RIDE THE FIRE is reissued with new material

Every author has a book that is special, one that is different from the rest, one that changed the experience of writing. For me, RIDE THE FIRE is that novel.

The idea for the story came to me while I was in the middle of writing CARNAL GIFT (Kenleigh-Blakwell Family Saga, Book 2). It fell into my imagination in one whole piece. I could see the hero, Nicholas Kenleigh, in my mind so clearly. I knew his past, his present, his future. And I knew what the heroine, Bethie Stewart, had endured — and what Nicholas would come to mean to her.

But Nicholas and Bethie had to wait their turn.

When I finally sat down to write the book, my research complete, the story consumed me, taking over my mind, my heart, and my imagination so completely that there was room for little else in my world. The house didn't get cleaned for months. I stayed up writing until two or three or four in the morning — and then went to work the next morning. For five months, the story consumed me. And when I was finished, I could barely speak about it, whatever had come out of me and gone onto the pages having left me feeling utterly empty. I had intended to write an epilogue, but I found I couldn't. I couldn't touch the book, talk about the book, or even think about it without tears.

My editor didn't change a word. There were no revisions. And when the book was released, it became what was for quite a while my bestselling novel.

Looking back, I know that RIDE THE FIRE helped me find my true voice as a writer. I took personal risks for the story, delving into my own very personal pain and anguish for the heroine's backstory. Since the book’s release, I’ve been open with readers’ groups and fans about the fact that I, like Bethie, was sexually assaulted as a child. Bethie carries the pain and shame of that terrible experience through her life until she meets a man who understands her suffering far more than she can imagine.

For Nicholas and Bethie, it really is a case of love healing all wounds.

This book was special to me me, not only because of the very emotional themes in the story, but also because of the history. I love pre-Revolutionary Colonial America, and I love the history of the French and Indian War. Pontiac’s Rebellion, the pivotal event in this story, is the aftermath of the French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War). And it led to the Paxton Boys’ Rebellion, a little known incident that some historians have referred to as America’s “first civil war.” Drawing all of these events together and depicting them as accurately as possible was a huge challenge and one that I loved.

With the help of the Fort Pitt Museum, I was able to use soldiers’ diaries from the siege of Fort Pitt to recreate day-to-day life in the fort. I put a painting of Fort Pitt up on my wall, where it hangs still, as an inspiration for my writing.

After the book's original publisher went under, the book went out of print. I received requests for it, but there was nothing I could do. I was thrilled when my editor at Penguin bought the story not only because that meant it would be in print again, but also because I would finally get the chance to write the epilogue.

During the summer of 2012, I re-edited and revised the story, making changes here and there and adding some touches that I had long wanted to include. Then I sat down with characters I had loved so much and expanded their happily ever after with the epilogue that had been sitting in my heart for eight years.

The book will be reissued on February 5 complete with a new cover and this new material. I can't wait to share it with those who loved the original version and with new readers alike. To celebrate its release, I've had new covers created for the first two books in the series — SWEET RELEASE and CARNAL GIFT — that are similar in style to the new cover for RIDE THE FIRE.

I hope Nicholas and Bethie's story touches you the way it touched me.

For excerpts, please visit my website at www.pamelaclare.com.