Semi Short chic: Book Tour: Old Amarillo by Sara Barnard

Disillusioned and feeling there is more to life than can be found on her family's Indiana farm, atypical Amish girl Katie Knepp bucks tradition and leaves everything behind, bound for a supposed Mennonite settlement rumored to be somewhere around Old Amarillo, Texas. But the trail to Texas is a hard one, laced with disease, would-be-could-be bandits, and a drought so severe that turning back isn't an option. During her epic overland struggle, Katie discovers friendship, even in the ever-present outlaw element, a strength in herself she'd never dreamed she possessed, and those in her past who refuse to become unwilling memories. Katie's story isn't Amish, nor is it western . . . it is uniquely Texan.

Purchase you copy here:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Amarillo-Journeys-Sara-Barnard-ebook/dp/B014PVK9HS/ref

Sara Barnard and her family of six make their home deep in the recesses of Native America with a trio of rescue dogs, a trifecta of rescue cats, a flock of Easter Egger chickens, and a "tiny" herd of Dwarf Nigerian pygmy goats.

Some of Sara's works include The Calling (Prairie Rose Publications), The Saga of Indian Em'ly series (Painted Pony Books), Shootout in Old Amarillo (Prairie Rose Publications), The Everlasting Heart series, Rebekah's Quilt, and Desperado (all from 5 Prince Publishing). Sara is a certified elementary teacher and a bona fide coffee aficionado. Follow Sara at www.sarabarnardbooks.com or @TheSaraBarnard on Twitter.

Snippet:

Katie blinked. Tell him now, Katie Knepp. We’re here in Texas, maybe this is close enough. “Peter, I –” she began. From behind him, a long shadow grew from over a little hill. Katie took a step back, her appetite for conversation squelched.
Slowly, the shadow grew longer and longer until it cloaked Peter.
“Um, Peter? Someone’s there.”
Whirling on his heel, Peter turned to face the man who still shrouded him in his massive shadow. Katie watched as the stranger on the little hill lifted his hand to his mouth and plucked a cigarette from his lips. The breeze fluttered his coat as he stood unmoving, staring at them. The pair of pistols that hung on his hips caught the sun and shone out, making Katie squint against the blinding metallic glare. Silver devils, Katie thought. Someone once described pistols like that as silver devils. She let her gaze travel up the man and focus on his cold, staring eyes. And now I understand why.

Flicking the cigarette through the dry air, the stranger spoke. His voice was dark and raspy. “Oneida.”
Katie stared at the stranger and pondered his cryptic word. The silence that hung thick in the air unnerved her considerably. She glanced at Peter, who also stared at the stranger in silence. Finally, she blew out a huff. “What did you say, Mister?”
His face didn’t change expression as his eyes locked on hers as his hands arched over his pistols. “You said you were going to Amarillo,” he snarled. “The original name is Oneida ... Amarillo will never stick.”
Before Katie could respond, the stranger continued.
“Oneida. Once I saw your morning star, a-sitting in the sky. All the wildness of this land made calm as you passed by.”
Arching her eyebrows skyward, Katie glanced at Peter. Again, she opened her mouth to speak only to be interrupted by the poetry-wielding gunfighter, his voice louder this time. “I ponder life, and death and such, and know that that I’ll suffer it as much. And when that lonely night doth falls, and that lonely night bird calls, I’ll be home again ... in Oneida.”