Dear Readers,

At the end of 2014, I will publish my 110th novel! And while I am so excited to have reached this professional milestone, I am even more thrilled to have so many of my previous novels coming back into print, with new covers and artwork. This is especially helpful for those who have recently discovered my McCabe books and all the connected stories set in the fictional small west Texas town of Laramie, and have had trouble finding the books published at the very beginning of the series.

There are 33 titles available on the Harlequin website for purchase, as I write this, including all of the books set in Laramie, Texas, (29, with two more on the way later in the year) and two bigger books: TEXAS VOWS—also a Laramie, Texas novel, and THE HEIRESS, which is set in Charleston South Carolina, and part of the Deveraux Legacy series.

Having trouble keeping it all straight? It’s understandable. To help readers, I am working on a family tree, that will be up later this summer, that will show how all the heroes and heroines from Laramie, Texas are connected.

In the meantime, I’ve put together a great series guide, with excerpts and story information (i.e. the kind of thing you read on the back cover of every book) for each title. It is located on my website. So if you like to read a few pages before deciding whether to buy a book or not, this is for you….

Here is the link for the website—series guide. When you visit, feel free to look around, there are Texas recipes and answers to frequently asked questions, as well as general information about me and my writing career.

And here is the link to the Harlequin website, where many of my books can now be found.

Have a great spring! And look for my new book out in May, 2014.

Best wishes,
Cathy Gillen Thacker

Looking for something new to read? Enjoy the free online read of my book “A McCabe at Heart” over on Harlequin’s website. You can read a chapter a day.

Robin McCabe-Taylor hopes a puppy will help her bond with Molly, the young girl she wants to adopt. But when ex-flame Sam Navarro comes to the rescue with golden retrievers, Robin begins to dream of a family not just with Molly, but with Sam, too.

But is theirs the kind of family Sam wants?

READ “A McCabe at Heart”

Working hard on a new series…McCabe Homecoming. Here is a sneak peek at the cover of the first book in the series due in May, The Texas Lawman's Woman.

The Best Man in Laramie She's no damsel in distress, but Shelley Meyerson may just need a white knight like deputy sheriff Colt McCabe. Thanks to her scheming ex-husband, Shelley's about to lose her home. The last person she wants to turn to for help is Colt, the guy who broke her heart the night of the high school prom. But now that she's back in Laramie, there's no avoiding him—especially when they're both serving in the same wedding party. True, the handsome, gallant lawman is a valuable ally. And he seems genuinely interested in Shelley and her little boy. She could definitely use a friend…and maybe something more. Rekindling their romance is easy—but learning to trust again is hard. Especially when Shelley learns that Colt's been keeping a secret that could cost him his badge…

Dear Reader,

We all have plans for our lives, formed as we grow up. I thought I was going to live in a house with a white picket fence. (Didn’t happen, although I do have a fence, and I do have a house.) I thought I’d marry a great guy (did happen), a brilliant absent-minded professor type (he is that) who also could make me laugh like no one else. (Gotta admit, he can be hilarious.) I also figured I’d be a mom and have a career, and that all took place, too.

But what ensues, I wondered, when the plans you’ve made take detours that aren’t the kind that are easily recovered from?

Mac Wheeler grew up wanting a high-powered career, and a wife and family, and he had all that—until the day an unexpected tragedy occurred, and he found himself a single dad with a constantly traveling lifestyle that was not what his only child needed.

Erin Monroe loved making boots, and she loved being married to a Texas charmer, until the day tragedy struck her life, and she found herself the family matriarch at age 23, raising her brothers and sisters, as well as eventually her own brood of three. Then tragedy struck again and sent her into another tailspin—one that left her functioning, but emotionally numb, just going through the motions of life. The day Erin and Mac come face to face, neither believe they will ever love again. But as they say, life has a way of happening when you are busy making other plans…. I hope you enjoy this last book of THE LEGENDS OF LARAMIE COUNTY. You can read an excerpt of The Texas Rancher's Family here.  And I hope you will visit my Facebook and Twitter pages. Cheers, Cathy Gillen Thacker

EXCERPT

Dear Reader,

There's never a good time for a crisis. Especially during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. But the "season of giving" has a way of bringing family and friends together—when we're lucky, in ways that last forever.

Chase Armstrong has been avoiding the heartache at home for years when he finally decides to return to his Texas roots. He knows it will be tough seeing the only family he has left. He doesn't expect to be hit with news that will change his life.

Merri Duncan is worried about Chase's homecoming, too. She's been wondering what he plans to do, regarding the niece and nephew he has long neglected. And she knows he isn't likely to approve of what she has done to the Armstrong clan's Broken Arrow ranch, in his absence.

What neither Merri nor Chase expect is the stark realization that turns their lives upside down. Suddenly, there are important choices to be made. Chase believes that with faith and hope and heartfelt resolve, everything will turn out all right in the end. Merri has been burned before by her naivete. Experience has taught her that wanting something to happen doesn't make it so. But both are willing to do the honorable thing and bring the family together the way it should be, even if it means big sacrifices for both of them. Because in big, bold, brash Laramie County, family always comes first. Happy reading, Cathy Gillen Thacker

EXCERPT

Dear Reader,

Crisis—in the form of illness—eventually strikes every family, and Texans Matt Briscoe and his father, Emmett Briscoe, are no exception. Matt’s mother’s death profoundly affected Matt, and his dad. Although, they sought very different remedies for their broken hearts…

Since then, Matt has tried to control everything he can in life. He goes the extra mile to protect his vulnerable father.

