The ever wonderful Cheryl St.John agreed to put together (VERY last minute for us) a post on Inspirational Romance and how they fit with Westerns so well. I promised not to whine, at least not in the post, *g*! Our host finally got us up and running so I am running very late. Sorry about that our slow start here… hey I have been a bit behind on this blog stuff the past year. Any mistakes below are mine, leave a comment and I will correct, and contest post will follow as soon as I get back.

Those of us who write and read western romances are as chipper as a bunch of jaybirds by the upsurge in attention the genre has been receiving of late. We are following The Great Western Drive (also see KristieJ & Wendy) week with anticipation. I’m more than curious to learn what the publishers are saying. Thanks for being western’s #1 fan, Sybil—oh wait, you have to share that #1 spot with Wendy. But wait just another gosh darn minute—wasn’t this Kristie’s idea? Okay, thanks to the three of you for the western love we’re feeling—and not only this week, but all the time. Keeping a finger on the pulse of this market is harder than tyin’ down a bobcat with a piece of string.

Victoria Bylin, who writes for Steeple Hill‘s new Love Inspired Historical line told me she was attending RWA in Reno, hearing about the supposed death of the western when she ran into an agent. The agent told her the western wasn’t dead at all. It had just moved to Christian fiction.

When I asked Vicki why she thought that was happening, here’s what she told me: “Faith and westerns go hand in hand. It took tremendous courage for the early pioneers to load their wagons and travel 2,000 miles. They found hope in the Bible and drew strength from the stories about the children of Israel seeking the Promised Land. Westerns are about adventure, new beginnings, courage and risk. So is Christianity.

“I personally think the middle dropped out of the romance genre. A few years ago, the books that sold were either hot-hot-hot or inspirationals. The middle ground readers (and writers) had to make a choice. I love inspirationals and always have, so the choice was easy for me.

Vicki went on to say, ” I loved writing for Harlequin Historicals, but I’d run out of ideas that required a higher level of sensuality. With LIH, there’s still plenty of romantic tension, but I’m able to go in a direction that’s true to my beliefs about love, courtship, marriage, family, etc..” Her latest story is The Maverick Preacher. (Syb note: didn’t see at eHarl but you can get at amazon hurry!)

So I asked a few more writers for their thoughts. Linda Ford, Dakota Child, LIH September had this to say: “One reason I think westerns and Inspirationals are a good match is because the struggle between good and evil in westerns somewhat mirrors our spiritual struggles. Villains come dressed as gunslingers or smooth talking con men but recognizing them and defeating them requires our characters to confront truth and apply it. Much the same way as how we all deal with spiritual struggles. In other words, the western is almost allegorical and therefore, satisfying to the reader as we all face moral issues in our lives.

“I think readers like them because of this but also because of the adventure and bigger- than-life characters who confront huge obstacles like conquering a new and challenging land, dealing with incredible tough situations and emerging as victors. I like writing westerns because cowboys and ranchers are strong, independent, self-sacrificing men. Who wouldn’t fall in love with such a hero?”

Well, Linda, I can’t resist a cowboy, that’s for sure. When my HH Her Montana Man (syb note: you can still get this at amazon just saying) was out, I happened to stand in Wal-Mart and take a long look at all the covers. I counted twelve books with cowboy hats on the covers. Marketing knows something about how to make readers pick up books, so that tells me readers do want to buy those cowboys.

My gun-toting preacher in The Preacher’s Wife has garnered me more reader mail than any book in a long time, and that one is an inspirational. I like to write inspirationals because it’s an extension of who I am and how I think. I don’t think many of my readers were surprised that I expanded to write for both HH and LIH. A few have asked me to please not abandon HH, and I can assure them I will not.

I liked what Lyn Cote, Her Inheritance Forever, had to say about the relationship between westerns and the inspirational market. “Westerns are tailored made for the inspirational market because at that time except for the native tribes, everyone in America and its territories was Christian of some sort. Their faith in God was as expected as breathing air. And in a time where there was really no “science of medicine” to speak of and life could end in an instant, faith was got people through. Just like today.

