that novel gave me grief from the day I started it. I even shelved it three times without plans to finish it. Talk about research! Oh, and don’t even get me started on the dialect.
But back to my point! I tend to stick with time periods that I not only would love to live in, but love to study about. I suppose I got it from my dad. Who, by the way, was the one who lit the light bulb, so to speak, for A Road Paved in Copper. Anyone who knows my dad knows he likes to tell stories. One afternoon while visiting my parents, he started telling me this story about the woman who founded a small town in Nevada (my home state) that sits between Tonopah and Hawthorn called Mina. Her name was Ferminia Sarras.
After 1900, rich discovers in Tonopah and Goldfield had transformed Nevada's mining landscape. Investors scoured the state, hoping to cash in on the next bonanza, and Fermina's claims attracted a lot of attention. She became a regional celebrity who paved the way for woman miners and was also nicknamed Nevada's "Copper Queen" because of her talent for finding copper.
I think the best part of her life story was her travels to San Francisco. She spent her whole life not only mining, but traveling back and forth from the desert to the city, and the surrounding towns. Once she would gather large sums of money, she would ride to another town or the city and blow her fortune on fancy hotels, fine dining, and hoards of younger men. As soon as the money was gone, she would say, "I guess I better get back to the desert." She'd return to her mines, don her overalls, and take to the hills again.
So as you can see, she was a great woman to inspire the heroine of a story. Ava was, by far, my strongest character. While the others have always had to play a more reserved role, Ava could do anything she wanted. And boy, did she ever.
"This female lead is a bad ass! LOVE her!!"
"A particular feature of this novel which was rather clever was that it managed to twist your initial assumptions and expectations of both the main character, and even the setting of the book itself."
"The ability of the author to provide us a glimpse into two such distinct worlds is truly commendable."
"It all comes together though for an unbelievably intense ending that left me a mess of tears."
“What a lovely PROPER book; intriguing, engaging, consuming and lovely to read. Just like books should be. The characters are well rounded and because of that they feel real and human. This is the first book I've read by Angela Christina Archer and I thoroughly enjoyed it, would definitely recommend it if you'd like to read a book that has substance as opposed to the fluff you get now.”
Thank you so much for stopping by today and joining me here! And, again, thank you to Carly for hosting me!
Bio:
Growing up in Nevada, reading was
always a pastime that took second place to trail riding and showing horses. When
she did find the time in her youth to curl up with a book, she found enjoyment
in the Saddle Club Series, the Sweet Valley High series, and the classics of
Anne of Green Gables, The Box Car Children, and Little House on the Prairie. Although,
writing always piqued her curiosity, it wasn’t until September 2009 that she
worked up the courage to put her passion to paper and started her debut novel.
When she’s not writing, Angela spends
her days from dawn to dusk as a stay at home, homeschooling mom. She also works
in her garden and takes care of her many farm animals, as well as loves to bake
and cook from scratch. She doesn't show horses anymore, but she still loves to
trail ride her paint horse, Honky, as well as enjoys teaching her daughters how
to ride their horses, Sunny and Cowboy.
Links:
Book Links:
Blurb:
Armed with her six-shooter, Ava De La
Vega dips the pen into the inkwell and etches her name on the Esmeralda County
tax record book. A formidable force, that's what her peers have called her. The
woman in a man's world, what did she know of mining ore, silver, and copper?
Plenty. And it's this knowledge that makes her of the richest miners in Nevada
in 1903. Of course, it also makes her a target.
Traveling back and forth from Tonopah,
Nevada and San Francisco, Ava blazes the trail from the dirt and grime of her mines
to the fanciest hotel rooms, enjoying the finest wines, the most decadent
meals, and the company of attractive young men.
Unfortunately,
for Ava, she doesn’t see Craig Harrison coming.
A miner from the snowy Klondike, Craig
has traveled from the harsh Canadian mountains down to city streets of San
Francisco. Not looking for work, he's happy with the comfortable life away from
the deep mines, the dirt, and the ever sought-after gold.
Unfortunately, for Craig, he doesn’t
see Ava coming.
Excerpt:
I lifted my glass and
sipped the wine again, clicking my tongue as I set it back down. I knew the
back and forth game about to occur between us, a battle of wits, a battle of
landowners.
I fought to protect my
land.
He fought to steal it.
“Is that the stance you
are going to take, then?” I asked. “That you know nothing of the recent attack
on my homestead?”
“Well, when one isn’t
involved then usually they know nothing of the events that transpired.”
“Isn’t involved?”
“That is what I said,
isn’t it?” He paused for a moment as if to exaggerate his defense. “Billy Jack
and his men haven’t worked for me in over two years. I have no more control
over that man than you do. What he does is his own business. I know nothing of
his actions, nor do I order him to do my bidding anymore.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“You know, one shouldn’t
hold onto resentment and anger when it comes to the past.”
“I don’t hold concern over
what happened all those years ago anymore, and I haven’t for a long time.”
The smirk on his lips told
me that a rebuttal sat on his tongue, and yet, he didn’t utter a word. Ah yes,
another method of denial—silence—as if to say how dare I come at him with this.
Did I not know who he was? Did I not know what he was capable of?
I did know, though.
It was he, who didn’t know
what I was capable of doing.
“Is there anything else I
can do for you today, Ava?” he finally asked. Indifference breathed through the
tone of every word.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’m rather busy and,
quite frankly, I do not wish to waste any more of my time speaking with you if
you are only going to accuse me of actions I know nothing about.”
“I know you calculated the
attack on my homestead.”
He slightly shook his
head. “As I told you before, I didn’t.”
“I know you did.”
“But you can’t prove it.”
I rose to my feet and
yanked dozens of red satchels from my handbag, dangling them in my fingers for
a few minutes before I tossed them on the table. A few of them fell open and
coins rolled from the material, dropping to the floor with a few clangs.
Walter scrutinized the
bags, but didn’t move an inch. A detail he hadn’t seen coming. A detail that
pinned him to the crime. Evidence he couldn’t refute and that condemned him as
though he was there that day.
“I’m sorry to inform you
that you lost all of your men in the attack,” I continued. “I know you ordered
the attack on my homestead.”
I stepped forward until I
stood next to him. I leaned down, my face inches from his, and my hot breath
whispered against his skin.
“And if you plan another one, I promise that I’ll
gun you down myself.”
