sweet western romance series

GOING TO MONTANA by Janice Cole Hopkins

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I am thrilled to be with you again and to introduce my third book in the Hers to Redeem series. As some of you have heard me say, this is my favorite multiple-author series. I love the premise where something happens in the hero’s life that causes him to change and withdraw. However, the heroine comes along and makes him reassess his decision.

Inman’s Impersonation is set in Montana, one of the most majestic states I’ve ever visited, and I’ve been to all fifty. With gorgeous scenery, an abundance of wildlife, and a wealth of natural minerals, it’s been called the “Treasure State. The Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park are two features that draw many tourists each year. The state is also known as “Big Sky Country.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click cover to order.

 

 

After his invalid father dies in Tennessee, Inman Lowe sells the farm and heads to Montana to find his older brother. When he finally finds him, Garvis is secretly mixed up with a group of thieves. Two of the bank robbers are caught and falsely tell the sheriff that Inman is also involved. At his brother’s advice, he runs and ends up being mistaken for the expected new sheriff in a small town. Being caught off guard, Inman goes along with the ruse, thinking it’s a good way to hide. He tries to be reclusive, but when he starts to fall for the storekeeper’s daughter, things get complicated. Why did he have to meet the woman of his dreams when he was living a lie?

 

 

 

Whenever I’m writing a book in this series, it becomes my favorite, and Inman’s Impersonation was no exception. I fell in love with Inman and the stray dog he picks up along the way. The man has a good heart, but he makes a bad decision and pays dearly for it. Come along with Inman and experience his adventures as he travels from Tennessee to find his older brother and ends up in Meadowlark, Montana where his life takes even more unexpected turns. The book just released and is available on Kindle, KU, print, and audible.

 

Here is an excerpt:

As he did with most growing towns, Inman skirted Missoula and headed north. About fifty miles out of Missoula, he decided to stop at the next town he came to because he needed to restock.

Meadowlark looked promising. He liked the neat town that had more businesses than he expected. He rode through to get the lay of the town, tied his horses, and turned to walk around on foot.

“What do you think, Driff?” Inman looked at his dog. “Do you think this might be a good place to settle?”

He didn’t intend to live in the saddle indefinitely. He wanted to find a place where he might fit in while he lay low. A town like this should have some kind of job he could do or at least at one of the surrounding ranches.

He decided to go to the general store first and see if he could gather any news. They would likely know of any jobs around.

“Hey, stranger,” a well-dressed man stopped him. “You look like you might be the man we’ve been looking for.”

Inman raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t know what to say.

“We don’t get many strangers in Meadowlark, so I assume that you’re our new sheriff. I got a telegram, saying that you were on the way and should arrive today.”

The man put out his hand, and Inman shook it. “I’m Phineas P. Bradbury, the mayor of Meadowlark.”

“Inman…” Inman faltered. He couldn’t give the man his real name. He shouldn’t have even said Inman since an unusual first name would stand out.

The mayor looked pleased. “I know. Inman Lane. Except the telegram gave your name as I. J. Lane. Welcome to Meadowlark, Mr. Lane. We’re so glad you’re here. We are desperately in need of a sheriff. Come on; let me show you around and help you settle in. The rooms in the back of the jail should fit your needs for now. Do you have baggage?”

What is the place with the most beautiful scenery you’ve ever been to?

A winner will be selected to win a free Kindle copy of Inman’s Impersonation.

THE TREASURED SUGAR BOWL–by CHERYL PIERSON

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I don’t know if y’all remember my “attic saga” from a few months ago, but I wanted to tell you about a particular treasure I found. The attic floor was sagging from all the “stuff” that was stored up there—yes, it was all stuff I had kept, but in my defense a lot of it had come from other places: My mom’s and dad’s when they could no long live at home; my oldest sister when she had her stroke and had to go into a nursing home; and of course, the things I’d kept for my kids; and my OWN keepsakes! WHEW! That was a lot!

Everything has been cleaned out and gotten rid of or “re-kept”, but I’m down to a total of about 18 containers now from probably close to 75 or 80. There were still 5 or 6 that I had not gone through that I’d brought downstairs, knowing they were going to take some time, since they were a hodgepodge of things that included correspondence and pictures, as well as other things.

 

My dad and mom on their 47th wedding anniversary

                                             My dad and mom on their 47th wedding anniversary

But the very first time I opened one of them up and started to go through it, I found something wrapped in cotton, and then in tissue paper, and a bag, and I knew that was something my mom had done. Mom was one to always write notes on things to let us know what they were. This was something my sisters and I would roll our eyes at, because she was so detailed in the descriptions she wrote.

But this time, I was so glad.

This treasure was something I’d never seen or known about. It was a sugar bowl. The note explained it all, and I still get teary when I think of it.

 

You see, my sisters were 10 and 12 when I was born, so a good part of my parents’ lives together had already happened by the time I came along. Certainly, the very hard times of first starting out together, of having their first home, and their first child (and second!) and those lean years that were now in the past.

But the sugar bowl told the story in a way conversational description could not.

When I unwrapped it, it was a China pattern I had never seen, so the sugar bowl must have remained after the other pieces had been broken. Maybe that’s why she saved it. I took the lid off, half-hoping there would be a note inside to tell why it had been wrapped so carefully and kept all those years.

I was not disappointed. This note is so typical of the things my mom wrote and taped to keepsakes. She didn’t want her life or the past to be forgotten. What a blessing to have found this!

 

This just made my heart glad in so many ways, and this sugar bowl, with the note inside, is sitting on the top shelf of my desk so I can just glance up at it whenever I want. That remembrance she included in the note of how happy she and my dad were with their little family, before I was ever born, is something I will treasure forever.

 

Mom and Dad, newlyweds, 1944

Of everything I’ve come across in those crates from the attic, this is the most treasured item I’ve found so far. There is a chip in the lid, and a crack that has been glued back together, and Mom’s ever-present masking tape holding the lid shut so it won’t fall off and break, but it will take a lot to beat this treasure!

 

In my book, LOVE UNDER FIRE, my heroine, Krissy, finds the pink pistol amidst her possessions. She doesn’t know who it belongs to or how it came to be in her bag, but instantly, she admires the feel of the wooden case, and she knows it was carved with such love. That’s how I feel about this sugar bowl. That note my mom included is filled with love and gratitude for those sweet memories of earlier days.

Have you ever found or been given something that had been forgotten or put away that you felt this way about? Please tell us about it!

I’m giving away a DIGITAL COPY of Love Under Fire to two lucky commenters! Don’t forget to check back tomorrow to see if you won!

Order your copy of LOVE UNDER FIRE today!

Be sure to check out the PINK PISTOL SISTERHOOD series page on AMAZON!