Character Spotlight ~ Janelle Mowery's Cade Ramsey & Grace Bradley

Janelle Mowery's second novel in her Colorado Runaway series, When Love Gets in the Way, is available from Harvest House.

Synopsis

Grace Bradley wishes all she touches would turn to gold. Instead, it tends to tarnish.that is, until she finds freedom on the Double K Ranch. Grace is fleeing from the man her father chose to be her husband. But once her heart is captured by her new employer's best friend, and she finally understands the meaning of God's sacrificial love, she relinquishes her independence to save her loved ones.

Cade Ramsey contemplates running for dear life from the accident-prone nuisance he brought to his hometown. The trouble that trails her seems to latch on to him at every turn. But when Grace manages to win his calloused heart, he chases her down, praying he can keep her from following through on a decision that could ruin their lives.

Enjoy meeting Grace & Cade ~ thanks Janelle :)

Brief physical description

Grace Bradley isn’t very tall but what she lacks in height, she tries to make up for in spunk, though she tends to duck and hide when courage fails her. Her long dark hair frames her pale, petite face, though with her new job at the ranch, she’s getting a bit of a tan.

Cade Ramsey’s shoulders are broad because of his job at the livery. He tends to tower over Grace not only in height but in confidence. His wavy dark hair compliments Grace’s.

Actor/famous person 

When I think of Grace, I picture a dark-haired, shorter Keira Knightley, I think because of the role she played in all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. She’s who Grace would like to be…brave, a fighter.

I know I’ll show my age when I mention this next actor for Cade, but I pictured Patrick Wayne when I wrote Cade. The square jaw, curly hair, and broad shoulders fit him perfectly.

Strengths and weaknesses

Grace’s strength is her determination to succeed. Her weakness is that she doesn’t give herself much credit for much of anything. She spent a great deal of her teen years taking care of her sick mother and she learned a lot about life during those years.

Cade’s strength might also be his weakness in that he has a very soft heart for the downtrodden and strays. It’s how he came to be with, and fall in love with, Grace.

Quirk (if any)

Grace’s quirk is that she’s accident prone, and not just to herself. Anyone around her is likely to become involved with her ‘accidents’.

Your inspiration for the character

Cade came directly from the first book of the series, When All My Dreams Come True. He was the best friend of the hero of that story. He was soft hearted in that story and I wanted to see him find a wife. Grace was created just for Cade. He always rescued the lost and lonely. Grace was that but because she’s also accident prone, big brave Cade is almost afraid to be near her, but he finds he can’t stay away.

Credit: stock.xchang

Background to the story

Grace’s father is trying to force her into marrying a man she doesn’t like at all, so she runs away…using the back of Cade’s wagon as a hiding place. When Cade finds her, she talks him into taking her to his hometown. Cade is getting over a broken heart and wants nothing to do with Grace, yet he finds himself drawn to her, even though she’s inflicted all kinds of pain and trouble on him. When the man Grace is supposed to marry shows up, Cade tries to rescue her, putting himself in danger’s path. Grace learns the meaning of sacrificial love and relinquishes her independence to save her loved ones.

Relz Reviewz Extras
Character spotlight on Bobbie & Jace from When All My Dreams Come True
Character spotlight on Janelle's Nate & Rebekah from Love Finds You in Silver City, Idaho
Visit Janelle's website
Buy Janelle's books at Amazon or Koorong

Character Spotlight ~ Janelle Mowery's Bobbie McIntyre & Jace Kincaid

Bobbie & Jace

Janelle Mowery opens her new Colorado Runaway series with a female wrangler and a ranch owner not quite sure what to do with her! Enjoy getting to know Bobbie & Jace.

Over to you, Janelle:~

Brief physical description

Bobbie McIntyre is average in height with long blonde hair that's kept out of the way in a braid more often than not. She's more comfortable wearing work shirts and pants and sitting on a saddle than wearing an apron and working in a kitchen.

