Welcome to EskieMama & Dragon Lady Reads Sunday Spotlight!
Today we are spotlighting Rita Ownby Holcomb's
A Vow Unbroken!
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Rita Ownby Holcomb's
A Vow Unbroken
Rita Ownby Holcomb's
A Vow Unbroken
Vows are the building blocks and devotion is the mortar that solidifies a proud southern family.
The war ended but peace is elusive. A vindictive victor extracts retribution from the vanquished. The price is high. Reconstruction laws and disenfranchisement cripples the returned confederates.
Lizzie upholds the promise she made her dying mother to nurture and protect the younger children.
Watt and his brothers struggle to rebuild the farm from the rubble of war.
Eli continues to exemplify the family values of faith, courtesy and loyalty as the standard he expects his children to uphold.
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Q & A with Rita Ownby Holcomb about
A Vow Unbroken!
A Vow Unbroken is the second book in the series and a continuation of A Twist of Tobacco. It picks up after the Civil War and follows the family’s struggles to rebuild their lives during Reconstruction in war torn Middle Tennessee.
What initially inspired you to write A Vow Unbroken?
It has always been a planned portion of the series.
Tell us little about the characters A Vow Unbroken.
Watt faces new challenges trying to rebuild the family farm in the wake of the Civil War in Reconstruction era Middle Tennessee. Lizzie must come to terms with her young womanhood as the babies mature. Marriages, births and deaths influence every decision made for the Ownbys and the Taylors.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
Fact based fiction is easy due to the “fact” that names, dates and some occurrences are handed to you. But, keeping the story flowing and making the the characters real can be a real challenge.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I can honestly say I don’t have a favorite. I tried to find one, and then I’d read the next chapter and it would be my favorite, then I’d read the next and I had to give up. I love them all.
What are your future project(s)?
I’m two thirds finished with rewrites on the third and final book in the series. Heavens Promise-A Final Twist is due for release in November 2016.
Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers about this book/series?
Writing this series has been a growing experience for me as a person and as a family member. I take a different view of my extended family and the dynamics that make it work.
Now an exciting excerpt from A Vow Unbroken!
Ed and Emmy
Ed reined Scout in and dismounted at a creek bank so they could both get a drink. Watt and Jack could handle the farm chores at home so he had taken a few days to go visit Sam and take a look at Ruthie’s horse stock. Breaking the thin ice on the creek with his front hoof, Scout drank his fill, as Ed noticed the big stud favoring his left back foot. Lifting the Appaloosa’s leg he realized that Scout had a loose shoe and two of the nails were missing.
He removed the shoe and wondered where he could find some nails when he saw chimney smoke drifting from a stand of trees. He headed toward the smoke, hoping to find a farm house where he could borrow what he needed. A small but neat farm house was set back in the trees with a hog pen, several outbuildings, and a fenced in garden. He approached the back kitchen door and tied Scout to the porch railing, stepped up on the porch, and knocked on the door.
He could hear a woman singing as she went about her housework and when the singing didn’t stop at his knock he opened the door and entered the warm kitchen.
Surprised, he saw a young woman sitting in a large copper bathtub in front of the kitchen hearth. Her back was to him. Her long chestnut hair was wet and plastered to her neck and shoulders. She stood and the hair fell below her buttocks. As she raised her arms to squeeze the water from her hair, Ed was mesmerized by the sight of her charms.
Scout decided he was bored and snorted loudly. Startled, the woman turned; saw Ed and his horse and screamed. She reached for a large cotton sheet to cover herself, and slipped, and fell back into the tub.
Alarmed, Ed rushed to help her up but couldn’t seem to find a place to put his hands that didn’t invade her privacy. She squirmed and fought, but he kept fumbling to help her. She was too slippery and fell back under the water. His boots slid out from under him on the now wet kitchen floor and he tumbled head first into the tub of water landing on top of her.
He came up sputtering. Scout whinnied. Ed raised his head to look at the woman. As blue eyes met brown, they both burst out laughing.
“Eduss Dallard Oby, I mean Edward Dallas Ownby at your service, ma’am,” Ed said as he regained his feet, if not his dignity. He then simply bent over and scooped her up and carried her to a chair by the fire where her clothes were folded neatly in a pile. He handed her the wet sheet and put her on her feet.
She covered herself with as much modesty as she could muster under the circumstances and said, “Cynthia Emeline Knox. Thank you. Now would you please turn around and let me get dressed?”
Ed, red-faced, cold, wet, and uncomfortably distracted, reluctantly turned away and stepped out on the porch. He rubbed Scouts nose and heard the woman behind him humming a tune.
Lost in thought and thinking of a drawing he once saw called Venus Rising from the Sea, he jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder, turned and faced a vision even more troubling. A beautiful young woman in yellow calico offered him a steaming cup of coffee she held in her pretty little hand.
She smiled a radiant smile and playfully said, “Would you like some coffee? I guess you’ll have to marry me now, Edward Dallas Ownby, since you’ve seen all of me there is to see.”
Before Ed could respond, the sound of a wagon approaching drew their attention. “Well, ma’am, if that’s your Pa, I guess we’ll have to see what he says about that.”
Rita Ownby Holcomb is a fourth generation Texan who has always been fascinated by the question, "Where do we come from?" Her genealogy research has led to the birth of the A Twist of Tobacco series. She is a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
For thirty years she served on or presided over various civic organizations including, but not limited to, the Sherman Community Players Board, Red River Historical Museum Board, Sherman Preservation League Board, Convention and Visitors Council, Hot Summer Nights Committee, Tri-County Senior Nutrition Board and Texoma Council of Governments. After serving as an elected Sherman City Council member she retired from civic service to become a buyer and seller of vintage clothing and accessories. Listed in Who's Who in American Women in 2000 and Who's Who in America in 2003 Rita is now a full time author. Married since 1972, she and her husband Darrell, have one son, Stuart.
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