Mary Davis' Blog: January 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

GOD’S MYSTERIOUS WAYS

Holly and Nick, in "Holly & Ivy", learn that just because their lives get kicked off the paths they had set

themselves on doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. In their cases, something has finally going right. They need to rethink their lives and accept the gifts God has given them. He’s given them each another chance for love.

It encourages me the way God can take something we might view as bad or a mistake in our lives and turn it around for good. I love how God can speak to me through a Bible verse today that He spoke to me differently through a year ago or ten years ago and might use that verse to speak to me differently five years from now. Every verse in the Bible is relevant yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15

“Holly & Ivy,” my #HistoricalRomance novella in A #BouquetOfBrides, takes place in 1890, in Washington State. It’s about a young woman who accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a Christmas mail-order bride and is helped by a gallant stranger.

In celebration of the release of “Holly & Ivy”, I’m giving away (US only) a print copy of A BOUQUET OF BRIDES Collection. To enter, subscribe to my newsletter and receive a free short story. I’ll be drawing for the book at the end of January.

#BouquetOfBrides

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is an award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has four more titles releasing in 2018; Courting Her Amish Heart in March 2018, The Widow’s Plight in July 2018, Courting Her Secret Heart (Working Title) September 2018, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December 2018. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Friday, January 26, 2018

INTO THE WILD WEST

I was born and raised in Washington State and love it when I can set a story in my home state. I’ve lived away from here for over three decades and have recently returned. It’s good to be back.

I chose Ellensburg because that’s where I attended college. Go Wildcats! I recently visited Ellensburg. Boy has it changed.

Holly Harrison and her sister start out in Maryland and travel by train to Washington State. Quite an ordeal for two young, single ladies traveling alone into the Wild West. It was fun to briefly explore what a cross-country trip like this might have entailed and some of the other passengers around them. Fortunately for them, Nick Andrews happens upon them early in their journey and takes pity on these two foolish ladies traveling unaccompanied and takes it upon himself to protect them from ne’er-do-wells.

Once to their destination, the remainder of the story takes place on a cattle ranch with all men who are more than appreciative for their cooking abilities. There are cattle ranches all around the Ellensburg area, so it seemed fitting for Nick to run one.

“Holly & Ivy,” my #HistoricalRomance novella in A #BouquetOfBrides, is set in Ellensburg, Washington State in 1890. This story follows a pair of sisters from the East Coast to a cattle ranch in the Wild West. Holly’s impetuous younger sister has agreed to be a Christmas mail-order bride. They are helped by a gallant stranger.

#BouquetOfBrides

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

WANTED: BRIDE

Like many people, I’m fascinated with the concept of mail-order brides. The idea of and use of finding a bride via the mail or advertisement gained popularity in the United States in the 1800s. A far larger number of men from the east traveled across the country to settle the west than woman. This meant the finding a woman to marry for these men was severely limited. Unable to travel back to the east, men sent for brides. It might sound absurd at first glance, but women answered the call.

Being a romantic, I struggled with how marrying a person you hardly know could work with love and romance? What kind of a woman would choose to marry a man she’s never met? Traveling alone over such a vast distance could be dangerous for a woman in the 1800s with no guarantee her husband-to-be would be a good and kind man.

In addition to what would cause a woman to make a huge lifelong decision like this is the romance factor. I like romance before the wedding, because I like the romance to lead up to the proposal and wedding. If they are already married, there isn’t a concrete goal to strive for. But it’s also fun to explore a couple falling in love after marriage.

This quandary sets my mind to work overtime coming up with possible scenarios. For this story, it’s not my main heroine, Holly, but her flighty sister, Ivy, who is the mail-order bride. Holly travels with her to talk her out of this nonsense. But her sister is unmoving in her position all the way across the country in spite of unsavory men bothering them. But when she meets her intended, her conviction waivers.

This is not the first nor the last mail-order bride story I hope to write. Cinda’s Surprise was the first. In her case, her friends corresponded with the prospective husband without her knowledge. Two others I hope to write in the future have heroines who are either trying to find and reclaim her children and the other wants to get out of a miserable situation and start anew.

#BouquetOfBrides

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Friday, January 19, 2018

A BOUQUET’S SWEET SCENT

Photo by Rowena Kong on Upsplash

My initial idea for A Bouquet of Brides Collection popped into my head years before I started pulling the proposal together. The inspiration title that came to me was A Bouquet of Brides for the Bakersfield Bachelors. But coordinating so many stories by so many different authors can be quite challenging, time consuming, and confusing. So instead of having all the brides end up in the same location, I held fast to the flower theme. The collection bloomed and grew from there.

Flowers have been depicted for centuries in paintings, sculptures, music, books, tapestries, china, needlepoint, almost anywhere you can think of. Flowers have been used to honor important ceremonies and traditions, enhance environments, and of course to express feelings, especially love. Flowers mean many things to people.

My favorite flower is the carnation. I love its sweet, sweet smell and how it’s ruffly, almost lacey like. What’s your favorite flower?

“Holly & Ivy,” my #HistoricalRomance novella in A #BouquetOfBrides, takes place in 1890, in Washington State. A young woman accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a Christmas mail-order bride and is helped by a gallant stranger.

#BouquetOfBrides

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at: