Guest Sofia Hunt on Saturday's Sirens

On select Saturdays I host guest authors from fellow house Siren Publishing. Today I'm happy to post an excerpt from Sofia Hunt's upcoming THE FIRST BRIDE.

Coming this Month to Siren’s Ménage Everlasting Line:

The First Bride
The Brides of Bachelor Bay #1
By Sofia Hunt
http://www.sofiahunt.com
http://www.facebook.com/sofiahuntauthor
http://www.twitter.com/sofiahunt


Last summer I started toying with an idea for a ménage series based on a bit of Seattle history. First of all, to date I’ve been exclusively a contemporary author with 3 books published with Siren and 4 m/f books published under another pen name. I’d never tackled a historical, though I loved to read them, especially set in regency England.

The basic plot revolved around a group of 23 women who answered an ad in a Boston newspaper for brides wanted in 1860s Washington Territory. Washington didn’t become a state until 1889, so this was back when the area was first settled. My fictional town of Port Steele would be set on a beautiful bay on the east side of Puget Sound, literally across the water from Seattle. I pictured Bachelor Bay to be in the area of what is now Bremerton/Port Orchard/Silverdale. Since this series takes place during the Civil War era, men were scarce back east. The women who answered my hero’s ad were willing to leave civilization behind and journey to an unknown land in the hope of finding a new life and a new love. The Gallagher brothers, who owned a logging company and sawmill, placed the ad in order to pacify their lumberjacks who were threatening to leave because of the lack of women in the area.

Figuring there was safety in numbers, I talked to my good friends, Bella Grace and Eve Adams, to see if they’d be interested in joining me. The more we talked about the idea, the more excited we became. The three of us collaborated on characters, plots, conflicts, and threads that’d run through all the stories. I poured over old UW archives on historical logging and pioneer life in the Pacific Northwest.

Since Eve and I are currently published with Siren, we approached Siren/Bookstrand publisher’s with our idea. She loved it. I mean really loved it. Our publisher accepted the series into the Ménage Everlasting line, and Les Byerley did our gorgeous covers.

And The Brides of Bachelor Bay was born.

What started out as a three-book series blossomed into a six-book series. Depending on the sales, we might try for a nine-book series. The first three in the series will be released on Memorial weekend. We’re working on the next three books now.

I’m extremely excited about this series. Each book will average about 35,000 words and will feature one of the brides as the heroine. The heroes have various professions, such as lumbermen, lumberjacks, the town mayor, a Sioux Indian, a mercantile owner, and others. Of course, we have several villains, some who redeem themselves and some who don’t.

All in all, this series has been immensely satisfying to write. I hope you’ll pick up a copy when it’s released and escape to Bachelor Bay for an evening or two.


BLURB

Determined to protect her sisters from a murderous uncle, Lizzie Prescott answers a brides wanted ad. She and her sisters journey to 1860s Washington Territory, a wild land of towering cedar trees and brawny lumberjacks.

Logan Gallagher brought the brides out west for his crew, not for himself, but he can’t get the red-haired beauty out of his mind. His brother, Gage, harbors his own desires for the opinionated redhead.

Can all three of them find love together in this untamed land?

For a little background the series, here’s some info for you:

An ad placed in the Boston newspaper, circa January 1864

Come to a verdant paradise, where good men are plentiful and good women are few. We seek young, healthy women of strong moral character to hold honorable positions in our growing city, and most importantly, as wives to the men of their choosing.

A letter to the brides upon their arrival in Bachelor Bay

May, 1864, Washington Territory

Ladies,

Gallagher Logging and the Gallagher brothers welcome you to Port Steele on beautiful Bachelor Bay in Washington Territory.

You have chosen to embark on a journey rife with excitement to an untamed land of incomparable beauty where the trees are as tall as mountains, the water as blue as any sapphire, and the men outnumber the women fifty to one. To leave the comfort of civilization and the support of your families to journey west takes great courage, but you are all courageous women. Together we will write the history of Washington Territory and develop the foundation of future generations.

Thank you for joining us in our quest to settle this land. May you love well, live long, make your fortunes, and attain your desires.

Logan, Gage, Luke, and Noah Gallagher