How I wrote a second chance story and met a real-life second chance survivor.
Years ago, Tom participated in the Mustang Inmate Training Program and learned he possessed a gift of working with horses. After his release, he offered horsemanship knowledge and acted in the movie, The Mustang, (2019 R Rated). The scene depicting an inmate striking a horse wouldn’t be allowed in the program, but learning the real-life, low rate of recidivism made me a supporter to The Mustangs of America Foundation, which provides equipment and training.
I hope to learn more about the program and continue the conversation with Tom as I write the story of Rane’s brother, Chayton. His heroine is a female game warden, and together they thwart the efforts of an eagle poacher in my next novella, currently titled, The Romantic Mule Thriller. I toured the Bellevue Forensic Lab and saw the machine capable of lifting fingerprints from a feather. Finding success stories in unlikely places brings a lighter stroke to my keyboard.
Elon Hardy’s romance skills are rusty after a loveless marriage ends, but upon meeting hunky rancher, Rane Calderon, sparks blaze hotter than her welding torch. To support her collegiate sons, she’s determined to acquiesce to the bullheaded, female-phobic boss until her divorce finalizes from her deceitful husband.
A woman Rane trusted ruined his life, and at forty, he won’t be fooled again. Blisteringly mad he’s hired a female bearing a man’s name, he fights attraction for the curvy, determined brunette while thwarting efforts to build a private prison atop his Blackfeet ancestors’ burial ground.
Can Elon and Rane realize love doesn’t have a “best used before date”? If you enjoy smoldering romance, mercenary villains, and rescued animals, you’ll love escaping again to Emma Springs, Montana.
Exerpt:
Elon smiled. Angel needed an advocate. “Just tell me where to park my car
and oh…I, ah, have a dog.”
“Your car’s
ok where it’s parked. Didn’t realize you brought a guest,” he said, in a voice
turned soft as suede.
The calm before the storm? “Hadn’t planned to adopt a pet. A
jerk tossed her from a truck on the highway an hour ago.” She clenched her
fist. “I won’t abandon Angel. That’s what I named her.”
His boots scraped the floor as he pulled them in. He
rose to his full height. “Angel
can bunk inside, or I’ll find her a temporary doghouse.”
“I won’t let
her bother you.”
“Dogs never
do. If she needs kibbles, ask for Fred. He’ll find someone headed to town.”
The man did
have a heart. For the first time today, she smiled. “Thank you. I’ll find
something to feed her tonight,” Elon said.
Rane leaned over her, close enough to show dark
stubble on his perfectly sculpted jaw. The guy’s black lashes appeared thick as
paint brushes. His eyes glowed a deep shade of russet.
Flutters swirled in her belly. She blinked several
times and leaned back.
With one fist braced on the papers, his chest
stiffened into a shield. “Animals
I trust, Ms. Hardy. Women are another story. A month’s trial, then we’ll talk.”
He straightened and walked out, leaving a trail of spice-scented annoyance.
The front door slammed shut. Elon flinched. So much
for the misconception of a kindly old rancher. Nope. Her fortyish boss
possessed the ability to morph into a hardened commander with one scowl from his
squint-eyed, condemning looks. How gracious of him to give her a month’s trial
run. The ugly divorce might take a year.
Multi-award winning author Sally Brandle weaves slow-burning
romance into edgy suspense stories. Sally left a career as an industrial baking
instructor to bring to life stories motivating readers to trust their instincts.
Her rescue Aussie is her companion during long spells of writing or afternoons
spent riding on the wind with her nearly thirty-year-old Quarter Horse.
Sign up
for her newsletter at www.sallybrandle.com for freebies. The Hitman’s Mistake opens her Love Thrives in Emma Springs
series of stories (without intimate scenes). Torn By Vengeance, Book 2, continues showcasing friendship,
courageous women, and the men who deserve their love. The Targeted Pawn,
Book 3, features a second chance for a life filled with love for humans and their
furry friends.
Amazon buy link to Pawn: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085F2Q85M
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