QUEEN VICTORIA HAS SECRETS OF LOVE AND AMBITION…

What happens when a man meets a young woman who scares him to death but awakens the most profound admiration and physical desire he's ever felt? In 1917, beautiful, smart Vicky, just 15, affected men that way. She had a French-Canadian mother, and a San Luis, Colorado, Hispanic father. Had she been unwanted? The answer bothered her. Nelly, the elephant, and a chance to be a human cannonballer led Victoria to Barnum and Bailey & Ringling Brothers Circus adventure! Then WWI intervened. Working on the front lines as a Hello Girl, a telephone operator for commanding generals, took her to danger, and to the forefront of the battle for sexual equality. Also, into the arms of charming, wealthy French fighter pilot Jean Pierre! He would abandon the woman he loved for Victoria – but did she want that? Or would ambition for power and prestige rule? After the war, Manifest Destiny led her westward as a Harvey Girl and to the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. She enjoyed freedoms women had earned during the Great War and opposed the idea of having children. But sometimes the unexpected happens. What about Jeremy, the junior D&RGW executive? An honorable man who loved and tempted her – until handsome and rich RR President Andrew Appleton, he of Boston upper class, came along! Unhappily married Andrew. Could murder play a role in freeing him? Vicky has many secrets to sort out. Take a train ride with Victoria Veracruz and see if she can!…

Billy Anders is a member of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc., and works as a docent for the C&TSRR, successor since 1970 to the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. He is a retired police officer and US Air Force officer.