Meet a nurse & a soldier in
Regina Jennings’
historical romance
A Most Inconvenient Marriage
Bethany House
********
The Story
Abigail Stuart Thought She was Jeremiah Calhoun’s Widow.
But Jeremiah Calhoun Is Very Handsome, Very Alive, and Very Perplexed.
Most Inconvenient Indeed.
With few options of her own, nurse Abigail Stuart agrees to marry her patient, a gravely wounded soldier calling himself Jeremiah Calhoun. They arrange a quick ceremony before he dies, giving Abigail the rights to his Ozark farm and giving Jeremiah the peace of knowing someone will care for his ailing sister after he’s gone–a practical solution for both of them.
Jeremiah Calhoun shows up, injured but definitely alive, and wastes no time in challenging Abigail’s story. Abigail is flummoxed. After months of claiming to be his widow, how can she explain that she’s never seen this Jeremiah Calhoun before? How can she convince him that she isn’t trying to steal his farm? And will she find a way to stay, even though this practical arrangement has turned into a most inconvenient marriage?
Introducing Abigail & Jeremiah
Abigail Stuart
Brief physical description
Credit: www.kheigl.com
Abigail is tall and willowy. She’s light complected with blonde hair. Jeremiah thinks she’s confident enough to attempt a heist and pretty enough to think she’d get away with it.
Resembles…
Katherine Heigl
Strengths and weaknesses
Abigail is hard-working, compassionate and sacrificing—almost too sacrificing. Her weakness is that she doesn’t want to confront the accusations in her past. She’d rather run and start fresh than work to clear her name.
Quirk
Having worked in a prison hospital, Abigail isn’t very concerned about modesty. She’s also experimented with some techniques for rehabilitation that were invented by Dr. Pehr Ling, the founder of physical therapy. Naturally, she doesn’t think twice about laying hands on Jeremiah during his exercises. Jeremiah, on the other hand, can’t help but wonder if Abigail has designs on something besides his health.
Your inspiration for the character
Who would be brave enough to marry a stranger, and then head out for his farm after his death? I had to have a strong woman, strong enough to strike out on her own, but still too sensitive to return to her home. But I don’t think that’s uncommon—being tough with strangers, yet refusing to deal with family issues you’re trying to put behind you.
Jeremiah Calhoun
Brief physical description
Jeremiah is in his mid-twenties, with dark hair. He isn’t classically handsome, but very striking. His leg was injured during the War Between the States, but don’t mention it. He really tries to carry on like there’s nothing wrong.
Credit: GQ magazine
Resembles… Tim Tebow
Strengths and weaknesses
Jeremiah is passionate, determined and stubborn. He sticks with his plan, but sometimes his inflexibility leads him astray. He also must guard against manipulating people. He’s very persuasive and doesn’t understand how far is too far when it comes to getting his way.
Quirk
He goes around letting everyone believe he’s dead, and then decides to show up alive without their permission.
Your inspiration for the character
What would happen if a man came home from war to find a woman living with his family, pretending to be his wife? I wanted a man who had specific goals for his farm, his family, his future wife—the kind of man who would be most inconvenienced by Abigail’s appearance. Jeremiah is delightfully frustrable.
Background to the story
My family has lived in the Ozark Mountains for over 150 years, but the plot inspiration for A Most Inconvenient Marriage came from a very different source—Downton Abbey.
So, if you’re a fan of the show, you might remember when William, a dying WWI soldier, wanted to marry Daisy. Although Daisy didn’t return the sentiment she married him anyway, feeling that it was her patriotic duty. Watching that episode, I told my husband—don’t tell anyone he watches it with me—I said, “He’s not going to die. Just wait. He’ll get better and then she’ll be stuck with him.” I was wrong. He did die, leaving Daisy free to go on with life.
But the potential for conflict in that step-up spoke to me. What if a nurse married a dying soldier as part of a bargain, and he didn’t die? What if there was a mystery concerning the identity of the soldier? Is the man who appears after the war really who he says he is? It was a great start to the story, and a perfect excuse for watching more Downton Abbey.
Thanks Regina!
