Mary Seacole, also known as Mother Seacole and the Black Florence Nightingale.

  

(1805-1881)  Mary was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to a Scottish military father and a free Black Jamaican mother. Her mother was a renowned healer known as "The Doctress," who passed down traditional Caribbean and African herbal medicine practices. 

  Mrs. Seacole established her reputation as a healer during a yellow fever outbreak in 1853, and, when, the Crimean War broke out later that year, she wished to do her share to aid the wounded.       Traveling all the way to London, she applied to the British Secretary at War and one of Nightingale’s colleagues to be included in the country's nursing corps.

    They turned her down! 

    Here is a quote from her 1857 autobiography, THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF MRS. SEACOLE IN MANY LANDS: “Did these ladies shrink from accepting my aid because my blood flowed beneath a somewhat duskier skin than theirs?”

   Undaunted, she independently funded her way to the Crimean War to care for wounded soldiers on the front lines.

   Near Balaclava, she established the "British Hotel," which served as a store, restaurant, and safe resting place for officers and enlisted men. In my book Lady Gallant, when my heroine Nurse Josephine Posey is injured and lost, Mary Seacole rescues her too. 

   Mother Seacole was known for bravely riding out to the active battlefields with medical supplies and food, tending to wounded and dying soldiers under cannon fire. The soldiers affectionately called her "Mother Seacole"

     Post-war found her bankrupt, but she published her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, the first memoir by a Black woman in Britain. 

Today, Seacole's legacy is celebrated with a statue outside St. Thomas' Hospital in London—believed to be the first monument to a named Black woman in the UK.

My story Lady Gallant has a lot of history sprinkled in, and Mrs. Seacole has a cameo, but there is also intrigue, and of course Romance! 

  Smack in the middle of the Crimean war, Josephine Posey, a Florence Nightingale nurse, meets Garrick Allen, the Times first war correspondent. With intrigue afoot and bombs bursting in air, they share the secrets of their past and dream of a future together.

  Blurb:  Disowned by her father and still mourning the death of her fiancé, Josephine  Posey joins Florence Nightingale’s brigade of nurses bound for the Black Sea. Thousands of British soldiers desperately await these angels of mercy and a new life awaits Josie. Amidst the chaos of death and despair, she finds a spark of hope, lighting the flame once more inside her soul.

     In search of the truth, Garrick Allen, one of Britain’s first war correspondents also journeys to the Crimean Peninsula. To him the soldiers seem all but abandoned by Queen and country, and as he smokes his cheroots and makes friends with a bottle, he writes his bold but honest dispatches for The Times.  Not wanting anything more than to finish his job and go home, Garrick is blind-sided by a nurse with attitude who offers him a new slant on life and a reason to love.

                     

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Gini-Rifkin-Author/100001680213365

Amazon author  https://amzn.to/2R53KA9

Pinterest             https://www.pinterest.com/ginirifkin/pins/

Goodreads                     http://bit.ly/2OnHbrK

Barnes and Noble          http://bit.ly/2xPs9S4

AudioBooks                  https://adbl.co/2OlWbGJ

LinkedIn                        https://www.linkedin.com/in/gini-rifkin-15950489/

Universal link                https://books2read.com/u/3JLGMv

The wild rose press     https://wildrosepress.com/?s=rifkin&post_type=product&type_aws=true

Thriller giveaway $50 Amazon card.

        I’m excited to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven’s                        Mystery, Suspense, Thriller Bookish Event. (phew!)

                                Check out all books 

              and enter the giveaway for an Amazon gift card:                                                                    Enter contest here

                                Buy Fatal Recall here

                                             Fatal Recall

                              Best Romantic Thriller of the Year 

                               from Colorado Authors' League                          

                             

   Hudson Kincaid prefers the wide-open spaces. But tracking down a serial killer means hanging out in Denver as he investigates neuroscientist Dr. Marilyn Monrose. So far, he can’t figure out if she’s city kitty in high heels, or a country kitten in cowgirl boots?        Marilyn’s experiments using ramped up virtual reality, captures the final moments of each murder victim’s life, a chilling discovery she’s trying to keep secret. The last thing she needs is a determined private detective barging into her lab—no matter how sexy he looks in his Stetson hat.
   When word of her research is leaked to the press, Marilyn becomes the killer’s next target.  
Now the woman Hudson races to save, is the one who has stolen his heart.    

       Enter contest here

                                Buy Fatal Recall here

excerpt: 

  Without hesitation, the man strode across the threshold. The door at his back closed with an impressive thud, and the lock reset with a loud click.

  Marilyn sized him up. She figured he must be close to six-foot-three. Being on the taller side herself, she appreciated and was attracted to men of a decent height. Conversely, looking up at a person was unusual for her, adding to her growing dislike for this man and his invasion of her privacy.

