New Release The Saga of Indian Em’ly: (A Collection of 4 Books) by Sara Harris

Twelve-year-old Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his little sister, Cactus Flower, and the wildness of the desert canyonland the Apache call home. But in one night of misunderstanding and mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower’s innocent world is shaken as they find themselves locked in the nearby fort with the pale face soldiers and their mother’s lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the pale face world—pale faces who have now become the enemy.

After finding themselves at the mercy of the Army, far from Apache Territory and well on the trail to Colorado, Knocks Down must bring himself to trust the soldier, Pale Face Joe. But Joe disappears, and when ordered to dispose of the children or else, the other Army soldiers waste no time in depositing them at the nearest Catholic orphanage.

They manage to escape the evil orphanage along with a new pale face friend, Kid McCoy. But they are set upon by a gang of murdering claim jumpers who steal Cactus. With Kid McCoy’s help, Knocks Down goes after her. When they encounter a soldier who was responsible for their mother’s death, they realize he’s set on seeing them dead, as well. How can a boy defeat a battle-hardened soldier? Just when Knocks Down is about to give up, the biggest surprise of all changes everything…

EXCERPT

     “I say again, halt! I have orders to shoot!”

     A woman’s voice answered. “Izdzaa, yiiltse! Pa-lease, please!”

     Cactus Flower and I exchanged a look. Peering through the mesquite branches, I saw my mother, our mother, her outstretched hands bathed in the moonlight as the cloud slid from over it. She was making the Apache sign for peace. Cactus flower saw her, too. Before I could raise my hand back to cover her mouth, the word tore from her lips in a shriek that echoed down through the canyon and back again. “Ma!”

     “Sentry, fire!” came another voice, followed abruptly by two booms. Booms which echoed the very one that had taken the life of Silver Sky, my father, so many winters ago.

      

#NewRelease: The Saga of Indian Em'ly — 99-cent Boxed Set

Twelve-year-old Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his little sister, Cactus Flower, and the wildness of the desert canyonland the Apache call home. But in one night of misunderstanding and mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower’s innocent world is shaken as they find themselves locked in the nearby fort with the pale face soldiers and their mother’s lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the pale face world—pale faces who have now become the enemy.

After finding themselves at the mercy of the Army, far from Apache Territory and well on the trail to Colorado, Knocks Down must bring himself to trust the soldier Pale Face Joe. But Joe disappears, and when ordered to dispose of the children or else, the other Army soldiers waste no time in depositing them at the nearest Catholic orphanage.

They manage to escape the evil orphanage along with a new pale face friend, Kid McCoy. But they are set upon by a gang of murdering claim jumpers who steal Cactus. With Kid McCoy’s help, Knocks Down goes after her. When they encounter a soldier who was responsible for their mother’s death, they realize he’s set on seeing them dead, as well. How can a boy defeat a battle-hardened soldier? Just when Knocks Down is about to give up, the biggest surprise of all changes everything…


The Saga of Indian Em'ly Books 1-4 is a tale of bold adventure Middle Grade readers won't be able to put down. At only 99 cents, it's a bargain.


Excerpt:

Something wasn’t right. The night animals ceased their songs in unison, and another troublesome cloud shrouded the moon. An icy shiver trickled down my backbone to the tune of silence. The happy drumming coming from the camp, telling the world of the birth of Red Lake’s firstborn son, had slowed to a stop. I froze, pulling Cactus Flower back onto her bottom. She rose from the hard-packed earth, her bottom lip puffed out and her inky eyebrows knitted together above her eyes. Before she could open her mouth to speak, a flock of beating wings sent me cowering, nose first, into the dirt beside her.

“Knocks Down, why did those birds –”

Instinctively, I slapped my hand over her mouth, taking care enough to be gentle. No sooner had she quieted, than another sound echoed through the solemn night air.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

I slipped my finger over my lips, wordlessly instructing Cactus Flower to remain silent. She nodded and I removed my hand from over her mouth.

Now Available

Fabulous Five: Five novels for Middle Grade Readers -- Boxed Set Only 99 Cents

THE PHANTOM RANGER AND THE SKATEBOARD GANG—James And Livia Reasoner

The Texas Rangers’ job is to protect, so when Ranger Jackson’s great-great-great granddaughter needs help, he reports for duty! But how can Codi explain her ancestor’s ghost to her history project partner—and her dad?