Relz Reviewz Extras
Character spotlight on Anne & Nick
Review of Sixty Acres and a Bride
Character spotlight on Molly & Bailey
Character spotlight on Rosa & Weston
Visit Regina’s website and blog
Buy at Amazon: A Most Inconvenient Marriage (Ozark Mountain Romance Book #1)or Koorong
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November 24, 2014 at 12:18 am
I would estimate that I read eight historical fiction novels per year. It is one of my favorite genres!
November 24, 2014 at 2:56 am
Oh my goodness. This sounds delightful!
November 24, 2014 at 7:47 am
I’d guess I read at least three historical novels a month, so I’ll say 35-40 per year. thanks for the giveaway! I’ve been looking forward to reading her new book!
November 24, 2014 at 8:13 am
Hmm… I read 5-8 books a month and I’d say roughly half of that is historical romance, so somewhere in the area of 36 historical romances a year. 🙂
November 24, 2014 at 9:48 am
Wow! This looks so interesting! Definitely going on my Christmas wish list!
November 24, 2014 at 9:51 am
Oh, and as for how many historical romance novels I read in a year…
I have no idea! I buy book after book that I plan on reading, but I read so many (mostly in the Christian fiction genre), so I can’t say…maybe 15 to 25? School keeps me pretty busy, so it also depends on how much free time I have!
November 24, 2014 at 12:06 pm
I read every chance I get since retiring, so I average 5 books a week and about one out of every ten is a historical romance.
November 24, 2014 at 12:32 pm
I can’t wait! I read about 6 historical books a week.
November 24, 2014 at 12:38 pm
I have read and reviewed on Goodreads 5 historicals so far this year. I had to go look it up.
November 24, 2014 at 12:42 pm
Can’t wait to read it!
November 24, 2014 at 12:45 pm
I would guess I read about 12 historical fiction books each year (all by Christian authors).
November 24, 2014 at 12:53 pm
I try to mix the genres I read in a year’s time but I probably read 10-15 historical in a year.
November 24, 2014 at 12:59 pm
I would guess I read about 25-30 historical fiction books a year; probably close to half of what I read.
This book sounds great! Thanks for the chance to win it.
November 24, 2014 at 1:26 pm
I read well over 50 a year. I can’t wait to read this one. Will get if I don’t win because my daughter just told me that she was doing a visualization in her “stress management” class (in college)-a class all new students must take. : ) She lives in Jacksonville now and so does Tim. She visualized her self on the opening field in this movie/show and then Tim walks across the field. Really!!! Love Karen’s books! Thanks for the opportunity!
November 24, 2014 at 1:34 pm
Oh, golly… I probably really somewhere between 50 and 55 historical romances a year. They are my favorite.
November 24, 2014 at 1:43 pm
Thanks for letting me visit, Rel! I always love coming here.
So how many historical romances do I read a year? Probably around 20. I used to read more back when I didn’t have to do all this writing. 😉
Good luck to you all!
November 24, 2014 at 1:57 pm
I love to read multiple genres. Among them are historical. I would estimate that at least half of all I read are historical.
November 24, 2014 at 3:01 pm
I would say 10-15 per year. This sure sounds interesting!!
November 24, 2014 at 3:06 pm
Historical Fiction is my first passion but haven’t read much in the last year but usually I read about 15 to 20 a year. But I also read different genres also! Would love to read this book!
November 24, 2014 at 4:31 pm
I have 3 of Regina Jennings books…and I loved them! I cannot wait to read Regina’s new book! I have it waiting in my Amazon wish list 😉 I read an average of a book a week, with at least half of them being historical.
November 24, 2014 at 5:11 pm
I’m so excited to read this book…from our sneak peak, it’s going to have to go to the top of my “to buy” list!! 🙂
As far as how many historical novels I read a year, I can’t even begin to guess. I read almost exclusively Christian fiction, but I read a mixture of historical, suspense and contemporary. This year, due to many other factors I haven’t been able to read as much as I would prefer…but I think I would guess about six historical books so far this year. 🙂
November 24, 2014 at 8:33 pm
I have no idea how many historical romances I read in a year. As many as I can, I suppose!!!
