To Heal A Heart by Jana Richards
Give a warm welcome Jana Richards, author of To Heal A Heart part of the Masonville Small Town Series. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Jana and her inspiration for To Heal A Heart.
Like all the books in the Masonville Small Town series, the inspiration for TO HEAL A HEART is to show the triumph of love over adversity. It’s about overcoming obstacles and traumas of the past, and finding the courage to reveal secrets so they no longer have the power to cause pain. Love gives each of my characters the strength to find happiness.
Whether they understand it or not, the things the characters have been through have left them stuck, unable to move forward. For instance, in TO HEAL A HEART, Garrett Saunders has been in limbo for nearly two years, ever since he lost part of his leg in Afghanistan. He’s back home now, living with his parents in North Dakota, but he feels like an alien in his hometown – he doesn’t think he belongs there. He doesn’t know what to do with the rest of his life either. He always believed that after his military career was over he’d go into policing or fire fighting, but those options are no longer open to him. He desperately wants his own place, but his plans to buy land have twice fallen through. And even if he did buy a farm, he’s not sure what he’d do with it. He’d never wanted the life of a farmer.
Garrett always believed that someday he’d get married and have a family. But since he lost his leg, he’s not sure why a woman would want him. To dull the pain, he self-medicates with alcohol. The more he drinks, the more hopeless he feels. Garrett is essentially stuck on that dusty road in Afghanistan.
Blair Greyson is stuck, too. After a traumatic event in her teens, she’s worked hard to forge a career as a veterinary technician and to make a life for herself. She’s volunteered with horse rescue organizations and has rescued a couple of horses herself. She’d be the first person to tell you that her work has given her life meaning. In her work, Blair is competent and confident. But in so many ways, Blair is still the frightened, grieving seventeen-year-old she’d been back then.
My inspiration for this story is to show these two damaged people that no matter what’s happened to them, no matter what they’ve done, or think they’ve done, they deserve to love and to be loved. In fact, it’s only through love that they can find healing and happiness. And I hope readers of TO HEAL A HEART will get the same message.
How about telling a little about To Heal A Heart?
Two souls in pain, two hearts in need of rescue.
Garrett Saunders’ world changed two years ago on a road in Afghanistan. Back home, he feels like a stranger. As he struggles to find his place in the world, he meets a horse destined for the slaughterhouse and a woman bent on rescuing the strays of the world, including him.
Blair Greyson moves to Masonville to look after her ailing grandfather and give her rescue horses a home. Right away she butts heads with a surly former Marine. Despite a rocky start, they come to an agreement: Blair will board Garrett’s rescue horse and he’ll help with repairs around her farm.
Garrett finds purpose working with Blair—and falls in love with her. But she’s hiding a secret. Can she forgive herself and accept Garrett’s love, or will she let guilt and regret continue to rule her life?
A sneak peek between the pages of To Heal A Heart.
She pulled into the Saunders’ farmyard and parked near the house. After killing the engine, she hopped out of the driver’s side door and hurried to help Garrett get out of her truck. He leaned on her as they walked to the house, and she staggered a little under his weight.
“Home to mommy and daddy. Pretty pathetic, isn’t it? A grown man living with his parents.”
She could practically taste his frustration. “I guess we’re two of a kind. I’m a grown woman living with my grandfather. Does that make me pathetic, too?”
She helped him up the front steps to the porch, and they stood in front of the door. She kept a steadying hand on his arm, worried he’d lose his balance.
“Hardly. You’re looking after him. I only cause my parents worry. “
Once more she saw the bleakness in his eyes, and she desperately wanted to ask him what had happened at Lauren’s house. But that wasn’t what he needed. She put a light tone in her voice.
“I don’t know about that. Granddad worries about me, too. Mostly he worries that I’m more interested in horses than in men.”
“Do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Like horses better than men?”
“Yeah, sometimes I do.”
Garrett let out an unexpected bark of laughter. “I like you Blair Greyson, even if you did steal Everett’s farm out from under me.”
“I did not steal—”
His mouth descended on hers, and for the second time that evening, he stole her breath away.
She had so not expected this, was totally unprepared for the way her body heated at his touch. His tongue swept into her mouth, stroking her tongue over and over until her knees turned to water and she had to grip his biceps to stay upright. He tasted hot, and a little desperate. Desperate for her. Her body arched toward him as he ran his hands over her buttocks, and up her sides, his thumbs grazing her breasts and leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
He stopped kissing her and she wanted to whimper in protest, to beg him not to stop. He leaned his forehead against hers, breathing heavily as his hands gripped her hips.
“Don’t go.” His voice was a rough whisper. “Stay with me tonight.”
She was far more tempted than she should have been. He’d had way too much to drink tonight, maybe even had a problem with alcohol. Though she recognized all the dangers, to her shame her biggest fear was that in the morning he’d regret sleeping with her.
She shook her head. What was she thinking? A short time ago she’d been afraid he was going to rape her. Where was her sense of self-preservation?
“I think your mother might be shocked to find me at her breakfast table in the morning.”
