Romantic Reads: A Change of Scenery

The Story Behind A Change of Scenery (book) by Davalynn Spencer

My start in the writing business was strictly nonfiction. As a crime-beat reporter for the Cañon City Daily Record, I dredged up the facts. As a features writer, I built human-interest stories around the facts. And as the religion-page editor, I laid out the page and added one of my photographs with an appropriate Bible verse and inspirational thought as a cutline. Again – facts, but from the Word of God.

However, at a small-town daily newspaper, reporters do what needs to be done whether it’s their gig or not. One of my ongoing assignments was to find interesting news items at the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center for the paper’s Back In Time series.

As some might say, that place was a gold mine. It still is.

Gold was a big deal in Colorado’s late 1800s, but prospectors didn’t find much of the precious metal around Cañon City. However, there is more than one type of gold, and while hard-rock miners were chipping away at gullies and washes in the high country, ranchers and farmers were making a go of it down here in the Arkansas River Valley because, well, miners have to eat.

One area north of town is still referred to as Garden Park – where vegetables grew in well-laid-out farms and countless dinosaur fossils were unearthed and fought over by rival university’s paleontology departments.

Fruit orchards still dot the Arkansas River basin, and ranchers still run cattle on the sweet mountain grass. Much of the area is as it was in spite of the 21st century’s noise and clutter.

Cañon City is an Old West town that just happened to survive because the founders built most of the buildings on Main Street from locally quarried stone. When places like Cripple Creek (over the hill at 10,000 feet) burned to the ground – twice – Cañon City lived on.

The place is ripe with history, and in my reporter days, I spent hours at the history museum reading amazing accounts of early life here. And the more I read, the more I envisioned some of the pioneers who settled the area and their Native American counterparts who were here first. The more I envisioned, the more I wanted to tell the stories, but not in a history book.

I learned during my middle-school-teaching days that students will devour historical facts if they are laced through an interesting novel. But so do adults. Historical fiction remains a selling market because, as I like to say, life wasn’t easier in the past but it was simpler. And simple is something people crave today – a respite from the mad go-and-show world in which we live.

My three novels in The Cañon City Chronicles are each set against backdrops of historical mile-markers from this area. And so is Book 4, A Change of Scenery. Silent pictures were a big deal here in the early 1900s, but they weren’t called silent pictures because pictures had never talked.

The flickers that “flicked” through nickelodeons were not referred to as silent pictures until “talkies” came along.

As I studied this era of local history, I was fascinated by what I read. Moving-picture companies paid ranchers top dollar to “rent” their cattle, horses, and ranches for filming. Even the ranchers themselves were paid day-wages – a whopping $5 per man per day.

Anchored in the rich historical facts, a story emerged in my heart of a rancher who was smitten by a big-city gal with the Selig-Polyscope company. The “what-if” nerve of a novelist began to throb, and A Change of Scenery played across my mind’s eye, starring two little boys from Book 3 in the Hutton-family saga known as The Cañon City Chronicles.

Faith is always a character in my stories – an aspect that directs lives the same way it does in real life. This book has no preaching but plenty of wisdom shared by truth-speaking characters. God and His peace and presence weave through the book the same way they do in my daily life: intimately, steadily, tenderly.

Tragedy takes its place on the stage, just as it does in our lives. But how a character handles it determines how that character develops. Again, an aspect that mirrors the reality of our lives.

And isn’t that what fiction is all about? Mirroring reality. I hope you’ll read A Change of Scenery and be blessed by the challenges, heartaches, and blessings that adorn this tender Western romance.

~*~
Author Bio:

Davalynn Spencer is a Publisher’s Weekly and ECPA bestselling author and winner of the Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Inspirational Western Fiction.

She is the wife and mother of professional rodeo bullfighters and the author of sixteen titles, both contemporary and historical. She blogs monthly for Christian Authors Network, contributes to the American Christian Fiction Writers blog, and writes her own weekly inspirational blog.

Davalynn appears on the area radio broadcast, Write Time Radio, and teaches writing workshops when not wrangling Keeper the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley. 

Connect with her at https://www.davalynnspencer.com

~*~
Blurb for A Change of Scenery:

Inspirational Historical Western Romance

 

A hidden fear. A daring challenge. A liberating love.

A motorcar accident on a rainy Chicago night steals Ella Canaday’s fiancé as well as her ability to ride. Clinging to the remnants of her independence, she cuts her hair and her ties with her wealthy father and takes a train west as the seamstress with a moving-picture company. 

Colorado offers the change of scenery she needs. But she doesn’t expect the bold cowboy who challenges her to reclaim both the loves she thought she’d lost forever.

Cale Hutton needs the money the moving-picture company is paying for use of his cattle and horses, but he’s not keen on some city gal gettin’ in the way at the ranch. Between the filming crew by day and a rogue cattle-killing bear by night, his attention snags on the little bob-haired seamstress. Something about her easy manner around his horse sets his mind to find out what she’s hiding and why she has such a pull on his heart.

~*~
Buy Davalynn’s book, A Change of Scenery:

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1064987

Davalynn's website: https://davalynnspencer.com/books/a-change-of-scenery/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RWJBTWG/

~*~
Connect with Davalynn:

Quarterly Author Update and free e-book: http://eepurl.com/xa81D

Blog: https://davalynnspencer.com/subscribe/

Website: https://www.davalynnspencer.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/davalynn-spencer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davalynnspencer

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5051432.Davalynn_Spencer

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/davalynnspencer/boards/

Amazon Author: https://amazon.com/author/davalynnspencer

CAN: http://christianauthorsnetwork.com/davalynn-spencer/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davalynnspencer/

My Blog's 10th Year Birthday Bash: Davalynn Spencer's book giveaway

Welcome to the 10th day of my blog's birthday bash!

Please welcome my author friend Davalynn Spencer.

She's here to giveaway two of her books!

Enter the book giveaway contest via the Rafflecopter widget the end of this blog post. Only residents of the USA are eligible to receive a signed paperback copy of this author's books. International residents will only receive ebook copies due to costs of mailing books outside of the USA.

