Shannon here: Historical Romance author, Keli Gwyn shares the inspiration for her latest release, Her Motherhood Wish. Comment or answer the question at the end of this post to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: April 8th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Keli:
Romance and A Father’s Love by Keli Gwyn:
Many women dream of romance, leading to marriage and children. Some men do, too, but others aren’t as eager to become parents as their ladies might like. That’s the case in my new release, Her Motherhood Wish. The same thing was true in my marriage, at the beginning, anyhow.
Chip Evans, the hero, lives according to The Plan he wrote when he turned eighteen. He’s now twenty-five, but his plan doesn’t call for him to court a woman for another three years. That’s not a problem—until he meets Callie Hunt.
Although Chip is drawn to Callie from the start, the woman with the sunny disposition has come into his life too soon, as have the two recently orphaned children, who capture his heart. He wants children of his own, plenty of them, but not for another five years. Chip’s strict adherence to his plan frustrates Callie, who longs to be a wife and mother.
Like Callie, I dreamed of marrying and having children. I was twenty-eight when the Lord brought Carl into my life. He was already thirty-seven. Even though he was a longtime bachelor, he wasn’t against marriage. He just hadn’t met the right woman—until I came along, that is.
Carl and I met early in 1987 and married that December. The ticking of my biological clock fueled my desire to add to our family as soon as possible. To my dismay, Carl didn’t share my eagerness. He believed a couple should be married for at least two years before bringing a child into the world, giving them time to get to know each other better.
I couldn’t argue with Carl’s wisdom, but I was concerned about being older parents. Plus, I’ll admit it, I’m not as patient as my husband. Because I wanted to be an understanding and supportive wife, I agreed to wait.
When I became pregnant with our daughter two and a half years into our marriage, I was delighted. We’d lost a baby early in my first pregnancy, so I was more than ready to welcome this new child into the world. Carl’s enthusiasm didn’t match mine, which surprised me. Women friends assured me this was normal. They told me a man doesn’t grasp the reality the same way we do and assured me things would change when our baby arrived.
My friends were right! I delivered our daughter by emergency Caesarian, complete with anesthetics that had me knocked out for hours, so Carl was the first to see our daughter. She arrived on New Year’s Day—with twenty-one minutes to spare.
When I saw Carl the next morning, he was beaming, something my now-retired science teacher husband rarely does. He was also gushing, which my logically minded guy hasn’t done since. I heard a beautiful story of how he felt when he met our daughter.
The hospital staff had taken Adriana right to Carl. He got to hold our gal for a good half hour. He cuddled her, sang to her and fell deeply in love with her. She, in turn, wrapped him around her tiny little finger.
Because Adri took her sweet time getting here, having waited twelve days beyond my due date to arrive, Carl’s Christmas break was almost over. We only had one day together before he had to return to school. I knew many of his students at the time, since we were living in Germany and the U.S. military community is a close-knit group. They told me afterward that they knew our baby had been born over the break because “Mr. Gwyn was floating several feet off the floor.”
Watching my husband love on our daughter was a wonderful experience. Although Carl had years of experience teaching teens, he had little to no experience around babies. Not that you would know it. He was a natural. Carl’s skills as a father started off strong and have become legendary.
What amazed me was that as much as I loved my husband prior to the arrival of our daughter, my love intensified as I watched Carl lavish his love on Adri. I firmly believe that one of the most romantic sights ever is seeing a man cherishing a child.
That is certainly the case for the heroine of Her Motherhood Wish. As Callie watches Chip care for the two orphans they rescued, her feelings for him deepen. The more time she spends with him and the children, the harder it is for her to deny her attraction. She envisions him as a devoted father, and she’s a goner. Sigh!
About Keli: Award-winning author Keli Gwyn writes stories that transport readers to the 1800s, where she brings historic towns to life, peoples them with colorful characters and adds a hint of humor. A California native, she lives in the Gold Rush-era town of Placerville at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains.
When Keli’s fingers aren’t hovering over the keyboard of her newfangled laptop, she enjoys strolling past stately Victorian houses in her historic town, burying her nose in reference books as she unearths interesting facts to include in her stories, and interacting with other romance readers. Her favorite places to visit are her fictional worlds, other Gold Rush-era towns and historical museums. Keli loves hearing from readers and invites you to visit her Victorian-style cyber home at www.keligwyn.com. You’ll find her online contact information there.