  Standing at ease, he scrutinized the room. Despite his casual manner, she had no doubt behind those engaging eyes his mind registered every detail about her and the laboratory. Now his gaze drifted lazily over the entire length of her body, stopping one degree short of being rude.

  She tried not to fidget. Why didn’t he speak? He’d said he’d come to ask her questions. “Well?” she prompted, breaking the strained silence. He stared back and forth between her and the name scrawled on his note pad, and his reason for contemplation sank in.

  Her name, Marilyn Monrose, spelled so closely to her idol’s, often inspired presuppositions as to her appearance, imaginings she couldn’t live up to. “Sorry, no blonde hair or luscious curves. I do have a PhD in biochemistry with a minor in quantum technology and neuropsychology. Oh, and I definitely agree diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

  The man cleared his throat, stifled a grin, and had the decency to restrict his concentration to her face. “I’m investigating a recent spate of murders, Miss Monrose.”

    "Dr. Monrose.”

    “Yes, of course. Sorry. Dr. Monrose, I’m sure you’ve read about them in the newspaper.” Getting down to business, the spark of amusement in his eyes turned dead serious.

   This had been a mistake. She shouldn’t have let him in.

   “Who hired you? Who are you working for?”

   “Why is that important? I handle classified information.”

   “You mean for the government?”

   “Not exactly, it’s classified because of the threat of corporate espionage.”

   “You’re not doing a particularly good job of keeping things quiet. According to the paperwork I’ve seen, your name is listed on the logbooks at the Bancroft labs for each of the victim autopsies. A point of interest, wouldn’t you say?”

                   

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Gini-Rifkin-Author/100001680213365

Amazon author  https://amzn.to/2R53KA9

Pinterest             https://www.pinterest.com/ginirifkin/pins/

Goodreads                     http://bit.ly/2OnHbrK

Barnes and Noble          http://bit.ly/2xPs9S4

AudioBooks                  https://adbl.co/2OlWbGJ

LinkedIn                        https://www.linkedin.com/in/gini-rifkin-15950489/

Universal link                https://books2read.com/u/3JLGMv

The wild rose press     https://wildrosepress.com/?s=rifkin&post_type=product&type_aws=true

Pearl S. Buck's romance novel.

Were you required, in school, to read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S Buck? It was the best selling novel in the United States in 1931/1932. I can't remember the details of the story, but even at my young age, I was impressed with the fact that Pearl S. Buck was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938. 

All those years ago, it did not occur to me to researched what else she may have written. Now, just recently, I found out this prolific author wrote many novels revolving around love and marriage. Amongst her works, she wrote an historical romance called Death in the Castle. 

     This quintessential gothic romance, published in 1965, is true to the time period with a spooky castle, secret rooms, and an interloper American protagonist creating havoc in the British heroine's isolated lifestyle and castle.

 There are hints at the unfairness of class distinction. But on the whole, the story is a sweet product of the time, wherein just a steadfast gaze, or hands accidently touching, can bring about an overwhelming physical reaction rendering clear logic impossible!       The book has seen several covers, these were so representative of the time period. 

 

   

  Her first marriage was not successful, but did result in a child, Pearl Buck’s daughter, Carol (born 1920), suffered from phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare metabolic disorder. She never failed her daughter, even when struggling to make ends meet. 

  After returning to the United States in 1935, she married her publisher Richard J. Walsh and continued writing prolifically.  Born in West Virginia, in October 1892, Pearl's parents took their 4-month-old baby to China. Although she traveled back and forth between China and the USA, she spent the majority of her first 43 years overseas. The daughter of missionaries and later as a missionary herself, she worked to help others as she began her writing career as a means of support.

   A prominent advocate and activist for women's rights and racial equality, she was particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption. She founded the first permanent foster home for US-born mixed-race children of Asian descent. 

     

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart  *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog

Facebook

Amazon Author

Pinterest 

Barnes & Noble

GoodReads

Audio books

The Wild Rose Press

Christmas in July 99 Cent Sale

              Cool off this summer with a classic Medieval romance. 
                                       Promise Me Christmas 

                             will take your mind off the heat, 

                            yet surely warm your heart and soul. 

                                 

                                  Colorado Authors' League finalist!

                               On sale now ONLY 99 CENTS 

Available here

Watch Trailer

 Review: Promise Me Christmas is a heartwarming story of love and honor and keeping one’s promise, all wrapped in a medieval adventure sprinkled with humor and sweet romantic moments.  

