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The Texas Homecoming #3
Her Best Christmas Ever
He'd have a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner at his mom's ranch, count his blessings, then superstar country singer Greg Clayton would go back on tour. But when a storm stranded him alone with the very pregnant Connie Montoya, Greg delivered her holiday baby himself! Suddenly, he'd found something that could compare to fame and the beautiful single mother and the sweet baby girl who felt like his own. But Greg's life was on the road—and Connie's past made joining him impossible. Until a holiday miracle called love showed him how to make all of Connie's Christmas dreams come true.…
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
4 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Judy Duarte
325 books96 followersWhen life threw Judy Duarte a curve twenty years ago, she did what many newly single mothers do. She pulled herself and her four kids together, became even more determined to come out on top, and decided to start following her dreams. What better role model could she provide her children than to show them that anything is possible? So, she returned to school, graduating from UC Irvine about the same time her oldest kids hit the teen years.
With her dream of getting her degree having come true, another dream presented itself by way of a new, perfect mate. Life was good again, but one dream still nagged at her:
"I always knew there was a book inside me, but since English was my least favorite subject in school, I never considered myself a writer."
All her life Judy has been spinning stories--telling tales to her kids as they grew up, plotting stories and creating characters to fill the time during carpool days and all those commutes back to college...and she never stopped dreaming of putting those stories on paper. Determined to follow her yearnings, she joined Romance Writers of America and met her critique partners Crystal Green and Sheri WhiteFeather (both are now multi-published award-winning authors and the trio have worked together and encouraged each other ever since).
“I might not have been a born writer, but I was a storyteller. The characters and plots came easy, but I had to learn how to make the scenes in my head come alive for the reader. And that meant I had to learn how to write.”
Judy's determination to become a published author grew and she began focusing on creating poignant stories designed to touch a reader's heart. As she fine-tuned her writing style and learned her craft, she found herself writing the stories she liked to read. Stories about families, second chances, and true love. In creating her own happily-ever-after stories she took ordinary characters, put them in emotionally compelling situations, and forced them to grow. They learned, as she had, that when a door is closed, they must look for that open window.
“Since I love books and movies in which people must overcome insurmountable odds to win and earn their happy-ever-after, those are the kinds of tales I like to create.”
Judy's unpublished stories won not only the coveted Emily (West Houston RWA Chapter) and Orange Rose (Orange County RWA Chapter) awards, but also earned her the status of a double RWA Golden Heart finalist in 2001.
Then Judy's dream became a reality in March 2002 when Silhouette Special Edition released her first book, COWBOY COURAGE. Since then, she has published seventeen books and is contracted to write three more. Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. Her tales of redemption and renewed trust generate many fan letters from readers who tell her of the positive impact reading her stories have had in their lives.
A woman who had been shattered by her husband’s recent betrayal and desertion had not been able to read or watch anything that had a romance involved writes: I saw your book in the store, and the title caught my eye. (I have a thing for cowboys.) When I read the back cover, I bought it and couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day. I still have my doubts about meeting a decent man and trusting again. But maybe in time I will be able to love again. I will be watching for your next book.
In July 2005, Judy won the prestigious Reader's Choice Award for THE RICH MAN'S SON.
“When I received the call telling me I had finaled in the Reader’s Choice, I was thrilled beyond measure. Being judged by real readers and recognized as a finalist was a joy in itself. I went to the ceremony honored to be in attendance. And when they announced me the winner, tears came to my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. It took days for my feet to touch the ground.”
Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California with her husband, their son, and a cat
With her dream of getting her degree having come true, another dream presented itself by way of a new, perfect mate. Life was good again, but one dream still nagged at her:
"I always knew there was a book inside me, but since English was my least favorite subject in school, I never considered myself a writer."
All her life Judy has been spinning stories--telling tales to her kids as they grew up, plotting stories and creating characters to fill the time during carpool days and all those commutes back to college...and she never stopped dreaming of putting those stories on paper. Determined to follow her yearnings, she joined Romance Writers of America and met her critique partners Crystal Green and Sheri WhiteFeather (both are now multi-published award-winning authors and the trio have worked together and encouraged each other ever since).
“I might not have been a born writer, but I was a storyteller. The characters and plots came easy, but I had to learn how to make the scenes in my head come alive for the reader. And that meant I had to learn how to write.”
Judy's determination to become a published author grew and she began focusing on creating poignant stories designed to touch a reader's heart. As she fine-tuned her writing style and learned her craft, she found herself writing the stories she liked to read. Stories about families, second chances, and true love. In creating her own happily-ever-after stories she took ordinary characters, put them in emotionally compelling situations, and forced them to grow. They learned, as she had, that when a door is closed, they must look for that open window.
“Since I love books and movies in which people must overcome insurmountable odds to win and earn their happy-ever-after, those are the kinds of tales I like to create.”
Judy's unpublished stories won not only the coveted Emily (West Houston RWA Chapter) and Orange Rose (Orange County RWA Chapter) awards, but also earned her the status of a double RWA Golden Heart finalist in 2001.