And my friend Laurie Kingery—some of you will remember her as Laurie Grant—whose The Outlaw’s Lady is in stores now told me: “Westerns are a natural for the inspirational historical genre because it was a time of great growth and conflict in this nation, a simpler time when folks moving to the frontier territory found their faiths not only comforting, but necessary to survive in an often hostile climate. Their existence was threatened not only by the weather, but by Indians, outlaws and wild animals. The settlers’ goal was to create civilization wherever they settled, and a church was often one of the first buildings erected, though they often came after saloons!

“They had few possessions, and no distractions such as TV, computers or cars, so perhaps it was this very fact that made possession of faith very important. Most of our forbears didn’t question the existence of God or the veracity of his Word–they’d seen it proved true in their own lives, and the Bible might be the only book they possessed.”

All I know is I’m grinnin’ like a weasel peekin’ in a henhouse door to discover all these cowboys and know how many readers are loving them some westerns!

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of In a Mother’s Arms by Jillian Hart and Victoria Bylin
Inspirational historical romance anthology released by Steeple Hill 14 Apr 09

It’s been bittersweet for me as a western romance fan that while secular imprints have been ignoring the sub-genre, it’s positively booming in the inspirational romance market. Like a lot of secular romance readers, I’ve been hesitant to give inspirational romances a chance because of the fear that the authors will drop the ball on story content and instead preach to me. 

When I pick up a romance novel, I’m just not looking to be converted. But I felt I had to give the sub genre a chance, and figured the In A Mother’s Arms anthology was a good place to start. After all, both Jillian Hart and Victoria Bylin have written some excellent Harlequin Historical novels – so I knew they were capable of giving me a good story. I was happy to discover that both of them did here as well, although with varying degrees of “God stuff” thrown into the mix.

Finally A Family by Jillian Hart

After losing both her husband and child to illness, Molly McKaslin is working three jobs, scraping by, and living in a shack on her cousin’s property. It’s a lonely life, and Molly is haunted by the tragedies of her past. Then one day the precocious Frost twins come barreling into her life, along with their pet cow, Sukie . The girls are painful reminders of all that Molly has lost, but she can’t help but by charmed by their antics, and their stoic father, Dr. Sam Frost.

This story features one of my least favorite plot devices – the cutesy tots who play matchmaker for their single Daddy and/or Mommy. However, Hart writes the twins so well that’s it hard to not find the little hellions adorable. Even a cynic like me couldn’t help smiling. The author keeps the “God stuff” relatively minimal (the characters attend church, pray at meals etc.), but doesn’t really beat the reader over the head with it. I did think the romance was a little light in the pants. Even though the characters say otherwise, part of me still couldn’t help thinking that Molly and Sam hook up because she’s desperate for a family and he’s desperate for his girls to have a Mommy. Still, it’s a pleasant and sweet story.

Grade: B-

Home Again by Victoria Bylin

Cassie O’Rourke hopped a train for Chicago to become an actress and proceeded to leave her sweetheart, Gabe Wyatt, at the altar. That was 14 years ago, and now she’s back in town with her son, Luke, to take over her father’s general store. However not everyone in town is happy to see her. A nasty old biddy is spreading malicious gossip about her, nobody is shopping at her store, and Luke has just been hauled off to the jail for breaking a church window. That’s where she finally faces Gabe, who has never stopped loving her.

The “God stuff” in this story is much more prevalent than in the Hart entry, and at times it did feel intrusive. There’s even a moment where a character breaks out a Bible story to share with Cassie. That said, this is a really good story and, I’m not above admitting it, there’s a moment towards the end that had me openly weeping. Bylin has a knack for pushing all the right emotional buttons, and she does it to marvelous effect here. I did feel the turn-around of the nasty woman spreading rumors about Cassie was really abrupt, but the romance is solid and tugs all the right heart-strings. The secular reader just has to be willing to wade through the “God stuff” to get to the pay-off.

Grade: B-

I like to occasionally cleanse my reading palate with a sweeter read, and this anthology certainly fit the bill without being sugary or saccharine. It’s the kind of book that had me wishing that my devout grandmother were still alive so I could share it with her. I’m not converted, but I’m more than open to reading more inspirational offerings by both of these authors.

