Trail of Hope - New release!

Title: Trail of Hope
Author: Merry Farmer
Find this book here: Amazon, iBooks and Smashwords

Author's description:

Callie Lewis is alone on the Oregon Trail. After her brother’s death, she has been left to fend for herself on a journey she never wanted to take. Her only hope for safety and a life at the end of the road is to become a trail bride and wed grieving widower John Rye. But John is harboring secrets that could end their hasty marriage before it has a chance to begin.

When a vicious tornado wakes John from the stupor the death of his wife left him in, he is ready to embrace Callie and the new life they could have together. But John is not the only one with designs on his new wife. Miles away from civilization, in a wagon train bristling with secrets and suspicion, John must catch a thief, fend off his rival, and reclaim his life to build the future Callie deserves.

In their darkest moments will they bring each other hope? 
PLEASE BE ADVISED - Steam Level: Hot

About the author:

Find Merry on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon Author Page.

Merry Farmer is an award-winning author of historical romance. She lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats and enough story ideas to keep her writing until she’s 132. Her second novel, The Faithful Heart, was a 2102 RONE Award finalist and her unpublished futuristic novel A Man’s World won first place in the Novel: Character category at the 2013 Philadelphia Writer’s Conference. She is out to prove that you can make a living as a self-published author and to help others to do the same.

Exclusive:

1. What inspired you to write “Trail of Hope”?

I’ve always been fascinated with the Old West, especially the Oregon Trail. Can you imagine what it would have taken to convince people to leave their comfortable lives in the East to head out to an untamed land that was just waiting to be developed? Those are definitely the sorts of people I wanted to write about. But I added an extra element to this particular series. I set it much, much later than most Oregon Trail stories—in the 1860s, at the very end of the days of the trail, right before the railroad took over. At this time, a lot of people were heading west to get away from the troubles of the Civil War back east or for deeper, more personal reasons.

At the beginning of Trail of Hope, Callie’s brother, Greg, is taking his family west because he’s a pacifist who wants to flee the war. But the hero, John, is heading west for much deeper, more personal reasons. On another note, both John and Callie are grieving at the beginning of the book. I’ve lost a lot of people in my life, and I wanted to write a book about coming out of the grieving process.

2. Who should read this book and why will they enjoy it?

I think anyone who loves a good historical romance and likes to read stories that take place on a journey will love Trail of Hope. But I wrote this one especially for those readers who may have lost someone special to them. It’s all about learning to live again after the death of a loved one—learning that life goes on. It starts out a little sad, but by the end it’s uplifting and even joyful at times.

3. What made you want to become a writer?

I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I actually started writing when I was 10 years old and realized one day that I didn’t have to wait for my teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. I’ve been writing ever since! Writing has always been the best way I know to communicate who I am and what I love to other people. It’s also helped me through some very difficult times in my life. Writing is my soul.

Thank you, Merry, for this exclusive and for being on my blog today. Congrats on your new release and happy writing!