On My Nightstand - Love on the Range by Jessica Nelson

Gracelyn Riley's obsession with finding and interviewing Striker, a man who rescues young women from kidnappers, is all part of a plan. If she can make a name for herself in publishing, she can avoid an arranged marriage and be an independent woman.

When the influenza outbreak occurs, her parents ship her to her uncle in Texas. Coincidentally, newspaper accounts put Striker in that area.

Her uncle's partner, Trevor Cruz, doesn't know how to handle this new threat to his secret identity. He worries that Gracie will get herself into a heap of trouble. He vows to protect her, which means they'll be spending a lot of time together.

Author Jessica Nelson's debut book delighted me. She's a natural storyteller and held my interest every step of the way. I'm looking forward to her future books. Way to go, Jess!

If At First You Don't Succeed...Guest Post by Jessica Nelson

This is not a post recommending we writers never put a manuscript under the bed. Rather, it’s to encourage writers to objectively look at their work, and if it has promise, to never give up on it.

Last month I became a debut published author. Love On The Range was released by Harlequin’s Love Inspired Historical line. So exciting! This story was my first finished manuscript. I penned it in 2007. I submitted it to Love Inspired Historical in 2007.

And it was rejected.

Publisher rejection is the point where a writer decides if he will continue submitting a particular manuscript, or hide it away for good. I considered hiding mine simply because the word count didn’t make it viable for any other publishers (at the time), and I was in the midst of writing my second manuscript.

After the rejection, I sent the story to Harlequin’s critique service and continued writing new works. When the critique came back, there was a seed in it that planted in my heart. At the end of the story, the critiquer wrote, “…you have written a beautiful and intriguing novel.”

How could I not explore that in my manuscript? Three years and many revisions later, I resubmitted to LIH, and you know the rest of the story.

What seeds are planted in your heart today? Was there ever something you didn’t feel you could give up on?




In keeping with her romantic inclinations, Jessica Nelson married two days after she graduated high school.

She believes romance happens every day, and thinks the greatest, most intense romance comes from a God who woos people to himself with passionate tenderness.

When Jessica is not chasing her three beautiful, wild little boys around the living room, she can be found staring into space as she plots her next story. Or she might be daydreaming about a raspberry mocha from Starbucks. Or thinking about what kind of chocolate she should have for dinner that night. She could be thinking of any number of things, really. One thing is for certain, she is blessed with a wonderful family and a lovely life.

Jessica loves to talk books and writing and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads and her blog, BookingIt.

http://www.jessicanelson.net
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJessicaNelson.com/