Before we moved to the city, we lived in a rural area which
included numerous successful horse and cattle ranches. I love writing about the
West, especially the Old West, and enjoyed knowing these ranches were nearby. As
a child, my dream was to ride the range with Roy Rogers, fighting rustlers and
injustice. If I couldn’t do that, at least I lived near real cowboys and
ranchers.
When Charlene Raddon invited me to take part in her new
series, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge, I was flattered and intrigued. I had never
written a book set in Utah. In fact, I’d only been in Utah briefly a couple of
times and never to the part featured in the series. Still, Charlene had an interesting
premise and I couldn’t say no.
Writers have to stretch themselves occasionally or find themselves
in a rut. This series stretched my reserves but I persevered. I’m pleased with
the result and I hope readers will share my enthusiasm. This is a wonderful new series that I know readers are going to love!
Charlene has also created the cover for each book in this series. Each book is a woman’s name. Blessing finds her name too fussy and prefers to be called Buster. I love the expression on her face on the cover, don't you? I think the model looks sweet and gentle, which she is, but she's no pushover. She's learned to stand up for herself and takes being in charge of a large ranch seriously.
Here’s the BLESSING blurb:
With the death of her father last month, Blessing Odell
inherited the largest ranch in that part of Utah, the Rafter O. She goes by the
nickname Buster and wears men’s overalls but they can’t disguise her regal
beauty and natural grace. She is also generous to the community, which is why
she’s splitting proceeds from the sale of 100 horses with the widows of Wildcat
Ridge.
Thad King has tracked stolen horses to the Rafter O Ranch. He’s
determined to capture and see punished the horse thieves who beat his former
employer before stealing his horses. He is successful in being hired to work on
the ranch, but he doesn’t want to believe Buster Odell or her father had
anything to do with stealing horses.
Convinced of her father’s innocence, Buster and Thad work to
discover the real culprit. Their search leads them on a dangerous journey.
Here’s an excerpt from BLESSING:
Her foreman said, “Not sure. Maybe
the bill of sale is mixed up in some the other papers. There was such a mess we
might not have gotten all the papers where they go.”
She thumbed through a stack of
receipts. “That’s true but I thought I’d gone through everything. I even
brought all the papers down from Papa’s room and I’ve sorted them.”
Thad stood with his arms crossed
over his broad chest. “Well, if you don’t have a bill of sale, how can you
claim they’re not stolen?”
She peered into his face, ready to
punch him in the mouth. “My papa did not steal horses and would never have
bought stolen horses! You can get that idea out of your head right now. I’ll
find the bill of sale. Give me a few days and I’ll find that piece of paper and
make you eat it.”
“You show it to me and I’ll be
happy to.”
On January 15, I’ll release GARNET, another of The Widows of
Wildcat Ridge Series. Watch for the release every two weeks of the next book in
the series. The first, PRISCILLA by Charlene Raddon, was released on September
15. NISSA by Zina Abbott will be released on October 15. Other great authors follow with book releases scheduled through spring.
**Don’t miss joining my Facebook Group, Caroline’s Cuties, at https://www.facebook.com/groups/277082053015947/
To celebrate the release of BLESSING, I'm giving away an e-book copy to two people who leave a comment today.
To celebrate the release of BLESSING, I'm giving away an e-book copy to two people who leave a comment today.