Jace Kincaid is tall and lean whose blond hair is badly in need of a cut.

Actor/famous person

I saw the movie Eight Below not long ago and thought the lead character Paul Walker looked a lot like what I pictured for Jace Kincaid.

I had trouble coming up with an actress for Bobbie until Erin Cottrell was suggested and I have to agree.

Strengths and weaknesses

Bobbie's strengths...She's incredibly confident in her skills as a wrangler. Raised by her father after her mother died, she's worked with men for years and is comfortable around them.

Bobbie's weaknesses...Making friends with other women is difficult because she's been teased by too many because of how she dresses. Raised without a mother, feminine ways elude her. She also has a hard time trusting God and others.

Jace's strengths...In the role of rancher and leader, he's had a great example to follow in his father, who was killed almost a year earlier. He loves the ranch and those who work for him and fights to protect all.

Jace's weaknesses...He feels the pressure to fulfill his father's dream and questions himself and God.

Quirk (if any)

Bobbie loves to play pranks. Not sure if that qualifies as a quirk but those she plays the pranks on think so.

Your inspiration for the character

This story being the first I ever tried to write, I wanted to have a character I knew well. Being a tomboy, I chose an unfeminine woman who was more comfortable with the outdoors. Add to that the fact that I think horses are beautiful animals, I tied a love of horses to my heroine. Knowing who I wanted as a heroine, the hero was a simple step. He had to be a cowboy.

Background to the story

I'd been reading many Lori Wick books and I loved her historicals. I've also loved westerns. In my heart, I knew I could write one of my own. That thought took hold and wouldn't shake loose. Because trust is such a difficult thing for so many people, I wanted that to be the theme. I created, plotted, and shaped this story for a full year, all in my head. I knew I wanted Colorado for the setting because I love that state. Once I had the characters, plot, and setting firmly in mind, I decided it was time to put it to paper. It was far from perfect but with the help of friends through critiques and a great editor, this story truly became a dream come true and will always be one of my favorites.

Thanks so much for sharing, Janelle :) So appreciate your time and effort.

Relz Reviewz Extras

Character spotlight on Janelle's Nate & Rebekah from Love Finds You in Silver City, Idaho

Visit Janelle's website

Buy Janelle's books at Amazon or Koorong

Character Spotlight ~ Janelle Mowery's Rebekah Weaver & Nate Kirkland

Rebekah & Nate

Be on the lookout for Janelle Mowery's name as you will be seeing it a lot, with two books available now and five more set to release in 2011!

Enjoy this insight into her characters from her second novel, Love Finds You in Silver City, Idaho:~

Brief physical description

Rebekah Weaver is a young woman who has already been through great trauma in her tender years and bears the scars to prove it. An accident left her scarred on the left side of her body, including her cheek and neck. She could use her long light brown hair to cover it but has decided to try to be secure and confident in her 'new' body and keeps her hair pulled back and out of her light brown eyes as she works in her father's general store.

Nate Kirkland is the cliche tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome man, perfect for his job as a deputy marshal. But it's his light green eyes that grabs Rebekah's attention because they are such a sharp contrast to his dark looks, and the sorrow she sees in them makes her curious to find out the cause.

Actor/famous person

Rebekah - Keira Knightley

Nate - I don't know this actor's name but he's the perfect image for my vision of Nate.

Strengths and weaknesses

Rebekah's strength is her ability to bounce back quickly from pain and disappointment. She doesn't dwell on the bad but searches for the good in every person and situation, which can also be a weakness because it can lead her into trusting the wrong people.

Nate's strength is his determination. He wants to not just end the evil in the world but crush it completely, mainly because of what happened to his father and brother. He won't stop until he 'finds his man'. His weakness of dwelling in the past pain of his life sometimes gets in the way, skewing his judgment of others and misleading him into who he should and shouldn't trust.

Quirk (if any)

Rebekah's quirk is taking under her wing any person or animal that doesn't seem quite 'normal'. There are a few of these 'characters' that Rebekah stands up for in the story.

Your inspiration for the character

My inspiration for Rebekah came from two different things. I went on a field trip with my son to a historical ranch where I learned that the second most common cause of death for women was getting burned. They often cooked outside to keep the house from getting too heated during the day and the wind would blow their long skirts into the flames. If the burns didn't kill them immediately, most would eventually die from the infection that followed. The second incident that inspired me was when I accidentally burned my son with boiling water. I was headed toward the sink to drain spaghetti and he was behind me headed toward the sink to get some water. We collided. I know, this sounds like an awful situation to use but while he was healing, my mind often went to how he would deal with teasing or even explaining what had happened to him. Praise God, he bears no scars from that accident, not physically or emotionally, but it gave birth to this story.

Background to the story

Based on what I mentioned as my inspiration for the character, I had a plot in mind for the story. My editor gave me a short list of towns to use as my setting. After researching each of them, I chose Silver City, Idaho because of it's rich background. A great deal of money was made from all of the gold and silver mines found in the Owyhee mountain range. And where there is so much money, evil flourishes. It's amazing what greed can make some do. And since the theme of this story is judging others, it seemed such a heavy topic, so I added some odd characters to add humor and lighten the storyline. As the saying goes, it takes all kinds to make a world, and I think I have enough variety in this story to make it interesting and to teach that we may not like the look or actions of others, but we can learn to love them by what's in their heart.

Janelle ~ it's great to have you here. Thanks for sharing about Nate and Rebekah :)

Relz Reviewz Extras

Visit Janelle's website

Buy Janelle's books at Amazon or Koorong

More Hometown Mysteries from Barbour

Barbour Books is back in 2011 with more of their Hometown Mysteries.

Click on the author and title links for more :)


The Camera Never Lies by Elizabeth Goddard

Photographer extraordinaire Polly Perkins is fascinated by people. But when a friend hires her for a wedding at an Oregon national park, she captures a murder victim instead! Will her uncanny ability to read emotion through a camera lens help her prevent another crime---and maybe zoom in on a chance for romance, too?

December, 2010









Burying the Hatchet by Chris Well

Longtime grump, Earl Walker is attending church for the first time in years. The minister, Andrew Benton,has been waging a public war with celebrity psychic Montague Black, who is riding his way to national fame by intruding on a local murder investigation. The pastor, standing on the Bible, opposes consorting with a psychic. When the two men are invited to a public summit, both walk into the room--but only the minister comes out alive. Can Earl prove that Pastor Benton was inexplicably framed...or is it time to start looking for a new church?

January, 2011




Blown Away by Nancy Mehl

Hilde Higgins has an unexplainable dislike of clowns. Trouble is that she's fallen for a handsome stockbroker who moonlights a s a clown at the children's hospital. When Harold "Binky" Tuttwiler and another member of the clown group both end up dead, Hilde's boyfriend suddenly becomes a suspect of murder. Is someone clowning around with the Clowns for Christ, or has Hilde misjudged the man she thought Adam Sawyer to be? Can Hilde solve the mystery before a Kansas twister blows away all the evidence?

February, 2011




The Perfect Match by Janice Hanna

Shortly after Devin Peterson signs up at the local dating service the Perfect match the business is set on fire. When Devin's mom, Annie, vows to find the culprit, suspects abound. Is the arsonist the financially strapped widow who runs the matchmaking service; the bitter newspaper editor who rues the day he wed his "unfortunate match"; the unsatisfied forty-something customer who's never found her ideal mate; or the investigator with a shady past? Will Annie and her cast of cohorts solve the crime before another arson reignites the citizens of Clarksborough? Will Devin find Ms. Right before anything else goes wrong?

