Please give a warm welcome to Tom Montgomery from A Christmas Smile by Kathy Otten today as we sit down and see
what makes them tick.
What’s your favorite thing to do
when you’re not saving (the world, clients, your mate)?
I like to fix things. So many
things were destroyed during the war. The land, beautiful homes, and the
horses. So many wonderful, courageous animals… Working with horses is also
relaxing.
What is it about your love interest
(Elizabeth) that
makes you crazy in a good way?
The war changed Beth too. Made her
harder. She had to fight to survive, to protect her family, because I wasn’t there to help.
While I miss the old Beth, this woman is stronger, more confident, better able
to handle this new life we’re carvin’ out here in Texas. But the old Beth is
still there underneath. I see it every time she smiles.
Do you sometimes want to strangle
your writer? Thrash her/him to within an inch of their life? Make them do the
stupid crap they makes you do?
I reckon it’s the other way round. Beth and I, we have our own way of doin’
things.
Favorite food? I ate so much hard tack durin’ the war, a nice soft, fluffy
biscuit is somethin’ I dream about. The kind that melts in your mouth. Beth,
she makes the best biscuits. I can never get enough. Especially, warm from the
oven, with butter meltin’ inside.
Tell me a little bit about your world. What are your
greatest challenges in that world? My
mother is Spanish. Her family owned the land I grew up on, since before Texas
became a republic. My father is from Georgia, the youngest of several boys. He
came west to make his fortune and married my mother. My father is a hard man,
and when I didn’t see eye to eye with him regarding my life, I left home. I’m
back now, trying to make amends. And
with Beth, earn her forgiveness. I made
some mistakes and she suffered for them. Now I can only pray that she will want
me back in her life.
Describe yourself in four words. Hard working. Faithful. Trying (to be stronger, better), Scarred
(on the inside, too).
What do you do for a living? I breed
and train horses.
What do you fear the most? Losing my family. Losing Beth.
A Christmas Smile
Historical
Western short
story
83 Pages Spicy
83 Pages Spicy
Blurb:
After
years in a Yankee prison camp, Tom Montgomery returned to Virginia to discover
the wife who said she'd love him forever had mistakenly been informed of his
death and married another man. Seven years later, Tom returns to Montgomery,
Texas to discover Elizabeth has been living at his grandfather's ranch. Can a
Christmas miracle heal the pain of betrayal and bring their two hearts together
again?
Excerpt:
Later
that night Beth tiptoed down the hall to knock lightly on Mr. Smith's door. She
wanted to thank him for getting Mr. Wessel to drop his charges. When she got
back to her room earlier, she'd wanted to take the boys over to the hotel for
something to eat, as it was past the time Mrs. Moffat served supper, but they
told her Mr. Smith had already bought them a meal. It was then they mentioned
their new friend hadn't eaten. He'd told the boys he wasn't hungry, but Joshua
thought Mr. Smith's leg was hurting too much. Jason explained how he'd tripped
over it this morning, and Mr. Smith had been limping badly since.
Which
was why, Beth found herself standing outside his door, waiting for him to
answer her knock, hoping Mrs. Moffat didn't catch her and not caring if she
did. She heard the squeak of the bed springs and his mumbled oath, just before
the door opened.
She had
obviously wakened him, and though she felt a twinge of guilt for doing so, she
craved any excuse to see him again. His brown hair was damp from a recent bath,
although he hadn't taken the time to shave. Nor had he bothered to put on his
shirt or eye patch.
The
room behind him was dark, but enough light shone from the hall lamps she was
able to see how the jagged scar twisted its way from his forehead, down through
where his eye had been, into the thick whiskers along his jaw. He bore other,
smaller scars too, across his left pectoral muscle, under his arm, another
across the lower left side of his rib cage, and one which started just above
his hip then disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants. She knew she was
staring, but she couldn't seem to help herself.
"Seen
enough?" He snapped bitterly. "Come on in. I'll take off my pants,
and you can see the rest of my scars."
Historical romance author Kathy Otten, enjoys writing westerns with wounded heroes and feisty heroines. Multi-published, Kathy also writes contemporary romance and historical fiction, in all lengths of fiction from short story to novel. She was a finalist in the Utah/Salt Lake RWA Hearts of the West Contest and a winner of the Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star Writing Competition.
She lives in the rolling farmland of western New York and enjoys long walks with her German Shepherd, Max.
Currently, she has stepped outside her comfort zone and is putting the finishing touches on a contemporary young adult novel.
Still, romance is her favorite and she is playing with the rough drafts for a few more historicals.
You can sign up for her newsletter, or contact Kathy through her web site at kathy@kathyotten.com
She lives in the rolling farmland of western New York and enjoys long walks with her German Shepherd, Max.
Currently, she has stepped outside her comfort zone and is putting the finishing touches on a contemporary young adult novel.
Still, romance is her favorite and she is playing with the rough drafts for a few more historicals.
You can sign up for her newsletter, or contact Kathy through her web site at kathy@kathyotten.com
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1 comment:
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for inviting Tom and me to your reading nook. I hope Tom had fun, but as he said, he has his own way of doing things and often took this holiday romance in directions I hadn't intended it to go.
Best wishes to you and your readers for a happy holiday season. Savor the family memories.
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