Kristin McCahy was a fighter, struggling to keep the remnants of her family and ranch together as the Civil War raged around them. On the day when all hope seemed lost, a stranger rode to her rescue, his guns spitting fire and his eyes ablaze with a passion only she could quench.
His name was Cole Slater, and with him by her side, Kristin no longer had to fight her battles alone. Long after the gunfire faded into silence, Cole would be with her, as together they healed the wounds of their war-torn land and raised their children to greet the bright new dawn.
New York Times and USA Today best selling author, Heather Graham was born somewhere in Europe and kidnapped by gypsies when she was a small child. She went on to join the Romanian circus as a trapeze artist and lion tamer. When the circus came to South Florida, she stayed, discovering that she preferred to be a shark and gator trainer.
Not really.
Heather is the child of Scottish and Irish immigrants who met and married in Chicago, and moved to South Florida, where she has spent her life. (She has, at least, been to the Russian circus in Moscow, where she wished she was one of the incredibly talented and coordinated trapeze artists.) She majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over one hundred and fifty novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, horror, and Christmas family fare.
She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty-five languages, and has had over seventy-five million books in print. She has been honored with awards from Walden Books, B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA and more. Heather has also become the proud recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers. Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television.
Heather loves travel and anything that has to do with the water, and is a certified scuba diver. She also loves ballroom dancing. Each year she hosts the Vampire Ball and Dinner theater at the RT convention raising money for the Pediatric Aids Society and in 2006 she hosted the first Writers for New Orleans Workshop to benefit the stricken Gulf region. She is also the founder of "The Slush Pile Players", presenting something that's almost like entertainment for various conferences and benefits. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.
This review is from: Dark Stranger (Mass Market Paperback)
Ms. Graham proves once again that she's a master of Civil War fiction with "Dark Stranger." Set against a usually-ignored theater of the war - Missouri - this novel seethes with sexual tension as well as the dark horror of the war. Missouri suffered the ravages of Quantrill's raiders and Lane's butchers, and Graham's heroine is caught in the crossfire. Graham easily achieves the usually-impossible task of creating a sympathetic hero from the nearly-savage and ruthless Cole by painting a vivid picture of the personal suffering so many men and women experienced in this war, and embodies the desperation of the women left to survive alone in heroine Kristin.
Ms. Graham's knowledge of the period is flawless and she blends history seamlessly into her story. Refreshing to see Civil War fiction that wasn't either sloppily researched, overpowering in detail, or overly burdened with attempts to be politically correct.
Bravo, Ms. Graham. Also recommend her "One Wore Blue" and "One Wore Gray."
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This review is from: Dark Stranger (Mass Market Paperback)
Heard of the saying "timing is everything"? Well, his sure was. Kristin McCahy was struggling to hold her family and land together out west while the battles of the Civil War were still taking place in the north and south. The families in Missiouri and Kansas were having their own wars with John Brown supports coming through ravishing the land and killing when the Union supports weren't around and visa-versa. Kristin had already lost her papa when a group came through killing and burning. Then her brother left to go fight on the Union side. So her sister and she were trying to hold things down on the ranch until her brother came back when a group of riders came by determined to rape her and destroy the homeplace. And then along came Cole Slater riding by. All it took was his sharp shootin' to change the minds of the riders but a threat was left as they rode off that they would be back. Now Kristin was going to have to convince Cole to stick around to give them protection. But when Kristin gave Cole a proposition- Cole told her it was going to be his way or no way... So how does marriage come into play? I'll let you discover that.
It's a great story. HG doesn't let her readers down. Cole is mysterious and leads the reader to want to know more about him. The passion that is between him and Kristin is strong- along with the relationship Kristin has with her sister and then brother and the relationship between Cole and his 2 brothers really adds to the story. The reader won't be disappointed. I really enjoyed and highly suggest it! Now I am looking for Rides A Hero.
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This review is from: Dark Stranger (Mass Market Paperback)
I loved this book, I will definitely have to read the book(s) related to it. The characters were well-written, if not a little over-bearing in Cole's case. That was my only problem with the book, he wanted things HIS way with no room for compromise, but at least he leared. Highly recommend this book, especially if you already enjoy Graham's books!!!
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