Spotlight & Giveaway: The Rancher’s Lost Bride by Roxanne Snopek

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Roxanne Snopek to HJ!

Hi Roxanne and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Rancher’s Lost Bride!

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

This is a dual-narrative second-chance/reunion story. The present-day storyline occurs between two high-school sweethearts who were torn apart by life events that happened before they had the maturity to deal with them. When they rediscover each other, they are very different people… but other life events now complicate the story: a child and an ex-wife for him, the discovery of a biological family for her.
The past storyline continues the revelations about a mysterious cowboy named JP Malone and the woman who falls for him, how they were separated, and the tragic consequences for them both.
 

Please share your favorite lines or quote(s) from this book:

From the present-day storyline: a brief conversation between the hero, Sawyer, and the heroine’s father:

“You broke Leila’s heart, you know,” Lou spoke mildly. “I wanted to shoot you for a while there, for the pain you caused her.”
“I’m sure you did,” Sawyer said. “I’d have handed you the gun, for a while there.”

From the past storyline: the mysterious Malone muses about what it means to be a cowboy:

Bands of horses that had never been touched by humans, racing in vast clouds of dust to disappear into the distance. The slide of rope through callused palms, the zing of the lasso when it was ready to fly, the satisfying snap when it hit the target. Bringing herds of cattle, shaggy and suspicious, down from summer grazing, watching those huge heads and long, lethal horns swing back and forth, eyeing your horse, knowing that a single animal bolting could lead to thousands of hooves thundering around you in a stampede that would end you, knowing you had to trust your horse to outsmart the cattle and keep you alive…. Only on the thin bedroll just before sleep hit might you remember disappointment, heartbreak, grief, or shame, and even then, it felt far away, as if it had happened to someone else. On the range, you weren’t the person who’d suffered those things. You were someone stronger, better, truer.

What inspired this book?

I very much wanted to write a single-dad hero, and Sawyer is such a great guy! (With a great kid.) One of the themes of this series is that not all families look the same, and that biology isn’t always the main factor. In this story, Sawyer and Leila must navigate how best to meet the needs of a little girl who loves her mother, despite mental health challenges that led her to make poor decisions. In the past storyline, I touch on the damage caused by social/cultural mores that deny young women agency over their own lives, rather than empowering them to make the best choices for themselves.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

Leila has been in Grand, Montana for many books already, thanks to Paula Altenburg, who has several series set in this world. It was lovely fleshing her out and creating a real sisterhood between her and Kendall (from The Cowboy’s Lost Family) and Diana, another pre-existing character. This friendship and support among women is another common thread of the books, something the young woman in the past storyline didn’t have, and desperately needed.

Sawyer, well. He’s just a great guy who did the best he could with what life threw at him. An enormous secret came to me as I was writing his story, that turned out to be one of my favorite parts of his character arc. I’ll say again, he’s a great guy and a great dad.

What was your favorite scene to write?

Sawyer and Leila continue their relationship after high school, despite going to different colleges, and it’s difficult. Leila is immature, impatient, and insecure. One weekend, after a fight, she goes to his campus for a surprise visit, demanding a commitment.

“Let’s go back to my room, honey,” Sawyer said, holding out his hand. He sounded . . . tired. “Buckley can sleep out here and keep someone else awake with that infernal snoring. He must have adenoids like soccer balls.”

Leila let him lead her through the hub, across campus, and back to the dorm room, where Buckley took one look at them and fled.

Sawyer sat down on the bed and patted the side of it. “What’s this all about, Leila?”

He sounded so tender again that she forgot about being mad. All the clever words she’d planned evaporated from her head.

“These past two weeks have been . . .” she faltered. Awful . . . lonely . . . terrifying . . .? She wasn’t sure how to finish.

“Important,” Sawyer said.

She flinched. “What?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “What we have is something special. Something not many people get to experience.”

There, there it was. That’s what she was looking for. Tears of relief rushed her eyes.

Then he continued. “You know the saying, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’?”

She gave a little snort. “Yeah. ‘So stay away a little longer.’ Is that the one?”

“We’ve known each other since we were eighteen.”

“Seventeen,” she corrected. If he was going to break up with her, she wasn’t going to let him off on a technicality.

“Point is,” he said with a slight frown, “we were kids. We still are kids. You’re barely twenty-one. You want to get married, but Leila, if we do that now, you know what the chances are that we’ll stay married? Look it up. One-third of teenage marriages end in divorce within five years, and almost half wind up divorcing within ten years. Only thirty percent of teen mothers who marry after their child is born are still married by the time they’re forty.”

