An abused young wife stranded in the Alleghenies in 1783 is rescued from drowning by a rugged frontiersman who shows her kindness and passion.  But can they ever be together?

Excerpt:

May, 1783, the Virginia Frontier, the Allegheny Mountains

“Reuben!” Abby Hasting’s voice was hoarse from shouting.

Searching this far from the cabin was a mistake, but she was alone and her empty belly gnawed at her with the ferocity of a trapped fox. Shivering, she hugged her crimson cloak around her. The raw breeze whipped her striped petticoat about her ankles, its hem muddied from puddles. Her shoes and stockings were wet. Damp cold seeped into her bones.

Where was Reuben? He’d never been away hunting this many days before. Not that they’d been wed long. Still, one week gone—

Kree-eee-ar! The piercing cry of a hawk shrilled from overhead.

Glancing up, Abby saw a blur of russet tail feathers. The misty forest canopy spun in leafy circles. Her head throbbed. Chills ran down her aching spine to her weak knees. The basket in her numb fingers slipped to the earth, spilling green poke shoots over the moss. There went all the nourishment she’d gleaned from these harsh ridges. Winter food stores had been depleted; fair spring was the starving time.

A genteel girl from Eastern Virginia never should have wed Captain Reuben Hastings and come this far west into the Alleghenies. Abby’s father wouldn’t have let her if he’d only survived the bloody revolution. Reuben’s knowledge of this Godless place wasn’t a great deal better than hers, but the lure of the land given to him for service in the war had overpowered him. If this was freedom, maybe they would have been better off under King George.

Abby’s conscience pricked her.  Many good men had fallen in that drawn out conflict and she shouldn’t criticize her husband off Lord only knew where, maybe suffering.  He wasn’t charitable, more like a gruff he-bear, but at least he’d fed her enough to survive.  Until now.

Her shaky legs gave way and she sank onto the forest floor alongside her basket. Hazy branches revolved above her, the damp wood’s scent filling her nose.  She had no idea how far she was from their log home or the nearest neighbor.  She would die out here lost and alone.

Not that easily! Groaning, each breath raspy in her throat, she pushed up on ice-cold hands and bruised knees.  She’d crawl.  No.  Walk.

Using all her strength, she struggled to her feet. Head swimming, she staggered back the way she’d come. At least she thought it was. Fog whitened the ferny undergrowth and clouded the trail. The stream sounded nearer than she’d remembered.

She shrieked as loose ground gave way underfoot. Scrabbling for a toehold, she careened down the muddy bank and into the icy stream. The frigid current caught her in its grip and swept her away. Gasping at the shocking cold, she flailed to keep her head above water. Instinct told her to grab an overhanging limb and cling. She couldn’t hold on long.

“Help me!” She choked out the futile plea.~

NIGHTHAWK and other Free Reads are available at The Wild Rose Press.~

When it comes to reading, I have a terrible attention span. I wasn't always this way. As a child, I could read all day and well into the night, then wake the next morning and read in bed until my mother made me get up and eat.

All that changed when I had children. Stolen moments of reading developed into a habit, and now, unless a book is fabulous, I can't get through more than a few pages at a time unless I'm stuck on a plane or have the flu. Even a fabulous book often takes a week to read. As long as I notice an unfinished book lying around the house, though, I'll get through it sooner or later (with the occasional exception, such as The Mysteries of Udolpho... It's an interesting story, but writers were sooooo long-winded two hundred years ago).

Onward to my subject: free reads in installments. A few months ago, I had the bright (but not original) idea of writing a short story to use as promo on my (not yet up, alas) website. I admit to an ulterior motive: I love writing short stories. It's the attention span thing again. Short stories don't take long to write. Closure comes quickly. And my editor liked the idea, so I dug in and wrote one.

But at over sixty pages, it's too long, or at least for its purpose. Or at least for me. One of my favorite historical authors, Elizabeth Hoyt, has a free read on her site in installments of a chapter at a time. Not that I need a free read to convince me to buy anything by her; I love all her books and bought the latest the week it came out. I read the first chapter of her free read on line, and a while later I remembered to read the second. It's a great story (of course), about a secondary character in another book (so I'm already invested in the heroine), but then... Sigh. My attention span--or rather, lack of it--kicked in. This may be partly because the free read is on line. I'm not too keen about reading on the computer. I prefer to veg out on the couch. It may be partly because I have to go to her site and open the file. Arduous labor, I know. But for whatever reason, I haven't gone back.

On to the survey:

Am I the norm here?

If you're enjoying an installment story, will you remember (without persistent self-promo on the part of the author) to return every week for the next fix (say, over a period of four to six weeks)?

Would every day for a week work better? (It would for me, because it's easier to remember to do something tomorrow than next week.)

Is there anything (apart from being entranced or bored) that would make you more or less likely to return?

Do you like reading short stories, or is an excerpt from a full-length novel more interesting/useful for you?

Oh, and somewhat unrelated but significant, I think: Should a short story posted on line have a sex scene, and if so, should it be abbreviated or sweetened... or would that give a wrong impression if the author's books have longer/racier scenes?

Thanks for the input... I'm going on line now to catch up on Elizabeth Hoyt's free read!

ALSO -- PLEASE READ THE BLOG BELOW THIS. IT'S A FABULOUSLY INFORMATIVE POST BY CALLIE LYNN WOLFE OF THE WILD ROSE PRESS!