Meet Mary Connealy

I'm so excited! Today we're kicking off our Back 2 School Book Bonanza! Over the next eight weeks we have 22 Christian authors lined up for spotlights, interviews and book giveaways of their new releases. I hope you'll join us often!

To be entered in a book giveaway, leave a comment and check back on the following Sunday or Wednesday to see if you've won. Those will be our two winner announcement days. Each book giveaway will be open for five days. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment, otherwise, you can just check back and email me through the button in my sidebar. You can enter twice for each author--once for each post you leave a comment on. Two comments on the same post will only count once, but a comment on the Meet the author post and a comment of the interview with the author post will count twice. *grin* Clear as mud?

And now, here's Mary.

Mary Connealy, author of the Lassoed in Texas series, begins a new series with Montana Rose. She writes romantic comedies with cowboys for Barbour.

Mary is married to her high school sweetheart, Ivan, a Nebraska farmer/rancher. She is the mother of four beautiful daughters Josie, married to Matt, Wendy, Shelly, married to Aaron and Katy. She’s got one beautiful granddaughter, Elle.

You can keep up with Mary (or try to! LoL) at her website or her blog. She also blogs on my favorite writing blog, Seekers and also on Petticoats and Pistols.

Montana Rose
Left pregnant and widowed in the unforgiving west, Cassie is forced into an unwanted marriage to rancher Red Dawson.
No decent man could turn away from Cassie and leave her to the rough men in Divide, Montana. Red Dawson can't turn his back on the spoiled, snooty, beautiful woman. Now he's got himself a wife he's sure God never intended. And when he informs her there'll be no more silk dresses and she has to do some work around the ranch he's surprised she immediately tries to help with everything. Too bad she's a walking disaster. His ranch may not survive her efforts to pitch in.

Now, instead of a spoiled wife he's got himself an overly obedient and badly incompetent one, and poor Red is so charmed by her he can't bear to scold. He's not much for bossing people around, anyway.

While Red tries to survive Cassie's help and Cassie tries to use her own mind instead of meekly obeying for the first time in her life, an obsessed man plots to make Cassie his own, something he can't do as long as Red lives.

Montana Rose was actually inspired by Janette Oke's beautiful classic novel Love Comes Softly. Of course, I'm not Janette Oke (unfortunately for me) and my novel has taken an alarming turn to romantic comedy, suspense and chaos.



Here's an excerpt from Montana Rose.

Cassie got to him. She had ever since the first time Red had seen her nearly two years ago. And now she was available. Someone would have to marry her to keep her alive. Women didn’t live without men in the unsettled West. Life was too hard. The only unattached women around worked above the Golden Butte Saloon and, although they survived, Red didn’t consider their sad existence living.

“You’re established on the ranch these days, Red. Your bank account’s healthy.” Muriel crouched down so she was eye level with Red, who was digging himself down fast. “Maybe it’s time you took a wife.”

Red froze and looked up at his friend. Muriel was a motherly woman, though she had no children. And like a mother, she seemed comfortable meddling in his life.

Red realized he was staring and went back to the grave, tempted to toss a shovel full of dirt on Muriel’s wily face. He wouldn’t throw it hard. He just wanted to distract her.

When he was sure his voice would work, he said, “Cassie isn’t for me, Muriel. And it isn’t because of what it would cost to keep her. If she was my wife, she’d live within my means and that would be that.”

Red had already imagined—in his unruly mind—how stern he’d be when she asked for finery. “You’ll have to sew it yourself or go without.” He even pictured himself shaking a scolding finger right under her turned-up nose. She’d mind him.

He’d imagined it many times, many, many times. And long before Griff died, which was so improper Red felt shame. He’d tried to control his willful thoughts. But a man couldn’t stop himself from thinking a thought until he’d started, now could he? So he’d started a thousand times and then he stopped himself. . .mostly. He’d be kind and patient but he wouldn’t bend. He’d say, “Cass honey, you—”

Red jerked his thoughts away from the old, sinful daydream about another man’s wife. Calmly, he answered Muriel, “She isn’t for me because I would never marry a non-believer.”

With a wry smile, Seth caught on and threw in on Muriel’s side—the traitor. “A woman is a mighty scarce critter out here, Red. It don’t make sense to put too many conditions on the ones there are.”

“I know.” Red talked to himself as much as to them. He hung on to right and wrong. He clung to God’s will. “But one point I’ll never compromise on is marrying a woman who doesn’t share my faith.”

“Now, Red,” Muriel chided, “you shouldn’t judge that little girl like that. How do you know she’s not a believer?”

“I’m not judging her, Muriel.” Which Red realized was absolutely not true. “Okay, I don’t know what faith she holds. But I do know that the Griffins have never darkened the doorstep of my church.”

You can order Montana Rose from Amazon and CBD.

Mary is giving away a copy of Montana Rose. To be entered in the book giveaway, leave a comment and check back on Sunday, August 16th to see if you've won. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment, otherwise, you can just check back and email me through the button in my sidebar. You can enter twice--once for each post you leave a comment on. :-)

Be sure to join us tomorrow for an interview with Mary!

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