Waiting For a Comet (Jo Harper Book 1)—Richard Prosch

Halley’s Comet brings a surprise Jo Harper never expected! Action, humor, and real life history combine for an exciting mystery about one girl’s summertime quest for family, friendship, and justice on the windburnt Wyoming range at the dawn of a new century.

Racing a Dog Star (Jo Harper Book 2)—Richard Prosch

Flung headlong into the Dog Days of summer by multiple mysteries that may or may not be related, Jo Harper and Frog Carpenter face them together and solve them! In this sequel to WAITING FOR A COMET, Jo, Frog and sure-shootin' lady Constable Abby Drake return for another visit to the exciting town of Willowby, Wyoming in the hot, dry summer of 1910.

The Apache and the Pale Face Soldiers (The Saga of Indian Em’ly Book 1)—Sara Barnard

With no one to lean on but each other and the fragile balance between the Apache and the soldiers irreparably upset, an Indian war begins. Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People, the Comanche,  in the pale face world – pale faces who have now become the enemy.

On the Colorado Trail (The Saga of Indian Em’ly Book 2)—Sara Barnard

After a dangerous failed attempt at escape by Knocks Down and his sister that leaves Cactus Flower injured, can Knocks Down bring himself to trust the soldier, Pale Face Joe? His life depends on it, and his little sister's does, as well!

Now Available

#NewRelease -- The Saga of Indian Em’ly Book 4: The Journey Home by Sara Barnard -- #Giveaway

BLURB
Twelve-year-old Knocks Down and his little sister, Cactus Flower, manage to escape the evil orphanage along with a new pale face friend, Kid McCoy. But once they escape, they are set upon by a gang of murdering claim jumpers who steal Cactus and leave Knocks Down for dead. 

Determined to find his little sister, Knocks Down gets to the nearest town where they’ve taken her, only to discover she has been sold as a slave! With Kid McCoy’s help, Knocks Down goes after her. Escaping once more, they encounter an old nemesis, a soldier from the nearby fort that was responsible for their mother’s death—and he’s set on seeing Knocks Down and Cactus Flower dead, as well. 

How can a boy defeat a battle-hardened soldier? Just when Knocks Down is about to give up, the biggest surprise of all changes everything on THE JOURNEY HOME…

EXCERPT
    The day passed quickly and in relative silence until Kid realized something. “Say Chief, where is it we’re headed, anyway?”
    I scanned the foreign horizon, an odd feeling suddenly gripping my backbone. “South,” I whispered, “back home, to the land of the Comanche.” Without thinking, I dropped to a crouch and let every sound fade away. Chirping birds, whistling wind, even the breath of Cactus and Kid. Every sound disappeared except the one that had pricked my ear and shot the rash of tingles in the first place. 
    “Something has happened nearby.” 
    Cactus slipped her hand into mine. “I hear it, too. Let’s go.”
    Kid scratched his head. “What’d I miss? I don’t hear nothin’.”

    By the time we arrived at what was left of the pale face camp, Kid heard it too. The dog’s whimpering had grown louder with each step, and more mournful. There hadn’t been but six people in camp, two of them children, and no survivors. The dog, a hulking black beast with pointed ears, low hips and a long tail, lay by the body of the girl. Whining, he licked her face and nuzzled her hands, as if trying to wake her from a deep sleep.

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An Interview With Sara Barnard

Sara Barnard is a native Texan, conservationist, mother of four youngsters, wife to a handsome Texan and elementary teacher. She started writing in grade school, and hasn't stopped since. During the past year, readers have thrilled to the very special story of Indian Em'ly, published by Painted Pony Books.

Recently, Richard Prosch visited with Sara as the fourth book in the series, The Journey Home, nears publication.

Richard: The inspiration for the Indian Em’ly books is rooted deep in your past. What did you see at Fort Davis Texas when you were a child that stuck in your memory? 

Sara: My mom, dad, and I were lost in the tangle of misbegotten trails in the park at Fort Davis. We came upon the ruins of the old post cemetery and there was only one marker. Apparently all the rest of the bodies had been relocated to San Antonio when the post was abandoned, except for this one. It was the marker of a young Native American girl named Indian Emily, or Em'ly as they put it. The inscription said something about her loving a soldier at the fort and accidentally being shot while trying to deliver to him a message of the impending Indian attack, but not before "saving the garrison from massacre".

Richard: Are you working on a specific arc, or number of books, with a beginning, middle, and end, or will the Indian Em’ly story continue on?  As a corollary –can each story stand alone?