   Clip: Outnumbered, Guy and his soldiers fought with their hearts and souls as well as their swords as they defended the land and their families. By shear will, they drove the traitors and mercenaries back into the surrounding woods. And when the last of the villagers who’d come seeking protection flooded through the castle gate, Guy called for his men to also return to Darkenwald.

     First to the battle line and last to retreat, Guy then ordered the portcullis to be lowered as he followed behind his men. In a hail of arrows and riding for all he was worth, he barely crossed the threshold as the obedient guardsmen in the tower sent the heavy iron grillwork crashing to the ground.

       They were safe—safe and trapped inside.

 

Blurb:

   The nights are growing longer and the winter snows are coming—Darkenwald Castle is under siege. 

   Lord Guy Blackthorne is prepared to lay down his life for his children, his wife, and all who seek his protection. But as renegades, mercenaries, and political intrigue surround his ancient family stronghold, he’s forced to stay his hand against those who would dare to attack his fortress.  

   As supplies and hope dwindle, Lady Vespa fears Yule will not be one of good cheer, and the children shall have no gifts this year. At least she and Guy have one another, for that she is thankful. But there are few private moments to share their love, and every endeavor to satisfy their passion is interrupted when the enemy attempts to invade the castle.

   On Christmas Eve, when a battle to the death begins, Guy faces his greatest challenge. Now Vespa’s wish for a happy Yule celebration turns to a prayer for her beloved’s safety. 

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Gini-Rifkin-Author/100001680213365

Amazon author  https://amzn.to/2R53KA9

Pinterest             https://www.pinterest.com/ginirifkin/pins/

Goodreads                     http://bit.ly/2OnHbrK

Barnes and Noble          http://bit.ly/2xPs9S4

AudioBooks                  https://adbl.co/2OlWbGJ

LinkedIn                        https://www.linkedin.com/in/gini-rifkin-15950489/

Universal link                https://books2read.com/u/3JLGMv

The wild rose press     https://wildrosepress.com/?s=rifkin&post_type=product&type_aws=true

Those cute Easter Bunnies.

 A few months ago, we were all enamored of those darling Easter Bunnies. History, however, indicates these sweet furry critters may have a more eye opening beginning. And perhaps the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog in Monty Python's "In Search of the Holy Grail" wasn't so outrageous after all.

 Killer Rabbit Of Caerbannog Tapestry

From TeePublic

  Along the edges of Medieval books, manuscripts’ marginalia, we  find odd images with all sorts of monsters, half man-beasts, monkeys, and more. Even in religious books the margins sometimes have drawings making fun of monks, nuns and bishops. 

    Were these fascinating inserts the dark humor of the monks who spent millions of hours copying manuscript after manuscript? More likely, the illustrations were used to add humor, showcase imagination, and occasionally provide social commentary by mocking contemporary life. 

   These images, opposites of real life, became known as drollery. According to Webster droll means having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality. Drollery, is the world turned upside down. 

    In these examples, the unassuming gentle bunny, frequently hunted and eaten by the local people, is shown turning the tables and attacking the hunter. 

  

 Here, an axe-wielding rabbit dares attack a king. The Gorleston Psalter, East Anglia, England, 1310-24

   But rabbits-gone-wild wasn't a flash in the pan idea. The practice of drollery in illuminate manuscripts spanned several hundred years with many fantastic beast/human combinations. 

       It's kind of  reassuring to think this covert sense of humor survived during a time when so many had so little. And wouldn't this be a good plot devise, secret information in the margins of an old manuscript...or a new manuscript depending the time period and genre in which you write. 

   I really liked Peter Austin's idea that these drolleries are like modern day memes, and we have been sending one another comical animal cartoons for centuries. 

 visit Peter Austin here

Here is a look at Rabbits in Art from 

    https://www.facebook.com/archaeologyart/reels/

 

                                     

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Gini-Rifkin-Author/100001680213365

Amazon author  https://amzn.to/2R53KA9

Pinterest             https://www.pinterest.com/ginirifkin/pins/

Goodreads                     http://bit.ly/2OnHbrK

Barnes and Noble          http://bit.ly/2xPs9S4

AudioBooks                  https://adbl.co/2OlWbGJ

LinkedIn                        https://www.linkedin.com/in/gini-rifkin-15950489/

Universal link                https://books2read.com/u/3JLGMv

The wild rose press     https://wildrosepress.com/?s=rifkin&post_type=product&type_aws=true

Amazon gift card at Audio book party.

