Joining me today in The Loft is author Caroline Clemmons. She is the author of more than 80 titles, including sweet to sensual historical westerns, contemporary and time travel romances, and the occasional cozy mystery. She writes full-time in a tiny office her family refers to as her "cave." When not writing, Caroline enjoys spending time with family, reading the books of friends and others, dining out, browsing antique malls, shopping online, dabbling with oil paints, researching genealogy, and taking the occasional nap. Caroline and her husband, who she calls, "Hero," live in North Central Texas.
Author Caroline Clemmons
If you were suddenly transported back to Victorian times as a member of the aristocracy, would you be thrilled or appalled? Would you be willing to stay there permanently?
C: I wouldn’t say thrilled, but intrigued. Having servants and lovely clothes would be nice. I could research the era firsthand. My youngest daughter and I enjoy tours of Victorian-era homes. Seeing those homes and lifestyle at their peak would be fascinating. I would not want to stay there. Women were too restricted by society’s rules. We have access to medical and dental advances. I like my life here! Plus—air-conditioning/heating, good plumbing!
S: Yes, air conditioning and heat are important, and chamber pots gross me out!
What do you appreciate more, brains or brawn/beauty?
C: Brains are definitely more important, with shared interests—especially long term. Hero and I share a lot of common interests, even though we each have separate ones. Hero is an attractive man, and he’s the most intelligent man I’ve ever met. I am not inferring that all brawny men are stupid, but insisting that brains are more important.
S: Having had a few otherworldly encounters with male models, I know that the looks and smarts combination can be hard to find!
C: Brains are definitely more important, with shared interests—especially long term. Hero and I share a lot of common interests, even though we each have separate ones. Hero is an attractive man, and he’s the most intelligent man I’ve ever met. I am not inferring that all brawny men are stupid, but insisting that brains are more important.
S: Having had a few otherworldly encounters with male models, I know that the looks and smarts combination can be hard to find!
What was your worst date ever?
C: There was this handsome, somewhat brawny, guy named Archie who was two years ahead of me in school. I first noticed him when I was in the seventh grade. I thought he looked terrific, but I never had a chance to talk to him. When I started high school, he was a senior and the same thing was true. When I was a freshman in college, he asked me out. I was so excited that this guy I’d admired for all those years had asked me to a movie. Oh, that date was so awful, even though the movie took up most of the time. I learned that in college, he was only one year ahead of me because he had failed so many classes. He wasn’t even embarrassed about it. He thought he was smart and had weird theories he shared. This was near Thanksgiving. That’s probably why the only theory I remember is he told me the reason he got a headache from holiday family dinners was because he ate too much and that made stomach gas. He believed that since gas rises, the gas in a person’s body rises until it gets inside the skull. Gas can’t get through the thick skull and the gas pressing against the skull is what causes a headache. Need I tell you I only dated him once?
S: That is so funny! What attracted you to your current partner?
C: It was love at first sight for me. I was sitting by his sister at her thirteenth birthday party, so I could hand her gifts to unwrap. I knew she had a brother who was her twin, but didn’t know she had a brother three years older. Hero came home and appeared in the doorway with his camera to take photos of her party. The minute I saw him is frozen in my mind. I remember what I was wearing, what his sister was wearing, what his mother was wearing as she stared from me to Hero and back. Of course, I remember what Hero wore, and that I thought he was the most suave, sophisticated, and attractive guy I’d ever seen. I have to admit that now I have family photos of him from that time, and he looked like a cute geek, which he was. I was six weeks shy of 13, so it was a long time before he asked me on a date.
S: Good thing the date with Archie didn't pan out!
C: There was this handsome, somewhat brawny, guy named Archie who was two years ahead of me in school. I first noticed him when I was in the seventh grade. I thought he looked terrific, but I never had a chance to talk to him. When I started high school, he was a senior and the same thing was true. When I was a freshman in college, he asked me out. I was so excited that this guy I’d admired for all those years had asked me to a movie. Oh, that date was so awful, even though the movie took up most of the time. I learned that in college, he was only one year ahead of me because he had failed so many classes. He wasn’t even embarrassed about it. He thought he was smart and had weird theories he shared. This was near Thanksgiving. That’s probably why the only theory I remember is he told me the reason he got a headache from holiday family dinners was because he ate too much and that made stomach gas. He believed that since gas rises, the gas in a person’s body rises until it gets inside the skull. Gas can’t get through the thick skull and the gas pressing against the skull is what causes a headache. Need I tell you I only dated him once?