November 24, 2014 at 11:10 pm
This sounds like a great read! The Ozarks are a beautiful place to set a story. Love the character descriptions complete with “photos”. Historical Fiction is my favorite genre. I’d estimate I’ve read about 40 Historical Fiction novels this year. Staci
November 24, 2014 at 11:52 pm
The historical romances are one of my favorite genres so I read many of them throughout the year. I probably average two or three a month depending on their length and my schedule so that would be 24-36. Thanks for the giveaway!
November 25, 2014 at 12:14 am
I don’t know how many historical romance’s I read in a year. I read all types of Christian or clean romance. I love historical’s however because you learn things you didn’t know. I received a copy of An Inconvenient Marriage through Netgalley and have a review ready to post when it is released. I loved the story so much that I would like a copy for my keeper shelf.
November 25, 2014 at 1:34 am
How many historical romances a year…well if I have to guess, I’d have to say around 30. I probably read about 2-3 a month and this is my favorite genre to read!!
November 25, 2014 at 1:53 am
As many as I can with 2 little boys keeping me busy…maybe 20 to 30 by year’s end.
November 25, 2014 at 1:58 am
I read a lot of differnt genres, about twelve are historical romance a year. I think this will become my first by this author.
November 25, 2014 at 2:27 am
I have just heard about this book and it looks really good!!!!!!
November 25, 2014 at 3:32 am
I’m so excited to read A Most Inconvienient Marriage! I read Sixty Acres and A Bride and absolutely loved it. :). I would say I read anywhere from 24-45 Historical Romance/Historical Fiction novels a year.
November 25, 2014 at 3:55 am
This looks great!! I would say I read 12-20. More before I had kids! 🙂 Reading is my favorite pasttime!
November 25, 2014 at 4:09 am
I don’t really keep a tally of how many of each genre I read, but I would say of the almost 200 books I’ve ready this year, historical romance would be in the majority. The most intriguing one was about a former Roman gladiator who buys a slave not realizing she’s a Christian. Very few Christian historical romance goes this far back so it was a breath of fresh air.
November 25, 2014 at 4:17 am
I have read too many to count historical books in a year. I love to read.
November 25, 2014 at 4:19 am
I enjoy lots of different genres. Unfortunately, I’ve not read any historical romance this year. It’s been a busy/difficult year. I would love to read A Most Inconvenient Marriage. 🙂
psalm103and138[at]gmail[dot]com
November 25, 2014 at 4:22 am
I read more than 300 books a year. Historical fiction is my favorite and I read every one that I can get my hands on. Your 60 acres and a bride was the first historical novel I purchased for my kindle.
November 25, 2014 at 4:24 am
I read two this year.
November 25, 2014 at 4:29 am
I lost count 🙂 I was never into historical romance – I’m more into contemporary but I was hooked when my friend dumped so much historical books 🙂 I’m glad because I have more books to read now aside from my first choice of genre!!!!
November 25, 2014 at 5:02 am
Historicals are my favorite genre, but I have been reading a lot more contemporary novels this year. But I would estimate by the end of the year I will have read between 15 and 20 historical novels.
November 25, 2014 at 5:03 am
As many as I can!
November 25, 2014 at 5:09 am
Historical romance is one of my favorites. I am guessing a read some where around 36 to 50+ a year.
November 25, 2014 at 5:34 am
I have read Sixty Acres and enjoyed it very much. Would like to read more.
November 25, 2014 at 5:57 am
I easily read over a 100 historical books a year. They are my favorite and if I don’t read books each night…I don’t sleep!
So many books…too little time!
November 25, 2014 at 6:02 am
I probably read 15-20 historical romances a year, I love to read and try to mix up my genres a bit.
November 25, 2014 at 6:43 am
I would say I read about 12 a year. It depends on how busy I am, it may be less or more. I would rather read historical romance books instead of books placed in the current time.
November 25, 2014 at 7:29 am
Way too many to count!!!
November 25, 2014 at 7:49 am
I love to read! I have a collection of historical fictional romances.
November 25, 2014 at 7:52 am
I read all the time, mostly historical fiction. I don’t have a guess as to a number. This one is now on my list.
November 25, 2014 at 8:30 am
I read as many as I can get my hands on!