Let's learn a little bit more about Davalynn and her books ...

Author Bio:

As the wife and mother of professional rodeo bullfighters, Davalynn Spencer has enjoyed a front-row seat on cowboys and their lifestyle. 

She writes Christian romance with a Western flair, both contemporary and historical, winning the Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Inspirational Western Fiction, and seeing two of her historical novellas on the ECPA and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. 

Her countless nonfiction pieces have appeared in Prorodeo Sports News, American Cowboy, Western Horseman, The Upper Room, Power for Living, The Quiet Hour, The Christian Standard, and other periodicals. 

She’s also fairly certain her previous career as a rodeo journalist and award-winning crime-beat reporter prepared her for her life #lovingthecowboy in Colorado. 

When she’s not writing, teaching writing workshops, or playing the keyboard on her church worship team, she’s wrangling Blue the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley. 

Connect with Davalynn at https://davalynnspencer.com/

~*~

Back Cover Blurb for An Impossible Price:

Christian Historical Western Romance 

He has to choose – keep his secrets or the woman he loves. He can’t have both.

With no husband of her own, midwife Sophie Price lives to keep others calm in their hour of need. But when a handsome horse handler steps off the train with a fiery stallion, he brings anything but calm as he looks her dead in the eye and clear through to her soul.

Clay Ferguson returns to the place he once called home, hunting a fresh start and the one woman who could draw him back. If he can hide his battered heart and the brutality of his past, maybe she’ll take another look and give him a second chance.

Both bear scars from their fathers. Both fight for life. Together, they may learn that love is worth its impossible price.

~*~
Back Cover Blurb for Just in Time for Christmas:

She’s seventeen with a ranch to run, a fear of heights, and a cowboy intent on stealing her heart. 

Abigale Millerton leaves a Denver girl’s school and returns to her grandparents’ high-country ranch to find the boy she’d grown up with not a boy any longer—and butting in on her challenge with local timber thieves. If he’d stop telling her what to do, they might get along.

Seth Holt has loved Abigale since before he knew better. And now that she’s back in the high country, she’s still as bull-headed as ever. But Seth can match her, and he’s determined to keep her out of harm’s way and in his line of sight. Trouble is, he’d rather keep her in his arms.

~*~
Connect with Davalynn:
Quarterly Newsletter sign-up and free e-book: http://eepurl.com/xa81D
Blog: http://davalynnspencer.com/subscribe/
Website: https://www.davalynnspencer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davalynnspencer
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5051432.Davalynn_Spencer
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/davalynnspencer/boards/
Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.com/Davalynn-Spencer/e/B002EZUEZK

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/davalynn-spencer

~*~
Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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Christmas on My Heart: Snow Angel by Davalynn Spencer

Interview with Lena Carver, main character from Davalynn Spencer’s book Snow Angel:

Alexis: Hi, Lena! Thanks for agreeing to an interview! You’re quite the character! First question: Do you think that the author of your story did a good job in telling it? Why or why not?

Lena: Yes, I think she did, because she showed grace about my disfigurement. She didn’t ridicule me for it.

Alexis: Your story is set in Colorado. Paint a picture with words of your surroundings and share your experience growing up there. What was your most favorite memory? Why?

Lena: I didn’t appreciate the colors much as a child, but as I grew up, I noticed the brilliant gold of the aspens in the fall. Even their poorer cousins, the cottonwoods, spruce up for the season. Woodsmoke flavors the crisp autumn air, and with the dropping temperatures, everything feels cozier. But Christmastime is probably my favorite because our community comes together more during that time than any other. It gives me a real sense of belonging.

Alexis: Did you expect to have a holiday romance? Why or why not?

Lena: Ha. I’ve never expected to have romance in my life, holiday or otherwise. Men don’t look at spinsters with abnormalities. But when someone came along who looked past my disfigurement, well, that caught my attention, shall we say.

Alexis: How do you like working for your physician brother as his medical assistant? Describe your day-to-day duties at work.

Lena: I’m convinced Tay went to medical school because of my childhood accident. He’d never admit it, but some things a person just knows. When he set up his practice, it was only natural for me to help him. My prospects of marriage were slim to none, Mama and Daddy had passed on, and we both needed someone. I cook and keep the house for the both of us, and help him keep the surgery clean, see that bandages and supplies are on hand, and help hold patients still when necessary. That’s a challenge, but I manage. And when I have trouble helping him set broken bones, our old buggy mare lends a hand, er, neck. Oh well, you’ll just have to read more about that particular incident.

Alexis: Are you self-conscious about your disfigurement from a childhood accident? How do you cope?

Lena: I guess you could say I’m self-conscious because of my habit of hiding it in my apron. But life goes on, right? And one must adjust, accommodate, and do the best one can. Quitting or feeling sorry for one’s self is out of the question. Self-pity merely robs us of energy and self-respect.

Alexis: Let’s talk about your hero Wil Bergman. How did you first meet him? Was your first impression of Wil good or bad? Explain.

Lena: Wil Bergman was a puzzle from the first moment I laid eyes on his broken, unconscious form being dragged through the front door. Until he scared the living daylights out of me later that night. Good thing I didn’t have my knitting needles in hand. I’m might have stabbed him.

Alexis: What is it about Wil that makes your heart believe that maybe, just maybe, love is within reach?

Lena: Unconditional. There’s no other word for it. His unconditional acceptance of me and obvious pleasure when spending time with me. Plus he can carry on a decent conversation. I couldn’t be with a man who didn’t know how to visit or laugh or hold up his end of an argument. His broad shoulders and beautiful dark eyes don’t hurt either. Don’t tell him I said his eyes were “beautiful.” It’d probably bruise his manly pride.

Alexis: Is there anything about Wil that you do not like? Share details.

Lena: If I let him, he would eat every cookie I ever baked, whether it was Christmas or not. The man eats like a mule. But I guess that means he enjoys my cooking, doesn’t it?

Alexis: What does your brother think of Wil? And does his view of him affect your own? Explain.

