their chance meeting changes everything. Will a deadly clash of cultures keep them from finding happiness?

A Heart So Tender by Debra E. Marvin
1764 – (New York)
As thousands of Native warriors converge on Fort Niagara, jaded British Lieutenant Archibald Walsh and idealistic schoolmistress Susannah Kimball learn the greatest risk lies in guarding their hearts.

A Worthy Groom by Angela K. Couch
1771 - Sapling Grove settlement on the Holston River (Tennessee)
The Cowden temper has been Marcus’s lifelong bane. A trait Lorinda Cowden curses. Now, winning the heart of his bride hinges on fighting a war without raising a fist.

Across Three Autumns by Denise Weimer
1778-1780 – (Georgia)
Fighting Loyalists and Indians, Jenny White settles for strength over love . . .until Scottish scout Caylan McIntosh leads her family on a harrowing exodus out of Georgia’s Revolutionary “Hornet’s Nest.”

The Counterfeit Tory by Shannon McNear
1781 – (South Carolina)
Tasked with infiltrating an infamous Tory gang, Jed Wheeler has no wish to endanger the leader’s cousin, Lizzy Cunningham. He risks not only his life. . .but his heart.

Love’s Undoing by Gabrielle Meyer
1792 - Fur Post on the Upper Mississippi River (Minnesota)
When Englishman Henry Kingsley meets Abi McCrea, the daughter of a Scottish fur trader and Indian mother, will their worlds keep them apart, or have they finally found somewhere they truly belong?



a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for visiting, Shannon! I love all the history in this collection!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Waving hi to Shannon! It's so fun learning what inspired the stories in this collection. Thank you, Shannon and Deb!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you both!! It's been so much fun getting to host each other and read all these tidbits! <3 And such an honor to be part of the collection. :-D

    ReplyDelete

Share This Post

How Our Giveaways Work: The Official Rules

We, the ladies of Inkwell Inspirations, would love to give free stuff to everybody. Since we can't, we will often have a giveaway in conjunction with a specific post. Unless otherwise stated, one winner will be drawn from comments left on that post between the date it was published and the end of the giveaway as determined in the post. Entries must be accompanied by a valid email address. This address is used only to contact the commenter in the event that he/she is the winner, and will not be sold, distributed, or used in any other fashion. The odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. NO PURCHASE, PLEDGE, OR DONATION NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Pinterest