Ring of Fire

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Lark Cantrell, a single parent and the fire chief of Caribou Crossing, first made her appearance in Love Me Tender. How could I resist a character like that? Clearly, she had to one day have her own book. In Love Somebody Like You, I gave her a slightly larger role and introduced her utterly charming 10-year-old son, Jayden, who has cerebral palsy. And then, in Ring of Fire, it was Lark’s turn for romance.

Well, that was what I thought, but romance was the last thing Lark was looking for. The women in her family—her single parent mom and her maternal grandmother—had terrible luck with men and, when Lark married Jayden’s father, she repeated that pattern. She has no intention of repeating that mistake.

What could I do to persuade her? Well, obviously, find the perfect man. But who might that be?

Jayden does riding therapy, and I love horses and love to include them in my Caribou Crossing stories. So, what about a hero who gets sent to riding therapy himself? This meant that I needed him to have some kind of physical or mental disability. Why not both? How about a prosthetic leg and PTSD?

And so Major Eric Weaver was born. A career soldier he has a single goal: to return to active duty. To do that, he must overcome his physical and mental issues, and he will do whatever it takes, even if that means going to riding lessons with a wheelchair-bound 10-year-old.

So, those were my characters.

Two strong, successful, determined adults who are both firmly convinced that they know best as to what their futures should hold—and that those futures do not include a partner.

One charmer of a kid, who is struggling to overcome a serious disability.

Lark’s wise-woman mom, who’s an integral part of her small family.

And, of course, the horses. Horses truly can work magic.

So can authors. That’s our day job. It took some magic indeed to encourage (force!) Lark and Eric to face their fears and have the courage to risk a future that was very different—but so much richer—than they’d ever imagined.

I hope you’ll join Lark and Eric as they meet in a manner that utterly humiliates the poor guy, and then drag their heels as I shove them in the direction of a happy romantic ending.