Lena: Tay had his reservations at the first, especially when he learned who Wil was related to. But my brother has a way of seeing deeper than a person’s skin and family, clear down into their heart. Maybe that’s what makes him a good doctor. He certainly saw through my poor attempts at hiding my feelings for Wil as well as Wil’s growing affection for me.

Alexis: What do you want readers to remember most about your story?

Lena: I want people to remember that God isn’t limited by our doubts or disappointments. He has messengers and means of delivering His blessings that we can only imagine.

Alexis: Why did Davalynn title your story “Snow Angel?”

Lena: I loved making snow angels when I was a little girl, and then, well, things happened. But who says there aren’t other kinds of snow angels?

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Lena! Merry Christmas and God bless you.

~*~
Author Bio:

Davalynn Spencer is the award-winning author of eleven inspirational Western romance titles, both contemporary and historical. 

She is a former rodeo journalist, crime-beat reporter, and the wife and mother of professional rodeo bullfighters. 

When she’s not #lovingthecowboy, she’s wrangling Blue the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley.

~*~
Book Blurb for Snow Angel:

As a child, she lost something precious at Christmas. 

Twenty years later, she's about to lose her heart.

Lena Carver works as her physician brother’s medical assistant, housekeeper, and cook despite her disfigurement from a childhood accident.

Each year, the Christmas holidays come with contradictions—cherished memories of a mysterious encounter and painful recollections of a great loss. She lives with the belief that she is beyond love’s reach, until a dark-eyed cowboy arrives broken, bruised, and bent on changing her mind.

Wil Bergman wakes in a stranger’s house with a busted leg, a bullet-creased scalp, and no horse. Trail-weary, robbed, and penniless, his dreams and plans for a future are suddenly unattainable.

Forced to recuperate in the home of a country doctor, he finds himself at the mercy of a surgeon whose sister’s healing touch has power to stitch up his lonely heart and open his eyes to the impossible.

~*~
Buy Davalynn's book on Amazon

~*~
Connect with Davalynn:
Quarterly Author Update and free ebook: http://eepurl.com/xa81D
Blog: https://davalynnspencer.com/subscribe/
Website: https://www.davalynnspencer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davalynnspencer
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5051432.Davalynn_Spencer
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/davalynnspencer/boards/
Amazon Author: https://amazon.com/author/davalynnspencer
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/davalynn-spencer
CAN: http://christianauthorsnetwork.com/davalynn-spencer/

~*~
Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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Words of Faith: Davalynn's story about trust, thankfulness and two fists

Two-fisted Faith
A Words of Faith story written by Davalynn Spencer

TNT has been on my mind a lot lately—not Turner Network Television or trinitrotoluene, that explosive material with “convenient handling properties.”

I’m referring to a recent personal directive I received from the Lord with this handy acronym attached to aid in my short-term memory loss where spiritual life is concerned.

TNT = Trust and Thankfulness. Two-fisted marching orders.

I’m to walk through each day with Trust in one hand and Thankfulness in the other, regardless of what the day may bring. If I keep one in each hand, I can’t pick up worry or doubt or fear. It’s a simple decree that takes a load off my heart if I let it, much like a similar realization I had years ago in a hospital.

Evening slipped down the pale green walls of the room where our son lay following a motorcycle accident. I shifted in the stiff, plastic chair and watched Jake’s eighteen-year-old body fight to heal itself. And I was furious.

A week earlier Jake had wrecked a friend’s motorcycle on a gravel road near our home in southern Colorado. The friend never came to see him; neither did the boy’s parents. No phone calls, no cards. The disregard cut deeply and I clung to my anger as tenaciously as Jake clung to his life.

In the emergency room the night of the accident, Jake had cried out to his father and me to lift his head. “Just for a minute, Mom. Please, lift my head!” EMTs at the scene had taped him to a body board to stabilize his neck. Unknown to the ER doctors who refused to medicate him for fear of masking injuries or symptoms, the tape around Jake’s head pressed an open wound to the board. I longed to cut the tape and relieve his agony, but I knew it could result in paralysis. Due to summer thunderstorms that downed the Flight for Life helicopter, we waited three hours for a mobile trauma unit to arrive from the Pueblo, Colorado, hospital thirty-five miles away.

Gravel pitted Jake’s back, hips, and face. The accident had cost him his right eyebrow, fractured his skull, and shut down his kidneys. He was nauseous, delirious, and hateful—all common symptoms with a head injury, doctors said.

My husband and I took turns staying with him. We couldn’t leave him alone, and my anger festered. As I tried to sleep in the chair that night, Jesus spoke to me—not audibly, but undoubtedly.

“You have only two hands,” He said. “You cannot hang on to Jake and your anger and Me. Of which will you let go?”

God knew I was angry; He knew I hurt more than I had ever hurt. But He also knew that if I clung to the anger it would destroy me and maybe even my son.

Letting go of Jake was not an option, and I knew I’d never make it through the ordeal without God’s help. As I opened my fingers and symbolically reached for the Lord’s hand, the words of an old worship chorus from Psalm 3 became my unending prayer:

“Thou, O Lord, are a shield about me; 
you’re my glory, you’re the lifter of my head.”

Only God could keep Jake alive and heal his injuries, and He did exactly that. Jake recovered quickly, earlier than the neurosurgeon expected. The Lord indeed lifted his head—and mine from the death-like grip of anger.

Today as an author, I am intrigued by the poetic power of “three,” the trinity-like beauty of three images, metaphors, or examples. But God knows I need a two-fisted faith—something I can hold in each hand—and I praise Him for showing me the power of TNT.

Be anxious for nothing, 
but in everything by prayer and supplication, 
with thanksgiving, 
let your requests be made known to God; 
~Phil. 4:6 (NKJV)

~*~
Author bio: 

Award-winning author Davalynn Spencer writes bestselling inspirational Western romance and teaches writing at Pueblo Community College. 

Her novel, Romancing the Widow, won the 2015 Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award for inspirational Western fiction, and her recent release, The Cowboy's Bride, was an ECPA and Publisher's Weekly bestseller. 