“We’re not teenagers anymore and we don’t have a baby,” she pointed out.

“Yes,” he said patiently, “but if it were up to you, we’d be married with at least one kid on the ground already. Why do you think I insist on condoms? I know you, Leila.”

She cringed. She was on the pill, but she had to admit she wasn’t the most reliable at remembering to take it. A part of her had wished that the decision to marry would be taken out of their hands. They were going to get married, anyway, so what if it happened a little ahead of schedule?

“I’m not trying to trap you, Sawyer,” she said quietly.

“I know, honey.” His voice was unbearably tender. “But you have to stop thinking about me for a little while. I can’t handle the pressure.”

“Stop thinking about you?” she cried. “How can I do that when I miss you every moment of every day? You’re all I think about. Isn’t it the same way with you?”

He hesitated and she had her answer.

She jumped to her feet. “Never mind. I guess I know where I stand now. I thought these two weeks were about you coming to your senses and realizing how much you miss me, how much you love me. How wrong you were to cut me off like that.” She gave a rough laugh. “I really am an idiot.”

“Leila—”

“No. Don’t you dare feel sorry for me. But answer me this: do you honestly not love me anymore?”

He sighed. “I’ll always love you, Leila. It’s not about that.”

The last thing she could stand was some kind of pity love. She’d rather be dumped fair and square than have him hover on the edges of her life because he was worried that she’d collapse without him.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

Sawyer and Leila are reestablishing a new relationship when Piper’s mother Miranda comes to town. Leila and Piper are at the park when Miranda arrives. When Sawyer learns of this, he is incensed. Love and fear for his child take over, at Leila’s expense.

“I have to call my lawyer. Next time, call me immediately. Do you understand?”

Leila frowned. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?”

A haze came over his vision. Overreacting. How many times had he heard that?

“No, Leila,” he said. “I am not overreacting. I am reacting exactly appropriately. I thought you understood what was at stake here.”

“I do, Sawyer.” Leila’s face clouded. She glanced to make sure Piper was still immersed in her show, then leaned forward. “I think you’ve lost perspective here.”

“Me?”

“Keep your voice down!”

He took a deep breath. “If anyone’s lost perspective, it’s you. You’ve been so preoccupied with finding your birth mother that somehow you’ve built a sympathetic narrative for Miranda.”

“That’s not true! I just think you should talk to her. Listen to her. There must be a better way than this constant push-pull. That’s not good for Piper. I saw how excited she was to see her mother.”

“Not everyone who gives birth is meant to raise children, Leila. Just because she’s genetically related doesn’t mean she’s got Piper’s best interests at heart. There’s only one person in this entire universe who can claim that,” he said, stabbing the table with this finger. “And that’s me. The only one who’s ever been there one hundred percent for this kid. That’s how it is and that’s how it’s going to stay.”

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

I’ve always addressed issues in my books, but in this series, I take off the gloves. It’s deeply emotional and honest. This won’t be a book (or a series) for everyone, but I suspect that readers who are familiar with my work will consider this some of my best writing to date.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

That love is infinitely resilient… that we are stronger when we honor our differences… that we are all the heroes of our own stories… that it’s never too late to live our best lives.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m currently finishing The Maverick’s Surprise Family, book 3 in The Malones of Grand, Montana or, as I call them, The Lost Malones. Maverick releases in August, followed shortly after by the fourth and final book in the series, The Wrangler’s Christmas Gift, in which the overarching historical story reaches its conclusion.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Winner will receive one ebook copy of THE RANCHER’S LOST BRIDE plus one additional ebook from Tule Publishing of the winner’s choice.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Some people believe that once trust is broken, it can never be repaired. But what if circumstances, rather than the death of love, have gotten in the way of the relationship? Do you think that, with personal growth and maturity, two people who hurt each other can recover enough to trust and love one another again?

 
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Excerpt from The Rancher’s Lost Bride:

Prologue
Livingston, Montana

Joseph Patrick Malone stood just outside the gate to the arena, sweating. The building had been built in the ’50s and nothing about it, the ventilation especially, had improved in the ensuing the three decades. Hot summer dust rose around him, and the air was filled with the earthy odors of livestock and sawdust, and the cheers of rodeo fans.

He was having an excellent season. The last bull he’d drawn had been a high scorer, a real live one with some big moves, and JP had stuck it out. The sound of the buzzer as he leaped to safety, followed by screaming applause, still rang in his ears as he walked through the arena to the sea of trailers out back. Maybe he’d go out with some of the guys, to celebrate.

“Nice ride,” said a voice behind him.