March, 2011



Rest in Peace by Frances Devine

In Cedar Chapel, Where Victoria Storm runs a senior boardinghouse, things are quiet. That is, until she enters the local pet store and finds Clyde Foster, the owner, dead, and his parrot, Watzit, frantically screeching. What clues will this bird reveal regarding a murder most foul? Unable to resist a mystery, Victoria, her fiance' Benjamin, and her senior cohorts begin their own investigation, landing them headfirst in a dangerous adventure. When their friend, Miss Aggie disappears, leaving a blood-stained trail, no one seems safe. Will Victoria live long enough to unravel the clues and tie the knot?

April, 2011




Died in the Wool by Elizabeth Ludwig & Janelle Mowery

Hoping to procure much needed funds o buy computers for her beloved library, Monah Trenary is battling for monies donated to the city of Pine Mills. When a rival for the revenue ends up dead, Monah is one of the prime suspects. Could she have killed for computers? Pine Mills police detective Mike Brockman is dismayed when he finds evidence that monkshood and Monah appear to be a lethal combination. As bodies begin piling up, Monah and proven sleuth Casey Alexander step up their own investigation. Will they clear the librarian's name before she's booked for murder?

May, 2011



Chocolate Covered Crime by Cynthia Hickey

Summer Meadows' chocolate candy business is booming in Spring, Arkansas, and she becomes overwhelmed with her own April Fool's Day wedding plans. But then her cousin/wedding planner is found murdered and more mysteries keep occurring at family parties. Can Summer resist the urge to investigate when she and her dysfunctional relatives are dipped into a plot of unrequited love, internet scam, and jilted hearts? Could the murderer be related to her and have Summer targeted next? Will her fiance' support her sleuthing antics, or is he another suspect with something to hide?

June, 2011

Coming soon in Summerside's Love Finds You Series

Summerside Press is having continued success with their contemporary and historical Love Finds You series with different novelists writing standalone stories which take place in often uniquely named places in the United States. Here's the latest in this popular series.

Enjoy!

Love Finds You in Deadwood, South Dakota by Tracey Cross

Jane Albright’s life is shattered.

The Nebraska homesteader is newly widowed, with one child to care for and another on the way. When she learns that she is at risk of losing the family home and freighting business to a greedy moneylender named Franklin Lloyd, she has no choice but to brandish a bullwhip and haul freight all the way to Deadwood, South Dakota. Franklin agrees to give Jane three months to pay the note, and she is determined to secure her children’s future. But Deadwood is a rough place for a woman, and Jane is soon over her head. Franklin longs to help her—but will she let him?

August, 2010





Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio by Serena Miller

A mysterious outsider casts a long shadow on Ohio’s Amish country.

Policewoman Rachel Troyer has always looked after her three elderly Amish aunts, proprietors of a farmhouse inn near Sugarcreek, Ohio. The idyllic town is popular with tourists, who come to sample its famous Amish goods. But one thing is clear to Rachel—Joe Matthews is no tourist. When the bearded stranger lands on her aunts’ doorstep, begging shelter for himself and his young son, Rachel is suspicious. Will she be able to uncover Joe’s secrets despite her aunts’—and her own—growing affection for him?

August, 2010





Love Finds You Under the Mistletoe by Irene Brand & Anita Higman

An Appalachian Christmas

A promise to her dying sister compels Julia Mayfield to take her young nephew to Mistletoe, Kentucky, a tiny town tucked away in the Appalachian Mountains. Sparks fly when she meets David Armstrong, a World War II veteran like herself. Even as shadows from the past weave a dangerous web around Julia and David, will their love flourish like the mistletoe that blankets the nearby hills?

Once Upon a Christmas Eve

Hollie Goodnight’s store has just been voted best Christmas shop in America. All the new publicity draws flamboyant novelist Van Keaton to the cozy town of Noel, Missouri, demanding to write Hollie’s story—a dramatic tale of misfortune and triumph. She is swept up in his world of beautiful words and fanciful interludes…until Owen Quigly, her lifelong best friend, launches a plan to win her back.

