THE SPARK OF LOVE

Mesquite Springs, Book 3

by

AMANDA CABOT

Categories: Fiction / Christian / Historical Romance

Publisher: Revell

Date of Publication: March 1, 2022

Number of Pages: 352 pages

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She’s determined to start a new life in the West . . . if only the old one would leave her alone

When a spurned suitor threatens her, heiress Alexandra Tarkington flees New York for Mesquite Springs in the Texas Hill Country, where her father is building a hotel. But the happy reunion she envisions is not to be, as her father insists she return to New York. Instead, Alexandra carves out a niche for herself in town, teaching schoolchildren to paint and enjoying the company of Gabe Seymour, a delightful man she met on the stagecoach.

But all is not as it seems. Two men, each with his own agenda, have followed her to Mesquite Springs. And Gabe, an investigator, is searching for proof that her father is a swindler.

With so much to lose–and hide from one another–Alexandra and Gabe will have to come together if they are ever to discover whether the sparks they’ve felt from the beginning can kindle the fire of true love.

Purchase at Baker Publishing (Revell)

The Challenges of Titling

Guest Post by Amanda Cabot

No doubt about it: titles are important. Along with the author’s name and the cover art, they’re what readers consider when deciding whether to buy a book. That’s why so much time and thought goes into choosing the title. It has to be just right.

I could have called the book Runaway New York Heiress or The PI’s Search for a Con Man. Both of those are aspects of the story, but the titles are wrong – terribly wrong – for this book. Not only do they sound too modern, but they’re too limiting. The Spark of Love is about much more than Alexandra’s leaving New York and Gabe’s search for the con man.

There’s another reason why those titles are wrong: they don’t tie into the rest of the series. The first two books, Out of the Embers and Dreams Rekindled, have fire-related words in them. I wanted there to be no question that this book was part of the Mesquite Springs trilogy, and that meant that its title needed a word that at least hinted at fire. That’s why I was thrilled when the titling committee suggested The Spark of Love. Perfect!

The next challenge was announcing the title to my readers. I usually simply include it in a newsletter, but this time I wanted to do something different. Since my husband and I play Scrabble almost every evening, I decided to use Scrabble tiles for my announcement.

What do you think? Did having “Mesquite Springs,” which I needed to make the other letters fit, make it too complex?

The third challenge is one that other authors have done, namely finding a story-related word for each of the letters in the title. I’ve enjoyed reading other authors’ answers to this challenge and thought it would be fun to try my hand at it. So, here it is:

T – Texas. Like many of my books, this one is set in Texas. The Hill Country, to be specific.

H – Hotel. The building of a hotel plays a key role in the story.

E – Excitement. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the hotel and the two newcomers to Mesquite Springs.

S – Stagecoach. The hero and heroine meet while waiting for a stagecoach.

P – Painting. Alexandra is an amateur artist, and painting is one of the ways she dealt with a lonely childhood.

A – Alexandra. She and Gabe are the protagonists of the book.

R – Riches. More than one person is seeking riches … some in less than legal ways.

K – Kisses. It wouldn’t be a romance without at least a few of those, would it?

O – Oak. A key scene takes place under one of the venerable live oaks in the park.

F – Fear. Fear is the reason Alexandra leaves New York and heads to Mesquite Springs.

L –Legacy. Alexandra’s father plans to leave her a legacy, but is it the one she wants?

O – Occupancy. Every hotel needs a high occupancy rate to survive, and Alexandra’s determined to do everything she can to ensure that the one in Mesquite Springs has it.

V – View. The first view of Alexandra’s father’s land is a surprising one.

E – Ever after. “And they all lived happily ever after.” Or did they?

Have you learned anything about the story from the last challenge? I hope so. I learned one thing: have a title with fewer letters in it next time.

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of Out of the Embers and Dreams Rekindled, as well as the Cimarron Creek Trilogy and the Texas Crossroads, Texas Dreams, and Westward Winds series. Her books have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Awards, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best. She lives in Wyoming.

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