8/2/15 - Charlotte and Sanderson -- What does the future hold?

Welcome back! Let's continue right on with the romance in the meadow, shall we?

“I’m a fool for not doing this before.” His calloused hand stroked her cheek. The intense glimmer in his eyes reminded her of embers that smoldered deep within the charred heart of firewood, begging for a bit of tinder so they it might erupt into a full-blown flame. A foreign reaction gripped her insides, leaving knots where its fingers touched, causing her to feel queasy. And strangely vulnerable.

“I love you, Charlotte. You and only you.”

Without giving her time to respond, he hopped deftly to his feet, leaving her dizzy in his intoxicating wake. “It’s dark. Let’s get you home before George starts to worry.” 

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WeWriWa - A Heart on Hold (An Everlasting Heart #1) - Charlotte and Sanderson

Welcome back to Charlotte and Sanderson's meadow as we continue through chapter one of A Heart on Hold. Last week, we learned that Charlotte's frog could beat Sanderson's in a long-jumping contest, at least back in their school days.

Sanderson flung his hands up as though he’d just been reminded as to the location of buried treasure. “Of course that’s the best part!” he exclaimed loudly. The sudden booming of his voice quieted the birds that had only begun their nightly song. “How could I have forgotten?” Then he leaned in close. 

He moved so quickly and so precisely that Charlotte's breath caught in her throat at the prospect of what he was about to do -- kiss her? She felt color rush to her cheeks again as his soft lips brushed her ear. “The best part was that I never had to suffer through another day without you, after that.” His fingers came to rest on hers. “And I made it official by carving our initials in the old oak tree after school.”

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Did you know that A Heart on Hold is being looked at for the big screen? 

Get your series here! 

War. Devotion. Deceit. Death. How long can a heart hold on before it breaks? Most women would carry on with their lives after being thrust into widowhood, but not Charlotte Adamsland. Upon learning that her husband, Captain Sanderson Redding, was killed in a botched escape from a Confederate prison in Illinois, she clings to his promise to return to her no matter what, and quickly heads north through a war-ravaged country with only her faith in God and her beloved horse to bring her beloved Sanderson home – one way or another.

The War is over, Sanderson is home, and life is good … until the Army comes knocking. They have charged Sanderson with the murder and sentenced him to “hang by the neck until dead” – unless he bring to justice the notorious outlaw William Quantrill. With Sanderson gone, Charlotte must endure a hard pregnancy and battle a rash of hydrophobia that threatens the countryside –Sanderson included.

 Gold. Massacres. Indians. Soldiers. Can Charlotte survive life on the trail or will the wildness of the west tear her family apart? 

Charlotte leaves behind her life in Arkansas to journey west with Sanderson, the man she loves and whose child she is carrying. However wild animals, natural disasters, and a heavy Indian presence test not only Sanderson and Charlotte's strength and endurance, but their faith in each other as well. Meanwhile, Minerva packs up the little rock cottage to journey west in the company of infant Jay Jay and Cotton just as peace Sanderson is trying to bridge between the Army and the Snake River Indians begins to fall apart. From Quanah Parker to Wyatt Earp, Charlotte and Sanderson rub shoulders with some of the west's most notable characters while struggling to remember what truly makes a home ... is love. 

 When all of their dreams come true, will Sanderson and Charlotte still have what started it all – their everlasting love? 
In this final installment of the Everlasting Heart series, Sanderson and Charlotte must make a home for themselves in the Army town of Fort Bidwell, California. When the job as an Indian agent begs him to round up the peaceful area Indians for execution, Sanderson again runs afoul of the government. In answer to the broken promises of the Army, Sanderson and Jerry turn to a well-paying job with the railroad. However, they are warned to turn a blind eye to the treatment of their Chinese workers ... or else. But can money buy this formerly-happy Arkansas family the happiness they are so desperately searching for? Meanwhile as Charlotte stands up for Cotton against the town bullies, she accidentally falls into favor with Johnny Tan, the handsome young outlaw who slowly transforms into both Sanderson’s nemesis and his saving grace. In a world where women are expected to be silent, can Charlotte be a parent Cotton, a wife to Sanderson who seems to have fallen more in love with money than with her, and friend to Minerva, who seems to be drifting farther and farther away? 

*A Heart Forever Wild is in the running for the 2015 Romance Novel Excellence Award!*

Surprise! Cover reveal time! Here is my forthcoming release, Old Amarillo (Amish Journeys #1) from 5 Prince Publishing. September 3. <3

WeWriWa - A Heart on Hold (Just 99 cents this week!) - July 12, 2015

Welcome back to this weekend's edition of A Heart on Hold, where Charlotte was being reminded of all the reasons she had fallen in love with Sanderson, so many years before. A Heart on Hold is discounted to just .99 this week, so pick up your copy today! Without further ado, back to the meadow we go with Charlotte and Sanderson in pre-Civil War Arkansas.


Charlotte's mood cooled at the recollection of the bullfrogs. Life had been so easy back then. Back before Sanderson left, before her mother and baby sister succumbed to influenza. She immediately cut off her thought. 

Sanderson sat, grinning, awaiting her response. Pushing the bittersweet memories of her mother aside, she said, “You looked so crushed when I didn’t accept BobBob.” 

“I certainly didn’t expect you to go catch your own frog and challenge me to a long-jumping contest!” 

Charlotte exhaled onto her fingernails and buffed them against the lapel of her dress. “You left out the best part,” she reminded him. “I challenged you and then my frog won.”

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A Heart on Hold . . . but how long can a heart hold on until it breaks? WeWriWa - 5/24/15

Welcome back! Now where did we leave off with Charlotte and Sanderson . . . oh yes, he was quite distracted by his love Charlotte, wasn't he?

The slight brush of Sanderson's skin against Charlotte's caused her heart to quicken. She pulled her legs up onto the bank and crossed her damp ankles. Something had bloomed somewhere in the surrounding hills because when the breeze shifted, the air became thick with a clean, lemony scent. Sanderson’s voice dropped to a whisper as he spoke, “and to think, that shopkeeper tried for a week to convince me you would like the red better, but I wouldn’t hear of it . . . has to be green, I said. Green, to match her magnificent eyes.” Charlotte turned her head slightly. Sanderson’s face was there, mere inches from hers. Time ground to a halt and it felt as though she had dunked her head underwater and needed to come up for air. Could this be it, our first kiss? 


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Sara's Amish Dreams where eight sentences from my forthcoming Amish fiction work, Old Amarillo, are shared each week. 
Back to my first blog, where you can experience post-deployment PTSD in its most raw form, eight sentences at a time in my forthcoming memoir, Missi Wanderin' in the Woods. 
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Happily Ever After . . .

Sigh. April 17th, always a bittersweet day, as it has been every anniversary since 2010. But before we get to all that, let's go back to the beginning . . .

Just weeks after joining a Rapid Deployment unit at Fort Carson, Colorado, my husband and I had a baby -- a sweet and chunky boy who made his debut a month early -- and six short weeks later took this photo. This was taken just hours before he deployed to Afghanistan. Again. My newborn and I drove home to Texas with the lawnmower tied to the hood of the Dodge Journey we'd bought in Italy and had shipped home as my husband began his trek halfway around the world to hell on earth. Don't Cry by Guns and Roses, a song I'd never heard before despite being a devout metal head, played several times on the way home and became my year-long anthem. (Don't mind the weird video, it's the words I love.) Haven't heard it much since, either.

More coming next Saturday on this misadventure . . .