A dash of magic bestowed by a dark-clad stranger . . .A full moon and a case of mistaken identity . . . A dance on Midsummer’s Eve . . . A man has finally proposed to spinster Leah Whitman, and she’s prepared to leave behind the Oregon town and the dry goods store she loves to follow him to a wilderness in need of a school teacher.Austin Ryder, the earthy gunsmith who rents the other half of her building, is not a man she would consider proper company for any respectable woman. Too handsome, too rugged, too much of everything, he is intriguing to Leah’s sister Bethany, who yearns for excitement and adventure beyond the dry goods store and the town limits of Lost Horse.Surprises await all of them in this short novel about magic, moonlight, and true love.
I've been a self-employed working novelist for the past twenty years. Of all the books I've written I've had just one foreign sale, and that was THE IRISH BRIDE, which was translated into Norwegian, where I understand it was a big hit.
I also make jewelry and I'm a fine needlework artist, specializing in embroidery, thread crochet, and sewing. I love to cook, read, entertain friends, decorate, and pursue various crafts.
I live in the Pacific Northwest near the Columbia River, still within 10 miles of my old high school. I have a Great Pyrenees dog, one cat, a finch, and three chickens who all seem to want to be in my small office while I'm trying to work (except the chickens, although they'd be thrilled to get into the house if I let them). Getting up to step around them is like maneuvering an obstacle course, but they are my children and so dear to me. My hours are kind of goofy--I'm just not a morning person and tend to be up late when the rest of the world is sleeping--and QUIET. No phones, faxes, distractions. Just the kids and me, candles burning, and the elevator music coming out of my CD player.
Before I made the leap to full-time writer, I spent about 12 years working for consulting civil engineers. Riprap, anyone? How about a nice detention pond?
A rather predictable story about two sisters, one plain and one pretty, and their love tangles. Leah is engaged to the serious minister, while her sister is swooning over the handsome gunsmith.