PROMISES OF SPRING

By Caroline Clemmons

March is here, and that means spring is near. What a lovely thought. This month brings the switch to Daylight Saving Time on the 8^th, St. Patrick’s Day on the 17^th, and Palm Sunday on the 29^th. 

In addition, this is Irish-American Month. Most schools have a spring break this month—applauded by students and teachers. I not only love living in spring, I love writing books set then. 

Bluebonnet photo by Nelda Liles

One of my books set in spring is BLUEBONNET BRIDE. Pardon me for being immodest, but I love that book. (Okay, I love most of my books.) My friend Nelda Liles gave me the lovely bluebonnet photo for the cover and Hero applied the image of the lovely woman who (in my head) looks like the heroine, Rosalyn. Many of you readers have commented on how much you like the book’s cover. Thank you. If you haven't read the book, here's the link to purchase it. (hint, hint)

Amazon http://amzn.com/B00BHOC7L8

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bluebonnet-bride-caroline-clemmons/1115679131?ean=9781482507089

In addition, bluebonnets are the Texas state flower and one of my favorite flowers, second only to pink roses.  Did you know bluebonnets smell like orange blossoms? Every spring when they bloom along the highways, we see families stopped to take photos of children sitting in the fields of flowers. Picking the flowers from public land is illegal, but smelling them and photographing them is just fine.

Ennis, Texas has an annual Bluebonnet Trail. That’s where Nelda photographed some lovely pictures of fields of bluebonnets.  I’ve always wanted to drive that trail, but life always interferes. Le sigh.

Ladybird Johnson

Regardless of your politics, Texans have Ladybird Johnson to thank for the wildflowers, including bluebonnets, that grow along Texas highways. She persuaded then Senator Lloyd Bentsen to promote planting wildflowers on highway right of ways. He even promoted it in Washington D.C. for national roadways. The last grass cutting of the year, cutting crews tossed out seeds. For many years, free bluebonnet seeds were available from the State. Amazing what one influential person can accomplish, isn’t it?

I’m not a fan of summer heat, but spring and fall are my times of year. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. We do have violent storms in spring, but we always need the rain they bring. My books often feature extreme Texas weather. BE MY GUEST has a spring flood which strands the heroine on the ranch of the hero. The cover features Jimmy Thomas standing in front of a photo I took of spring flowers. BE MY GUEST is also the first book I had published. Once I recovered the rights from Kensington, I self-published.

Amazon http://amzn.com/B004M8T1EC

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/be-my-guest-caroline-clemmons/1100076650?ean=9781478192206

As happy as I am to see spring approach, I know all those in the frozen northeast are even more eager to see the end of winter. What a winter they’ve had! In the meantime, stay warm.

What’s your favorite time of year?   

PASS THE POISON, PLEASE

My latest trilogy, Men of Stone Mountain, is about the three Stone brothers: Micah, Zach, and Joel. Aren’t brothers enough of a link for a trilogy? Yes, but there’s another link to these three books. Each involves poison in some way and is a mystery as well as a historical romance. No, I’m not bloodthirsty and I don’t intend to use my knowledge to wipe out any real people. In this trilogy, however, I wipe out a several people. Ah, the joys of being a writer! We are allowed to vent our frustrations by killing people on paper. And it’s legal. ☺ I love my job!

Studying herbal medicine is sort of a mini-hobby. I’ve taken the excellent herbal class Beth Trissel occasionally offers, as well as perusing my books on folk medicine. Pioneers relied heavily on their ability to recognize healing plants as well as those that discouraged pests and vermin. No Walgreens or WalMart around in those days.  Early settlers also learned that what can heal, if administered improperly, can harm. Cue eerie music.

Don’t you suspect a lot of so-called natural deaths were helped along before modern medicine and forensics discouraged using potions and tinctures to kill? Maybe I’m suspicious by nature, but I believe a lot of troublesome people died prematurely, helped along by a supposedly loving family member.

“My father in law Uriah? Why, he had a heart attack and up and died.”

“My first two wives? Each took sick and died on me.”

If you lived in the middle of nowhere, who was around to prove otherwise? If you lived in town, forensics had not advanced to today’s level. Even if a lawman or physician suspected murder, he had to prove it. A few poisons left tattletale signs, others left none. And that’s not even counting falls and other so-called accidents. You think life is dangerous now?

Often pioneers learned more about the local plants from friendly Native Americans. As people moved West and the topography and climate changed, they found many plants with which they were unfamiliar. They required help to discover which helped and which harmed. Have you wondered who first tasted this or that to see if it would make good food or medicine? I admit I often wonder trivial things like that.

I’ve heard that women are more likely to use poison than men. Perhaps that’s due to lack of physical strength. In this trilogy, both sexes are involved in using poison—some for evil, some for self defense. And I wanted each to be a natural poison found in the wild.

Here are the three books:

BRAZOS BRIDE’s heroine, Hope Montoya, is a smart woman and figures out that someone is poisoning her. Who and why are more difficult problems.  Until she knows, she can trust no one who has access to her food or medicine. She vows to fight for her life, but she’s so weakened by the poison that she can’t fight alone. Enter our hero, Micah Stone. Do you hear the “1812 Overture?” You know, I’ve heard a highbrow is someone who can hear that music without thinking of the Lone Ranger. But I digress.

In HIGH STAKES BRIDE, Alice Price is on the run from her less-than-bright stepbrothers who plan to hand her over to a man she considers the meanest man in Texas to settle a gambling debt. Enter Zach Stone to lend a hand. But in the end quick thinking Alice has to save herself, with Zach fast on her heels to the rescue.

In BLUEBONNET BRIDE, Rosalyn must escape an unjust death sentence for poisoning her husband with dried oleander from her garden.  She flees to the ends of the earth, or so it seems to her, and meets Joel Stone. Only he can save her, but his family helps. Those Stones stick together. I love that fact about them.

In the event you wish to buy any of these books, I’m happy to share that I have combined the three into a boxed set, MEN OF STONE MOUNTAIN: MICAH, ZACH, AND JOEL, at a reduced price that saves you two dollars at Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Men-of-Stone-Mountain-ebook/dp/B00DTGQXLW/ref=sr_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1374026596&sr=1-15&keywords=caroline+clemmons

Individually, each book is also available at iTunes, Kindle, Nook, Kobo and at Smashwords.

Thanks for stopping by!