Jake and Randy, thanks for taking time away from the taming of the West to answer my questions. I know you’re anxious to get back into Book Three, but readers are dying to know:
What word best describes true love?
Miranda: Trust
Jake: Forgiveness
What type of man are you instinctively drawn to, Miranda?
Miranda: A man who would give his life for me – unquestionably.
What type of woman are you instinctively drawn to, Jake?
Jake: I love and respect all women, but I am most drawn to the goodness in a woman, and Miranda is all goodness. She loved me when no one else did, and she somehow seems to climb right into my head and see right into my soul.
What first attracted you to each other?
Miranda: That look of a lost little boy looking for help.
Jake: Are you kidding? She’s gorgeous! And on top of that she’s brave. She stood right up to me the first time we met and after I got in a shootout in the store with a bounty hunter, the whole thing scared her to death. She pulled a little gun from her handbag and she shot me! I knew right then I was in love!
What kept you from acting on that attraction?
Miranda: An aura of danger from just being around a wanted man.
Jake: I could see what a good and gracious woman she was, far too good a person for the likes of a wanted man on the run. I rode out of her life, but thinking about her drove me nuts so I went back to find her.
Who made the first physical move and what was it?
Miranda: The first physical move? Jake did. He thought I was better off without him, so he tried to scare me into not liking him. He threatened to force himself on me in an abusive way, but it didn’t work. I saw right through it and knew he wouldn’t dream of hurting me. We ended up making love in the back of a covered wagon in the middle of nowhere. From then on we were both hooked, wrong as it might have seemed.
Jake: I did, and I’m not proud of it. I was angry with myself for falling in love with a woman I didn’t deserve. I figured I could scare her off, so I tried being abusive – wanted to show her how mean I can be and make her hate me, but the damn woman saw right through me and let me make love to her and the rest is history.
Saddle up and get back into the romance between Jake and Miranda in DO NOT FORSAKE ME!
Genre: Historical Western Romance
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Published by: Sourcebooks
Length: 480 Pages
"Veteran romance author Bittner revisits the characters of Outlaw Hearts as a much older couple in this captivating romance...a refreshing view of enduring love that survives the dangers of the Old West." - Publishers Weekly
"More than two decades in the making, Bittner's sequel to Outlaw Hearts is an emotional powerhouse! The strong flavor of the Wild West combines with a beautiful love story, creating a true saga of the era. This epic tale of an outlaw lawman and the woman who tamed him has everything Bittner fans expect and more. This classic historical western is destined for the "keeper" shelf. 4 1/2 Stars, Top Pick!" - RT Book Reviews
Fate brought them together. His past may tear them apart.
Miranda Hayes' life was changed the day she faced down infamous gunslinger Jake Harkner...and walked away with his heart. Their fates have been intertwined ever since. Hunted by the law, fleeing across a savage land, their desperate love flourished despite countless sorrows. Now, twenty-six years later, their family has finally found some measure of peace...balanced on the knife's edge of danger.
Jake has spent his years as a U.S. Marshal atoning for sins, bringing law to the land he once terrorized. But no matter how hard he fights the demons of his brutal past, the old darkness still threatens to consume him. Only Miranda keeps the shadows at bay. But when outlaws looking for revenge strike a fatal blow, Jake risks losing the one woman who saw past his hard exterior and to the man inside.
He always knew there'd be the devil to pay. He just never realized he might not be the one to bear the ultimate price.
Rosanne Bittner
Aptly title THE QUEEN OF WESTERN ROMANCE at the 2015 RT Convention, USA Today bestseller and award-winning novelist Rosanne Bittner is highly acclaimed for her thrilling love stories and historical authenticity. Her epic romances span the West—from Canada to Mexico, Missouri to California—and are often based on Rosanne’s personal visits to each setting.
Rosanne's stories are deep love stories, often family sagas told as a series. It is the hero and heroine’s love that holds them together through the trials and tribulations of settling America’s western frontiers. Rosanne absolutely love the Rockies, the Tetons, the Sierras, and the wide-open plains, prairies and desert land west of the Mississippi. In her books, she strives to tell the truth about the settling of the West and how it affected our American Indians, as well as the gritty depth of what our brave pioneers suffered in their search for free land and a better life.
Rosanne lives with her husband and two sons in Michigan and is a member of the Nebraska and Oklahoma Historical Societies, her local southwest Michigan historical society, Women Writing the West, Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America, the national RWA, National Rifle Association and a local charity group called the Coloma Lioness Club.
Thank you, Nancy!
ReplyDeleteNo one writes about the Old West like Rosanne! I'm taking Outlaw Hearts with me on our trip west next week. Hope to sit with the mountains in view to read it.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview. Rosanne is an amazing author! Love her books!
ReplyDeleteEntertaining interview. I must get to know these characters better.
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