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.


