Bess McBride's Blog

I'm so pleased to announce the release of my newest time travel romance, A Home in Your Heart ! Sometimes, I have to slog through a book, fighting for every word and line, and sometimes the book just flows. This one flowed! Inspired by my four-month stay on historic Fort Huachuca in southeastern Arizona, A Home in Your Heart  is my tribute to the legends of the Cavalry, Apaches and the romantic notion of traveling in time to find the one you love.

Here's a bit about the book:

Harriet (Harry) Ferguson is engaged to be married...unhappily so. All she truly wants is a forever home, something she has never had. On a visit to her fiance’s mother in Southeastern Arizona, she stops by a museum on historic Fort Huachuca, an Army post dating to the late 1800s, where the wax figure of a handsome Cavalry soldier captures her imagination—so much so that she can’t resist touching the figure. 

Lieutenant Daniel Thorn’s duties at Fort Huachuca involve chasing renegade Apaches and Mexican bandits. One night while on a mission to rescue stolen horses, Daniel’s duties are expanded to include the rescue of a young woman who mysteriously falls into his desert campsite. Given that Miss Ferguson does not appear to understand where she is or what has happened to her, Daniel suspects amnesia, and takes her to the fort surgeon.

But Harry doesn’t have amnesia. She remembers fully well where she was when she must have traveled in time. And she remembers Daniel, her wax figure somehow come to life.

Can a modern-day woman like Harry find a forever home in the late 1800s? Can Daniel, a nineteenth-century Cavalry soldier, finally come to believe that Harry has lost not her memory, but her heart? That she has traveled 130 years into the past for him? 

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it! 

Does era really matter to lovers of time travel romances? I can only speak from my experience. I love time travel romances. Although I read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court in high school and enjoyed it, the first time travel romance I remember falling in love with is the movie Somewhere in Time (1980). In that case, I loved the movie much more than the book. I think it's because I'm a visual person. :-)

I loved Jane Seymour's dresses, her hairstyles, the elegance of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the evocative atmosphere of the movie set primarily in 1912, the concept of traveling through time to find the one you love.

I loved Barbara Streisand's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970). Admittedly, that is based on memories of past lives (reincarnation) under hypnosis, but it feels a whole lot like time travel. I loved it! Loved the costumes, loved her hair, loved the idea of falling in love with a man from a different era.

My favorite time travel romance book is A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux where a knight from the 15th century comes forward in time, falls in love with a modern-day gal, and he and his gal travel back in time to medieval England.

There are many more time travel romance books I have enjoyed, and I won't list them here. I will say that "Highlander" time travel romances are quite popularhttp://www.amazon.com/Home-Your-Heart-Love-West-ebook/dp/B00JSVFI5O. My question was: Do readers who claim to LOVE time travel romances love all time travel romances or are they particular about a specific era? Do they in fact LOVE the historical era more than the actual time traveling aspect of the romance?

The historical portion of Somewhere in Time is set in America's early twentieth century, what the British called the Edwardian era and the Americans called the less romantic Progressive era. The historical portion of A Knight in Shining Armor is set in medieval England. The historical portion of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever is all over the place! I love it!

I have set time travel romances in various eras and countries depending on my muse at the time. My most popular to date has been a Georgian/Regency era time travel romance set in England, Moonlight Wishes in Time. Almost as popular has been my Train Through Time series set in the 1900s in America. Other than my writing style, there is little in common between the two, especially era and location.

I have a new series I have been working on as I follow my muse, a time travel romance series to the American Old West called Love in the Old West. My latest release, A Home in Your Heart, is set in Arizona Territory, 1884, sort of a Dances with Wolves meets Somewhere in Time.

Hopefully, readers who LOVE time travel romances will love a time travel romance to the American Old West. But so far, it looks like lovers of time travel romances have very specific eras they are attached to. In my case, that would be England's Georgian/Regency era and America's early twentieth century.

Or could it be that location is the most important factor?


