Today’s Fun Friday post features a very busy woman who is helping to run a ranch while fighting for a divorce and to remain close to her young daughter. But I’ll let Melinda Curtis introduce you to Rachel Thompson and all she’s up to!
Thanks for inviting me and my heroine Rachel Thompson to drop by for Friday coffee. Rachel is featured in The Rancher’s Redemption, Book #3 in the Return of the Blackwell Brothers series.
Rachel is a small town lawyer who’s trying to rebuild her life. Her divorce is final but she can’t get her ex to sign a final custody agreement regarding her baby. Her father died a few years ago and she’s helping her mother and grandmother run the Doubt T, which means she basically running the ranch with an elderly foreman who should really be retired. Five years ago, her family lost river water rights to the Blackwell Ranch and she’s brought a lawsuit against them to try and win back much-needed water.
Essentially, Rachel is like most single moms, sandwiched between caring for a child and parents/grandparents, struggling to juggle balls in the air. Rachel was raised to be a rancher’s princess by a father who doted on her. She knows how to ride and the fundamentals of roping, but she’s unsure of her skills. However, her horse, Utah, is awesome. The kind of horse a father would give a daughter because he knew that horse would take care of her. This may sound cliché, but she enjoys long rides on her ranch, often taking her daughter, Poppy, who rides on the saddle in front of her. Three generations of Rachel’s family are crafty. Quilting is another way Rachel slows down, stays in tune with her mother and grandmother, and feels connected to the family ranch, which the Thompsons have owned for generations.
Having raised three kids and juggled two careers – writing and being a marketing manager – Rachel and I really bonded. It’s challenging to figure out which hat you need to put on first or even the longest every day – mom, daughter, rancher, lawyer, individual. I enjoy long walks with my dogs and have a group of women friends at the gym, but like Rachel, I lean heavily on my man to keep me grounded and in touch with what’s important in life.
You can read an excerpt of The Rancher’s Redemption here:
http://www.melindacurtis.net/bookshelf/171-the-rancher-s-redemption
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2kRiymM
Harlequin: http://bit.ly/2kP7vuw
iBooks: https://apple.co/2JjmUhr
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2JvxPb2
KOBO: http://bit.ly/2LqyffZ
Prior to writing romance, award-winning, USA Today bestseller Melinda Curtis was a junior manager for a Fortune 500 company, which meant when she flew on the private jet she was relegated to the jump seat—otherwise known as the potty. After grabbing her pen (and a parachute) she made the jump to full-time writer. Between writing sweet romance for Harlequin and indie-pubbed sweet romantic comedy, Melinda finds time to bond with her husband over home remodeling projects. She recently came to grips with the fact that she’s an empty nester and a grandma, concepts easier to grasp than jet-setting on a potty. You can sign up for Melinda’s mailing list and receive two free reads here.
Sounds like a pretty cool way for Rachel to relax with her daughter, out riding the range together. Not that I’ve ever been to a real ranch, just horse farms and such with my equestrian daughter. I cross-stitch and so does she, so we have that in common, too. Reading is also a shared love! Keeping in sync with my son is more of a challenge for me. I think I do that through Sunday dinners. I get to see him each week that way! How do you stay connected with your child? What challenges do you face with regard to maintaining the relationship?
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