RIDE TO THE ALTAR - Linda W Yezak - One Free Book on This Blog, Plus More!

Welcome back, Linda. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I'm amazed at how involved God gets in my work, especially my lighter pieces, like the novels in the Circle Bar Ranch series. He always supplies me with the verses I need.

However, in November, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas will be releasing A Southern Season: Four Tales from a Front Porch Swing, a collection which holds my Ice Melts in Spring, the novella God became most involved with. Writing this was a far different experience from anything else I've ever done, and I have no other way of describing it but God-driven. I'm looking forward to its release through LPC's Firefly Southern Fiction imprint.

That’s wonderful, Linda. I’ll want to feature that on my blog, too. My next book release was like you’re talking about. God gave me the story, which was requested by a publisher. I only had a short time to write it, and God led me through it so much. That kind of writing is very exciting. Tell us a little about your family.

I'm an Isaiah 54:1 woman wedded to a man who already had five kids. By the time we got married, most of them were grown and gone with families of their own—which means I was also an automatic grandma. Now that we live so far away from everyone, we don't get to see them often. We have great-grands who we have to re-introduce ourselves to because we don't get to see them often enough.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Being both a writer and an editor has changed the way I read. I've discovered that I no longer have patience for books that aren't well written, but when I come across excellence, I tend to study technique. I don't read the how-to-write books very often anymore, but I learn so very much from other authors. Cindy Sproles' Liar's Winter has become my new textbook. The depth of her POV, the exquisite development of her characters, the sense of shivering with cold in the Appalachians along with the cast of the tale—lands, Cindy can write!

I’ll have to check that one out. What are you working on right now?

Aside from promoting my latest, Ride to the Altar, I'm trying my hand at historical romance with Loving a Harvey Girl, for LPC's Smitten imprint.

I love Harvey girl stories. What outside interests do you have?

Just about everything. Mostly, I love people and being with them, hearing their stories, laughing. But I love to fish, enjoy cooking and canning and other food preservation techniques, watching little league baseball. I look forward to the Little League World Series every year.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

For my western romance series, I used the ranch my mother's family used to own. I'd been up there only two or three times before we had to sell it, but it stayed ingrained in my mind. Such a beautiful place. As for Ice Melts in Spring, my “back porch swing” is actually a chair on the balcony of a beach house near Matagorda Bay, Texas. Billy and I rented a house there with some family members and got to stay long enough for the images to stick in my head.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Since I'm dabbling in historical fiction, I'd love a sit-down with Laura Ingalls Wilder. I've always felt I am a bit of an anachronism anyway, always wishing I'd been born in the little house in the prairie. If I'm going to write about that era, I'd love to chat with someone who actually did—and understands the frustrations writers face!

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

That getting the book written is the easy part.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

Lately, He's been letting me know that I'm a little too much like the Hebrews wandering in the desert. All complaint, little praise and thanksgiving. Considering everything He has done for me, I'm totally ashamed of myself. Yet, whenever I look at where I am in various aspects of my life and where I want to be, I seem to let my tongue wag again. How thankful I am that He's patient with me!

His patient love is one of my favorite things about Him. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

To be a successful writer, study the craft. To be a successful author, recognize the need for a professional editor. To be a successful published author, study the business end of this career inside and out.

Tell us about the featured book.

Ride to the Altar is the third novel in the Circle Bar Ranch series, which depicts the love story between Talon Carlson and Patricia Talbert from meeting to wedding.

In Ride to the Altar, I throw overwhelming hurdles into Patricia and Talon's path to wedlock. A past love, murdered years ago and now only a file in an unsolved case, returns to haunt Talon. A long-held grudge demands release, yet Patricia has no idea how very deep it runs until she confronts her mother. An attack against the Circle Bar Ranch itself leaves cattle dead and one of its hands injured.

Different from all the other novels in this series, Ride to the Altar forces the two to face their pasts individually before they can face the future together.

Please give us the first page of the book.

A handshake is the initial measure of a man. The grip provides the best and the worst first impressions. Impossible through Skype, so Talon Carlson determined to use the alternative: steady, eye-to-eye contact.

