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Heidi Peltier
Author
Lawmen of Texas Book 1: The Deputy's Promise
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!
Well, I'll be honest. I never intended to write a trilogy. The Deputy's Promise was going to be a stand-alone book just like Love's Embrace, but for reasons I won't explain until Book 2's release, one of the characters demanded his own story be told. And who am I to deny him?
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This is the first time I've written two books almost simultaneously. Books 1 & 2 take place at the same time but in different places with different characters. So I had to be sure the details lined up properly.
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And fair warning to all you genealogists out there: this trilogy is your worst nightmare!
Easter Eggs
Do you like hunting for Easter eggs...in movies and books? I do. I like hiding them too. I wonder if you spotted any in this book. Kat Carlton (Aikaterine Marinos) was born in Greece. Did anyone happen to notice that Matthias Garnett's horse was named Hermes? Or that the outlaws were referred to as the "demons of Hades"?
Of course, I also had to include a shark reference, though it's rather gruesome. I didn't go into a lot of detail but chose to let the reader imply. And I made a subtle reference to the Delmar family from my Book of the Delmar series. If you didn't catch it, maybe it's time for a re-read.
A Little Texas History
I grew up in deep South Texas, and no, that does not mean San Antonio. Those of us from the Rio Grande Valley, where a portion of this book takes place, always dreaded the drive north because it meant we had to go through "The Ranch." The King Ranch at the time of this book (1890) was only 150,000 acres, but today, it's roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island (825,000 acres). They use helicopters to herd cattle, something Matthias Garnett never would have dreamed of. The Kinenos, like my character Beto, have been there since the ranch's beginnings, and their descendants remain there to this day. To learn more, go to
The idea for The Deputy's Promise began with a story I heard on the radio. The speaker was talking about how love stories always end with marriage, how nobody wants to hear about the day to day life of a married couple because the excitement has worn off. So I wondered to my self if that had to be true. (And I really hope you've already read the book before you're reading this; otherwise #spoilers!) Was it possible to write a story that didn't end in marriage? So I gave it a shot. (I also have another idea rolling around in my head to delve even further into this possibility.)
Burr
The dog, Burr, was one of the first characters "cast" in this book. He is 100% based on a real dog that my aunt once had. Ugliest dog you ever saw, and her name was "Precious". Yes, of course, we made plenty of Gollum references! Burr's behavior and mannerisms, though, are based on the cutest dog in the word, my dog Odie.