Davalynn makes her home on Colorado's Front Range with a Queensland heeler named Blue and two mouse detectors, Annie and Oakley. 

Connect with Davalynn:

http://www.davalynnspencer.com

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer

http://twitter.com/davalynnspencer

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5051432.Davalynn_Spencer

http://pinterest.com/davalynnspencer/boards/

25 Days of Christmas Stories: Interview with Davalynn Spencer, author of "The Snowbound Bride"

Today, we're featuring one of Davalynn Spencer's holiday stories, "The Snowbound Bride"! It's her contribution to a new collection of Christmas stories called The 12 Brides of Christmas and it's a treasure! Here's the cover of Davalynn's novella: 

Davalynn decided to give way one e-book copy of her featured novella, "The Snowbound Bride" to one reader who lives in the U.S.A.

All you have to do is to fill out the book giveaway contest entries on the Rafflecopter widget which is located toward the end of this blog post. The winner will be announced on Dec. 11.

Meanwhile, enjoy your visit with Davalynn! She's here to answer my questions about her book.

*Words from Alexis in bold, words from Davalynn not in bold:

~*~
Alexis: Would you please share your elevator pitch for “The Snowbound Bride”?

Davalynn: On the run from a heartless uncle, Arabella Taube steps off the train in Spruce City, Colorado, and hides in a nearby farm wagon. Nate Horne returns to his wagon and heads home to the ranch just as a harsh winter storm sweeps in—stranding his surprise stow-away with the family for Christmas. Despite Ara’s mysterious background, Nate’s mother thinks she is the answer to a prayer and the hope for her son's future.

Arabella is a unique name for your leading lady. Why did you choose it?

My maternal grandmother’s name was Ara and she was German. As I put together the ideas for this novella, I thought what fun it would be to use my grandmother’s name. I extended it to Arabella for the heroine’s given name, but throughout the book she is called Ara.

Paint a picture of Arabella. What does she look like? What or who does she love? What makes her mad? What is she doing this Christmas (talking about your story’s plot)?

Ara has long, near-black hair like my grandmother. She is also a spitfire and not afraid of striking out on her own. This Christmas—because of a blizzard—she’s experiencing a family Christmas like she’s never known before and wondering if a tall, quiet rancher feels the same way about her as she does about him.

Give us insight into your leading man, Nate Horne. What’s his background? What role does he play in this story? What does he like, or not like, about Arabella? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

Nate takes strong and silent to the extreme. His father was killed when Nate was 12, and Uncle Buck, his mother’s brother, came to the Horne Ranch to help out. Nate’s biggest problem is wrangling words as well as he wrangles horses. Ara takes his breath away to the point that most of his sentences are comprised of three words, just not the three words Ara wants to hear.

In what ways do Arabella and Nate impact each other’s lives?

Nate is not exactly what Ara planned to run into on her way to Leadville. Nate always wanted to bring a bride home, but he didn’t figure one would show up in the back of his wagon.

What was your favorite scene to write from “The Snowbound Bride”? Why?

I had the most fun writing the tree-cutting adventure and the snowball fight.

What was your go-to drink or food while on deadline for this story?

Chocolate, of course! And coffee.

What did you enjoy most about creating these characters and setting the scene for “The Snowbound Bride”?

These are simple people with simple dreams. Life is hard, but they find joy in everyday activities and in the context of family and faith.

Why did you write this story?

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I wanted to write a warm, wintry tale of someone who did not have good Christmas memories but discovers love and new beginnings in the arms of a welcoming ranching family.

What do you want readers to remember most about “The Snowbound Bride”?

Our life path is rarely what we think it will be, but we have a constant companion in our Lord. He knows every turn in the road and often takes our breath away with His surprises.

Thanks for the interview, Davalynn! Would you like to share any closing thoughts?

Merry Christmas!

~*~
Author bio:

Davalynn Spencer writes inspirational Western romance complete with rugged cowboys, their challenges, and their loves. 

She won the 2015 Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award for Western Inspirational Fiction and makes her home on Colorado’s Front Range with her handsome cowboy and their dog, Blue. 

Connect with her at www.davalynnspencer.com.

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Love is in the Air: Author interview featuring Davalynn Spencer's book Romancing the Widow

An author with whom you should be on a first-name basis by now, returns to the blog today to promote her book Romancing the Widow.

Romancing the Widow is Book #3 in Davalynn's Canon City collection and the focus of her interview today. So sit back, relax and enjoy the interview of this talented journalist-turned-author! :)

*Words from Alexis in bold, words from Davalynn not in bold*

~*~
Alexis: Romancing the Widow is Book #3 in your Canon City collection. Tell us about the series.

Davalynn: The three books all stand alone, but they tell the ongoing story of the Hutton family. In Romancing the Widow, Martha Hutton Stanton takes the stage as heroine. She is the widowed daughter of Annie and Caleb Hutton from the first book, The Cowboy Takes a Wife. Her brother Whit Hutton’s story is in the second book, Branding the Wrangler’s Heart.

What inspired the Canon City series?

I live in Cañon City, and it is full of little-known Western historical gems. Each of the three books offers a peek at an actual event that took place here in the 1800s. I had a couple of other books lined up in the series, but Harlequin is no longer publishing the Heartsong Presents series after June. Perhaps those other stories will appear elsewhere.

What are the names of the other books in the series?

The Cowboy Takes a Wife and Branding the Wrangler’s Heart

Let’s talk about Romancing the Widow. Why did you write it?

After getting to know Annie Whitaker and Caleb Hutton from the first book, I wanted to continue their story from the viewpoints of their two children, Whit and Martha. Martha is the young childless widow who returns home to Cañon City bereft, grief stricken, and can we say “resentful”?

Tell us about your heroine Martha Stanton. What does she fear? What does she hope for in life? What broke her heart? How will she ever love again (or will she)?

Martha is certain she will never love again. Her preacher husband is shot and killed by the stray bullet of a drunken cowboy. With no children and no prospects, she does the only thing she can: return home.

Tell us about your hero Haskell Jacobs. Describe his looks, personality, and character. What does he want out of life? What makes him so mysterious?

