Some stories are just plain fun to write and others are a labor of love. Tex and Ravena’s story is the latter. I have a soft spot for these two and the trials, choices and changes they experience. It was a journey and a pleasure for me to redeem this outlaw and reunite him with the woman he never stopped loving.
Like Tex and Ravena, I hope readers will know that each one of us is worth saving and loving. No matter our choices, none of us are too far gone to change. We aren’t what we do or don’t do—we are each of unchangeable worth in God’s eyes.
While I don’t name the town where Tex grew up and Ravena lives, in my mind, it is Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, a town in a picturesque valley, located about thirty miles north of Boise.
The first train depot in Boise was located away from the city. For the time frame of my story, I have Ravena going to the train station in town, even though it wasn’t built until the following year, in 1893.
The orphanage in Boise is my creation; however, the Orphan Train really did exist. That program was in operation from 1854 to 1929 and helped place orphaned and homeless children from cities back East in homes in other states. About 250,000 children were relocated, including some in Idaho. However, for the sake of my story, I had orphans leaving Idaho on an Orphan Train to be placed in homes farther west.
I love hearing from readers. You can contact me through my website at www.stacyhenrie.com.
All the best,
Stacy
Keep reading for an excerpt from LONE STAR BRIDE by Jolene Navarro.