Then Judy's dream became a reality in March 2002 when Silhouette Special Edition released her first book, COWBOY COURAGE. Since then, she has published seventeen books and is contracted to write three more. Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. Her tales of redemption and renewed trust generate many fan letters from readers who tell her of the positive impact reading her stories have had in their lives.
A woman who had been shattered by her husband’s recent betrayal and desertion had not been able to read or watch anything that had a romance involved writes: I saw your book in the store, and the title caught my eye. (I have a thing for cowboys.) When I read the back cover, I bought it and couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day. I still have my doubts about meeting a decent man and trusting again. But maybe in time I will be able to love again. I will be watching for your next book.
In July 2005, Judy won the prestigious Reader's Choice Award for THE RICH MAN'S SON.
“When I received the call telling me I had finaled in the Reader’s Choice, I was thrilled beyond measure. Being judged by real readers and recognized as a finalist was a joy in itself. I went to the ceremony honored to be in attendance. And when they announced me the winner, tears came to my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. It took days for my feet to touch the ground.”
Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California with her husband, their son, and a cat
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 26, 2009
I hate when the people on the cover of a book doesn't match the people in the book. I thought that this book was going to be an interracial book, because on the cover, it has a woman and baby of color and a white man, but in the book both the woman and man is Latino.
The hero,Greg Clayton is Mexican and the heroine, Connie Montayo is mixed. She's half Anglo/Mexican. The baby's father is a white man.
Greg was adopted, when he was 12 years old. His mother died, after she gave birth to him. His mother's sister took him back to Mexico to raise him and after she died, he was placed in a foster home. He ran away from the foster home and worked with some other guys. One of the guys beat him badly and that's how he wind up staying with Granny. She had already adopted two other young boys, who needed a mother and why not a third child?
Connie's father died, when she was young. Her mother is a famous cook and has her own TV show. Connie grew up not believing that her mother loved her, because her mother payed more attention to her sister. Connie rebelled and moved out of the house at 18. She hooked up with guys that she knew her mother wouldn't have approved of. Well, the last guy she was with - Ross abused her. He started smalll, with the pushing, then it lead to him beating her. She stayed with him, up until he beat her. She left and started a new life. She took a job at the Rocking C. The place that Greg's mother - Granny owned.
Let me shorten this. Greg was shocked to find out that his crush was pregnant. He delivers the baby. He gets attached to the baby. He finds out that Connie use to sing in a band. He likes her signing. blah, blah. He wants her to join his band. blah, blah.
A video of Connie singing with Greg gets out. It's shown on Youtube and on TV. Connie thinks that Greg set her up. Connie feared for her life, because Ross threaten her, before the cops took him to jail. Connie runs to her mother's house. Dinah finds out for the first time that she's a grandmother. Greg comes to the house, to declare his love for Connie. Ross shows up to the house, wanting to get back with Connie. He sees the baby for the first time and asked Connie who the baby is for. She tells him it's hers. He asked, who the father was. Her mother said it was Greg. Ross was so dumb, he thought that Connie was messing around on him, so he believed the mother, when she said it was Greg's, because the baby could have passed for Greg's baby, because the baby looked Latino too and Ross was white.
Needless to say, this book didn't have fire in it. Only, because I like the cover. I might keep the book.
The hero,Greg Clayton is Mexican and the heroine, Connie Montayo is mixed. She's half Anglo/Mexican. The baby's father is a white man.
Greg was adopted, when he was 12 years old. His mother died, after she gave birth to him. His mother's sister took him back to Mexico to raise him and after she died, he was placed in a foster home. He ran away from the foster home and worked with some other guys. One of the guys beat him badly and that's how he wind up staying with Granny. She had already adopted two other young boys, who needed a mother and why not a third child?
Connie's father died, when she was young. Her mother is a famous cook and has her own TV show. Connie grew up not believing that her mother loved her, because her mother payed more attention to her sister. Connie rebelled and moved out of the house at 18. She hooked up with guys that she knew her mother wouldn't have approved of. Well, the last guy she was with - Ross abused her. He started smalll, with the pushing, then it lead to him beating her. She stayed with him, up until he beat her. She left and started a new life. She took a job at the Rocking C. The place that Greg's mother - Granny owned.
Let me shorten this. Greg was shocked to find out that his crush was pregnant. He delivers the baby. He gets attached to the baby. He finds out that Connie use to sing in a band. He likes her signing. blah, blah. He wants her to join his band. blah, blah.
A video of Connie singing with Greg gets out. It's shown on Youtube and on TV. Connie thinks that Greg set her up. Connie feared for her life, because Ross threaten her, before the cops took him to jail. Connie runs to her mother's house. Dinah finds out for the first time that she's a grandmother. Greg comes to the house, to declare his love for Connie. Ross shows up to the house, wanting to get back with Connie. He sees the baby for the first time and asked Connie who the baby is for. She tells him it's hers. He asked, who the father was. Her mother said it was Greg. Ross was so dumb, he thought that Connie was messing around on him, so he believed the mother, when she said it was Greg's, because the baby could have passed for Greg's baby, because the baby looked Latino too and Ross was white.
Needless to say, this book didn't have fire in it. Only, because I like the cover. I might keep the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review