April W. Gardner's Blog

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On a moonless night, Adela encounters wolves and the noble warrior who slays them. She could love him if his next arrows hadn't sent her life up in flames.
Want a hearty romance? Love "Last of the Mohicans"? Then you'll want this novel because of its riveting captivity theme and Hawkeye-like passion. (Christian Fiction)
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July is dedicated to THE SACRED WRITINGS! All this month, we’ll be chatting about Totka and his journey to Christ and Copper Woman. Let’s get started with a GIVEAWAY!

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The Sacred Writings is just $2.99 on Amazon Kindle! http://amzn.to/2siJkKy

Here’s a little about the novel:
Big Warrior Totka Hadjo enters his toughest battles yet—the fight for love, the invasion of fear, and the inescapable ashes of each.
The war has ended, and now, Totka Hadjo must endure eleven moons and twenty-six sleeps without his beloved Copper Woman. But he has a two-fold task to keep him occupied: establish a lodge deserving of her and challenge her Jesus Creator to a vision, to prove his existence.
Totka leaves the white settlements with Copper Woman’s holy book, an object with medicine strong enough to keep at bay the hounding ghosts of his unavenged ancestors. But the sacred writings cannot restrain the Bluecoat who has returned from the dead, the one who first owned her heart. From the far reaches of the Muscogee Confederacy, Totka is powerless to stop the onslaught of events that conspires to take his beloved from him forever.
Leaping Waters, Totka’s old passion, is a constant presence he cannot escape, but she might be able to unlock the spiritual mysteries found in the holy book’s talking leaves. While he wades through the confusing symbols, the Choctaws, his ancient enemy, are determined to seize prime Muscogee hunting lands. In the process, they aggravate wounds that might never heal and expose him to a truth too bitter to swallow.
Denial and revenge go down much easier.

**GIVEAWAY!**
BITTER EYES NO MORE just released in paperback. I’m celebrating all this month by giving away FIVE signed paperback copies. Join the fun and enter here: http://bit.ly/2qOmh6d

Or to purchase: http://amzn.to/2rxxhra

~A man of abiding honor tested by a woman of ruinous passion~ Swoon-worthy romance, rich setting, meticulously-researched history. Unforgettable!

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June Book of the Month, BITTER EYES NO MORE, just released in paperback. I’m celebrating all this month by giving away FIVE signed paperback copies. Join the fun and enter here: http://bit.ly/2qOmh6d Or to purchase: http://amzn.to/2rxxhra

Native American moons are fascinating and have such practical names. Below are a few tribal names for June.
QUESTION--if you could choose another name for June, what would it be?
Mine—Indian blanket moon (as in the wildflower)
Creek—blackberry moon
Haida-- berries ripen moon
Lakota—moon when the berries are good
Mohawk—ripening time
Omaha—moon when the buffalo bulls hunt the cows
Pueblo—moon when the leaves are dark green
Tlingit—birth moon
Wishram—fish spoils easily moon

Free book for everyone!! Today Only!
I’m CELEBRATING tonight’s full BLACKBERRY MOON by giving away Beneath the Blackberry Moon: The Red Feather for FREE TODAY ONLY.
About the book: On a moonless night in 1813, Adela McGirth encounters a set of wolves and the steely eyed warrior who slays them, searing himself on her heart. When he returns, it’s with a brand of a different sort—the flaming arrows that destroy her life.
Get your copy here! http://amzn.to/2qnsw4C

Goodreads has drawn the winners of The Red Feather and 10 winners should expect to see their autographed copy of The Red Feather in their mailboxes shortly!
If you did not win this time, take advantage of the LOW price on the ebook copy of The Red Feather. Just $0.99 (Free on KU) only through 5/31/17!
Purchase LInk: http://amzn.to/2oKBRzE

