Dreamless

by Darlene Graham

Cassie McClean, a builder of luxury homes, and Jake Coffey, a breeder of fine Andalusian horses, have neighboring businesses. While they've had several differences of opinion about how their businesses are affecting each other, their mutual attraction forces them to work out their problems - and discover their love for each other.

All Cassie and Jake want to do is concentrate on their busy lives - and their new relationship. But when a dangerous arsonist starts destroying property on both sides of their fence, Cassie and Jake find they have new problems - problems that are costing them time and money, but are also endangering lives, particularly Cassie's. She and Jake set out to find the connection between the threats being made to Cassie now and the heartbreaking childhood illness she almost didn't survive. Will they discover it in time?

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Darlene Graham, who won the Oklahoma Writers' Federation prestigious Teepee Award for Best Fiction Book of 1999, says that having witnessed birth, death and "everything in between" helps her put realistic emotions into her novels. Graham practiced as a registered nurse in Labor and Delivery and then Oncology for 20 years before she decided to translate all that real-life drama into romantic suspense fiction.

"Even though I write uplifting, even humorous romance," the mother of three says, "I'm also not afraid to deal with real issues, with real pain. I've been known to sit at my computer and shed a few tears while I write."

Graham's first book, It Happened in Texas, was released as a Guaranteed Page Turner by Harlequin Superromance, and she says that since that book sold, her writing life has felt "like popcorn popping."

"Something new and exciting happens almost every day."

Graham says that she never runs out of material, and often gets her plot ideas by pure serendipity.

"I feel like I'm just getting started and I don't think I'll ever get tired of writing. Writing is my dream. How many people get to actually live their dreams every single day? For me, there's no turning back."

Reviews

[Whitney Cannavina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read