S: That is so funny! What attracted you to your current partner?
C: It was love at first sight for me. I was sitting by his sister at her thirteenth birthday party, so I could hand her gifts to unwrap. I knew she had a brother who was her twin, but didn’t know she had a brother three years older. Hero came home and appeared in the doorway with his camera to take photos of her party. The minute I saw him is frozen in my mind. I remember what I was wearing, what his sister was wearing, what his mother was wearing as she stared from me to Hero and back. Of course, I remember what Hero wore, and that I thought he was the most suave, sophisticated, and attractive guy I’d ever seen. I have to admit that now I have family photos of him from that time, and he looked like a cute geek, which he was. I was six weeks shy of 13, so it was a long time before he asked me on a date.
S: Good thing the date with Archie didn't pan out!
What would you like people to know about you?
C: That whether they like my work or not, what I publish is the best I could write at that time. I try very hard to bring readers uplifting entertainment. My hope is that for the time they’re reading something I’ve written, they forget about their problems, relax, and let the book take them to another place.
S: What inspired "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride?"
C: For several years, I’ve written in multi-author projects where someone else came up with the theme and parameters of the series, and each author wrote a stand-alone story for the series. They were such fun to write and cross-promote. Due to having COVID, I had to drop out of a couple, and that was embarrassing. At Hero’s urging, I decided I’d be better off with my own series on my schedule. One of the places I enjoy visiting is the Texas Hill Country, especially near Bandera, which claims to be the cowboy capital. I love writing historical westerns set between 1870 and 1885. Something else I enjoy writing is mail order bride stories. What compelled the heroine to become a bride to a stranger? What prompted the hero to request a mail order bride or did someone else request the bride for him? How do strangers find their happy-ever-after? I’ve read biographies and autobiographies of actual mail order brides of that time period. Some did have happy marriages, some had narrow escapes, and some were miserable. I prefer to concentrate on the happy ones. I came up with the Texas Hill Country Mail Order Brides, which is a long series name. Then I came up with seven bachelors, their occupations, and their matches. When readers requested a book about Quinn, the brother of book one’s bachelor, Gentry McRae, I added him. The book I’m talking about today is "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride," Book 2. This series takes place in the fictional Harrigan Springs in Harrigan County, which is squeezed in between real Bandera and Medina. Like all of my recent books, this is a sweet story with no cursing and sex is behind closed doors.
S: Is there anything special you’d like people to know about "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride?"
C: Jesse Cameron is the sheriff and is respected for his firm-but-fair policies. He’s tall and lanky at 24, and he’s from Scotland. In the two years he’s been sheriff, crimes are down and Harrigan Springs is an even nicer place to live than when he arrived. You know that to have a little conflict, a sheriff needs his opposite. Rosalin Arnold is not a bad person, but has been forced by trickery and threats to become a pickpocket. Having gained strength and self-confidence, she has been plotting to escape the clutches of the evil man who heads the pickpockets—and much more.
Here's the blurb--
Sheriff Jesse Cameron is dedicated to uphold the law of his adopted country. After leaving Scotland, he came to Texas, and learned he liked the place and the people—at least, most of them. He keeps Harrigan County free of troublemakers with his “strict but fair” policy. Now that he has a steady job and has bought a house, he figures it’s time to find a wife and start a family. He and his best friend write to the same matchmaker, hoping their brides will be sisters or friends. Jesse hopes his wife will provide a peaceful home and welcome him each evening with a good meal and a warm smile.
Growing up in an orphanage left Rosalin Arnold too naïve to avoid being trapped in the clutches of an evil man who has her picking pockets. Those who’ve tried to escape him always fail, and are severely punished—or killed. Rosalin has been plotting to get away, and seizes her chance to escape. She takes her best friend with her, and also a boy of eight. All she and her friends want is a home where they can live honestly without constant fear. She prays she has successfully evaded the man who has tentacles everywhere.
What will happen when her lawman husband learns the truth about her criminal past? Have she and her friends escaped successfully?
S: Gotta love a romance with a good looking sheriff who has a Scottish burr or brogue! Where can readers buy "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride?"
