12 Brides of Summer in Book Form!

The 12 Brides of Summer, released in the summer of 2015 in ebook format, is now being released as a hold-in-your-hand book.

It makes a great summer read: a dozen novellas recounting stories of romance in the 19th century.

It only takes about an hour to read each story, making the book an excellent companion to the beach, lake, pool, or even while sipping lemonade under a fan!

Albeit stand alone stories, most of these tales have the benefit of being sequels to last winter’s best-selling The 12 Brides of Christmas.

Each story has a happily-ever-after, even as it recounts interesting and surprising events that took place in the American past.

Here’s a rundown of each one:

Michelle Ule; The Sunbonnet Bride:

The Sunbonnet Bride revisits Fairhope, Nebraska during the 1875 summer.

A seamstress, Sally has moved to town with a clever needle, vivacious charm and earnestness that attracts teamster Malcolm, but also banker Josiah Finch.

Things come to a head when a tornado sweeps through the farmlands and her father and neighbors lose their home and barns.

While Malcolm harnesses his horses and heads out with Ewan to help, Josiah trails behind on his fine stallion.

One of the men gets his hands dirty. The other does not.

As Fairhope rallies to help those in need, Sally and her father see the difference between the men’s hearts.

But are they so different in their desire to help or in their ways of helping?

All this and more, including an incident with a blackberry pie and the return of the bagpipes, await readers of The Sunbonnet Bride.

Diana Brandmeyer; The Honey Bride:

Set in the spring following Diana’s The Festive Bride, it follows the fortunes of a young couple in 1887 Trenton, Illinois.

Kate’s life spirals into difficulties when her father is killed during a severe storm. She and her brother and grandmother try to make do on their farm before the bank repossesses it. What did her widowed father do with their money? How could it have disappeared?

A sympathetic neighbor (who works for Roy from The Festive Bride) wants to help but is spurned by Kate’s independence. When he happens upon beehives in the woods, he wonders if he’s found the secret to the lost funds and a way to Kate’s heart.

Margaret Brownley; Dog Days of Summer Bride:

Music teacher Miralee Davis hasn’t got a beau but she does have a dog—sometimes.  His name is Mozart, but she calls him Mo. He would be the perfect canine companion except for one very disturbing fault; Mo disappears every week like clockwork for three or four days.

Blacksmith Jed Colbert’s dog Dynamite (Dyna for short) has the same disturbing habit.

Neither Jed nor Miralee know they share the same dog until . . . Mozart/Dynamite digs up a stash of stolen loot.  The reward will go to the dog’s owner—if only Miralee and Jed could agree on who that owner is. And that’s not all they disagree on

Amanda Cabot; The Fourth of July Bride:

The Fourth of July Bride takes place about six months after The Christmas Star Bride.

Jeremy ispainting a portrait of wealthy bachelor Gideon Carlisle in a corner of his wife’s bakery. Gideon’s mother back east is after him to settle down and he hopes a painting will convince her he’s doing fine and doesn’t need a bride.

Gideon enjoys passing the time with the beautiful Naomi who works at the bakery.

For her part, Naomi is smitten, but waiting for Gideon to make a move. She’s worried about money and when Gideon comes up with an interesting proposition to meet her need, she agrees even as her heart breaks.

Can he really be so blind? What will his mother think when she comes to visit in time for the fourth of July?

Mary Connealy; A Bride Rides Herd:

A Bride Rides Herd follows up on stories from several of Mary’s full length novel series and two books in particular: Calico Canyon and Husband Tree.

Matt Reeves and Betsy Harden are thrown together to run the gauntlet of ranching and childcare (Betsy’s babysitting for three little girls with way too much Reeves blood flowing in their veins), because Betsy’s big sister Sarah married Mark Reeves and left Betsy to babysit while Mark and Sarah went on a cattle drive.

Matt and Betsy fall in love right under the drawn gun of famously overprotective Belle and Silas Harden.

It’s in the American west with children running amok and plenty of sparks flying in this old west version of the pre-Brady bunch.

Susan Page Davis; Blue Moon Bride:

Ava Neal is nursing a disappointment after her younger sister marries in 1871 New England.

When her father consoles her about her marital chances disappearing, she asks to take a train to Cheyenne, Wyoming to visit her friend Polly from The Christmas Tree Bride.

Along the way, she encounters far more adventure than she’d ever expected: a handsome artist, bandits, and stolen sentimental jewelry.

