February Romance Novel Event: Tender Touch by Tanya Stowe

Lacy Butler is graced with the gift of healing. She can save strangers…even those undeserving…yet fails to save her mother. Rejecting her gift, God, and society, she's content to live alone high above the mining town of Harperville. But her solitude is shattered when Royce Darnell builds a water flume through the middle of her mountain. To protect her sanctuary, Lacy sabotages his efforts. Little does she expect Royce to track her through a blizzard and end up half frozen to death on her doorstep. She can heal him, but why should she when he threatens to steal her peace...and her heart? With the livelihood of the miners and their families depending on his project, Royce refuses to stop building, no matter how good the reason or how lovely the masked saboteur turns out to be. Besides, he's convinced God wants Lacy to use her gift for good and not to hole up in her cabin like a reticent recluse afraid of human contact. But first, she must learn to trust, and Lacy doesn't trust anyone, not Royce and especially not God. Soon Royce finds himself in a battle to save the two things he loves the most…Harperville and Lacy. Is his faith strong enough to save them both?

Read an excerpt!

"Lacy--look at me," Royce commanded. She looked up. "Feel the music, Lacy. Just move with me."

Her muscles eased. Her breathing slowed. She seemed to sense the rhythm of his body and took her cues from the slight touch of his hand. He dipped, she followed. He swept, she flowed, her skirts swinging in a graceful arc behind them. They sailed around the room in perfect motion.

Royce smiled. "I knew you could do it."

"Thank you for teaching me," she murmured.

Royce looked at the woman in his arms. He'd known the minute she'd entered the room. He was shocked to see her, knowing instinctively that the crowd and the noise would not be to her liking. But, when he'd seen the pink of her cheeks and the high color of her eyes, he knew she was enjoying herself ... and that made him happy. He liked the little giggle she tried to suppress and the way her eyes lit when the dancers came near her. So he’d asked her to dance.

“Thank you," Lacy repeated.

"My pleasure, ma'am. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Her features turned somber. "You can let me go, now, before it's too late.”

She was asking him to do what he'd vowed to do. But looking at her lovely features, he knew he wouldn't do it.

"I can't, Lacy. I've tried and I can't."

The truth of his words flowed over both of them. They stood still in the middle of the dance floor. He wondered where the words had come from, and how he could take care of this fragile, beautiful creature in his arms.

Read the reviews!

"This is a marvelous and heartwarming story set in a time and place in history, with just enough background to make it fun. The beginning of war on slavery while being fought in the East has a long and dangerous effect on each and everyone set in this sleepy little town in California."

--The Romance Reviews

"Ms. Stowe has the gift of story telling. Her characters come alive on the page."

--JoAnn Carter, author of Daniella and Smuggler of the Heart

PURCHASE A COPY OF TENDER TOUCH AT WHITEROSEPUBLISHING.COM! ALSO AVAILABLE IN A KINDLE EDITION!

Tanya Stowe has had an eclectic career in market research, arts education and event coordination. She has written for the real estate industry, television, publicity firms and national publications. Her first novel, Time’s Embrace, a time-travel adventure, was released in the United States in 1993 and internationally released in 1995. Most recently Tanya contributed to a collection of women’s survival stories titled, Triumph! The Beautiful Face of Courage and collaborated on her first full-length play, a Christmas musical titled The Night Before Christmas.




Tanya has been a member of Romance Writers of America since 1992. She’s taught at writing conferences and numerous workshops as well as seminars and conferences throughout California. On her blog, Creative Writing Forces, she blogs about all things writing. Follow the workshops, classes and ups and downs of writing at http://www.creativewritingforces.blogspot.com/.


Tanya has been married to her high school sweetheart for thirty-seven years. They have four children and seventeen grandchildren. Recently her husband retired from government work to take a new position. They will be traveling to the Middle East to work and begin a new adventure!

You can visit Tanya online at http://www.tanyastowe.com/.

You can read my interview with Tanya at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2011/01/interview-with-tonya-stowe-author-of.html