Oh, I’m so glad you see Haskell as mysterious, for he is! Tall, dark, and secretive, he covers his heart quite well and drives himself to stay on task. What he wants from life and what he’s getting blister to the surface in this story.

Share a synopsis of the scene where Haskell meets Martha. Why does he take interest in Martha?

Haskell sees Martha step down from the train and is struck by the bold contrast of her widow’s garb and auburn hair. He sees her again the next day at the mercantile, and is similarly moved by her manner. But he doesn’t really meet her until she walks unwittingly in front of his horse on Main Street and is nearly trampled.

Haskell is a very unique name I’d say. How did you create it?

I first saw the name Haskell in a funeral notice as the surviving brother of a deceased friend. Immediately I knew that was my character’s name, or the rest of his name. For I already had Tillman Jacobs. Tillman was my grandfather’s name and combining the two bold and uncommon names added to the mystery of my 1800s Colorado Ranger.

What would you say was the greatest challenge in creating your main characters?

These two main characters, Martha and Haskell, came alive on the page for me. No difficulty at all as I watched their personalities unfold, other than keeping to my targeted word count!

If you could spend an hour with one of your characters in this book, who would it be and why? Share details on how you’d spend that hour.

If I could spend an hour with Haskell, I’d disguise myself in men’s clothing and ride beside him on his quest for the horse thief. I’d be quiet enough to gain his confidence, for I’d love to hear his musings about his life as a Ranger, following in the steps of his father, also a Colorado Ranger.

What was your favorite memory in writing Romancing the Widow?

I was quite moved by the ending – as silly as that sounds coming from the author. Of course, I can’t give away the scene here, but the unexpected tenderness in one of the characters touched me deeply. Sometimes in the writing process, the author simply sits back and watches a scene unfold. That’s what happened for me this time.

What advice do you have for unpublished authors?

As trite and commonplace as it sounds, my advice is this: Don’t quit.

When you’re on deadline, what food or drink must you always consume?

Coffee, chocolate, and gummy bears.

What do you love the most about being a writer?

I love living vicariously through the lives of my characters. This is also my goal for readers—that they can escape for a time into the pages of my books and see another world.

What do you love the most about springtime?

Springtime in the Rockies is spectacular. The sky is piercingly blue, columbines appear, aspens leaf out. Everything is so colorful and clear. Except when a spring snowstorm sweeps down! But even those are beautiful.

Complete this sentence: After I wrote "The end" to Romancing the Widow, I felt ______________because___________________.

After I wrote “The end” to Romancing the Widow, I felt satisfied because I knew it was all going to work out for Martha and Haskell.

~*~
Author bio:

Davalynn Spencer writes inspirational Western romance complete with rugged cowboys, their challenges, and their loves. 

Her work has finaled for the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, the Selah, and the Holt Medallion. 

Davalynn teaches writing at Pueblo Community College and at various writing workshops. She and her own handsome cowboy make their home on Colorado’s Front Range with a Queensland heeler named Blue. 

~*~

Buy Davalynn's book:

Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/1MicUQ2

Barnes and Noble - http://bit.ly/1BUfNBa
Christianbook.com - http://bit.ly/1Qi90gH
~*~
Connect with Davalynn:
Website - www.davalynnspencer.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer
Twitter - @davalynnspencer

Love is in the Air: Branding the Wrangler's Heart

“The very first Love Inspired western I have ever read and I LOVED it from page 1 to the end. So well written and interesting. Never a dull or lagging moment. However, I had to ask my husband what a few words meant, such as rimrock and calf fries! Guess I am not as country as I thought I was. I really admired Olivia Hartman, for her spunk in showing those wranglers what a girl was made of … If you do not have this one on order, then you'd better hurry, it is for sure a sellout. I highly recommend it to anyone regardless of the genre you favor.” –R.A. Smith 

Those are the words that best describe what readers can expect from author Davalynn Spencer's novel, Branding the Wrangler's Heart.

Davalynn is no stranger to this blog. She's been here more than twice in the past two years and every time, she brings something new and exciting to this place.

Today, we're featuring an excerpt of Davalynn's novel. Read, enjoy and be encouraged to buy this wonderful writer's book! :)

~*~
Branding the Wrangler’s Heart
Written by Davalynn Spencer

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Branding the Wrangler's Heart:

Livvy stood at the stove and wiped her hands on her apron. Pop wasn’t his jovial self this morning. She had hoped the men could wheedle him into a better humor, but their good-natured bantering wasn’t breaking through the dour mood he’d carried home from town yesterday.

She stirred the gravy in wide slow circles, listening for Pop’s voice in the dining room. It came low and tense, and she stilled the spoon to concentrate on his words.

“I’m sure you all know about the feuding that’s been going on over the railway the last couple of years.”

Knives and forks scraped against her grandmother’s Staffordshire china, and a coffee cup clinked on its saucer. No one spoke, and she imagined the others nodding somberly.

“I don’t want my men getting mixed up in any rail war.” Pop’s voice carried an edge. “This blasted railroad business is going to get someone killed and it better not be any of you.”

A throat cleared. Whit, she guessed, who usually spoke for all the hired hands.

“We’re too busy,” Whit said. “Gathering starts today and I figure we’ll be branding for three or four days. We don’t have the time or notion to be riding up that canyon taking potshots at our neighbors.”

Pop cursed and Livvy clapped a hand over her mouth.

“That’s the problem,” he said. “Those train barons have called in outside guns and they’re offering money to any man that will sign on with them.”

“Which side?”

The heavy silence meant Pop was staring a hole through young Jody, the only one foolish enough to ask such a question.

“Not that I’m thinkin’ on joining them, mind you. I was just curious, that’s all.”

“Both sides.”

A cup slammed into its saucer and Livvy flinched. She had only eight of the original twelve left, and the way Pop and these cowhands treated her grandmother’s lovely blue-and-white china, she’d have no unchipped cups by summer’s end. Tin suited them better, but at the dining table Pop insisted on the “good dishes.” A tribute to his beloved Ruthie.

Chair legs combed the carpet as someone stood.

