Tuesday Tidbits: UNDER CONTRACT!

I’m so excited to have signed a contract for my novel titled FRUIT JAR TREASURE.

A young woman, wanting to dig up a new life, clashes with a landowner who could bury her dream forever.

 
Washington State, Summer 1901
Discontented, Jessica Smoak must get out of her brother’s home and away from her overbearing sister-in-law. She corresponds with a woman who allegedly has gold-filled jars buried on her property, that no one has been able to locate for decades. The woman agrees to a fifty/fifty split. Jessica isn’t afraid of a little hard work to secure a new life.

 
Shaun MacLaurin is a bookkeeper for a local business as well as caring for his wheelchair-bound mother. They are barely scraping by. He doesn’t believe in the legendary treasure. Though his mother’s heart is in turning their home into a boarding house, he considers selling before the bank takes it out from under them.

 
As Jessica digs into the past to secure her future, will Shaun bury her dreams? Or will Jessica’s crusade to find fictitious treasure quell their budding romance?

Besides loving a good treasure hunt, I’ve named my heroine and hero after my daughter and son-in-law. FRUIT JAR TREASURE will be released the first month of book club. I’m excited to be writing for this new publisher. Not only do I like her publishing philosophy, but she is a good friend.

 

Desert Bloom Publishing is a new book club featuring historical Christian romances. Readers receive two historical Christian romances a month in audiobook, e-book, or paperback format. They are written by different authors and are set in different times. Each story contains a unique historical tidbit. The first release is expected January 2024. You can help get this club going by becoming a Founding Member.
https://desertbloombooks.com/
You can get a free book in e-book or audiobook format to see what the excitement is all about.
https://desertbloombooks.com/free-book/

When signing up, please use my referral code [REF6YZZZJRQZ5] for a discount on a 6-month or year subscription.

As stated above, my publisher is offering a free historical Christian romance to get people interested in a new and exciting club. It’s a novella length story (106 pages, Audio 3hrs 13 min) centered about the first women’s rights conference in Seneca Falls, New York.

FREEING ANNA

1848, Seneca Falls, New York. Confined by her era, a suffragette must choose between her freedom and her heart.

Anna Carlson would be a lawyer if she hadn’t been born a woman. Society expects her to marry, but only a fool would give up her identity to a man. Inventor, Isaac Jennings, lives for his research. He’s learned the hard way to stay clear of women. Isaac and Anna form an unlikely alliance to file his patent application. Will he win a patent on her heart in the process?

https://desertbloombooks.com/free-book/

HAPPY READING!!!

The QUILTING CIRCLE Series

Historical Romance

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily the man she loves?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *2020 Selah Awards Finalist & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *2021 Selah Awards Winner& WRMA Finalist*– Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) –Complications arise when a fancy French lady, Geneviève, steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

THE LADY’S MISSION (Book5) – Will Cordelia abandon her calling for love?

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR, THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Quilting Circle 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-eight years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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Tuesday Tidbits: BAILOUT! WWII SURVIVAL GEAR

A WWII military pilot flying over large bodies of water needed to be prepared to survive in the air, on land, and in the water, which required a lot of equipment. One thing that surprised me in my research was the amount of gear a pilot needed to wear and still fit into the cockpit of a fighter plane and other military aircraft. They, of course, had their A4 flight suit with some underclothing beneath it, B5 leather helmet, and A6 flying boots.

The last thing an airman wanted to do was abandon a plane far up in the sky, especially over water. When the circumstances required bailing out, the items worn were in the order the flight crew member would need them after bailing out. The first and most obvious piece of survival gear was a parachute. With the huge amount of silk fabric in the canopy of the chute, the canvas pack it is stored in, and the harness to strap it to a body, the whole kit and caboodle weighed in at roughly thirty-one pounds. The open canopy of the chute measured twenty-eight feet in diameter on the underside. It would slow the wearer from 120 mph down to 13 mph depending on various factors such as body weight and atmospheric conditions.

Once aloft over water, a pilot needed to time the releasing of his parachute precisely. Too soon, and he would drop into the water while his chute drifted away. Too late, and it could come down on top of him in the water, potentially pulling him under. There were two goals regarding the chute: first, to release it so as not to get tangle up in the bountiful fabric, and second, to still able to salvage the chute. Why would that matter, you might wonder? It could be an excellent source of shade once inside the little one-man life raft or become a makeshift sail.

Underneath the parachute came the B-4 Mae West life vest. So named because, when inflated, it resembled the buxom actress, popular in the 1930s, 1940s, and into the 1950s. Once the pilot was in the water—chute off, but in tow—he would work the two CO2 canisters on his life vest, one to inflate each side. The Mae West was also equipped with a rubber hose to inflate it manually if necessary.

The next order of business was getting out of the water, which could be shark infested. The C1 survival vest was worn under the Mae West, but accessible, and contained—among other things—a life raft. All twelve square feet of it.

This C1 housed more than thirty items: everything from an inflatable one-man lifeboat with hand paddles, emergency rations, matches, fishing kit, sewing kit, first aid kit, signal flares, fire starting tabs, matches, water purification tablets, knife, .45 caliber pistol with bullets, toilet paper, sun goggles, signaling mirror, compass, collapsible canteen, insect repellent, smelling salts, and more.

I found the following WWII military training video (titled Castaway) highly entertaining. It reminded me of my childhood, not in content but in style. People of a certain age and older might remember The Wonderful World of Disney wildlife shows with narration from a bygone era. The narration in this video reminds me of those.

CASTAWAY U.S. NAVY WORLD WAR II SURVIVAL FILM PART 1

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAeUIU-KG-Q)

WWII parachutes, survival gear, and persevering after ditching in the ocean were some of the myriad of topics I researched while writing Mrs. Witherspoon Goes To War. My heroine needed all of this survival gear, which is a lot of weight on my little 5’2” plucky WASP.

https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Witherspoon-Goes-Heroines-WWII-ebook/dp/B09FP8Y3G8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1630906313&sr=1-1

The QUILTING CIRCLE Series

Historical Romance

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily the man she loves?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *2020 Selah Awards Finalist & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *2021 Selah Awards Winner& WRMA Finalist*– Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) –Complications arise when a fancy French lady, Geneviève, steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

THE LADY’S MISSION (Book5) – Will Cordelia abandon her calling for love?

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR, THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Quilting Circle 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-eight years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Books2Read  Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub