Show Me, Show Me, Show Me!
Hi! Thanks for having me today! My name is Sarah Hadley Brook and I’m here to talk a little about my new release.
Gateway to Love takes place in the state of Missouri, aka the Show-Me-State. But what does that mean? I’ve lived in Missouri most of my life and I had no idea what it stood for.
So what does a writer do best? Research! Which I completely love, by the way. I dived in to find out what our state motto actually means and was immediately surprised that it wasn’t even an official motto.
According to the state website, even though it’s even on some of the license plates, the “slogan is not official”. Not only that, nobody really knows the real reason Missouri is called the Show-Me-State.
There are several theories, though. The first one—and apparently the most widely believed—goes back to 1899 and refers to U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver. He gave a speech at naval banquet in Philadelphia and is quoted as saying, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”
Another reference says it actually came about in a mining town of Leadville, Colorado in the 1890s and was definitely not used as a compliment. There was a miner’s strike there and a group of miners from Missouri traveled to Colorado to replace those workers. Because the Missouri miners were used to mining differently, they were frequently corrected. The pit bosses began to introduce the new miners by saying, “That man is from Missouri. You’ll have to show him.”
There’s another story revolving around passenger trains. In the late 1890s, Missouri politicians were handed out free train passes, by the hundreds. But the conductor’s still insisted they show them the actual pass, rather than accepting the legislator’s word for it.
The last version I found referred back to 1898 when soldiers were stationed in Chickamauga Park, Tennessee when the Spanish-American War began. The guards at the gate were from Missouri and they wouldn’t allow anyone out without showing them a pass.
All four stories came about in the 1890s and any one of them could be the one that started the whole slogan, but over the years it’s evolved to mean something like “Don’t try to fool us. Prove it to us.”
Now, let me show you how to follow me on social media! (See what I did there?) And if you sign up for my newsletter on my website, you receive a free ebook!
You can follow me on social media:
Twitter: @SarahHBrook
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahHadleyBrook
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/SHadleyBrook
Instagram: Sarah_Hadley_Brook_Author
Website: www.sarahhadleybrookwrites.com
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner
Length: 32,793 words
Cover Design: Brooke Albrecht
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Blurb
Craig and Mitchell have been friends for years, but each of them reached a point where that camaraderie became… more. Mitchell’s kept his feelings close to his chest. So has Craig, but now that they’ve graduated from UMKC, he knows it’s his last chance to show Mitchell they’re meant to be before their careers take them to opposite sides of the country.
He insists they can’t leave Missouri behind without one last adventure. Mitchell agrees to a road trip to visit all the touristy spots and say goodbye to their home state.
As they spend their days and nights together, buried feelings rise to the surface and hope blossoms. When their journey ends with a dance beneath the Branson stars, will they find love and a future together at the end of the road?
October 19 - Two Chicks Obsessed, Xtreme Delusions, October 20 - Bayou Book Junkie, October 22 - SSLY, Bookaholic & Kindle, October 23 - Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, October 24 - Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Love Unchained Book Review, Amy's MM Romance Reviews, MM Midnight Cafe, Mikku-chan, October 25 - Boy Meets Boy Reviews, October 26 - Making It Happen, October 27 - Mirrigold, October 29 - Drops Of Ink, Bayou Book Junkie, Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews, Nerdy Dirty & Flirty, Book Review By Virginia Lee, October 30 - MM Good Book Reviews
Author Bio
Sarah Hadley Brook lives smack-dab in the middle of the Heartland and is the mother of two wonderful young men, as well as two cats. During the day, she works in the nonprofit world, but reserves evenings for her hobby-turned-passion of writing, letting the characters she conjures in her mind take the lead and show her where the story will go. When not working or writing, she can be found reading, working on dollhouses, trying her hand at new recipes, or watching old movies and musicals. In her ideal world, Christmas would come at least twice a year, Rock Hudson and Doris Day would have costarred in more than three movies, and chocolate would be a daily necessity. She dreams of traveling to Scotland some day and visiting the places her ancestors lived. Sarah believes in “Happily Ever After” and strives to ensure her characters find their own happiness in love and life.
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