Two Exciting Tales of Life in early Texas by Vickie McDonough

 

Vickie McDonough is the CBA, EPCA, and Amazon best-selling author of 55 Christian romance books and novellas.

Men love these books, but so do women. One reader told me she went looking for Long Trail Home to read and found her husband in his recliner enjoying it himself. :)

Review of LONG TRAIL HOME: 

Vickie McDonough brings her expert writing skills to the series with a story that will capture your being and keep you instilled into the pages until the very end. The characters are truly believable and realistic, giving you the feeling that you’ve known them for a very long time! I really encourage you to visit River North, the fiction division of Moody Publishers, and check out the Six books in this series. I will assure you, if you read one, you will have to read them all!"    Joy, SplashesofJoy.com

THE LONG TRAIL HOME

Vickie McDonough

A weary soldier returns from the War Between the States to Discover his parents dead, his family farm in shambles, and his fiancée married.

Riley Morgan takes a job at the Wilcox School for Blind Children in an attempt to build a new life after the Civil War. By helping the children and the pretty, blind woman, Annie, he begins to find renewed hope. But everyone’s future at the Wilcox School is disrupted when the owner dies suddenly and the school is in jeopardy of being closed by the man who stands to inherit it. Riley’s remaining confidence in the future is shaken when Annie’s secret is revealed. Riley attempts to make peace with God, but it's difficult when the woman he's fallen for has betrayed him.

Available on Amazon. Free on KU

Review of End of the Trail:

"What a truly wonderful book! Brooks Morgan is the ultimate slightly-flawed hero with a cocky grin that’s bound to make any female reader fall in love. The End of the Trail is a hilarious, heart-rending, soul-searching rollercoaster ride. I loved it and didn’t want the ride to end. But then, I always love McDonough’s work. This author presents stellar writing; wonderful, unexpected humorous moments; touching, heart-wrenching situations that make it hard to know who to root for; and consistently riveting storylines. I dare you to read this book and not smile! Thing is, you will smile…and get a little weepy…and gasp in surprise a few times, as well. End of the Trail really is that good." Amazon reviewer.

Winner of the Bookseller's Best Award

END OF THE TRAIL

Vickie McDonough

He enters a poker game and wins a new life.
She fears losing the only home she has ever known.

Brooks Morgan’s weapon of choice is his smile. He’s smart, witty, and has charmed his way through life, but now that he’s growing older—and a bit wiser—and he’s ready to settle down. He gets his chance when he wins Raven Creek Ranch in a poker game, but when he goes to claim his prize, a pretty woman with a shotgun says the ranch belongs to her. Brooks isn’t leaving his one chance to make something of his life—but neither is she. Can they reach an agreement? Or will a greedy neighbor force a showdown, causing them both to lose what they want most in life?

Available on Amazon. Free on KU

I hope you'll get a chance to read these fun stories.

Vickie McDonough

Lyn Cote Reviews Becky Wade's A Love Like Ours

Here's another great sweet romance!

 A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another Texas Porter Family story and again Becky Wade does not disappoint.

This is a reunion story. Childhood friends come back together after a decade apart. Now the guy Jake is a war hero, wounded in body and spirit. The heroine Lyndie now exercises horses and needs a job at Jake's brother's thoroughbred ranch. Jake doesn't want to hire her. Seeing her makes him feel things he doesn't want to feel.

But in the end, she begins working at the horse farm and soon he finds that she wants to not only to exercise horses but be a jockey.

For a man who suffers from PTSD and who feels survivor's guilt watching Lyndie ride horses in competitive races is torture.

An interesting secondary character is Lyndie's younger severely disabled sister whose presence lifts the story another notch.

I look forward to reading more Porter Family stories.

View all my reviews

Do you enjoy reading series of novels about the members of a family?--Lyn 

PS-Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter. See the top of the right column! You don't want to miss our Valentine Day issue!--Lyn

Lyn Cote Reviews Becky Wade's Undeniably Yours

Here's another great sweet romance for you for this new year! Happy 2016!

  Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

 My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 I met Bo and Meg in Becky Wade's Meant to Be Mine and so I knew I needed to find out how the Cowboy and the Heiress came to fall in love.


 I truly enjoyed this story and it reminded me of the truth that TOO much $$$$ is as BAD as TOO little. Meg's family is almost feudal with it's tradition of primogeniture--that is the eldest takes control of the family company. And that mean art major Meg at 25 is supposed to run a huge TX oil company.

 Meg struggles to live up to her family obligations that make her break out into a cold sweat. Then she finds that Bo Porter, the cowboy she tries to fire upon their first meeting, is the only one who calms her.

 A tender love story with a dash of chilling danger at the climax. If you love handsome cowboys, little children and a sweet romance, I highly recommend you pick up a copy.

