Researching for Logger in Petticoats was fun and nostalgic. While the only connection my family had to logging were several years my dad worked in a lumber mill, our property ran up the side of a mountain and I loved riding my horse through the pine, fir, and tamarack on the mountain. The trees were tall, straight and some so wide at the base you needed several people to lock hands and reach around them. They were giant sentinels in the forest. The birds tweeting from the high branches, the wind rustling the needles and creaking the trees sounded loud in the muffled quiet of the forest floor. The scents of the forest; decaying leaves and needles, the tang of the pine and softer nuances of fir filled your nostrils and triggered a feeling of being one with the earth. Each type of tree had it's own distinguishing scent, bark, and needles.
I used my awe of the timber and infused it in the hero Hank Halsey. Then since the whole Halsey brother series had strong willed heroines, I came up with Kelda Nielsen. The only daughter of a Norwegian logger with three sons. They are all large, Kelda included. She's grown up learning the logging trade and excels. She loves being outside but as her mother has aged, Kelda must help out in the kitchen.
While Hank has sisters-in-law who have/had male occupations, he believes no woman should be in the woods and so the battle begins between the two as their attraction for one another also grows.
Here is the blurb for Logger in Petticoats the
fifth book of the Halsey brother series.
Hank Halsey believes
he’s found the perfect logging crew—complete with cooks—until he discovers
Kelda Neilson would rather swing an axe than flip eggs. As he sets out to prove
women belong in the kitchen, he’s the one in danger of getting burned.
Strong and stubborn,
Kelda Nielsen grew up falling trees and resents any man who believes she’s not
capable, until Hank. He treats her like a lady and has her questioning what
that means.
As Kelda and Hank’s
attraction builds, she hires a cook so she can sneak out and work in the woods.
But will her deceit ruin her chance at love or will hardheaded Hank realize
it’s more than his love that puts a sparkle in Kelda’s eye?
Excerpt:
Kelda stood by
the door, a man’s black wool coat buttoned up to her neck and a wool scarf
wrapped around her head. Her flushed cheeks shone in the lantern light. Her
gaze met his solid and unflappable.
To appease Karl,
Hank said as he pulled on his coat, “If Kelda isn’t back in here in fifteen
minutes you can come looking for us.”
The door hadn’t
fully closed when Dag’s voice cleared the threshold, “I don’t know what you’re
worrying about. No man is going to think of Kelda in the way you’re talking.”
Kelda’s
shoulders drooped proving she’d heard her brother’s comment. She walked around
the corner of the cookhouse to a fallen log at the backside of the building.
Hank wanted to catch up to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders. She was a
fine woman. Any man would be dang lucky
to have her for a wife. He stood in front of her as she sat on the log, her
face pointed toward the men’s logging boots on her feet.
Hank crouched in
front of Kelda, tipping her face up to read her emotions. “Your brother sees
you only as his sister. You’re a woman any man would be lucky to marry.”
Tears glistened
in her eyes. “I’m the size and body of a man. Men want a small delicate
woman.” She wiped at the tears and her
hands clutched his. “Don’t make Far keep me out of the woods. It’s all I have to make me happy.”
Pleading in her
eyes and voice sucker punched Hank. “Why would you want to work alongside men
in the woods? Women belong in the home.”
“I don’t care to
work inside. I love the outdoors and the labor of logging. Don’t keep me out of
the woods. It’s the one thing I can do well.”
The strong grip
of her fingers on his proved her strength. He had no doubt she was a skilled
woodsman…woman. He pried her fingers
from his hands and held them between his palms. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow
you in the woods. It isn’t proper for a woman to work like that. And what if
you prove too weak to handle a job and someone else gets hurt?”
“Ooooo!” Her
hands ripped from his grasp and rammed him in the chest. He started tipping
backwards and grabbed the first thing in reach—Kelda’s arms.
He fell back
into the snow dragging Kelda on top of him.
The surprise in
her eyes quickly turned to interest as she gazed down into his face. Her body
sprawled across Hank, pressing him into the snow. Even with the heavy clothing, her curves were
evident as her relaxed body molded over his.
Hank pushed the
scarf back from her face and stared into amazing eyes that glistened from the
moonlight bouncing off the snow. Her gaze searched his.
The rise and
fall of her chest quickened.
She licked her
lips…
He held her head
in his hands. Inch by inch, Hank drew her lips closer, wondering if the heat
and passion he’d witnessed in her eyes would be in her kiss.
“Kelda!”
The male voice
broke through the insanity of his actions. Hank rolled, rose to his feet, and
pulled Kelda up with him.
This book will be available at all ebook outlets after the 15th.
You can learn more about me and the other Halsey books at my blog; www.patyjager.blogspot.com website; http://www.patyjager.net
or on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/paty.jager
and twitter; @patyjag.
great excerpt, Paty.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Paty. What a unique subject for a book!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on yet another awesome book! In my mind loggers rank right up there with cowboys. :)
ReplyDeleteBest wishes on many sales!
Lumberjacks indeed are hotties. And I always love stories about big strong women. Good luck, Paty, with another winner!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris!
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki. I like unique subjects.
Hey Lauri. Yeah I know how you like loggers! ;)
Thanks Tanya. I like strong women unorthodox women too.
Paty,
ReplyDeleteI could see those beautiful trees just as if I was there. And I loved the excerpt. :-)
Your description of the forest reminded me of the forest around the New Mexico cabin where we spent summer and fall vacations from the time I was 12 until my parents recently sold the property. One reason my parents bought the acreage they did was because my mom was determined to save a couple of huge evergreens that could have been cut down for a road if she hadn't bought that acre. I hope the couple who bought the property recently will protect those trees too. I'll never forget the forest property, the trees, the ground cover, the birds, etc. Thanks for reminding me.
My father's great grandfather worked in those Oregon lumber camps as a blacksmith in his later years. Oregon is a beautiful state.
Wishing you many happy readers. :-)
Thanks Jeanmarie. I am partial to Oregon forests and do believe them to be very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOoh, Logger in Petticoats sounds great. I love a woman who is ahead of her time. Best of luck with it. Definitely on my tbr list.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your fifth Halsey Brothers novels. It's very nice. The excerpt is interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Callie. This was a really fun book to write because of the characters.
ReplyDeleteHi Celia, Thanks. I'm happy and sad to have this be the final Halsey book. I loved conjuring up the family but I'm ready to move on to a new series.
I live in California's El Dorado National Forest and can appreciate your love of those giant trees. I cringe and am now asked to leave the property if and when a tree dies and must be taken down. I figure my husband had cut down his trees and the rest belong to me and he's not cuttin' them.
ReplyDeleteYour story sounds great. You can't beat those tall, handsome Nordic types. Good luck with lots of sales, Paty.
Paisley, There is something about a tall straight pine that symbolizes a quiet strength. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLove your petticoat series, Paty. I would love to visit your part of the country! It sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteCaroline, The part of Oregon I described is where I grew up, the NE corner. Where I live, central, is high desert. But there are mountains close by.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your release. Loved the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ella!
ReplyDelete