Tuesday, March 31, 2009

THE JEWEL OF HIS HEART

I'm so excited to share with you the brand new cover for book 2 in Heart of the West series, The Jewel of His Heart. It's so beautiful and once again Revell had captured my herione perfectly with the Yogo blue eyes. I'm sure that you'll agree that it is stunning!
The story takes place in Montana, the Big Sky Country. Here's a tease-

Romance readers have taken to Maggie Brendan's softer romantic style that perfectly captures life on the American frontier, introducing them to rugged, independent souls and their inner spiritual struggles, and the quest for love that makes for a satisfying read every time. Set in 1890s Montana, The Jewel of His Heart finds Juliana drawn to a handsome, gentle sheepherder--but sparks fly when he considers mining, the occupation that lured her father away from his family. Both Josh and Juliana must make a choice--the world's riches and promises, or the eternal value of love.

I hope you'll be looking for it this fall and then "fall" in love with Josh and Juliana. Happy Trails...

10 comments:

ladybug said...

I saw this featured on a different blog yesterday and instantly fell in love. (Sigh) Fall suddenly seems like a long ways off.

Maggie Brendan said...

Hang in there Ladybug! It'll be here before you know it. I think readers will fall in love with Josh and Juliana and their unique situation. (I'm hoping so. Thanks for posting.

L said...

What a beautiful cover...I'll bet you're getting excited to see it on the bookshelves!
I'm glad for your sake that March is over. May your April be filled with sunshine!

Maggie Brendan said...

Thanks L, I'm looking forward to a productive April and I soooo excited about the new book! :)

Phil said...

I enjoyed reading "No Place for a Lady" but why are all the Christian books the same...boy meets girl, boy and girl do not like each other is the first half of the book, the next half is why they cannot get together. The last chapter they finally get together. The reason why the book Twilight is so popular is because Edward loved Bella through all 4 books.

Maggie Brendan said...

Phi, I don’t pretend to have all the answers and can’t give a lot of detail on a post comment, but I have several thoughts. One is that when someone picks up “most” romance books, but particularly Christian, they usually know that the 95% of the time the guy will get the girl. It’s the conflicts and obstacles, (self-doubt, pride, etc.) that keep them apart that make for an interesting read. It’s linear formulaic fiction. If you think about it, most movies, (even many suspense) have the same pattern as well. The reason—most people want the ideal in life, find the love of your life and live happily ever after. Women want to read this type of romance, if for nothing else escapism from “real life” or to read about life as they want it to be. I have not read Twilight, but my critique partner has read them all and said they are formulaic as well—the only difference or conflict if you will is that she cannot be with him because she is not dead and he is. Romance book sales are up by 14% as reported on the news today. The reason, I think is that people in these bad economic times are buying them, is that they are looking for hope and a way to relieve stress. I hope I can provide that. I enjoy writing the type of romance that I do because it makes the reader smile, allowing them to live vicariously through the heroine and hero and think that the God of the Universe cares about every detail of their life. Besides, if I wasn’t writing fiction, then I would be writing about ordinary everyday life and that would be non-fiction.

Maggie Brendan said...

Correction to Phil, In the lateness of the hour on the previous post, I left off the "l" in his name. I'm sorry. Must be time for bed.:(

Leigh said...

The new book cover is beautiful! And I'm so glad this gets to be Josh's story -- he was such a nice guy to Crystal in book 1 that I was almost afraid you'd have him turn out to be bad! I'm glad I was wrong. :-)

Amanda Cabot said...

To respond to Phil's comments, there's a reason why many books (other than purely literary fiction) appear somewhat predictable, and that's because they have what is frequently described as the "mythic structure." Christopher Vogler outlines this in his excellent book The Writer's Journey. Vogler's work, BTW, is based on Joseph Campbell's books, including The Power of Myths.


As Maggie said, it's also a matter of reader expectations. When a reader picks up a romance he or she expects a happy ending. The reader also expects there to be obstacles to be overcome before that happy ending can occur. So, if that seems formulaic ... well, so be it. I prefer to think that romances have a structure, just as a sonnet or a limmerick has a structure.

Lori (sugarandgrits) said...

Commenting on Phil's thoughts ~ I totally agree! I've often wondered the same thing. True, I want/expect a happy ending, BUT, it would be nice to have it changed up every now and then. For example, I've always hated that the guy and girl RARELY get together until the last 2-3 pages of the book!!! By then I'm so wrapped up in their lives (they seem like family) that it's hard for me to just close the book and "let them go." I want to know what happens once they get married, start a family, etc. I would love to see a variety of scenerios instead of the same "pattern" in every book. Why can't a book start off with the couple already married? Maybe start the book off with the bride walking down the aisle? Or, with the guy proposing (maybe even the girl?!?!)? You know ~ something to grab your attention and pull you right into the story! I'm a serious romantic, so I'd like to read about the couples/families happy life together, with a few hardships thrown in.

Sorry! I didn't mean to go on and on! It's just something I've thought about quite a bit.

BTW, I can't wait for "The Jewel of His Heart" to be released. *sigh* I already have "No Place for a Lady" and it was excellent!

Thank you for sharing it with us.
~ sugarandgrits ~

***P.S. I, too, am from "Gah Gah" LOL***