I’m so excited to share a brand new cover! This book has a long history with the idea to write it coming over ten years ago. I wrote it back in 2012 and it sat in my computer untouched because I got the contract with Sourcebooks which set me off in a whirlwind of writing my westerns. So when they stopped publishing genre fiction, I remembered this story and got it out. It’s gone through five titles before I settled on LOVE’S FIRST LIGHT.
This is my first Christian Western Romance so I’m crossing my fingers that readers will like it.
It’s just up for preorder! Click HERE for the link.
Here’s a Blurb:
Rachel Malloy awakens with a stranger after suffering a devastating accident. He bears no resemblance to her perception of God, nor does he have a halo so she must not be dead. Regardless, after taking her entire family and leaving her, she and God are not exactly on speaking terms.
Rancher Heath Lassiter has prayed fervently and long for a wife. Is she the one? The appearance of a rare white dove shortly afterward seems to be a sign.
Despite Heath’s unwavering faith and kindness, Rachel refuses to marry him. Dark secrets haunt, secrets that blacken her name, making marriage to anyone impossible. Though disappointed, Heath rebuilds her burned-out house. There, her world again shifts with the discovery of a newborn near her family’s graves and a white dove perching nearby.
Love grows as Heath becomes a constant in her life. Yet Rachel lives in fear of losing this baby. When the infant becomes very ill, she desperately promises God she’ll return to her forsaken faith if He’ll heal the child. But first light brings uncertainty. Will the dove return as a symbol of divine mercy, or will Rachel’s fragile faith be shattered once more?
Again… to PREORDER Click HERE!!
Now, I want to talk about early toothbrushes. Writers rarely mention things like outhouses, taking care of business, or brushing teeth. Readers just want a story.
But in my book The Cowboy Who Came Calling, Glory Day, my heroine, is so envious of the rich girls who have toothbrushes and tooth powder. So Luke McClain who’s taken a liking for Glory buys her one. Incidentally, this book won the National Readers Choice Award.
So about toothbrushes…people found a way to care for their teeth as far back as far back as Ancient Egypt. They made a powder out of ox hooves and egg shells. The Romans one-upped them by fraying the ends of thin sticks.
Then the Chinese got into the act and drilled holes in a bamboo handle and attached short hog hair bristles secured with wire.
So fast-forward to 1938 when DuPont came out with nylon fibers and I’m sure people were really thankful they didn’t have to use the hog hair bristles anymore! I sure would’ve breathed a sigh of relief! But curiously, it wasn’t until soldiers came home from WWII that everyone took personal hygiene seriously. Evidently the military taught them a lot more than just putting bullets in a gun and firing. They became dedicated teeth-brushers. Wow! That’s something I did not know.
Okay, let’s chat. What do you think about my cover? About these ancient toothbrushes? Whatever you want to say. I’ll give away a copy (either print or ebook) of The Cowboy Who Came calling to a lucky commenter. Word of warning…this isn’t an inspirational. It has love scenes.
Here in the Texas Panhandle, we do love our cowboys. There's just something about a man in a Stetson and jeans that makes my heart beat faster. I'm not much of a cook but I love to do genealogy and I'm a bit of a rock hound. I'm also a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of historical western romance. You can contact me through my website and I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. HAPPY READING!
https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules/
Now I can’t live without my electric toothbrush! The cover of your books are beautiful!
Thank you, Rhonda! Yep, we gotta have our toothbrushes, I don’t care if it’s the plain version the dentist’s office gives out or electric. I want my teeth to feel clean.
Nice cover. Hog hair learn something new everyday. Interesting.
Thank you, Anxious! I just love everything about this cover. It certainly draws the eye. I’m glad you could learn something. Enjoy your day and thanks for coming.
Very nice cover. It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
Diana, I fell in love with this cover immediately and it’s so perfect for the story. I’m happy you like it. Thanks for coming.
nice cover
Thank you, BN100. I hope you have a blessed day.
the cover is great and due to my brother having braces a water pik was introduced in the early 70’s and an electric or battery operated toothbrush is awesome these days!
