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04 December 2016

Character Interview with Austin Hart of Seven Brides for Seven Texans, by Vickie McDonough


An interview with hero, Austin Hart, of "Mail-Order Mayhem", a novella in Seven Brides for Seven Texans (Barbour Publishing, December, 2016).


Genre: Christian historical romance

Novella Description: "Mail-Order Mayhem" - With the cattle industry growing fast in Texas, Stephen “Austin” Hart thought his future as a rancher looked fairly secure. Austin had long expected his father’s ranch to be divided among the seven brothers, although he never expected that to happen before his father died. But his father has issued an ultimatum—get married or lose out. Now Austin’s future is on shaky ground. He’s 34, and between fighting in the War Between the States, returning home to recover from severe wounds, and then helping his pa keep their large ranch going amidst the turmoil of reconstruction in the years following the war, he hasn’t had time to marry. But if he doesn’t, he could lose his land and the future he’s dreamed of. So marry he will, but none of the women he knows interests him. A mail-order bride seems the quickest and easiest solution to his problem.
  
Interview of Austin Hart

VM: Mr. Hart, I hear you have a rich heritage here in Texas.

AH: First off, call me Austin. With 8 Mr. Harts in the vicinity, things can get confusing faster than a stampede. My pa, George Washington Hart was friends with Stephen F. Austin, founder of the first white settlement in Texas. My grandparents Benjamin Franklin and Mary Ellen Hart came to Texas with their four children, George Washington—my pa, John Adams, William Penn, and Martha Abigail Hart. They were part of the “Old 300,” the first white settlers in Texas.

(CFP: I LOVE this history, Austin!)

VM: Wow, that is some heritage. The Old 300 settled east of here, so how did you end up in this part of Texas?

AH: Benjamin Hart and his family ventured farther west than most of the Austinites, putting down roots along the Sabinal River. There he established the Hart ranch and set aside a portion of his property to establish the town of Hartville.

VM: Ah. . . so that’s why the town bears your family name. Interesting. Now, I have a more personal question. Does it bother you that five of your six younger brothers have found love and have married, but you still remain single?

AH: To be honest, it does pester me that so many of my brothers have found wives and I haven’t. Although let me state right now that I’m happy for each of them—and even though Pa forced our hand by declaring we had to marry or lose or inheritance, I have to say it’s worked out well for my brothers.

VM: What about your brother, James Bowie Hart. Do you think he’ll find a wife?

AH: I’m not sure that he cares if he does or not. He was hurt bad in the war and hasn’t quite been the same. He took off not too long ago, and none of us know where he went. I’d love to see him happy and settled with a good woman, but it would take a very special gal to wrangle Bowie.

VM: You’re a good-looking man and wealthy—if you don’t mind me saying so. You’re thirty-four, so why haven’t you married before now?

AH: (Austin’s neck and ears turn red.) I work from sunup to past sundown on our large ranch, ma’am, so I don’t get to town often. And besides, none of the women I know interest me enough to marry. Most women in these parts have set their bonnets on marrying a Hart brother. I’d just as soon marry a woman who cared more for me than she does my family’s wealth.

VM: So is that why you sent for a mail-order bride? I bet that was a big surprise to your family.

AH: Yes, ma’am. It sure was.

VM: I can tell by your huge grin that you really pulled one over on them. How has that worked out for you?

AH: Not as good as I’d hoped.

VM: Can you elaborate?

AH: Well…uh…it’s not exactly an easy thing to talk about.

VM: What do you mean?

AH: (Austin sighs and stares off in the distance) I thought I’d found a woman who’d be a good match, but now I’m not so sure. Jenny hasn’t warmed up to me like I’d hoped she would once she arrived.

VM: I heard you had quite a surprise when she first got to town on the stage.

AH: No kiddin’. There was two of her. Uh…well, not exactly, but she brought her twin sister along. I didn’t even know she was a twin. Kind of hard to tell the two of them apart, especially when they wear matching outfits.

VM: Wow, that must have been a shock. I wonder why Jenny never mentioned being a twin.
(CFP: Yikes! I have sympathy for Austin!)

AH: I wondered that too. It seems there were more than a few things she neglected to mention.

VM: Like what?

AH: (Austin stares at me long enough that I squirm and look away. I bet he’s used that look on his brothers a time or two to get them to do what they’re supposed to) That’s a rather personal question, don’t you think? I need to get back to work. This interview is done.

