The Long Road to Luke

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Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. Writers talk a lot about how characters sometimes “introduce” themselves to us—and Luke Dawson did exactly that. He showed up in my head all the way back in 2016, nearly a decade ago, and made himself very clear: he had a story to tell.

At the time, I was working on my Texas Grooms series for Love Inspired Historicals and I was looking for a strong, compelling hero to match up with Abigail Fulton. And Luke? Well, he checked all the boxes—gritty, loyal, shaped by hardship, and carrying more than his share of emotional scars. Abigail, on the other hand, was bright, young and bookish. But she was also determined, full of initiative and she could be surprisingly stubborn. I was excited about the possibilities.

But when I pitched the idea to my editor, she felt Luke was a little too gritty for the line, so she asked me to go in a different direction. And I did—but I’ll admit, I was disappointed. I’d already fallen for Luke. He felt real to me and kept insisting he deserved the chance to tell his story. Tossing him aside at that point just didn’t feel right.

So I did what I often do when a story isn’t ready (or isn’t ready yet): I filed him away in my IDEAS folder. This is my treasure chest of possibilities—a place where I tuck away everything from full outlines to story fragments. Some entries are just a quirky meet-cute or a half-written scene. Others are more fully formed, like Luke. I made a ton of notes about who he was, what he’d been through, and what kind of heroine he’d need to find in order to balance his quiet strength.

Over the years, I tried—more than once—to fit Luke into other story frameworks. I’d be plotting a new book and think, Maybe this one… maybe this time. But it never quite clicked. His story was just too specific.

And then came the Gun for Hire series.

When I was invited to contribute, the series details made my heart beat a little faster. The premise of the series was a perfect home for Luke: hardened men, defined by their guns, who find something—or someone—to soften their edges. It wasn’t just a fit; it was destiny. Finally, Luke would have his story told.

Everything fell into place. His past, his wounds, the deep emotional undercurrents he’d been carrying for so long—they all belonged in Tucker’s Gap, Texas alongside the one woman he once left behind and never quite forgot.

It’s funny how stories sometimes wait for the right season to bloom.

Luke isn’t flashy or showy. He doesn’t sweep in with grand declarations. But he’s the kind of man who stays. Who learns. Who tries—even when it hurts. And Hattie? She’s exactly the kind of woman who deserves that kind of love.

I can’t wait for you to meet them. Luke, the last book of the Gun for Hire series, releases on July 30th.

Here is a bit more about the story:

He left without saying goodbye. Now he’s back—injured, weary, and in her care.

In the small northeast Texas town of Tucker’s Gap, Hattie Brooks has fought to overcome the quiet prejudices that shadow her birth and her chosen work. As her uncle’s medical assistant, she’s found her calling—and is slowly earning a place in a community that doesn’t easily forget. But when Luke Dawson—the boy who once rode away without a word—returns after a near?fatal accident, Hattie’s hard?won peace is put to the test.

Luke never planned to return to Tucker’s Gap. As a Texas Ranger, he’s built a life defined by duty, danger, and distance from the past. But when an ambush leaves him badly injured, the only road to recovery leads back to the town he once left behind—and to Hattie, the girl he hurt without meaning to, now grown into a capable woman he can’t ignore.

Luke’s plan is to heal and leave as quickly as he came. But the more time he spends in Tucker’s Gap—watching Hattie work, reconnecting with old ties, and facing the ghosts he never quite laid to rest—the harder it becomes to walk away. Especially when he begins to wonder if the life he’s built is really the one he wants… and if the woman he left behind might just be the home he’s been searching for all along.

PREODER HERE

So have you ever been in a position where you had to put something on hold until the timing was right? Even if it was just delaying the start of a new book or movie? Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a signed copy of any of my print books of your choice.

 

41 thoughts on “The Long Road to Luke”

  3. I put college on hold when my daughter was born with disabilities. I went back to college when she did and we graduated together.