Overall Grade: B-

Summary:
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Finally a Family by Jillian Hart
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Widow Molly McKaslin won’t marry for less than true love. But does handsome town doctor Sam Frost want a wife, or a housekeeper for his daughters? With the help of two little matchmakers, Molly might end up with the family of her dreams.
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Home Again by Victoria Bylin
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When her troublemaking son vandalizes the town church, Cassie O’Rourke comes face-to-face with town sheriff—and former love—Gabe Wyatt. The honorable lawman offers to help tame her wild child, if he can come courting. For the love of her son, dare she entrust her heart to this man once more?
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Read an excerpt (Hart story only.  No excerpt found for Bylin story)

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of The Magic of Christmas by Carolyn Davidson, Victoria Bylin & Cheryl St.John
Historical romance anthology released by Harlequin Historical 1 Oct 08

Sometimes I think Harlequin delights in separating me from my money, and The Magic Of Christmas anthology could be Exhibit A in my bankruptcy hearing. It’s an anthology, a western, and all of the stories are centered around Christmas. How could I possibly resist that? What I’m happy to report is that even though one story completely failed me, the other two were real standouts.

A Christmas Child by Carolyn Davidson

I know a lot of readers who consider Davidson’s Harlequin Historical books comfort reads, so I’m sad to report that this story didn’t work for me at all. Marianne Winters’ parents die from typhoid, but not before her mama gives birth to a baby boy. Looking for a fresh start she heads to Walnut Grove, Missouri, where help is in short supply until she meets widowed preacher, David McDermott.

Marianne is described as “barely able to care for herself” and “a girl, for she was not yet a woman.” Even though the reader finds out later in the story that she’s 18, I couldn’t get the image of a prepubescent waif out of my head. Couple her with the older, wiser, and worldly David who is pushing her towards the altar in two days? Yeah, major ick. The stilted dialogue didn’t help matters either.

Grade: D+

Marianne Winters has no one in the world but her baby brother and, with Christmas approaching, she needs somewhere warm to stay. Will she find her home, and a loving heart, with the lonely pastor, David McDermott?

Read an Excerpt.

The Christmas Dove by Victoria Bylin

One of the reoccurring themes I enjoy in westerns is second chances. Bylin mines this plot device for excellent effect in the story of former bratty rich girl, Maddie Cutler. Maddie ran off with a gambler who promised adventure. Now she’s come home to Crystal River, Wyoming wearing a red dress and her infant daughter, Cora, in tow. Gamblers have a way of turning respectable girls into “fallen women,” a lesson Maddie learned the hard way. She’s totally unsure if her father will welcome her home, but she has to try. When she arrives in town, she runs into Dylan McCall, the man whose affections she once spurned. He agrees to take her home, only to have a blizzard strand them at his cabin.

What I loved about this story was that both Maddie and Dylan thought they weren’t good enough for the other. Also, Maddie has a lot of amends to make. Both are carrying around emotional baggage, but soon realize that they’re perfect for each other. The ending is a bit too tidy when it concerns Maddie’s homecoming with her father, but this story is inspirational, uplifting, and a really good read.

Grade: B+

Maddie Cutler once snubbed bad boy Dylan McCall, but with nowhere else to turn she has come back to town-with a babe in arms. Dylan is a reformed man, and on seeing Maddie again he longs to heal her hurt-and claim her once and for all!

A Baby Blue Christmas by Cheryl St.John

I’m a huge Cheryl St.John fan, and her story closes out the anthology on a high note. Gabby traveled to Ruby Creek, Colorado to talk some sense into her idiot cousin. Willow fell in love with an outlaw, got pregnant, and when the man left her, she decided to chase after him. Gabby knows Willow’s going to pop any day now, so she’s desperate to find her. Instead she finds Willow’s twins in the local livery with the angry owner. Turner Price finds two newborn baby boys in his stable and when Gabby shows up shortly there after he figures she’s the mama. She does some fast-talking, and soon she and the boys are staying in the house Turner has all but abandoned.

