CFBA Presents MONTANA ROSE by Mary Connealy

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingMontana Rose(Barbour Publishing, Inc - July 1, 2009)by
Mary Connealy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary's writing journey is similar to a lot of others. Boil it down to persistence, oh, go ahead and call it stubbornness. She just kept typing away. She thinks the reason she did it was because she was more or less a dunce around people—prone to sit silently when she really ought to speak up (or far worse, speak up when she ought to sit silently).

So, Mary had all these things she wanted to say in her head; the perfect zinger to the rude cashier, which you think of an hour after you’ve left the store, the perfect bit of wisdom when someone needs help, which doesn’t occur to you until they solve their problems themselves, the perfect guilt trip for the kids, which you don’t say because you’re not an idiot. She keeps all this wit to herself, much to the relief of all who know her, and then writes all her great ideas into books. It’s therapeutic if nothing else, and more affordable than a psychiatrist.

So then a very nice, oh so nice publishing company like Barbour Heartsong comes along and says, “Hey, we’ll pay you money for this 45,000 word therapy session.” That’s as sweet as it gets.

Mary's journey to publication is the same as everyone’s except for a few geniuses out there who make it hard for all of us. And even they probably have an Ode to Roast Beef or two in their past.

Mary has signed an exclusive contract with Barbour that will have her writing eighteen books for them over the next four years! This book is the first in the Montana Marriage Series. The second book will be the Husband Tree, and the third will be Wildflower Bride



ABOUT THE BOOK


Fire up your love of romance with Montana Rose.

When surrounded by a mob of ill-bred, foul-smelling, women-hungry men, the newly widowed and seemingly spoiled Cassie “China Doll” Griffin has no choice. Marrying handyman Red Dawson seems the only alternative to Cassie’s being hitched to a brutal rancher. But can this “China doll” bear exchanging smooth silk for coarse calico?

Red was reluctant to be yoked to an unbeliever, but sometimes a man has no choice. Will Red change Cassie’s heart by changing her name?

Wade Sawyer is obsessed with saving Cassie from a marriage of convenience. How far will he go make her his own?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Montana Rose, go HERE

JEN'S THOUGHTS

I always get excited when a new Mary Connealy book comes out. And the first book in a new series is particularly exciting, because I know I'm going to meet characters I'll get to enjoy for awhile. As series starters go, Montana Rose is a fabulous start.

In Cassie Griffin, Connealy has created a woman who's been mistreated for so long, she doesn't even know it's happening. Forced to marry at fifteen, she believed her husband Griff, being much older and wiser, must know how things were supposed to work. It's not until she's eighteen and pregnant, after Griff dies and she must quickly marry Red Dawson, that Cassie realizes how oppressive her life had been.

Writing about an abused wife is tricky. Writing about an abused wife and still keeping the light hearted, comedic tone she's known for is even trickier. But Connealy handles it masterfully. There are laughs aplenty in this book, but there's also a ton of heartfelt emotion. The honest love that grows between Red and Cassie as they work together to build a home and a family can't help but touch readers.

Montana Rose gets five stars from me and is on my list of highly recommended books. I suggest you get in on the beginning of this very awesome new series. Enjoy!