  4. Good morning Winnie! I have art projects that sit and wait to be finished. And then I have them laid on my heart to do. I know that comes from God, so those times it does get done! I also have a folder of art pieces to either finish or get done. Now I have pictures I have taken that are in a folder on my iPad I would like to do! Never ending story, right?

    Oh how I love this Gun for Hire series! And Luke and Hattie sounds like another good one Winnie!

    Many blessings to you Winnie!

  5. I put on hold going back to college. I graduated 1 year after my oldest graduated from high school.

  7. Yes I have put things on hold for one thing or another. Sometimes you have to just to get other things finished first.

  8. My husband and I are in that season now. We had planned for years what we would do when we had an empty nest. Circumstances have given us custody of 5 grandchildren ages 9,7,3,2,1- which has changed our lives completely. We know this is God’s plan, so we trust and wait. Reading is the one thing that I can still do to escape for a while, once the littles are asleep.

  9. Yes, a lot of times. “God’s timing is always worth the wait” is on a tumbler my daughter gave me.

  11. I am a quilter as well as a reader and sometimes I put on hold finishing one quilt in order to start another beautiful one that I am excited to make. Eventually I do get back to finishing those I have stashed.

  12. Oh, I want to read Luke’s story, especially since I’m reading Abigail’s right now!! I LOVE the Texas Grooms series!! I actually just put something off! I have to re-take a major “test” for my insurance business every year, and the first day it was available was also the first day of my church’s VBS. Since I was helping with that, I knew I wasn’t going to do that test then. I also knew I was getting two books to edit right after VBS, so I put that test off until both of those were done. I finally did the test last week.

  13. Good afternoon, yes I have put things on hold before and it was very well worth it. Your book sounds like a Great read! Thank you for the chance.

  14. Well, for the last almost 2 decades, most of my life has been on hold. My vision took a turn for the worse and I had to drop out of college. I was studying to be an elementary school teacher. I haven’t driven since 2009. I should have given up on that long before I did but I used my boys to help me. Now I go through my days doing the same stuff. Doctor appoints, mess on computer (that I have enlarged ) and trying to keep house.I get plenty of reading done with my kindle reading to me and audiobooks when I can afford/get them.

    • Carrie, have you explored the free audiobook options at the public library? The online options are free to the borrower but the library is charged each time they’re borrowed, so be sure to listen if you do borrow one. Our family enjoys listening to books on CD on long car trips (this started to keep the driver alert) and we borrow these from the library.

    • I would recommend getting the free app Libby and a library card and you canborrow both Kindle books and e-audiobooks today. You should also check with your local library to see it you may eligible for talking books through your state’s Library for the visually Impaired and Disabled to borrow audiobooks.

  16. I ended up indefinitely shelving the earning of a Masters in Library science (transportation difficulties at the time). Nowadays I thank the Lord I went the Library Technician route (our public library hasn’t hosted a drag queen story hour but plenty of the books in the collection offend my beliefs).

    • Yes I have done that positively,,put something on hold I do it a lot actually. From making appt. To doctors, eye exams etc or get something fit
      in the house instead of fixing right away. In
      your case it was the perfect timing for our book Luke and worked out to your advantage. Books sounds great and I just love Texas groom series,
      great reading. Thank you for a chance.

  18. When President Kennedy announced the formation of the Peace Corps, I knew at that moment that is what I wanted to do. The problem was, I was still in high school and would have to get my college degree in education before I could join. It took 8 years, but it was my focus all through school and all I did everything I could to be prepared. I was leaving 4 weeks after graduation and was offered my dream job in a school district just 2 weeks before that. Tempting, but I turned it down. It was time for the deferred dream of the Peace Corps and that had to come first.

  20. I know I have but I can’t think of anything recently. I kept putting getting my license on hold because of my migraines. Also a college that I had a full scholarship to said they would hold it for me for one year, but unfortunately with my migraines I still couldn’t go full time.

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