From Here to There

To me, the best romances are about more than a romantic relationship but are laid into a story bigger, one that is about life itself. 'From Here to There’ is such a story set into several mythologies, the perfection of another person, of a place, and of histories that might or might not be true.

Helene Lamont, from a tony Boston family, is being married in a lavish Boston wedding when she realizes, no matter what the cost, she's not willing to live a life such as her parents have done. She has seen a better example of what marriage can be like in that of her deceased aunt and rancher uncle. She tells her brand new husband of her decision between the wedding service and the reception.

Multimillionaire, Phillip Drummond is in shock at the idea his trophy wife has turned into an albatross to ruin his carefully built reputation as a business wunderkind. He had the perfect wife to perfect his image right up until she is about to make a fool of him. Helene’s decision throws him back into memories of his growing up in a world, nothing like hers, that he has tried to hide.

When Helene’s Montana rancher uncle, Amos, visits Phillip with an offer to come west to his ranch where Helene will be living for awhile, Phillip at first sees him as out of his mind. What does he know about ranching? He'd be a total dude. No thanks. Still it irks him that his own toughness was not recognized by Helene. Will he also head West despite knowing it is pure foolishness?

Set mostly in Montana, it depicts the life real ranchers live today with its costs and rewards. This book is a love story of two couples, one out of the past through a journal, but also love of the mythology of the West, ranch life, and a region I have personally come to care for very much. From Here to There is about our illusions. It is also about a truth that life is led in the moments between here and there.

It is now available through Kindle at the following link-- From Here to There -- for purchase or borrowing as part of Amazon Prime.

For more of my thinking on this story, click on the button alongside here, Romance with an Edge, where I wrote further thoughts on the story and what is behind it as I see it.

Desert Inferno

Based in Southern Arizona in the country of cactus and dangerous men, Rachel O'Brian loves her life and her career as a successful oil painter.  With her widowed father, she lives on a remote ranch which has been in their family since the late 1800s.

While out on a plein air painting trip, she comes across a dying man which leads to her meeting with Border Patrol Agent, Jake Donovan, a man as hard and tough as the land he is sworn to protect. Rachel, who hasn't thought much about a relationship with any man, is instantly attracted and ready to become involved with someone different than anyone she's known.

Jake sees the beauty in Rachel but is in equal proportion determined to not be involved with a woman clearly out of his league in every possible way. He is a powerful man, with a life free of emotional entanglements which is just how he wants it. Hence the story begins as these two deal with their different goals but equally strong attraction.

Can it be that simple? Of course, not. Southern Arizona in the wilderness is a land of extremes and men who will do anything for power. Hidden within Rachel's world, as a confederate of her father, is one such man who has a history with Jake as well.

So there is danger, sexuality, and the struggle of two people to not only work out a relationship satisfactory to them both but also survive the net closing around them.

Available through Amazon at Kindle