VM: I’m sorry for getting too personal. Thank you so much for this interview. I do hope things work out for you and your bride.

Austin tips his hat and walks away. I’m sure I heard him mutter something like, “It has to work out. I have no choice.”
(CFP: Haha!)

Buylinks:





Author bio: Bestselling author Vickie McDonough grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie is an award-winning author of more than 40 published books and novellas, and over 1.5 million copies of her books have been sold. Her novels include the fun and feisty Texas Boardinghouse Brides series, and End of the Trail, which was the OWFI 2013 Best Fiction Novel winner. Whispers on the Prairie was a Romantic Times Recommended Inspirational Book for July 2013. Song of the Prairie won the 2015 Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Her latest series, Land Rush Dreams, focuses on the Oklahoma land runs. Book 1, Gabriel’s Atonement, was a finalist in the 2016 Will Rogers Medallion Awards. Vickie has recently stepped into independent publishing.

Vickie has been married over forty-one years to Robert. They have four grown sons, one of whom is married, and a precocious granddaughter. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, antiquing, doing stained glass, watching movies, and traveling. To learn more about Vickie’s books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com







GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this new release!

66 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the new release. This particular story sounds SO good!

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    1. Thank! It's a fun story with a bunch of hunky cowboys. :)

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  2. I'm reading this books now and it is so good!!

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    1. So glad to hear that you're enjoying 7 Brides for 7 Texans. Let me know who your favorite Hart brother is.

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  3. Oh, Austin...give your heart a chance.
    Thank you, Vickie for sharing this little interview with Austin. I wish he could see into the future. His story is quite interesting.
    I love the book! I've read it twice now.

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    1. Oh wow! Read it twice. Did you have a favorite brother?

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  4. Love the cover, too.! :-) Congratulations!

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    1. Thanks, Melissa. Originally, we had a different cover. The authors really wanted the seven brothers in some way on the cover, but it didn't work it. The first cover was far too much like two other new releases, so we pushed for a different one. So glad we did.

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  5. For some reason I love mail order stories, and this one sounds like a real good one!

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    1. I like them too. The women had to have been so brave--and desperate--to have agreed to marry a stranger.

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  6. Thanks for the character interview with Austin. His story sounds so interesting and I can't wait to see how it, and the others, turns out. Thanks for the giveaway and good luck everyone.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed hearing from Austin. He's not a big talker so getting him to grant an interview wasn't easy.

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  7. Great interview! This was such a great book! Thanks, Vickie!

    Please don't enter me into the contest since I read it on Netgalley.

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    1. Thanks, Regina. Which of the heroine's did you enjoy the most?

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  8. Thanks for sharing your great interview with us here on OWG, VICKIE! I got kind of tickled bc there are also 8 Mr. Flowers in our vicinity. And if you count the nephews and my son...too many to count! lol Congrats on your new book!

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    1. My hubby and I raised four sons, so I was out-numbered 5 to 1, but that didn't bother me. I was still the boss. :)

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  9. What a fun interview! The collections are always such good reads, and mail order brides usually present fun and awkward circumstances. dixiedobie at yahoo dot com

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    1. I really enjoy reading novella collections too, especially the ones closely linked by family or a small town. Good, wholesome reading!

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  10. Thanks for sharing your interview with Austin! :) This sounds like a fun collection of stories, thanks for the chance to win a copy! rw620 AT aol DOT com

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    1. You're welcome, Robin. Thanks for stopping by today.

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  11. Congratulations on your new release Vickie. What a fun interview with Austin. His story very sounds interesting.
    Blessings, Tina

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    1. Thanks, Tina. I had a good time putting Austin in awkward situations. My favorite is when he's trying to keep his mail-order bride a secret and meet in town--and then three of his sisters-in-law show up. Poor guy. Oh, and there's another scene toward the end that I just loved. Sigh.

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  12. Congratulations on this new release, Vickie. This story sounds like a wonderful melding of history and fiction. I would love to read it And the rest of the stories.
    bettimace at gmail dot com

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    1. Betty, 7 Brides doesn't have as much history as some of my other books, except for the brothers' names. But it has a bunch of fun stories as our brothers find a gal to lasso.

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  13. I'm already interested just reading this review and the cover is beautiful! What more could I want? I would love to win this book! Thanks for the opportunity!