Sara: Each story can certainly stand alone, but is best when read all together. It begins with Indian Em'ly's death and the kidnapping of the children she and this soldier could have had, and the last story in the series will release this summer with the wayward children finally finding the peace they've been missing.

Richard: In the first story, Apache siblings Wind That Knocks Down Lodges and Cactus Flower have their world turned upside down. How have they grown by book two and three?

Sara: Knocks Down (who appears in my Everlasting Heart series, as well) and Cactus Flower (who is named after Cynthia Ann Parker's daughter Prairie Flower) are forced to form trusting bonds with select pale faces, despite the fact that it was the pale face Army who murdered their mother. Not only are they beginning to question and rationalize their world, but they must rely on each other in ways they never had to before, as well.

Richard: The two characters have a typical brother & sister relationship. Do you have siblings? Or: Are you drawing from your own life?

Sara: I draw from my own experience, but not from brothers and sisters of my own. I write these adventures after my own children :-) I have four of my own, ages 3,5, 8, and 10 and we have recently taken in a 12 year old child, as well. So there is certainly no shortage of inspiration and quotable quotes around here!

Richard: Your bio says you write Amish fiction. What’s your inspiration there, and where can we find those stories?

Sara: I do! Rebekah's Quilt is my first Amish romance and stemmed from my familial research and finding what I believed were Amish ancestors. One man had the nickname of the Pennsylvania Dutchman and another photo showed a woman in an Amish covering. However, another family historiographer has found that these people may have been Jewish! This is very exciting and I am just as proud either way <3

Richard: Where can we find more information about you and your books?

Sara: Find my work at www.sarabarnardbooks.com

Thanks for having me at the blog!

NEW RELEASE -- The Saga of Indian Em’ly Book 3: The Orphanage by Sara Barnard -- Giveaway!

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win an ecopy of Sara Barnard's The Orphanage!

Far from home in a land foreign to them, kidnapped Apache siblings Wind That Knocks Down Lodges and Cactus Flower are at the mercy of the Army soldiers they have grown to despise. When ordered to dispose of the children or else, the Army soldiers waste no time in depositing them at the nearest Catholic orphanage, where unlikely alliances are forged and Knocks Down must make a decision: conform to the Pale Face world or risk everything for an unlikely chance at escape.

Excerpt

    “A new garrison,” Cactus translated, though she didn’t have to. I was rolling the pale face words off my tongue easier with each passing sunset. “Wants to see the …prisoners?” Her word tweaked up at the end, turning it into a question. She looked at me. “Do they mean us?”

     Glancing over the seat again, I could see that they did. “They’re coming with a big man that is red in the face and whose head is covered in silver hair, like the cunning fox. Sit up and look like one of The People.”

     Cactus Flower did as I said, just as the dirty canvas pulled back. The red faced man peered in, a brown wad that looked like a fat twig clenched in his teeth. He must have held it there often, because a brown stain from the juice had crusted on his lips. “Kids!” he spat, flinging the wad of juicy brown paper and leaves into the back of the wagon with us. Neither Cactus nor I flinched. “Brats! Whelps, they are.”

     Silence covered the men like the burial shroud had covered my mother.

     The big man with the hair like the silver fox continued, his face growing redder with each breath he sucked in. “You call these Injuns prisoners? It’s no wonder why the general saw fit to relieve you bunch of misfits. Me and my men are taking over. Now.”

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New Release--Shootout in Old Amarillo by Sara Barnard--Giveaway!

Could the Dairy King restaurant be a portal to the past? Kelly will find out on Halloween night.

BLURB:

Halloween night can't get any worse when her boss, Joseph Clanton, is a no-show and Kelly is stuck closing up the Dairy King alone . . . or so she thought. A cryptic order from an empty room and late-season twister combine to make Kelly's Halloween night a truly unforgettable one by sending her spiraling back through the folds of time and depositing her smack in the middle of an ancient grudge match between none other than Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton. Can Kelly survive the shootout in the streets of Old Amarillo while dodging Virgil's knife and denying Doc Holliday's romantic advances all while trying to find her way back home?

EXCERPT

I sighed as the icy Amarillo breeze skittered a handful of dead leaves across the blacktop. Leaning farther out of Dairy King’s drive-through window, I inhaled deeply and willed the heat that burned in my cheeks to cool. Still no sign of Joseph’s car.

