Shannon here: Lynne Basham Tagawa shares insight into her real life romance, a romantic excerpt from her latest Historical Romance, A Fallen Sparrow, plus a chance to win a copy. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a print or e-book copy,US only. Or ebook for international. Deadline: April 27th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Lynne:
Love at First Sight?
Is it possible to fall in love at first sight? In some stories, there is certainly an immediate zing! My character Lt. Robert Shirley in A Fallen Sparrow certainly experiences that. He’s a British spy who is smitten with a most unsuitable girl.
My own experience was much different. I was scrambling to get to class, a “lab” that went with my Geology 101 lecture. I was running late—it was a large campus—and when I got through the door, there was only one chair left.
I think the Lord saved me that chair.
Across the table was a young man, the man I would eventually marry. He looked ordinary enough as we played with rocks. I assumed he was not a Christian. I was a “baby” Christian and kept an eye out for chances to evangelize. I went to a Bible study on Friday nights, and it occurred to me that one way to evangelize would be to ask him to this study.
One day after class I asked Geary what he did on Friday nights. Later he told me that he thought I was asking him on a date!
I explained about the Bible study, and that’s when I discovered that he was a Christian. Suddenly, we had a lot to talk about… and four years later we married. It was a marriage of the heart, a slow but steady love—that endures to this day, almost forty years later!
Our undercover redcoat Robert, on the other hand, sees a remarkable woman, an Amazon on horseback. He’s the nephew of an earl, and this glorious redhead is the sister of a backcountry rifleman. Totally unsuitable and unattainable. Besides, he’s a spy. Originally chosen by Lord Dartmouth to send information, he has a new mission now in March of 1775:
Excerpt from A Fallen Sparrow by Lynne Basham Tagawa:
Chills seized Robert as he approached Cambridge. He staggered to the side of the Boston Road and leaned against an oak. Why was he shivering? There was snow on the ground, but even so. He’d been tramping steadily all night, his blood flowing. Layers of wool protected him. He shouldn’t feel this cold.
Robert looked over his shoulder at the moon, a great silver eye descending toward the tree line in the west. His neck ached from the motion. Indeed, his whole body ached. An unexplainable fatigue had settled into his bones around midnight, and like a good soldier, he’d ignored it.
He felt horribly exposed, as if the moon mocked him, pointed out his duplicity. He wore no uniform, but he carried information about rebel stores in Concord.
He was no longer simply an observer. He was truly a spy.
He clamped his jaws shut to stop his teeth from chattering and stepped back onto the road. He needed to get this information to General Gage. A few dozen troops could seize the munitions in Concord and a crisis would be averted.
He forced his limbs to move. Crunch, crunch. His steps sounded painfully loud on the snowy road, but so far he’d been fortunate. No one out and about. All tucked snug in warm houses … No, he couldn’t think about fireplaces and hot coffee.
Keep moving. Rawdon’s face swam before him. He’d have to stop by the Common, find the man. But shouldn’t he write down the names, locations? He’d already scratched out a map. Hadn’t he?
Thinking was impossible. He must be ill.
The moon vanished, and the blackness confused him. He stumbled into the bushes. Then he found the slight shimmer of the snow on the road and found his way again.
He was so tired. He longed to find a nook behind a tree and go to sleep. Just for a while.
But no—that was dangerous. And he had his duty. Duty came first.
A distant cock crowed, and Robert realized suddenly that the blackness wasn’t absolute. As he approached Roxbury the faintest tinge of pink emerged on the horizon. Then orange. Then gold. He aimed his steps toward the red gold of Hannah’s beautiful hair.
Almost there, almost there.
Robert staggered into Boston. He saw Rawdon’s huge black eyebrows. Then Hannah’s copper hair framing her smiling face. And Gage. Where was Gage?
There was something important he had to do.
“Mr. Shirley?”
Something very important.
“Mr. Shirley, are you well?” That wasn’t Rawdon.
He subsided into blackness.
Question for Readers: Maybe it’s love at first sight—for Robert! What was your love experience like? Was there instant attraction, like Robert, or was it a slow process, like me?
About Lynne: Lynne Tagawa is a wife, mother, and grandma to five sweethearts. She’s an educator, editor, and author of an eighteenth-century historical fiction series, the Russells. She loves to include gospel truth in her stories. The Shenandoah Road, first in the series, was a Selah Awards finalist. Lynne loves good coffee and sugar-free treats. She and her husband live in South Texas. Learn more & connect: Learn more & connect:
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About the book – A Fallen Sparrow: A Novel of the American Revolution:
Ruth Haynes uses the pen name Honorius when she writes for her father’s newspaper. Boston has changed beyond recognition, and her Loyalist views soon get her in trouble. With war looming, what will their family do?
Jonathan Russell hides a guilty secret. The Battle of Bunker’s Hill sweeps him and his Shenandoah Valley family into the war. The unthinkable happens, and he’s forced to deal with both his grief—and his guilt.
Lieutenant Robert Shirley is summoned by his godmother and introduced to the Earl of Dartmouth, who charges him to gather intelligence in Boston. He is horrified but must obey.
Gritty, realistic, and rich with scriptural truth, this story features Dr. Joseph Warren, Major John André, Henry Knox, and Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton.
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slow
Slow process
Instant attraction
I have a winner! bn100 won the drawing. I appreciate Lynne for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.