Apache Fire (7 page)
For me, writing grew out of a love of history and reading. I have always been fascinated with the West and various Indian cultures. As I write, I try to envision both sides of the conflicts experienced by settlers and Indians.
Part of the enticement of writing Westerns is reading about the people drawn to the raw land, despite its dangers. Since men wrote most of the history books, there is little mention of the women who were part of the westward expansion. But women did file on homesteads; they also brought a civilizing influence to the West. In the Western Territories a woman had a chance to measure herself against the land. I believe women valued the opportunity and the freedom from the stifling standards of the Victorian era.
Characters are the most important aspect of a novel to me. They must be strong, vulnerable and flawed to be believable. Each has their own code of honor. And I believe strongly in the healing power of love. That belief is why I write romances.
I hope that you enjoyed reading “Apache Fire” and will watch for my ongoing Western series, The Kincaid Trilogy.
Have a great summer filled with love and laughter,
Raine Cantrell
Nicholas Dowling's mail-order bride is not what he'd hoped forâshe's too young, too delicate, and far too superstitious for a pragmatic man like himself. But not even Brianna's untamable spirit can't cast a shadow over her luminous beauty, and before long the blaze of their attraction grows into something neither one of them was expecting.
Kit Sidell, Texas's most eligible bachelor, has an insatiable sweet tooth. But when the challenge of a wager brings him to the kitchen of Birdie Delwin, Kit finds himself tempted by much more than her dessert menu.
Maureen O'Rourke made a home for herself and her children in an abandoned cabin in the Colorado mountains. While searching for his lost child, Gabriel Channing stumbles upon the cabin, and finds a whole new family instead. But it will take more than a Christmas wish to make these two broken families oneâit will take more than a miracle.
Hallie Pruitt has a habit of taking in straysâboth unwanted animals and captivating cowboys. When handsome Cade McAllister seeks shelter in her home while his broken leg heals, it's her homemade candies that keep him sober, but it's the piping hot fantasies she describes in her diary that provides the secret ingredient to Cade's heart.
Jacob DeWitt, a widower on Christmas leave during the Civil War, returns to his New York home determined to get Ellie Winifred to marry him. She has taken in his two motherless children and his younger brother while he is off at war. It makes perfect sense to him that they marry, but Ellie resists. It will take every bit of help Jacob, a proud, stubborn man, can get if he is going to convince Ellie that he is worthy of her love.
