Three Wishes (34 page)
Authors: Lisa T. Bergren,Lisa Tawn Bergren
In addition, there were other missions between Santa Barbara and Sonoma (Junipero Serra founded nine himself), but I have chosen not to include or describe them; they’d been “secularized” in 1833—dividing mission lands into land grants that became new ranchos—and I assumed many of them were largely abandoned by 1840; I also wanted to increase the sense of the Venturas’ isolation from any other “civilization.”
My description of the
charreada
was abbreviated—it was typically nine events, and didn’t include steer-wrestling (they did do something called steer-tailing, which was more complex, even more dangerous, and yet harder to visualize as I attempted to describe it). Nor was the divvying-up of one rancho’s cattle from another’s an official “event”—I just thought it sounded like chaotic fun, and it was something that rancheros periodically did, so I made it part of this gathering.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to my editors, Paul Hawley and Rachelle Rea, for their fine work in getting this book into presentable shape. Also big thanks to my River Tribers who volunteered to be beta-readers and proofers and horse/rodeo-checkers and Spanish-correctors: Jaime Heller, Marylin Furumasu, Paige McQueen, Courtney Adams, Ashlee Humphries, Samantha Booth, Danielle Linnea Groat, Sarah Jo Day, Julie Grant, Maria Teets, Baily Latham, Beth Wickward, Shannon Long, Katharine Trojak, Melanie Harris (belated thanks for your help on
Deluge
, too!), Abby Olivera-Ruiz, Lydia Joy Blackstone, Staci Murden, Katie Breeland, Sharon Miles, Crystal Hay, Andrew and Debbie Spadzinski, Julie Schmidt, Becky Molitoriz, Sammi Jo Tuinstra, Elizabeth Long, Paula Oyedele-Caleb, Melody Lee, Carolina Santander, Calli Lynch, Joy Doering, Sabrina Vogt, Rel Mollet, Erin Cullipher, Tatiana Moore, Rebecca Peake, Rebekah Howe, Bree Boettner, Karalyn Foster…Lilian Berner and Marcy Cherry deserve special thanks, too. Clearly, it takes a village, and there is none better than my River Tribe! Gracias!!
River Tribe reader Graziella LiVolsi flew from Arizona to Oregon to be my cover model for
Three Wishes
and
Four Winds
—much of it at her own expense. I just can’t get over her excitement about taking part, her generosity in helping fund the process, and last but not least, her incredible beauty. From the start, she became Zara Ruiz, as soon as I saw her sweet face. Photographer Jennifer Ilene—a phenomenally talented photographer I met on a mission trip to Uganda—took the awesome cover shots. Bobbi and Audrey from Western Costume in Hollywood helped me find the perfect dresses for the shoot and got them there on time. The amazing florist, Katie (Ponderosa & Thyme, Salem, OR) donated the pretty flowers. (If you’re getting married in Oregon or have a special event coming up, trust me, you want her to do your flowers. Super-cool work!) Kerry Nietz helped format this book for e-release. Many thanks to all.
Loved this time-slip romance? Want to see where it all began?
The original River of Time Series, set it in Italy is available in paperback and e-formats right now from your favorite retailers!
Book I: WATERFALL
Book II: CASCADE
Book III: TORRENT
Book IV: BOURNE & TRIBUTARY
Book V: DELUGE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa T. Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of over forty books in all kinds of genres, with more than three million copies sold. Her most recent fiction works include the historical Grand Tour Series (
Glamorous Illusions, Grave Consequences, Glittering Promises
), the dystopian-fantasy Remnants (
Season of Wonder, Season of Fire, Season of Glory
), and the time-slip romance series, River of Time (
Waterfall
et al). She lives in Colorado with her husband, three children, and a little white dog.
For more information, please see her web site,
LisaTBergren.com
—where you can find out about upcoming releases, events, and sign up to receive her quarterly e-newsletter.
Or join her on
Facebook.com/RiverofTimeSeries
,
Facebook.com/LisaTawnBergren
, or on Twitter @LisaTBergren.
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