On the Rails: The Adventures of Boxcar Bertie by Rosemary and Larry Mild


Publisher:  Magic Island Literary Works (July 1, 2023)
Category: Historical Fiction
Tour Dates August 21-Sept 22, 2023
ISBN: 978-099054724
Available in Print and ebook, 230 pages

Description On the Rails by Rosemary and Larry Mild

What’s a woman to do? Bertie Patchet has just graduated from college in New Haven, Connecticut, to become a grammar school teacher. But the year is 1936, and the country is deep in the throes of The Great Depression. Securing employment is nearly impossible for everyone, let alone a single inexperienced female. Going home is an ugly option to be avoided. Bertie absolutely must get away, but travel without an income? Forget it!

Bertie dresses like a man and turns to hopping railway boxcars to make her escape to better opportunities. A female hobo? Unheard of! It’s a man’s world, so how can she maneuver in this male atmosphere fraught with risk, danger, and loss? Will she ever find a teaching job? And will she dare to find romance in the bargain?

A charming new novel with an unforgettable protagonist, a setting to die for, and a mesmerizing plotline, On the Rails is on track to become another beloved tale by dynamic husband-and-wife duo Rosemary and Larry Mild.

Praise for Rosemary and Larry Mild

Reviews for Cry ‘Ohana: Winner of the Readers Favorite, 2011 Award

“I was hooked from the very first page. The chapters are short but there is plenty of suspense, intrigue, blackmail and betrayal. The characters are very easy to connect with. The descriptions of Hawaii are excellent. Adventure and suspense make this, a book you won’t want to miss.”-Readers Favorite, for Cry ‘Ohana

“The beautiful setting, engaging characters, and lively plot combine to bring readers a story that is literally difficult to put down. The novel deftly moves between the characters and their stories concluding with a satisfying finish. It is an engaging story of tragedy, hope, and unconditional love.”- Mystery Books Site, Reviewed by Edie Dykeman, BellaOnline’s Mystery Books Editor, for Cry ‘Ohana

“Shame can tear families apart, and murder can obliterate them. Cry Ohana: Adventure and Suspense in Hawaii tells the story of a Hawaiian family who through a string of tragedies finds their family torn apart. But when the need to find justice, the family struggles to reunite. A story of family and reunion for the betterment of it all, and dedicated to Hawaiian culture, Cry Ohana is a choice pick, highly recommended.”- Midwest Book Review

Reviews for Death Rules the Night:

“Death Rules the Night will appeal to mystery readers who hold special affection for bookstores and detective stories. It tells of truck driver Tom Dwyer, whose life is derailed when fellow driver trainee Frank and he flee a hit-and-run accident that threatens their careers.

Readers who anticipate a fairly straightforward progression of events from here should be advised that Death Rules the Night chooses no easy or predictable paths. A myriad of characters are introduced, whose lives and choices feed into the main event.

The blend of literary review and community inspection added to the growing mystery’s components will delight mystery fans who like their stories multifaceted and unpredictable.

Death Rules the Night‘s lively inspections of death, marriage, threats, and redemption makes it a standout especially recommended for mystery genre readers who like their stories realistic, engaging, and full of surprises as they move into the big secret Muddy Akins is determined to keep against all odds and prying.”-Midwest Book Review

“It is not often that a reader picks up a book and gets sucked into the story from the very beginning and held in that trance until the very end. Death Rules the Night is one of those books.

Death Rules the Night has a vibe very much similar to my favorite childhood game of Clue. The buildings are historic, the characters quirky, and all under a fog of mystery. There are so many characters and storylines that one would think it would be hard to keep up with who said what and who did what. But that is not the case in this book. The authors do a wonderful job of setting up the reader by giving a list of characters with their descriptions in the book for easy reference. The mystery writer’s club is also very interesting in that the authors give the “writers” in the group a chance to share their work. The reader gets tidbits of a few different mysteries this way. Of course, one of those mysteries is Tom’s story! So very intricately planned. From the little details to the big ones, Death Rules the Night hits all of the important points needed in a successful whodunnit book.–– Kristi Elizabeth, Seattle Book Review

Interview with Rosemary and Larry Mild, Authors of On The Rails

TR: Please tell us something about On the Rails that is not in the summary.  (About the book, character you particularly enjoyed writing etc.)

Larry: I’m getting on in years, closing in on ninety-one now, so in writing the first draft of On the Rails, I am looking back on places, things, and atmospheres that I lived through. Reminiscing is what us old folks like to do. I created Bertie Pachet as a vehicle to dig up my own past.