Last days for Giveaway opportunity to possibly win ONE of TEN signed copies of Red Feather http://bit.ly/2pboDNY
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Last week, you met Tall Bull. Well, if you’ve read the series, you met him on page 1 of book 1. But now, last week, you got to live inside his head for a few paragraphs. Fun stuff! If you missed it, you can read it here: http://bit.ly/2rFUiqi
Today, I’m sharing his war woman’s ENTIRE FIRST SCENE. Of the two, Mink is my favorite. She’s like a Tootsie Pop. Hard on the outside, soft on the inside. But it won’t take three licks to reach her tender heart. You should see it right off.
QUESTION: Who is Lance? My Creek Country Saga readers should know this!
Hint—the answer is in THE SACRED WRITINGS.
Enjoy the scene!
Mink! Wake up, you crazy little fiend!”
At the gloomy surface of unconsciousness, Mink recognized the masculine voice. Lance, the heart of her heart. Even while hurling insults, his voice lured her. To reach him, her mind thrashed against a chain of darkness.
“Come out of it.” He was near. Touchable. Shouting. “If you die, I will sing through the village that you throw like a child. I swear I will. Wake, I said!”
A stinging smack to the cheek dragged Mink from the edge of darkness and thrust her into a world of pain and confusion.
The river hummed in its rush over her lower half. Sand coated her tongue and crunched loudly between her clenching teeth. A mallet pounded the back of her head with a fierceness she’d not experienced in all her fourteen winters.
She groaned and commanded her lids to lift and her eyes to uncross. Once they’d obeyed, there was little to see but Lance’s darling face framed by a steel-blue sky. Three years her senior, he was all man, and she minded his nearness not one bit.
He leaned over her, stiff arms stationed at her the shoulders. Water and terror dripped from him onto her. His chest heaved, then caught and held when their gazes met—hers blurry, his tight with panic.
“How is it we are at the river?” Her sluggish tongue warped the question.
Air exploded from him, and one of his elbows caved. Relief sagged him, but it was censure that stained his tone. “This is what comes of fighting a brave twice your weight on the edge of Shale Bluff.”
“I fought?” No great wonder there.
“And fell. Hit your head on the way down.”
She’d fallen from the bluff? Head wound or not, a tumble from Shale Bluff could send a spirit to the journey onward, a sobering fact that dissolved with the realization her heart’s heart had dived in after her.
A clumsy smile took possession of her mouth. “Did I win?”
Disquiet clouded his expression, pressing his lips into a straight pale line. “He went over with you and has yet to surface.”

CHARACTER INTERVIEW! Featuring Adela McGirth, aka Copper Woman
Join Adela and me for a quick behind-the-scenes chat.
And if you haven’t entered the Goodreads giveaway for one of the TEN signed copies of THE RED FEATHER I’m giving away, you must do so now! Enter here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

April: Adela, welcome. A lot’s happened since that turbulent June of 1813. The woman visiting us today is quite different from the one we saw colliding with a Red Stick warrior in an isolated meadow.

Adela: Indeed, I am. In fact, I go by Copper Woman now.

April: Oh, of course. So then, Copper Woman, let’s rewind a little further than that evening in the meadow. Tell us about your home.


Copper Woman: I grew up on the banks of the Mobile River not too far north of Mobile, one of the busiest towns in Mississippi Territory. Most Easterners cringe at the thought of frontier living, but it wasn’t a great hardship. Not when it’s all one has ever known. I loved my home, my family, my life. Seeing it torn to shreds nearly did me in, but I could have fared much worse. Many didn’t make it. Others made it, but left a part of their soul in the ashes.

April: I know who you’re thinking about, and I still grieve over their losses, although surely not as acutely as you. What do you think started the war?

Copper Woman: The same that starts most wars, I suppose. Greed, misunderstandings, vengeance. In our case, it was also a great deal of fear. All my growing up years, the Creek Indians were only ever generous neighbors, but there came a point when they couldn’t give anymore. They feared losing their land and traditions, their way of life, and all that goes with it.

April: Is it safe to say the whites were afraid too?

Copper Woman: Oh, absolutely! Fear in the settlements became a living, palpable thing. It drove women to abandon their homes and men to take up arms. The Burnt Corn episode was a needless, shameful battle, in my opinion. Looking back, Papa agrees, but at the time, everyone felt it was his duty to protect his family any way he could. I found out later that Totka was there, but praise God, neither he nor Papa were hurt much beyond surface wounds.

April: If Totka had fallen that day, you might have died at Fort Mims. You and I wouldn’t be talking. Tell us about Totka. I see you're smiling already.

Copper Woman: I can’t help but smile. He’s the other half of my spirit, and Lillian, Charlie, and I have Totka and his brother, Nokose, to thank for being here today. It’s a beautiful story, and you did a far better job of telling it than I could do now. Suffice it to say, Totka stole my death, then he stole my heart.

April: To be honest, while I wrote his story, he stole mine too. Now, don’t look so shocked. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t become a little smitten? But we’re all well aware he doesn’t even know we exist. He has eyes only for his Copper Woman, and you know that better than any of us.

Copper Woman: (laughing) Yes, I certainly do. Heavens, I love him.

April: Safe to say, it’s mutual. I hear he’s been mentoring a young man.

Copper Woman: He has! True Seeker. No, excuse me, he’s called Strong Bear now. I forget sometimes that he’s all grown up, a full-fledged warrior. And as courageous a one as I’ve ever known.

I suspect he has feelings for Polly, but I doubt anything will come of it. As you probably know, Polly is the daughter of Josiah Francis, the region’s most-wanted Red Stick. Strong Bear may as well aim for the moon, poor man.

April: Well, let’s not dismiss it altogether. Seems to me there was a day, you were certain Totka may as well be the moon.

Copper Woman: (laughing) True enough.

April: Thanks for visiting with us today, Copper Woman. You’ve featured in every Creek Country Saga book. Should we expect to see you again in either of the remaining two?

Copper Woman: Well now, shouldn’t you know that better than anyone, my lovely creator?

Purchase Book of the Month: Red Feather for just $0.99 http://amzn.to/2oKBRzE