A word of caution. I wouldn't want you to buy GRANT ME THE MOON twice. If you read the contemporary western romance box set COME LOVE A COWBOY,
then you’ve read GRANT ME THE MOON. I pulled my book from that set so I could release it as a single title because I am currently working on a sequel,
CAPTURE A STAR. Both are set in and near Post, Texas.
Hero and I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, which is forty miles or so from Post. After we
married, we drove from where we lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to
Lubbock and back to visit family a million, gazillion times. Maybe not that many, but that’s what it
seemed. We went so often we knew when ranchers or farmers painted the barn or
got a new pickup truck.
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View approaching the Caprock
my photo |
On the way, we passed through Post, founded by the
cereal magnate Charles William Post, at the foot of the Caprock escarpment. Post bought 250,000 acres to start an experimental colony. This included a number of ranches. He fenced off the land in 160-acre tracts, laid out a townsite, built houses, and in other ways worked to attract settlers. In 1907 Garza County was formally organized and Post City designated as county seat. The name was later shortened to Post.
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Someone holding a Clovis point
photo from Google Commons |
Evidences of early man found in Garza County include Clovis points (spearheads) like the one pictured above. In 1934, archeologists also discovered the 16-foot-long tusk of a prehistoric imperial mammoth. A type of arrow point used by hunters before 1500 AD was uncovered in the county during the 1960s and named the Garza point (shown below). The site is called the Garza Site and is on private land so we couldn't visit for a tour.
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Garza Point
from Google Commons |
Nevertheless, Hero and I always wished we could
visit the Garza Site. We are amateur archeology fans and have enjoyed visiting places
like Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, and Mesa Verde. Since we couldn’t visit the Garza
Site, I invented one on a nearby ranch. Writing fiction is so great!
I don’t know why Post captured my imagination, but
it did. The thought of C. W. Post’s Utopian community in dusty West Texas both
tickles and puzzles me. Post remains very nice even though it is not exactly what Post visualized. The area has a particular desert beauty, although it is
primarily ranch land. A branch of the Brazos River passes through the county. Cotton
and hay are grown in Garza County, but I believe most cotton is
grown above the Caprock. Oil wells dot the ranchland and wind farms spread along the edge of the Caprock.
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| Photo from Google Commons |
Our parents are no longer living so we don’t drive through there very often now but my fascination with Garza County hasn’t diminished.
Perhaps that’s why Post seemed the perfect setting for GRANT ME THE MOON, available
for 99 cents for a limited time.
This is book two of the Texas Caprock Series. Book three, CAPTURE A STAR,
will be released in a couple of months.
Allow me to share some of GRANT ME THE MOON. Here’s the blurb:
All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school
history club students a local archeology dig. How could she know the excursion
would involve a murder? Or that one of her students would be suspected as the
killer? And she had no idea she would meet the man of her dreams.
Grant Grayson has taken over management of Grayson
Ranch near Post, Texas to give his grandfather a less arduous schedule. A flash
flood washed away an old talus slope on the ranch to reveal a prehistoric cave
that is a Clovis site. Being a good citizen, he invited the nearest large
university archaeology department to excavate the cave. When a gorgeous blonde
high school teacher asks his permission to take her students to the site, how
can he deny her? Especially when he is instantly attracted to her as he’s never
been to anyone.
Tory and Grant are drawn into the investigation to
clear her student but unintentionally make themselves a target.
Now I’ll share an excerpt from GRANT ME THE MOON:
This evening, she’d traded her
business suit for a blue sundress and left her golden hair down, which he liked
much better than the bun-like twisty thing she’d worn this afternoon. Instead
of the killer heels she’d worn earlier in the day, she wore low-slung white
sandals.
The forty-mile drive to Lubbock
passed quickly with talk of archaeology and travel to ancient ruins.
As they entered the city, he
asked, “Do you have a food preference?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t
want liver or Brussels sprouts. Anything else is fine.”
A laugh erupted from deep inside
him. “I don’t like liver either. How about a steak house with a variety of
food?”
“Your call, Grant, because I’m
not familiar with what’s available. I’ve been reclusive this year. Except for
school functions, I’ve spent evenings and weekends with Grandma.”
He chose a restaurant on 82nd
Street and pulled into the parking lot. “Monday evenings are not especially
busy, so we shouldn’t have trouble getting seated.”
He guided her inside and they
were shown to a table.
After they’d placed their orders,
he asked, “Your grandmother, is she all right?”
“Grandpa died last spring. She’s
not ill, just frail and deeply in mourning. I was lucky there was an opening in
the school.”
“Where did you teach before?”
She offered a wry smile, almost
as if embarrassed. “Assistant professor at Texas A&M.” She shrugged and
tilted her head. “I realize it appears I took a backwards step, but I was the
one who could rearrange my life to move here. Fortunately, I genuinely enjoy
teaching high school history.”
“So your grandmother is sad
rather than ill. Does she get around well?”
She raised her eyebrows and
nodded. “In fact, she can keep up with me. After Grandpa passed away, she was
so heartbroken that we were afraid her health was deteriorating. Actually, it
was. She wasn’t eating properly and not sleeping well. Or, she was staying up
most of the night and sleeping most of the day. With me here, she keeps regular
hours and we have breakfast and supper together.”
He reached across the table and
laced his fingers with hers. “But not tonight.”
She met his gaze and smiled
before she slid her hand to her lap. Disappointment claimed him at the loss of
her touch.
“I stopped by the store on my way
home and bought her a chicken pot pie in a brand that’s healthy. I only hope
she’s doing as I asked and having that and a salad for dinner.”
After they’d eaten, he drove
under the speed limit on the way back to Post. Her company fascinated him and
he wished he could prolong the evening. When they reached the edge of the
Caprock above Post, he pulled over at a wide space on the shoulder and opened
the sunroof.
“I love this spot. You can see
the lights of our little town below and the stars above.”
She relaxed against the seat and
head rest. “The almost full moon tonight obscures many of the stars. This is a
beautiful vantage point, though. As if we’re divine and are hanging above the
world. I could almost reach out and touch the moon.”
He reached for her hand and
entwined their fingers “Should I grab it for you?”
She offered a whimsical smile.
“Let’s leave it there so everyone can enjoy the moonlight.”
GRANT ME THE MOON will be available at Nook, Kobo, and iBooks
soon.
Happy Reading!
