Welcome author Louise M. Gouge as she shares her latest release and her journey to writing and publishing a book.

About Finding Her Frontier Family:

Helping a little girl could give her that family she needs.

Tasked with escorting her late cousin’s daughter to New Mexico Territory, spinster Viola Brinson intends to bring Lavinia to her father’s ranch and immediately return to the city. But after one look at the living conditions, she’s hesitant to leave the little girl with Robert Mattson. When Viola settles in to clean the place and make sure he can safely care for his daughter, Robert is determined to keep his distance. His heart was broken by a society woman once before—and he won’t make the same mistake twice. But Viola surprises him at every turn. Might she be exactly what his family needs?

Available for pre-order at these Buy Links:

Finding Her Frontier Family (Love Inspired Historical): Gouge, Louise M.: 9781335418951: Amazon.com: Books

Finding Her Frontier Family - Harlequin.com

About Louise:

Florida author Louise M. Gouge writes contemporary and historical romance fiction, winning the prestigious IRCA in 2005 and placing as a finalist in 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2017. She also placed in the Laurel Wreath contest in 2012. A former college English and humanities professor, Louise is a member of the Christian PEN and has been copyediting for well-known authors for fifteen years. Please visit her Web site https://louisemgougeauthor.blogspot.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LouiseMGougeAuthor

Follow me on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/louise-m-gouge

Giveaway:

I would like to give away one print copy of Finding Her Frontier Family to a U. S. resident. Please answer the following question: What is your favorite kind of hero? Strong and silent or laid back and chatty? Tall, dark, and handsome or just a regular guy?

When I started writing Finding Her Frontier Family, I already had a roadmap of my setting and knew who many of my characters would be. In 2015, Love Inspired Historical published my novella Yuletide Reunion in the anthology A Western Christmas. In that story, two of the five Mattson brothers help to rebuild the burned out barn of their neighbors, the Sharp family, in time for the annual Los Posadas Christmas celebration. In the process of building, Jared and Cal fall for Emma and Julia Sharp. At the end of the story, they have a double wedding and live happily ever after (of course!) on the Sharp ranch.

Also included in that story were Jared and Cal’s three older brothers, Rob, Will, and Drew. So when I was planning to write another LIH book, I wanted each of these rancher-brothers to have their own story. Because we already knew Rob was brokenhearted when his wife took their baby daughter and left him with their six-year-old son, I wanted to heal his heart with another romance. His wife Maybelle, never in the best of health, has died.

So what will happen to his daughter? Living on a ranch with men only won’t be a good situation for a dainty four-year-old girl. Enter Viola Brinson, spinster, a distant cousin, who is tasked with bringing little Lavinia to her father. From the moment she steps down from the train, Lavinia in hand, sparks fly between her and rough and rugged Rob Mattson. What will it take to bring them all together?

I love writing historical westerns with a strong faith element. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching television and movie westerns like Gunsmoke and John Wayne movies. In fact, every one of my western heroes looks like the Duke’s handsome son Patrick. I had a huge crush on Patrick in my teens and even invited him to my senior prom. Unfortunately, he was out to sea serving in the U. S. Coast Guard (gotta love a patriot!), so he had to decline. Wish I’d kept the letter his brother Michael sent to me all those years ago with his regrets. Sigh.

But I digress. Finding Her Frontier Family is written in the tradition of those old westerns. Long before telephones, movies, television, cell phones, and the Internet, life was hard but simple. While the telegraph and U. S. mail was available, sometimes even those forms of communication failed. Read my story to find out how this causes a serious problem for my characters!

Getting to know Louise:

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

My first novel was a contemporary Christian romance published in 1994. One downside to writing contemporary books is the rapid change in technology in today’s world. When I wrote that book, most people didn’t even have computers, so I used a typewriter. (So many typos!) Many people didn’t even have cell phones. So that book went out of style within a few years. I recently updated it with all the modern conveniences included, and you can find Winning Amber on Amazon.com.

But my transition to historical novels, where the technology doesn’t change, began when I wrote Ahab’s Bride as my master’s thesis. My real motivation is that I love history and love to “live” in the unchanging past.

What is your favorite part of writing?

I love researching, but my favorite part of writing is coming up with my characters and placing them in challenging situations. As a Christian, I write stories in which my characters turn to God in the midst of their trials, just as I do in my own life. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I rely on him for peace, joy, and direction every day of my life. I want my stories to reach people who long for the same things.

Tell us about your next book & when is it being published?

My next book will be Finding Her Frontier Home, in which middle Mattson brother Drew finds his true love…after a struggle, of course. Look for it in June 2023.

First page of book:

Chapter One

Riverton, New Mexico

Spring 1887

No. No. Not that man, please, Lord.

Standing on the train platform, Viola Brinson clutched the hand of her tiny charge and searched the crowd for the rancher who was to meet her. Only one man stared at her. Dusty from the crown of his battered, wide-brimmed hat to the poorly mended shirt and trousers to the toes of his badly scuffed boots, he looked like an outlaw, not a successful rancher. Beside him stood a young boy, just as unkempt.

Thumb stuck in her mouth, eyes round with fear, four-year-old Lavinia tried to lose herself in Viola’s skirt.

“Shh. It’s all right.” The words stuck in her throat, but she forced them out. “That’s your papa.” Viola stared at the man who held Lavinia’s future in his hands.

Beside her, Lavinia shivered.

Removing his hat, the man strode toward her. The boy copied the gesture and followed. The gentlemanly act inspired an improved opinion of him.

“Viola Brinson?” He spoke her name like an accusation. Her good opinion vanished.

Closer now, she could see his startling blue eyes set in a deeply tanned—and dirty—face. His strong jaw appeared clenched. In fact, anger seemed to radiate from every inch of his person. Worse, the smell of sweat and cattle permeated his clothing, even the air around him, and nearly knocked her over. Could he not have bathed before meeting his daughter?

She stiffened her spine, determined not to let him see her waver. “I am she. Are you Mr. Robert Mattson?”

He nodded toward the carpetbag she held. “Where’s the rest of your luggage?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I said, are you Mr. Robert Mattson?”

“Lady, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” He slapped his hat back on his head, took a step closer and loomed over her. “Now where’s your luggage?”