Character Spotlight ~ Lena Nelson Dooley's Maggie Caine & Charles Stanton

Lena Nelson Dooley's new McKenna's Daughters series has begun with the newly released, Maggie's Journey, available from Realms.

Synopsis

A girl who’s been lied to her whole life…

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she was adopted. The daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed both by her real parents and by the ones who raised her. 

Maggie desires a place where she belongs. But her mother’s constant criticism and reminders that she doesn’t fit the mold of a young woman of their social standing have already created tension in their home. With the discovery of the family secret, all sense of her identity is lost.

When Maggie asks to visit her grandmother in Arkansas, her father agrees on the condition that she take her Aunt Georgia as a chaperone and his young partner, Charles Stanton, as protection on the journey. Will she discover who she really is and, more importantly, what truly matters most in life?

Enjoy meeting Maggie & Charles ~ thanks Lena

Rel: Brief physical description

Lena: Maggie Lenora - Maggie - 18 - petite, red curly hair, green eyes with golden flecks in them, porcelain skin

Charles Stanton - 24 - tall, close-cropped coffee-colored dark hair, that tended to curl. Large brown eyes with dark brows, dark complexion

Actor/famous person

I’ve attached two photos. I used Nicole Kidman for Maggie.

This photo of Nicole has her curly hair straightened some, but Maggie didn’t straighten hers.

Strengths and weaknesses

Maggie is spoiled by her daddy, but not her mother. She’s strong-willed and impetuous, very creative. She designs dresses, and she’s a very good sketch artist and painter.

Discovery of a family secret affected Maggie in very deep ways.

Charles is intelligent, but somewhat conceited at the beginning of the book. He had some hard lessons to learn

Quirk (if any)

Charles likes to bow to women in jest

Your inspiration for the character

Maureen Taylor

My characters come to me before the story emerges. I believe they’re inspired by God to reveal an interesting story

Background to the story

Identical triplet girls were born on one of the last wagon trains on the Oregon Trail. Their mother dies after giving birth to them. Their father is devastated after losing the love of his life. He can’t imagine taking care of one baby by himself, much less three. He carefully chooses two families, for specific reasons, to give one of the babies. The girls grow up without knowing about their sisters. They each discover that they have sisters near their 18th birthday.

Thanks Lena!

Relz Reviewz Extras

Review of Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico

Character spotlight on Maddy & Jeremiah

Visit Lena's website

Watch the book trailer

Buy Lena's books at Amazon or Koorong

Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico by Lena Nelson Dooley with giveaway

Synopsis:~

All that glitters is not gold.

It’s 1892, and Golden, New Mexico, is a booming mining town where men far outnumber women. So when wealthy old miner Philip Smith finds himself in need of a nursemaid, he decides to place an ad for a mail-order bride. His friend Jeremiah Dennison opposes the scheme, arguing that any woman crazy enough to come to Golden will be a gold-digger like everyone else in town. Jeremiah appears to be right when the ad is answered by Madeleine Mercer, a young woman who arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. But just as she begins to win over the old miner—and Jeremiah himself—a stranger comes to Golden armed with new accusations that could tarnish Madeleine’s character beyond redemption.

My take:~

Lena Nelson Dooley's experience and talent shows in her latest novel for Summerside Press' Love Finds You line, Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico. In the hands of a less skilled author, my interest may well have been lost given the length of time it took for Madeline and Jeremiah to clap eyes on each other, almost a third of the way through the story. From there an interesting story turns into an intriguing story and one I was keen to see through to the end. Maddy bordered on being a little too sweet for my preference but Jeremiah was a great character, devoted to his mentor and torn between protecting him and his frustrating feelings of attraction to Maddy and all she represented. This is a lovely rendition of a traditional historical fiction novel underpinned by transforming faith.

With thanks to Wynn~Wynn Media for my review copy

Relz Reviewz Extras

Character spotlight on Maddy & Jeremiah

Visit Lena's website

Watch the book trailer

Buy Lena's books at Amazon or Koorong

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