Calder Strong
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It’s 1929 and a rugged new generation is taking the helm of Blue Moon, Montana’s most infamous and powerful families. But even as the future burns bright, old rivalries, heartbreaks, buried secrets, and ranching feuds still loom as large as the western sky in a tale perfect for fans of Yellowstone craving western familial sagas.
At 25, Joseph Dollarhide is struggling to find his place as the future head of his ranching family. His father, Blake, though disabled in an accident, is as domineering as ever. Joseph’s childhood friend, Chase Calder, has inherited the rival Calder operation, and for both young men, longstanding battles over water and grass continue. But there’s yet another weight on Joseph’s shoulders.
Years ago, Joseph abandoned his teenage love, Annabeth, to court glamorous Lucy Merriweather, a seductive trickster. The affair of course imploded, and Annabeth married a farmer, Silas Mosby, and had two children. But now Joseph has spotted Annabeth and her family in town . . . and he has no doubt that her oldest, a boy, is his.
Joseph’s love for Annabeth never died—and Annabeth, too, still has feelings for him, though they’re tainted by anger. Learning that Silas is involved in a bootlegging ring leaves Joseph troubled. Seeking advice, he turns to his natural father, Mason, a reformed bootlegger. They’ve been estranged, but perhaps that can change.
Meanwhile, Joseph feels pressed to start his own family. The town’s sweet new schoolteacher seems a perfect match. But as the strain of longstanding feuds persist, and Lucy reappears, flush with stolen money and armed with blackmail, Joseph and some others in Blue Moon will find out just how strong they really are.
The epic tale of the settling of the American West comes to vivid life in this inspiring saga of love, hope, and endurance.
Janet Dailey
Janet Dailey's first book -- a Harlequin romance -- was published in 1976. In the twenty years since, she has written 89 more novels and become the third largest selling female author in the world, with 300 million copies of her books sold in 19 languages in 98 countries. Her most recent bestsellers, Masquerade, Rivals, and Heiress, have all sold more than one million copies each. She is known for her strong, decisive characters, her extraordinary ability to re-create a time and place, and her unerring courage to confront important, controversial issues, like alcoholism and sexual abuse, in her stories.
All of her novels are meticulously researched, an endeavor she shares with her husband, Bill Dailey. The couple met in 1963, when Janet worked as a secretary for the construction company Bill owned. The two travel extensively to scout story locations, and have visited all 50 states; these days, they are likely to fly, but miss the time when they drove cross country, a trailer attached to their car. Janet Dailey also reads voraciously about every aspect of any subject she writes about; as she remarks, ""Accuracy is important in genre fiction; you have to get it right, zero in on the real details. That's the way to make writing come alive and not irritate the readers with carelessness.""
When they are not traveling, the couple spend time at their home on the shore of Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri. It is the part of the country Dailey loves best, partly because, she says, ""The people around me are more interested in their problems and their lives, and that sort of keeps me in touch with reality. They think it's nice that I write, but they really couldn't care less.""
Allison Janney has been featured on Broadway (Present Laughter), in films (Big Night and First Wives Club) and on television shows on all four networks.
More by Janet Dailey
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