1.
I am petite, never quite got to 5 feet tall. Therefore, I have a hard
time shopping for clothes and shoes. You’ll often find me in the kids’
department.
2.
I am deathly afraid of snakes. That isn’t usually a problem, since I
live in Alaska where there aren’t any snakes. But I have come across
them when traveling Outside, and hope I won’t in the future. It’s the
slithering that bothers me; I can’t even watch snakes move on TV without
shuddering.
3.
I am a Shakespeare nut. I have read or seen most of the plays and
sonnets, have studied Shakespeare, and met my husband during a
production of Much Ado About Nothing. On a recent trip, we
stopped in London for a one-day layover and went to Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre. It was like a pilgrimage—I was in tears from the sheer joy of
being there.
4.
I’m not very good with little kids. I think babies are cute and all
that, but I enjoy children more when they get to the age when you can
actually have a conversation. I love my daughter and niece and nephews,
but had a lot more fun when they got to the age I could take them out to
lunch and talk books and movies with them. That’s probably why I taught
high school and write young adult/new adult books.
5.
I love classic rock. The Beatles are an important part of my life, and
there’s usually at least one of their albums in my writing playlist.
Generally any music from the 60s to the 80s is good. I am crazy about
Bruce Springsteen—seeing one of his concerts is on my bucket list. I
enjoy the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Bob
Seger, Queen, U2, Bon Jovi, you get the idea. But to be fair I like
some of the newer stuff too, like Matchbox 20 and Cold Play.
Thanks so much to you for reading this and Jacqueline Hopper for hosting me here!
Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there.
She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing.
She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and hitting targets with a
cowboy action shooting club. Her young adult historical romances
are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance,
and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.
You can also find her on Facebook and Pinterest.
She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing.
She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and hitting targets with a
cowboy action shooting club. Her young adult historical romances
are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance,
and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.
You can also find her on Facebook and Pinterest.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth
Robinson travels by dog sled to help her family mind the store in
Fairbanks, Alaska. She wants to pursue her drawing and painting, but
women artists are rare in 1906, and flood, fire, and a death in the
family force her to take charge at home at age seventeen. James Garrett
comes north to help his uncle at a nearby gold claim. An awkward
eighteen-year-old who is more at home with machines than people, he
becomes a man as he falls in love with Elizabeth. When a discovery about
her benefactor, the founder of the town, threatens their future,
Elizabeth and James find that together they can overcome any obstacle.
Copyright 2014 Lynn Lovegreen
Elizabeth didn’t see it until it was
too late.
One moment she was planning a painting
of the snowy scene, then the dogsled she was riding in careened
around the corner. The play of shadows and light, the glittering
frost on the trees, vanished when a team of dogs slammed into
theirs.
Papa shouted as he fell off the back of
their sled, “Hang on!”
She held tight to her sister Victoria.
Their sled ran off the trail, rolled onto its side, and the icy
snow surrounded her. Dogs yelped. Victoria cried out.
The stinging cold took Elizabeth’s
breath away. They fell into the thick alders.
Elizabeth untangled herself from a fur
robe and pulled Victoria out of the branches. Her fur hat was
askew, but she looked more frightened than hurt.
“Are you all right, Sis?” Elizabeth
brushed the snow from her sister’s dark curly hair.
Victoria looked up at her, blinking
tears from her eyes. “I think so.”
A young man’s voice rose over the dogs
yelping and barking. “Are you all right?”
“I don’t know yet,” she called over her
shoulder. She turned back to Victoria. “Nothing hurts?”
Victoria shook her head. “No.”
Elizabeth took a shuddering breath. The
barking grew louder, and she turned to see the dogs lunging at
each other. The teams had to be separated before they injured
each other. She ran as quickly as she could through the deep
snow, raising her long wool skirts out of the way. A man in a
fur parka stood in the midst of the flurry of fur and snarls,
trying to untangle the teams by tugging at their lines.
“Why weren’t you on the right side of
the trail?” she called to the man, irritation rough in her
voice.
“I’m sorry, Miss.”
Elizabeth grabbed the harness on the
furry husky next to her and pulled him to the side, ignoring his
excited whine. She moved the stocky dogs easily, even with her
petite frame—she guessed it was necessity that gave her such
strength. Mama always said, “You do what you have to do.”
“It’s all right, Blackie,” she said to
calm herself as much as the dog, and grabbed the next one. Three
dogs to go. Good thing she liked dogs. Back home she’d been the
only one who could handle their wolfhound, and here the dogs
responded to her easily.