About the book – Her Motherhood Wish:
Building a Family
En route to the Double T Orphanage to work on its expansion, carpenter Chip Evans and Caroline Hunt discover two orphaned children—and become their caregivers. But Chip’s determined not to let himself get too attached to the children who just lost their widowed father…or to the lovely woman helping him care for them. Especially since Callie and the little ones just don’t fit into his detailed plans for the future.
Callie can’t help but fall in love with the orphans, and despite her better judgment, she’s falling for Chip, too. Her dreams of being a wife and mother were not quite like this. But Callie believes a plan bigger than Chip’s brought them all together…and now she just has to help him see it, too.
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Cover copy text used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited
® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited
or its affiliated companies, used under license.
Question for Readers: What are some special ways your father showed his love to you? If you’re a mother, how did watching your husband fall in love with your child/ren affect you?
Come back March 31st for Myra Johnson!
Shelia Hall says
my dad from the beginning always treated me like his sweetheart/little helper and i was a daddy’s girl always helping him with what ever he was doing including farm work and working on cars.He made sure before he died that I knew how to do stuff around the house that the men usually take care of.(plumbing,electrical and such like)
Keli Gwyn says
Thanks so much for hosting me, Shannon. It’s great to be back at Inkslinger.
Keli Gwyn says
I’m so sorry that you’ve lost your father, Shelia. Losing a dad is hard. It sounds like yours was a wonderful man. I love that he welcomed you as his helper and didn’t let gender stereotypes get in the way. You must have many treasured memories of those times together.
Julie @ My Favorite Pastime says
I love yours and Carl’s story! It is so sweet! And to read how he was after your daughter was born was too precious!
Our daughters are 29 and 25 and I still marvel at the way my husband is with them. He loves them to distraction and he will do anything for them.
My dad had 3 girls, I’m the oldest at 51 and I still feel like daddy’s little girl! There really is something special about that father/daughter bond.
Again, love your story Keli!
Jordann says
I really loved this blog post! It was so neat to learn more about your life! From the moment I was born, I was always a daddy’s girl. One of my more special memories were the songs that he would make up about me, even though some were silly they always made me feel special and loved!
Keli Gwyn says
Sheila, I’m so sorry for your loss. Losing a father is hard. I love that your dad included you in his activities, even those that are more typically male-oriented. It sounds like he gave you some great instruction while making treasured memories.
Keli Gwyn says
Julie, having met your husband in person at our brunch date when you two were out in California, I’m not at all surprised that he’s a wonderful father. How blessed you and your girls are to have him in your lives.
I’m glad you have such a great relationship with your own father. Dad’s are special, and the bond a daughter has with hers can be so sweet.
Keli Gwyn says
Jordann, how neat that your dad created songs just for you. What a treasured memory that is.
Shannon Taylor Vannatter says
I’m a Daddy’s girl. My dad took me to Dallas to a writers conference when I finaled in my first non-published writing contest. My husband and mom had to work and I wasn’t going to go. But Daddy insisted I should and took off work to take me. So it was just me and Daddy and my five year old son. He did all the driving, got me where I needed to go, and entertained my son while I was at the conference. On the way home, I told him I got second place. He was surprised and I realized then he hadn’t understood that I knew I was going to place. He took me all the way to Dallas and back because there was a chance I might place. Also, at every gas station and restaurant stop, he told everyone we talked to that I was a writer.
Keli Gwyn says
Shannon, how wonderful to have such a supportive father. I love how he believed in you and your writing from the beginning, so much so that he made sure you attended that first writing conference–with his help. He must be mighty proud of his talented, multi-published daughter.
Maryann says
I was always my dad’s buddy. He taught me how to fish and loved taking me to our towns annual fishing tournament for kids. He also owned a garage and would let me ride in his wrecker sometimes. As a mom myself, I saw how my husband was always so willing to teach our sons different things and took the time to explain and answer all their questions and the reasons behind them – lots of why dad and how does this dad. He had infinite amounts of patience.
Keli Gwyn says
Maryann, how wonderful to have been raised by a dad who welcomed you into his life and shared so many exciting experiences with you. Sounds like you married a patient and caring man much like him, who blessed your sons in the same way. That’s great!
stvannatter says
I have a winner! Julie won the drawing. I appreciate Keli for being my guest and everyone putting up with my glitchy website. My new one works!