First Comes Love, by Gabrielle Meyer

Over the course of the next seven weeks, the authors from the Seven Brides for Seven Texans novella collection will fill this blog with fun post all about the Hart brothers from Hartville, Texas. You'll learn more about the authors, the Hart brothers and their brides, and the inspiration behind each novella. Along with all that, we'll be giving away lots and lots of prizes!!

Each author will blog for one week in the order her story falls in the collection. Here's a rundown:

Week One: Nov. 28-Dec 2 ~ Gabrielle Meyer
Week Two: Dec. 5-9 ~ Lorna Seilstad

Week Three: Dec. 12-16 ~ Amanda Barratt
Week Four Dec 19-23 ~ Keli Gwyn
Week Five Dec 26-30 ~ Susan Page Davis
Week Six Jan 2-6 ~ Vickie McDonough
Week Seven Jan 9-13 ~ Erica Vetsch

Since my story is the first in the Seven Brides for Seven Texans collection, I have the distinct honor of posting the first week! Each day this week, I will give away a print copy of the collection to one person who comments, so be sure to check back each day to see if you're a winner and comment on the next post for another chance to win! 

Here's a little bit about my story and my main characters.

First Comes Love, by Gabrielle Meyer

As the youngest Hart brother, Hays has never been first at anything--so he's determined to be the first to marry. He sets his sights on the new teacher, Miss Emma Longley, but soon discovers Emma wants nothing to do with marriage, ranching, or Texas and plans to leave Hartville in two short months. Will Hay's charm be enough to convince her to stay?

John Coffee Hays Hart (23) is six feet tall with blue eyes and light brown hair. He’s kind, handsome and charming. He’s known as a flirt with the local gals, but it’s all in good fun. He has an easy-going nature and he’s prone to innocent practical jokes. While he uses his humor to cover-up his pain and heartache, he’ll do whatever he can to protect the happiness of the people he loves. The only reason he hasn’t married yet is because he hasn’t fallen in love. When he does, he’ll be as loyal and passionate about her as he is about his family and the Seven Heart Ranch.

Emma Longley (18) is about five-foot-seven inches tall with dark brown hair and pretty green eyes. She is confident, loyal and determined. She’s passionate about education and she loves working with children. As a teacher, she has many goals and dreams, and she values having a purpose and cause in life. While she tends to be serious, she can also have fun and loves that Hays makes her laugh. She’s good at organizing and planning events and hopes to make a difference with her short time in Hartville. She’s never been in love, because she’s never had time to find the right man. When she falls in love, she will take joy in making a happy home.

~ ~ ~ ~

When I accepted the invitation to join this awesome collection, the lead author, Erica Vetsch, had come up with seven names of seven famous Texans and assigned the names to each member of the Hart family. John Coffee Hays Hart (known to his family as Hays) was the youngest of the brothers at the age of twenty-three. I immediately loved his name and decided then and there that as the youngest brother, he was fed up with his older brothers doing everything first! So I asked the six other authors if they would mind if Hays married first, which meant his story would come first in the collection.

Everyone agreed.

Since this is a continuity collection (each story is in chronological order), each author had unique challenges. One of mine was introducing the reader to the town of Hartville and many of the characters that would be important in everyone's stories. (On the flip side, I didn't have to worry about some of the details the others would have to deal with later on.) The first five or ten pages in a story are the most important. You want to draw the reader in and encourage them to keep reading. Since this collection reads like a full-length book, I had the pressure of keeping the reader's attention to not only finish my story, but want to read everyone else's stories, as well! 

As you'll learn in the coming weeks, the authors in this collection worked very close together. On Saturdays each week, Erica will share more details about how we kept our characters straight, how we created a timeline that would work for everyone's stories, how we developed secondary characters, how we created and used a town (and ranch) map, how we communicated, and so much more. She was our fearless leader and she did an amazing job (even if I did drive her crazy asking so many questions those first few days...). 

Above all else, this group of authors had fun! We loved creating the Hart men and I believe you'll understand why after reading the collection. 

Tomorrow, I'll tell you a little more about Hays and Emma, and why I created them the way that I did. I'll also share one of my favorite memories while collaborating with these authors, and I'll be giving away another copy of Seven Brides for Seven Texans!

Now I'd love to hear from you! Have you read a series like this before? What questions do you have for me (or the other authors) about creating this collection? Do you enjoy stories set in Texas? What's your take on handsome cowboys? :)

Don't forget to comment! I'll choose one winner from today's comments and announce them on the blog tomorrow (be sure to comment before midnight tonight!). 

Also, don't forget to RSVP for the Facebook Party on Thursday, December 1st or enter the giveaway on Goodreads for a chance to win one of seven copies of Seven Brides for Seven Texans!

Gabrielle Meyer
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