Sometimes people ask me where I get my ideas and the true answer is, I have no idea. Storylines and characters pop into my head at will. Sometimes I can figure where they originated and often not. I might begin with a scene and have to figure out how my character came to be in that place in that moment.
Sometimes life inspires a scene and one of the scenes in The Endurance of Moses Wilson, book two in the Laredo series, is one.
As a child, my dad often took the family (sometimes just me) to the woods. In the spring we might hunt morel mushrooms. In the fall, maybe we picked up walnuts or he hunted. There were days we experienced the glory of the wild.
I wasn’t too old when this event happened. It seems like it might have been late summer or early fall but it wasn’t cold or snakes wouldn’t have been out.
I saw a beautiful creature, a serpent with dark gray and brown patterns on the forest floor. I stepped close and began talking to my new “friend.”
“Hello Mister Snake,” I remember telling the snake. “You’re pretty.”
He answered me by shaking his tail which made a dry rattling noise. I didn’t care for it much. I knew my dad kept a collection of rattles he’d cut from dead snakes, trophies.
My mom called out to my dad and since he liked quiet in the woods, he ignored her for a few moments until she called out in a sing-song tone. “Your daughter’s talking to a rattlesnake.”
My dad cussed and came closer. I’m sure when he saw my new pal, he must have blanched but his tone remained even. He told me to not to move, not a muscle. And, with one of his pistols (in the Army he had earned a marksman badge) he shot the big rattler dead at my feet. I was trained to obey guns and didn’t move. Once the snake writhed with death throes, however, I complained he had killed my new friend. “Friend, hell. If that snake bit you, you’d have been dead before we could get back to town.”
I learned something on that day. I gave rattlesnakes a wide berth afterwards.
And years, later, Boone’s daughter and Moses’ niece, Mima (My-Ma) had a similar experience.
Here’s the excerpt from the book and links to find your own copy in paperback or eBook. Following those, check out a few of the reviews.
Thanks for reading!
Boone had been over to the bunkhouse to check on the hands and walked up. He came to an abrupt halt not far from his daughter and, in an odd tone of voice, asked, "Who are you talking to, Mima?"
"My friend," the child said. "Mr. Snake. Isn't he pretty? Look at him, Daddy."
Something about the way she said it alerted Moses that something was out of the ordinary. Without ever taking his eyes from Mima, Boone motioned him to stay in place.
"Jemima Ann," Boone said. His voice was slow and deliberate. "Stand right where you are. Don't you move, not one bit. Don't even breathe."
Moses saw why, now. A large timber rattlesnake, mottled with black bands over gray, had coiled not far from Mima. Its tail shook in warning, and it could strike at any time. The girl stilled, and as Moses watched, Boone pulled the Griswold revolver he always wore each time he left home and shot it. His aim was true, and on the first shot, the serpent writhed and thrashed. Concerned for his niece's safety, Moses dashed to scoop her into his arms as Boone fired twice more, his gaze never wavering and without flinching. By the time he stopped, the snake no longer had a head, just a bloody mass at the end of its long body. Moses judged it to be a good four or five feet long and thick as his forearm.
Boone holstered his pistol and walked toward Moses. Mima clung to her uncle, but when her father approached, she flung herself into his open arms.
"You killed my friend!" she said. "That snake was my friend."
"If that rattler had bit you, you'd be dead," Boone said. "It was a rattlesnake and dangerous, Mima. It was no friend."
Rachel and Ezekiel burst from the cabin to stare.
"Boone, what in the world?" Rachel asked, then saw the snake, still wriggling in its death throes. She paled, and her hand went to her throat. "Where did that come from?"
"It was at your daughter's feet," Boone replied. "So, I dispatched it to hell where it belonged."
"You could have shot her!" Rachel's voice went high and sharp.
"Boone's a better shot than that," Ezekiel said, standing beside her.
"No, I couldn't have. She minded me when I told her not to move," Boone said. "She's a brave little thing and obedient. Scared the fire out of me, Rachel."
