Shannon here: Amanda Cabot shares the inspiration for her latest novella collection, Brides of the Old West. All comments will go in Monday’s drawing. Deadline: Oct 2nd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Amanda:
Brides of the Old West – The Story Behind the Story
Do you believe in second chances? I do. And after watching several of my friends find a second happily-ever-after, I also believe that love isn’t limited to the young. That’s why when I received a call-out for Christmas novellas way back in 2014, I knew that I wanted to feature an older couple, each of whom needed a second chance at love.
So, what’s the story about?
It’s been twenty years since Esther Hathaway lost her one true love on the bloody battleground known as Gettysburg. Though she’s resigned herself to being without a husband and children of her own, she’s built a good life for herself in the thriving city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, becoming a second mother to her niece and turning her deceased sister and brother-in-law’s struggling bakery into one of the city’s finest. No doubt about it. It’s a good life, but once Christmas arrives and her niece is married, it will also be a lonely one.
Esther refuses to think about that. What’s important is finding the right artist to paint a very special portrait for her niece.
After a cannonball at Antietam changed Jeremy Snyder’s life in ways he could never have imagined, leaving him bereft of both a fiancée and a future, he had no choice but to find a new way to support himself. Now an itinerant artist, he’s struggling to survive in Wyoming Territory’s capital. If he can’t sell a painting soon, he’ll starve … literally.
Two lonely people, neither expecting to find love again, come together at the most wonderful time of the year. And maybe, just maybe, there will be a happy ending, for Christmas is, after all, the season of miracles.
Esther and Jeremy aren’t the only ones who have a second chance. Brides of the Old West is a second chance for Esther and Jeremy’s story, The Christmas Star Bride, and three other novellas, all set in Cheyenne, all featuring Esther’s bakery, to find new readers. The four novellas that comprise Brides of the Old West were originally published by Barbour in various collections. Now that I have the rights back, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to put them together in one volume.
About Amanda: Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than forty books and a variety of novellas. Her books have been honored with a starred review from Publishers Weekly and have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best.
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About the novella collection – Brides of the Old West: A Novella Collection:
Four unlikely couples.
Four unexpected chances at happiness.
Four unforgettable stories of love and faith in the Old West.
The Christmas Star Bride
Can a bakery owner who lost her one true love at Gettysburg twenty years ago and an itinerant artist who lost more than love during the war find a second chance at happiness, or is love only for the young?
The Fourth of July Bride
She needs money to pay for her mother’s desperately needed eye surgery. He needs a way to stop his meddling mother from choosing his bride. Can the answer be a temporary courtship?
The Depot Bride
Can a cattle baron’s daughter who’s practically betrothed to another man and a struggling writer who fears he has nothing to offer her find happiness as they create a commemorative book to celebrate the creation of the new Union Pacific depot in Cheyenne?
The Unmatched Bride
When a confirmed spinster matchmaker accepts an unusual assignment and helps a wealthy widower choose the right mate for his daughter, can more than one couple have a chance at true love?
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win?
Get your copy now!
Brides of the Old West – Amazon
Question for Readers: How often do you read a book more than once, and what is it about the story that makes you reread it?
Come back Sept 28th for Shannon Taylor Vannatter!
I don’t usually read a book more than once sometimes I do cause I forgot I read it or it is because it was a really good book.
I rarely have the time to reread a book anymore. Occasionally I will be so terribly touched by a very emotional scene that I will pick a book up and turn to the pages of that scene to experience it again.
There are so many stories that I don’t re-read a book second time. Although, I save the quotes that really touched me 🙂
I don’t usually read books twice because I share them with friends after I finish them. However, if I do keep one to re-read, it’s usually because I read it too fast and want to take more time on the story.