Author Spotlight week - Excerpt from Christmas Bride

Ethan glared at Sue-Ellen. Then "What are you doing here? And why did you tell them you were my fiancée?"

"I didn't. I just didn't tell them I wasn't."

He continued staring at her, frowning. "Why? I don't understand."

"I didn't intend to mislead them. I just--"

"You could have fooled me. Seems to me you wanted them to think that. Seems like you were deliberately misleading them.

Sue-Ellen led the way to a picnic table and benches under a gnarled oak tree. Her fellow workers sometimes took their breaks there, drinking coffee or tea. "Sit down," she said. "Would you like some coffee?"

He raised his voice. "No, I don't want coffee. I want answers."

"Please don't yell." She glanced around, to see if anyone was watching them.

His anger abated somewhat and he looked at her intently. "Talk to me. Tell me why you're here."

Oh, my, she still hadn't told him what she came to tell him. "Cassandra said maybe I should come."

"Since when do you do what Cassandra tells you to do?"

"When it fits the situation. You see, she thought I should write you, but I thought that was too blunt and that's when she suggested I make the trip. And it was a good idea, except that--"

"Yeah, right." He glared at her.

"I still need to bring -- uh, give you a message."

"Why?" His voice was hoarse with frustration. "You're driving me crazy. Where is Cassandra?"

Sue-Ellen started to answer, I don't know, which was technically true. But this wasn't the time to avoid the question. She'd done more than enough of that and look where it had landed her. He was obviously becoming irate again. "She's not coming here. I came in her place." She just blurted it out. There was no softening it.

"What?" If anything, he sounded even more confused. "She wasn't planning to come here. I was going there."

Sue-Ellen took a deep breath. "For the wedding, yes. But, Ethan, Cassie isn't going to marry you."

Author Spotlight Week - Q&A with Marion Kelley Bullock

STEPH: I'd like to welcome author Marion Kelley Bullock to the Author Spotlight this week. Marion, I don't know much about Christmas Bride. Can you tell me about it?


MARION: Oh, you wanta know what Christmas Bride is about? In 1875, it's the story of Sue-Ellen Grayson, who lives with her parents and her sister in San Antonio, Texas. Sue-Ellen's older sister, Cassie, shocks her family by announcing she's eloping with her latest admirer, just weeks before she was to have married army officer, Major Ethan Hartley at Christmas. Sue-Ellen can't stand to see such a wonderful man treated so shabbily. "You can travel to Fort Clark and break the news to him," Cassie says, laughing. "Or better yet, you can marry him, since he wants a Christmas bride." Sue-Ellen is aghast. But since she feels such sympathy, she decides to take the news to Ethan, in person, not admitting even to herself that what she feels for him is more than just pity. But it's true, she'd marry him in a minute if she were the one to whom he'd proposed. But she wasn't. And she wouldn't, anyway, because when she arrives at Fort Clark, he can't stand the sight of her.

Sue-Ellen's trip in a Concord stagecoach is fraught with danger, ranging from attacks by savages to encounters with robbers, who steal their possessions, including their return tickets, to… Well, that would be telling. And if I told all the other mishaps that occur, what would be the reason for you to read it?

STEPH: Where did you get the inspiration for Christmas Bride?

MARION: I got the idea for Christmas Bride in December of 2007, but it bogged down. I wrote another book and then revisited Christmas Bride. I did this two or three times before I really got excited about it. I began to feel a closeness to Sue-Ellen, to Lynette, Randolph, Edward, Emma, Thomas, the children and the others. It was not until 2010 that I dragged it out and started writing it. It wasn't the kind of book that wrote itself. It was hard work.


STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

MARION: I did more research than I usually do. I studied everything I could find on Fort Clark and Brackettville, Texas. My husband and I visited the fort and it became alive to me I read about Concord Stagecoaches. I studied about Buffalo Soldiers and the Rio Grande Frontier. They fascinate me.

STEPH: Which state do you live in?

MARION: I live in Texas and have lived here most of my life.


STEPH: Are you a plotter or a panster?

MARION - Both. For this book, I started with my idea and when it fizzled out, I finally sat down and wrote a synopsis. Only then was I able to write the book. It still was like pulling teeth, I wrote my other Christmas book, Christmas Stranger, before I wrote the synopsis. The characters were so real to me that I knew what they'd do and what they'd say. Especially Timothy and his animals. My Santa Fe book was about half plotted and half seat-of-the-pants.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader?

