Читать книгу More Than a Rancher - Claire McEwen - Страница 4

Dear Reader,

Many years ago, I took my first Lindy Hop dance class and fell in love. It was an all-consuming love that I was lucky to share with a lively and dedicated group of dancers. And for a year or two I had a wonderful dance partner. We taught classes at a ballroom and everywhere else we could drum up work. It was a magical time.

Those experiences were the inspiration for Jenna Stevens. Dance is her passion, so when she meets a young man who dreams of becoming a dancer, she resolves to help him. But first she has to enlist the support of his older brother.

That older brother is Sandro Salazar, the rebellious eldest son of a Basque family who owns a sheep ranch outside of my fictional town of Benson, California. Basque culture is so intertwined with the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where Benson is set, that I had to have at least one character who hailed from these traditions.

Many Basque people moved to the western United States in the late eighteen hundreds as sheepherders, and restaurants serving Basque cuisine were established along their herding routes. Sandro is a chef who dreams of owning one of these restaurants and bringing a modern flair to his culinary roots. But he has a few personal battles to fight before he can make those dreams come true.

More Than a Rancher has many themes woven through it, and one of them is alcoholism. I am familiar with this disease because I was raised by someone afflicted with it. Many people know of Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, which teaches alcoholics how to manage their addiction. In this book, Jenna attends Al-Anon, a program that is not as well known. Al-Anon, and its youth program, Alateen, are there to support anyone whose life is affected by someone else’s drinking.

AA, Al-Anon and Alateen programs cost no money and are available throughout the United States, Canada and countries all over the world. Please feel free to visit my website, www.clairemcewen.com, where I have more information available.

I am excited to share Jenna and Sandro’s story with you. They took me on a complicated and romantic journey, and I hope you enjoy its twists and turns as much as I have.

Wishing you joy,

Claire McEwen