A Home in Your Heart

Music to write by. Music for inspiration. Let's face it. Writing can be a dry business. Sure, there are moments of exhilaration when the scene is flying, especially if it's an action scene. There are moments of grief when your loving couple are hateful to each other, or when one half dies (though that would need to be resolved at the end of a happily ever after romance, which is what I write). But, there are moments of disconnection in writing (at least for me), when I'm writing the words, but not feeling it, if ya know what I mean.
I know one or two authors who write with playlists. I suspect there are thousands more, it just hasn't come up in conversation. Those authors use the music to either soothe or inspire them.
In my case, although I don't always remember to do it when I'm struggling with a scene, music inspires me. The right music, of course. In most case, it will be a movie soundtrack because I love the orchestral music without words.
John Barry is one of my favorites! Love him! I wish he would play music for me all day and night.
While working on a scene in my current work--a time travel romance set in the Arizona territories of 1884 and featuring a Cavalry officer--I realized I needed something, something to inspire me beyond the beauty of the landscape of Southeastern Arizona where I am writing as we speak.
The most famous movie I could think of featuring a Cavalry officer was Dances with Wolves, soundtrack by John Barry, with the ever handsome Kevin Costner playing the officer. I know there are other movies, but ya gotta admit, Dances with Wolves is ATMOSPHERIC--made so not only by the cinematography but by the exquisite soundtrack by John Barry.
And so, the music from Dances with Wolves filled my writing space, and will continue until I end the book.
I mean, really...how dry would a movie be without music?
I wrote A Train Through Time to the soundtrack from Somewhere in Time (what??? John Barry again?) Yes!
I wrote Moonlight Wishes in Time predominantly to the soundtrack of Pride and Prejudice by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Emma by Rachel Portman, and The Holidays by Hans Zimmer (another all-time favorite composer of mine). :-)

Coming soon to an e-reader near you: A Home in Your Heart, Book Two of the Love in the Old West series.

There, I said it! I love time travel romances, and that's why I write them. Now, don't get me wrong. If my time travel romances didn't sell reasonably well (dare I say, occasionally very well?), then I'd probably lose steam on writing them, and would move onto whatever else sells. Because after all, writing is a business. It is for me, and is for many other authors. That I happen to FINALLY be in a business that I love and can see myself doing for the rest of my life is a thrill!

But I digress. Back to time travel romances. For me, the beauty of time travel romances is that I get my historical romance (unless the time traveler comes forward in time to the present for the majority of the book), but I also get to relate to it a bit better in that my hero or heroine is from my time, and they get to travel to the past with all the quirks of the present--quirks that I can relate to.

The time travelers' "advanced" knowledge often fails to help them when they need "historical" knowledge. They need to know how to survive in the past, using skills most of us have never learned given our modern conveniences. They need to know how to pass for a contemporary character, or else they will surely be thrown into a mental asylum or burned at the stake...depending on the era they traveled to. And ultimately they need to figure out how to get back to their own time, or whether they enjoy living in the past so much that they wish to stay (always supposing the time travel is not a revolving door, which takes away from the angst of the thing, in my humble opinion).

Within time travel romances, there are a myriad of historical periods. Some interest me, some do not. I am finding that with readers as well. But ultimately, if a writer wrote a book that I liked, then I'm likely to read another time travel romance by that author no matter what era the hero or heroine end up in. After all, it's about the time travel and the romance for me, not whether she wears a corset or a stay, or he wears cowboy boots or Hessians.

Somewhere in Time, set in about 1912, is my favorite movie ever! I didn't like the book, but I loved the movie. Now imagine Somewhere in Time set in Victorian England or medieval Scotland or the American West in the late nineteenth century. Yes, they all work for me! I don't care where those two end up as long as they end up together...preferably in this life.

That said, I love time travel romances!

My latest time travel romance, Caving into You!
My latest time travel romance, Caving into You What the Cavalry officer hero in my next time travel romance, tentatively titled A Home in Your Heart, looks like.
Thank you, Kevin!

