“Thinking
about her lawless town made her thoughts settle back on her father and
the never-ending feud between the Carsons and the Morrisons—a feud Julia
neither wanted nor understood. Yet here she was, in the midst of it,
her party just one more piece of wood to throw on the fire of
contention. She hoped it wouldn’t add to the blaze and worried that
rather than enjoy her sixteenth year celebration, she would suffer the
heat of her father’s ire for Stephen Morrison, and it would leave her
scorched.”
--From Wyoming Tryst by Charlene Whitman
The author of "heart-thumping" Western romance, Charlene Whitman spent many years living on Colorado's Front Range. She grew up riding and raising horses, and loves to read, write, and hike the mountains. She attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins as an English major. She has two daughters and is married to George "Dix" Whitman, her love of thirty years.
The Front Range series of sweet historical Western romance novels (set in the 1870s) includes Wild Horses, Wild Hearts, set in Laporte and Greeley. Colorado Promise, set in Greeley, Colorado; Colorado Hope, set in Fort Collins; Wild Secret, Wild Longing, which takes readers up into the Rockies, Colorado Dream (Greeley), and Wyoming Tryst, set in Laramie, WY.
Her latest book is Wyoming Tryst.
Book Description:
Two ranching tycoons. A decades-old feud. A sheriff bent on ridding the town of lawlessness . . .
In the midst of the trouble brewing in Laramie City in 1878, Julia Carson yearns to be free of her parents’ smothering and wonders whether she’ll ever find a man worthy to love in such a violent town rife with outlaws.
But when Robert Morrison sneaks onto her ranch the night of her sixteenth birthday party, Cupid shoots his arrows straight and true. Aware that their courtship would be anathema to their fathers, who are sworn enemies, Robert and Julia arrange a tryst.
Yet, their clandestine dalliance does not go unnoticed, and forces seek to destroy what little hope their romance has to bloom. The star-crossed lovers face heartache and danger as violence erupts. When all hope is lost, Joseph Tuttle, the new doctor at the penitentiary, is given a letter and a glass vial from Cheyenne medicine woman Sarah Banks.
The way of escape poses deadly dangers, but it is the only way for Robert and Julia to be together. It will take the greatest measure of faith and courage to come through unscathed, but love always conquers fear.
Interview:
Hi Charlene! Your book, Wyoming Trust, takes place in 1878. Can you tell us what it is about that era that you love the most?
Charlene: All my novels in the Front Range series are set in this decade. I chose it because it’s when the railroad has finally made inroads into the region and a lot of people were settling into new towns. I also go deep into the Indian issues, as most were just sent to Oklahoma to reservations, and some of my characters are half-breed and dealing with prejudice. Colorado was also inducted as a state in that time, so there was a lot going on in the state/territory that impacts my characters.
I love western romance! Can you tell us a little about Julia and Robert, the main characters of your book? Are they soul mates?
Charlene: Wyoming Tryst is a very close adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, set in Laramie. That should tell all! Robert is the heir to a big cattle ranch, and Julia’s father owns another huge ranch. These two feuding families hate each other, and the novel follows the Bard’s play closely. Yes, you could say Robert and Julia are soul mates. They are both oppressed by their fathers, and they both have deep faith and the belief that they were meant to be together.
I love the phrase you use regarding the two lovers ‘love conquers fear.’ What are the two lovebirds fearful of the most?
Charlene: They fear others forcing them apart, which happens in a big way in the novel. But they find a way, miraculously, to not only be together but escape the hatred between their families.
They say that all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point when the reader can’t put the book down. Can you give us one of the pivotal points in your book?
Charlene: Probably when Julia gets hauled to the sheriff for shooting and killing the creepy cowboy that tried to rape her in the alley in the brothel district in Laramie.
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Charlene: Both!
When writing books, do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
Charlene: You have to do both. You must please your readers and meet their high expectations. But you also need to write a fresh, new story that hasn’t been done before. That was a fun challenge when paralleling Romeo and Juliet, but I think you’ll see how original this plot is.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Charlene: To spend years studying novel structure, to really master the craft!
What’s next for you?
Charlene: At some point I will be writing book 7 in the Front Range series, again set in Laramie. I don’t have a plot yet but it will also include the wonderful Doc Tuttle and the feminist Cathryn Povey. I hope readers will dive into the Front Range series and go on my characters’ journeys with them. I believe they’ll be thrilled and moved by the heart-thumping romance! And if readers join my mailing list with THIS LINK, they’ll get the first book, Wild Horses, Wild Hearts, for free!
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