Teresa, yes we gotta have our toothbrushes but I sure wouldn’t have wanted to clean my teeth with hog hair bristles! I’m happy you like this cover. I think it’s outstanding. Have an awesome day and thanks for coming.
I’m very glad toothbrushes have advanced to what they are today, I think it would be rather hard to have hog hairs to brush with.
Connie Lee, I imagine those hog hairs would tear your mouth and gums up. Yuck! I’d rather chew on a stick! Thank goodness we have soft toothbrushes! Thanks for coming. Have a blessed day.
I am glad to have my toothbrush. Back then many people lost their teeth.
Debby, me too! I’ll take my toothbrush any day. I think the dentists must’ve been very busy back then pulling teeth. Most probably lost them all by the time they turned thirty or forty. But then the normal death age was about forty back then. I plan to keep my teeth the rest of my life. Have a great day.
I’ve had natural bristle hair brushes, but never though about toothbrushes made the same way.
Thanks for stopping by, Maryellen! Yes, those early toothbrushes were horrible and I’ll bet they tore up the user’s mouth. Have a blessed day.
Goodness sakes Linda! I did not know all that information about tooth brushes and tooth powder. I’m fussy about my toothpaste for sure. In my younger days I liked “Closeup” – the red gel stuff. Actually, I probably thought the name was cool.
Your book cover is stunning. I love it. The story has resonated for a while in your mind so I know it will be exceptional. Looking forward to another Broday read.
Oh, Kathy! Thank you for your beautiful compliments. Yes, this story has been in my mind for a decade, refusing to go away. Rachel has lost everything and has to find a way to pull herself up. It is a tale for sure. I think you will love this.
I remember Close Up toothpaste and I think I used it for a while. I never liked real strong toothpaste like Colgate and Crest. I used Aqua Fresh for a while. Now it’s just Sensodyne. Love you, dear friend. Enjoy your day in your beautiful surroundings.
Interesting about the toothbrushes. I don’t think I would like horses hoofs in my mouth!
I like the cover of your book.
Even in modern times, we have different hygiene practices.
As I was growing up, we always used baking soda to wash our teeth with because toothpaste was too expensive!
Joye, thank you for coming. I agree that ox hooves and egg shells would not be going in my mouth. I’ll just chew on a stick. I used to use baking soda quite a bit because it made my teeth whiter. But it was sort of messy. I’m happy you like my cover. I think it’s so beautiful. This is my first Christian Romance and I’ll kinda nervous. I think readers will like the story though. Much love.
Both books have beautiful covers.
Thankful for modern toothbrushes.
Hope you had a wonderful birthday!
Denise, thank you for the compliment on these covers. I agree that they are pretty. About my birthday…I had a wonderful celebration. Yep, these modern toothbrushes are a godsend. Wouldn’t use those others. Thanks for coming.
That’s quite a history on tooth brushes. I did not like tooth paste when I grew up in the late 1940’s, early 1950’s, so I chose to use baking soda instead. I have since changed and now use Colgate and love it. Your book sounds as if it will be very interesting, in fact both of them. I shall be watching for the one which will be ready for pre-order soon. All of your reads have been very entertaining. Your covers are also very stunning.
Happy Birthday!
Judy, I never liked the really strong toothpaste that made my mouth burn. Horrible. I used baking soda for a while but found it too messy. I use Sensodyne now. Thank you for liking my books. I do have a preorder link now for Love’s First Light. https://amzn.to/458gBbj
Thank you for the birthday wishes. I had a wonderful celebration. Have a blessed day, Judy.
Oh, I want to read Love’s First Light!!! I primarily read CF, with sweet/clean thrown in a few times!! That’s interesting about the toothbrushes. Not sure I’d have wanted to try one! I know (well, read somewhere!!) that a lot of people just used their fingers. When I was in elementary school, one of my teachers let us bring in “nature’s toothbrushes” as she called apples and bananas. We could have them late in the afternoon, as we had lunch early.
