Loving The Book Presents: Great Summer Reads 2019; #BlogTour, #NowAvailable, #OutNow, #Giveaway

My name is Robyn Echols. Zina Abbott is the pen I use for my historical novels. I’m a member of Women Writing the West and Western Writers of America. I currently live with my husband in California’s central valley near the “Gateway to Yosemite.”

I love to read, quilt, work with digital images on my photo editing program, and work on my own family history.

I am a blogger. In addition to my own blog, I blog for several group blogs including the Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog, which I started and administer.

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The daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, Diantha Ames was raised and educated to be a lady.  Surviving the Civil War as a child, her family, in a desperate, but ultimately unsuccessful bid to save the property of both her father and her uncle, arranges a marriage between her and her first cousin. Although not a love match, she and Eugene were amiable. As information about her husband comes to light after his death in the Gold King Mine disaster that took so many lives in Wildcat Ridge, she is left with her husband’s hotel and postmaster position to fill—and a lot of questions.

With Diantha’s former laundress gone, she hires Hilaina Dowd, whose family hails from the mountains of Appalachia. Hilaina loyally stays with her mother who wishes to live out her life in Wildcat Ridge and be buried next to her husband who died in the mine disaster.

Henry “Hank” Cauley is branded a failure after refusing to be part of his father’s Salt Lake City brick-making business and then losing his stationary and book store business. To bury him far away, his brother and conniving sister-on-law use their political influence with the territorial Congressional representative to award him the postmaster position in Wildcat Ridge. He arrives in town to take over the position starting the first of September only to discover the postmistress, Diantha, knows nothing about the change, and is not relieved she no longer is obligated to fill this position originally awarded to her deceased husband. Finding himself surrounded by those loyal to the soft-spoken, Southern lady, is he destined to also be a failure in Wildcat Ridge?

Buckley “Buck” Kramer, wrangler on the Grassy Fork Ranch in Colorado, has not been totally satisfied with his lot ever since the trip he took to Wildcat Ridge earlier in the summer with his boss and best friend now he sees the happiness of family life the two men enjoy after they brought back wives. When two trail-worn young brothers stumble onto the ranch looking for a meal and permanent jobs, but are told with winter coming on there is only room for one, Buck insists on leaving in order to keep the brothers together. Is Buck really dissatisfied with his job on the ranch, or is this an excuse to return to Wildcat Ridge and the woman he has not been able to get out of his mind?

  

Diantha, Book 14, is a stand-alone novel. However, you might enjoy it best by reading all the books in the series, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge. Also, my other book in the series, Nissa, Book 3, was written to be a duet with Diantha—a series within a series. You might also enjoy reading Nissa if you have not already done so.

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Snippet:

Diantha looked past the newcomer towards the approaching Wells Fargo driver bringing her the day’s mail. After Eugene’s death, she realized it was up to her to take over all aspects of the postmaster position. Not wishing the stagecoach drivers to consider her incapable of working the job, she had offered to meet the coach and collect the mail satchel the way her husband had done. The kindly men who drove for Wells Fargo insisted on bringing the mail to her on their way to the Crystal Café. The town still received rain and snow in late March and April, which left the streets either muddy, slushy, or icy much of the year. She had gratefully accepted.

          Diantha smiled at the driver as he drew near. “Thank you so much.”

          The mail bag landed with a heavy thud as the driver tossed it on the counter. “Glad to do it, Mrs. Ames.”

          Diantha watched with curiosity as he turned and glared at her new customer—well, potential customer.

          “You told her yet?”

          The man with the carpet bag shook his head. “Not yet. I was just about to introduce myself.”

          The driver grunted his displeasure and turned back to Diantha, an expression of regret on his face. “I’m right sorry about this, Mrs. Ames.” He paused and nodded his farewell. “Well, I’d best get next door if I want to eat before my last stop of the day.”

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ZINA ABBOTT is the pen name used by Robyn Echols for her adult Golden Oaks series which includes Family Secrets, the first book in the series, and her historical
novels.

Except for the first year of her life, Robyn has lived in California. She started her
young life in San Diego and has had gradually moved northward. She has been
writing since she was in junior high school.

After working several jobs, including that of being a rural carrier and union steward
for the California Rural Letter Carriers' Association, she has spent years learning and teaching family history topics. She enjoys focusing on history from a genealogist's perspective by seeking out the details of everyday life in the past. Several of her family history articles have been published in genealogy magazines.

She resides with her husband in California near the "Gateway to Yosemite." When
she is not piecing together novel plots and characters, she enjoys piecing together quilt blocks.

Connect with the Author here:

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In 1868, Otto Atwell has a 160 acre homestead near Abilene, Kansas and a limp as a result of an arrow shot in his low back while with the 16th Kansas Cavalry on the Powder River Expedition in 1865. What he doesn’t have is a wife. Then again, what woman would want to marry a cripple? 

Libby Jones comes to Junction City as a mail order bride. Not only does the man who sent for her reject her, he tries to sell her to the local brothel to recoup his fee. Otto offers to marry her, but she rejects him in favor of a job with his relatives. 

Will Otto’s offer still stand when trouble from Libby’s past catches up with her?

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Q&A With The Author:

1.    Tell us about things you enjoy — what you do for fun or personal satisfaction
besides writing?

             I enjoy driving into the mountains to sightsee and take photos. I also enjoy going to one or two seminars a year so I can tour along the way and while I’m there. I’m also a quilter.

2.    What is the thing you struggle with the most while writing? And how do you defeat it?

             I want to write more novels than what I have time to do. I try to be more realistic with my scheduling. I have been looking at ways to market more effectively without spending an excessive amount of time on social media.

3.    What are your future projects?

             I have an 80K book written that I need to do rewrites on after getting feedback from a cultural sensitivity beta reader. I have another novel written that needs some rewrites, then it gets published. I have a new adult series I published under my real name that needs the next book written. I also hope to write more books for two series—one my own and one sponsored by the Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog.

4.    What is the “message” of your writing? 

             I write sweet historical romance, but I often touch on gritty, sensitive issues such as the one in Otto’s Offer. I often write about legal and cultural barriers women faced in the past. Even though many today feel those times are over, I don’t wish my women readers to forget (1) many of those legal disadvantages still existed during my lifetime, and (2) the glass ceiling and other forms of discrimination against women may not be as oppressive now, but they are still there. Don’t lose the legal, social and cultural ground we have gained.

5.    Are your characters/stories/scenes, etc. based on anything in real life?

             I try for more depth than many romance authors in that I will incorporate actual historical events in my books in addition to the developing romantic relationship and the angst. One example is the history of the American Civil War-era 16th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry that plays a role in Otto’s Offer. Another entire book series I wrote is set in 1884 Mono County, California east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The plots in most of those books are based on actual historical events and conditions of the involved communities. Those who read my books risk learning something.

6.    Have you done anything writing-related, besides actually writing your books, that seemed to get a lot of positive response? Something that encouraged you?

             I’m a blogger. I need to write more for my Zina Abbot Books blog—another goal for this year—but in the meantime I post monthly on three group blogs. One group blog, Sweet Americana Sweethearts, I started two and a half years ago for the purpose of promoting sweet secular romance novels set in North America between 1820 and 1929. As of now, fifteen other sweet romance authors (some are Christian authors) take one day a month to share historical information and spotlight their published books. This blog has its own Twitter account, book club group on Facebook, and we have sponsored several book series for those of our authors who wish to participate. It takes far more time than I would like to administer these activities. However, I feel gratified that I am helping to promote American historical romances that meet sweet standards and are often inspirational, as well as other authors besides myself who write them.  

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