Guest Blog: Sandra Ardoin and A Lady Divided *Prize: Free E-Book Series

Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for going on this journey with me. Outside, a storm is brewing and I am watching the gray overtake the blue. What's the weather like where you are--and I hope you are doing great!

Please join me in welcoming Sandy Ardoin--love the cover!

Introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people notice when they meet you.

Hey, everyone! My name is Sandra Ardoin, but you can call me Sandy. Everyone else does. 😊 I’ve been writing Christian historical and contemporary romance books from my North Carolina home for over fifteen years. I guess one of the first things people can’t help but notice about me is that I’m short—barely five feet. But I get it honestly. My mom was four feet, eleven inches in her prime.

Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb.

My recent release, A Lady Divided, is the first in a new historical romance series that centers around three women whose circumstances have led them to live an unorthodox lifestyle for the time. Laurel Tillman has a secret she keeps from everyone, including her best friends. If known, it could make her a greater pariah than she believes she is now.

About A Lady Divided:

Just when she thinks she’s defeated the past, it returns with a vengeance.

Fighting to keep her late husband’s dream alive and her land-grabbing neighbors at bay, Laurel Tillman longs for a peace she knew before the war. But when her skill with a rifle saves a stranger from a mountain lion attack—a man whose life she once wouldn’t have hesitated to take—wartime memories rush back.

While raising her daughter and taking responsibility for the stray women who work on her sheep ranch, Laurel can’t wait to get the injured Yankee out of her house. Getting him out of her heart is an entirely different matter.

Quinn Spencer, a former Union cavalry officer, owes Laurel a debt, but his career as a new lawyer in town comes with a warning to stay away from the unconventional women of La Casa del Fuego. Then, with the discovery of a dead man on Laurel’s ranch, Quinn must choose between his career and justice for a woman who can’t bear the sight of him.

As they battle an unknown adversary who sets out to destroy Laurel, will she join forces with her former enemy? Or will she allow the past to overcome any chance of a truce between them . . . and, possibly, something more?

Share an excerpt?

Although the book is set in Texas in 1877, years after the end of the Civil War, this excerpt in Quinn’s point of view takes place after he helped Laurel through a dangerous predicament. It goes to the heart of the issue between Laurel and Quinn, but as you’ll see, his help doesn’t mean they are now soulmates.

God had created two distinct traits in the sexes—one protective, the other nurturing. The reminder sobered him. These women would never admit it, but they may need a man’s protection in the coming days. Would he want to be that man? Laurel could decide for him. The reluctant appreciation he had received earlier didn’t mean she would accept his help again if offered.

“I regret causing you to worry.” Her lilting drawl rose over Camille’s concerns, Issy’s complaints, and Becky’s questions. “Everything’s fine, except for my starvation. Let’s go inside and I’ll explain what happened.”

The mere mention of eating revived the hunger pangs Quinn had tamped down, and he pictured in his mind the food Lillian had brought him. It sat cold and unappealing in his office.

The ladies started for the house, forgetting about his presence, so he whistled the tune to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” He stopped when Laurel froze on the porch steps with her back to him.

“Mr. Spencer was kind enough to see me home. Perhaps we should fill his mouth with something more worthwhile than the notes of that dreadful song.” She continued into the house, humming the Rebel favorite, “Dixie.”

Quinn’s shoulders shook with laughter. Surely, if she had been on the battle lines, the South would have won the war.

Ask the blog reader a quirky question or two?

I love this! Okay, let’s see. In connection with the ladies in the book, have you ever felt as though you didn’t fit in? Maybe you attended a party and felt out of place. (I can tell you a story about that!) If so, how did you get over seeing yourself as an odd duck? Or did you?

Share your social media and buy links!

Thank you for having me, Christina.

If you love historical western romance with close bonds between women and shades of mystery and danger, you’ll find the ebook of A Lady Divided on Amazon and, temporarily, in Kindle Unlimited. Check out Books2Read to purchase the paperback through various retail sites.

Please visit my website at www.sandraardoin.com to discover more historical and contemporary Christian romances.

I can also be found on BookBub, Facebook, X, and Goodreads. If you would like to keep up with what’s new, special offers, and sales, I’d encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter at www.sandraardoin.com/newsletter.

Just to encourage engagement, here are the covers for the books you can win!