I was in high school when I read my first historical romance. While I enjoyed the love story VERY much, I was also drawn to the details and facts the author shared about the characters' daily lives. There were duties and objects and fashions that I had never heard of until I started reading historical romance.
For example, it was Mary Balogh who taught me what a "forlorn hope" was. And I learned from Maggie Osborne that if you wanted to get over Chilkoot Pass during the Alaskan Gold Rush, you had to keep walking or you might just go sliding right back down. And no one was going to help you.
I found that I loved those little nuggets of information. They were so interesting and made the story better. They pulled you into the time period and made the setting richer and easier to connect with.
Many years ago, I took a tour of a Victorian home in Galveston, Texas. It was there where I learned what carpenter's lace was. So many of those houses had all that intricate and beautiful woodwork. What I didn't realize, probably because I was born when suburbs became the norm and every fifth home was the same, was that these carved pieces of artwork were all different. And they didn't always have to be on the outside of the house.
The docent called it "carpenter's lace", which was each carpenter's trademark, and became his signature. Isn't that cool? A carpenter would sign the houses he built, just like an artist signs a painting. Once the builder created his signature, he would put it in a spot in the house, making it possible for people to identify his work.
I loved that soooo much, and I knew I had to put this little tidbit in a book.
Love's Promise releases on November 7th. It is the sixth book in the Texas Brides of Pike's Run series. One of the main characters, Jonas Boswell, is a carpenter, and I wrote a wonderful scene where he shows the woman he loves his handiwork. I love that scene so much and a snippet of it is below.
Is there something interesting that you learned from a romance? Please share below and you could win a book from my series!
Love's Promise: An Excerpt
She shook her head then turned toward the house.
When he would have hurried her up the steps, she stopped to
take in the view. He was so ready to get her inside and show her his
woodworking abilities, he’d forgotten she might want to admire the outside
first.
He looked at it through her eyes, wondering what she would
think. The house was yellow with white trim. The front had two bay windows, one
on either side of the wide porch, set under twin gables that had barge board,
carved with a leaf design, running along the edge. The trim under the roof
overhang had been shaped into waves and went from one end to the other.
“How beautiful,” she breathed. “It’s like a fairytale.”
There weren’t any other words she could have said that would
have pleased him more. He’d almost abandoned the project when his wife died.
She’d passed when the structure was only a shell, and the frames had stood
almost as another marker for her departed soul. Eventually, he’d needed
something to do and had been surprised when completing the house had provided
solace for his grief. When he looked at it now, he always saw Mary’s proud
expression in his mind’s eye. “Let’s go inside,” he urged.
She said nothing but allowed him to take her by the hand
then up the steps. When she entered, she gasped at the high ceiling. He’d left
the entry open to the top floor. There was a window intricately placed above
the door to allow the setting sun to shine through.
“Oh, Jonas! How beautiful.”
The wonder on her face gripped him as nothing ever had
before. She treated his home as if it were some kind of priceless painting. To
him it was. To others…well, he’d never expected such a reaction.
“The shine is gorgeous. The beams are so rich.” She turned
in a circle, running her enraptured gaze over every inch of the ceiling.
“Thank you,” he murmured. Inadequate words, but they were
all he could think of. “They’re mahogany.”
When she finally took her gaze from above and looked at the
entry, he waited with bated breath. Would she think the rest as beautiful?
She assessed the curving staircase and reached out a shaky
hand to touch the newel post. “You carved this.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of amazed wonder.
He said nothing and swallowed past the lump in the base of his throat.
Then she found the floor with its snowflake shadows made by
his woodworking skills. “Jonas!” she gasped. “It’s lace!”
While she stared with wide eyes, he cleared his throat and
explained. “Carpenter’s lace. It’s my signature.”
Her gaze switched to him. “Your signature?”
He pointed to the edge of the ceiling where the stairs
disappeared onto the second floor. “See the design here?”
She tipped her head up. “Oh, I do,” she breathed. “It’s a
carved detail you added, and when the setting sun shines through, it makes lace
shadows on the ground.” She reached a hand up. “I’m too short.”
She didn’t need to ask twice. He stepped forward then lifted
her at the waist, her soft feminine curves making his gut clench with desire.
She giggled but didn’t tell him to put her down. Gingerly, as if it were
precious, she touched the grooves of his signature, running her finger along
the carvings.
When he set her down, she gazed at him. “A carpenter signs
his work? Like a painter signs a painting?”
He nodded. “It’s usually called carpenter’s lace. When you
begin your business, you develop one and put it in a spot in each house you
build.”
“This is fascinating. I knew you were talented, but I
underestimated how much.”
Heat climbed into his cheeks. “Thanks,” he said sheepishly.
“Are you embarrassed?” she asked, her mouth curving upward
in pleased surprise. “Or modest? That’s it. You’re modest.”
He shrugged then held out his hand. “Wanna see the rest?”
Her gaze lowered to his outstretched palm, and he waited
with his breath held for her to accept his touch again. When she slid her
fingers through his, tingles shot up his arm and sent warmth to areas that had
been dormant for too long. He tugged and she followed.
Jonas Boswell is enchanted by Sugar Fremont. He fights the attraction, not wanting to risk his heart after experiencing the death of his first wife. Falling in love again has never seemed possible or safe. But then Sugar appears with her bouncing, red curls and shining, blue eyes, and he is lost.
Thomas Miller gives females a wide berth. After living with three sisters, he finds women frustrating and irritating. And Cora Ann Carter is no exception. However, her feisty nature and bold curves draw him in until he doesn't recognize himself. It's all he can do not to drag her down the aisle.
Reverend Aidan Black had his heart broken many years ago. He swore off women and made his flock his priority. Then Eliska Spencer crosses his path. She is kind. And gentle. And giving. His heart melts, and he is powerless against her. He vows to make her his own.
But the ladies’ past looms, invading their future and stealing their happiness. All the women want is to love and be loved. Can they achieve their dreams, or will the men in their lives prove too stubborn to forgive their past?
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