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    1. Hi Brenda! I'm glad Austin's interview pulled you in. I think you're really enjoy his stories--and the others.

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  14. I do love mail order bride stories.


    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  15. This looks like a great book. What a wonderful line-up of authors. Thank you for the chance to win a copy.
    susanmsj at MSN dot com

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    1. You're welcome! Thanks for stopping by today, Susan.

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  16. Congratulations and good luck with the book.
    JoanEC128{at]AOL[dot]com

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  17. Sounds like a great read.
    MarionMPC[at]AOL[dot]com

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    1. It's getting good reviews, so I believe readers at liking it.

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  18. This book sounds very interesting.
    MarilynDKC[at]AOL[dot]com

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  19. VICKIE and CARRIE, I loved this interview! Can't wait to find out what happened between Austin and Jenny, and if they're going to tie the knot. ☺
    I adore mail order bride stories. This collection sounds fun. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy.

    Merry Christmas~

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    1. Thanks, Anne! I could tell you what happens, but why spoil the fun? :)

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  20. Fun interview! I figured at least one of the brothers would go the mail-order route I really look forward to reading this collection.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. A mail-order bride seemed the easiest solution to Austin. He didn't know all the trouble that could come with one though. I feel like I should say "bwahahaha" for causing him so many problems.

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  21. Congratulations on the new release!! And yay for Hunky Cowboys! lol

    ladettek[at]live[dot]com

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    1. So true, especially when they have a good heart.

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    2. Congrats LADETTE -- you are our winner on Vickie McDonough's Character Interview post!!! You've won copy of Seven Brides for Seven Texans!

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  22. Love collaboration stories in these collections! Your guy sounds like fun and must be on his side that she wasn't enthralled for him to clam up so quickly, lol. Fun interview ~ glad he was a little willing to share his views. Good play on words ~ inter-view. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House

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    1. Thanks, Kathleen! It's a bit hard to get Austin talking, unless he's barking out orders to his brothers, but he does once in a while.

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  23. I'm ALWAYS a sucker for books that are a play on the "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" format. My favorite movie musical is the aforementioned. What will be new for me is a series of stories by different authors. It should be a fun read especially with a mail-order bride/Marriage of convenience romance trope. Vickie, thanks for sharing from your character's perspective. tlhcoupon(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. You're very welcome, Terrill. It takes a lot of working together to pull off a closely-knitted book by different authors, but the end result can be really good if you get everything right.

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  24. Welcome to Overcoming With God, Vickie - thanks for the fun interview and your beautiful novella in this wonderful collection!! Love the 7 brothers concept and can't wait to receive my copy and learn more about the Hart brothers - love those Barbour collections!!

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    1. Thanks, Bonnie. I'm a big fan of the Barbour novella collections too. I love reading a novella in an evening and feel like I've finished the story so I don't have to stay up super late to find out how things end.

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  25. I love a good cowboy story! truckredford(at)Gmail(dot)com

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  26. Congratulations on the new release. Sure sounds like a good one and I'm looking forward to reading it! Thank you for the interview and for sharing a book!

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  27. This book sounds so wonderful. I have some historical Texas family roots and would love this books!

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    1. My mom's dad was born in Texas, so Texas runs in my blood too. Maybe that's why I enjoy writing about it yet.

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    2. Sorry about adding "yet" to that last sentence. I was talking to my hubby while typing and typed that word as I said it. Shaking my head.

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  28. Thank you so much for this wonderful interview,Vicki! I just LOVED IT !Can't wait to read more about Austin,his mail order bride,plus his brothers stories. Thank you very much for the chance to win a copy! lynnefeuerstein(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. Hi Lynne! Thanks for your enthusiastic comment. I hope you get a chance to read Seven Brides for Seven Texans.

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  29. Love the movie "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" so since I also love the novella collections and these authors I know I would absolutely LOVE "Seven Brides for Seven Texans". Thank you for the chance to win a copy.

    wfnren at aol dot com

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  30. This book looks very good! I'm going to have to get my hands on a copy one way or another. :D

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  31. Of course he's polite with "ma'am" answers. :)

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  32. Fantastic Interview!
    Sounds like a good read!

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  33. Hi Vickie. Sounds like it will have to be good with four cowboys. I live in Texas. A good state to write a story about. Would love to win it if I'm not too late. Maxie > mac262@me.com <

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