Bicycles And Bloomers By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless

 

The invention of the bicycle in the 18^th century marked an interesting era.  Women’s fashions at the time were hardly conducive to this activity and various opinions were bandied about regarding ladies exerting themselves in this way.  Never mind most Western women were washing the family’s clothes by hand, churning butter, caring for livestock and growing food to feed their household.  As bicycles became more popular, they afforded women an easier mode of transport and led to some interesting fashion changes to provide more suitable attire.   

 

My heroine, Chelsea, in Chelsea’s Choice is a free-thinking, free-spirited young woman who emigrated to Arizona in search of adventure and more opportunities for women.  It’s not easy to divulge someone’s personality in the opening pages of a book, but the fact that Chelsea shows up with the town’s first bicycle tells the reader a fair bit about her in the opening scene.  She doesn’t necessarily follow protocol or act the way society expects of a well-to-do young woman. Exactly the right person to tangle with my ‘Reclusive Man’ and break down those barriers he’d built between himself and the rest of the town.

 Chelsea’s first appearance in her new town: Chelsea pumped the pedals of her shiny new bicycle as she made her way slowly down the main street of Bullet, swerving to avoid horses, carriages and the assortment of pedestrians, all ages who stopped, mouths agape, to stare.  She must look a sight, as she had yet to quite get the hang of this thing. It turned out staying upright while balancing on two wheels was a lot harder than the fellow back East had made it look.

 Up ahead, she spotted the sign for the hotel and carefully slowed the bicycle.  When she reached her destination, she stopped and dismounted as gracefully as possible.  For the sake of decorum while traveling across the country by train, she’d worn a full skirt that ended just above the ankle, sadly missing the freedom of her cycling bloomers, which she had purchased with ease of riding in mind.

 The hero’s reaction a short time later:  Reece tightened his grip on the reins as he signaled to the horses.  He drove away, conscious of those dancing dark eyes boring into his back. What was the world coming to?  A woman speaking so freely to a stranger.  Showing up here with a bicycle.  A woman like that meant sure-fire trouble.  Good thing he kept to himself.

 This multi-author series is going strong and can be viewed here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09K7FP3SJ

 Chelsea’s Choice releases next month and can he pre-ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q9BG2FV

USA Today Bestselling author Kathleen Lawless blames a misspent youth watching Rawhide, Maverick and Bonanza for her fascination with cowboys, which doesn’t stop her from creating a wide variety of interests and occupations for her many alpha male heroes.   

Her hero, Steele, in HER UNDERCOVER COWBOY, is a modern-day cowboy, so when she was wooed by a man called Steel— while he’s not a cowboy, he is an alpha male and her forever hero.  Which is why all of her stories end Happily Ever After.

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