From An Old House Down In The Valley To My New Historical Romance: Hear The Wind Blow, Love
From
the desk of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy….
Although there’s a great distance, one measured in
more than miles, from the town that cradled and nurtured me and the rugged old
Ozark Mountains, I’ve come to love these hills and hollows. I’ve lived here for a long time, now, and
call the place home. I now live in what
passes for suburbs in a small town in a ranch style house and a neighborhood
sandwiched between I-49 and the business loop that skirts town. But not so very long ago I lived on the top
of an Ozark ridge in the woods. Our
acres stretched across the hill top and veered down into a deep valley. The property line ended at the bottom of a
steep hill but when my husband and I went roaming through the forest, I spotted
an old house tucked into the valley.
I’ve always been intrigued by abandoned houses. To me, each one holds a story. From an early age I imagined the life lived
there, in the now empty rooms and the weed-choked yard. So, of course I had to see the old farmhouse. I took many pictures and over the years I
lived in the rural area, I visited several times.
The farmhouse became the basis for the farm in my
soon to be released (September 3) historical romance novel, Hear The
Wind Blow, Love. Before it releases,
here’s the cover (check out that handsome guy – he’s so hot), the blurb, and an
excerpt which captures some of the feel of the old house in the wild Ozark
woods.
Blurb:
When the Armistice ends the Great War in
November 1918, the end comes too late to save Maude Whitney’s husband,
Jamie. But Maude realizes her heart still belongs to Harry, her brother-in-law who courted her first. He’s been
her rock in Jamie’s absence while they shared quarters with the grandparents
who raised the brothers. But Granpa died and Granny moved to town so when Maude
invites him to move back under the same roof, it’s sure to be a scandal in the
rural Ozarks.
Before gossiping tongues can spread the
news, the Spanish influenza wreaks havoc in the area. It brings death
close to home for Maude and Harry. As they fall deeper in love and plan
to wed, their troubles are just beginning. Old feuds erupt and the day
after Christmas, Harry’s hauled into custody and accused of a murder he didn’t
commit. Harry must prove his innocence and survive a serious bout of flu
or there’s no happy ending for the star-crossed couple.
Excerpt:
Maude resisted an urge to lay her
head against Harry’s shoulder, the way she had once. Her mind ran faster than the hands on a clock
as she pondered everything. It might
take awhile to wrap her head around all of it, but she didn’t see why Harry’s
self-imposed exile to the cabin was necessary.
She thought about the deep woods surrounding the farmhouse, the old
trees stretching high above the hills and hollows, and the distance to any
neighbors. The solitary nights and
absolute blackness after dark, the critters who roamed the rugged hills, and
the lonesome winds sweeping over the wilderness reminded her how isolated and
alone she lived.
“No one knows where you sleep,” she
said after a pause. “And even though you go to the cabin every night, wagging tongues
can say otherwise and who would know?”
“I reckon no one, much,” Harry
said. “What’re you sayin’?”
A smile teased her lips until she
let it out, full and broad. “I’m sayin’ you might as well come home, Harry,
here to the house. God knows, it’s lonely
with just me and George. He’d like you being here and truth told so would I.”
He said nothing and from his stark
profile she thought he’d refuse. To coax
him, Maude added, “You’d take meals with us and with winter comin’ on, it’d
make things easier for you and for me.”
Emotion cracked his voice when he
answered. “I’ll stay tonight and move back, then, Maudie. I can’t help but
admit it’s good for a man’s soul to have some company and some warm food to
feed my belly. Thanks.”
“There’s no need to thank me,” she
said. “It’s your home as much as mine.”
Harry smiled a sweet grin. The expression removed at least five years
from his age. “Can’t argue that,” he said. “I’ve lived here since I was five
years old, except for the time up in Kansas City. And, Maude?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll do right by you,” he said,
his voice earnest with feeling. “I won’t take advantage.”
She might like it if he did, but
Maude understood. He respected her. “I
know,” she replied softly. “I’m glad you’re home, Harry.”
Unseen, unspoken, a powerful
emotion surged between them and resonated, almost strong enough to touch. All the affection Maude held for Harry welled
up and she struggled to contain it.
They’d lived in one household for a long time and managed. Whatever happened now, she wouldn’t
force. He released her hand but his
fingers paused to stroke her cheek in a brief caress. “Looks like the fire needs feeding,” he
said. He rose and stirred the embers,
then added another log. The flames
danced and their light illuminated Harry as he knelt before the hearth.
I
love him, in every way a woman loves a man.
She’d never stopped and all she felt surpassed anything she’d felt
for Jamie. Maude mourned his passing, but
she knew now how much more she’d grieve if it’d been Harry, not his brother who
died in France. Some of the strain of
recent weeks lifted and a little bubble of happiness expanded within. Harry’s presence tempered the bone numbing
loneliness and offered comfort.
Anything else would be welcome and
if it came, she’d know joy, deep and abiding.
MY LINKS
Twitter: leeannwriter
From Sweet to Heat: The Romance of Lee Ann
Sontheimer Murphy
https://www.facebook.com/pages/From-Sweet-To-Heat-The-Romance-of-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/287540748010934?ref=hl
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I
Rebel Writer: Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I
LinkedIn
Goodreads:
Comments
Post a Comment
We would love to hear from you but hope you are a real person and not a spammer. :)