September, 2010

Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California by Sandra D Bricker

Annie Gray has an epiphany: she is not living the life she’s always dreamed of.

She decides to start fresh, drawing inspiration from her favorite classic Hollywood films. First, Annie moves into the picturesque Carmel bungalow belonging to her grandmother—a retired film star. Next up: landing an exciting job as a private investigator’s assistant. But Annie’s new boss is no Humphrey Bogart, and the work isn’t quite what she pictured. Just when everything in Annie’s screen-worthy plan teeters on the brink of disaster, she has another epiphany. Will this one land her in the arms of her own leading man?

October, 2010







Love Finds You in Silver City, Idaho by Janelle Mowery

It’s 1869, and chaos rules Silver City.

As Rebekah Weaver recovers from an accident that has left her badly burned, she worries that her father’s handsome new assistant won’t see past her scarred exterior. Deputy Marshal Nathaniel Kirkland is working undercover to investigate a series of explosions in the mines and businesses of Silver City. When ominous notes begin appearing on townspeople’s doors, Nate needs Rebekah’s help to uncover the identity of the perpetrator. As they work together, Nate begins to speculate that Rebekah’s “accident” was really a case of intentional sabotage—and that she might still be in danger.

October, 2010






Love Finds You in Hope, Kansas by Pamela Griffin

Fashionable Easterner Alison Stripling is shocked to receive a letter from her deceased sister’s husband in Hope, Kansas, pleading for help with his six children.

The letter gives Alison a chance to escape her troubles in Boston, and the name of the town seems like a sign from God. But when she arrives at a rustic cabin on the prairie, she’s in for a bigger shock: Rafe Munroe didn’t write the letter at all! Realizing the children are determined to pair them off, Rafe and Alison join forces to prove the idea would never work. Can Hope’s cupids—all six of them—strike love’s arrows into the hearts of their pa and Miss Alison?

December, 2010

Coming in 2011 from Harvest House

When All My Dreams Come True by Janelle Mowery

Bobbie McIntyre dreams of running a ranch of her own. Raised without a mother and having spent most of her time around men, she knows more about wrangling than acting like a lady. The friendship of her new employer awakens a desire to learn more about presenting her feminine side, but ranch life keeps getting in the way.

Ranch owner Jace Kincaid figures the Lord is testing his faith when a female wrangler shows up looking for work. Bobbie has an uncanny way of getting under his skin, though, and he’s surprised when she finds a home next to his heart. But when his cattle begin to go missing and his wranglers are in danger from some low-down cattle thief, can Jace trust God, even if it may mean giving up on his dreams?

An adventurous novel of faith, hope, and love in the Wild West.

February, 2011

A Wedding Quilt for Ella by Jerry Eicher

Ella Yoder’s wedding with Aden Wengerd and the building of their dream house is set for June. But when Aden is suddenly taken from her, Ella begins to doubt God’s love.

When her family pressures her to marry the new young bishop, Ella asks for six months to heal from Aden’s death. Meanwhile, Aden’s brother, Daniel, helps Ella build her dream house based on a drawing by Ella’s sister, Clara and now incorporated into Ella’s wedding quilt.

Can healing come through a house…a quilt….a community?

February, 2011

Tea for Two by Trish Perry

Counselor Tina Milano has been visiting Milly’s Tea Shop regularly for the past several months. She has many friends but no steady man in her life. Zack Cooper is a local farmer who provides Milly with fresh fruit and vegetables. As a single parent, Zach is doing his best to raise his teenage son and daughter on his own.

When the kids get in minor scrapes with the law, Milly gently encourages Zack and Tina to work together to draw the teens back before their rebellious natures land them in even hotter water. At first Tina sees the relationship in only a professional capacity, but soon her friends notice the luscious scent of romance in the air and decide to help things along.

Tea for Two is a faith-filled novel that explores the delight of second chances, warm friendship, and unexpected romantic encounters.

April, 2011