FAITH'S REWARD - Tammy Barley - Free Book

Author's Bio: I have lived in twenty-seven places in eight states (so far) and have visited nearly all. When I'm not writing? I judge a number of top writing contests and love my work as a manuscript editor and biographer. I am also Mom to two sons, one daughter, a rescued American Eskimo dog, thirteen parakeets, and an aquarium full of fish. The children I homeschool; the dog I taught to sit. She also barks at parked cars.

In my spare time, you're likely to find me baking, gardening, behind a camera, or hugging a horse.

Welcome, Tammy. I love your new picture. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

Wow—He certainly has! It’s difficult to see past next year—and God has a way of tilting Earth under me and sending me in unexpected directions—but I see three to four new books in the next year . . . and perhaps even something coming of the few whispers I’ve heard about The Sierra Chronicles being considered for film production. Truly, only God knows.

What are you working on right now?

Recently, I returned from an unforgettable trip out West, where I dove into research for my next trilogy, set in the gorgeous Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Some amazing history there, and some almost-unbelievable true stories. I’m so excited to see how the new series is unfolding.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

The setting has to be the American West, and the setting has to include mountains, which I dearly love—the vistas, forests, wildlife, and waterfalls. Each trilogy will be set in its own mountain range or valley at the mountains’ foot. The setting and its history must be conducive to a little mystery, even more suspense, and great romance.

Tell us about the featured book?

The Sierra Chronicles, book three—Faith’s Reward

The year 1865 starts out as a nightmare come true for Jessica Bennett. The cattle she and her husband, Jake, fought to save from drought the summer before now face the threat of freezing to death. Her fears worsen when Jake contracts pneumonia.

Springtime brings trials of a different kind—the snowmelt causes the ranch to thrive so much that Jake must sell off the last of their cattle to make room for their horses and the young foals to be born. In the meantime, Jess endeavors to recover her rightful inheritance, which mysteriously disappeared from the bank. When she discovers a link between the banker and a group of murderous Unionists, who continue to target Southerners even though the war is over, Jake launches an undercover investigation.

The conspiracy runs deeper and wider than either of them could have imagined. Jess must put her life—and the life of her unborn child—at risk to stop the ringleader and save the lives of many others. Yet, Jess refuses to give up hope in the God she serves—a God of love who often provides above and beyond our greatest dreams.

Sounds interesting. Please give us the first page of the book.

Honey Lake Valley, northern California
January 1865

“Jake?”

Jessica Bennett jolted upright in bed, her hand trembling as it searched the cold sheets in the darkness beside her. Her fingers brushed Jake’s equally cold pillow, then the soft fur of the cat that huddled on it, the only trace of warmth in the place where her husband had gone to sleep beside her. “Jake?”

Wind rattled the windowpane with nearly enough force to crack it. The terrible cold seeped through the glass and turned the bedroom to ice. Jess hugged her flannel nightgown firmly to her and sat still and alert, straining to hear over the storm for any indication of movement in the house, either upstairs or downstairs. She heard no thud of boot heels on the plank floor, no jingle of spurs to suggest any presence inside the house but hers.

Judging by the thick darkness, dawn was still hours away. Though she and Jake had worked until they were exhausted—sometime after midnight—he must have rested in bed until she fell asleep, but no longer than that. Once he was certain she and the baby within her were at rest, he’d gone back to work and joined the next shift of cattlemen who fought to keep their horses and cattle alive, digging them out of the snow and providing hay to stimulate their bodies’ heat.

The misty darkness abruptly grew darker, closing in around her.

Then, blackness.

An image flashed through her mind—She stood in boot-deep snow under a gray sky, a Henry rifle gripped in her hands. At her sides stood two of the cattlemen. More than a dozen Paiute Indian men stepped forward to stand alongside them. She recognized one Paiute who worked at the ranch. The others were strangers. Their faces revealed fear, and resolve. In front of her, perhaps five paces away, stood thirty or more renegade white men who, as one, reached their hands to their holsters, drew their guns, then took aim at Jess and the Indians. Jess cocked the Henry rifle, pressed the butt to her shoulder, and sighted down the barrel at the cold, glittering blue eyes of the man who aimed the bore of his revolver at her. Though fear burned like liquid fire beneath her skin, she firmed her grip, shifted her index finger from the rifle’s trigger guard to the curve of the metal trigger. And pulled….

Wow! That pulls us right into the action. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Here’s my Web site:
http://www.tammybarley.com/index.html

And one more nifty thing . . .

The Sierra Chronicles book two, Hope’s Promise (now available!), comes with a contest: Hope's Promise Vacation-for-a-Day Contest—Read Hope’s Promise for a chance to win a horseback riding adventure for your whole family!

ALSO, The Sierra Chronicles book three, Faith’s Reward, comes with a contest of its own: Faith’s Reward Day-of-Your-Dreams Contest! If you were given the chance to dream up your perfect day, what would it be? A day at the spa? A fabulous massage? A mani-pedi? Hours of free shopping at the stores of your choice? All of the above? How about anything you want, plus the ability to take your best buddy with you? You got it! =) Read Faith’s Reward for a chance to win the day of your dreams!

For details and to enter, visit http://www.tammybarley.com/Bookshelf.html .

Thank you so much, Lena! It’s such a joy to visit your blog.

And I'm always glad to host you, Tammy.

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