A Cowboy's Touch and interview with Denise Hunter

Title: A COWBOY’S TOUCH
Author: Denise Hunter
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
April 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59554-801-6
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary romance

Abigail Jones is an investigative reporter for a periodical that her mother owns and operates. She is good at her job, but the stress is getting to her and affecting her health. So, Abigail’s mother sends her to Moose Creek, Montana, for a three-month vacation, and to look after her great-aunt Lucy, whom they fear might need assisted living.

Aunt Lucy is fine—but the little eleven-year-old girl next door needs a mother’s touch. And her father, Wade Ryan needs a nanny for the summer. The job is offered to Abigail, and she takes it. Wade is attracted to Abigail—but he gave up everything to protect his daughter and he’s not about to risk it all on a pretty face.

Wade and his daughter thrive under Abigail’s care. But the periodical is going under. And Abigail knows the rancher is hiding something. But will these secrets destroy everything?

A COWBOY’S TOUCH is the most recent book by Denise Hunter and it is just as good as all the rest of the books written by this acclaimed author. I enjoyed getting to know Abigail and Wade (as well as Aunt Lucy and a host of other secondary characters). The sexual tension in this book was extremely well-done, and the setting so well described that I could almost see it. The characters were realistically developed.

I loved getting to read A COWBOY’S TOUCH and getting to know these characters. It is a really good contemporary romance, one that I had to keep reading. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book. I can’t wait to read the next book in Ms. Hunter’s A Big Sky Romance series, available January 2012. Highly recommended. $14.99. 312 pages.


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An interview with author Denise Hunter:


Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer? When did you first begin to write?

I’ve always been an avid reader, but I didn’t start dreaming about writing a novel until I was in my early twenties. By then I was married and busy pursuing a degree. I put writing on the back burner until my grandfather became fatally ill. While I was visiting him in the hospital, I was struck by the brevity of life and felt God pressing on my heart to take the first step. I started my first novel a couple weeks later. I had two small children by this time, so I wrote while they napped. I wrote my first four books that way. Even if you can only write a page a day, by the end of a year you’ll have a complete manuscript!

Q: Are you a small town or a city girl? What inspired you to write a book about the life of a cowboy?

I’m a little of both. We live in a country setting just outside the city. It’s the best of both worlds. There’s something very earthy and organic about a cowboy’s life. I was drawn by the idea of living off the land. I think it takes us to a simpler time and place—even though the life of a cowboy is not necessarily simple! And Montana is such a beautiful state. I thought my readers might like to journey there with me through story.

Q: Can you tell us a little about what you have learned about the cowboy lifestyle while doing research for this book?

I learned a lot of fascinating details about the workings of a ranch: branding, breeding, cattle disease, etc. But what I came away with is a great respect for cowboys and their families. Those who choose this way of life do it because they love it. It’s not easy, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Q: Abigail’s title at her job is “the Truthseeker.” What is the significance of this title, and what do you think a real truthseeker does?

I thought it would be interesting to write about a protagonist whose job was to seek the truth and have her find out that she was missing the real Truth the whole time. Since Jesus is the Truth, a real truthseeker follows Him.

Q: Forgiveness seems to be a recurring theme in your books. Why do you feel it is so important? Your main characters both dealt with forgiving their past mistakes. Do you think that it is just as important to forgive ourselves as it is to forgive the mistakes of others?

With sin rampant in all of us, this is something we need to get good at! Eventually, someone’s going to do something you struggle to forgive. I think this is partly because forgiveness is easily misunderstood. It’s not saying that what they did is okay. It’s saying that you’re not going to hold it over them anymore. I do think it’s just as important to forgive ourselves as it is to forgive others. Oftentimes, it’s even harder.

Q: Abigail and Wade both threw themselves into their work in order to escape their pasts. Do you believe it is easy to find an escape in work in order to hide from our problems?

No one likes to hurt, so I think the tendency is to avoid it however we can. Throwing ourselves into our work is certainly one way of doing so. But these things have a way of bubbling up to the surface eventually, no matter how hard we try to avoid them.

Q: What would you like your readers to take away after reading A Cowboy’s Touch?

Abigail was essentially trying to work off her guilt. She thought if she could just keep exposing other peoples’ wrongs, it would appease her own guilt. I’d like readers to see that only God can redeem us.