He scrubbed his hands down his jean-clad thighs. Funny how he could propose to Patricia Talbert in an arena of seventy-five thousand avid bull-riding fans, yet he shook like a wobble-kneed colt in front of the blank computer screen. But he was just old fashioned enough to want to do this the right way.

He poked a button, Skype connected, and Patricia’s father, Dale McAllister appeared on the monitor. At six o’clock in the morning Eastern time, the U.S. Senator from New York wore a suit and tie and looked ready for his Monday commute to DC. The somber attire complimented his authoritarian expression. Gun-metal gray hair held silver wisps at the temples, and dark eyes bore an intensity matching his profession—or matching a father who was meeting his only daughter’s fiancé for the first time. Didn’t matter that the daughter was over thirty and the new owner of a two-thousand-acre ranch in Texas.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, sir,” Talon said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Believe me, I’ve heard a lot about you too.” Mr. McAllister’s voice sounded deep, gruff. Intimidating.

“Yes, sir. I’m sure you have.” He gulped. “Sorry that we have to meet like this. We intended to fly to New York—”

“Yes, Patty told me. No need to apologize. I understand you have a responsibility to your church, and performing funeral ceremonies is part of it.” The senator offered a sympathetic nod.

“Sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” The funeral had been for one of the most beloved women in the county, Beth Griffith. Her husband, Griff, had asked Talon personally to perform the eulogy. As a bullfighter, Grif had saved Talon’s hide more than once, so there had been no question that Talon would say yes, even if it meant missing their flight to New York.

Mr. McAllister leaned back, though the distance between his face and the monitor didn’t lessen the effect of his scrutiny. “I understand you have something to ask me.”

“Yes, sir,” Talon squeaked, then cleared his throat. He tried again, clasping his hands between his knees to stop their shaking. “Mr. McAllister, I love your daughter, and she loves me. I’d like your permission to marry her. Your permission and your blessing.”

Pat’s father tapped his fingers together. “You know she’s been married before.”

“Yes, sir. I know.”

“You know she was hurt.”

“Pretty badly, yes.”

“I never did like that boy.”

Nothing Talon could say to that. Since the older man’s gaze seemed distant, best to just wait him out. He would never hurt Pat the way Kent Talbert had, but proof accompanies action. Mr. McAllister would know the kind of stuff Talon was made of as time went on. His saying so now wouldn’t be convincing.

“Sometimes I think if he hadn’t died, heaven help me, I would’ve killed him myself.” The senator focused on him again. “You know what was wrong with him?”

Besides the fact he was a no-good, opportunistic, cheatin’ womanizer, no. “Got my thoughts. What do you think?”

“He was a city boy. City folks—especially rich city folks—have different ideas from those of us raised on farms and ranches. Different priorities.”

This seemed strange from a man who divided his time between DC and New York, but Talon nodded. “Yes, sir.” After all, Mr. McAllister had been raised on a ranch, and it was his brother, Jake, who’d willed this one to Pat.

“I want a man for Patty who would make her happiness his top priority.”

“As it should be.”

“Are you that man?”

That’s a really good hook. I can hardly wait to read the book now. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: http://lindawyezak.com

Newsletter: http://dld.bz/CoffeewithLinda 

Facebook: Author Page

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lyezak/

Twitter: @LindaYezak

Amazon Page: http://dld.bz/LWYAmazonPage

Goodreads: Linda W Yezak

Linda is offering a giveaway prize to one lucky entrant on her blog tour! As pictured, the prize includes a signed print version of the series, a 16-ounce Christian cowboy mug, a horseshoe picture frame, a Ph. 4:13 stretch bracelet, a cute set of magnetic page markers, and a Texas Rubiks cube just for fun. All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment.

The more posts you comment on during my tour, the better the chance you have of winning the drawing! If you'd like to play along, the next blog to check is Cindy Ervin Huff’s Jubilee Writer blog, and tomorrow (7/18) check Cecilia Marie Pulliam's blog.

The winner will be announced Monday, August 6, on Linda's blog, 777 Peppermint Place.

Thank you, Linda, for allowing me to share this book with my blog readers. I know they will be as eager as I am to read it.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Ride to the Altar: a Circle Bar Ranch novel (Volume 3) - Paperback
Ride to the Altar: a Circle Bar Ranch novel - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book on this blog. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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