Heroine Interview from Cowgirl for Keeps by Louise M. Gouge with a Giveaway

» Posted on Jul 23, 2015 in Blog | Comments Off on Heroine Interview from Cowgirl for Keeps by Louise M. Gouge with a Giveaway

This week I’m hosting Carol J. Post with Hidden Identity (worldwide), Louise M. Gouge with Cowgirl for Keeps (US only), and Merrillee Whren with Nursing the Soldier’s Heart (US and Canada only). If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on your post with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (July 26th) evening.

 

Cowgirl for Keeps Cover

 

Interview with the heroine from Cowgirl for Keeps by Louise M. Gouge

 

1. Rosamond Northam, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

My parents own a large ranch in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, and I will inherit a portion of the ranch equal to what each of my three brothers inherits. In a time when young ladies usually stay indoors and learn only household skills, my forward thinking father insists that I also learn to work alongside him. And because I’m working the land, I deserve to inherit. Most unusual for our time!

2. What do you do for fun?

This may seem odd to many people, especially other ladies, but I love to do everything my brothers do around the ranch from riding herd to branding to training our cowponies to do their jobs.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Just about the only chore I dislike about the ranch is mucking out stalls. Even though I know how important this is to the health and welfare of our horses, I try to avoid it by sweet talking one of my brothers to do it for me. Of course, I always make a trade: I’ll bake their favorite pastry in exchange for their taking care of those stalls. It never fails.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?

A cowgirl can’t really afford to be afraid of anything. I’ve shot all sorts of varmints to protect myself, my horse, and my herd. Even though I spent a couple of years at an exclusive finishing school in Boston, I now live among my own people, and my friends are all here. I suppose if anything frightens me, it would be the prospect of failing at my lifelong dream, which I’ll explain in the next question.

5. What do you want out of life?

I have had the benefit of an excellent education, and I see the value of every young person having the same. My dream is to build a high school for the young people of my community where they can learn about the larger world outside of the San Luis Valley. My parents have provided part of the funds to build the two-story school, and neighbors have donated generously as well. The project was going well until my dear, beloved father decided I also needed to help a certain stuffy, albeit handsome young Englishman build a hotel for our town. The two building endeavors keep me hopping!

6. What is the most important thing to you?

As I said above, building my school and teaching young people are my two dearest dreams. But lately, as my school and that pesky hotel near completion, I’m growing rather fond of the aforementioned Englishman. Could it be the Lord has a new dream in mind for my future? We’ll see.

7. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?

Oh, yes. As a lover of literature, I hope to inspire my students to read the great classics. Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and Charles Dickens are my favorite English authors. French authors Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo inspire me. And I mustn’t leave out Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Louisa May Alcott right here in America.

8. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I would love to go back to July 4, 1776, so I could be present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I’m so proud to be an American because I can live my dream here as in no other country on earth. Everyone in our community takes part in our annual Fourth of July celebration, and people from every culture populating our community come together to read the Declaration. It’s a very inspiring event.

Check out Cowgirl for Keeps on Amazon