Matt’s dad, always something of a risk-taker, and a very loving, if egocentric man, has tried another approach. Constantly seeking to replace the passion he lost, Emmett has married multiple times, to disastrous result. And now, much to Matt’s consternation, Emmett is at it again.

Enter bronze sculptor Jen Carson. She, too, lost her mom, and dealt with the fallout from her father’s crushed dreams. Now, she takes nothing for granted, and tries to control nothing except her own reaction to things.

There’s only one problem with that. Jen can’t seem to quash her fast-rising reaction to sexy, fabulously wealthy rancher Matt Briscoe. Nor he to hers. Neither Jen nor Matt put their trust in the future, or dare hope that passion will last more than the moment they are in. And yet, the kind of love that can last has a way of entering the picture after all. The only question is, dare they risk all for the happiness that has always seemed just out of their reach? Happy reading! And feel free to visit me Facebook and Twitter. Cathy Gillen Thacker

EXCERPT

Dear Reader,

I am pleased to introduce four new families in The Legends of Laramie County.

In THE RELUCTANT TEXAS RANCHER, attorney Liz Cartwright is the youngest member of four generations of women ranchers. All have taken their turn running the family cattle ranch. But Liz would rather concentrate on Travis Anderson, and the trouble he has suddenly found himself in. So they strike a bargain. She’ll clear his name if he’ll help out on the Four Winds. Neither count on what happens when that much man moves in to strictly female territory!

THE TEXAS RANCHER’S VOW showcases bronze artist Jen Carson. Commissioned to do a series of western sculptures, Jen soon finds herself caught between two powerful men. In love with Matt Briscoe, sworn to secrecy by his father, Jen must decide how to honor her promises to both.

THE TEXAS RANCHER’S MARRIAGE, begins when trauma surgeon Chase Armstrong returns just in time for Christmas, and discovers he unwittingly fathered twins--via modern medical miracle. He insists on marrying Merri Duncan. And their marriage soon turns out to be a lot more than simply convenient.

THE TEXAS RANCHER’S FAMILY introduces native Texan and custom bootmaker Erin Monroe. Philadelphia-based Mac Wheeler wants to sell the community on a wind-farm, and he needs Erin to help him fit in. Erin knows it takes more than the right boots to make a sale, but with their three kids playing matchmaker, she finds they just might have a lot in common after all.

Welcome back to Laramie, Texas! Happy reading!

Cathy Gillen Thacker
www.cathygillenthacker.com

Cathy Gillen Thacker's popular McCabe family welcomes a new member. In A Cowboy to Marry we meet Libby Lowell, whose adventurer husband died two years ago, leaving her to run his family's third-generation tractor-supply company. But after two years of managing a business she has no passion for, Libby is ready for a change, and not only a professional one. She decides to sell the business and the family home, move out of Laramie, Texas, and find a man who will settle down and give her the children she's always wanted.

Holden McCabe, a longtime friend of Libby's husband and a man who suffered a painful end to his own marriage, does not approve of Libby's plans. Selling the business will not only mean the end of a legacy, it could mean the loss of precious jobs. Worst of all, if Libby moves out of town, how is Holden supposed to keep the promise he made to her husband? A promise he's determined to honor, since he considers himself responsible for her husband's death?

That promise — to look after Libby — is one Libby wishes Holden had never made. She doesn't need a keeper, and after two years of the rancher's overprotectiveness it's time to cut the strings. Yes, she and Holden share a special bond, forged by a secret Libby once shared, and by the pain they've both suffered as a result of unhappy marriages. And there's no denying the fierce sexual attraction the two harbor for each other. But Libby will never pursue a relationship with Holden because she fears he might end up confusing love with obligation, and Holden believes that pursuing Libby would be tantamount to dishonoring his best friend's memory.

And yet, it's the holidays. They're both lonely, and they know it's time to re-enter the social scene. But how to start? Holden comes up with a plan to help them move on: He suggests they "rebound" with each other. No strings, no sex, no pressure. No problem, right? Wrong. As soon as they start dating, Holden realizes he loves Libby and can't stand the thought of her leaving Laramie. And Libby finds herself falling in love as well, but unlike Holden, she fights it. She's just starting to become a person she can admire, and a new life awaits her — beyond Laramie. How can she give that up, and stay in the place she's suffered so much heartache? Then a new complication arises, and Libby faces the hardest decision of her life. And Holden faces losing the love of his.

As always, Thacker delivers a satisfying, romantic and sensual story. I enjoyed the uniqueness of Libby's profession and the fresh and realistic ways Thacker found to keep Libby and Holden together, giving their romance time to develop. There were times when I was pulled out of the story — during the roll call of McCabes in the beginning, when Libby is referred to by another character's name, and when Holden tells himself the only reason he's kissing Libby is to help her get through the holidays. I'm thinking it wasn't that big a sacrifice. :-) I also would have loved a pivotal moment, an emotional "pop," to highlight Libby and Holden's decision to take their relationship to the next level. But none of that was enough to mar the pleasure I found in the story.

A Cowboy to Marry has a warm, homey and gratifying feel, and as much as Libby yearns to be part of the McCabe family, the reader will, too.

For more information about Cathy Gillen Thacker and her books, visit her website at Cathy Gillen Thacker.

Kathy Altman writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense.