Ellie...

Ellie sewes...

...and sews. That's all she knows. All the church bazaars, fundraisers, and for any new baby around, she sews. If she doesn't take the chance, and go to New York, what will she do?
   But she's living on a shoe-string. Renting the shop downtown pushed her tiny savings into the redddddd.
How else was she going to sell her creations? Find people who appreciated her handwork?
   Yet one sad truth remains...Ellie is a product of an earlier time...when people depended on the local seamstress, and not the nearest mall, for their clothing needs.
    Still...Ellie has one secret weapon. She's an excellent seamstress and loves making wedding gowns.
 And she could make them so much better if she learned new tricks from this famous designer in New York.
   There's only one thing she can do...give up her apartment and move into the back of the shop in downtown Asheboro until she starts making money. So...Ellie packs her belongings into the storage room...and drives from North Carolina to New York.
   Do you think Ellie is brave? Or foolish? What would you do?

Heroine...

   Okay, I knew I wanted a Substitute Bride...and groom, but who would my heroine be? Who would make this story exciting? Make it interesting? Who would have be desperate enough to fill this role?
     A foundling. Found on the church steps by two old maid sisters who gave her a home.
The sisters gave the baby their first names and chose her last name from the dingy gray blanket she was wrapped in, and Emiline Anastasia Gray had a home.
    While other children her age were running and playing, Ellie is taught that children were to be seen, not heard. When teenagers in her classes at school are listening to rock-n-roll, playing video games and learning about computers, Ellie is learning the fine art of needle work and how to sew her own clothes. After high school, and the deaths of the elderly sisters, Ellie must find her way alone.
   With sewing as her only skill, in an age when everyone is rushing to buy their clothing, Ellie is a highly skilled seamstress with no place to use her skills.
    When she stumbles on an ad in the newspaper, for a contest to study with a famous designer, Ellie sends in the form to enter. The day she finds out she won the contest and is invited to the designer's studio in New York, Ellie's life changes forever.

The Substitute Bride is now available in paperback at www.amazon.com.
Thank you for stopping by my blog.

  

Welcome...

      This is an exciting time. Now, my hardback Avalon romance novel is going to be available in other formats. Please check back often for updates.

     The idea for THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE came from seeing repeated news headlines about a famous couple. When I read the bride had ordered more than one wedding gown, my background took over my imagination. What if...

     What if...the famous bride wanted a private wedding and was willing to take drastic steps to make it happen?

     What if...an apprentice seamstress to the famous dress designer closely resembled the bride?

     What if...this stand-in-bride fell for the groom?

     Answers to those questions wouldn't let me rest until I wrote the story. More details later.

     Thank you so much for stopping by to check on THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE.