Hi, Winnie Griggs
here, back with more on what’s new and intriguing on the
Inspirational Romance front. Harlequin’s Love Inspired Historical line has a new
three-book series out this spring, and I asked the three authors involved, Linda Ford, Renee Ryan and Lacy Williams, a little
bit about how their experience went in participating in the project.
Here’s how they responded:
What did you enjoy most about working on this project?
Linda: I’ve always had a fascination with wagon train travel.
In a way it’s a tight knit community on the move. Finding actual journals of the
Oregon Trail to read made it so real.
Renee: I absolutely adored learning more about the Oregon
Trail, not only the mechanics of the actual crossing, but also the internal
fortitude it took to embark on such a journey. The men and women who set out
from the safety of all they knew, with only a distant hope for a better life,
were truly amazing. I walked away from the entire experience with a stronger
desire to take risks in my own life.
Lacy: As a kid, I loved playing the Oregon Trail computer game
(random side-note: they now have an app—yes, I played it. It’s research!). I
loved Janette Oke’s wagon train book and have always had a favorite place in my
heart for these kind of books. When I was invited to participate in the
collection, I couldn’t say no! I am a research fanatic, so like Linda and Renee,
reading more about the lives of real people making the journey was a pleasure.
What are you excited for readers to see in these books?
Linda: What I’d really like the reader to grasp is what an
undertaking this was…people heading into the unknown with no road maps, no roads
and no way of getting help. They truly lived by their courage and wits.
Renee: I hope the readers will come away with a similar awe for
the pioneers who embarked on this treacherous journey. These were not weak
people. They faced great hardships and were stronger on the other side. I hope
I made the people come to life in a way that is inspiring and heartwarming.
Lacy: I’m excited for readers to see the sibling relationships
play out between Ben, Emma and Rachel. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to do
something like the journey west alone, so I think that family relationship is so
important!
What it was like working together?
Linda: This series was easier than some to work together on
because we didn’t have to create a town. The ‘community’ was very self-contained.
Renee: I truly enjoyed getting to know Linda and Lacy better.
I feel as though I have two new friends after this project. I’d always admired
both women’s work, now I admire them as individuals.
Lacy: A lot of fun! Picking each others’ brains for details and sharing
early drafts of the books was a blast.
And finally, give us a little teaser about each of the books.
WAGON TRAIN REUNION by Linda Ford (April):
The past keeps them apart. The present forces them together. Can they find
happiness in the future?
WAGON TRAIN SWEETHEART by Lacy Williams (May):
Outsider Nathan Reed isn’t surprised to face false accusations. He is surprised
when Emma Hewitt stands beside him—and stays.
WAGON TRAIN PROPOSAL by Renee Ryan (June):
Rachel Hewitt couldn’t possibly accept a marriage of convenience, not even for
the sake of three adorable little girls who desperately want a new mother.
Widower Sheriff Tristan McCullough doesn’t want emotional entanglements, but
Rachel might just be his unexpected second chance at happiness…if he’ll risk his
wary heart again.
Read more below about the Journey West series, where romance and adventure
awaits three siblings on the Oregon Trail.
WAGON TRAIN REUNION by Linda Ford
WAGON TRAIN REUNION
|
Second-Chance Courtship Abigail Black had no choice but to break Ben Hewitt's heart years ago. Her
parents had picked another, wealthier groom. Now widowed and destitute, she's
desperate to leave her old life behind. The wagon-train journey to Oregon is
full of dangers, but she'll face anything—even Ben—for a fresh start. Ben knows better than to trust Abby again. Between her family's snobbery and his
family's protectiveness, avoiding her should be easy. Yet he's still moved by
Abby's sweetness and beauty…along with a sadness and strength he never noticed
in her before. Forgiving past wrongs would be a struggle—but the hardest
struggle would be letting Abby go once more.
|
WAGON TRAIN SWEETHEART by Lacy Williams
WAGON TRAIN SWEETHEART
|
A Promised Bride Emma Hewitt never thought she'd travel thousands of miles to wed. Yet Oregon is
where she'll meet the groom her brothers have chosen. After years of nursing her
ailing father, Emma's social skills are lacking. An arranged marriage is only
sensible. And her growing feelings for Nathan Reed, a worker on her wagon train,
are surely better forgotten. Nathan knows he's wrong for Emma. He's too rough, too burdened with guilt over
his past. But when Emma nurses him through a fever, she sees something in him no
one ever has. Now he wants to be a man worthy of her love. Emma's loyalty to
family has always come first. Will she find the courage now to follow her heart? |
WAGON TRAIN PROPOSAL by Renee Ryan
WAGON TRAIN PROPOSAL
|
For the Sake of His Children A marriage of convenience? Rachel Hewitt couldn't possibly accept. Not even for
the sake of three adorable little girls who desperately want a new mother.
Sheriff Tristan McCullough offers Rachel a home and family, but not the one
thing she truly seeks—someone to love her for herself. Tristan McCullough hoped to find a wife on the wagon train, not a nanny. The
hardworking widower wants a marriage without emotional risks. But independent
Rachel intrigues him. One minute she's winning over his shy little girls, and
the next she's tackling danger head-on. She might just be Tristan's unexpected
second chance at happiness…if he'll risk his wary heart again.
|
Winnie
Griggs grew up in south Louisiana in an undeveloped area her friends thought
of as the back of beyond. She and her two younger siblings spent many an hour
exploring the overgrown land around her home, cutting jungle trails, building
forts and frontier camps, and looking for pirate ships on the nearby bayou. Once
she ‘grew up' she found other outlets for dealing with all those wonderful,
adventurous imaginary friends by filling notebooks with their stories.
Eventually she found her own Prince Charming, a rancher whose white steed takes
the form of a tractor and whose kingdom is situated in a small rural community
that she loves to call home, and together they've built their own storybook
happily–ever–after that includes four now grown children, two of whom are twins.
Now a multi–published, award winning author, Winnie feels blessed to be able to
share her stories with readers through her writings for Love Inspired Historical
books.
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