Introduction of Once A Vagabond

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this project. The Orphan Train series will be my first collaboration, and Once a Vagabond is the third book. I’m honored to be teamed up with five great Champagne authors. Over the last few months I’ve been doing the plotting and research for the book, and now I’m ready to dive into Abby and Ethan’s story.

Once A Vagabond is about Abigail McKee’s life after she loses her parents to a dock accident the day she and her family land at Castle Garden in New York City from Ireland. Although she is ten when she makes the pact with the other five girls on the orphan train, Abby’s story begins on her sixteenth birthday on the docks of San Francisco, California.

Here is a short working blurb –

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2 vows 1 outcome

Abigail McKee vowed revenge. Ethan O’Conner not only lied to her and broke her ten-year-old heart, but also drugged her and then put her on a horrific orphan train. Since then, her life had been nothing but miserable and at times terrifying. Abby really wasn’t sure which had been worse - being a wagon train cook’s whipping boy, a saloon girl or a miner’s pack mule.

Ethan vowed to keep Abby safe after she lost her family in a dock accident. But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the feisty lass, who stole his 14-year-old heart, literally falling into his arms years after he and Father Malone put her on the train heading out of New York City. And although he feared he would never see her again, he fought back the tears with the knowledge that he had kept his promise to Abby the only way he knew how.

Now ten years later, Abby is back in Ethan’s life, but only he knows their past. She only knows him as John Peacock, the Point Reyes Lighthouse keeper’s apprentice. Will Ethan risk losing Abby again with the truth? And if Abby learns the truth, will she have the courage to let go of her past and follow her heart?

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I love to write about protagonists who are smart, quick tempered and who have sharp tongues; Abby is all that. But then you add to the mix a hot, and I do mean hot, hero, such as Ethan who gets Abby’s blood boiling in more ways than one. Well, you can practically see the steam roll of the pages. This story is going to be so much fun to write, I’m glad I finally get to start it today. The past few nights I’ve started dreaming about their story. This happens when I’m working on a book. So join me as I explore Abby and Ethan’s romance.

Until next time, happy reading. :)