My only quibble with this story is that I expected Turner to be a little bit smarter. The babies are so newly born they haven’t even been cleaned up properly. When Gabby shows up at the stable she does not look like a woman who just gave birth to twins minutes before. Yet, he buys her story that she’s the mother. Happily this deception does not go on for long, and the story moves along at a fast clip as Gabby and the boys heal Turner’s wounded heart and Willow’s story gets some closure.

Grade: B

Turner Price hasn’t been the same since he lost his wife and child. But when he finds a young woman and newborn twin babies in his stable, he realizes this may be his second chance to be a loving husband and father, just in time for Christmas!

Read an Excerpt.

After a rocky start with the Davidson story, this Christmas anthology finishes on a high note thanks to Bylin and St.John. Their stories especially would make lovely Christmas Eve reads while you’re relaxing by the fire and waiting for Santa.

Overall Grade: B-

By Victoria Bylin

What makes a good love scene? Better yet, what makes a great love scene? That might be an odd question from a writer who’s moved from mainstream westerns to inspirational, but I think about it a lot. I especially considered love scenes when I was working on “The Christmas Dove,” my contribution to The Magic of Christmas (Harlequin Historicals, October 2008). Time to gush . . . I can’t help it! I am thrilled to be in this anthology with Carolyn Davidson and Cheryl St. John. It’s a dream come true for me.

Now where was I? Ah, yes. Love scenes . . .

We all know that romance novels are about deep emotion, that we read them for the relationships and the journey to HEA. Some subgenres have taken liberties with HEA, but I’m an old fashioned girl. For me, HEA means marriage or the promise of it. I want rings and vows, and I like epilogues that show the characters a few years down the road. I want to know they’ve stuck together.

Which leads us to sex . . . Not to get bizarre, but it’s glue. It binds men and women in a way nothing else can. It’s intimate. It makes us vulnerable. Once the thought is in our minds, it sticks. It’s powerful stuff, which is why I want to always treat love scenes with the utmost respect. That doesn’t mean idealizing a love scene, i.e., making things all perfect and pure. In fact, it means the opposite. My HHs all have what I call a “sex too soon” scene. It’s the place in the story where the characters make a big mistake. They either cross the final line and regret it, or they come close and back away, singed and stinging from their vulnerability.

One of the things I love about historical romance is that sex is dangerous. Without reliable birth control, pregnancy was a huge risk for women, far more so than today. Back then, a woman put everything on the line when she gave herself to a man. If she conceived, her life changed forever. Even if she didn’t get pregnant, she was in danger of losing her reputation. It’s my personal belief that risk inspires respect. It gives value to our accomplishments, actions and sacrifices. I wonder if, in our modern times, we’ve lost both the risk and the respect when it comes to sex. I’m personally troubled by books, movies, television and music that do less than honor something that’s truly amazing.

Whether I’m writing an inspirational or a mainstream, falling in love puts my characters at risk. Sex has to matter to the characters in profound ways. For some stories, the bedroom door needs to be opened. (This is true for my HHs, especially Abbie’s Outlaw.) For other stories, it doesn’t. Sometimes just looking at the door is enough to convey the risk and not opening it is a sign of respect. (This fits my Love Inspired Historicals.) No spoilers here regarding “The Christmas Dove,” but risk and respect are the key themes.

So what do you think? What transforms a good love scene to a great one? Let’s talk!

I subscribe to the school of thought that all readers have their own personal crack addictions.

Mine?

Mail order bride stories where the bride finds herself getting more than she expected. Oh, like a groom who wasn’t expecting her, or a groom who has the nerve to die before her stagecoach/train arrive. What’s a poor girl to do? Well find herself a more fetching man, of course! Preferably one who is still breathing

The long journey across the West ended in sorrow for one hopeful mail-order bride. Dani Baxter stepped off the train in Colorado, only to learn that her intended had died suddenly, leaving three young daughters behind. And suddenly she knew why God had sent her here-to make this family whole again.

But her late fiancé’s brother, Beau Morgan, a bounty hunter obsessed with vengeance, believed that was his duty. He proposed they marry-in name only- for the children’s sake. But as she came to know him, she realized she wanted more, much more. And she wondered if even this lost man could somehow find peace in a woman’s loving arms.

