My novella “ZOLA’S CROSS-COUNTRY ADVENTURE” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection is about a courageous young woman in 1904 who attempts to be the first woman to drive from coast to coast. Zola has taken up the challenge to prove women are as capable as men, and to prove this, she sets out to drive an automobile across the country. My newspaper reporter hero, Allen, has been tasked with getting the story and is ordered to follow her.
In 1903, a man named Horatio
Nelson Jackson, his chauffeur/mechanic, and his dog, Bud, traveled from San
Francisco to New York City in a 20-horsepower Winton automobile, making him the
first person to drive across the country. In 1903, when Dr. Horatio
Nelson Jackson made his historic transcontinental trek, automobiles were still
a novelty and most people didn’t trust them.
Automobiles were highly prone to breaking
down. People didn’t think automobiles would last, that they were a passing fad.
Here is a “romance” song written back in the day about automobiles breaking down:
1769: The first steam-powered automobile
capable of human transportation built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. (I didn’t
realize automobiles went back that far.)
1808: The first car powered by an internal
combustion engine fueled by hydrogen designed François Isaac de Rivaz.
1870: The first gasoline powered combustion
engine built by Siegfried Marcus.
1885: A single cylinder four-stroke engine
powered Karl Benz’s gasoline automobile. Because Benz made several identical
copies, it’s considered the first “production” vehicle.
At the turn of the 20th century, electrically
powered automobiles became a popular alternative. (Hmm, that sounds
familiar. It only took another 100 years for them to come back into vogue.)
Automobiles were expensive and only the rich could
afford them. With Henry Ford’s assembly line, automobiles became affordable for
the ordinary person.
Happy Adventuring!
Love Is One of Life’s Greatest Adventures
Seven daring damsels don’t let the norms of
their eras hold them back. Along the way these women attract the attention of
men who admire their bravery and determination, but will they let love grow out
of the adventures?
Releases December 1, 2018
MARY DAVIS is a bestselling,
award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and
contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly
& Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in
January, Courting Her Amish Heart in
March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September,
& “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is
a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the
Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She
has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her
online at:
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