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.
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:
Website: http://www.pamhillman.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pam.hillman.7
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PamHillman
or @PamHillman
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/wrtnbyph/
Group blog: http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com
Personal blog: http://www.calicotrails.blogspot.com
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.
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
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
