Thumb Fire Desire by Carol Nickles 💕 Behind the Scenes, Book Tour and $50 Gift Card Giveaway 💕(Historical Romance)

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Sought-after widowed farmer Peter Nickles is enamored by Ginny's perseverance...

In the Spring of 1881, indigent seamstress Ginny Dahlke arrives in one of the earliest Polish American settlements-Parisville, Michigan. Deemed charmless and awkward by her mean-spirited sister-in-law, Ginny disparages her chance of securing love. But sought-after widowed farmer Peter Nickles is enamored by Ginny's perseverance, her pioneer spirit and, her inclusive acceptance of the indigenous peoples of Michigan. The seductiveness of a buxom heiress, a twisted story of an old-country betrothal, and the largest natural disaster in Michigan's history-The Great Thumb Fire of September 5, 1881, challenge their fledgling attraction and ultimate committal.

Writing Process

On the roadmap of submission to publishing, almost four years lapsed.  

Even though I considered myself a pretty accomplished academic writer, the learning journey for romance writing was a steep, unprecedented climb, fraught with detours, long waits in “baggage claims” language barriers,  and limited GPS.  

I offer the following “travel” tips to fellow aspiring writers:

Engage the mantra of Involve the Senses in your physical writing place 

1. Play music that inspires you.

2. Release scents that soothe you.

3. Surround yourself with textiles that comfort you.

4. Control the amounts of light and temperature that keep you energized.

5. Place objects that enthuse your creativity near you.

6. Set a tasty treat within reach.

What this tip means to me:

1. I listen to soft rhythmic island music.  It takes me back to a visit to the magical island of Fiji. My hands tap across the keyboard in a lilting beat.

2. A rose-scented candle glows on the table next to my laptop and I am transported to my grandmother’s flower garden.

3. In the winter, I don a fleece, hooded jacket, soft flannel pants, and thick, cozy socks when I show up to my writing work.

4. Natural light streaming through paned windows invokes creativity and sustains energy for me.

5. Fresh flowers, my daughter’s woodwork, and a handwoven tablecloth are examples of beautiful things for me to view.

6. A coffee cup with hazelnut coffee and a plated orange-cranberry muffin offer an incentive for just one more paragraph. 

Engage the mantra of Involve the Senses in your writing 

Every single page, I repeat, every single page of your manuscript should involve a sense in addition to sight.  Your characters hear, feel, taste and smell and are affected by temperature, light, and motion.  

Here is an excerpt from Thumb Fire Desire. Do you recognize the senses involved?

Clenching her hand over the pocketknife, Ginny registered the metal coldness and its uncorrupted strength. She pulled the charred braid of her hair and extended it as far as she could. It barely reached her chin.  Her hair had been a thing of beauty, her most treasured asset.  She had felt so comforted as her mother stroked it.  She remembered the girlish giggling she shared with Nadia as the bride-to-be used Ginny’s tresses to imagine her wedding grandeur. Again, she felt the visceral thrill of Peter taking her braid in his calloused hand and twirling the end. Ginny dug the knife blade into the earth and hollowed a hole. She curled the lock of singed hair in her hand, caressed it, sawed it off with the blade, dropped it in the grave, and covered it with a handful of earth.  Useless tears. She rubbed the drops from her cheeks.

Engage suspense 

Just as you should involve a variety of senses on every page of your manuscript, you should involve suspense on every,  yes every page as well.  Suspense has a variety of levels.

• Your character needs a drink

• A bluejay smacks the window

• A siren blares

• Water overflows the tub

• A dam bursts

• A tooth falls out

• There is no toilet paper on the store shelves

Be specific

It’s not a bird.  It’s a turkey vulture with a bald dome and a Lilliputian-sized pink head.

It’s not a horse.  It’s a Medicine-Hat colt with the distinctive markings of a color band around its face.

It’s not a weed.  It’s goats-beard grasses.

It’s not a candy cane.  It’s a striped stick with the flavor of sassafras.

It’s not many deaths.  It’s two-hundred and eighty-two deaths.  

Read your Work Aloud before you submit it.

This tip is easy.  Turn on your read-aloud feature (In Word it is tabbed under Review).  

Very best wishes on your writing journeys my friends!

Peter sat atop the hay bale. Joseph’s shadow grew deeper and then faded away. For the first time, he and Ginny were alone—if he didn’t count a barn full of bawling sheep, milk cows dunking their heads in feed pails, Buster and Blue lazily flicking their tails, and slinky cats prowling the hay. His breathing came ragged. His chest puffed. He bent at the knees, shoved his hands under the bulk of shorn fleece, slowly aligned his spine, turned toward Ginny, and lost sensation in his arms. He dropped the pile, scattering barn dust and errant wool strands.

She stood idle. The sunshine pouring through the slats on the barn’s east side outlined her silhouette. The soft hollow in her neck swelled and emptied. A clothesline, bare for the warped wooden pins straddling it, swayed between its oak tree moorings behind her. She lifted the tray, set Joseph’s glass on it, and held her hand for his drink.

“I’ll wash your shirt. Sorry I spoiled it.” She leveled her gaze to his.

He turned the glass in his hand. A single mint leaf stuck to the bottom. He fished it out with a finger and rolled the bumpy foliage in his palm, releasing its scent. He rubbed the leaf on his wrist and opened his mouth. He bit into the sprig, savored the fresh prickly taste, and swished it around his gums and teeth. He swallowed.

      

Carol Nickles is the sixth generation of a German textile aficionado family. In 1881, her great-great-great-grandfather founded Yale Woolen Mill—the longest-lasting of Michigan’s once twenty-nine woolen mills. Carol earned a Master’s degree in Historic Clothing & Textiles at Michigan State University. Her thesis is a narrative of the Yale Woolen Mill. She held faculty positions at both Utah and Michigan State universities. She lives in West Michigan and enjoys spinning a tale, weaving a story, and threading a luring hook.

   

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