Sandra Ardoin

A Musket in My Hands Endorsements

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Two sisters disguise themselves as men to muster into the Confederate army in the fall of 1864—just in time for things to go badly for Southern soldiers at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.

 

2019 Serious Writer Medal Fiction Winner

2019 Selah Awards Finalist

 

Callie Jennings reels from her pa’s ultimatum that she marry his friend, a man older than him. Her heart belongs to her soldier, Zach Pearson. With no place to hide, her sister, Louisa, proposes a shocking alternative.

 Zach still hears his pa’s scornful word—quitter. He’s determined to serve the Confederacy until they win the war. If they win the war.   

 Callie and Louisa disguise themselves as soldiers and muster into the Confederate army. Tough times are getting tougher for their Confederacy. With a battle looming, Callie’s military haven isn’t a shelter anymore.

As the anniversary of the Battle of Franklin approaches, I’d like to share the endorsements for my book,  A Musket in My Hands:

 

I don’t always read Civil War novels, because I’m not into graphic battle scenes. Sandra Merville Hart’s A Musket in My Hands is a wonderful book. The characters grab your heart right from the beginning and they take you through a unique story line right into battles, where I followed willingly. The book isn’t battle-driven. It’s character driven, and the reader becomes intimately acquainted with these people who had to face things they never dreamed about happening. This is my favorite Civil War novel. I highly recommend it.

Lena Nelson Dooley – bestselling, multiple-award-winning author, Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides

Through A Musket in My Hands, Sandra Merville Hart brings to life the last months of the Confederacy as experienced by two Tennessee sisters who become soldiers for the South. Detailed research contributes to the realism in a tale of courage and strength during a tumultuous time in America’s history. I was moved by the despair and deprivation yet inspired by the characters’ resolve. A captivating read for historical fiction fans!

Sandra Ardoin – author of the award-winning historical romance A Reluctant Melody

Sandra Hart, author of the acclaimed A Stranger on My Land and A Rebel in My House has done it again with her third and best novel to date, A Musket in My Hands. In this brilliant historical fiction, Sandra has sat against the backdrop of Confederate General John Bell Hood’s Tennessee Campaign a study of the little known but genuine phenomenon of women masquerading as men to serve and fight in the opposing armies of the Civil War. An excellent and well-researched read, this is one of the first books I’ve read to put a touchingly human face on the horrendously bloody Battle of Franklin.

Kevin Spencer – Historian—ON THIS DAY in North Carolina History

What would make two sisters escape the only home they’ve ever known to join the Confederate Army disguised as men? Prompted by both love and fear, Callie and Louisa are caught up in the War Between the States in a way they never imagined. It soon becomes a nightmare they couldn’t possibly foresee.

In A Musket in My Hands, author Sandra Merville Hart has penned a thrilling, well-researched novel set in the latter months of the Civil War. Her characters are believable, likeable, and, at times, frustrating in their decisions. But readers will find themselves rooting for the protagonists and anxiously awaiting resolution, not just on the battlefield, but in the battleground of their souls.

Inspiring and exciting, this novel will capture your heart as well as speed up your heartbeat. A historical romance well worth the read!

Elaine Marie Cooper – Author of Saratoga Letters

A Musket in My Hands shines with Sandra Hart’s talent for historical romance. Vivid historical details highlight the romance and adventure, excitement and heartache of those desperate to survive the Civil War, while an endearing collage of characters evaluates their own allegiances to God, country, and their fellow man.

Carrie Del Pizzo – Del Pizzo’s Pen Editing

 

Yuletide Angel by Sandra Ardoin

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Violet Madison has a secret. After everyone is tucked inside their cozy beds for the night, Violet delivers food to the needy during the Christmas season. She is dubbed the Yuletide Angel.

No one knows the identity of the Yuletide Angel—except her neighbor, Hugh Barnes. The confirmed bachelor worries for Violet’s safety and follows her to protect her.

Raised to believe herself plain, Violet has little confidence in herself though people do praise her baking. She dreams of owning a bakery yet women don’t own businesses in Meadowmead, despite it being the 1890s.

She also dreams of changing Hugh’s mind about remaining a bachelor.

This book captured my attention from the first page. It’s a gentle story set during the Christmas season. It transported me back in time. I loved it.

This is exactly the kind of story I love to read during the Christmas holidays. I will look for more novels by this author!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas – Use coupon code SandraMHart for a 20% discount on Lighthouse Publishing books!

Cherry Tarts Worthy of a Love Story

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Today’s post is written by fellow author, Sandra Ardoin. I enjoyed reading her Christmas historical romance where the heroine is a baker. Sandra shares a recipe from the time period of her book. Welcome, Sandra!

 Unlike my heroine in The Yuletide Angel, I’m not much of a cook. Oh, I can do it. It simply isn’t something I enjoy. However, I don’t hesitate to collect recipes. Go figure.

