  Thank you for inviting me on your blog, Carol. I’m so happy to be here. It’s always fun to talk books with people who love them as much as I do. I'm excited about your new release! Tell us more about it. My new release is The Backcountry Bridescollection. The entire collection is stories set in Colonial America. My story is titled Her Redcoatand is set in Northern Michigan, at the very top of Michigan’s “mitten,” or Lower Peninsula. Most people don’t think about Michigan as a colonial setting, but it was. There was a thriving fur trade here from the 1630s on. What sparked this story? Fort Michilimackinac (pronounced Mish-eh-le-mack-en-aw)sets on the south shore where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. During Pontiac’s Rebellion, a major battle took place there. One survivor wrote a first-hand account of the massacre. That story has stayed with me since I first read it when I was in 5thor 6thgrade. What’s the one thing you haven’t yet written, but hope to one day? A New York Times best-seller! What are you reading now? For fun: Women and the Lakesby Frederick Stonehouse For continuing education: The Story Equationby Susan May Warren Where is your favorite place and time of day to write? I am a morning person. Early mornings in my office are my usual workplace, although I really enjoy writing while we’re camping. We don’t “rough it” anymore. Our tent camping days are behind us. We have a 16’ camper. It’s big enough for hubby and me and Murphy the dog. Share three things our readers may not know about you. My family tree takes me back to a royal line in Wales. I’ve been raising registered Border Leicester sheep for twenty-five years. I’ll eat almost anything with peanut butter on it. What is your next writing project? I really want to get a stand-alone book published, but I’m still submitting some collection ideas to Barbour. While I want my own book all by myself, I really like working in collaboration with the other authors. It’s been a very rewarding endeavor. What have you learned from your writing journey? What advice would you like to share with a beginning writer? Don’t be in a hurry. I started this writing gig in 2009 and signed my first contract in 2016. That’s about average. Don’t push your first book out before it’s ready. You can’t unpublish it once it’s released and if it’s an inferior product, it’ll dog you the rest of your career. What’s this we hear about a shawl? I’m so glad you asked! I’m a handspinner and knitter and with the release of each of my books, I give away one of my signature wool shawls, made from wool from my own flock of sheep. The shawl I’m giving away with Her Redcoatis called Northern Lilacs. The only way to enter the drawing is to subscribe to my newsletter. The drawing will be on May 31, 2018. I print out the email address for my subscribers, and then my husband draws the lucky winner from a hat. Not very high-tech, but then, neither are my shawls. J Please give us the first page of your book. Early Spring 1763 - near Fort Michilimackinac Laurette Pettigrew’s father limped away from their cabin and was swallowed by the tall pines and budding brush of the surrounding forest. She was alone. Months of isolation stretched before her. A wet nose pressed against her clenched hand. Laurette relaxed her fingers and tangled them in the wiry hair around the tall dog’s ears. “We are on our own, my friend.” Her voice broke the early morning stillness. “We are banished from the settlement.” Charles Pettigrew owned a trading post in the settlement outside of Fort Michilimackinac. Since the death of Mama last fall, Laurette had helped Papa. They’d lived in the simple room tacked onto the back of the trading post. She’d cooked and cleaned and, on the rare occasions a Redcoat visited the post, she’d hidden in that room. Until yesterday, when reports came that the voyageurs had been heard. Their boisterous voices carried over Lake Huron, oars striking the water in rhythm with their songs, announcing their arrival. Papa had left the trading post in the hands of his apprentice and hustled Laurette back to the cabin two miles south of the fort. At least he’d stayed the night with her. One last evening before the loneliness closed in. “Papa, how can you leave me?” she whispered into the stillness. Because the voyageurs would stay for many weeks, until gold and crimson edged the leaves again. Harsh men, strong men, men her father didn’t trust with a daughter old enough—past old enough—to be married. Share your bio and your social media links with us. Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” An avid reader and writer, she enjoys fiction stories threaded through historical events and around historical figures. Civil War and Colonial are her favorite eras. Pegg is a regular blogger at both Colonial Quills and Stitches Thru Time.When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls.See more at PeggThomas.com. Pegg Thomas - Writer PeggThomas.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pegg.thomas Twitter @Pegg_Thomas Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4486713-pegg 
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