Sweet Romance and Children

Annie Boone

I'm so happy to be bringing you our post for today! If you didn't know, I'm new to the group and this is my first post. I decided to start off with my take on children as supporting characters in sweet romance and how they make a happily ever after even better - family style.

I love to read a sweet romance where the hero comes to the rescue of a woman with a family. It melts my heart when the father in a story loves his children, isn't afraid to show it, and puts them first no matter what.

I’ve heard similar opinions from many of the readers I’ve talked to. We love a hero with a soft spot for children. The sort who wants to be a good father. He may have a crusty exterior, but a child will turn him to mush in the right situations.

So why do children and heroes together in a sweet romance story make our hearts go all gooey? I believe it depends on the story circumstances, the reader, and the day.

It doesn’t matter if the story is historical or contemporary. Western or set in New York. Small town or big city. Bringing children into a sweet romance can make that story so much better and so much more fun.

How many variations could be written about the group of little rascals in the picture below? I'd want to read every one about these girls!

Some stories will capture your heart just because you feel for the children. Orphans or children in bad situations will almost always grab a reader. Put yourself in this spot. You’re reading about a child who is living in an orphanage. He’s lonely, sad, feels unloved. You feel connected to him. You’re rooting for him! Then your hero comes in and saves the day in some way. You want to cheer, don’t you? The child is saved and the hero is fulfilled. The heroine has what she wants – a happily ever after with the perfect man and family. Can’t get any better than that!

If you’re a reader who doesn’t really like kids, you’re probably still going to love a hero who goes out on a limb for a child. You’ll buy into his good character. If you picture him as your dream man, you’ll vow to learn to love children, won’t you? Well, that may be a little stretch, but you get the idea.

And finally, if you’ve had a bad day with your own children, reading about kids who need a family will soften you up toward your own children. Maybe. Or possibly if the children in your story behave worse than yours, you’ll feel blessed. You may even appreciate them a little more. Is is possible a daydream about the hero who takes the kids while you have a bubble bath will inspire you to have a word with your husband? Food for thought.

But the bottom line, we all love to read sweet romance when it includes children in the story line. Some of my most popular stories have been about children. One of my first releases, published in August, 2015, A Ready Made Family, still has readers emailing me about it after all this time. Love Conquers All, A Cutter’sCreek story, has our hero and heroine adopting a child from the same orphanage he spent some time in.

And finally, my new series is a set of sweet historical romance stories where children are involved in every story line. Book 1 will be released by the end of January. The stories will come out over the next two months. To be notified about releases in this series, just sign up. When you do, you’ll get a free copy of A Ready Made Family as my gift to you while you wait!

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Blog Tour Tuesday: THE CUTTER'S CREEK SERIES

Today's Blog Tour Tuesday features the just-released

CUTTER'S CREEK SERIES

 

About the Cutter’s Creek Series:

We are excited to announce the creation of the sweet historical world of Cutter’s Creek, Montana. The authors started with a picture of a little red chapel in the hills and created the town around that sweet little building used for worship and weddings, funerals and festivals. It is a place of hiding and healing. Four authors have teamed up from across the globe to bring you stories of hope and love.

The first four novellas introduce you to the town, the Chapel, and its lovely characters. The characters you will meet may appear in future novels. There will be times the authors will all publish at once, and others when they publish a book singly, but each one will be carefully crafted for you to be transported to Cutter’s Creek and a new story of love, struggle, and romance. Some will be short, others will be full length novels.

The four novellas in this series are threaded together by a beautiful little red chapel nestled in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, Cutter’s Creek, Montana. The heroine in each of these novellas finds solace inside the walls of the building and the God it was built to serve. The chapel is the center of town and is an important landmark to the residents of Cutter’s Creek. Its unusual red color has become a symbol that all are welcome. In the future, it won’t always take center stage, but it is in each of the introductory novellas.

Romance seems just out of reach for these couples. At times, it’s as though they aren’t meant to be together. Sometimes, they’re too stubborn to see what’s right before their eyes. Each has a lesson to learn before they get the prize of happiness in love. These stand-alone, happily ever after stories will melt the coldest heart and make the disenchanted believe in love again.

 

About the Cutter’s Creek Books:

That Healing Touch ~ Kit Morgan

Jack Carlson spied for the union army for four, long years and what did he get for his trouble? Blindness. Battered by the war and lost without his sight, he seeks refuge in Cutter’s Creek, Montana. There he hopes to heal his bitter heart. But he’s going to need a lot more help than what he can come up with. His cousin, the local preacher, thinks so too and sends off for a mail-order bride for him, praying a wife will do the trick.

Willow Bennett has been in love with the same man all her life. As a young girl she followed Jack Carlson and his friends until they managed to out run her. As a young woman…well, a girl can dream, can’t she? Imagine her surprise when she becomes a mail-order bride and discovers Jack is her intended! That’s not the only surprise she gets in this story of forgiveness, hope and love.

 The Strong One ~ Vivi Holt

Sarah Songan is a woman on the run.

