We are on to book four in this NINE BOOK SERIES!
These books are formerly published and out of print, so I’m giving them a new life with the help of Wild Heart Books.
But only six covers so far. I can’t wait for the rest!!!
This month the book re-releasing is………..
Montana Rose is one of the first books I ever wrote. Not first by any means but before any of the other five books that are included in that lineup.
To make it into a series I had to rewrite it, along with The Husband Tree…which I wrote a bit later…move Montana Rose to Montana…or did I move the Husband Tree to Montana? And I know it was The Husband Tree that I had to date a lot later to match up with the time of The Husband Tree and, if you’re reading Montana Rose, you’ll see that Belle Tanner, the heroine of The Husband Tree is in the book, as is Tom Linscott…neither of these people were originally in Montana Rose. There might have been a passing mention of the name Tom Linscott as a cranky neighbor who would bid to buy the land that is being seized by the bank near the beginning of the book.
He never appears on the page. He never had a line of spoken dialogue and, in my imagination, he was an old codger. Now he’s a handsome young cranky neighbor bound of a love story of his own.
All of this changed when I threw my back (okay, my fingers!) into making these books a series. Adding in Wildflower Bride well, that was the first original book I wrote after I became published.
Montana Rose was written as my effort to re-create Love Comes Softly. If you’re familiar with it, it is the beginning of Christian Publishers buying and publishing fiction. It was all non-fiction before Love Comes Softly. It’s a beautiful story, classic and widely known. Also at this point in my writing, I’d been creating female characters that were tough, feisty lady ranchers. I wanted to try and grow as an author, test my skills. Can I create a true damsel in distress…and in the truest, old fashioned sense of the word.
Cassie is meek. She’s been mistreated by her first husband, a much older man who, after Cassie’s mother’s death, tended the vast wealth Cassie inherited. Well, he married her and took her west, spent her whole fortune, got her pregnant and died. Leaving her penniless, alone, used to taking orders and convinced she’s stupid and childish and someone needs to tell her every decision to make.
There, on the freshly turned grave of her husband….
…………..Here’s the thing. I like to think of Montana Rose as Love Comes Softly … Only with Mayhem and Gunfire.
I suggested to my publisher we call it that. Or maybe Love Comes Hardly. Or Love Comes Loudly.
I felt like that captured the spirit of the book. In their usual wisdom, they picked a title of their own.
Montana Rose, coming June 23. That’s next Tuesday. Available now for preorder, along with The Husband Tree and Wildflower Bride.
Have you read Love Comes Softly? It was a movie on The Hallmark Channel…the author Janette Oke, absolutely beloved, has had many many books made into movies, six in the Love Comes Softly series alone. In some ways they really launched The Hallmark Channel and those movies run and rerun to this day.
So my humble attempt to capture that beautiful pregnant woman, grieving from her husband’s death on a wagon train, in terrible need, her forced marriage of convenience to a near stranger, and how those two learned to trust. And how Cassie learns to risk her heart again.
With me as the author, it fell into chaos of course, lots of shooting and such. But I love it just the same.
Have you read Love Comes Softly? Have you seen the movie? To get your name in the drawing for an ebook copy of Montana Rose, let me know in the comments. Then, if you dare!!! Risk the mayhem of Montana Rose.
A poignant Western romance about second chances, redemption, and the healing power of faith—a moving tale of a heartbroken young widow, a compassionate rancher, and the love that helps them both find their way home.
When Cassie Griffin’s abusive husband dies, leaving her pregnant and destitute, she’s forced to marry a stranger to survive. Red Dawson, a hardworking rancher and part-time preacher, steps forward to save her from a worse fate. Though Red fears marrying a non-believer goes against his principles, he can’t stand by and watch Cassie be claimed by the ruthless Sawyer clan.
Living in Red’s rustic cave home is a far cry from Cassie’s former life of luxury. But as she learns to work alongside him, she discovers strength she never knew she possessed. Red’s gentle patience and unwavering faith begin to crack the protective shell she’s built around her heart. When a dangerous enemy threatens their newfound happiness, Cassie and Red must trust in God’s plan—and each other—to survive.
Can a marriage of convenience bloom into true love? And can a woman who’s known only submission find the courage to stand tall? A tender story of healing, hope and the transformative power of unconditional love.
Love the premise and how it’s similar to Love Comes Softly franchise. I haven’t read the books, but I’ve seen every movie in the franchise, plus the When Calls the Heart franchise. I’m a Heartie and a Hallmarkie. I don’t think they had a nickname for the Love Comes Softly viewers since most of those movies predate much of the hashtag usage.
Yes, Mary, I read a lot of Janet Oke back in the day. “Love Comes Softly” was a good series of books (I haven’t seen the TV series). What you described about your book catches my interest. Thanks for running the giveaway.
So, do publishers usually rename the novels you authors submit to them?
I never read Love Comes Softly or seen the movie.