Guest Blogger Lacy Williams and The Homesteader's Sweetheart

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

By day, LACY WILLIAMS is a stay-at-home mom battling dirty diapers and dog-hair dust-bunnies. By night, she is a novelist whose debut book (Marrying Miss Marshal) was a finalist in the RT Book Reviews 2011 Reviewers’ Choice Awards. Her current projects include a screenplay and potty-training her little girl.

http://www.megamaybirthdaybash.com

THE HOMESTEADER'S SWEETHEART
by Lacy Williams
Published by Love Inspired Historical

ABOUT THE BOOK

A wealthy social butterfly falls in love with her grandfather’s poor neighbor and his eight children.

Readers, buy your copy of The Homesteader's Sweetheart today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR


What’s the best birthday gift you’ve ever received? I’ve gotten some doozies. Of course there was the bike when I was a kid (six? I can’t remember the exact birthday). On my twenty-first birthday, my husband gave me a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet. It was close to my twenty-seventh birthday when I found out we were going to have my daughter.

Personally, I love giving gifts more than receiving them. The Christmas season is my favorite time of year. There is just something about finding the perfect gift for someone you love, and the anticipation of how they will enjoy it… Some of the best moments from my daughter’s two-year birthday last December were watching her face when she opened a present that she loved (she got a stuffed Donald Duck that she carried around for days).

But what if no one had ever given you something special? That question was one that I wanted to answer in THE HOMESTEADER’S SWEETHEART. The hero, Jonas White, was an orphan who grew up on the streets of Philadelphia in the late 1800s. Because of his background, he’s a compassionate, steady man, but he’s never had anyone special in his life (other than his kids), so he’s never received a really nice gift in his entire life. Until the heroine, Penny Castlerock, becomes a part of his life. Here’s a short excerpt that shows some of Jonas’s feelings about his gift. This scene is from the middle of the book, and Jonas and Penny have started becoming close but Jonas questions whether he could deserve someone like her.

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"Careful," Jonas warned Oscar from his perch on the skeleton frame of the Smiths' new barn roof. The teen nodded, lips pressed around a handful of nails.
Jonas had reluctantly agreed to the barn-raising. He needed to be careful around Penny. Didn't want to fall further in love with her, not when things could never work between them.
Now, mid-morning, he was part of the roofing crew, and he couldn't help but be aware of Penny on the ground as she weaved among the visiting women, Breanna sometimes by her side and sometimes off playing with the other children. Breanna with her new dress…
Nor could he ignore an awareness of his sons, each wearing a bright, clean, new shirt. Usually, the boys wore hand-me-downs, with Oscar and Maxwell receiving the new items because they were biggest. The joy they'd expressed last night when Penny had gifted them with the shirts and again this morning as they'd donned the brand-new clothing pinched his heart. He wished he could do more for them.
He hadn't yet worn the pale blue shirt she'd given him along with a sweet, sincere smile. He'd sat on the edge of his bed for a long time last night, moonlight streaming through his window, fingering the garment Penny had made for him.
It had been a very long time since anyone had given him a gift, other than the little trinkets he received from the children at Christmas.
And no one had ever given him something so fine. He kept thinking of all the time she must have spent making it.
Almost like a wife or mother, making clothing for the ones she loved.

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I’d like to let everyone know that I’m having a special promotion in honor of the release of THE HOMESTEADER’S SWEETHEART and my birthday. I’m giving away bonus scenes and goodies from some of your favorite authors (including Camy Tang, Regina Jennings, Jordyn Redwood) and giving away books from a bunch more. Visit www.megamaybirthdaybash.com for full details.

Thanks for hosting me!

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Thank you, Lacy, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: What is the best gift you have ever received?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book featured above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.