Hi, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Nancy M. Bell and her new book, “Discarded,” here on FAB!! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Nancy and to increase your chances of winning!!
Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!
Discarded
Canadian Historical Mysteries
Book 4
by Nancy M. Bell
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GENRE: Canadian Historical Mystery
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BOOK BLURB:
When the British arrived in Winnipeg in the 1800s it was convenient for the men to take Metis wives. They were called a la vacon du pays – according to the custom of the country.
These women bore the brunt of ensuring survival in the harsh environment. Without them the British army and fur traders would not have survived the brutal winters. However, as society evolved it became accepted that wives must be white, schooled in British ways, fashionable in the European sense and married by the Anglican church.
The Metis wives and their ‘country born’ offspring were thrown out and forced to fend for themselves. The unrepentant husbands continued to live comfortably with their ‘new’ wives. It was inevitable that some discarded wives did not accept their fate quietly and hard feelings on both sides were unavoidable.
When the bodies of two discarded Metis wives, Marguerite and Marie-Anne, are found floating in the Red River, Guilliame Mousseau, sets out to get to the bottom of his sister Margueite’s murder.
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EXCERPT ONE:
“Marguerite, you must go to him. Ètienne needs medicine, the fever is eating him up,” Marie Anne urged her sister.
The younger woman shook her head, wringing out a cloth in cold water to soothe her child. “How can I? The English woman, she is there now, I doubt Miles will even speak to me.”
“He must, Ètienne is his son!” Marie-Anne insisted.
“No longer.” The words were bitter. “He has disowned the bebes and me, discarded us like so much offal. Now that his fancy English lady has arrived.”
“Still, Marguerite, you must go and ask. I will come with you. Together we will convince your Miles to either send the British doctor or give us money for the medicine.” Anne Marie pulled the dripping cloth from Marguerite’s hand and threw it on the pounded earth floor. “Look at him! You cannot just let him die. If you won’t go yourself, I will go in your stead.”
Marie-Anne whirled around, grabbing two thick shawls from the back of a chair, and wrapping them around her shoulders. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at her sister. “Are you coming?”
“Yes, oui, of course. I know you are right. It is just my pride that stops me. For how long was I his wife in every sense of the word? If not for me, and you, and others like us, those soft Englishmen would never have survived their first winter. It was our relatives who brought them buffalo and other provisions to see them through, and us who cared for them, chopped wood, carried the water, bore their children…” Marguerite broke off, her throat closing in frustration and sorrow for all that they’d lost. Angrily, she swiped the moisture from her cheeks and straightened her back. “Come, we go. Alexandre! Come watch your brother while I go to your papa to ask for help.”
The older boy poked the dying fire one more time before crossing the small room. He picked the sodden cloth up from the floor and wrung it out. After rinsing it with some water from the bucket by the bed, he wiped his little brother’s face.
“Maman, he’s burning up.” Alex looked up at her. “Will Papa come and take him to the doctor? Why hasn’t he come to see us lately?”
“Your papa will not be coming, nor will he take Ètienne to the doctor. The best we can hope for is that he will send the doctor or at least make provision for the apothecary to give me some medicine for him. I have tried the best I can with the willow bark, but it isn’t enough.”
“Will Ètienne die like Elizabeth?” Alex glanced at the empty cradle still sitting by the hearth.
“Not if I can help it,” Anne Marie promised. She took Marguerite’s arm and pulled her toward the door. “Put this on against the cold.” She thrust a Hudson’s Bay blanket into the other woman’s arms.
“Oui, yes, we must go. You are right.” Marguerite wrapped the woolen blanket tightly around her, and after one last look at her children, followed her sister out into the bitter wind blowing down the Red River, howling around the eaves of the small buildings and sending snow flying into their faces.
Alex’s last words echoed in Marguerite’s head as she shouldered her way against the wind. “Tell Papa I miss him.” She snorted, as if Miles cared about them anymore. Even little Elizabeth, dead at six months of age, hadn’t moved him to contribute to her burial. It was the English woman’s fault. She was the one who turned Miles against them. Charlotte Windfield, what sort of name was Charlotte anyway? Grief stabbed her for a moment, not Windfield anymore, oh no. Miles married the salope in the church two weeks ago. So now she was Charlotte Ashmore. Lady Ashmore, the pute.
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GUEST POST:
Where Do You Find Inspiration?
My current novel, Discarded, from BWL Publishing Inc., is part of the publisher’s Canadian Historical Mysteries Collection, a cousin to BWL’s Canadian Historical Brides Collection. There is a mystery set in each province and territory and I was assigned Manitoba. The first thing that came to mind was the Rebellion of 1869 led by Louis Riel. I had heard about it in grade school, but once I started digging I wanted to show Riel and the Metis point of view. When the Hudson’s Bay Company sold Rupert’s Land to the government of Upper Canada the people already living and thriving in the area were unceremoniously pushed out and discriminated against. I wanted to show their side of the story, one which was never presented in school. Riel and company was portrayed as a traitor and a rebel. In fact, he was only standing up for his community and asking for a fair and equable transition of power that did not strip the current inhabitants of everything.
The title Discarded refers to the Metis and indigenous women who kept the new British and Scottish immigrants alive during the first harsh years. They were considered married according to the custom of the country, sometimes called ‘country wives’. As the settlement evolved, the church disapproved of these arrangements and many English women were brought over as ‘suitable wives’ and these women were married in church by the clergy. The situation saw the women who had ensured the survival of the first immigrants being discarded. My story revolves around the murder of two such women and their brother’s search for justice.
You can find Discarded on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and wherever good books are sold. You can visit my page on BWL Publishing at https://bwlpublishing.ca/bell-nancy
I find inspiration for my stories in many places.
I have been writing since I was in grade school. I still have some of the short and not so short stories hand scribbled in pencil and pen. They are embarrassingly terrible. But words have always come to me and demanded to be put down on paper. It must be some past life geasa or something. <laughs>
I started a number of novels over the years, but life always got in the way, although I did amass a great deal of poetry and magazine articles. Then in 2005 I had a life changing accident and went from 200 miles per hour to 0 in about 2 seconds. While it ended my career, it did give me time <too much of it at times> to read and research things I had put on the top shelf for too long. I think the Universe said “Hey, lady. Quit ignoring me and write the stories we keep gifting you with.” Apparently, it was time I listened to my muse’s voice.
Life experience colours what we write. There are usually horse and dogs in my books. In ‘A Step Beyond’, the grey war stallion Alim actually steals every scene he’s in. It wasn’t meant to be that way, but hey, it happened.
My characters kind of slide into my head and start whispering their stories and I try to type fast enough to keep up with them. <no easy feat sometimes let me assure you> <grins> I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes I get characters popping up unexpectedly to help move the plot forward (sometimes in ways I hadn’t anticipated). Case in point is the fire elemental, the salamander Belerion who shows up in the hearth when Laurel (of Laurel’s Quest) was in need of the next clue to her riddle. He took me by surprise but then he just winked that bright blue eye at me, and we were off. (he kind of looks like the Geico Insurance lizard but bright red and trailing flares of fire with brilliant blue eyes).
There are places on the prairies where the stories whisper in the wind and the rustle of the prairie grasses. Old stories, older than we could remember. The land lies dreaming under the sky. Those words were shared with me many years ago sitting on a hill looking over the sun-drenched prairie toward the Rocky Mountains in the west.
Stories are everywhere. I once came home from walking the dogs with a poem. April Earth. Another place is Lake Louise in Banff National Park, at the head of the lake, away from the hotel, and Boscawe’en stone circle near St Buryan in Cornwall is a magic place. You can almost see the enchantment hanging in the air and taste it on your tongue.
Sometimes I get woken up in the middle of the night with a bunch of lines running around in my head and I have to get up and get them down or I’ll lose them and spend time fruitlessly trying to find them again. <you never do, of course> I have some series like the Longview Romance series and the Laurel series where off shoot stories are always hopping around waiting to be told.
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AUTHOR BIO:
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Nancy Marie Bell is a proud Albertan and Canadian. She lives near Balzac, Alberta with her husband and various critters. She is a member of The Writers Union of Canada and the Writers Guild of Alberta.
Nancy has numerous writing credits to her name, having three novels published and her work has been published in various magazines. She has also had her work recognized and honoured with various awards, and most recently, a silver medal in the Creative Writing category of the Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games in 2013.
Nancy has presented at the Surrey International Writers Conference in 2012 and 2013, and at the Writers Guild of Alberta Conference in 2014. She has publishing credits in poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
Nancy blogs on the first of each month at the Canadian Historical Brides Blog and on the 18th of every month at the Books We Love Insider Blog. Please drop by and say hi.
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CONNECT WITH NANCY:
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/NancyMBell
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/emilypikkasso
BWL Publishing Author Page:
https://bwlpublishing.ca/bell-nancy
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20679452.Nancy_M_Bell
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195459756-discarded
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Discarded-Canadian-Historical-Mysteries-Nancy-ebook/dp/B0CD89RTTB
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Discarded-Nancy-M-Bell/dp/0228626811
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143977189
Kobo US eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/discarded-10
Kobo CA eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/discarded-10
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Nancy will be awarding a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thank you for featuring such an interesting guest post.
ReplyDeleteWho influenced you to be a writer!
ReplyDeleteHi Tami, A really good friend of my grandmother's, Gilean Douglas was a huge inspiration to me when I was young.
DeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry, Thanks for coming by and leaving a comment. Nancy
DeleteSounds really interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Marcy, it was really interesting to do the research for this book. I learned a lot about early pre-Confederation Canada nancy
Deletethis sounds very good!
ReplyDeleteHi Marisela, I hope you enjoy the book to read as much I did writing it. Best Nancy
DeleteHi Debbie, I hope you will enjoy the mystery. Nancy
ReplyDeleteThank you to Fabulous and Brunette for hosting me. I really appreciate the support. Thank you again. Nancy
ReplyDeleteThis sounds intriguing. CONGRATULATIONS
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy. Glad you came by! Nancy
DeleteThe book sounds very interesting. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi pippirose, it was quite interesting doing the research for this. Thanks for dropping by. Nancy
Delete