Caving into You, my recent historical time travel release, is set in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881, and isa celebration of my time in southeastern Arizona. Can two lovers from different centuries find a way to live together? Do they choose the past or the future, or is there a place in between?Hilly Creighton never expected to find a man when she peered into a cave near Tombstone, Arizona. Clint Woodrow had no idea how he was pulled forward in time from 1881, and he has been trying to get back home ever since.He doesn’t realize that the cave is the answer—the cave and Hilly. As the fates throw Hilly and Clint back to Tombstone’s wild and untamed early days, Hilly fights to survive, and Clint struggles to protect her against the harshness of life in the desert.I'm currently working on Book Two of the Love in the Old West series, a time travel romance series that is near and dear to my heart as I share with you my newfound love of southeastern Arizona with you--a land of legends notable for rowdy gunslingers, warrior Apaches, brave Cavalry soldiers, mines boasting mother lodes of silver and copper, and sunsets that take one's breath away. 

My inspiration!
Bess McBride

It's here! My new time travel romance Caving into You is available now on Amazon and Nook, and will be coming soon to Kobo and iTunes.

Caving into You is Book One of my new Love in the Old West series, which is inspired by my recent stay in Southeastern Arizona--land of legends, gunfights, Apache wars, Cavalry soldiers and rich silver mines! I was compelled to set a time travel romance series set in Arizona, and Caving into You is the first book in the series. Ya know! Will Travel for Romance--just like my blog!

Here's a bit about the book: Hilly Creighton’s life is tame, without excitement, without romance—not good news for a romance writer. Yet one fateful day on a side trip to Tombstone, Arizona, she finds an abandoned cave on a hill, and sets in motion a series of journeys through time for both herself and a man who doesn’t understand why he has been brought forward from the year 1881.


Clint Woodrow, mining his claim in search of the silver he knows is there, finds himself lost in modern-day Tombstone, Arizona, and the woman whose voice brought him forward in time is nowhere to be found. What is a stranded miner/cowboy/farmer to do in today’s world? Join the gunfight show at the O.K. Corral, that’s what!
How these two lost souls get together is anyone’s guess! How they stay together against all odds is in the hands of the fates—or in the power of the cave.
Look for Book Two of the Love in the Old West series in late spring. 
Thanks all. Do feel free to contact me via my email listed on my website, Facebook, Twitter or here at the blog. Here are a few new pictures of Southeastern Arizona for your viewing pleasure!

The wind is howling today, my dears, just howling. Some screaming and shrieking as well. Both by the wind and by me as I worry about certain parts of my RV. For those of you in the RV know, my slide awning has taken a battering today. Wind gusts of up to 36 miles per hour, which is pretty exciting and fun when I'm outside, but quite an uproar inside the tin can/RV.

I received a question today, and I've had the question asked before--is Annie of the Moonlight Wishes in Time series getting her own book, and when is it coming out. Although Annie's story was next on my list of books to write/finish after my December release of Finding You in Time, as many of you know, I bought my RV and came down to Arizona to keep the RV warm. ;-)

I don't know what happened to me, I've actually lived in Arizona before albeit north where it's flatter and hotter, but this area of Southeastern Arizona just grabbed me by my pens and pencils and forced me to write about it. It's so historical, so evocative, so...mystical with it's stunning landscape of mountains, valleys, canyons and caves, as well as the legends of gunfighters, mining, Apaches and the cavalry, that I had to write a book about it. Make that a series.

Caving into You, Book One of the Love in the Old West series is due to be released within a week, fingers crossed regarding the administrative details. While I'm here, I just have to do the second book in the series. I've already started, and I plan to see that one released late April/early May.

Then, then, then...I'll finish Annie's story. I hope you all understand and wish both series well. An author has just got to follow her muse once in a while...especially if that muse has grabbed her by her pens and pencils.



Hiking in the wind today on Ft Huachuca in Arizona:


What do you think? Did I climb up the hill? You can't see it, but the wind was wild up there.