“You can count on us,” Whit said. “We work for this outfit, not some railroad company.”

Buck and Jody quickly agreed and flatware clattered against plates.

Livvy hurried to the sink, filled a dishpan and set it on the stove, grateful again that her grandfather had the convenience of an indoor hand pump.

Pop and the boys made their way through the kitchen, thanking her as always. Whit went out the front. She checked the other water pan already on the stove and returned to the dining room to clear the table. Through the lace curtain she saw Whit at the hitching rail, adjusting Oro’s cinch. She moved to the window to watch him—something she did too often of late. Comfortable in the knowledge that he couldn’t see her through the lacework, she wrapped her arms around her waist and studied his profile.

Dark and angular, his jaw shadowed with stubble. He was still lean but no longer the gangly boy who’d chased her in the churchyard. So different, yet so much the same as he had been during those growing-up years.

How did he see her now? As the skinny little girl who’d begged him to push her in the swing and cried when he teased her? Or as a woman who had lost that child’s heart to hero worship years ago?

He looked at the window. Livvy sucked in her breath and tightened her arms. She held her place, afraid to move and give herself away. A slow, easy smile tipped his mouth and he nodded once. Then he gathered the reins, swung into the saddle, and touched his hat brim before riding away.

Her vision darkened and she swayed. Reaching for a ladder-back chair, she gasped for air, her temples throbbing. This had to stop. She couldn’t spend all summer holding her breath every time Whit Hutton looked at her.

She finished clearing the table, set a small leftover steak on the sideboard, and covered it with a napkin. Then she carefully placed the china in the dishpan and checked through the kitchen window for the men’s whereabouts. Satisfied they were busy elsewhere, she grabbed a sharp knife and went out the front door.

An overgrown lilac bush billowed with deep purple blooms beside the dining room window. Carefully she cut three bunches and held them to her nose as she walked to the hitching rail. Glancing at the barn and bunkhouse, she turned to face the window. The lace curtains blocked her view of the chair where she had stood. Convinced that Whit could not have seen her through the sheer fabric, she went inside to search for a vase among her grandmother’s collection.

The heavy oak door opened right into the dining room with no formal entry hall. The ranch house had grown out each end of the original square-log cabin, spreading into a comfortable home. A small porch announced the entrance, but Mama Ruth had never bemoaned the informality. She had directed her British ancestral conventions to more important things.

Like decor.

The Bar-HB might be a working cattle ranch, but Ruth Baker had swept a generous hand through her house where furniture and carpets, crystal and china were concerned. Livvy chose a lovely hand-painted vase from an ornate curio cabinet. She fussed with the heady blooms, slicing off the bottom of one bunch so its heart-shaped leaves cupped over the vase’s lip. Several four-point blossoms dropped to the tablecloth and the rich perfume filled the room.

Mama Ruth had loved lilacs, and every window in the rambling house had a bush nearby that bloomed profusely from late spring into early summer—gentle lavender, brilliant white or deep purple. Even the dainty detail that edged the vase replicated the delicate blooms.

Livvy removed the soiled cloth to reveal the fine cherry wood table and stepped back to view the lilacs.

Whit could not possibly have seen her. So why did he act as if he knew she was there? How full of himself he was, assuming she stood at the window. That arrogant air had not changed one bit since their childhood.

She glanced down at the simple bodice of her blue calico and the full white apron that covered her skirt. Had it shown through the curtain?

Or had he felt her eyes on him?

~*~
Author bio: 

Davalynn Spencer writes inspirational Western romance, historical and contemporary, complete with rugged cowboys, their challenges, and their loves. Her work has finaled for the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, the Selah, and the Holt Medallion. 

Davalynn teaches writing at Pueblo Community College and at various writing workshops. She and her own handsome cowboy make their home on Colorado’s Front Range with a Queensland heeler named Blue. 

~*~
Buy Davalynn's book:
Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/1Fy5Rig
Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/1djhe6a

~*~
Connect with Davalynn:
Official website - www.davalynnspencer.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer
Twitter - @davalynnspencer

Love is in the Air: Love Is the Story

Davalynn Spencer is not a stranger to this blog but I expect you, my wonderful readers, to welcome her again with the same enthusiasm as before because she brings good news in her latest devotional written for my blog.

Read on for an inspiring message from Davalynn's heart to yours! :)

~*~
Love Is the Story
A guest post written by Davalynn Spencer

There’s nothing like love—not that we get it right all the time. Or even clearly understand what it is. But we go after it, don’t we? We long for it, cling to it, pine for it when it fades.

Then again, in our language that word “love” covers many different aspects: emotion, choice, passion, sacrifice.

I believe the most succinct and purest observation about this life-giving phenomenon was penned nearly 2,000 years ago:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
~ I Cor. 13:13 NIV

Feels like a three-fold cord to me, with love comprising the strongest thread. I like that.

From my earliest stories written as a sixth-grader to my most recent book contracted with Barbour Publishing, my theme has been love and a person’s need of it.

You remember “need” – that big, sucking vacuum in your life that leaves you standing on the edge, toes gripping as you gaze into the abyss.

Well, I’m here to tell you, God’s provision for your needs can take your breath away.

When I work on one of my inspirational Western romances – whether contemporary or historical – I work to show love between not just the hero and heroine, but among family members and between God and His children. The foundation for this construction is that three-fold concept of faith, hope, and love.

Unfortunately, the phrase is so common it’s cliché. But evidence abounds to the truth attached to these words.

During a difficult time of adjustment following a debilitating accident to a loved one, the Lord reminded me that “the greatest of these is love.” Loving my family member was all I could do. And it turned out to be what he really wanted most of all.

Our everyday lives are full of painful situations that don’t always have happily-ever-after endings. However, through the power of story, we often find the faith and hope that enables us to believe in and pursue the greatest element—love.

A recent letter from a reader of my Love Inspired | Heartsong Presents books helped me see that my approach was working:

“… and please keep inspiring people like me to be closer to the Lord.”

This reader had enjoyed three of my historical romance books, yet came away wanting to walk closer to the Lord. That’s why I write about love.