The luminous moon, high in the inky sky, had long since risen overhead and beckoned all the little hobgoblins home to sort their candy and deal with the obligatory bellyaches that came with Halloween night. “So much for Dorie Smith’s Halloween party.” I leaned out farther and peered down the deserted highway. Sure enough, candlelight flickered in the old forgotten graveyard across the street. I should be there right now, having a séance with my friends, calling back the ghosts of the Old West.

The heat flared in my cheeks again as I pulled head back in the window and glanced at my watch for the thirtieth time. “Not the best first day of work ever, but I had never figured my boss not to show up and help me close, like he’d promised. He’s not even answering his phone.” I glanced over at the large strawberry milkshake that the last drive-thru customer had ordered then forgot to pick up. Picking it up, I slurped a long gulp and walked back out to the front. Not bad, once I’d figured out how to use the agitator without crushing the Styrofoam cups.

Flicking off the lights, one by one, I swallowed back the anger that tightened my throat behind the thick ice cream. “If I could lock up and just leave, I would.” I hit the last light switch hard. “But no. Joseph said he’d be here with the keys to help me through the last part of my shift then lock up. In plenty of time to get to my Halloween party.” My palm throbbed as I sucked up another soothing drink of milkshake. “Worst. Boss. Ever.”

With a trembling hand, I pulled my phone from the back pocket of my newly-bought-and-freshly-stained khakis. “Since he can’t bother to call or text to check on his new employee, I’m going to send Joseph Clanton a message to end all messages. Then, I’m leaving.” Suddenly aware of the heavy darkness that surrounded me in the empty dining room, I ignored a shudder and moved through the thick plastic doors to the back, where I’d left one light on. “If the place gets looted, it’s his own fault.”

I’d just managed to get my phone unlocked when a familiar buzz met my ears. Before my thumb could hit the text message icon on the touch screen, I froze. Utter terror gripped my bones as I registered the noise I’d heard all too often that day. An order ticket being printed.

The cooks had left much earlier, all having Halloween parties of their own to get to. I was the only one left in the building…wasn’t I?

Slowly, I turned around. Sure enough, a freshly printed ticket stood straight and crisp from the machine nearest me. The strawberry milkshake bubbled in my stomach with a nauseating roil as I reached and tore the ticket free. “Sent from Station One, the cooks’ station, to Station Three, the drive-thru window.” I gulped. Casting a glance over my shoulder at the darkness that loomed behind the metallic freezers, I could have sworn I heard the creak of a door.

Panic began to build in my feet, making my toes twitch in my black Nikes. With adrenaline charging through me, I took one last look at the ticket. The cryptic words sent a final shudder down my spine. “Why r u wet?”

    I gripped my phone so tightly that I feared I would crack the screen as I gave the ticket a fling and pushed through the heavy curtains, back into the dining room. Without looking back, I shoved open the double glass doors and raced into the parking lot. Every horrific scene from every horror movie I’d ever watched flashed through my mind. Bad things always happen in dark parking lots. Tears filled my eyes as I struggled to open the keypad so I could dial 9-1-1 on the touch screen.

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Painted Pony Books New Release -- The Saga of Indian Em'ly: Book 2 On The Colorado Trail by Sara Barnard -- Giveaway

Our own Prairie Rose Publications author Sara Barnard has a new release through our Painted Pony Books imprints--the second in her Indian Em'ly series! She's giving away a free copy to one lucky commenter today! Be sure to leave a way to contact you in the comments if you would like to participate in the drawing for a free ecopy of this book, and wish her much luck with her new series!.

BLURB

The pale face soldiers have torn Wind That Knocks Down Lodges and Cactus Flower's world apart. After finding themselves at the mercy of the Army, far from Apache Territory and well on the trail to Colorado, Knocks Down's choices are dwindling rapidly. After a failed attempt at escape that leaves Cactus Flower injured and both of them in danger, can Knocks Down bring himself to trust the soldier, Pale Face Joe? His life depends on it, and his little sister's does, as well!