  View all my reviews

Lyn Cote Reviews Winnie Grigg's The Proper Wife

Here's another excellent sweet romance for you!

The Proper Wife by Winnie Griggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This wasn't my first Winnie Griggs' Love Inspired Historical. Winnie appears to excel with stories where a free-spirited heroine meets an uptight hero or vice versa. This book is a story of the former romance. Sadie Lassiter is the free-spirited heroine and Eli Reynolds is the uptight hero.

Eli wants and thinks he needs to find a proper wife who will be a good step-aunt to the little sister in his care. And Sadie is not even on his long list much less his short list. She's too carefree and too casual and not the least interested in housekeeping.

Then a storm strands them together for a night and the gossips put their heads together. Eli's plans and Sadie's plans go out the window when Eli proposes marriage to avert scandal.

However, it seems that this marriage might be in God's plans for both of them.

A fun read with a delightful heroine who is a match for the very proper Mr. Reynolds!

View all my reviews

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QUESTION: Do you like romance set in small towns? Why or why not?--Lyn

Food, Cowboys, and Romance...Oh, My!

I'm often asked where I get the inspiration for my books. Writing my Taste of Texas series, the inspiration came from a number of places. 

1. Food: I love of the Food Network and cooking competitions, especially Top Chef. I'm not a big fan of most reality shows, but add some highly talented people into the mix, and I'm in. And in both of my pregnancies, I was obsessed with the Food Network. :)

2. Cowboys: I grew up around cowboys. My family farmed and ranch. Any time we were away from home and my dad wore his cowboy hat, people were always drawn to him. My mom, sister, and I would be shopping at the mall, and we'd come out to find some stranger telling him his/her life story. So I guess I have a soft spot for cowboys.

3. Texas: I live in Oklahoma, and absolutely love it (except for the May tornado outbreaks), but there is also something romantic about a story set in Texas. I grew up just across the Red River from Texas, and there are great people in Texas and plenty of story inspiration. 

Tell me about where you live? Would it make a great setting for a romance? 

Here's more information about my latest release, Kiss the Cowboy:

What if your competition for your dream job…was your dream man?

All Lucy Pickett needs to become executive chef in one of Dallas’s finest restaurants is to pull off the high-profile wedding she’s catering. So what if she’s forced to share duties with Dylan Lawson, a modern-day chuck-wagon cook? So what if he’s got rugged looks and cowboy charm? None of that is going to knock her off her game. Until she learns the restaurateur is considering Dylan for the position she wants. Game on–and it’s a winner-take-all event!

Dylan Lawson finally has the opportunity he’s been waiting for to prove he can do more than just be a ranch hand. The only thing standing in his way is the fiery chef fighting for the same position. Will the heated competition scorch any chance they have for love?

Available on:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iBooks

To get all the latest news, sign up for my newsletter at www.JulieJarnagin.com/connect

Julie Jarnagin is a multi-published author of inspirational romance. She recently released a novella, The Art of Falling, and the next book in the series, Kiss the Cowboy, comes out on May 19. Julie grew up in a small Oklahoma town where her family farmed and ranched. These days she lives in a not-so-big city with her amazing husband and two young sons who tolerate all her nerdy quirks. Julie earned a B.A. in Journalism / Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.  www.JulieJarnagin.com.

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Spring In Texas by Shaleen Kapil

I went hiking in February along a bayou trail, and I saw the first one. That harbinger of spring, at least to a Texas gal, is blue and wild. You only rarely see it in a garden bed. The Bluebonnet.

A sad and perhaps sorry specimen of such a special flower, but the sight of this flower amongst the weeds that would erupt in bloom soon made me rush off the path, away from the students I was leading, to take this picture of the first of the season.

In Texas, every child gets dragged out into a field of bluebonnets for pictures, despite fire ants and bees and even possible snakes (although I haven't seen one there yet--you got to know to make a lot of noise tramping out into the field). Yes, I've done it too.

And while pictures and paintings may have you believe that every field is set next to a beautiful barn or railroad track, the truth is that most of these portraits are taken on the side of the highway. 

The bluebonnet gained an artistic following with Robert Julian Onderdonk at the turn of the 1900s. He painted grand landscapes of the fields in Texas. Many painters have tried to imitate him. (Head to the Fort Worth's Amon Carter Museum of American Art to see a few.) Now, it is a right of initiation for a painter in Texas to attempt to paint the state flower. (You can see my very amateur attempts here.)

So if you aren't a Texan, then if you really want to see this grand ole state in all its glory, head out to the highways towards the end of March. There is even a website telling you where the good blooms are every season: Texas Bluebonnet Sightings.

Shaleen Kapil was not born in Texas, but she has spent most of her life there. Find out more at www.shaleenkapil.com or Like her on Facebook.

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