In an attempt to find peace with their neighbors, the Apsáalooke chief has promised her hand to a soldier at Fort Smith, and Sarah’s determined not to be traded or bartered like an ornament. She strikes out on her own, leaving behind everyone and everything she has ever known. However, a woman traveling alone in 1866 Montana territory can fall prey to unscrupulous men. Sarah must confront her fears and draw on an inner strength she didn’t know she had, as well as a new-found hope in God, if she is to survive.

Bill Hanover is a tired and lonely cowboy. After four long years fighting in the War Between the States, he returns to his family ranch in Montana only to discover it’s no longer his home. He heads south to Cutter’s Creek, where he encounters a beautiful woman whose feisty spirit takes his breath away. But she’s hiding a secret, and her past is about to catch up with her. Bill turns to God for help and guidance, and encounters a new kind of love.

Set in beautiful, wild, and untamed nineteenth century Montana, this novella will take you on a journey back in time to the perilous life of a pioneer on the western frontier.

New Beginnings ~ Annie Boone

Audrey Norris is worried but determined. Her life has taken a drastic turn. A short year ago, she was a happily married woman with a young daughter and a warm, cozy home. Now she’s a widow responsible for her daughter, her mother, and a big fat mortgage she didn’t even know about. She can’t pay the house note and she doesn’t have a job. Her options are few and mostly undesirable.

Widower Caleb Jefferson is the successful blacksmith in the town of Cutter’s Creek, Montana. His sister has been fussing after him to get married again, but he’s dodged her arguments. He finally sees that his daughter needs a mother. However, he’d been in love before and that ended in disaster and heartbreak. He has no desire to fall in love again, so he’s hoping he can find a woman who will agree to his terms.

When Audrey and Caleb end up together, everyone around them is delighted that their families are joining. Caleb tries to make it work, but he can’t seem to let go and move on with his life.

Audrey worries and prays every day that a breakthrough will come. God is taking His time. In the meantime, the family grows closer while Caleb drifts further away.

One simple misunderstanding will break the fragile balance they’ve created. Will this be the end of their relationship or the beginning of a lifetime of love?

A Lily Blooms ~ Kari Trumbo

Lillian never dared to dream that James could be hers. Now, five years after she stopped his wedding, she must face him again. She’s compared every suiter to James. No longer a child, Lillian does her best to avoid the handsome divorcee, but he has other ideas.

Secrets long buried must be revealed to for James to see what he’s been missing, and for Lily to see her own desires. At the Little Red Chapel in Cutter’s Creek, Montana, Lillian will discover that the heart sometimes speaks without thought, but the whispers of the Spirit can guide them.

 

You may find the purchase links for each individual Cutter's Creek book by CLICKING HERE.

 

The Cutter's Creek Authors:

About Kit Morgan:

A consistent Top 100 lists bestseller, Kit Morgan, aka Geralyn Beauchamp, has been writing for fun all of her life. When writing as Geralyn Beauchamp, her books are epic, adventurous, romantic fantasy at its best. When writing as Kit Morgan they are whimsical, fun, inspirational sweet and clean stories that depict a strong sense of family and community. 'His Prairie Princess' is the first of the Prairie Brides books and the first in the series of a long line of stories about Clear Creek, Oregon. One of the whackiest little towns in the old west! Get to know the townsfolk in Clear Creek and come sit a spell!

Reach Kit Morgan's Amazon Author Page by CLICKING HERE.

 

About Vivi Holt:

Vivi lives in beautiful Brisbane, Australia with her husband and three young children. Growing up on a farm she learned to love the country life and now she writes about it in her books. History has always fascinated her as well, so writing historical romance seemed a natural progression. She loves horse-riding, hiking, and reading.

Her goal is to write touching, emotional and sweet romance stories that captivate the reader and transport them back in time.

Reach Vivi Holt's Amazon Author Page by CLICKING HERE.

About Annie Boone:

Annie Boone grew up going to museums and watching historical movies with her family. Her dad was a history buff and then she married a history buff. Her vow to never watch another historical movie or go to a Civil War museum again fell by the wayside.

Annie has been writing romance since high school and she loves to write Western Christian Romance stories today. Weaving a Christian element into her stories helps her be constantly reminded of her own faith.
 

Reach Annie Boone's Amazon Author Page by CLICKING HERE.

About Kari Trumbo:

Kari Trumbo is a writer of Christian Historical Romance and a stay-at-home mom to four vibrant children. She does freelance developmental editing and blogging. When she isn't writing or editing, she homeschools her children and pretends to keep up with them. Kari loves reading, listening to contemporary Christian music, singing with the worship team, and curling up near the wood stove when winter hits. She makes her home in central Minnesota with her husband of eighteen years, two daughters, two sons, and three cats.

Reach Kari Trumbo's Amazon Author Page by CLICKING HERE.  

The Cutter’s Creek authors are offering a sweepstakes prize of all four Cutter’s Creek books to one person who leaves a comment on this blog before midnight Pacific time zone on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. What is it about Cutter’s Creek that appeals to you?

Please tweet this blog post:  

Leave a comment for a chance to win all 4 CUTTER’S CREEK books. #SweetAmerSweethearts http://bit.ly/1WxETUE