Author Interview: Gold Rush Bride Caroline by Linda Shenton Matchett

About the Gold Rush Bride Caroline

Book: Gold Rush Bride Caroline

Author: Linda Shenton Matchett

Genre: Historical Romance

Release date: July 21, 2022

She thinks he’s high-handed and out for her gold. He thinks she’s difficult and money-hungry. Will they discover that love is the true treasure?

Scarred in a childhood accident, Caroline Vogel has yet to find a man willing to marry her, so she heads to the Pike’s Peak goldfields to pan enough ore to become a woman of means. When she and the handsome assistant trail boss hit it off, she begins to hope her future may not be spent alone. Then she catches wind of dark secrets from the man’s past, and she’s not sure what or who to believe.

Orphaned as a teenager, Oliver Llewellyn stole to survive, then used his skills for the army during the war. Nowadays, he applies his knowledge to catch dangerous thieves for the Pinkerton Agency, so guarding a young woman during a wagon train journey should be easy. But he didn’t count on the fact she’d angered a man bent on revenge. He also didn’t count on losing his heart.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is a former trustee for her local public library. She is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry. Linda has lived in historic places all her life, and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

More from Linda

Dear Readers,

Have you ever heard the quote about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that says, “Sure he was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did, backwards…and in high heels?” Originally seen in a 1982 Frank and Ernest comic strip, the line has been used by many people from comedians to politicians.

A slight twist on the statement can be made about women in the centuries before modern attire allowed them to wear slacks…they did everything men did, but in floor-length skirts (to say nothing of when they had to wear corsets!). A few examples include cooking over an open hearth, hauling water before the invention of pumps and indoor plumbing, farm work such as milking cows or gardening, and riding a horse.

One of my favorite aspects about writing is developing the characters, especially the female protagonists. Mine are typically…well, untypical. The gals in my books are war correspondents, mechanics, spies, doctors, pilots, and midwives, just to name a few. While thinking about what to write next, I stumbled on an article about female prospectors, and I knew I had my story. The few images I found confirmed my suspicion. These women prospected alongside the men,  swirling their pans of silt hour after hour…all while wearing a dress.

I continued to dig and was delighted to find journals and diaries of these stalwart women who either followed their husbands, brothers, or fathers to the gold field or actually set out on their own. The first book in the series, Gold Rush Bride Hannah takes in northern Georgia during the rush of 1829 when more than one million dollars of gold was unearthed.

Today’s tour book, Gold Rush Bride Caroline, is about Hannah’s daughter and takes place during the 1859 Pike’s Peak Gold Rush in Colorado. I hope you enjoy Caroline’s story.

Blessings,

Linda Shenton Matchett

Author Interview

How do you pick your characters personalities, or looks?

My characters’ appearances are often dependent upon their heritage. For example, I have several books set in Wisconsin and feature Norwegian communities, so their looks are somewhat typical of Scandinavians. Other books feature Germans which is my heritage, so I used family photos to determine what the characters would look like. As far as personalities go, I tend to make most of my characters fairly strong-willed (hopefully without being overbearing or obnoxious!). 

Once an idea takes root, how long does it take you to write it down?

The initial idea usually only takes a couple of hours to round out with names, places, and basic plot line, but I am an outliner, so before I can write the story, I take two to three weeks to create a full outline of the book.

Do you have a genre that you would never write? (In the Christian genre sphere i.e. speculative, historical, contemporary, etc.)
I could never write speculative fiction because of the amount of work required to create the stories “world.” I prefer to set my books in real locations and often have a map in hand of wherever I’m writing.

What is one thing in your life that you would say has had the greatest impact on your writing? Or in your life in general?
I was a human resources professional for most of my career, and being taken seriously as a female executive was challenging in the early days. Because of that, I became fascinated by the role of women in the workplace, especially during World War II when women took jobs traditionally held by men because the men had gone off to war. Most of my protagonists hold jobs unusual for women: pilot, doctor, war correspondent, mechanic, and spy.

Lastly, what was your favorite book growing up?
As a child, my favorite book was Are you My Mother? As a young teen, I read and fell in love with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I moved often while growing up, so I think that experience is why I related to the book. The story impacted me significantly, and is what gave me the inspiration to become an author. I wanted to write stories that affected people like that book had affected me.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 13

Texas Book-aholic, August 14

Inklings and notions, August 15

For Him and My Family, August 16

Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 17 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, August 17

Bizwings Blog, August 18

deb’s Book Review, August 19

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 20

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, August 21

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, August 22 (Author Interview)

Book Looks by Lisa, August 22

Betti Mace, August 23

Connie’s History Classroom, August 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 25

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Linda is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Visa Gift Card and signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/20a89/gold-rush-bride-caroline-celebration-tour-giveaway