Looking down on Ft Huachuca, Sierra Vista and the Whestone Mountains

Ft Huachuca and Sierra Vista in the distance

A lovely little pond on Ft Huachuca

A great blue heron at the pond

Sunset on the Huachuca Mountains

The moon rises at sunset

A mesquite tree holds the moon floating in pink clouds

A restful place at twilight to listen

The wind is howling today, my dears, just howling. Some screaming and shrieking as well. Both by the wind and by me as I worry about certain parts of my RV. For those of you in the RV know, my slide awning has taken a battering today. Wind gusts of up to 36 miles per hour, which is pretty exciting and fun when I'm outside, but quite an uproar inside the tin can/RV.

I received a question today, and I've had the question asked before--is Annie of the Moonlight Wishes in Time series getting her own book, and when is it coming out. Although Annie's story was next on my list of books to write/finish after my December release of Finding You in Time, as many of you know, I bought my RV and came down to Arizona to keep the RV warm. ;-)

I don't know what happened to me, I've actually lived in Arizona before albeit north where it's flatter and hotter, but this area of Southeastern Arizona just grabbed me by my pens and pencils and forced me to write about it. It's so historical, so evocative, so...mystical with it's stunning landscape of mountains, valleys, canyons and caves, as well as the legends of gunfighters, mining, Apaches and the cavalry, that I had to write a book about it. Make that a series.

Caving into You, Book One of the Love in the Old West series is due to be released within a week, fingers crossed regarding the administrative details. While I'm here, I just have to do the second book in the series. I've already started, and I plan to see that one released late April/early May.

Then, then, then...I'll finish Annie's story. I hope you all understand and wish both series well. An author has just got to follow her muse once in a while...especially if that muse has grabbed her by her pens and pencils.



Hiking in the wind today on Ft Huachuca in Arizona:


What do you think? Did I climb up the hill? You can't see it, but the wind was wild up there.

Looking down on Ft Huachuca, Sierra Vista and the Whestone Mountains

Ft Huachuca and Sierra Vista in the distance

A lovely little pond on Ft Huachuca

A great blue heron at the pond

Sunset on the Huachuca Mountains

The moon rises at sunset

A mesquite tree holds the moon floating in pink clouds

A restful place at twilight to listen

Forgive me for being absent, dear ones, but you see I've been traveling...for romance, for the romance of traveling, for the romance of writing. I left my home in Washington State on 31 December in an RV and embarked on a journey to Arizona for the winter. In other words, I'm snowbirding.

While I've been here, I've done lots of side trips to see the sights, met a lot of people, written one book, researched for a second book, and taken lots and lots of pictures. I'd like to share some of the pictures with you all.

The Rig:

My RV at sunset

The Sights Along the Way:


Leaving the cold.


Warming up as I head south.

A fun ride!


Journey's end! My RV park in Southeastern Arizona at the foot of the Huachuca Mountains.


Early sunsets.


First stop. Tombstone and Boothill Graveyard.


Gunfights in the streets!


And at the O.K. Corral!

The Next Book:



Coming soon!


Stay tuned for more traveling for romance!

Bess McBride

Lookeee what I did! A boxed set for the first three books of the Train Through Time series. Discounted over buying all three books separately, dontcha know!

I just love the cover by artist, Tamra Westberry, don't you? Facing is the cover of the print cover version

Coming up with a new cover for the boxed set--while still letting readers know that this was NOT a completely new book, nor was it the fourth book in the Train series was a challenge.

Tamra had let me know that Apple (iTunes) no longer accepted 3D covers, so the popular style of showing a "box" with the spines of the books facing out wouldn't work for them. Although I enjoy that style, I didn't think I should have two separate covers for the boxed set. I was also reluctant to post  a completely new cover for the boxed set. I thought I might spend more time explaining that this was not an entirely new book than if I just incorporated the covers of the books included. And they were all (still are) beautiful covers in their own right. Tamra and I started the cover of the first book of the series, A Train Through Time, with a vintage pattern, a vintage steam train (which is the center of the series), an antique picture frame, and a rose.

When it came time to box the series up, we (Tamra and I) set about finding the perfect background to accent and highlight the original covers of the Train books: A Train Through Time, Together Forever Across Time, and A Smile in Time. I think this cover is wonderful! And I hope you do, too.

Bess McBride