The young man grabbed the dog nearest
him. “I apologize, miss!” he shouted over the cacophony of
barking.
Elizabeth nodded toward him, but didn’t
speak. She wouldn’t know if damage had been done until they
could look at the dogs more carefully, and the temperature was
too far below zero to stand around talking anyway. Blood rushed
in her veins as she grabbed the next dog in line and pulled him
backwards away from the fight that erupted between her lead dog
and one from the other team. This was the first time she’d
jumped in to do something without being told to, and she stood a
little taller when she straightened. Elizabeth turned toward the
lead dog.
“Libby! Vicky!” Papa’s voice called
through the alder thicket.
“Over here!” Elizabeth moved the next
dog back, stepped over, grabbed Comet by his back legs and
hauled him away from the other dog. Comet wiggled in defiance,
but stopped snarling.
“Now, calm down. You need to set an
example here,” Elizabeth said to the lead dog. She pulled on
Comet’s lead until the team was a safe distance away.
“I reckon I was going too fast and
didn’t see your dogs in time. I’m glad you’re not hurt.” For the
first time Elizabeth looked directly at him. His parka hood fell
back as the young man shook his head. True concern shone on his
face. Light brown hair and forget-me-not blue eyes showed above
the wool scarf wrapped around his neck and chin.
Her heartbeat had slowed to a dull
thump until she saw those beautiful eyes.
“Well, the teams are untangled now,”
she said as a sign of forgiveness.
“Are you all right, little one?” he
called to Victoria.
“I’m not little. I’m six!” she called
back over the racket of dogs.
The young man chuckled and pressed his
right hand to Elizabeth’s.
“James Garrett, headed for Fairbanks.”
“Elizabeth Robinson, and this is my
little sister Victoria.” She matched his grip, firm for one who
looked to be only a year or two older than her seventeen. “We’re
headed to Fairbanks, too, with my parents. My father is the new
manager at the NCC store. My mother and his assistant are ahead
of us on the trail.” She pointed.
His brow furrowed. “It seems I headed
in the wrong direction after my last stop.”
Elizabeth started to laugh.
Papa’s large frame burst through the
willows, then he slowed. He swept Victoria up in his arms and
plowed through the snow toward them.
“Anyone hurt?”
“No, Papa.” Elizabeth indicated her
companion with a tilt of her head. “Mr. James Garrett.”
Mr. Garrett made a slight bow. “I’m so
sorry, Mr. Robinson.”
Papa’s normally smiling face was bright
red. “Do you realize what you just did?”
“Um, well, I accidentally ran my dogs
into yours,” James said as he brushed snow off his fur parka.
“My girls could have been hurt, or even
killed!” Papa bellowed.
Elizabeth had never seen Papa so angry.
Prism Book Group page: http://www.prismbookgroup.com/goldendays.html
Lynn Lovegreen’s website: www.lynnlovegreen.com
I admire those rugged individuals who can live and thrive in cold country. Snow is so beautiful...in pictures, enjoyed on a sunny back porch...
ReplyDeleteGood thing you have no snakes up there. We have plenty in Texas if you ever rid yourself of the fear. I never have. I'm with Carlene, love snow in pictures. I enjoy your Alaskan series.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carlene and Gay! Snow is beautiful, but no fun to drive in. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm a classic rock groupie myself. Love your list! Add some Eric Clapton, Moody Blues... I like looking at snow but prefer the snowy, white beaches of The Gulf of Mexico. I guess I don't have the pioneer spirit you have. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Sandy. Nights in White Satin is awesome! :-)
ReplyDeleteLynn,
ReplyDeleteHope the third time is a charm as I've tried to post twice already. You and I have a lot in common--we're both petite, hate snakes, and enjoy older children. However, I live in sunny SC. :)
Thanks for your perseverance, Josie. Looks I have a kindred spirit down South! :-)
ReplyDeleteHow fun to learn more about you, Lynn :) I see we share some of the same tastes in music. Springsteen, Seger, Queen, Bon Jovi. Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA' was one of my very first cassette tapes. And I grew up listening to Bon Jovi in high school, and had the thrill of seeing them in concert last year. What do you think about Mellencamp? He's one of my faves.
ReplyDeleteToday, it feels like Alaska in Oklahoma. Not too keen on the cold--but would take an ice storm over a snake any day!
Thanks, Anna. John Mellencamp is great too!
Delete