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Love's Embrace

Love's Embrace was my first attempt at a non-YA book. I hate saying it's an "adult book" because that gives it a completely different connotation. But it IS a book for grown ups rather than teens this time, and I think I've done alright with it. I also tried my hand at adding a Christian element to it. I'm no theologian, but in this case, I was attempting a message about conquering fear. 

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My main male character, Simon, has a deeply rooted fear of storms. His mother and younger brother were killed in a flash flood when he was just a child, and he's carried that with him all his life. During the time I was writing this story, I was caught in my car in one of the worst storms we've had in a long time, complete with hail. Being caught on the road during something like that turns those knuckles white on the steering wheel! When I finally found a place to pull over and wait it out and the deafening pounding on the roof finally subsided, the song I Have This Hope by Tenth Avenue North was on the radio. I had heard it before, but it really struck me this time. "I have this hope in the depths of my soul. In the flood or the fire, You are with me and You won't let go." What a message! When I got home later that day, I looked up the song online and discovered they had used Isaiah 43:2 as the inspiration for it. "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." And while the message clearly spoke to me in my time of great fear, I couldn't ignore how perfect it was for Simon as well. Up until that time, I had struggled to find the right verse to fit Simon. And suddenly, here it was dropped in my lap.  

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Be sure to keep an eye out for a shark reference. Just because it's not a shark book doesn't mean they aren't there!

I Have This Hope by Tenth Avenue North

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Courtesy of Getty Images

I always make a big deal about names, but surprisingly, this time, there is no special meaning to anyone's name. Honestly, Hattie and Simon are just names that I like and have always liked. There is one exception to this. When I started the story, I thought I would add, tongue in cheek, homage to my favorite movie trio of all time - Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Obviously, Han and Leia would have been ridiculous names in 1883, so I stuck with the actors' names - Harrison, Mark and Carrie. It was while I was working on the book that Carrie Fisher passed away, and so I kept the names in tribute. 

Only one character in this story is based on a real person, and that is the character of Granny. In the story, she is Simon's grandmother, but she is based on my own Granny, a tiny lady who is sharp as a tack and tough as nails. She had a health scare just as I was getting the book uploaded to Amazon, so I nervously waited and hoped the printed copy would be ready in time for me to visit her. Fortunately, she bounced back and the book came in, so the very first copy of this book went to her, and she read it in less than 48 hours. She was so proud and honored to have a character based on her and a book dedicated to her, so I'm calling Love's Embrace "Granny Approved."

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Meet in the Middle

by Diamond Rio

Very often, I take inspiration from music, and Love's Embrace is no exception. Meet In The Middle by Diamond Rio gave me the idea of two kids meeting up under their favorite tree. The difference here is that their tree was an "old Georgia pine" and mine is a Texas Live Oak. Here in my hometown, we have what's called The Founders Oak, a Live Oak believed to be over 300 years old and possibly an old Indian marker since it grows more horizontally than vertically. Today, it is held up with concrete pillars but is still green and beautiful. It truly is amazing to see in person. The girth of the trunk is simply unimaginable if you haven't seen it with your own eyes. I wanted Simon and Hattie to have a big old tree like this, and so I gave them one.

The story of the flood that took Simon's mother and brother is based on a true story I heard when I was about 10 years old and which has haunted me ever since then. I do not know the names of the victims, but I believe the location was in Bandera, Texas, on the Medina River. I remember seeing the slab of the house that had been washed away by that flood, and now, whenever I see an empty slab or damaged homes along the river, I'm reminded of that horrific tale.

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Founders Oak
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Texas Wildflowers. From late February to mid-May,  the Texas Hill Country is blanketed (depending on how much rain we have received that year) in vibrant colors. The first to make their appearance are the bluebonnets, Texas' state flower. Then, we start to see the Indian Paintbrushes, Indian Blankets, Mexican Hats, Wine Cups, Pink Evening Primroses, Prairie Verbena, and a wide variety of yellow flowers including Engelmann's Daisy.

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Bluebonnets

Pink Evening Primrose

Mexican Hat

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Blanket

 a special flower for Hattie and Simon

Prairie Verbena

Engelmann's Daisy

An important aspect of every cattle rancher's spread is the cattle brand. The best way to identify your own cattle especially in the days before barbed wire was to brand your own mark into your stock. I have three ranches in Love's Embrace, and each needed its own distinct brand. Daniel Sommerville, Hattie's father, being a traditional man, named his ranch the D Bar S. His brand was easy. Old Man Terry's ranch was called the Rocking T. Following historical examples, it wasn't very difficult to come up with that one either. Simon Caldwell's ranch, the Hell and High Water, was the only one I had to really think about and get creative on. My original intention was that these brands would be the dividers within the chapters whenever there was a break, but they would have been so small, no one could have distinguished them. But since I put so much thought and effort into them, I decided they needed to be included here. The chapter divider ultimately was a string of barbed wire. 

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D Bar S

Daniel Sommerville's brand

Rocking T

Old Man Terry's brand

Hell and High Water

Simon Caldwell's brand

Barbed Wire chapter dividers

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Finally, if you ordered a paperback copy of Love's Embrace, you may have noticed there is a photo of a Bible on the back cover. Yes, there's a story behind that. It's my grandfather's Bible which I received after he passed away. It's the only King James Version I have, and I opened it to Isaiah 43:2 for the photo. If you want to know why the flower is there, you'll have to read the book.

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