I’m glad love is the story God gave me to write. And I’m glad it’s the recurring story in His book – unconditional love without end.

~*~
Author bio:

Davalynn Spencer writes inspirational Western romance complete with rugged cowboys, their challenges, and their loves. Her work has finaled for the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, the Selah, and the Holt Medallion. 

Davalynn teaches writing at Pueblo Community College and at various writing workshops. She and her own handsome cowboy make their home on Colorado’s Front Range with a Queensland heeler named Blue. 

Connect with Davalynn online at www.davalynnspencer.com and

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer

Love is in the Air: Is a Happy-ending Romance for Real?

What's a love story like when God is missing from the cast of characters?

Explore this real-life issue with Davalynn Spencer via her devotional below this message. 

~*~
Is a Happy-ending Romance for Real?
A devotional written by Davalynn Spencer

During my recent Spring Break from teaching at the local community college, I spent one morning participating in an author event there. Several book tables were set up in the commons area through which attendees of a week-long Senior Mini-College passed between sessions.

“I used to read romance,” one woman said as she stopped to scan my table. “Used to believe all that stuff.” She swatted the air. “Humph! Three marriages later, I’m a cynic. Give me a good murder mystery any day.”

Not particularly quick-witted at that moment, I laughed and nodded. To each his own, right? Not everyone enjoys the same genre. But as I watched her walk away, regret rose—not from failing to sell her a book, but from failing to show her what God could do in a relationship.

And that’s why I write inspirational romance.

Some call it Christian romance. Call it what you will, the big difference between this type of romance and general market romance is not just in the absence of gratuitous sex, but in the presence of an unseen character.

I’ll take a stab at the type of romance novels the disgruntled woman read. “Slender thigh,” we used to called them. “Bodice-rippers,” with physically perfect heroes and heroines against whom no real human could stand. But the core issue lies far deeper than the stereotypical characters and plots. Guessing again at the woman’s type of romance novel, I’ll suggest that the stories she read were godless in the purest form.

God was missing from the cast.

The tiny book of First John in the New Testament tells us that God is love. The larger gospel of John shows us that God is love. And the last book in the New Testament, penned by the same man, is a spectacular display of God’s happy ending. It is, to overly simplify the matter, the romance between God and His bride, the church.

You see, that’s the difference between a love story and a romance. Consider Shakespeare’s classic love story, “Romeo and Juliet.” No happy ending. Not a romance.

Ever hear of a blockbuster movie from 1970 titled Love Story with Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal? Guess why it wasn’t called Romance?

Personally, I like happy-ending stories so I read them and write them. My favorites are full of fallible characters, with realistic challenges and heartaches, who involve God in their lives. Perhaps that’s the most important connection: God wants to be involved in our lives.

I think the Creator likes happy-ending stories too, because He wrote the best one of all. Talk about a hero who gives all for the one he loves (check out that book of John). And a hero who comes in on a white horse to rescue the object of his affection? You got it—Revelation. I take a heap of comfort in knowing that my relationship with Him is a happy-never-ending eternity with the Lover of my soul.

~*~
Author bio: Davalynn Spencer writes inspirational Western romance, historical and contemporary, complete with rugged cowboys, their challenges, and their loves. 

Connect with Davalynn:

Website - www.davalynnspencer.com

Author Page - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer

Twitter - @davalynnspencer

Author interview: Davalynn Spencer

Last week, I interviewed Melissa Tagg about her life as a former newspaper reporter turned novelist. This week, I’d like to introduce you to another former journalist who is now a successful author and speaker. Davalynn Spencer is her name and she has a wealth of wisdom and creative words to share with you in this interview feature on my blog today. So read on and enjoy!

Alexis: You are a former journalist! Tell me about your journey from the newsroom to becoming a novelist.

Davalynn: I started writing by telling the stories of people’s lives. When my husband was rodeoing full time, our children and I traveled with him across the United States, and I wrote feature stories and interviews for the Prorodeo Sports News, the trade paper for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. I also wrote for Western Horseman, American Cowboy, The Upper Room, Christian Standard, Power for Living, and The Line Rider which I edited for the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys, Inc. while my husband worked as the president and general manager of the nonprofit organization. All this led to my employment as a crime-beat reporter for the local newspaper. Funny how those things work out. Yet through all the years of writing, my goal was to be a novelist. I decided one day that it was time to pursue that dream so I did. Attended writers’ conferences, met with agents, followed agent/editor/author blogs, signed with Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary, honed my craft, and wrote novellas and novels.

Now that you’re a novelist, what genre do you write? Do you specialize in novels or novellas?

I write inspirational romance, both historical and contemporary, because I’m interested in relationships and happy endings. Everything isn’t pretty or perfect in my stories, but when a romance reader picks up a book, he or she knows that the situation will eventually work out. It’s the process of getting there—through the gunk—that makes the journey exciting and the ending worthwhile. I write both novellas and novels.

Is all of your work as a novelist fictional? Why or why not?

All novels are fictional, but they are woven together with threads of truth. There is a bit of myself in all of my stories, especially the contemporary books. Though it sounds ridiculously obvious to say, the human condition is universal. People everywhere experience the same emotions of anger, jealously, sorrow, pity, joy, love. Circumstances are different, but the emotions are the same and they are very real.

Where do you get the inspiration for your creative stories?

Sometimes a situation in my own life will spark a story. Or a location; setting is important to me. I wrote a novella based on a woman I saw sitting in her car in a parking lot talking on her cell phone. The story has nothing to do with a woman on a cell phone, but it was the germ to which my imagination attached. News stories also prompt ideas. And actual events in close friends’ lives that I have to “adjust” because readers would not consider the tales plausible otherwise. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

What would you say were the unique challenges of switching your writing style from print journalism articles to creative fiction stories?

One challenge is finding your writer’s voice. Journalistic writing has a distinct tone. But even as a journalist, I’ve always leaned toward feature writing which is warmer, less cut-and-dry. I prefer the “story” feel, and that may be what has helped me transition from reporter to author.

