Texas Divided by Sherry Shindelar
Series: Lone Star Redemption – Book 2
Publisher: Wild Heart Books
Release Date: March 25, 2025
Genre: Christian Historical Romance

​​Driven by the looming expectation of becoming a suffocatingly proper lady, Morning Fawn is determined to escape the confines of her uncle’s plantation and return to her adoptive Comanche 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?

PURCHASE LINKS:
Goodreads | Wild Heart Books | Amazon
Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

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More In This Series

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About the Author

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. She fell in love with writing when she was nine-years-old dreaming up stories while playing on her swing set. Decades later, she is living out her dream of writing stories from her heart and sharing them with the world. 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

Connect with Sherry by visiting sherryshindelar.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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Author Q&A

CB: What first ignited the desire to become a writer? 

Shindelar: I have been in love with stories since I was a child. I’d swing for hours on my swing set, pumping my legs back and forth, dreaming up stories in my head. Even then, I had a flair for romance, creating new love interests and episodes for Star Trek’s Captain Kirk. 

My favorite possession at age nine was a set of author playing cards (a matching game with photos of famous authors). I wanted to be an author when I grew up and bring stories to life on the written page, stories that would impact my readers. 

A visit to a historic home in the Shenandoah Valley, when my husband and I were newly married, spurred my love for history and planted the seed for a story. A few years later, I wrote the novel, then buried it in a box in my closet when it didn’t get published right away. I returned to college to earn a degree in creative writing and eventually a PhD in literature, wondering if I’d ever reconnect with the stories in my head, the ones buried deep in my heart.  

Then, in the summer of 2019, the Lord opened my heart to fall in love with writing all over again. And it has been my daily passion ever since. I pulled out the box and unburied the past. My new writing life was born. 

CB: It’s so wonderful that you’re an English professor! I’m sure that your love of the written word shows through to your students. How do you juggle your writing with a demanding job? 

Shindelar: It is a definite challenge. The summers are great. I get to devote myself full-time to writing, except for traveling to see family. The school year is a marathon. I squeeze in every bit of writing, revising, and researching time I can, devoting evenings and weekends to writing as much as possible. I have to make choices and limit social time, TV, volunteering, housework, etc. I’m very thankful to have a husband who fully supports my desire to pursue this dream. 

CB: How do you balance historical accuracy with the spiritual themes you want to convey? 

Shindelar: I work within the framework of history to convey the themes. I’m a hundred percent for historical accuracy. I seek to portray the time, place, and culture as it really was. I always set my stories in real towns and forts, etc. I work to weave in actual historical events. I add in strong characters who seek to overcome their circumstances through perseverance and faith. There’s plenty of room in real history to convey themes of redemption, grace, forgiveness, and God’s love.  

Texas Forsaken, the first novel in my Lone Star Redemption series, was inspired by a real life woman who was captured by the Comanche as a girl, adapted to their ways, started a family, and after twenty-four years was recaptured by the settlers. Her story had a sad ending. My story took the seed of her story and created a new character and a new trajectory for after her return to the settlers. My character Eyes-Like-Sky had to learn to forgive and start over. As the story progresses, she learns that God isn’t as far away as the stars but as near as her heart. Texas Divided, the second book in the series, tells the story of her sister. 

CB: What biblical truths about love and marriage do you hope readers take away from your books? 

Shindelar: I long for my readers to gain a deeper understanding of commitment and faithfulness. I want them to see that relationships work best when both individuals are seeking to trust and follow the Lord and have an authentic relationship with Him. I also hope that they come to see that genuine love between a man and a woman is worth sacrificing for. My characters often have to give up something in order to marry the love of their life, whether that be property, a career, the approval of family/community, wealth, etc. Money, prestige, family connections and traditions, etc. are secondary. 

CB: If you could go back in time to any historical era you’ve written about, which would it be and why? 

Shindelar: That’s a hard one. I love to write about the Texas frontier and about the Civil War. Neither one were easy times. I like to put my characters through trials that I wouldn’t want to live through myself. But if I’m only visiting not staying, I’d hop between the Shenandoah Valley in the 1850’s (a time of plentifulness in a beautiful valley), the late 1870’s Texas (still plenty of open frontier, height of ranching, and fewer Indian raids), and the 1820’s southern Georgia/southeast Tennessee near a Cherokee settlement (the height of Cherokee culture and integration before the horrific years of the 1830’s). 

CB: How can readers pray for you and your writing ministry? 

Shindelar: That the Lord will inspire me to write the stories that He would have me write. For time to write. For calmness under the pressure of deadlines, and that I will trust the Lord to see me through. 

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card, a signed copy of Texas Divided, and two Texas blue bonnet woven coasters!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 24, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 31, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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