 

Available here

Enter contest here

Special Delivery
Clover City, Colorado—1888
A mysterious letter and the drop-dead handsome town marshal, are the last things Mariah expects to find making rounds as a midwife. 
Mariah McAllister plans to be married before her next birthday. Too bad Marshal Virgil Kincaid barely knows she’s alive. Not one to give up easily, she’s determined to show him she has an abiding passion for more than her work.
Virgil Kincaid loved a woman once—after she broke his heart, he spent three years in prison. Women can’t be trusted, no matter how good they look. He’s sworn off relationships in favor of Saturday night poker games. Life is simple—the way he wants it…until a stranger turns up dead in the road. 
Forced to work side by side with Mariah, Virgil begins to wonder if she might be his second chance at love. As they trade kisses and oh so much more, he’s willing to take the gamble. But when a killer threatens their once peaceful town, all bets are off.  

****
Excerpt:
        Virgil Kincaid was a prime cut of man. Over six feet tall, he made Mariah’s five-foot seven height seem less gawky and awkward. And he was built for action, long and lean with broad shoulders—shoulders she hankered to hold onto—and with narrow hips—hips she could easily envision pressed up against her own. 
      And then there were his eyes. Grey as the sky in winter, full of secrets, revealing nothing. Virgil had been the town Marshal for nearly three years, yet no one knew where he’d come from or how long he intended to stay. What would it take to light a fire in those eyes and put settling down in his thoughts? 
       Her gaze drifted lower and latched onto the front of his denim trousers. A picture of what he might look like naked skittered across her mind and her cheeks grew hot at the imagining. 
       “You done lookin?” he asked.
        Her gaze snapped up to meet his and the heat of humiliation replaced the lustful warmth. 
        “Yes,” she babbled, “there doesn’t seem to be anything of interest here.”  
        “Really?” he challenged, with a cocky grin and a raised brow. 
         He stepped closer and stood so near she could smell the man sent of him as she tried to ratchet her breathing down to a more normal rate. 
        “You’re a very unusual woman, Miss McAllister.” 
        “Is that good or bad?” she dared to ask.
        “I’m not sure yet.”  

             

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart  *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Gini-Rifkin-Author/100001680213365

Amazon author  https://amzn.to/2R53KA9

Pinterest             https://www.pinterest.com/ginirifkin/pins/

Goodreads                     http://bit.ly/2OnHbrK

Barnes and Noble          http://bit.ly/2xPs9S4

AudioBooks                  https://adbl.co/2OlWbGJ

LinkedIn                        https://www.linkedin.com/in/gini-rifkin-15950489/

Universal link                https://books2read.com/u/3JLGMv

The wild rose press     https://wildrosepress.com/?s=rifkin&post_type=product&type_aws=true

Amazon gift card giveaway during Audio Book Month

 

    A Cowboy’s Fate by Gini Rifkin is a Celebrate Audiobook Month pick with giveaway. Imagine a Wild West road-trip from Denver to Leadville, filled with danger, humor, and the predictions from the Tarot cards.

Book Blurb:

Colorado, 1880

  Kicked out of England for offending the Royal Family, Britania Rule heads for Leadville, in the Colorado backcountry. Passing herself off as a highborn lady, she pursues her dream of opening a parlor of spiritual enlightenment.

   Cody James, her guide, thinks he must be half-crazy to hire-out to a female. But his luck at the gaming tables has run dry, and she’s his meal-ticket out of town. Betrayed by the only woman he ever loved, and shot and left for dead by a man he once called friend, Cody declares himself a loner.

   Traveling side by side, they deny their desire for one another, but the Tarot cards say otherwise—their hot night of passion confirms the prediction. Will love be waiting at the end of the trail? Or could Cody’s past destroy their future?

                           Enter giveaway here

Author Biography:

Gini Rifkin writes stories of romance and adventure. Her settings include the American West, Medieval & Victorian England, and Contemporary thriller & fantasy. The Colorado Authors’ League honored Gini with two prestigious awards- Best Historical Romance of the Year and Best Romantic Thriller of the Year. She has also won The Beverley Award from Colorado Romance Writers, the Reviewer’s Choice Award from the Paranormal Romance Guild, the Reader’s Choice Award from Still Moments Magazine, and Best Thriller of the year from N.N. Light. Her new passion is spinning and weaving fleeces from her friend’s rescue sheep. Her lifelong passion is caring for her own rescue animals, including donkeys, goats, ducks, and one demanding cat.

   

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart  *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

Blog www.ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Gini-Rifkin-Author/100001680213365

Amazon author  https://amzn.to/2R53KA9

Pinterest             https://www.pinterest.com/ginirifkin/pins/

Goodreads                     http://bit.ly/2OnHbrK

Barnes and Noble          http://bit.ly/2xPs9S4

AudioBooks                  https://adbl.co/2OlWbGJ

LinkedIn                        https://www.linkedin.com/in/gini-rifkin-15950489/

Universal link                https://books2read.com/u/3JLGMv

The wild rose press     https://wildrosepress.com/?s=rifkin&post_type=product&type_aws=true