He pulled her closer, letting her feel how much he wanted her. “Then let’s go to your place.”
Blair trembled in his arms. She had a bad habit of taking in strays with lots of problems and Garrett Saunders was her biggest find yet. She instinctively understood he had the power to crush her.
“I think my grandfather might be as surprised as your mother.” She lightly kissed his cheek. “Besides, I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Too bad.”
“Sleep well, Garrett.”
She pulled away and he dropped his hands. Blair hurried down the steps and ran to her truck before she could change her mind.
Buy links for To Heal A Heart.
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6
Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6
Amazon.UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6
Amazon.de: https://www.amazon.de/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6
Amazon.fr: https://www.amazon.fr/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-heal-a-heart-jana-richards/1136868654?ean=2940162717966
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/to-heal-a-heart/id1508639914
About the Author:
When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.janarichards.com
Blog: http://janarichards.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/janarichards
Amazon UK Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B002DEVWWG
Newsletter Signup: http://janarichards.com/contact.html#newsletter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jana-richards
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary Western Romance, Jana Richards, Masonville Series, To Heal A Heart by Tena Stetler with 6 comments.
Karen Hulene Bartell Author of Wild Rose Pass
Give a warm welcome to Karen Hulene Bartell. It’s a pleasure to have you join us today. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Karen and her Wild Rose Pass. First of all I can tell you are an animal lover. Is that Tory with you in the picture?
Sure is.
- What inspired this particular story?
Sixteen years ago, my husband and I spent Christmas week hiking and horseback riding in Big Bend National Park—the southernmost tip of Texas that borders the Rio Grande and dips into Mexico. Driving home early that morning, we missed the turnoff in Alpine and followed TX-118 north. Snow-covered and glinting against the frosty blue January sky, the remote jumble of mountain peaks and ranges beckoned as they rose above the desert floor. I was enchanted.
Gazing at the sky island for the first time, wide-eyed, I wondered whether those rocky pinnacles were mirages or optical delusions, but a hasty glance at the map told us these were the Davis Mountains. Vertical basalt columns rose like giant fingers reaching for the sky. The palisades, buttes, and bluffs towered above both sides of the only route through those mountains—Wild Rose Pass.
That missed turn bloomed into Wild Rose Pass, Book I of the Trans-Pecos Series. The area’s mystique and raw beauty set the tone for this historical romance.
- Why did you choose the cover concept you did?
I wanted the cover to shout romance, yet reflect the time period of the 1880s novel, so I requested the hero and heroine to be dressed in period clothing, while holding each other in an embrace, with the craggy mountains as the backdrop. I remember emailing WRP, “all I really care about is that prospective readers want to be the girl the hero’s holding on the cover.” 😉
- What inspired you to write?
I always had a creative imagination. (My childhood dolls were never baby dolls—always lady dolls, who went on exciting adventures.) But what inspired me to write? In a word, reading. In second grade, my mother took me to the library and helped me choose books. By third grade, I had my own library card, walked to the library alone, and chose my own books. All during my childhood, my mother let me stay up as late as I wanted—if I read. As a result, I became a voracious reader and, in my case, writing was simply a natural progression.
- If writing is your first passion, what is your second?
Traveling, hands down. Nothing ignites my passion for life as much as traveling to provocative places, encountering new experiences, sampling different ethnic foods, and meeting stimulating people, I’m inspired. Ideas flow. (I should’ve been a travel correspondent.) Traveling that takes me out of my rut and propels me into new realms of possibility.
Traveling inspires me. Ideas flow. (I should’ve been a travel correspondent.) There’s something about traveling that takes me out of my rut and propels me into new realms of possibility. I’ve written some of my best concepts sitting in airports or hotel bathrooms at midnight (so I don’t wake my husband with the light). Being out of my element and in new environments stimulates my imagination.
Yep, I know the feeling. Happens to me on our RV camping trips.
SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:
Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>
Favorite movie: GREASE
Favorite book: 1984
Last book read: TEXAS
Favorite color: BLUE
Stilettos or flipflops: FLIPFLOPS
Coffee or tea: COFFEE
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: EBOOK
Pencil or pen: PEN
Favorite song: MAGIC
Streak or not: NOT
Favorite dessert: SOFTSERVE
Favorite junk food: PRETZELS
Favorite thing to do to relax: MASSAGE
Champagne or gin: CHAMPAGNE
Paranormal or Historical: PARANORMAL
Wonder Woman or Top Model: WONDER WOMAN
Favorite TV show: MASH
Hot or cold: HOT
POV: THIRD
I’d die if I don’t have: FREEDOM
Review or Not: REVIEW
Tell us a little about Wild Rose Pass.
Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.
Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.
Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?
Sneak peek between the pages of Wild Rose Pass.
Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”
As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.
“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.
“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.
Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.
As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”
Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.
A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”
Buy Links:
About the Author:
Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.
Connect with Karen:
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Wild Rose Pass!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary Western Romance, Karen Hulene Bartell, Wild Rose Pass by Tena Stetler with 11 comments.
