Welcome back, Leann. Tell
us about your salvation experience.
I was raised Catholic and always went to mass. In the late
60’s the Holy Spirit swept through both the Catholic and Episcopal churches. I
was going to college and went to a prayer meeting with an Episcopal priest. He
talked about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. If God wanted me to have it, I
wanted it, and accepted it. That day, God was no longer out there floating in
the universe, but inside me and walking with me.
You’re planning a
writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be
and why?
Oh, my, there are so many, but if I have to, I would love to
do a retreat with Kelly Gilbert, Lynne Gentry, Lena Nelson Dooley, and Arlene
James.
And I would love a
retreat with all of y’all. Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us
about that.
Not at this time, but having gone through my cancer, I think
God’s going to open up something new for me. I do teach writing at Collin College
What is the most
embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?
Wow, there is such a wealth of incidents. I have this talent
of not reading the signs on bathrooms and barrel into the wrong restroom.
Been there, done
that. Remember the embarrassment. People are always telling me that they’d like
to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell
someone who came up to you and said that?
Write it, but no editor will ever come to you and say, “I
heard you wrote a book and I want to read it and buy it.” You have to write
that book, even if no one has asked for it. When the market opens up, you will
have a finished book to submit.
Tell us about the
featured book.
A Ranch to Call Home is about Captain Brenda Kaye who was
injured in Baghdad
when meeting with several Iraqi women on the education of their children, a
suicide bomber walked into the restaurant and blew himself up. Because of her
injuries, Brenda resigned her commission. When she returns home, she has to
face old hurts from high school and the new pain from her time in Iraq . She
meets Caleb Jensen, who is a friend of her brother’s at the ranch. Caleb has his
share of wounds and baggage. When Brenda’s brother begs her to help him pull
off the charity rodeo the town is doing to help the ranchers, Caleb and Brenda
are drawn together and things start happening.
I like it when things
start happening. Please give us the first page of the book.
Home. She was home.
After twelve years and a lifetime of experiences gained in
the army, ex-captain Brenda Kaye was coming home to the little town of Peaster , Texas , west of Fort Worth to face—what?
Sucking in a long, steadying breath, she turned her
army-surplus jeep down the dirt road that led to her family’s farmhouse. When
she woke early this morning, she felt an urgency to go home. She knew better
than to ignore that little voice, for it had saved her life more than once. She
packed her clothes and a few personal items into her vehicle, notified her
apartment manager she was going to Texas
and started home. She didn’t call. Instead, she wanted to surprise her brother
and grandfather. She didn't know what her plans for the future were, she only
knew she had to go home. Now.
When the familiar white farmhouse came into view, her
stomach tightened. She’d faced some intimidating fellow soldiers and hostile
Iraqi men and not backed down, but the sight of her home made her heart pound
and her mouth go dry. The gravel road opened up into a large area with the
white-clapboard house on the right and the barn on the left, fifty or so yards
away. The house had a wraparound porch where the side kitchen door was the main
door the family used.
She parked her jeep by an unknown truck but didn’t see her
brother’s tan, two-tone F-150. Her grandfather’s old, faded, green Ford pickup
sat on the other side of the unknown truck. She sat for a moment and rubbed her
right calf, easing the cramping there. She felt the raised scars through the
khaki pant leg, a painful reminder of why she was ex-captain Kaye.
Taking a deep breath, she got out of the jeep and looked
around. Home. It hadn’t changed much, except for that beautiful horse trailer
parked by the barn. She started up the porch steps when a voice called out,
“Can I help you?” Kinda like he owned the place.
She stopped on the second riser, turned, ready to open fire
and faced a cowboy—an attractive cowboy, to be sure, but still a stranger. He
stood outside the barn’s double doors. His clothes—a worn chambray work shirt
rolled up to his elbows, well-worn jeans, boots and work gloves—were standard
garb for a working cowboy. A curl of wavy brown hair hung over his forehead as
he studied her. A 1000-watt smile curved his mouth. “You’re Joel’s sister,
Brenda.”
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
www.leannharris.com
Thank you, Barbara, for sharing this new book with us.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
A Ranch to Call Home - Christianbook.com
A Ranch to Call Home (Love Inspired LP\Rodeo Heroes)
- AmazonA Ranch to Call Home (Rodeo Heroes) - Kindle
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