Rachel began to cry. Boone handed the little girl to Moses, then crossed the porch and took his wife into his arms. "Hush," he said. "Hush, she wasn't hurt."
"She might have died," Rachel wept. "Oh, Boone."
Moses watched as his brother swept Rachel into his arms and carried her into the house.
"Were you scared too, Mo Mo?" Mima asked.
His heart hadn't stopped racing yet. "I was," he replied. "But your daddy took care of it. He had a steady hand and a good eye. Thank the good Lord he was here."
The Endurance of Moses Wilson
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4KJ9FV6
Barnes and Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-endurance-of-moses-wilson-lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/1145868667
smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1581041
Reviews:
S reviews
The Endurance Of Moses Wilson is the second book in The
Laredo series by Leeanne Sontheimer Murphy. In the second book Boone‘s family
is growing despite Rachel recently having a miscarriage she soon would be in
the family way again but Liam’s wife Maggie is also adding to their family and
this is why her sister Maddie comes to visit. When Maddie meets Moses sparks
didn’t fly at first but when they did it soon became an inferno and Moses was
in love. Unfortunately when Maggie gives birth Maddie has to go back to San
Antonio where her mother wants Gunther Hammerschmidt to court her, but Maddie and
Moses have a secret promise so when Maddie has a dream Moses is in peril she
begged her parents to let her go back to Laredo something they refuse to do but
Maddie will find her way regardless. Sadly when she arrives Moses is on deaths
door way but fortunately for him Mattie refuses to give him up. As if Moses
being ill wasn’t enough trouble for Boone and Zeke trouble is coming from San
Antonio but soon a happy surprise is coming as well.
To say I love these books is an understatement I find the author describes the
atmosphere, the homes the wardrobes is it she was there to see it herself she
is a great storyteller and has an awesome talent for riding lovable characters
as well as those you love to hate. I love the romantic and Christian tone of
the book the family love camaraderie and every heartwarming attribute you can
name is a inspired by the words in this book. I loved it I loved it I loved it!
I also want to say the surprise at the end it was so awesome and it made me so
giddy and I can’t wait for the next book. If you haven’t started reading these
books yet do your self a favor there sweet awesome Christian romances that I
highly recommend.#Booksprout, #TheLaredoSeries, #LeanneSomthemerMurphy,
#TheEnduranceOfMosesWilson,
We met Moses in the previous book, about his older brother Boone. Boone and his family are in this book as well. Moses and his other brother, Ezekiel (Zeke) all work for Liam on his ranch. Boone now has two kids, a girl, named after their mom, Jemima or Mima and little Robert. Since Maggie is due with her second child, her parents sent their next eldest daughter to help, Mattie. As she is there for months she ends up falling for Moses and he her. But, she is expected to return to San Antonio and her family and her parents want her to marry a German man of good standing. So loads of problems. Mattie also helps out with Grace, Liam and Maggie’s firstborn. I’m starting to think that the Wilson’s are cursed with a bit of bad luck, you’ll see why. The kids are adorable and I just wanted to snuggle them. Moses and Mattie are so sweet together and sweet on each other. I had to read the books during the day because of the dang rattlesnakes. They freak me out! I cried a few times in the book too from worry. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Ever wonder
what its like to be a farmer long ago. This is Moses and Mattie's story. He's
trying to make it as a farmer. He meets Mattie and falls in love with her. Bu
will happen when her family wants her to marry a banker? Can he prove himself?
Will she go against her family. Follow the drama.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am
voluntarily leaving a review.
This book wormed its way into my heart
and has made a home for itself. This book was the sweetest book I have read
this year! The characters were well-written and we'll fleshed out, and even
though in some.places, the pacing was a little too slow for me, I really
enjoyed it. I would recommend it for someone who wants to read a sweet cowboy
romance that doesn't have swearing and explicit relations.
I can't wait for the next book in the series.
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