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Anna explained that she would rather be mopping the floor and helping with the repair of the sail in breeches than in a gown, and they all agreed. Barbara and Joan asked if she had anymore in her trunk and she was more than happy to loan them each a pair to wear. She laughed to herself, thinking the men would think she was leading a rebellion over women’s fashions.

While one of the women started opening the port holes in the between-decks to help dry out the room from the rain, Anna and several of the other women went to work mopping up the mess, and dumping the water through the port holes. It took them nearly two hours to get the between-decks back in a livable state, and when they finished they headed back up to the main deck to help.

Anna and her two co hearts, Barbara Mason and Joan Bancroft, stepped onto the main deck in their men’s breeches and shirts. Captain Drake looked at them with a big grin on his face as he shook his head.

They walked up to Captain Drake and Anna playfully said, “Three sailors waiting for their orders sir.” And she heard the other two women giggle again.

“What am I going to do with you Miss Pemberton and your friends?” He joked, rubbing his chin and looking them over. “If you women ever want a real job on my ship, I’d be more than happy to have such lovely sailors in my service.” Captain Drake offered, as he chuckled.

“You know when the Major was asking everyone if they had seen you, Henry was the one that told him he had seen you on the deck drawing. Lucky thing he did too.” Barbara Mason proudly remarked. “The Major took off running up those steps and we all had to tackle him, and just to get him to put on that rope. Then when the rope went slack, we thought the knot slipped and he had went overboard along with you.” She admitted sadly. “We all felt like we lost two family members last night, so you can imagine how relieved we all are to know that you are both okay.” Barbara suggested as she hugged Anna again.

“Henry saved my life by telling the Major about me being on the deck. I’ll have to thank him.” Anna told Barbara, but thinking more about how Major Marsh had risked his life for her, and marveling at the words Barbara told her about the events. She wondered if he would have done the same thing for any other person on the ship, but she’d never know the answer to that.

Anna left Barbara and headed toward her trunk to find a comb and some dry clothes. After hanging the partitions around her, she poured some of the clean rainwater from the bucket she had picked up on the deck, into the bowl and grabbed a cloth from her trunk and washed off. It felt good to clean up after sleeping in wet clothes all night long and to comb her hair again. Her hair was so long and thick, that it was still a little damp from last night’s rain, and so she left it hanging down after she combed it, instead putting it into a bun. What did it matter? It was the way she always wore it at home.

Anna dug through the trunk found one of the pairs of her brother’s breeches that she had packed along with one of his shirts. She normally used these clothes for horseback riding, but today she’d wear them to help with the clean up on the ship. Once dressed, she came out of the partition only to hear a few giggles from the other women still in the between-decks.

Name: Madeline Baker
Website: www.madelinebaker.net
Contact: darkwritr@aol.com

Questions:

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: Southern CA

Q: Can you tell us your latest book news?
A: My latest book, NIGHT’S KISS, is in stores now. It’s a vampire romance published by Zebra. My next book, DAKOTA DREAMS, will be out in October from Signet.

Q: How old were you when you first started writing?
A: I don’t remember
(Read on …)

Name: Joseph Cowley
Website: www.josephcowley.org
Contact: JoeCowley@myway.com

Questions:

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: Westchester County, NY

Q: Can you tell us your latest book news?
A: Most recently published book: The Night Billy Was Born and Other Stories

Q: How old were you when you first started writing?
A: 10

Q: When did you first realize you had the potential to be a writer?
A: From the beginning
(Read on …)

Name: Jerry Apps
Website: www.jerryapps.com
Contact: jwapps@wisc.edu

Questions:

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: Central Wisconsin

Q: Can you tell us your latest book news?
A: My latest novel is THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH:A HISTORICAL NOVEL ABOUT A PIONEER PREACHER. Preacher Increase Joseph and his small band of followers come to Wisconsin from New York state in 1852. This is the story of their adventures, nunanced with philosophy and history, and told with humor.

Q: How old were you when you first started writing?
A: Twelve
(Read on …)