Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico

There are a lot of good things being said about this book. I did not find it compelling or absorbing. It is a good light read for a rainy afternoon.

It takes an extraordinary amout of pages to get to the real meat of the story. This is a trend that is distressing for me. I see a lot of extraneous "stuff" happening that doesn't move the story along in more novels than I care to count this afternoon. Have things changed since my creative writing classes? I am not looking for something "literary" or a Pulitzer Prize Winner... just excellent execution of the back cover promises.

Lena Nelson Dooley gives us an excellent story premise, a good story line, once we get past page 129, and I absolutely love the way Dooley weaves into the story that God literally talks to those who love Him and are willing to listen for His voice. That is so very true! Dooley did an excellent job of using the faith of one character to reach several characters as well as enhancing the faith of another. That was very well done.

My disappointment comes from the fact that when an author has as many novels published as Dooley, my expectations are high and lately, I've been disappointed when the bar isn't met. This love story starts out just like a thousand other love stories with the conflict being between the two love interests. (Since Mr. Smith is older than Maddy's grandfather, we won't count him.) I just have to ask: When has that ever happened in real life? I have never seen it or heard of it happening with anyone I know or have known. The antagonism is understandable, but for me, it went on too long and was over done. That is my own personal preference.

The historical content is quite interesting. So, when all the ingredients are added together, the outcome is enjoyable.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico Summerside Press (May 1, 2010)
by
Lena Nelson Dooley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For several years, Lena worked on the support staff of a church, but in November of 2002, God changed things so that she could stay home and write full-time. It has been the desire of her heart for a long time. In Proverbs 37:4, it says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” She believes that this blessing is a result of her delighting herself in Him, and she praises Him for the opportunity.

She have been a professional writer with a free-lance writing and editing business since 1984. In that time, she has written curriculum for public schools, private schools, and three different denominations. For one company, I managed a writing team that produced a two-year American History course for at-risk students. One of her clients was a Christian comedian for whom she wrote several routines. An airline training company had her edit and design International business reports for them.

Her first novel was published by Heartsong Presents in 1992. Since then Lena Nelson Dooley has written more than 25 works of fiction and nonfiction.

Lena has been married to her husband James since 1964. Theirs was one of those love-at-first-sight relationships. They were married three months and three days after they met. He truly was God’s gift to her. They are absolute opposites, but that means that his strengths are her weaknesses, and her strengths are his weaknesses. Together they make a more perfect whole. She believe that is what God intends for all of us.

They have two daughters. Marilyn Van Zant is married to Roger, and they have a son named Timothy. Tim is now in Tennessee at Ft. Campbell. His son Sebastian is almost 2 years old. Jennifer Waldron is married to Eric, and they have three children—Austin, Marissa, and Amanda. James and Lena love to spend time with their family, and they are blessed that both families live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, so they see them often.
ABOUT THE BOOK

All that glitters is not gold. It’s 1890, and Golden, New Mexico, is a booming mining town where men far outnumber women. So when an old wealthy miner named Philip Smith finds himself in need of a nursemaid, he places an ad for a mail-order bride—despite the protests of his friend Jeremiah.

Hoping to escape a perilous situation back East, young Madeleine Mercer answers the ad and arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. But just as she begins to win over Philip—and Jeremiah himself—the secrets she left behind threaten to follow her to Golden...and tarnish her character beyond redemption.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico, go HERE.

"Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico is a well-researched novel brimming With emotive conflict. Lena Nelson Dooley has crafted a historical romance that demonstrates that courage comes in many forms, but the courage to love is the most difficult of all.”─DiAnn Mills, author of Sworn to Protect and A Woman Called Sage

"Two strangers are presented with a ‘golden’ opportunity for love in this quintessential East meets West tale by well-loved author Lena Nelson Dooley. I found myself swept away by the beautiful writing and enmeshed in the lives of the players, who face many twists and turns in their journey toward the ultimate happily-ever-after. Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico is truly one of the loveliest historical romances I’ve read in ages. Highly recommended.”─Janice Hanna Thompson, author of Love Me Tender and Swinging on a Star