EXCERPT

    The feeling of needing to be sick and vomit rolled over me and my pounding head as the light from the sun attacked my eyes. Pale face chatter filled my ears, making the rolling in my stomach churn all the more violently. The pale face chatter grew louder as I struggled to come awake.
    Dirty brown fabric, the kind that seemed to be a favorite of the pale face soldiers, was all around me, like a cocoon.
    “Cactus Flower?” Her name was broken and dry on my parched lips. How long had I been asleep? “Cactus Flower,” I tried again.
    Pulling at the canvas, I studied our surroundings. We moved in a line, inside wagons pulled by Army horses. Soldiers, with their shooting horses drawn from their scabbards, rode alongside. The raw emotion of fear burned in my dry throat. Nothing about this land was familiar. Not the roll of a hill, or the shadow of a canyon. My heart began to thunder in my chest and a twitching in my legs urged me to jump from the Army wagon and run to safety far from here. Far from the soldiers that killed first Silver Sky, and then my mother.
    Glancing around the foreign land, my eyes hungered for something familiar. A wild rose perhaps? Wildly, my gaze danced over the rugged, dusty desert. The Army had taken us far from the land where the wild roses bloom, far from our home. I swallowed hard and blinked back the tears that brimmed, for a warrior of     The People must never show fear, even if his heart trembled with it.
    A terrifying thought pushed its way to the front of my mind. Can it still be The Moon When The Wild Roses Bloom if there are no wild roses to bloom? I looked down at my hands on the rough wood of the wagon box. They had begun to tremble. I struggled to find a logical reason to my newfound predicament. Perhaps time was measured differently here, faster no doubt, on the pale faces’ trail.
    “Cactus Flower!” I choked on her name in my dry, nauseated throat. Lifting one trembling hand, I shielded my eyes from the sun, which did little to ease my pounding head. While the wild roses weren’t blooming here, the same sun was still assaulting my tired eyes. Perhaps time was still measured the same on the pale face trail.
    Tom’s voice boomed loud, from just the other side of the dirty canvas, making me jump and forget my thoughts of timekeeping. Then, he laughed. My mother’s murderer laughed. I sit in here, terrified and miserable, and the pale face who has hidden my sister, murdered my mother, and taken me from my home rides free upon the back of a horse.And he laughs.  

LINKS

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New Release--The Saga of Indian Em’ly: The Apache and the Pale Face Soldiers -- Giveaway

We are giving away one free ecopy of Sara Barnard's new juvenile story. You have to leave a comment for a chance to win.

Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his Apache mother Shining Waters, his grandfather Chief Strawberry Moon, his baby sister Cactus Flower and the wildness of the desert canyonland they call home. He has even developed a rough-hewn trust for Cactus Flower’s father, the pale face soldier from the fort that their mother loves. In one night of gross misunderstanding and novice mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower’s innocent young world is broken and shaken before they find themselves locked in the soldier fort with the pale faces and their mother’s lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other and the fragile balance between the Apache and the soldiers irreparably upset, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the pale face world – pale faces who have now become the enemy.

Excerpt:

Something wasn’t right. The night animals ceased their songs in unison, and another troublesome cloud shrouded the moon. An icy shiver trickled down my backbone to the tune of silence. The happy drumming coming from the camp, telling the world of the birth of Red Lake’s firstborn son, had slowed to a stop. I froze, pulling Cactus Flower back onto her bottom. She rose from the hard-packed earth, her bottom lip puffed out and her inky eyebrows knitted together above her eyes. Before she could open her mouth to speak, a flock of beating wings sent me cowering, nose first, into the dirt beside her.

“Knocks Down, why did those birds –”

Instinctively, I slapped my hand over her mouth, taking care enough to be gentle. No sooner had she quieted, than another sound echoed through the solemn night air.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

I slipped my finger over my lips, wordlessly instructing Cactus Flower to remain silent. She nodded and I removed my hand from over her mouth. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR—SARA BARNARD

Sara Barnard is the mother of four beautiful children and wife to a handsome Texan. She earned her BA in European History in 2006 is now pursuing her MA in her spare time, as well as her teacher certification.

Sara has been struck by the Indian Em'ly legend since her first visit to Fort Davis, Texas at the tender age of 8. Some of her other writings include Christian fiction, Amish fiction, children's fiction and children's nonfiction, as well as Civil War romance. Look for the three other books in the Indian Em'ly series; On the Colorado Trail, The Orphanage, and Coming Home, all coming soon from Painted Pony Books! 

Sara and her family make their home in the far reaches of west Texas with three rescue dogs (two from Italy, one from Texas) and three rescue cats (one from Colorado, one from Oklahoma, and one from Texas) amid the jackalopes, tumbleweeds, and of course, lots and lots of oil.

Links:

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