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BooksAndAuthor.com: Why do you write?
Catherine Sharp: I have so many stories running through my head, I have to get them out somehow.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Who are your literary influences?
Catherine Sharp: For romance, Johanna Lindsey would have to top the list.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Your new book is UNTAMED HEART, a Historical Romance --- Discuss briefly.
Catherine Sharp: Shane Cordell’s mother was rescued by a Cheyenne brave after her husband died along with most of their wagon train party. She was pregnant with Shane at the time, so as time went on, she and the Cheyenne warrior had feelings for each other. Shane was raised with the Cheyenne until he was fifteen. As Shane’s mother saw how awful it was getting for the Cheyenne as they were forced westward and their hunting grounds grew less and less, she decided to take Shane back east to her father’s home in Boston. Being raised Cheyenne to age fifteen, then in Boston society was quite a social head game. When his mother passed away, he decided to head back west and do what he knew and enjoyed, capture wild mustangs in the wild Black Hills of Dakota. Unfortunately he has much more patience with gentling wild horses than with most people. Women, on the other hand are quite drawn to his savage handsomeness and just “don’t give a damn” attitude.
BooksAndAuthor.com: What is it about the Historical Romance genre you enjoy?
Catherine Sharp: I’ve always been fascinated with the cultures of American Indians and the “wild west”. Adding a hot, sizzling love story to that was just the recipe.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Who is Ashley Clayton?
Catherine Sharp: Ashley is a strong, independent beauty who, along with her father, fled South Carolina after the Civil War for obvious reasons, with a beautiful stallion and a few brood mares to start a horse ranch in the west. Her father died shortly after they arrived and left everything on her strong but lonely shoulders. Her dream of a horse ranch seemed to be lost as one night her stallion slipped his corral in a snowstorm and ran for the hills. She was determined to find him, but mother nature intervened. Being slapped off her mare by a wayward tree branch is how she and Shane “ran” into one another. Ice and fire don’t usually go together but from here on out in the story, the fire is lit and Shane keeps trying to put it out with his usually icy nature.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Did you do much research for UNTAMED HEART? What did you learn while writing UNTAMED HEART?
Catherine Sharp: I did a lot of research of Cheyenne language and customs and the way of life in the west after the civil war. I learned a great deal about the American Indian’s way of life and the story in my head about Shane and Ashley also taught me that if a relationship is meant to be, it will find a way.
BooksAndAuthor.com: If Hollywood called and asked you to cast UNTAMED HEART, who do you cast and why?
Catherine Sharp: For Shane, I would cast Collin Farrell. He’s of course, gorgeous, in a bad boy but charming way. His looks are what I had in my head the entire time I wrote the book. This seems to describe Shane.
For Ashley, perhaps Debra Messing. Ashley has beautiful red hair, strong and spunky and a great sense of humor. Debra Messing strikes me that same way.
BooksAndAuthor.com: What have readers been saying about UNTAMED HEART ?
Catherine Sharp: You don't want to miss this one!
Ashley has a strong backbone and is able to take care of herself. She is a fiery beauty who grew up without a mother; she learned all about the ways between a man and a woman from ranch hands. I enjoyed Ashley's strength and the fact that she knows more about horses than most men do.
Shane was raised by the Cheyenne and he has the belief that red and white don't mix. He is angry with the white men who beat him and tends to hold a grudge against most white men. Shane has never been in love and he has a hard time trusting women with his heart. I loved watching Shane's walls come down as he falls in love with Ashley.
UNTAMED HEART has all of the elements of a great love story. Along with sizzling romance, readers are treated to shoot-outs, an evil villain who is out to get Shane and Ashley and a history lesson or two. Catherine Sharp brings an authenticity to her story with the language of the Cheyenne. This book should not be missed!
By Romance Junkies Reviewer: Chris Mead
4.0 out of 5 stars A Western Matinee, February 27, 2014 By katie kofemug - See all my reviews
This review is from: Untamed Heart (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (Kindle Edition)
A face paced Western Romance where you can almost hear the Howard Hawkes musical themes weaving through the story. Shane and Ashley are rough edged as the Dakota Territory was in the late 1860s where the regrets of war and lessons from the past must be subordinate to survival.
Raised from birth until his majority with the Cheyenne, Shane struggles to find his identity without betraying those he loved, or himself. Likewise, Ashley, raised by her father and ranch hands after fleeing war torn South Carolina, struggles to run not only her ranch but find a way to keep all her promises to her later father. Rough they may be, but Shane and Ashley are destined to face their past before they can dare have a future. It is in confronting who they’ve been that they find out who they really are, and more importantly, what they can be, together.
There were a few historical points given the hand wave but nothing more than a John Wayne set with no horse dung in the streets. The villain was way more evil than I felt anyone’s reactions acknowledged but again, with the pace of the story, it was entirely plausible they seemed to move on to the next crisis and deal with all the omigosh, did he really… later. The secondary characters were as interesting as our hero and heroine and for me, that’s as important as the happy ever after.
I enjoyed this book on a sunny Sunday afternoon and recommend it for anyone that misses the Western Matinees. I’ll definitely will be watching for other books by Ms. Sharp.
Reviewed for Romance Reviews Magazine - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
BooksAndAuthor.com: What do you hope to achieve with UNTAMED HEART ?
Catherine Sharp: I would just like for it to get out in front of the public so many people can read and enjoy it. I think it makes for a wonderful ride.
BooksAndAuthor.com: What was the last book you read?
Catherine Sharp: “Castles” by Julie Garwood
BooksAndAuthor.com: What's next?
Catherine Sharp: I’ve just finished a murder mystery “Blood Lust.” I need for promote it. I’m very proud of it.
