Amanda Cabot returns with her second Cimarron Creek novel, A Borrowed Dream. RT Book Reviews says it “is even better than the first, with a dash of suspense, an intriguing bit of medical history and a host of enjoyable characters.” I’m delighted to have Amanda back at Relz Reviewz sharing about Catherine and Austin. Enjoy this insight into the characters and be sure to enter the giveaway below via the Rafflecopter form!

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Catherine Whitfield

Physical Stats

Height: 5’6”

Hair colour & style: Catherine has long, dark brown hair that she often wears in a chignon, since she’s a prim and proper schoolteacher.

Eye colour: Brown

Dress sense: As the town’s schoolteacher, not to mention a member of one of the founding families, she’s conscious of setting a good example for the rest of Cimarron Creek, and so her clothing is very traditional for the late nineteenth century.  As a side note, the blouse that she’s wearing on the cover is almost identical to one I found in my favorite historical costume book.  How’s that for authenticity?

Resembles…

Revell always amazes me by choosing models who look exactly the way I pictured my characters.  If you’ve seen the cover for A Borrowed Dream, you’ve seen Catherine.  If not, here’s a picture of her from the photo shoot.

Can’t live without…

Books, of course.  That’s why the cover shows Catherine carrying three of her most prized volumes.  As an only child who never knew her father, books filled some of the gaps in her childhood.

Strengths

Catherine’s a deeply caring woman who freely gives of herself, first to her students, then to the mysterious woman who comes to Cimarron Creek.

Vulnerabilities

Catherine has a deep-seated fear of anyone in the medical profession.  Who could blame her, when the town’s doctor insisted on bleeding her mother, even though that treatment left her even more weakened?

Passions

More than anything, Catherine wants to keep others from suffering the same fate her mother did at the hands of the town’s physician.

What book or movie would they recommend? 

When I asked Catherine this question, she gave me a strange look and asked, “What’s a movie?”  The subject of books, on the other hand, elicited a far different response.  “How can I pick only one favorite,” she asked, “when there are so many?  Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, and of course Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. I can’t possibly choose only one.”

Your inspiration for the character

Anyone who’s read With Autumn’s Return knows that I’m fascinated and at the same time appalled by what was called Heroic Medicine.  Since I’d already created a forward-thinking doctor as the heroine of With Autumn’s Return, I decided to have Catherine be someone who’d seen and justly fears the suffering that those seemingly barbaric treatments caused.  And, of course, I had to pair her with a doctor!

Austin Goddard

Physical Stats

Height: 6’

Hair colour & style: Blond, sometimes a bit longer than the current style (we’re talking late 19^th century “current”) would dictate, simply because Austin’s too busy to visit the barber.

Eye colour: Blue

Dress sense: As a former East Coast physician, Austin is accustomed to wearing fairly formal clothing.  All that changes when he moves to Texas and becomes a rancher.

Resembles…

When I pictured Austin, I thought of a blond version of Chris O’Donnell from TV’s NCIS: Los Angeles.

Can’t live without…

His daughter.  More than most fathers, Austin is protective of his child and will do anything, even giving up a life that brought him great satisfaction, to keep her safe.

Strengths

If I could use only one word to describe Austin, it would be “determined.”  He’s determined to protect his daughter, even though it means abandoning the career that defined him.

Vulnerabilities

The pain that the end of his marriage inflicted still weighs on Austin and makes him second-guess his own judgment, particularly where women are concerned.

Passions

Austin is a healer, a man who wants to make others’ lives better by removing pain and disfigurement. 

What book or movie would they recommend?

After asking Catherine this question, I knew better than to even mention movies to Austin.  When I asked him about books, he wrinkled his nose and said, “Who has time to read?  Between keeping my daughter safe and trying to run a ranch, I barely have time to eat and sleep.  I wish I had time for books, because Catherine loves them, and it would give us one more thing to talk about, but until I know that Hannah is safe, I can’t spare a minute for anything other than necessities.”

Your inspiration for the character

I’ve always been intrigued by people who’ll put others’ lives ahead of their own, sacrificing things that are important to them for what they believe to be the greater good.  Once I met Catherine, I knew that the only man who’d be a good match for her was a doctor, but what kind of a doctor?  One question led to another, and before I knew it, Austin Goddard had taken shape.

Background to the story

When I started plotting the Cimarron Creek trilogy, I knew that secrets would play a major role in each of the stories.  There’s an overriding secret that ties the three stories together, but each book has individual secrets.  In this case, it’s Austin’s background and the reasons he’s now a Texas rancher rather than a successful Philadelphia surgeon.

Thank you, Amanda!

Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the town doctor’s excessive bleeding treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as Cimarron Creek’s dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life without love or family, a life where dreams rarely come true.

Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He’s managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.

With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of A Stolen Heart, as well as the Texas Crossroads series, the Texas Dreams series, the Westward Winds series, and Christmas Roses. Her books have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Awards and the Booksellers’ Best. She lives in Wyoming. Learn more at www.amandacabot.com.

Relz Reviewz Extras
All Things Cabot @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Amanda’s website
Buy at Amazon: A Borrowed Dream or Koorong

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