By Donna Schlachter
If you talked to Millie and asked
her about her heroine status, she’d likely blush, shuffle her toe in the dust,
and stammer that she’s not a heroine--she’s just Millie.
But even that would be a far cry from the truth, and an even
further leap from where she started.
Millie is the oldest of five siblings. Her mother died
several years before the start of our story, and the running of the household
has fallen to her. Her father is a brute who drinks more than is good for him, and
as a result, struggles to hold down enough work during a financially difficult
time in our country’s history, 1925. The next sibling has just turned thirteen,
old enough to take Millie’s place. Since he can’t afford to feed five kids, he
wants to marry her off.
But Millie is her own woman, and she’ll not endure the hard
life that killed her mother at a young age. Besides, she has dreams.
The silver screen in Hollywood beckons her, as it did
thousands of other young men and women. But she isn’t like all the rest--she
has a photographic memory that she’s certain will enable her to remember her
lines, to recall her scenes, and to propel her to stardom in no time at all.
The only problem is she doesn’t have two nickels to rub
together. So she heads for Albuquerque, the closest big city, to find work. At
a reputable place, of course. She’s heard of--and seen once--the Harvey House
Hotel, The Alvarado, so she heads there and obtains employment as a waitress in
the restaurant.
Within a few days, however, it’s apparent she isn’t cut out
for this kind of work, and falls into her dream job--an Indian Tours tour
guide. Fred Harvey Senior, appreciating that his customers wanted to learn more
about culture, offered tours to local American Indian reservations.
Here Millie meets the hero of our story, Peter Duncan. But
more about him another time. You can check out his story on my blog from
yesterday, or on Kathy Kovach’s blog on November 21st. See the details below.
Back to Millie: she has really struggled in her relationship
with God because of her mother’s death and her father’s subsequent treatment of
her. Peter, who wants to be a preacher someday, introduces her to an entirely
different Father and Redeemer than she’d known of before. In the process, she
learns about God’s love for her and for her mother, and understands that God
answers every prayer, regardless of whether she sees it or not.
Millie and Peter work together to uncover a jewelry
counterfeiting ring that could undermine Mr. Harvey Senior’s reputation as well
as steal from the local Acoma, and in the process, fall in love as they face
hardships, danger, and finally, success, together.
Millie realizes that her heart, once drawn to stardom
because of its lure of wealth and recognition, has changed, and now she longs
to stay with Peter and grow together in God’s love. God has detoured her plans
to dovetail with His own.
In addition, if you don’t already subscribe to my
newsletter, and you choose to subscribe at www.HiStoryThroughTheAges.com ,
I’ll pop in another entry for you. So you could have up to 16 chances to win!
Blogs/Facebook pages of other
authors in collection:
Debby Lee -- hosting the
Villains/Antagonists https://www.facebook.com/booksbydebbylee
or follow her newsletter: http://booksbydebbylee.com/contact.html#newsletter
Cynthia Hickey -- Hosting the
Settings https://www.facebook.com/Cynthia-Hickey-151333448227549/
Mary Davis -- hosting the
Heroines https://marydavis1.blogspot.com
About the collection: These seven
daring damsels don’t let the norms of their eras hold them back from adventure.
About Detours of the Heart: (Albuquerque, NM, 1925)
A tour guide who wants to move on, a
playboy who’s never had a place to call home—can they overcome their own plans
and allow God to make their path straight, or will they take yet another
detour?
Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick. She writes
historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her
alter ego of Leeann Betts. She is a member of American Christian Fiction
Writers and Sisters In Crime; facilitates a critique group, and teaches writing
classes. Donna ghostwrites, edits, and judges in writing contests. She loves
history and research, and travels extensively for both. Donna is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary
Management.
www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com
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Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DonnaSchlachter
Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq
and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2gZATjm
5 comments:
I would love to win a copy of this book, the collections are the best. I see a few favorite authors and some new ones to check out, this is one of the things I like.
wfnren at aol dot com
I do enjoy collections and this sounds like one I would really like to read!
This sounds like an interesting story, with some spiritual applications! I would like to read your story! :)
Hi Wendy, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Good luck in the drawing!
I love these Barbour collections. You could say I’ve been collecting them! Thanks paulams49ATsbcglobalDOTnet
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