Part of Series
Douglass Esmeralda Sullivan has just discovered that all men are gutter rats, all except for her six half-Irish, half-Mexican brothers, and sometimes she's not so sure about them. She's sitting in the middle of a dusty road on a hot Texas day, fuming because she's made a horrible mistake concerning Raymond Pierce, a despicable Yankee, one who has led her down the daisy path to destruction. She has no doubts her folks and her brothers would put her in a convent for the rest of her life for her rash misjudgment, but dang it all, it was her choice to show him who was boss. Little did she know that the choice would determine her destiny. Monroe Hamilton is on his way home from a year in Galveston, Texas where he's been assigned to help with the reconstruction of Texas after the Civil War. He's been to the big circus called war and had seen the big elephant called life. His heart is so hardened and scarred, it is impossible for him to foresee a love in his future. He has made up his mind that he will be a bachelor for the rest of his life and that Love's Valley, Pennsylvania will be his love. Then, out of nowhere, he sees an exotic-looking, beautiful woman sitting right in the middle of the road. It's his choice to play a knight in shining armor and rescue the helpless, pretty lady. Little does he know that this choice would determine his destiny. The war might have split the country in two, but it didn't make rascals of all its men. Guided by his conscience, Monroe chooses to escort the lady to the nearest town. Guided by a desire to avoid a life of prayers and meditation, Douglass chooses to lie.
Author
Hi! I'm twenty five years old and movie star gorgeous. The camera added thirty plus years and a few wrinkles. Can't trust those cameras or mirrors either. Along with bathroom scales they are notorious liars! Honestly, I am the mother of three fantastic grown children who've made me laugh and given me more story ideas than I could ever write. My husband, Charles, is my strongest supporter and my best friend. He's even willing to eat fast food and help with the laundry while I finish one more chapter! Life is good and I am blessed! Reading has been a passion since I was five years old and figured out those were words on book pages. As soon as my chubby little fingers found they could put words on a Big Chief tablet with a fat pencil, I was on my way. Writing joined reading in my list of passions. I will read anything from the back of the Cheerio's box to Faulkner and love every bit of it. In addition to reading I enjoy cooking, my family and the ocean. I love the Florida beaches. Listening to the ocean waves puts my writing brain into high gear. I love writing romance because it's about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Settings change. Plots change. Names change. Times change. But love is love and men and women have been falling in and out of it forever. Romance is about emotions: love, hate, anger, laughter... all of it. If I can make you laugh until your sides ache or grab a tissue then I've touched your emotions and accomplished what every writer sets out to do. I got serious about writing when my third child was born and had her days and nights mixed up. I had to stay up all night anyway and it was very quiet so I invested in a spiral back notebook and sharpened a few pencils. The story that emerged has never sold but it's brought in enough rejection slips to put the Redwood Forest on the endangered list. In 1997 Kensington bought two books for their Precious Gems line. Two years and six books later the line died with only four of those books seeing publication. But by then Avalon had bought a book and another, and another. Ten years later the list has grown to thirty nine. Last year Sourcebooks bought the Lucky Series which is in the bookstores now. They've also bought The Honky Tonk Series which will debut with I LOVE THIS BAR in June and will be followed by HELL, YEAH, MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED, and HONKY TONK CHRISTMAS. Folks ask me where I get my ideas. Three kids, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren. Note: I was a very young grandmother! Life is a zoo around here when they all come home. In one Sunday afternoon there's enough ideas to keep me writing for years and years. Seriously, ideas pop up at the craziest times. When one sinks its roots into my mind, I have no choice but to write the story. And while I'm writing the characters peek over my shoulder and make sure I'm telling it right and not exaggerating too much. Pesky little devils, they are! I have a wonderful agent, Erin Niumata, who continues to work magic and sell my work. I'm very lucky to have her and my editors who continue to believe in me. Happy reading!