TR: I always enjoy looking at the names that authors choose to give their characters. Where do you derive the names of your characters?  Are they based on real people you knew or now know in real life? How do you create names for your characters?

Larry: In general, I refer to the obituary columns for a first name here and a last name there. Then I try it out on the character to see if it fits, and if the two names go well together—does it sound right? Sometimes it takes a little tuning to get there. Often, I’ll write the whole first and second draft, and when Rosemary gets her hands on them, she changes some of the names for one reason or another. Inevitably, I would say, “Who dat?”

TR: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover?

Larry: The story leaks trains and tracks all over the place. All I had to do was find the right picture to stretch across the two covers. In my Internet search it actually jumped out at me. I bought the rights and the train picture was downloaded to us.

TR: Which actor would you like to see play Bertie, if the book were to become a movie, play, or miniseries.  (You are welcome to choose actors for other characters as well)

Larry: Perhaps Jennifer Lawrence could fill the role, although I would prefer a plainer-looking actress, one who could pass for a boy as Bertie does.

Rosemary: How about Jennifer Garner, the star of The Last Thing He Told Me? She has straight, unstyled, brown hair, a sharp chin, and a forthright look that might just fill the bill of a gritty woman. She does not have an “actressy” look. I picked her out of a photo in People magazine. One of the residents in our condo leaves old copies up-for-grabs in the mailroom. I search them for photos that might help me describe a character. 

TR: What kind of messages do you try to instill in your writing?

Larry: We do not write with any particular message in mind. Instead, we write character-driven novels and, if our character wants to deliver a message, so be it. Otherwise, our writing is for our readers’ pure pleasure rather than for their instruction. Messages are everywhere, some meaningful, but most are annoying. I find message-driven novels are generally boring.

Rosemary: We’ve made Bertie lovable and not preachy. And without being too much of a spoiler, we believe in bringing our bad guys to justice.

TR: What draws you to this genre? 

Larry: Authentic historical fiction has always been a favorite read for me. I look upon it as bits of real life reassembled, compressed, and extended to fit the covers of a novel. One can learn a lot from historical fiction. I’ve gained many facts from reading that helped me write On the Rails.

TR: Will Bertie have more to tell readers in the future?

Larry: There are currently no plans for another Bertie. The rest of her life is pretty well summed up in the epilogue to On the Rails. However, Bertie does cry out to the women of her time that they have a place in a man’s world.

TR: Do you have any writing projects that you are currently working on?

Larry: My second draft of Kent and Katcha, a spy novel full of espionage, spycraft, and romance, is now in Rosemary’s hands. Currently, I’m working on the second draft of The Moaning Lisa, the fourth Paco & Molly murder mystery in the traditional cozy manner. We’re also working on a few short stories for upcoming anthologies.

TR: Are there any questions that you wish myself or another interviewer would have asked?  If so, please ask and answer.

Larry: If you had asked whether On the Rails had received favorable reviews, we would tell you several, including five-star reviews.

Rosemary: Here are excerpts from two:

Goodreads: Five Stars! “Bertie is the kind of character you can root for—heroic even, in her efforts to thrive. For a historical slice-of-life novel that will stay with you for a long time to come, “On the Rails, The Adventures of Boxcar Bertie” by Rosemary and Larry Mild is one you don’t want to miss.”

Writeknit: “I loved this book. The characters are interesting and realistic. The idea of riding the rails as stowaways is not romanticized. Life is hard for the characters, bringing the ring of truth to their struggles….Rosemary and Larry Mild are the dynamic duo of writing. I have read several of their books, enjoying each and every one. It would be hard for me to choose a favorite of theirs, but Boxcar Bertie is vying for first place in my head. Each of these amazing authors have published solo books as well as together.”

Rosemary: And, Teddy, our recent short story collection, Charley and the Magic Jug, also received Five Stars—from Readers’ Favorite. “The most impressive aspect of the book to me was how the authors managed to create such vibrant and colorful characters in such a short span of pages.”

TR: Thanks so much for the interview, Rosemary and Larry!

About Rosemary and Larry Mild

Rosemary and Larry Mild coauthored the Dan & Rivka Sherman Mysteries; the Paco and the Molly Mysteries; Hawaii adventure/thrillers Cry Ohana and Honolulu Heat; and four volumes of short stories, including their new one, Charlie and the Magic Jug and Other Stories. Many of their stories appear in anthologies. The Milds, a happy husband-and-wife team, make their home in Honolulu, where they cherish time with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren.

Website:  https://www.magicile.com/

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