He turned to see a cute, curvy blonde in snug jeans and a Western shirt. Smooth, tanned skin glowed at her neckline and enough snaps were undone to reveal a hint of creamy cleavage.

“Thanks. I got lucky.”

“You’ve got skill,” she corrected. “You been doing this long?”

He shrugged and continued toward the exit. She had an eager gleam in her pretty eyes, but he wasn’t interested in starting a conversation with a buckle bunny too young to know better.

“I’m Heather,” she said, keeping pace with him.

“I’ve got to feed my horse, Heather.”

“I’ll help you. He’s beautiful. I watched you ride. He’s got a great eye.”

JP glanced at her in surprise. “You know cutting horses?”

“Everyone around here knows cutting horses.”

He’d learned late and fast; no one, where he came from, knew anything about horses. Imagine if he’d have been brought up in this world. He could have been a star.

The outdoor air was cool and fresh, touched by the scent of approaching autumn. The crowds had begun to drift out of the building now that the main events were over. It was quiet on this side of the building, just tired competitors tending to their animals before they went out to find whatever they needed to ready them for tomorrow’s events.

“What does JP stand for?” Heather asked.

He kept walking.

“Don’t you have a last name? Or is it a stage name, like Cher?”

He turned. “Won’t your parents be wondering where you are?”

Her smile faded. “I’m nineteen.”

“Bullshit.”

“What do you care?”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re coming on like a freight train, Heather. You think that’s smart? It’s not. It’s goddamn stupid. You’re lucky I don’t haul you into my trailer and—”

“Why don’t you?”

He gaped at her. Part of him was kicking himself. She was here, who knew why, as ready and waiting as any girl he’d ever seen, and he couldn’t let himself partake.

“I don’t know you.”

“I’m Heather Hudson. My mom always called me Honey, but she’s gone now. I’m from Sweetheart. I live with my dad, but I’m saving up for a place of my own, somewhere with good light and space, where I could have a cat. I work in a diner, but I’m really an artist. Or, I’m trying to be, at least. Is that better?”

Something about her intrigued him. He hadn’t seen her flirting with anybody else. Maybe she really did like him, in particular. For some reason.

“No. What do you see happening here, Heather?”

She tipped one shoulder. “We’re getting to know each other. That’s nice, isn’t it? I don’t know a lot of nice guys.”

“I’m not a nice guy.”

“I think you are. I’ve watched you. You’re polite. You don’t lose your temper. You’re good to your horse. That means something.”

They’d reached the trailer. Aramis gave a low whuffle, nudging Malone for his oats. JP stepped away from Heather, secured the horse in the shade, made sure his water was fresh and cold, and tossed him a flake of alfalfa. This girl reminded him of Lizzie, but the feelings she stirred in him were in no way brotherly.

“It means nothing.”

It had been too long since he’d been in the company of anyone other than men and boys like himself, rough, gruff, grubby cowboys not given to conversation. They weren’t friends; they exchanged information, brief words of commiseration or briefer congratulations. They were competitors in the saddle, at work or at play, and they never forgot it. There was no room for softness.

She stepped closer to him and ran a finger down the placket of his shirt. “You’re a good guy, aren’t you, JP?”

He grasped her hand, tight enough to make her eyes flicker. “I’m not. You need to leave. Now.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Leila Monahan is creating her dream family, but when her fiancé gets cold feet, she sends him packing. A sperm bank would be easier but first, she’ll take a DNA test. She doesn’t care about finding her birth parents, but her future children might. The surprising results are nothing to the shock of seeing her first true love back in town, with an eight-year-old daughter.

Sawyer Lafferty loved Leila, but her desire to get married—at nineteen!—sent him running. Before settling down, he wanted an education and opportunities. But those, and any future with Leila, vanished with the unexpected arrival of his baby girl. Now a single dad with full custody, he’s come home to manage Grand’s new therapeutic riding stable and rebuild his life.

Leila is gutted to learn that Sawyer wanted a family after all—just not with her. But little Piper quickly captures her heart, and when Sawyer shares the circumstances of his marriage, the spark they once had flares back to life, but is it enough to sustain them? Or will the secrets and lies surrounding them douse it forever?

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Meet the Author:

Born under a Scorpio moon, raised in a little house on the prairie, USA Today Bestselling Author Roxanne Snopek said “as you wish” to her Alpha Farm Boy and followed him to the mountain air and ocean breezes of British Columbia. There, while healing creatures great and small and raising three warrior-princesses, they found their real-life happily-ever-after. After also establishing a successful freelance and non-fiction career, Roxanne began writing what she most loved to read: romance. Her small-town stories quickly became fan favorites; print editions of her latest series were recently launched in France.
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