Looking out the Window: Susan Spess Talks about Jordan Valley Roundup, the Third Book in her Jordan Valley Series. Giveaway.
A Warm Welcome to Susan Spess
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Susan Tells Us the Story behind the Story
Some of my oldest memories are of rodeos. I’ve never participated in one, as much as I wanted to, but I love watching others.
I was very young when I first watched my cousin ride barrels on my dad’s horse, Sparky, at the rodeo in the tiny town of Old Mannford. Dad must have enjoyed rodeos as much as I did, because we often attended different ones.
When the International Professional Rodeo Association moved to Tulsa in 1971 for the 1970 rodeo season, my family was there. The next year, I was in college at Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Missouri, so I didn’t get to go. (A big snowstorm hit while they were there, so they didn’t get home until around 2:00 am.)
One of the first dates with my hubby was to the finals in 1973. We went with my family to the first night, and we went again the next afternoon, just the two of us with a few hundred other fans.
We went to several over the years. The last rodeo I attended with Gary was Jim Shoulder’s final rodeo. We watched much of it on a jumbotron. When a racer’s horse fell at the third barrel, it was as if we were right there. The accident inspired the first scene in my book, Jordan Valley Roundup.
What amazed me so was the minute the horse fell, several cowboys rushed out to grab him, and save the rider from being dragged to death across the arena.
Now, I’m not an in-depth plotter when I write. (The time I tried, I didn’t finish the book because in my head, it was finished.) So I was pleased when Mitch and his mother, Retta, took Jessie and Buck home with them.
About Jordan Valley Roundup
While barrel racing to earn enough to pay her uncle' s debts, Jessie Cobler' s horse falls. She cries out to God, certain she' s about to die, but the quick action of Mitch Tanner saves her life. She accepts an offer to stay on the cowboy's family' s ranch so she and her horse can rest and heal. It' s the perfect place to hide from those who threaten to tear her dreams apart.
Bull rider Mitch Tanner is determined to earn professional status to honor his deceased father, but running a ranch and helping with his younger siblings leaves time for little else. Having Jessie on the ranch is a distraction he can' t afford. After all, he doesn' t have time for love.
As Mitch and Jesse work together to rescue abused animals will Mitch discover there's more to life than earning a status? Will he be able to help heal Jesse's broken heart and spirit and lead her to the Lord?
An Excerpt
Focusing on the ride, she walked Buck into position. The excitement built, adrenalin shooting through her muscles like lightning strikes.
Tugging her Stetson low so there was no chance of losing it, she leaned into the saddle, took a firm grip on the reins, inhaled, and blew it out long and slow until her lungs were empty. Finally, she booted him in the ribs.
He took off in an explosion of energy while she leaned into the run. She concentrated on the first barrel, the cheers of the crowd dimming to near silence. Spectator faces blurred past as they rounded the second barrel. Yes! It felt good. This was where she belonged.
Buck ran flat out as they charged the third turn. Heading into the pocket, he dug in, and the world shifted. Dipped. She snatched a breath and held tight to the saddle horn, her heart pounding as he fought for footing in the loose earth. She gave him his head, hoping, by some miracle, he could stay on his feet.
Buck’s back left leg slid from under them. Fear ripped through her as they dropped, then slammed into the ground. The saddle horn jerked from her grip. He floundered, trying to get up. She kicked her foot free and tried to shove away from the panicked animal, but she couldn’t move. Her left leg was under him.
Stories of riders killed from similar falls flashed through her mind. Buck fought his way to his feet, yanking her leg high in the air with her foot through the stirrup and leaving her head on the ground.
His shod hooves cut so close, he kicked dirt in her face as he danced with anxiety. If she could catch her breath, make him hear her, he might calm. But she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t find words to ease him. He threw his head back, gathering himself as he looked for a way to escape the nightmare.
Slamming shut her eyes, she wrapped her arms around her head.
God! Help me.
Buy Jordan Valley Roundup at Illuminating books from Pelican Book Group
and on Amazon
Bio: Susan Spess fell in love with God when she was not quite eight years old. And while her walk has been far from perfect, she loves Him more every day. She's a wife, mother of three children, and Grandmommy of four grandchildren, so you know just how full her heart is. Susan lives in, and loves, Oklahoma, where she enjoys early mornings—which is when she writes before going to work in the family business with her father and three of her five siblings, who all grew up right there in their small town of Cleveland, Oklahoma.
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