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

Home.

The word caught in his mind like barbed wire. He didn’t have a home and he didn’t want one. The giggles coming from the bed of the wagon gave him a headache. So did the sun setting over the blue cut of the mountains and the streak of pink in the sky. Dusk usually calmed him. It meant the end of a day, solitude and the peace of sleep. Today the fading sun pressed him to hurry. The cows needed milking. The girls needed their beds.

“Beau?”

Dani’s voice matched the dusk. He hadn’t invited her to use his given name, but it sounded natural.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Supper was nice. I didn’t know you were a lawman.”

He grunted. “Josh talks too much.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Dani lace her fingers in her lap. “They respect you.”

Beau said nothing. The man they’d known in Denver had died with Lucy.

“I don’t mean to pry.” Her voice dipped low. “But you were good at your work. Do you miss it?”

“I never gave it up.”

“You mean Clay Johnson.”

“And others.” Beau shifted his weight. “Johnson rides in and out of my life. Sometimes I get close and he runs. Sometimes he comes after me, makes a threat and runs again. It can take months to pick up his trail.”

“What do you do in between?”

“I check Wanted posters.”

“How do you choose?” Dani asked.

Mostly Beau got a feeling. “I pick the man with the deadest eyes.”

He heard the soft rush of her breath. “You’re a bounty hunter.”

Beau frowned. “I don’t do it for the money. I do it for–”

“Lucy.”

He doubted his wife would approve. “I was going to say justice.”

Dani stared straight ahead. “The Blues respect you. I want you to know. I do, too.”

A woman’s praise shouldn’t have made Beau square his shoulders, but it did. Aside from earning a living, he found satisfaction in his work. He brought peace to widows and orphans. He helped people who couldn’t help themselves. Most of the time, he felt content with his cause, but tonight he missed the things he’d given up.

With dusk settling, he wished he’d never set eyes on Daniela Baxter and her pink dress, his nieces with their blond hair, even the kitten. Parted from its mother and brothers, the poor thing was meowing its heart out. Beau knew how it felt. If the girls weren’t careful, it would bite and scratch out of frustration.

Emma’s voice carried over the rattle of the wagon. “We have to decide on a name.”

“I like Fluffy,” said Esther.

Beau winced. No male deserved a handle like Fluffy. He felt offended on the cat’s behalf but didn’t say anything.

“He’s a boy,” Ellie said, sounding superior. “Let’s call him Prince.”

Beau clenched his teeth. Prince beat out Fluffy, but not by much. The kitten was destined to lose all dignity.

Dani turned to the girls. “How about Boots?”

It fit, but Beau didn’t like it.

“It’s kind of plain,” Emma said.

The females batted around names, each one as unmanly as the last. After a mile, Beau had heard enough. “Name him Fred.”

“Fred?” The females cried out in a horrified chorus.

“Or Hank or Sam,” he said. “Anything but Fluffy.”

He’d stunned the girls into silence. Beau reveled in the quiet until Esther spoke up. “Uncle Beau?”

Until now, no one had called him by that name. His belly flipped. “What is it?”

“What name do you like?” asked the child.

He thought for a minute. “I’d call him T.C. for Tom Cat.”

“I like it,” Emma said.

“Me, too,” Ellie added.

Dani hummed her approval. “T.C.’s an excellent name.”

Beau turned in her direction and saw a shine in her eyes, a longing that matched the pull in his gut. Children . . . laughter . . . hope. When she turned to the kitten and smiled, he saw it as an act of defiance. Dani Baxter would grab the rope of happiness, no matter how frayed, and hold on. His belly burned. If Harriet Lange took his offer, that rope would be yanked from her hands. Beau knew how that felt. Her flesh would tear and bleed. He wanted to tell her to let go now, to forget the kitten and the little girls, but he knew she wouldn’t do it.

She must have sensed his gaze, because she turned to him. When her lips tipped into a smile, a sad one but honest, Beau felt it like his own. He jerked his eyes back to the road. T.C. meowed hungrily. Dani stared straight ahead. “We’ll give him milk as soon as we get home.”