Catherine Sharp: I have so many stories running through my head, I have to get them out somehow.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Who are your literary influences?
Catherine Sharp: For romance, Johanna Lindsey would have to top the list.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Your new book is UNTAMED HEART, a Historical Romance --- Discuss briefly.
Catherine Sharp: Shane Cordell’s mother was rescued by a Cheyenne brave after her husband died along with most of their wagon train party. She was pregnant with Shane at the time, so as time went on, she and the Cheyenne warrior had feelings for each other. Shane was raised with the Cheyenne until he was fifteen. As Shane’s mother saw how awful it was getting for the Cheyenne as they were forced westward and their hunting grounds grew less and less, she decided to take Shane back east to her father’s home in Boston. Being raised Cheyenne to age fifteen, then in Boston society was quite a social head game. When his mother passed away, he decided to head back west and do what he knew and enjoyed, capture wild mustangs in the wild Black Hills of Dakota. Unfortunately he has much more patience with gentling wild horses than with most people. Women, on the other hand are quite drawn to his savage handsomeness and just “don’t give a damn” attitude.
BooksAndAuthor.com: What is it about the Historical Romance genre you enjoy?
Catherine Sharp: I’ve always been fascinated with the cultures of American Indians and the “wild west”. Adding a hot, sizzling love story to that was just the recipe.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Who is Ashley Clayton?
Catherine Sharp: Ashley is a strong, independent beauty who, along with her father, fled South Carolina after the Civil War for obvious reasons, with a beautiful stallion and a few brood mares to start a horse ranch in the west. Her father died shortly after they arrived and left everything on her strong but lonely shoulders. Her dream of a horse ranch seemed to be lost as one night her stallion slipped his corral in a snowstorm and ran for the hills. She was determined to find him, but mother nature intervened. Being slapped off her mare by a wayward tree branch is how she and Shane “ran” into one another. Ice and fire don’t usually go together but from here on out in the story, the fire is lit and Shane keeps trying to put it out with his usually icy nature.
BooksAndAuthor.com: Did you do much research for UNTAMED HEART? What did you learn while writing UNTAMED HEART?
Catherine Sharp: I did a lot of research of Cheyenne language and customs and the way of life in the west after the civil war. I learned a great deal about the American Indian’s way of life and the story in my head about Shane and Ashley also taught me that if a relationship is meant to be, it will find a way.
BooksAndAuthor.com: If Hollywood called and asked you to cast UNTAMED HEART, who do you cast and why?
Catherine Sharp: For Shane, I would cast Collin Farrell. He’s of course, gorgeous, in a bad boy but charming way. His looks are what I had in my head the entire time I wrote the book. This seems to describe Shane.
For Ashley, perhaps Debra Messing. Ashley has beautiful red hair, strong and spunky and a great sense of humor. Debra Messing strikes me that same way.
BooksAndAuthor.com: What have readers been saying about UNTAMED HEART ?
Catherine Sharp: You don't want to miss this one!
Ashley has a strong backbone and is able to take care of herself. She is a fiery beauty who grew up without a mother; she learned all about the ways between a man and a woman from ranch hands. I enjoyed Ashley's strength and the fact that she knows more about horses than most men do.
Shane was raised by the Cheyenne and he has the belief that red and white don't mix. He is angry with the white men who beat him and tends to hold a grudge against most white men. Shane has never been in love and he has a hard time trusting women with his heart. I loved watching Shane's walls come down as he falls in love with Ashley.
UNTAMED HEART has all of the elements of a great love story. Along with sizzling romance, readers are treated to shoot-outs, an evil villain who is out to get Shane and Ashley and a history lesson or two. Catherine Sharp brings an authenticity to her story with the language of the Cheyenne. This book should not be missed!
By Romance Junkies Reviewer: Chris Mead
4.0 out of 5 stars A Western Matinee, February 27, 2014 By katie kofemug - See all my reviews
This review is from: Untamed Heart (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (Kindle Edition)
A face paced Western Romance where you can almost hear the Howard Hawkes musical themes weaving through the story. Shane and Ashley are rough edged as the Dakota Territory was in the late 1860s where the regrets of war and lessons from the past must be subordinate to survival.
Raised from birth until his majority with the Cheyenne, Shane struggles to find his identity without betraying those he loved, or himself. Likewise, Ashley, raised by her father and ranch hands after fleeing war torn South Carolina, struggles to run not only her ranch but find a way to keep all her promises to her later father. Rough they may be, but Shane and Ashley are destined to face their past before they can dare have a future. It is in confronting who they’ve been that they find out who they really are, and more importantly, what they can be, together.
There were a few historical points given the hand wave but nothing more than a John Wayne set with no horse dung in the streets. The villain was way more evil than I felt anyone’s reactions acknowledged but again, with the pace of the story, it was entirely plausible they seemed to move on to the next crisis and deal with all the omigosh, did he really… later. The secondary characters were as interesting as our hero and heroine and for me, that’s as important as the happy ever after.
I enjoyed this book on a sunny Sunday afternoon and recommend it for anyone that misses the Western Matinees. I’ll definitely will be watching for other books by Ms. Sharp.
Reviewed for Romance Reviews Magazine - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
BooksAndAuthor.com: What do you hope to achieve with UNTAMED HEART ?
Catherine Sharp: I would just like for it to get out in front of the public so many people can read and enjoy it. I think it makes for a wonderful ride.
BooksAndAuthor.com: What was the last book you read?
Catherine Sharp: “Castles” by Julie Garwood
BooksAndAuthor.com: What's next?
Catherine Sharp: I’ve just finished a murder mystery “Blood Lust.” I need for promote it. I’m very proud of it.