Joe loses his job over the encounter but when his drawing skill helps the local marshall,a surprising chain of events unfold for a young man without prospects.

How does a blue moon fit into the story?

Miralee Ferrel; The Dogwood Blossom Bride:

The Dogwood Blossom Bride details the romance between a red-headed tomboy and a former cowboy in Goldendale, Washington.

Two and a half years have passed since Curt and Deborah from The Nativity Bride were married and Curt employs a new man at his woodworking job, Curt.

Spunky, adventurous Addie doesn’t want to be pushed into marriage, particularly this summer, when she runs into Will under a spreading dogwood tree.

With an orphaned niece to raise, Will is focused on his job, not romance, but love is in the air despite the pretty girl’s resolution she doesn’t need a man.

Pam Hillman; The Lumberjack Bride

The Lumberjack’s Bride returns to the heart of the Mississippi pine belt in 1889.

The family sawmill and logging operation has expanded. They need additional help and ask for business assistance from Annabelle’s uncle.

Annabelle’s plans for a white Christmas in The Evergreen Bride involved a trip to Illinois to visit her relatives, in particular her cousin Lucy Denson, a dainty petite city gal.

When the opportunity arose to write a sequel, Pam explained, “I wanted to use the same setting, the sawmill and the logging industry, for the second book. Lucy Denson was the obvious heroine.”

The pretty young woman soon catches the eye of Eli, a rough-and-tumble Mississippi lumberjack in an earth-shattering meeting deep in the forest.

Amy Lillard; The Wildflower Bride

The Wildflower Bride follows the fortunes of Grace Sinclair, the second sister from The Gingerbread Bride.

Maddie makes a gorgeous bride and Grace rejoices with her, all the while wishing someone as handsome as Harlan would sweep her off her feet. She has resigned herself to staying home and helping her widowed pastor father with his congregation.

Then she gets a look at the best man.

Oliver tartan kilt (Wikipedia)

Wearing a kilt, no less.

Just hired at his dream job as an assistant pastor, Ian McGruer is on top of the world standing up for his closest friend, even if he has had to travel all the way from upstate New York.

And then he sees the girl.

Could that really be the hand of God tugging at both Grace and Ian?

Does God remember how far apart Arkansas and New York are?

Maureen Lang; The Summer Harvest Bride:

Pretty Sally, the shy young girl who played Mary in The Giftwrapped Bride’s nativity pageant, has grown up in the intervening three years and settled into a small town west of Chicago with her farming parents.

Still timid, she’s caught the eye of the mayor’s son–who is quite a catch in the small town.

The status quo changes for Sally the day Lukas Daughton arrives with his father and brothers to build a controversial grist mill.

Suddenly the thought of “settling” for a marriage to someone who never once made her pulse speed makes Sally reconsider her future.

Will a traveling builder change his ways for the love of a pretty girl?

Vickie McDonough; The County Fair Bride:

Prudy Willard, the snooty antagonist in The Fruitcake Bride, has changed.

A year and a half after she made a fool of herself trying to catch Pastor Clay, Prudy returned to 1891 Advent, Texas to help care for her ailing father.

Advent has grown and with her mayor father ill, a handsome newcomer stepped in as interim mayor.

Prudy isn’t happy about Adam Merrick taking her father’s job and offers her “assistance” to make sure he’s doing things properly. Adam doesn’t appreciate her help.

How will the County Fair settle the differences?

Davalynn Spencer; The Columbine Bride:

Five months after The Snowbound Bride,  Ara and Nate are married and pregnant–everyone fears she’s carrying twins because of her size.

But the biggest change is in Uncle Buck who – well, I won’t give that away.

Enter Lucy Powell and her two small children and watch Buck’s world turn up-side-down.

Columbine

Lucy is struggling to get over her late husband’s freak accident at their ranch last summer. She wrangled a teaching job to support her family, but the school year is over and it’s time to return to the scene of their heartbreak.

Can she and her young children manage?

And if not, how will they survive?

 

Publication History

All twelve stories appeared in summer 2015 in several different guises and combinations.

They all were available as ebooks (of three novellas each) called The 12 Brides of Summer Novella Collection #1, #2, #3 and #4.

Four stories appeared in three different books (and combination of stories) available only at select Walmarts: Prairie Summer Brides, Small Town Summer Brides and Old West Summer Brides.

The 12 Brides of Summer Collection, in a deluxe format, is the first time all twelve stories are available in one book.

It makes a fine companion to its prequel, The 12 Brides of Christmas.

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