Barn Day by Merrillee Whren

 Today, July 14, is Barn Day. The photo above shows a neat red barn, but not all barns are red. Here is a photo of an old weathered barn on the prairie.

This is the kind of barn I often saw when I lived in South Dakota as a kid. I have one book set in South Dakota.

Here is the beginning paragraph from that book.

 

Nothing much had changed in ten years on the farm where Rachel Charbonneau had grown up. The faded red barn sat against a backdrop of fields newly planted with grain and alfalfa. A gentle breeze rustled shiny green leaves in the cottonwoods lining the creek. The peaceful picture didn’t tell the whole story. Despite its appeal, she hated this place.

The barn in this story is neither bright red or weathered brown. The red has faded, and so has the heroine's love for the farm where she grew up.

 

I'll share a few paragraphs from the other books I have that mention barns.  A Match to Call Ours and Hometown Cowboy

The following Wednesday afternoon, Brittany tromped across the snow-covered ground as she tried to match Parker’s long strides. Rose and Jasmine, bundled up in hooded coats, mittens, and boots, skipped ahead toward the one-story house with bright blue shingled siding. It sat between the big house, as Parker called it, and the gray pole barn on the right. Outbuildings and a couple of other small houses with roofs covered in snow dotted the nearby acreage.

 

Hometown Cowboy even has a barn on the cover.

 

 

Wyatt limped into the horse barn. The smell of leather and hay put him back at the rodeo. His heart hammered. Was he ready to get back on a horse? His leg ached. He’d been trying too hard to keep up with everyone, but he wouldn’t give in to the pain, because he wanted to impress Caroline. How could he do that when he wasn’t the man he used to be? The one thing he had going for him was not being the kid he used to be.

Three stories and three different barns. Have you ever been in a barn?

Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award presented by Romance Writers of American. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of forty-plus years, and has two grown daughters. Connect with her on her Facebook page and sign up for her newsletter.