When I discovered Violet Madison possessed the joy of baking, it left me with a question. What recipes would she prepare in 1890? So, I went to one of my favorite resources for 19th–century research: Google Books. Did you know the site holds over two centuries-worth of tested and tried recipes (or receipts) printed in old magazines and cookbooks? I found the following in a digitalized version of Warner’s Safe Cook Book: Compiled Especially for Warner’s Safe Yeast Company, 1887.

Here is the recipe Violet might have used, as stated on page 301 of the company’s cookbook (punctuation is mine):

CHERRY TART NO. 2

“Line patty pans or pie plates with puff paste. Stew the desired quantity of cherries with a liberal amount of sugar and a little water. Add a tablespoonful of flour for a pint of the stewed cherries. Fill the shells and bake in a quick oven. When the crust is done remove from the oven. Dust with powdered sugar when serving. Dried cherries make excellent tarts. They require to be soaked for several hours before being heated and must then cook very slowly and for only a short time.”

The term patty-pans threw me. If it did you, too, don’t fret. It’s another term for a miniature tart pan, the kind you’d find in stores today. As for the “puff paste” or pastry, if you’re dieting, you might want to rethink this one, since it contains a heart-stopping amount of butter.

Shy, little Violet certainly knew the way to a man’s heart: sweets. But her cherry tart was only one of the reasons Hugh Barnes fell in love with The Yuletide Angel.

-Sandra Ardoin

BIO:

Sandra Ardoin writes inspirational historical romance. Her Christmas novella, The Yuletide Angel, and the Grace Award-winning novel, A Reluctant Melody are available on Amazon. Visit her at www.sandraardoin.com and on the Seriously Write blog. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Sign up for her newsletter.

Available on Amazon

BLURB:

It’s Christmastime 1890 and someone ventures out at night to leave packages at the homes of the needy. Dubbed the Yuletide Angel, no one knows the identity of this mysterious benefactor. No one, except Hugh Barnes, who finds himself drawn to the outwardly shy but inwardly bold Violet Madison.

But a phantom figure lurks in the shadows, prepared to clip the wings of the young woman who risks her safety to help others.

The Making of Brooms

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Today’s post is written by fellow author, Sandra Ardoin. A broom factory figures prominently in her novel, A Reluctant Melody. Welcome, Sandra!

 We all use them, those handy brooms to sweep the dirt from our floors. They’ve been around in one form or another since the dawn of housecleaning. In the early days, it could have been something as simple as a branch or backyard brush—whatever was handy at the time.

Then in 1797 a New Englander by the name of Levi Dickenson decided to make a broom for his wife from sorghum tassels (minus the seeds). Today, we call it broom corn. Like all good inventions, it needed improvement after it fell apart too easily to suit Levi. Even so, his neighbors were impressed and insisted he make them one. This started an industry as he went on to invent a machine with a foot-treadle for ease in filling the orders he received.

In the mid-19th century, the Shakers, who were always an innovative lot, improved Levi’s process, using wire rather than heavy twine to bind the material to the handle. Brooms originally had a round form, but the Shakers employed a vise to flatten the broom and give it shoulders. Then they applied the stitching. They increased the function of their product by also creating the whisk broom.

As the 19th century wore on, small shops across the United States became broom factories and broom corn growth moved to the states we normally think of as being most agricultural. In the first quarter of the 1900s, broom factories began to close. By the end of the 20th century, most of the brooms available to Americans were made outside the U.S.

Though many of the brooms purchased today are made of synthetics, some people continue to craft them the old-fashioned way with the original types of materials—a wooden handle and broom corn—on machines over a hundred years old.

-Sandra Ardoin

BIO:

Sandra Ardoin writes inspirational historical romance. She’s the author of The Yuletide Angel and the award-winning A Reluctant Melody. A wife and mom, she’s also a reader, football fan, NASCAR watcher, garden planter, country music listener, and antique store prowler. Visit her at www.sandraardoin.com and on the Seriously Write blog. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Join her email community to receive occasional updates and a free short story.

A Reluctant Melody

A pariah among her peers, Joanna Stewart is all too eager to sell her property and flee the rumors that she sent her late husband to an early grave. But she will let the gossips talk and the walls of her rundown property crumble around her before she’ll allow Kit Barnes back into her life. When a blackmailer threatens to reveal her long-held secret, she must choose between trusting Kit or seeing her best friend trapped in an abusive marriage.

A Guest on Two Blogs Today!

/ sandramervillehart

Lutheran Seminary from McPherson’s Ridge

I am so thankful to be Sandra Ardoin’s guest on the Serious Write blog today. My post, “Writing that First Novel,” shares the way I got past writer’s block–on the first page! Read about it   here.

As a guest on Carole Brown’s blog, Sunnybank Secrets, I share photos from my research trip to Gettysburg. These pictures are locations that coincide with different parts of my story. (You may also recognize them from my book trailer that Carole posted.) Read the details  here.

Thanks for hosting me, Sandra and Carole!