Lily George Goes Western

 I’m very pleased to welcome one of my fellow Love Inspired authors, Lily George,  this morning.

Hi Dana, thank you so much for having me as a guest on your blog. I appreciate your hospitality!

My latest release for Love Inspired is a Western, whereas all of the other books I have written so far have been set in Regency England. This was quite a departure for me, but there was a reason for it-we recently moved to northwest Texas from the big city of Arlington, Texas.

Our little town is not quite a ghost town, because we still have a post office. (Apparently that is the main indicator as to whether or not you live in a proper ghost town.) We moved out here because we were tired of life in the city and wanted to raise our daughter, whom we call our Little Nature Girl, out where she could have plants and animals to her heart’s content. I also have always wanted to restore an old home. I am a history nerd and I love old houses. My husband, who is an engineer, wanted a place out in the country. And so when this 1920s farmhouse came up for auction in the middle of northwest Texas, we bought it and moved into it. Every day, we try to make the house a little better than it was when we bought it.

What a leap of faith!

The environment out here really inspired a Western story in me-especially the land and the way the wind blows. We live very close to the fabled Waggoner Ranch, and I’ve driven past the gates for the Zacaweista portion of the ranch many times. The gates are huge and made of rock, and they just sort of spring up from the ground as though they have been there for centuries. When I imagined Jack Burnett’s ranch, I was imagining Waggoner Ranch in its early days.

I also changed eras in this book, leaping forward 100 years. This gave me the chance to trot out some family folklore, since my family has been in Texas in some form or fashion since the 1840s. The scene with the tornado is based on a legend about my great-grandmother, who died in 1916. The story goes that she had visited a friend on a neighboring farm, and as she was walking home, had to suddenly take cover as a tornado hit. She lay in a ditch full of water for so long that she developed pneumonia and passed away shortly thereafter. My grandmother was only nine months old at the time, and spent the rest of her childhood being passed from relative to relative. Her father never took care of her.

Now that I think of it, I think the story of Jack trying so hard to win his daughter back may be my poor attempt to rewrite my grandmother’s story, with a happier ending. Jack will do anything to bring Laura home, just as a father should. I loved writing the scenes between Laura and Jack because they are both so incredibly socially awkward. They needed someone like Ada to come along and give them a little polish. Of course, Ada needs them too.

Thank you again for having me, Dana! I have enjoyed the chance to chat about Once More a Family.

Thanks for stopping by, Lily! Your book sounds great!

Lily has offered to give away one print copy to a commnter, so leave her a comment. Winner will be drawn Friday, July 1st.

To bring his daughter home to Texas, widowed rancher Jack Burnett needs a wife. And the well-bred Ada Westmore, his neighbor’s niece, will surely meet his father-in-law’s approval. Not willing to open his heart again to love, Jack proposes a marriage in name only. But his independent bride proves more intriguing than he expected.

Needing to support her sisters after the collapse of their father’s fortune, Ada reluctantly agrees to the handsome cowboy’s proposal. The transformation from New York belle to prairie wife—and mother—is challenging for the onetime suffragist. But when their little family faces the threat of being torn apart, Ada and Jack must decide whether their marriage of convenience can become a marriage of love.

Author Lily George writes about common people facing uncommon challenges to love and faith. She loves writing clean romance novels you can share with your grandmother and daughter.

Lily George lives in northwest Texas with her husband and precocious child, and they are restoring a 1920s farmhouse. You can read more about her work by visiting www.lilygeorge.com.