Lara's birthday celebration!

Hi everyone!  I'm thrilled to be here today, as it's my birthday!  I'm officially another year older (I don't know about the wiser part, but I do try).  Even though it's my birthday, I'm offering *you* a few presents, so be sure to check out the giveaway form at the bottom of this post!

I want to take a minute to talk about my current release, Colton Baby Homecoming.  Here's the back cover blurb, to give you an idea of what the story is about:

An abandoned baby in danger brings together the Coltons of Texas in this gripping series 

Someone has left a baby on the porch of search and rescue expert Ridge Colton's log cabin. Who? And why? A loner, Ridge knows nothing about caring for an infant. But when the woman who broke his heart years ago shows up to help, he's reminded of everything he once almost had. 

From a wealthy family, Dr. Darcy Marrow was dissuaded from loving the man whose name meant one thing in town: shame. But with a dangerous thug trying to kidnap the baby, Ridge discovers how far he'll go to protect the little one, Darcy…and his long-guarded heart.

This is the third book in the new Coltons of Texas miniseries, but if you haven't read the first two books don't worry--you'll still be able to enjoy Ridge and Darcy's story.

One of the things I enjoyed most about writing this book was seeing how the character of Ridge reacted to finding this tiny, helpless baby on his porch.  Ridge is described as being very tall with an imposing physique, so naturally I pictured Joe Manganiello while writing him. ;)  It was a lot of fun to imagine how this big, strapping, serious man would interact with a baby, and I really enjoyed exploring his softer side.  Here's a little snippet of the two of them:

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Ridge paced in front of the bank of windows that overlooked the woods at the back of his cabin, patting the baby’s back with a steady thump.

“It’s really coming down out there,” he observed quietly to no one in particular. As if to punctuate his observation a flash of lightning split the sky, the brightness illuminating the ground and revealing the raging river his backyard had become. “I hope the barn is still standing,” he muttered.

Ridge enjoyed working with his hands, and had taken great pride in building his cabin from the ground up. But after he’d finished construction, he’d felt at loose ends. He was so used to having a job to complete that he’d decided to start working on a barn he could use as part garage, part hobby shed. The project was coming along nicely, but his progress had slowed recently as the hunt for the Alphabet Killer had picked up speed.

He glanced down into the face of the infant he held. “Are you the key to finding the killer?”

She yawned and his jaw ached to mimic her gesture. The day was really catching up to him, and he wanted nothing more than to lay the baby down and sleep for a bit. But every time he tried, she woke up and started crying. The only thing he’d found that calmed her down was for him to pace back and forth, an action that simultaneously kept him awake and made him even more tired.

He glanced over to the dog bed on the floor by the fireplace. Penny had gone to sleep hours ago and she looked totally relaxed, sprawled on her back with her paws in the air. “Lucky girl,” he muttered. If only the dog could help him watch the baby!

“We’ll find your mother,” he said softly. “I just wish she had left your name in the note. What am I supposed to call you?”

The baby in question shifted slightly and emitted a soft squeak, so he increased the frequency of his patting until she sank back into sleep.

“I think you look like a Sara,” he said, feeling his heart tighten a little. Saralee had been his mother’s name, and it seemed fitting that this lost little one be named after the woman who had been such an important part of his life.

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I hope you enjoyed this peek into Colton Baby Homecoming!  Be sure to tune in tomorrow to learn more about the heroine, Darcy!

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