Thursday, February 28, 2013

Claiming Mariah


Claiming Mariah
by Pam Hillman


What Would a Christian Do?


Several years ago, I read a novel where a bank robber tosses a sack of stolen money in the back seat of a hand-to-mouth college student’s car. The student kept the money and eventually started a very successful business. She justified her actions because she anonymously created a charity to help destitute young women get back on their feet.

But, as the old saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right, and that wasn’t quite right from a Christian’s perspective, was it? I based Claiming Mariah on the following question: “What would a Christian do if they found out their whole livelihood had been based on a lie?”

When Mariah Malone’s father admits on his deathbed that he used stolen gold to buy the family ranch, Mariah does the right thing by writing to Slade Donovan’s father asking for forgiveness. But the consequences of her father’s actions and her conscience end up being way more than she bargained for….

EXCERPT

“Forgiveness is too little, too late,” he gritted out, satisfaction welling within him when her back stiffened and her shoulders squared.

She turned, regarding him with caution. “I’m willing to make restitution for what my father did.”

“Restitution?”

“A few hundred head of cattle should be sufficient.”

“A few hundred?” Surely she didn’t think a handful of cattle would make up for what her father had done.

“What more do you want? I’ve already apologized. What good will it do to keep the bitterness alive?”

“It’s not bitterness I want, Miss Malone. It’s the land.”

“The land?” Her eyes widened.

He nodded, a stiff, curt jerk of his head. “All of it.”

“Only a portion of the land should go to your family, if any. Half of that gold belonged to my father.” Two spots of angry color bloomed in her cheeks, and her eyes sparked like sun off brown bottle glass. “And besides, he worked the land all these years and made this ranch into something.”

Slade frowned. What did she mean, half of the gold belonged to her father? Disgust filled him. Either the woman was a good actress, or Malone had lied to his family even on his deathbed.

“All of it.”

She blinked, and for a moment, he thought she might give in. Then she lifted her chin. “And if I refuse?”

~

Pam is thrilled to announce the release of her second novel,
Claiming Mariah



To celebrate, Pam is giving away two eReaders
(choice of Kindle Wi-Fi, 6" Display, or Nook Simple Touch)
Two Winners: One on facebook. One through Pam’s Newsletter.

Registering both places is not required but will double your chances of winning. Also keep in mind that you will receive updates more often being connected on facebook than through the newsletter. Just sayin’

Contest runs from January 1st until March 31st, 2013.



Meet Pam
Pam is a multi-published author in short fiction and non-fiction, Pam Hillman continues to stretch her wings as a writer of inspirational fiction set in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Code of the West has always resonated with the internal fabric on which Pam was raised: that of hard work, honesty, and being a good neighbor to someone in need.

Born east of the Mississippi and a hundred years too late, Pam still boasts of wrangling calves, milking cows and putting up hay, first as a child growing up in Mississippi, and later with her own personal hero, Iran, on their family farm.

A voracious reader as a child, Pam especially enjoyed stories involving the great Westward expansion, and television shows such as Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Gunsmoke. The western writer, Louis L’Amour, kept Pam mesmerized with his tales of cowboys and Indians, outlaws, prim schoolteachers, hot dry deserts and boom towns.

Pam’s love of the old west and her personal knowledge of country life bring authenticity to her work and depth to her characters, something that has been recognized many times in the industry through writer’s awards.

Her work has placed in dozens of writer’s contests, including being a four-time finalist in Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart contest for unpublished novelists with Claiming Mariah, her second novel, winning the coveted Golden Heart. Her debut novel, Stealing Jake, is a 2013 Epic eBook Awards finalist. www.pamhillman.com


Pam Hillman’s Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PamHillman or @PamHillman


Blurb:

In light of her father’s death, Mariah Malone sends a letter that will forever alter the lives of her family. When Slade Donovan, strong willed and eager for vengeance, shows up on her front porch, Mariah is not ready to hear his truths: her father’s farm, the only home she’s ever known, was bought with stolen gold. With Slade ready to collect his father’s rightful claim and force Mariah and her family out on the streets, Mariah must turn to God for guidance. Though Mr. Fredrick Cooper, a local landowner, promises to answer her financial woes if she agrees to be his bride, Mariah finds herself drawn instead to the angry young man demanding her home.

With the ranch now under Slade’s careful eye, he will unearth more than he ever imagined as a devious plot of thievery, betrayal and murder threatens more than the well-being of the ranch, endangering the lives of those who hold it dear. With days dwindling until the rest of the Donovan clan arrive to the Lazy M ranch, Mariah and Slade must rise above the resentment of their fathers and see their true feelings before greed alters their futures forever.


Buy links
Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/apnzl5n
Barnes & Noble link: http://tinyurl.com/ays6fq7
CBD link: http://tinyurl.com/bvjx3m7
Goodreads link: http://tinyurl.com/d9u2k6j
1st Chapter: http://tinyurl.com/ageh54r