If you’re reading this, it means I’ve taken the leap of faith that I’ve dared myself to take for nearly twenty years – and I’m both terrified and exhilarated. Publishing books and getting my work into the hands of readers has been something I’ve dreamed about since I was a ten-year-old kid writing a first-person ‘novel’ from the eyes of my equine protagonist, Flounder. (Two questions about that: 1) Why did I name my horse character after a fish species, and 2) Is the proper terminology here ‘first-horse’, rather than ‘first-person’?). This story (the first I can recall ever finishing) is lost somewhere among the many folders my mom has kept of my childhood artwork and creative imaginings over the years, but if I ever find it, I might just have to post it here – if for nothing else, than to have a laugh at myself.
Anyway, suffice to say it’s been a long time coming. Over the years (since Flounder’s story), I’ve written a handful of novel-length manuscripts that I have yet to do anything with until now. If you’ve just begun reading my work, you will notice that horses feature heavily in my novels. I’m not sure if I will always write horses into my stories, but so far I have found that they kind of creep their way into my plots, whether I’ve planned for them to be there or not. Horses have been a part of my life since I was about six years old, so they are both a great passion and a place of comfort for me. I know my way around a horse pretty well, and I hope I do a good job of bringing equestrian elements to life in my writing in an authentic, tangible way. While I wouldn’t consider my work ‘equestrian fiction’, there tend to be a number of equine characters who pop up – amidst the romance and suspense.
Speaking of romance/suspense, my first novel (which, at the time of this blog post, I have only just begun formatting and discussing cover design for), is titled WILD HEARTS, and you’ll find no shortage of horses in this story – as well as long-lost love, broken hearts attempting to mend, a quiet Montana (fictional) town, and a deranged murderer who stalks its residents. In fact, I happen to have the back-cover blurb right here for you:
“Dustin Luray hasn’t set foot back home in Reliance, Montana for over a decade, and he hasn’t looked back until now. But when he returns to bury his murdered father and care for the ranch he left behind, he is forced to question everything he had chosen to build his adult life upon. When he’s unexpectedly reunited with the woman he left behind all those years ago, he’s confronted with the reality that he may need more than answers regarding his father’s mysterious death. He needs Cara’s forgiveness – and maybe a chance to make things right.
But Cara Brown isn’t ready to forgive and forget the hurt Dustin had inflicted on her when he moved away from Montana, without so much as a word since he broke her heart. Now that he’s back, Cara’s quiet, simple life is suddenly turned on its head. As he begins to set roots back in Reliance by relocating his wild mustang rescue operation, it’s clear that the man she once loved isn’t going to easily give up the chance to win her heart back – whether she likes it or not. And as more neighbors and friends fall victim to the same killer that attacked Dustin’s father, Cara finds herself swept up by both a second chance at love, as well as a race for survival.
Set in a serene small farming town nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, “Wild Hearts” is a story of decade-spanning love, healing hearts, and the menacing presence of an unidentified murderer, who threatens everything that Dustin and Cara love most.”
I started writing WILD HEARTS back in the spring of 2017, and it’s taken me a whopping (almost) four years to get it to this point – ready for people to enjoy. In that time I’ve been busy working at my day job, getting married, traveling, and having a baby. I’ve written a little, stepped away, edited a little, stepped away… and finally promised myself that this would be the year that I finished and published the book that’s taken up so much of my head, heart, and time. There’s something special about this story that I haven’t been able to ignore – no matter how many times I doubted it would ever see the light of day.
SO… ready or not, here I go! With the establishment of this, my official author website (eek!), I”m putting myself – and WILD HEARTS – out there. Very soon, it will be available through Amazon and downloadable for Kindle – for real people (who aren’t me) to read! I might need to pinch myself.
In the coming weeks (and through the publication of WILD HEARTS), I’ll be sharing more about what motivated to write this story, my inspiration for the fictional town of Reliance, the life of wild mustangs in the west, and much more to help immerse my soon-to-be readers in the world I’ve created in my novel. I really hope you’ll enjoy it, and that you’ll let me know what you’re wanting to hear more about.
If you’re still here reading this, you’re supporting me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. No matter what’s brought you to my website, I hope my writing (both in my blog and in my books) keeps you here. Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram (Stephanie Kline Author), follow me on Goodreads, email me, message me through my contact form – let me know you’re here! In time, I hope to start a monthly e-newsletter, too. I’m so excited to be embarking on this adventure that’s been twenty years in the making. Thank you for taking the ride with me!
STEPHANIE KLINE 