The Making of Love, Lies
and Redemption (Part 1)
By Kelli A. Wilkins
Hi everyone,
One day, I was thinking about
nothing in particular when this popped into my mind:A man limping along the prairie. He’s been shot and left for dead. He’s bleeding and hurt bad. And thirsty. So thirsty. It’s hot and he wants to rest, but he knows he has to push on. If he collapses again, he’s not going to get up and he’ll die here. But maybe he’s already dead and this is hell. Or maybe not...
That was my introduction to Sam, the hero from my new historical western, Love, Lies and Redemption. That was also how I introduced readers to Sam—lost and hurt and wandering along the prairie.
Here’s the book summary that came from that
initial idea:
Love, Lies and
Redemption
Shot and left for dead, Sam Hixton stumbles
into a general store on the Nebraska prairie and collapses into the arms of
Cassie Wilcox.
Cassie’s world is turned upside down when the
handsome stranger drops into her life. Sam is another complication she doesn’t
need: her business is dying and her trouble with the townspeople is escalating.
Yet she’s determined to keep the store open — no matter what the cost.
As Sam recovers from his injuries, he hides the
truth about his identity and convinces Cassie to let him work in the store.
He’s attracted to her and admires her independent nature, but quickly realizes
Cassie’s in way over her head. They fight their growing attraction, and Cassie
questions whether she can trust her fragile heart to a mysterious stranger.
Will he accept her once he knows about her troubled past?
Cassie resists Sam’s advances and represses her
feelings until one fateful night when they give in to their fiery passion.
Together, they work out a plan to save the store, but find their efforts are
thwarted — and their lives endangered — by the locals.
Sam’s secret returns to haunt him and pulls him
away just when Cassie needs him the most. Will he regain her trust when she
learns the truth?
Cassie has everything invested in the store —
can she save it and find true love with Sam before it’s too late?
* * *
Believe
it or not, that first scene came to me many years ago. When I got the idea for the book, I did all the initial
research and wrote a very rough draft. Then the manuscript just sat around. I’m
not exactly sure why so many other book projects came ahead of it, but they
did. I wrote other romances while this one was waiting in the wings, so to
speak.
When I started working on the book,
I found that although the basic premise still resonated with me, I wanted (and
needed) to make a lot of changes. I always had the opening scene of Sam walking
across the prairie in my mind. I knew where he was going (to Cassie’s store),
and I had the general idea of how the story would play out and who the
characters were, but I didn’t have the specifics of each scene.
As I got further into revising the
book, the details became more solidified. I added new scenes, deleted others,
and generally gave it a complete makeover. Now it’s a much stronger (and better)
book than it was originally.
But before I started writing, I did
a lot of research. First, I had to decide when and where the book would take
place. I knew it would be on the prairie somewhere (Kansas? Nebraska? Iowa?)
and set after the Civil War. Once I picked a time period and a place I
researched everything I could about it: what was going on in the country at
that time, how people traveled, what their occupations were, what they ate, how
a general store was set up…
I enjoy reading about history and
exploring what life was like in different time periods, so doing the research
part of a historical romance is interesting—but time consuming. I’m always
scribbling notes about details I could use in the book. I never use them all,
but adding realistic details helps draw readers into the world of the
characters, even though it might be very different from how we live now.
Here’s a
mini excerpt:
Cassie removed the sling
and uncovered Sam’s shoulder. She bent forward, resting her hand on the center
of Sam’s chest. His skin was warm, and she felt his muscles ripple beneath his
skin. Her heart beat faster, and she closed her eyes. She shouldn’t be in here.
It wasn’t proper, and yet… It took all her willpower not to peek at his lower
half again.
“How is it?”
She opened her eyes and
checked the wound. “It looks fine to me.” A lock of hair came loose from her
bun and brushed across Sam’s chest. He reached up with his good hand and tucked
it behind her ear.
Before she could
protest, he leaned in close and kissed her.
Oh, Lord.
Sam’s lips moved against
hers, slow and tender, as if he expected her to pull away or slap him. She
didn’t. Instead, she closed her eyes and gave in.
Sam clutched her
tighter, pulling her down to him. Her fingertips splayed against his bare
chest, and she moaned. God, it felt good to be kissed and held by a strong man
again.
A warm pulsing sensation
flooded between her legs as Sam slipped his tongue into her mouth. She lost
herself in his embrace and everything faded away. After what seemed like
forever, Sam broke the kiss.
“Stay with me,” he
whispered.
She gazed into his blue
eyes. “I can’t. I should—”
“Yes, you can. I’ll
treat you right. We’ll only do as much as you want. Kissing and cuddling,
that’s all,” he said, then kissed her again.
That’s all? That
wouldn’t be enough for her. Once they got down to serious kissing and touching,
she wouldn’t want to stop. And she wouldn’t let Sam stop—even if he wanted to.
It would be so easy to give in, to say yes, stay here all afternoon and… Lord
almighty, what was she thinking? She knew better. After all she’d been through,
she knew she should resist him, but...
* * *
Order Love,
Lies and Redemption here:
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/mdzL6W
Want more romance? Visit my site: www.KelliWilkins.com and follow my Facebook pages:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins
Facebook Historical
Romances: https://www.facebook.com/Historical-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1703805359922371/
I hope you enjoyed Part One of the making of Love,
Lies and Redemption. In Part Two, I’ll focus on how I created these
troubled characters and share insight into why I included such a powerful sense
of realism in the story.
I welcome comments and questions from readers.
Be sure to follow my blog for the latest updates and visit me on social media.
Happy Reading!
Kelli A.
Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins is an
award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20 romance
novels, 6 non-fiction books, and 2 online writing courses. Her romances span
many genres and heat levels, and she’s also been known to scare readers with her
horror stories.
In
January 2020, Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a
western romance set in 1877 Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story
with mystery and danger.
She
released Romance Every Weekend: 104 Fun Ways to Express Your Love, a
non-fiction guide to romance in November 2019. The book features 104 fun and
easy ways you can express your love to that special someone in your life.
Perfect for men or women, it focuses on tender, everyday
gestures that let your partner know how much you love him or her.
Kelli published Extraterrestrial
Encounters, a collection of 18 sci-fi
stories, in August 2019. If
you like horror fiction, don’t miss her disturbing novella, Nightmare
in the North.
Earlier in 2019 she released The
Viking’s Witch, a paranormal/historical romance, and Dangerous
Indenture, a historical mystery romance set in Colonial Pennsylvania.
Kelli has authored two
online writing courses: Fiction Basics: Finding Ideas and Fiction Writing for Beginners.
These courses are perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to write. Visit: https://kelliwilkins.teachable.com/
for more
details.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
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