BLURB:
Ride with the Cracker Cowboys in historical
Florida as they take the cattle to market and follow the journey of Linney
Merritt as one cowboy steals her heart. Marrying held no interest for either,
but now, against all their determination, they are drawn to each other. And
then, just before Christmas, they find themselves fighting together to save the
life of a calf, all the while discovering the One who can remove fears and
provide forgiveness.
EXCERPTS:
1. Nellie moaned, and Linney pulled. The emerging calf licked her face.
“We better hurry, Pa. He just done licked me. Don’t want him thinkin’ I’m his
mama.”
“You’ll make a good
one someday.”
“That ain’t
happenin’. Why would anyone want to go through this?”
Pa
looked around Nellie’s bulk. His eyes found Linney’s. “For the likes of you,
girl. It’s worth it.”
2. Her eyes shifted to the rider. He appeared to be a
few years older’n her. She caught her breath. What was that? His square
shoulders and square jaw made him much wider than most Crackers. But there was
something else. It made her feel jittery. She must have overeaten, or that new
calf licked her too much. Her stomach didn’t normally flop around like a snake
hit by a cowman’s whip.
3. A rock buried in a shrub derailed the wagon. The
abrupt stop shrugged Linney from her seat atop the wagon. The wind roared above
her holler for help, and she wondered if Cy even heard her. Landing on her arm,
she cried out in pain. Thunder rumbled too close while her completely sodden
clothes held her like a web. Her attempt to stand was met with a small gulley
of water created by the torrential nature of the storm. She slid backward down
the hill, already a slippery mass of mud, all the while futilely grasping at
the shrubs and smaller trees. Get up, Linney, you’re a survivor. You
cannot lose control.
4. “Cy, you okay? Look like you just ate a skunk. You sick?”
Icey stood right in
front of Cy. Cy only heard his voice as in a distance. He was in a fog. He felt
he was underwater. He pulled himself back to reality. “Ah, I’m
fine…just…well…did you ask me somethin’?”
Icey
bent over and slapped his hat against his leg. Dust flew everywhere. Icey
coughed and laughed. “You know what I
think? I think you look like a lovesick puppy. You’re a sight.” Icey didn’t
wait for a response. He sauntered down the dirt road chuckling.
INSPIRATION:
I had just read A Land Remembered,
by Patrick D. Smith, about the history of Florida. My family wintered in
Florida and shortly after reading the book, PBG asked for ideas for a Christmas
series. It was decided that it would be a Cowboy Christmas series. I emailed
the publisher and asked if she’d like a historical Cracker Cowboy story from
Florida. She asked for a blurb. I sent her one, and before I knew it, a
contract was sent to me. I think I had two months and that’s how Run With
the Wind came to be.
LINK:
https://www.amazon.com/Run-Wind-Christmas-Holiday-Extravaganza-ebook/dp/B07PTPCXXN
Comments
Clare, thanks for teasing readers with your wonderful posts.