I'm welcoming Patricia Potter to my blog today. She's sharing a little about how her stories
come about. Read that, check out the other information, and enter the giveaway below...
come about. Read that, check out the other information, and enter the giveaway below...
The Soldier's Homecoming
(Home to Covenant Falls #5)
by Patricia Potter
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 pagesby Patricia Potter
Contemporary Romance
April 1st 2018 by Harlequin Superromance
Summary
He’s looking for roots. She won’t be tied down.
Army ranger Travis Hammond needs to heal physical and emotional wounds. A job in Covenant Falls checking out equine therapy programs for veterans is a start, but it’s only temporary. And he doesn’t need a partner, especially some reporter with the persistence of a terrier and irresistible green eyes. Like Travis, Jenny Talbot’s just passing through town. Unlike Travis, Jenny knows exactly where she’s going next—back to the Middle East, as soon as she recovers from her own war injury. But there’s a bend in the road for both of them.
Army ranger Travis Hammond needs to heal physical and emotional wounds. A job in Covenant Falls checking out equine therapy programs for veterans is a start, but it’s only temporary. And he doesn’t need a partner, especially some reporter with the persistence of a terrier and irresistible green eyes. Like Travis, Jenny Talbot’s just passing through town. Unlike Travis, Jenny knows exactly where she’s going next—back to the Middle East, as soon as she recovers from her own war injury. But there’s a bend in the road for both of them.
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Guest Post
Readers often ask where I get the ideas for stories.
Mine have usually developed from something I read in the newspapers. The Covenant Falls series developed from an article in the New York Times about military canines developing Post Traumatic Stress System just as soldiers do.
All the creative bells in me started ringing madly as I read. There was a story in there. I knew it immediately.
Then the writer's 'what if' mechanism pushed into high gear.
What if a certain military dog went into mourning when his handler died? More research says it happens.
What if the handler died saving his best friend's life, and after that friend recovered from injuries he went in search of the dog? What if the handler and my hero had no families and left wills leaving what they owned to the other. What if my hero inherited a cabin in a small town in Colorado? What if he finds the dog has been sent back to the U.S. and is in very bad mental shape? What if the hero takes the dog to the small town but neither want anything to do with anyone there? They were there to heal on their own.
The" what ifs' continue, one leading to another question, then another, until a story develops.
What if my hero is a loner and doesn't want anything to do with anyone, but the lady mayor and her young son gradually makes in-roads. What if the young son is bit by a rattlesnake when curiosity tempts him to the cabin, and the dog tries to protect the boy. Both are rushed to a clinic, then the boy to a hospital and my hero and mayor are thrown together in emotional moments.
And that is how I usually write a book. One question leads to another, and I just follow them along to their natural conclusion.
That was how the first book in the Covenant Falls series started. The others followed all suit. An article here, another there. Then all those pesky 'what ifs'.
The current book also came from an article. The news story told of equine therapy for veterans with PTSD. I started researching and found numerous equine programs for veterans throughout the country. They ranged from mom and pop farms who invited veterans and their families to ride on weekends to complex month long programs that trained vets to become professional horsemen. Some use wild mustangs in their programs.
The bells rang. Louder than ever.
I became so fascinated that the next book will go even further into horse therapy programs, especially with wild mustangs.
Oops. There went my 'what if' again. Sorry, I have to go.
― Patricia
Mine have usually developed from something I read in the newspapers. The Covenant Falls series developed from an article in the New York Times about military canines developing Post Traumatic Stress System just as soldiers do.
All the creative bells in me started ringing madly as I read. There was a story in there. I knew it immediately.
Then the writer's 'what if' mechanism pushed into high gear.
What if a certain military dog went into mourning when his handler died? More research says it happens.
What if the handler died saving his best friend's life, and after that friend recovered from injuries he went in search of the dog? What if the handler and my hero had no families and left wills leaving what they owned to the other. What if my hero inherited a cabin in a small town in Colorado? What if he finds the dog has been sent back to the U.S. and is in very bad mental shape? What if the hero takes the dog to the small town but neither want anything to do with anyone there? They were there to heal on their own.
The" what ifs' continue, one leading to another question, then another, until a story develops.
What if my hero is a loner and doesn't want anything to do with anyone, but the lady mayor and her young son gradually makes in-roads. What if the young son is bit by a rattlesnake when curiosity tempts him to the cabin, and the dog tries to protect the boy. Both are rushed to a clinic, then the boy to a hospital and my hero and mayor are thrown together in emotional moments.
And that is how I usually write a book. One question leads to another, and I just follow them along to their natural conclusion.
That was how the first book in the Covenant Falls series started. The others followed all suit. An article here, another there. Then all those pesky 'what ifs'.
The current book also came from an article. The news story told of equine therapy for veterans with PTSD. I started researching and found numerous equine programs for veterans throughout the country. They ranged from mom and pop farms who invited veterans and their families to ride on weekends to complex month long programs that trained vets to become professional horsemen. Some use wild mustangs in their programs.
The bells rang. Louder than ever.
I became so fascinated that the next book will go even further into horse therapy programs, especially with wild mustangs.
Oops. There went my 'what if' again. Sorry, I have to go.
― Patricia
Other Books in the Series
About the Author
Patricia Potter is the USA Today Bestselling Author of more than fifty books. She has received numerous writing awards, including RT Storyteller of the Year, its Career Achievement Award for Western Historical Romance and its Best Hero of the Year Award. She is a seven-time RITA finalist and three-time Maggie Award winner. She has served as president of Romance Writers of America.The Soldier's Homecoming is her fifteenth book for Harlequin.
Prior to writing fiction, she was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal and president of a public relations firm.
Tour Schedule
April 9th:
Launch
Launch
Simply Kelina
underneath the covers
April 10th:
Colorimetry
Deal Sharing Aunt
Locks, Hooks and Books
Harlequin Junkie
April 11th:
Mello & June, It's a Book Thang!
Nicole's Book Musings
Inside The Mind of an Avid Reader
E-Romance News
April 12th:
Wishful Endings
Two Points of Interest
Hearts & Scribbles
April 13th:
SilverWoodSketches
Thoughts of a Blonde
Teatime and Books
April 14th: Grand Finale
Tour-Wide Giveaway
- 1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally
- 1 winner will receive signed print copies of of THE SOLDIER'S PROMISE, TEMPTED BY THE SOLDIER, A SOLDIER'S JOURNEY, and THE SEAL'S RETURN (US only)
- Ends April 18th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Have you read any of the books in this series? Any thoughts on the guest post?
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