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Originally from Tennessee, Sherry Shindelar loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she isn’t busy writing, she is an English professor working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is an award-winning writer: 2023 ACFW Genesis finalist, 2021 & 2023 Maggie finalist, and 2022 Crown finalist. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of forty years. She has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Tell us about your newest book.

Texas Divided is the second book in the Lone Star Redemption Series. Morning Fawn was taken by the Comanche at age nine and integrated into the tribe. Nine years later, her uncle paid an ex-Texas Ranger to kidnap her from the Comanche. Her uncle plans to turn her into a plantation belle.

Morning Fawn is determined to escape the confines of his plantation and return to her adoptive tribe. But with each failed attempt, her hopes dwindle, and she wonders if she’ll ever find her way back home or if that world is forever lost to her.

Devon Reynolds, disillusioned by the price of affluence and the horrors of war, leaves his privileged life to join the Texas Rangers and later the cavalry. In the military service, he finds purpose . . . until he loses his wife during childbirth while he is away. In an attempt to redeem himself, he takes one last fateful mission to rescue Morning Fawn from the Comanche. But the results force him to question the righteousness of his actions and the cause he serves. When Devon returns to Texas as a Yankee spy, his path crosses with Morning Fawn once more. Determined to save her from the prison of her uncle’s house and to recover Texas from the Confederacy, Devon is drawn to her fierce spirit and unwavering resolve. But can two wounded souls, each fighting their own battles, find solace and love amidst the chaos of war?

What inspired you to write your story?

Texas Divided is the second book in my Lone Star Redemption series. The original inspiration for the series came from the first book in the series Texas Forsaken. Almost twenty-five years ago, I read the story of Cynthia Anne Parker, the most famous captive in the Old West. I was heartbroken for her, not because of her capture by the Comanche but because of her forced removal years later from the people she’d adopted as her own. Her story haunted my heart for more than two decades. I knew I had to do something about it. In my first book in the series, Texas Forsaken, I developed a character inspired by Cynthia, started at the moment of crisis, and wrote a different trajectory. I couldn’t give Cynthia a happy resolution, but I could give my character Eyes-Like-Sky a muted happy-ever-after. Eyes-Like-Sky has a second chance at life and love. Texas Divided is the story of Eyes-Like-Sky’s sister.

What genre do you focus on?

I write Christian historical romance because I want to be able to share my faith in my writing, I am captivated by history, and I love romance.

Why do you write?

I believe this is God’s calling on my life.  I’ve been making up stories in my head since I was nine years old. Five years ago, God worked in my heart to reawaken my love for writing. It’s as if He said, “Now, is the time. Go do it.” I believe that fiction can penetrate and touch hearts in ways and depths that nonfiction cannot reach.

Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?

Her name is Morning Fawn. She was captured by the Comanche when she was nine years old and became Comanche. When a Texas frontier scout kidnaps her from the only home she remembers and takes her to her uncle’s plantation, she fights to return. Her uncle attempts to turn her back into Miss Beth Logan, the girl she was before, but that girl is gone forever.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?

I do something with writing seven days a week. Some evenings, it might only be critiquing or researching, but writing is an everyday part of my life. Since I work full-time as a college English professor, I do most of my writing Friday through Sunday. When the semester ends, and my grading is finished for the year in May, I pour myself into my writing full-time for the summer. As resident of northern Minnesota, I thoroughly appreciate every moment of sunshine and summer I can absorb. I spend time outside everyday writing, either in my backyard or a nearby park by a lake. I’m also working on doing more with dictation so that when an idea strikes, I can get it recorded even if I don’t have access to my computer.

What is the hardest part of being an author?

Waiting for the first agent or editor/publisher to say yes to your manuscript. It can take years or decades. And you’re left wondering if it’s ever going to happen. I felt like I was moving toward my goals at turtle speed, but God had a plan. In His perfect timing, He threw open the doors for me to receive my first book contract in June 2023. And when it finally happened, the Lord answered my prayers beyond my expectations!

What’s the best part of your author’s life?

The best part is seeing readers get excited about something I’ve written, seeing it impact and capture their hearts.

What’s one thing your readers should know about you?

I love history. I love setting my stories in real places and work to weave in real, maybe lesser-known, historical events. I enjoy researching to find the right place at the right time

Do you have other books? We’d love to know.

Texas Forsaken, the first book in my Lone Star Redemption series, tells the story of Eyes-Like-Sky, a Comanche captive, and Captain Garret Ramsey. Seven years ago, Maggie Logan (Eyes-Like-Sky) lost everything she knew when a raid on a wagon train tore her from her family. As the memories of her past faded to nothing more than vague shadows, Maggie adapted—marrying a Comanche warrior, having a baby, and rebuilding her life. But in one terrible battle, the U.S. Cavalry destroys that life and she is taken captive again, this time by those who call themselves her people. Forced into a world she wants nothing to do with, Eyes-Like-Sky’s only hope of protecting her child may be an engagement to the man who killed her husband. Enrolled in West Point to escape his overbearing father, Captain Garret Ramsey has graduated and finds himself assigned to the Texas frontier, witnessing the brutal Indian War in which both sides commit atrocities. Plagued by guilt for his own role, Garret seeks redemption by taking responsibility for the woman he widowed and her baby. Though he is determined to do whatever it takes to protect them, is he willing to risk everything for a woman whose heart is buried in a grave? Or is there hope she might heal to love once more?

What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on the third book of my Lone Star Redemption series, Texas Reclaimed. The story takes place on the Texas Frontier in 1866. After the Civil War, Ben McKenzie, a scarred Yankee soldier, travels to Texas to make good on a promise he made to his friend who died in Andersonville at his side. Cora Scott is determined to hold onto her family’s land at all costs unless it means falling for the man whose wounds might be deeper than she can heal.

Website: https://sherryshindelar.com/

Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DBM4WMRN?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_1&storeType=ebooks

Social media links: (Feel free to leave off a couple if there are too many.)

Instagram: sherryshindelarauthor  https://www.instagram.com/sherryshindelarauthor/

Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/sherryshindelar/

FB Author: https://www.facebook.com/historylitgirl/   Sherry Shindelar Author

Goodreads author page:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/134972322-sherry-shindelar   (reader profile)

Bookbub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/527022753  (profile but not an author page)