Ruth Logan Herne

Hearth and home writer Ruth Logan Herne likes to be called “Ruthy”, she loves faith, family and friends, thinks snakes should ALWAYS live outside and possums should leave the cat food on the side porch alone. Author of three 4 ½ Star novels set in the North Country, Ruthy has moved to the hills of northern Appalachia, into Allegany County, New York, where rolling hills and sweet roads bring thoughts of old times and new beginnings to hearts young and old.  With four Allegany County books slated for 2011, beginning with April’s  4-STAR “Reunited Hearts”,  Ruthy is thrilled to showcase one of the prettiest places on God’s green Earth. 

Reunited Hearts


Back in his hometown, military hero Trent Michaels comes face-to-face with a twelve-year-old boy who looks just like him. Same dark curly hair.  Same blue eyes. And the boy calls Trent’s old flame, Alyssa Langley, mom.

Trent was a foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks when he fell in love with Alyssa. But she cast him aside because he wasn’t good enough— or so he thought. Now Trent is determined to connect with his newfound son. And to get the truth from the woman he never stopped loving… 

I first got to know Ruthy when she was the series contemporary coordinator for the Barclay Sterling contest back in 2007.  And although we became great friends, I never actually met her in person until the literacy signing at Nationals last year.   And oh, the hugging we did then.

For today's post we're doing something a little different.  Ruthy has brought a very special top ten list.  Take it away, Ruthy!

Oh my stars, HUGE THANKS to you guys for having me over here on Get Lost In a Story…

Don’t ya’ just love that notion? Getting lost in a story?  Here’s my top ten reasons you know it’s a GREAT STORY:

10.  You don’t want it to end.

9.    You don’t care that the dog’s been whining for ten minutes, you have paper towels and you know how to use them!

8.    Pampers hold record-setting amounts of liquid, as you’ve just discovered.

7.   Lunch is inconsequential and American children need to lose weight anyhow.

6.   Red mixed with white is pink and pink is your favorite color, even and maybe especially in men’s undershirts and briefs.

5.    Baby boogers only harden to a certain stage, so timeliness in wiping them isn’t all that essential.

4.   Dora on Demand is a wonderful tool and even three-year-olds can be taught to hit the “select” button for replays. Gotta love technology when it’s in your favor.

3.   Lotion-treated tissues are almost as good as chocolate and laughter through tears is your favorite emotion, ergo:  prospective Rita-award winning book.

2.   You know that despite your best wishes, you can never, ever write that good or that well and your stories will never compare because this, this, THIS is the quintessential perfect romance, why read more ever again?

1.   And the #1 reason you know it’s a GREAT STORY: You can’t possibly forget it long after you’ve turned the last page.

Romance makes the world go ‘round. I taught a class of high schoolers last week and a boy (YES, A BOY!!!) raised his hand and said, “People love romance because there are those ‘o’s and ‘v’s that come from your brain and for men they can tell if they’re the kind of guy that will stay and be faithful or the kind who runs off.”

O’s?  V’s?

Obviously this kid paid attention in Biology, but we know them as HEROES.  The guys that stick, the bad boys gone good, the good guys that save the world, the sacrificial men who melt our hearts, the alpha heroes brought to their knees by their perfect match:  AKA:  the Heroine.

Aw, doncha just love it?

Trent Michaels, the hero of “Reunited Hearts”.  Danny Romesser, the candy store mogul hero of June’s “Small-Town Hearts”.  Jeff Brennan, the savvy business executive hero of September’s “Mended Hearts” and then…. Oh, yeah… Be still my heart, reformed bad boy Matt Cavanaugh comes back to town in December’s “Yuletide Hearts.”

But more than looking good, a hero must steal your heart. Army Captain Trent Michaels returns to Jamison, New York to help orchestrate military contracts for an electronics business .  His goal? To help the struggling economy of the town that helped raise him. But what he finds when he returns is a mix of joy and sorrow, old wrongs and new beginnings.

Dumped alongside a busy interstate when he was just four years old, all Trent ever wanted was a family of his own. A place to call home. When he discovers that his high school sweetheart bore a son she kept hidden, Trent is devastated. Alyssa, of all people, should have known how he felt. Family first. Always.

But Trent was slated for West Point, and army cadets cannot be married or responsible for a child. Alyssa couldn’t let Trent’s dream die because if he knew about the baby, he’d do the right thing. Stay home. Go to school elsewhere. And take care of her and the baby. Knowing his past and wanting to ensure his future, she leaves, letting Trent think she didn’t care.

Twelve years later God puts them back together, but can this hurting couple get through years of pain and betrayal to embrace the chance before them?

This story puts you smack-dab into the heart of Jamison, New York, its old-world charm and ambiance calling you home.  A place where faith, humor, children and cookies help bind wounds of hearts gone astray, a little town that engages the reader to return  repeatedly. Maybe buy a place. Take a vacation. Hang out on the Park Round and chat with Maude McGinnity or Reverend Hannity.

Stopping into Allegany County is an All-American Celtic awakening, where good people look out for one another and aren’t afraid to do a little bit of matchmaking now and again. With God’s good grace, of course!

Ruthy is giving away two autographed copies of Reunited Hearts to two commenters!**


You can visit her with her writing buds  in Seekerville (www.seekerville.blogspot.com) or at “Ruthy’s Place” (www.ruthysplace.com) or at www.ruthloganherne.com . 


And for a visual treat of “The Men of Allegany County” go to The Guys very own website: www.menofalleganycounty.com , click on “Meet the Guys” and see what’s got everybody talkin’ in the Allegheny foothills!


**Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North American addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.