Character Spotlight ~ Lena Nelson Dooley's Madeline Mercer & Jeremiah Dennison

Madeline Mercer & Jeremiah Dennison

Multi published author, Lena Nelson Dooley has just released the latest historical romance in Summerside Press' popular Love Finds You series. Lena heads to the gold mining town of Golden, New Mexico delving into the lives of a mail order bride and a rancher, determined to protect his old friend from a gold digger of the female kind!

Enjoy and over to you, Lena:~


Brief physical description

Madeline Mercer looks like a china doll, with brown hair and a creamy complexion. She is petite with gray eyes that can turn warm or stormy. She most resembles a young Sandra Bullock.

Jeremiah Dennison is a strong, cowboy rancher. He’s tall and has longish dark hair, which curls too much, so he tries to keep it trimmed. His dark, inscrutable eyes are shadowed by dark brows. He has a strong chin. He resembles John Schneider with darker hair.

Strengths and weaknesses

At the beginning of the book, Maddy isn’t sure what her strengths are. She’s always been taken care of. She does have a compassionate heart, which she exhibits when she befriends Lorraine, a pregnant widow who is destitute. As the story progresses, Maddy finds she has many strengths that carry her through desperate situations and unfamiliar territory.

Jeremiah has a strong loyalty to Philip the old miner who befriended him when he first came to the gold fields. Now he’s taking care of Philip, who is losing strength every day. Jeremiah likes to be in control, but when things happen he has no control over, he loses his temper. And a lot of things take place after the Mercer woman arrives that upset his stable world.

Your inspiration for the character

I really didn’t have any particular person in mind when I created each of these characters. Since I have a drama background where I have been a director and an actress, it’s easy for me to create believable characters. They grew out of the storyline and fit it completely.

Background to the story

I’ve always been interested in mail-order bride stories, both the real ones and in fiction. I read a lot of information, including actual ads and letters from men to prospective brides.

Then I started with “what if.” What if I made him a real cowboy and her from a wealthy family from back East? That should create lots of interesting situations.

After that, I had to come up with a scenario that would make her need to leave Boston and go to Golden, New Mexico, wherever that was. With all this in place, the story really took off.

Thanks Lena ~ I'm looking forward to watching the sparks fly in this story!

On Thursday, the spotlight shines on Cynthia Ruchti's Libby Holden from her debut novel, They Almost Always Come Home.

Relz Reviewz Extras

Visit Lena's website

Watch the book trailer

Buy Lena's books at Amazon or Koorong