"The Steeplechase" by Carrie Fancett Pagels with Character Interview and Review and A GiveAway

Genre: Historical, Romance, Christian 
Book Description :Martha Osborne fears for her six-year-old brother, who was shuffled off to boarding school when his British mother departed to England. 
Set in Hampton Roads, Virginia, in the build-up to the War of 1812, expert rider Martha plans to substitute for her older brother in a “race to the steeple” to win the prize—and a bet with Phillip Paulson, equestrian trainer at Yorkview Academy, to help have her little brother returned home. When Phillip stumbles upon the real reasons behind the secret race he finds he may not be able to keep his end of the bargain. Can he save Martha and her brother? And will his heart be lost in the process? 


Author Bio: Carrie Fancett Pagels is a multi-published award-winning author of

Christian historical romance.  Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn't "cure" her overactive imagination! She resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia, which is perfect for her love of history. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time!

Website: www.carriefancettpagels.com

Blogs: Overcoming With God and Colonial Quills

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Carrie Fancett Pagels, the author, interviews Phillip Lucien Paulson, hero of The Steeplechase, a book where “Early American meets Regency!” 

CFP: Phillip, you seem to be a confirmed bachelor.

“No madam, I am a confirmed bachelor, there is no “seem” about it, I fear!”

CFP: Why is that?

As the second son on the Paulson Estate, let us say that the young ladies of Tidewater found my older brother much more alluring.

CFP: (Interviewer coughs and blushes.) I find it hard to imagine a more handsome young man than you, Mr. Paulson.

“Why thank you. Please call me Phillip. Still, having had my heart stomped upon by a young woman who intended only to catch my brother has left me feeling quite justified in remaining a bachelor.”

CFP: I see. But there is a young lady I see you visiting when I go to Williamsburg.

“Ah, yes, Miss Osborne. She’s all goodness and light, is she not?”

CFP: Um, I think I’ll take the Fifth on that.

“The fifth? Is this some strange treatment using whiskey?”

CFP: No, no, excuse me, I merely meant that Martha Osborne isn’t exactly an angel.

(Phillip laughs.) “Yet she believes me to be angelic, which I have found rather sweet and amusing.”

CFP: Did you worry that she might be a little unbalanced, with this assertion of hers?

“No, I believe she’s a deeply religious young woman whose emotional distress caused her to overlook my very obviously unangelic behavior.”

CFP: Such as?

“I seriously doubt angels admire young ladies as I did when I met her in the bakery shop. But perhaps she didn’t notice. I’m sure that when I assaulted that rogue in her father’s chapel, that she clearly understood I was a man – and a very angry one!”

CFP: Johnny Osborne, Martha’s little brother, is one of the youngest students at the academy where you help with equestrian training. Is he a good rider?

“He’s a fair rider but much too young to be sent off to boarding school.”

CFP: Do you know why the academy accepted young Johnny then?

(He clears his throat.) “Yes, madam, but I am not at liberty to say why.”

CFP: But Miss Osbourne told me you were in agreement that he should be sent home to Williamsburg from Yorktown.

“Yes, it is true I agreed with her and even agreed to a challenge. However, I have certain reliable information that now calls that judgement into question.”

CFP: Hmmm. 

“I believe that shall be her reaction as well, upon learning of my change of heart.”

CFP: Your mother is French. Has that influenced you?

“Certainement. I’ve certainly been taught that every country, every culture, has it differences and its own ways of looking at things. And my mother had a difficult past in France that has affected my upbringing. I’ve been taught to be very appreciative of the freedoms I have as an American.”

CFP: Your father was an American patriot and served during the Revolutionary War. How has this impacted you?
(Long silence, scratches chin, looks around the room.) “When my father speaks, it is with a gravity, a certainty, of what is right. He does not waste time in idle chatter. So when I see him continuing to meet with his old comrades from war, I have been, of course, concerned.”

CFP: I see. This sounds serious.

“I assure you, madam, that with the prominent planters and elder statesmen of the Tidewater gathering together to consider the abduction of our young men by the British navy, it is indeed a serious concern.”

CFP: Is that why so many of our young Tidewater gentlemen (and a certain young gentlewoman!) plan to practice their equestrian skills in the race to the steeple at Grace Episcopal Church?

(Phillips makes a motion as though he is taking a key and locking his lips.)

CFP: Well, I thank you, Phillip, for taking time with us today.

(He rises, bows low, takes my hand and kisses it. If it weren’t for my husband nearby I might feel a little giddy!) “The pleasure is all mine, madam. Give my felicitations to all of your readers.”

My Review: "The SteepleChase" by Carrie Fancett Pagels is a simple novella of a time when the people in America was worried that Britain wanted control again. But is also a romance. This story has many plots between the pages, the most being a little six year old being sent to a boarding school because( almost a fairytale content, to me) a wicked stepmother and a father who is more interested in his own affairs.

This book has a few tense moments and I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. I really liked this novella but to be fair to my review readers I have to warn that there is a scene where a gun could have done damage to a person, ( I know some readers don't like to read this,) but to be fair, real life must be included into the books we read especially if we are reading Historical Fiction. 

I am giving "The Steepchase" by Carrie Fancett Pagels 5 stars. 

There is a little mystery left in the novella at the end because I am left hanging on what happened to the stepmother although to be fair that plot line is secondary to the race to bringing the child home from the boarding school. I wonder if maybe a sequel is in the future ?

I will be reading more of Carrie Fancett Pagels stories because each of her stories that I have read has drawn me into the pages and made me believe I am actually watching the scenes unfold as I turn the pages. 

Links to buy: 

Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance (2^nd edition, January 2016)

The Steeplechase (Forget-Me-Not Romances, February 2016)

Saving the Marquise’s Granddaughter (White Rose/Pelican Book Group, June 2016)

Requilted with Love, in Blue Ribbon Brides collection (Barbour Publishing, November 2016)

The Substitute Bride: A Novella (October 2015)

The Christy Lumber Camp Series: Selah Award finalist The Fruitcake Challenge (2014), The Lumberjacks’ Ball (April, 2015), Lilacs for Juliana (August, 2016) (ALL three Family Fiction Book of the Year finalists)

“Snowed In”, in A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Guidepost Books (2013)

God’s Provision in Tough Times Lighthouse of the Carolinas (2013) 

Giveaway: Leave a comment for a chance to win a paperback copy (USA only) or ebook if preferred, of The Steeplechase.