MARION: - I don't have an ebook reader--yet. But I have the sweetest laptop--an Acer Aspire One. It has ruined reading print books for me. It's so much easier to read on. I have a gazillion books stored on it, ready for me to read!

STEPH: What was the latest book you read?

MARION: - The last book I read was From Dust and Ashes (an ebook) by Tricia Goyer. It's a moving story of Liberation. I could do without TV if need be, but I can't imagine not making time to read. I sometimes read while I eat breakfast or lunch.


STEPH: Do you have any Christmas traditions you'd like to share?

MARION: - My family loves music. We sing when we're together at Christmas. We enjoy playing games. Balderdash, Chicken Foot and Zilch are our favorites. And we have a special fudge recipe we make. What fun!



STEPH: What's your writing space like?

MARION: - Our third bedroom is our office, since our children are grown and moved away. My husband and I share this roughly 10' X14' space. My desk faces south and his faces north. I don't write well with music, but I don't have to have quiet to concentrate.

STEPH: Renoir, Monet, or Picasso?

MARION: I don't like Picasso. I suppose I like Renoir best of the other two. At least that's my choice today.

Featured December 2010 Release - Christmas Bride by Marion Kelley Bullock

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sue-Ellen Grayson travels to Fort Clark, Texas, to console Major Ethan Hartley, because her sister, Cassandra, jilted him. She can't bear to see such a wonderful man treated so shabbily. Her trip is fraught with danger. The stagecoach is set upon, she nearly drowns, and she arrives penniless, without even a ticket to return home. She gets a job waitressing at the Brackettville Café.

At first, Ethan can’t stand the sight of Sue-Ellen. In looks, she reminds him of his lost love. Gradually, though, he begins to see her for the fine woman she is and to care about her. Then Cassandra, tired of her fling, arrives and wants Ethan to marry her. Will Ethan fall for her again, or will he see her for the flirt she is and realize that Sue Ellen is the one he loves, the one who has the makings of a career officer’s wife?

AN EXCERPT:

Ethan raised his eyebrows. He got right up in her face. "What are you doing here? Why did you tell them you were my fiancée?"

"I didn't." Goodness. He might as well be breathing fire.

"Yes, you did."

"Now, I'm getting mad. And there is absolutely no reason for you to make me mad. I don't know why you're jumping all over me, just because I was bringing you a message."

A muscle tensed in his jaw and his nostrils flared. "What in the world do you mean, you silly woman, you were bringing me a message?"

Sue-Ellen stepped back. "I am not a silly woman. And don't spit on me."

"I wasn't spitting on you."

"Not for lack of trying." She wiped her sleeve across her face.

"Now you're a silly prima donna."

"Are you going to tell me what's got you all riled up, or are we going to take our toys and go home?"

Ethan held up a hand to silence her. "Now, let's look at this calmly, rationally."

Sue-Ellen nodded. "I'm ready when you are." So far, he hadn't seemed rational at all. She couldn't believe this was the same man she had practically worshipped, the man Cassie had planned to marry. Oh, mercy, she still had not told him what she came to tell him.


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marion Kelley Bullock attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and attends their conferences.

Her articles, short stories, essays, and devotionals have appeared in Open Windows, Guideposts, Home Life, Church Administration, Mature Years, The Lookout, the Church Musician, Preserving Christian Homes, Living with Preschoolers, and other publications. She authored The Story of First Baptist Church Past and Present, (Olney, Texas). She also wrote Sunday school curriculum materials for preschool teachers and children, for several years.

She is a Christian and the wife of John W. Bullock, a semi-retired minister of music. They have three grown children and reared a grandson, now twenty-four. Their family is active in church and community, and Marion teaches adults in the Sunday school, is the pianist, and sings in the worship group.

Marion has worked at a variety of jobs, including church secretary, school nurse's assistant, Realtor, nursing home activity director, savings and loan clerk, and supervisor of preschool work in churches.

Aside from writing, Mrs. Bullock enjoys reading, painting, working crossword puzzles, playing musical instruments, and song writing. She and her husband love to travel.


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Christmas Bride is available as an ebook on Kindle, Nook, Sony eReader, and Kobo