My Story Inspiration for A Bride for Brynmor

 
By Jacqui Nelson

What inspires a story? Languages, my sad inability to speak more than one, my joy of imagining my characters can do so much more than I can, and my discovery of the Cree syllabic. 

Below is the Story Inspiration page (a page I've included in the back of all of my books) for A Bride for Brynmor—the first book in my Songbird Junction series about three Welsh brothers and three Irish-Cree Métis sisters (who use the Cree syllabic to secretly coordinate their escape from their cruel and controlling troupe manager)...

A BRIDE FOR BRYNMOR 

Story Inspiration page ~ from the back of the book

I have great difficulties speaking different languages, but I’ve discovered I love the story challenges/complications of including them in my books. I also love the opportunity to link language to a character’s past. 

- For my Quebec-born heroine (Birdie Bell aka Bernadette Bellamy), I added French in The Calling Birds. 


- For my American-born heroine (Robyn Llewellyn whose ancestors came from Monmouth, Wales), I added Welsh in Robyn: A Christmas Bride.


- For my Canadian-born Irish-Cree Métis heroines (Lark, Oriole, and Wren who came from the Qu’Appelle Valley in present-day Saskatchewan), I added Cree syllabics in A Bride for Brynmor.


The Métis are specific cultural communities who trace their descent from First Nations (Native American) women and European (first French, then later Scottish, English, and Irish) men who came together with the fur trade in Canada and the United States. 

Their unions were often called marriage à la façon du pays which meant “according to the custom of the country.” Written with a lowercase m, métis is the French word for “mixed.”

The Qu’Appelle Valley got its name from a Cree legend about a spirit that traveled up and down the river. The Cree told the fur traders they often heard a voice calling, “Kâ-têpwêt?” When the Cree responded to the call, it would echo back. 

In French, “Kâ-têpwêt?” means “Qui appelle?” And in English, that’s “Who is calling?” Which is the perfect echo/call back to my story The Calling Birds. 


Cree syllabics are a script used to write the Cree language. They were first recorded in the 1800s and include nine glyph shapes. Today in Canada, it’s estimated that over 70,000 Algonquian-speaking people use the script.

To read more about Cree syllabics and how they inspired my story, visit my website at www.JacquiNelson.com/the-cree-syllabic.

A BRIDE FOR BRYNMOR

Songbird Junction Series, Book 1

Denver, Colorado
 – January 1878

Can a sister who’s lived only for others find freedom with one man?

Family has always come first—for both of them. He’s never forgiven himself for letting her go. She’s never forgiven herself for almost getting him killed.

When Lark and her songbird sisters are separated fleeing their cruel and controlling troupe manager, only Brynmor Llewellyn can help Lark save her sisters and escape to the far west. But Lark wants more. And so does Brynmor. When they’re stranded in a spot as difficult to guard as it is to leave—a rustic cabin at a train junction between Denver and the mountain town of Noelle, Colorado—they find themselves fighting not only for survival but for redemption, forgiveness, and a second chance for their love.

Will the frontier train stop of Songbird Junction be Lark and Brynmor’s salvation? Or their downfall when her manager—a con artist who calls himself her uncle but cherishes only his own fame and fortune—demands a debt no one can pay?

Click here to read an excerpt on my website.

THE SONGBIRD JUNCTION SERIES 

A Bride for Brynmor, book 1

A Bride for Heddwyn, book 2

A Bride for Griffin, book 3 (coming soon)

Welcome to Songbird Junction, where Welsh meets West in Colorado 1878. The journey to find a forever home and more starts here… 



Brynmor, Heddwyn, and Griffin Llewellyn are three Welsh brothers bound by blood and a passion for hauling freight—in Denver, where hard work pays. 

Lark, Oriole, and Wren are three Irish-Cree Métis sisters-of-the-heart bound by choice and a talent for singing—in any place that pays. 



Click here to see a summary of all of my books on one page.

Hope you enjoyed my writing inspiration and that your Friday and October are...full of fabulous autumn color and fun 🌈❤️

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