Welcome to my fellow Wild Rose Press author Jana Richards! Her newest title, To Heal a Heart, hits so many reader favorites: A wounded warrior hero with PTSD, family conflict, rescue horses, a heroine with a troubled past, and a small-town setting on a North Dakota ranch.

Garrett Saunders’ world changed two years ago on a road in Afghanistan. Back home, he feels like a stranger. As he struggles to find his place in the world, he meets a horse destined for the slaughterhouse and a woman bent on rescuing the strays of the world, including him.

Blair Greyson moves to Masonville to look after her ailing grandfather and give her rescue horses a home. Right away she butts heads with a surly former Marine. Despite a rocky start, they come to an agreement: Blair will board Garrett’s rescue horse and he’ll help with repairs around her farm.

Garrett finds purpose working with Blair—and falls in love with her. But she’s hiding a secret. Can she forgive herself and accept Garrett’s love, or will she let guilt and regret continue to rule her life?

Excerpt:

“Okay, what would you like to do? In your heart of hearts, what would you really like to do with your life?”

He was slow in responding. For a long time, he pushed gravel around with his rake, until Blair thought he wasn’t going to answer her question. With a sigh, she started working again, almost missing his soft-spoken words.

“I always thought after my military career was over, I’d come back to civilian life and begin a career in policing or firefighting.”

“Those both sound like good options. So why haven’t you applied to some police forces or fire departments?”

The anger in his eyes took her breath away. “Are you deliberately trying to be cruel?”

Blair stepped back, shocked by his words. “No, of course not! What are you talking about?”

“I’m not exactly a prime candidate for either the police force or the fire department.”

“Why would you say that?” Was he worried about his drinking as well? Did he think he’d be unable to handle the rigors of policing or firefighting because of it?

He tilted his head. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

He bent at the waist and rolled up his right pant leg till it was above his knee, revealing a device made of metal and plastic where flesh and bone should have been. He rose to his full height and looked her straight in the eye, as if daring her to pity him.

“As you can see, I’d have a tough time acing the physical.”

Blair wanted to cry. She wanted to run into Garrett’s arms and hold him forever, to make all the hurt go away. She wanted to scream and yell and rail against war and all the stupidity and intolerance in the world.

But Garrett wouldn’t appreciate her tears, and crying wouldn’t solve anything.

So, she sucked them back and raised her gaze to his, willing her chin not to tremble.

“I hope you’re not going to use your leg, or lack thereof, as an excuse to get out of work. There’s still plenty to be done here.”

He rolled his pant leg over his prosthesis once more, straightened and grinned at her.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Somehow Blair managed to smile back at him. “Good answer.”

Get your copy today!

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6

Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6

Amazon.UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heal-Heart-Masonville-Book-ebook/dp/B0875SLGK6

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Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-heal-a-heart-jana-richards/1136868654?ean=2940162717966

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/to-heal-a-heart/id1508639914

When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com.

Jana, please tell us about your inspiration for this book.

When you live in a small town, there’s nowhere to hide. You say you and your boyfriend have broken up? It might be a little hard to get over him in a small town because you’ll likely see him every day, whether you want to or not. He’ll be in line at the coffee shop getting his morning coffee the same time you do, because let’s face it, there’s only one place in town where you can get a decent cup of coffee. You’ll probably run into him at the town’s one bank, the grocery store, the gas station. Wherever you look, there he is. It’s enough to make a girl want to lock her doors and turn into a recluse.

Of course, that wouldn’t work either, because your absence would be noticed and soon people would be knocking on your door, asking what’s wrong. So much for indulging in a little private wallowing! Everything is a spectator sport. Small town life is like living in fishbowl. Except you don’t have any pretend castles or plastic weeds to hide in.

In my Masonville series, the characters keep running into each other whether they want to or not. In Child of Mine, Lauren would like to avoid Cole after sleeping with him on the day of her husband’s funeral (fyi: Cole and her late husband were brothers). She’s shocked and embarrassed by her behavior that day. She’s even more shocked when she finds out she’s pregnant. But she works in Masonville’s most popular restaurant and of course Cole is a customer. She can’t even keep her pregnancy to herself. After a bout of morning sickness, a co-worker guesses she’s pregnant and spills the beans in front of a packed house during the breakfast rush!

In To Heal a Heart, Garrett would like nothing better then to avoid Blair Greyson, who accused him of beating Harry, his newly rescued horse. But when he attends his sister Lauren’s Fourth of July party, Blair is there. Of course, she’s there; Blair works with Lauren and Cole at the veterinary clinic. When Garrett drinks too much at the party and Blair drives him home, it sets off a string of events that brings them together.

There are always connections between people in a small town, sometimes more the one. For instance, when I lived in a town the size of Masonville, the parent of a child that my daughter took music lessons with (they were parent and child lessons) was also her coach in the swim club. This same parent was also the head nurse on the ward when my older daughter had her tonsils out at the hospital. That connection came in handy when I needed to get her moved to another room.

My point is that it’s hard to avoid people in a small town. You often get thrown together whether you want to or not. But that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes this close proximity really does make the heart grow fonder.

Have you ever lived in a small town? What’s the worst thing about living in a small town? What’s the best thing?

Connect with Jana Richards:

Website:  http://www.janarichards.com

Blog:  http://janarichards.blogspot.com

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