Trudy, I do think you’d like Love’s First Light. It’s about one woman’s struggle to regain her faith after losing her entire family to a fever then her house burns and she doesn’t even have a place to live. I do have a link now. It’s https://amzn.to/458gBbj
I love that teacher of yours that let you eat apples and bananas in her class. Have a blessed day.
Beautiful cover for your new book Linda.
I love the info about toothbrushes. Never knew about the hoghair bristle toothbrushes. I do remember when I was a young child older relatives and grandparents using sweet gum twigs for toothbrushes. They would Frey the end of it and dab it in baking soda and clean their teeth. Myself, I kinda like the modern toothbrushes. Many places we probably couldn’t find a sweet gum tree anymore!
Hope you are having a wonderful day.
Ruth, that’s interesting about chewing on twigs from a sweet gum tree. That would work. But yes modern toothbrushes are much better. Thank you for liking my cover. I do too. Dee Burks did a great job. I’m glad you came over. Have a blessed day.
One of my best friends in college was studying to become a dental hygenist and the dental school would give the students free exams and treatments to let their students practice on us. Got some good care from them.
Becky, thank you for coming over to read my post. I prefer modern dentistry over chew twigs and hog hair bristles. My goodness! Take care and have a good day.
I knew teeth cleaning gadgets have been around a long time, but not that long! Wow!
Colleen, evidently even the ancients were on top of dental hygiene. I read where they found a lot of tooth care things in the tombs of the pharaohs. They cared about their teeth which seems a little strange to me but nice. Love you, lady. Have a good day.
So excited to read this one and the cover is just amazing ???I know we should be thankful to brush our teeth with just about anything!!! Hog hair just sounds yucky but you do what you gotta do I guess ?So excited for you and you amaze me with every story I have read ???
Monica, I’m so happy you came by. I am so happy with this cover. And the story is pretty good too. My first Christian Romance! I’ll be publishing this in both ebook and print. It’s available now for preorder. Just got the link. I agree about the tooth brushes! We just think kids give us a hard time now. But if they had to use one of these earlier toothbrushes, they’d sure never do it. Love you, girl. I hope you have a blessed day.
I’m glad I did too????I love you bunches and you are for sure right about the teeth brushing ?Hope you have a blessed day also???
We always forget how clever people are.
David, that is so true. People constantly amaze me with their ingenuity. Thanks for coming.
Beautiful cover!
Barbara, I’m so happy you like it. I was tickled to death with it. My last two with Severn House Publishing were not very good at all. Thank you for coming. I hope your day is amazing.
I couldn’t live without my toothbrush and the cover is great!
Hi, your book cover is Gorgeous!! I love it! This is pretty neat about the toothbrushes , Thank you for sharing this info. Have a great evening and a great week.
Hi Linda, I think the cover is Amazing. You always have interesting covers. Those toothbrushes look brutal.
I think, just a stick would be better than that.
I knew about using sticks to brush teeth, but had not heard about the hog bristles for toothbrushes. I knew they used it for hairbrushes, but not teeth. I think we take toothbrushes for granted, until we don’t have one. We did a fire yesterday (Red Cross responders) and gave the people whose house burned the standard comfort kit (basic toiletries and a washcloth). One of the women looked in the bag and was thrilled to see a tooth brush. As we left, she headed inside to brush her teeth.
The cover is colorful and makes me want to head there to relax by the lake/river.
Don’t enter my name in the drawing. I already have the book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I hope you and your family have a nice Memorial Weekend.
I am so sorry I am so late. I love the cover. I am so glad that we have advance toothbrushes today. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
As with so many of your other respondents, the info re hog hair bristles in toothbrushes was new to me. I’ve been warned by my dental hygienist and dentist to brush my teeth gently; using baking soda would be even harder on tooth enamel.
The cover illustration is lovely and the story sounds intriguing.
I love your cover and as far as tooth brushes I guess that had to do something to clean their teeth. Yep I am late as usually but have been busy.
Hello Miss Linda- I’m trying to catch up on my emails.
I LOVE your new cover.
I can’t wait to read it.
I think I’ll have to pass on the toothbrushes.
I enjoyed our visit the other day.
Love & hugs.