Fool that he was, Beau felt happy for the cat.

We have a bit of a tease for you today as part of our on-going Harlequin Historical extravaganza! An anthology I am already hotly anticipating, The Magic Of Christmas by Carolyn Davidson, Victoria Bylin and Cheryl St. John is due to hit stores in October 2008. We’ve already brought you an excerpt of Cheryl’s story, which you can read here. Today, we have a description of Victoria Bylin’s story, The Christmas Dove. Enjoy!

Plot Description: The Christmas Dove by Victoria Bylin

Dylan McCall, Crystal River’s resident bad boy, has changed his ways. He now wants respect for the McCall name and a wife to share his dream of making his run-down ranch a success. With Christmas in the air, he’s feeling particularly lonely when he finds a woman he once loved nursing her infant daughter in the livery stable . . .

A year ago, Maddie Cutler ran off with gambler Brodie Jones. Impoverished and ruined, she’s returned to Crystal River to beg her wealthy father for shelter for the sake of her baby daughter. When the first person she meets is Dylan McCall, a man she once treated shamefully, Maddie is filled with the deepest regrets. She also needs a ride to her father’s ranch. When Dylan offers to take her, she accepts. And when a blizzard leaves them stranded at this cabin, she discovers the greatest gift of all . . .

TGTBTU has the pleasure of presenting (three or four) up coming Harlequin Historical anthologies for you to add to your ‘I WANT’ list:

Hallowe’en Husbands: “Marriage At Morrow Creek,” “Wedding At Warehaven,” “Master Of Penlowen” by Lisa Plumley, Denise Lynn, Christine Merrill (we will have their guest posts this weekend as well).

The Magic Of Christmas: “A Christmas Child,” “The Christmas Dove,” “A Baby Blue Christmas” by Carolyn Davidson (sniff don’t think she is coming), Victoria Bylin (guest 6/25/08), Cheryl St.John (guest 6/23/08)

Both of these novels come out in Oct 08 and we will be posting excerpts from Hallowe’en Husbands this weekend as well.

One Candlelit Christmas: “Christmas Wedding Wish,” “The Rake’s Secret Son,” “Blame It On The Mistletoe” (Harlequin Historical Series) by Julia Justiss, Annie Burrows, and Terri Brisbin

And we know that Jillian Hart will be in an HH antho in the spring of 2009 with Rocky Mountain Courtship (Joseph’s story). I don’t think we have the name yet or the other authors in the antho… or did we? Anyone? anyone?

My question to readers are do you like the Harlequin anthologies? Have you ever purchased one? Have you tired one from the Harlequin Historical Line?

If you are an author have you ever written an anthology? Tell us about it. Did you enjoy it? Did the story turn out like you wanted or were you disappointed in it? And of course if you are a Harlequin Historical author and have written one you MUST answer and tell us all about it .

And a question for anyone (wearing any hat: reader or author ) – it the response I liked it but wanted MORE or it ended too quickly… is that the sign of a good novella or poor execution of the story type. Should we be left always wanting more?

Abbie’s Outlaw is a Harlequin Historical and apart of a series, MEN AND ANGELS, and WEST OF HEAVEN are the first two.

This is the first I have read. Reverend John Leaf (this is as close to inspirational reading as I get) is a reformed bad boy. He was a gun-slinger, virginity taking, teen murdering, bank robber, excon who found God while in jail.

Abigail Windsor has contacted him asking for help. It has been 15 years since he has seen Abbie and when she gets there he learns that even though he took her virginity he left her something behind.

secret baby plot! sort of cuz the baby is already 15 and looking for her daddy

Abbie’s life has been shit. Married to an abusive husband that her father pretty much bought for her so she would have a ‘father’ for her baby. Widowed now, she just wants to have a quiet life and raise her children. She doesn’t want to get remarried and after her marriage, the idea of intimacy with any man turns her stomach.

Both characters are scarred, physically and emotionally. Bylin shows how they heal through each other. Throw in a father daughter reunion, a ‘marriage of convenience’, a bratty son, and a friend named Silas and you have a good read.