November 25, 2014 at 9:24 am
I just started reading historical fiction this year. I have read about 10. I really enjoy them. Thank you for sharing and a chance to win. ~ Blessings ~
November 25, 2014 at 10:03 am
I read dozens of books every year. Of the historical genre, I would have to guess around 20ish or more. Thank you for the opportunity to win a great book from a fantastic author!
November 25, 2014 at 10:53 am
I probably read a dozen or so historical novels a year.
Excited about the giveaway!
November 25, 2014 at 11:50 am
I read 2-4 historical novels per day
November 25, 2014 at 12:11 pm
I read close to a dozen historical novels a year!
November 25, 2014 at 1:35 pm
Historical Fiction is my favorite! I probally read around 40 a year.
November 25, 2014 at 1:42 pm
I like to read many types of book, but probably read 15 historical in a year.
Looking forward to reading this one!
November 25, 2014 at 1:44 pm
I read about 10 a year.
susanlulu@yahoo.com
November 25, 2014 at 1:53 pm
Figuring I read about 3 books a week, and probably 2/3 of those are historical – somewhere in the vicinity of 100. Oh dear – I might be an addict.
November 25, 2014 at 2:22 pm
Sounds so exciting!
November 25, 2014 at 2:49 pm
I would guess between 5-10 since I like to switch genres.
November 25, 2014 at 4:47 pm
10+, I like historical fiction, biblical fiction and Amish fiction!
November 25, 2014 at 5:48 pm
I would guess 10-15 per year 🙂 Thanks for a great character spotlight and the opportunity to win the book!
November 26, 2014 at 1:36 am
This book sounds awesome!!!!! Can’t wait to read it!
November 26, 2014 at 3:33 am
I probably read about 40-50 historical romance books a year (yeah. I read a lot.) lol
November 26, 2014 at 5:07 am
I would guess about 24-30 books a year…our local library is one of our family’s favorite places. 🙂
November 26, 2014 at 5:29 am
I love books written in past days. This one sounds very intriguing and I would love to read it.
November 26, 2014 at 2:29 pm
I read about 80 or so books per year and probably 1/4 of them are historical fiction, so I guess my answer is about 20.
November 26, 2014 at 4:50 pm
I’d guess that I probably read around 20-30 historicals a year. The majority of what I read is historical fiction. I love it!
November 26, 2014 at 11:15 pm
I honestly couldn’t answer how many historical romance stories I read in a year. I do enjoy them and read them often, though. Thank you for the book blurb, the giveaway and the chance to win!
Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!
Kelly Y
kelly *at* dkcountryarts *dot* com
November 27, 2014 at 1:44 am
More than other genres, but not as many as I’d like. 🙂 Best estimate is around 30.
November 27, 2014 at 12:20 pm
I mix it up so probably 1 a month so 12 Historical romance a year.. maybe more, Historical fiction is a favorite 🙂
dkstevensne AT outlook DOT Com
November 27, 2014 at 3:32 pm
I couldn’t begin to imagine how many historicals I read in a year! I read quite a lot and a large portion of that are historical books!
November 27, 2014 at 4:11 pm
Historical Romance is my favorite genre so I’d say I read about one month = 10-12 a year 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win! Your book sounds like a great read!!
November 28, 2014 at 1:22 am
I love both historical and contemporary – it’s great to read historical, but also sometimes get relief from old times to read a romance in the 21st century. But I’m sure it’s around 20 or something historical romances a year.
November 29, 2014 at 8:38 am
I read both historical and contemporary novels. I have no ideas how many I have read this year. But I am always reading!
November 30, 2014 at 7:16 am
I read around 80-90 Historical books a year, it’s my favorite genre 🙂 Thanks for the great giveaway, this book sounds fantastic!
November 30, 2014 at 10:36 am
I usually read close to 30 books a month most are historical fiction so I guess 300 or so.
November 30, 2014 at 1:46 pm
I generally read between 20-30 historical novels a year. It’s my favorite genre but I’ve been on a bit of a fantasy kick this year.
December 1, 2014 at 3:27 am
Historical Fiction is my favourite genre, and basically I always read those kinds of stories. Regency Era is my favourite time period, but I like all the stories set in the nineteenth century. Though I like to read some contemporary books every now and then! 🙂 I don’t think I can enter this giveaway because I’m international, but I enjoyed reading the interview all the same!