This week I’m hosting Louise Gouge with Cowboy to the Rescue (US only), Katy Lee with Sunken Treasure, and Caryl McAdoo with Hearts Stolen (an ebook to any reader who like her author page on Facebook and comment on this blog). If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on your post with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (Sept. 21st) evening.
Interview with the heroine of Cowboy to the Rescue by Louise Gouge:
1. Susanna Anders, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
Oh, my. Why, I have no idea what other people might find interesting about me, but here are a few tidbits of information. I’m from Marietta, Georgia, and my daddy and I traveled to the San Luis Valley of Colorado because he wanted to go prospecting for silver. Even though I would have preferred to stay in Georgia with my friends, I’d made a promise to my mama when she lay dying that I would take care of Daddy. If that meant I had to leave home and travel across the wilderness to Colorado, so be it. Family comes first to me, and a promise made is a sacred trust.
2. What do you do for fun?
I like to go on picnics with friends or spend the cool morning hours working in my flower garden. I also enjoy riding horseback…sidesaddle, of course.
3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Having the responsibility of taking care of my daddy on our long trip means I no longer have the luxury of putting off things that must be done. We traveled by train to St. Louis, then bought a prairie schooner and traveled with a wagon train to Colorado. Often as we traveled along those hundreds of miles, I’d be so tired that I wanted to put off chores such as fetching water for cooking or washing our cast iron pot after dinner. But our wagon master did allow for malingerers, so Daddy and I had to keep busy.
4. What are you afraid of most in life?
I’m most afraid of my father’s quest for revenge against the Yankee colonel who burned our plantation to the ground during the war, especially since I’ve fallen in love with that colonel’s son. Oh, mercy me. How is this going to turn out? If only Mama were still with us. She’d know just what to do and how to manage Daddy.
5. What do you want out of life?
I have always wanted to marry a fine southern gentleman and live in the South, with magnolia trees, lilac bushes and daffodils surrounding our house, just as all of my girlhood friends have done. We could raise our children there and have a happy Christian home. But after my father took me along with him to Colorado to do some silver mining, where we were rescued from outlaws by handsome Nate Northam, I’m thinking a western ranch might make just as fine a home, and a cowboy might be even more attractive than any southern gentleman I’ve ever met.
6. What is the most important thing to you?
As I said before, taking care of Daddy is my first responsibility because of my promise to Mama. I have faith in the Lord Jesus to help me do that, and I keep praying He’ll guide me through this difficult time.
7. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?
I love to read! On our journey, Daddy and I read Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. It’s a difficult story because of all the suffering the characters had to endure, but eventually good people found happiness. That’s the kind of story I like.
8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
This may seem silly, but I’d love to be a little bit taller. Of course, many ladies of my acquaintance are no more than five feet tall, so I guess I shouldn’t complain because I’m all of five feet one inch.
9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
Why, yes, I do happen to have a pet. Mr. Nate Northam was kind enough to give me one of his sweet little ol’ black and white sheepdogs. She’s the runt of the litter and not much of a watchdog, but she makes up for it by being the sweetest little companion. And we also have a tiny gray kitten who gets along very well with my puppy. It’s so much fun to watch them play together.
10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
Let me see. This is 1883, so I suppose I’d like to go back in time to the early to mid-1600s when our colonies were first being settled. I would tell the colonists what an evil thing slavery was and how much grief it would cause this land. I would urge them to set their few slaves free and not bring any more of those poor folks over here from Africa. Although my family lost everything during the War of Northern Aggression, I’m glad Mr. Lincoln set the slaves free. I just pray the Lord will bring peace to our land and bind us together in love.