C: That whether they like my work or not, what I publish is the best I could write at that time. I try very hard to bring readers uplifting entertainment. My hope is that for the time they’re reading something I’ve written, they forget about their problems, relax, and let the book take them to another place.
S: What inspired "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride?"
C: For several years, I’ve written in multi-author projects where someone else came up with the theme and parameters of the series, and each author wrote a stand-alone story for the series. They were such fun to write and cross-promote. Due to having COVID, I had to drop out of a couple, and that was embarrassing. At Hero’s urging, I decided I’d be better off with my own series on my schedule. One of the places I enjoy visiting is the Texas Hill Country, especially near Bandera, which claims to be the cowboy capital. I love writing historical westerns set between 1870 and 1885. Something else I enjoy writing is mail order bride stories. What compelled the heroine to become a bride to a stranger? What prompted the hero to request a mail order bride or did someone else request the bride for him? How do strangers find their happy-ever-after? I’ve read biographies and autobiographies of actual mail order brides of that time period. Some did have happy marriages, some had narrow escapes, and some were miserable. I prefer to concentrate on the happy ones. I came up with the Texas Hill Country Mail Order Brides, which is a long series name. Then I came up with seven bachelors, their occupations, and their matches. When readers requested a book about Quinn, the brother of book one’s bachelor, Gentry McRae, I added him. The book I’m talking about today is "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride," Book 2. This series takes place in the fictional Harrigan Springs in Harrigan County, which is squeezed in between real Bandera and Medina. Like all of my recent books, this is a sweet story with no cursing and sex is behind closed doors.
S: Is there anything special you’d like people to know about "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride?"
C: Jesse Cameron is the sheriff and is respected for his firm-but-fair policies. He’s tall and lanky at 24, and he’s from Scotland. In the two years he’s been sheriff, crimes are down and Harrigan Springs is an even nicer place to live than when he arrived. You know that to have a little conflict, a sheriff needs his opposite. Rosalin Arnold is not a bad person, but has been forced by trickery and threats to become a pickpocket. Having gained strength and self-confidence, she has been plotting to escape the clutches of the evil man who heads the pickpockets—and much more.
Here's the blurb--
Sheriff Jesse Cameron is dedicated to uphold the law of his adopted country. After leaving Scotland, he came to Texas, and learned he liked the place and the people—at least, most of them. He keeps Harrigan County free of troublemakers with his “strict but fair” policy. Now that he has a steady job and has bought a house, he figures it’s time to find a wife and start a family. He and his best friend write to the same matchmaker, hoping their brides will be sisters or friends. Jesse hopes his wife will provide a peaceful home and welcome him each evening with a good meal and a warm smile.
Growing up in an orphanage left Rosalin Arnold too naïve to avoid being trapped in the clutches of an evil man who has her picking pockets. Those who’ve tried to escape him always fail, and are severely punished—or killed. Rosalin has been plotting to get away, and seizes her chance to escape. She takes her best friend with her, and also a boy of eight. All she and her friends want is a home where they can live honestly without constant fear. She prays she has successfully evaded the man who has tentacles everywhere.
What will happen when her lawman husband learns the truth about her criminal past? Have she and her friends escaped successfully?
S: Gotta love a romance with a good looking sheriff who has a Scottish burr or brogue! Where can readers buy "Jesse And The Mail Order Bride?"
C: It's available at Amazon in e-book, print, and free at Kindle Unlimited. Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD64JC1D?ref.
S: Caroline, thanks so much for joining me today. If you'd like to learn more about Caroline and her books, please visit--
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD64JC1D?ref.
S: Caroline, thanks so much for joining me today. If you'd like to learn more about Caroline and her books, please visit--
Website: https://www.carolineclemmons.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolinClemmons (no E in Caroline)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolineClemmonsRomances
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolinClemmons (no E in Caroline)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolineClemmonsRomances
Facebook Readers Group--Caroline’s Cuties: https://www.facebook.com/groups/277082053015947/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Clemmons/e/B001K8CXZ6/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/caroline-clemmons
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/458092.Caroline_Clemmons
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/caroline-clemmons
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/458092.Caroline_Clemmons
Newsletter: https://carolineclemmons.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0a24664c906875718d975ad7b&id=7c2e488a51 Subscribe for a free historical novella about a humorous, disastrous wedding, "Happy is the Bride."
Thank you so much for featuring me today.
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