Book Spotlight: Waltz on the Big Meadow by Dorothy Bell

 

 

Waltz on the Big Meadow Blurb

It’s 1897, and an abandoned wife and mother with a rebellious teenage daughter faces a dilemma: how to earn enough cash for food and upkeep, and maintain respectability? The gossips would have it that her laundry business is a sham. She’s too friendly with her customers at the local bordello and the men at the logging camp.

When she takes in a border, a doctor who arrives without his bride, then tongues really start to wag. There is a second chance for love, but it’s fraught with obstacles and heartache.

 

This is a spotlight on “Waltz on the Big Meadow” by Dorothy A. Bell

Inspiration to write Waltz On The Big Meadow…

There are many big beautiful meadows located between juniper and sage at the foot of the Oregon Cascades in Central Oregon. This one is, or rather was, just west of the town of Sisters, Oregon. Unfortunately they have now built condos on it. Once upon a time it was pasture for cattle and horses, and before that meadow grass for herds of elk and other wildlife. I could see this location, this little community, in my mind’s eye, as it was at the turn of the century. The community was growing, and becoming very important for the development of the area. If you check, most maps will have towns popping up about every fifteen or eighteen miles apart. That was the distance most horses could pull a wagon in one day. Therefore, you had stage stops and the town grew around it with hostelries, farriers, food, mercantiles, postal services, saloons and bordellos. Sisters was one of those important stage stops. Music played a big part in community gatherings. My husband’s grandfather was part of that. He could spout poetry and play the fiddle whenever and wherever the community gathered. There were rivalries between towns in the form of rodeos. Fire danger then, and now, remains a threat to our beautiful state. Around the turn of the century, they discovered gold in Alaska and many citizens abandoned their farms, their homesteads and families to go find their fortune. This is what happened to Irene Obenchain. She kept hoping, but reality set in, and that’s where the story begins.

 

What can readers expect from this book?

Waltz On The Big Meadow is a stand alone book. The theme running through the book is community, although it is a second chance at lovestory. It is a story about being accepted, not judged or placed in a particular slot because of what we do, who we love, how we love. It is a story I believe to be timeless in that the struggle to be who and what we are, and to find reason and a purpose remains, no matter the century.

 

Dorothy’s favourite scene from Waltz on the Big Meadow…

The young people in their horse-drawn boat, Odessa included, came up behind them. Of course, they were all in high spirits. Aware of the doctor’s gloved hand on her elbow, aware that he wasn’t just bracing her, he had taken charge of her, his grip, warm and very strong, made Irene feel highly self-conscious.

Both of them a little breathless, Irene deliberately setting a brisk pace thinking she could lose him, reached the boardwalk where she was determined to detach herself. It was one thing for the doctor to walk alongside of her, but another thing altogether for him to have his hand on her. It would surely cause talk if anyone should notice.

That was almost funny—everyone would notice—you couldn’t sprout a pimple in this town without someone noticing. He was carrying the large wicker basket she’d packed with the two pies, sausage rolls and three place settings. It was heavy, she knew, and felt guilty for making him carry it. “I can take the basket now,” she offered, reaching for it.

 Read more about Author Dorothy A. Bell’s writing and publication journey here:https://literalliterary.com/author-features/author-spotlight-dorothy-bell/