Melissa Tagg and Stacy Hawkins Adams who are now successful Christian fiction authors, used to be journalists too! What would you say to journalists who dream of making the jump from being in the newsroom to becoming a novelist like you?

I found encouragement from Mark Twain who was first a journalist and then a novelist, and so I would point those journalists to him and others like Tagg and Hawkins and many more—surprisingly many. But I would also share the words I read every day on a poster above my desk: “No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and fight for your dreams.” Learn the craft, don’t give up, and get used to using the serial comma. (They’ll know what I mean.)

How has your relationship with God helped your writing career?

One day I read the story in II Kings 4 about the widow and her jar of oil. She basically had nothing but the capacity to obey. When she chose to do so, miracles poured out. As I read, I related to her situation because I wanted desperately to write, yet at the same time, I was afraid I’d run out of things to say. The Lord impressed upon my heart that, like the widow, if I continued to pour it out, He would pour it in. Obedience is an act of faith. I have to trust Him to provide.

I have nothing of any value or worth apart from God. Jesus has walked with me through every valley, fire, and torrent and over every mountain, hillock, and verdant meadow. The one thing in my life that has been constant and true is His presence and faithfulness.

How has your award-winning work as a journalist played into your fictional stories?

Those many awards were confirmation that I was headed in the right direction at the time. A couple from which I took a great deal of encouragement were first-place awards from the Colorado Associated Press: the story of a police negotiator who caught a woman mid-air as she jumped from a ledge near the Royal Gorge, and the story of how the Columbine School tragedy affected our local high school students. Recently placing second in the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards with my contemporary romance, The Rancher’s Second Chance (Heartsong) has had the same effect: encouragement that I’m headed in the right direction.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?

On my website, readers will see the phrase “faith and fresh hope.” My goal is to write a story that brings faith and fresh hope into a reader’s life. Nothing beats hearing from someone who was comforted/encouraged/inspired by one of my stories, or who related to one of my characters so much that they want to read more about that individual and his or her life.

Did you always know you’d grow up to be a professional writer? Share the story of how and when you knew “This is it!”

I have written stories all my life, whether in my journal that no one else ever read, or for a newspaper, or as novels. There have been many moments of feeling that I’ve made it home at last. However, the journey never ends. There is always more to learn, more to experience, and more to write.

What is your favorite topic to write about as a novelist? Why?

I’m partial to cowboys and the western way of life, whether present day or historical. If I could, I would go back and live in the 1800s. It was hard, sometimes even brutal. But life was simpler, not as noisy. I like that.

Are you traditionally published? Do you have an agent? If yes, please share the name of who represents your work and share the story of how that happened.

My agent is Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary. I connected with her via the agency owner, Joyce Hart, whom I met through a webinar in 2010. Joyce liked my writing and gave my name to Linda. My first novella was published by Pelican Books, my four novels are published by Harlequin’s Love Inspired | Heartsong Presents, and I have two novellas in two Barbour collections, one releasing this November, Christmas Wedding Bell Brides, and one coming out summer 2015.

Are you married? Do you have children? Give my readers a glimpse into your personal life.

When a certain handsome, dark-eyed cowboy walked into church one Sunday morning, I knew my hopes of getting past him unscathed were slim to none. I’m so glad. Today we have three children, four grandchildren and a Queensland heeler named Blue.

You call Colorado home. What do you love about living there?

We live on the Front Range, on the lip of the mountains – there’s a word picture for you. It’s like straddling two worlds: the present and the past. Within a few miles of our home, I can be up in the parks (cow country) walking through an old square-log cabin on a homestead, leaning in close to pictographs left on rock face by early Native Americans, or waiting at a red light in town. And there’s nothing quite like watching a massive storm roll in off the plains and slam up against the mountains only to dump lightning and rain and then clear out leaving brilliant blue sky behind.

How do you spend your free time? What are your hobbies?

I love to read, to move into the story worlds of other authors. I also play the piano and guitar and only recently stepped down from playing on our church’s worship team. Walking is a favorite pastime as well.

You’re also a speaker. What topics do you cover and what’s your main message?

My messages all focus on one key idea: God is faithful. Sounds trite, but it’s true. The fun part comes in sharing the stories of how I know He’s faithful. One of my favorite topics is “Sometimes Life’s a Rodeo.” Everyone can relate, because who hasn’t found themselves face down in the dirt wondering what just ran over them?

What is your favorite Bible verse? Why?

That’s almost like asking me which child is my favorite! I have many favorites, depending upon what’s happening around and within me at the moment, but one I return to as a life verse is Psalm 16:8 – I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (NIV). Several years ago I published a book of thirty devotions for women titled Always Before Me. The devotional thoughts are stories from my life and have often served as the basis for speaking topics. Who but the Lord can be both ahead of us, leading us, and beside us, comforting us at the same time? He has it all covered.

What do you want your legacy to be?

I want my legacy to be that when I’m pushed up against the wall, Jesus comes out through the cracks in my life.

Thank you for the interview, Davalynn! Do you have a question for my readers you’d like answers to in the comment section? If you do please share! It’s been a joy hosting you on my blog! God bless you!

I’d like to ask readers how important the story’s setting is to them as they read.

~ End of interview ~

Author bio: 

Wife and mother of professional rodeo bullfighters, Davalynn Spencer began her writing journey in the national rodeo market and as a newspaper journalist, winning awards in both arenas. Today she continues to win acclaim with her inspirational western romance placing second in the 2014 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards, and finaling for the Selah Award and the Holt Medallion. Davalynn teaches writing at Pueblo Community College, and with her handsome cowboy has three children and four grandchildren. They make their home on Colorado’s Front Range with a Queensland heeler named Blue.

Connect with Davalynn online at www.davalynnspencer.com, www.Facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer and follow her on Twitter @davalynnspencer and become her fan and/or friend on Goodreads.

Davalynn’s books can be found:

On her website and blog, www.davalynnspencer.com

Amazon's Davalynn Spencer page, http://amzn.to/1nqzskB

Christianbook.com (http://bit.ly/1nbYdRw)