Please help us give a very warm welcome back to Gayle M. Irwin. Gayle is here this week to share her contemporary romance, Finding Love at Compassion Ranch. Welcome, Gayle! We are all very excited to hear more about Finding Love at Compassion Ranch.
Writing at the Powder River Ranch
Guest Post by Gayle M. Irwin
Like meadowlarks in spring, I return to this place along the Powder River of central Wyoming. However, I come back more than
once a year; in fact, one year I returned every other month, for every season brings new experiences. Lambs, calves, and sandhill cranes can be seen and heard each early spring; rabbits, mother deer with fawns, and great-horned owls are observed in the summer; autumn brings colorful leaves wild turkeys, and wandering raccoons; and during the winter, songbirds, such as juncos, finches, and doves, flit around barren bushes and consume seed from elongated and ground feeders.
Each season is unique and beautiful. Each season is inspiring and quiet.
In the solitude of my friends’ ranch, I sit near patio doors and compose stories – magazine articles, children’s books, and romance novels. Nature helps me relax, and at the Powder River Ranch, I not only relax, but I create.
In this special setting, I developed the second book in my Pet Rescue Romance series. Finding Love at Compassion Ranch is a second-chance, clean, contemporary romance story set in Wyoming, where I live and where my friends’ ranch is located.
This western state is unique and amazing. From the plains of the east to the mountains of the west, vast vistas and open spaces provide habitat for various wildlife species as well as outdoor recreational opportunities for humans. These places beckoned 1800s pioneers, homesteaders, and cattle ranchers. Today, history melds with conservation, and Wyoming continues to beckon people to the varied landscapes and historical sites.
My friends’ ranch was a homestead, and today, a conservation easement protects the property in perpetuity. Wildlife species roam freely and passively mingle with horses, sheep, and cattle, creating a peaceful paradise for animals and for humans.
I’m inspired when I visit, and from that inspiration stories flow. In Compassion Ranch, animals of all sorts, from wild elk to aging horses, from hawks and songbirds to dogs and cats, find care and compassion, whether feeding in fields or playing in adoption centers. I base this story on an actual animal sanctuary in Wyoming called Kindness Ranch, a unique place, open to visitors and volunteers as well as adopters.
Finding Love at Compassion Ranch is available as an e-book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other platforms, and on Amazon as a print book. Find your own western sanctuary and special inspiration when you read my book!
About Finding Love at Compassion Ranch:
A ranch like no other …
Erin Christiansen is still adjusting to life as a widow. She seeks additional healing by volunteering at Compassion Ranch, a sanctuary for former research animals. Upon arrival at the majestic and unique northwestern Wyoming ranch, she meets Mike, a man she knew in high school, whose compassion for animals and people might be the balm Erin needs.
Retired veterinarian Mike Jacobs is no stranger to loss. Five years after the accidental death of his wife, he now serves as ranch manager of Compassion Ranch. He not only fixes fence and provides tours, but he applies his veterinary skills and his heart for animals to his work. Upon recognizing Erin from high school, he can barely believe his first love will spend a few weeks at the sanctuary.
Finding Love at Compassion Ranch Buy Links:
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/3q4p2Pr
Finding Love at Compassion Ranch Excerpt:
Eighteen months. It’s been eighteen months since Daniel died. Those thoughts ricocheted through Erin Christiansen’s brain as she stared upon the majestic Yellowstone Lake. Cabin #15 had been her refuge at the lodging facility within the national park for two nights. One more to go before she again embarked on her journey – returning to the large house in Florida, devoid of her husband’s presence for the second summer.
Morning light kissed the still snow-capped mountains to the south. Fuchsia, bluebonnet, and apricot hues danced in the sky. Mornings were Daniel’s favorite time of day. They had shared many dawns during their twenty-six-year marriage, including numerous ones along Florida’s beaches. Daniel would have enjoyed watching this sunrise.
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Erin heard hoofbeats on the road. She turned and waited for the animal and its rider. The man, dressed in a brown cowboy hat, leather chaps covering jeans, and a short-sleeved blue shirt loped the buckskin horse toward the building. When he reined the animal closer to Erin, she noticed the dark leather work gloves upon the man’s hands. She also took quick note of brown hair tinged with gray protruding from under his coffee-colored Stetson. His tanned, chiseled face sported a goatee, and a large smile graced his face. The man tipped his hat like a cowboy in a western movie.
“Good afternoon. May I help you, ma’am?” he asked.
“I’m here to meet the director. I’m spending a few weeks volunteering,” she replied.
“Maggie told me to expect you. She’s at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in town. I can take you to your cabin so you can get settled in. She said she’d meet up with you when she returns.”
“That would be wonderful. I’d appreciate your help.”
Erin noticed the man studying her.
“Your voice sounds vaguely familiar. Have we met before?” he asked.
About the Author:
Gayle M. Irwin is an award-winning author and freelance writer, being recognized by Wyoming Writers, Inc., and the Wyoming Press Association for several of her works. She is a contributor to seven Chicken Soup for the Soul books and the author of many inspirational pet books and stories for both children and adults. Her clean, contemporary romance series, Pet Rescue Romance, consists of Rescue Road, Finding Love at Compassion Ranch, and last year’s holiday prequel novella, Rhiann’s Rescue.. A new book in the series, My Montana Love, releases this spring. She subtly weaves important life lessons within the lines and pages of her stories, including the importance of pet rescue and adoption. An animal advocate, Gayle volunteers for various dog rescue and humane society organizations and donates a percentage of all book sales to such groups.
Connect with author Gayle M. Irwin:
- Website: https://gaylemirwinauthor.com/
- Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/gayleirwin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GayleMIrwin
- Twitter: @wyoauthor1
- Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/gaylemirwin