** Blog Tour Grand Finale ** RETURN TO MARKER RANCH by Claire McEwen

I am so excited to launch this book into the world. It is a very emotional story straight from the heart, with some big issues and two characters with a lot of healing to do. But even though my hero and heroine go through some hard times, I feel like ultimately it’s a very uplifting book about two very strong people who learn to lean on each other, who open themselves up to love and life, and who find acceptance and happiness along the way.

If you had to “sell” your book in a single Tweet, what would you say?

Tweets are hard for a wordy writer like me! Okay, how about this:

A veteran battling PTSD. A heartbroken rancher struggling to prove her worth. And a love strong enough to heal them both, if they let it.

Dakota’s short, choppy gait took them quickly up the hill toward the well and the irrigation valves. The flaking gray metal of the storage tank came into view. Lori veered the mare alongside it and peeked at the gauge. And felt her heart stutter. “No…” she breathed, staring at gauge. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

In my new book, Return to Marker Ranch, Wade Hoffman is home from war, back on the family ranch, trying to figure out how to raise cattle. You’d think someone raised on a ranch wouldn’t have to learn too much about how to be a rancher. But Marker Ranch wasn’t an ordinary ranch. It was hideout for criminals, a meth lab, and a storage facility for the stolen property that Wade’s father and older brothers hid there.

Many of us feel a little lost the first time we take on a leadership role. So Lori has put together a few tips, to help us handle the ups and downs of that transition.

“Loved the book and how it took me through what both have gone through and managed to sill love one another.”

“In Book 2 in her Sierra Legacy series Claire McEwen takes us back to Marker Ranch to bring us Wade’s story. It was fun to see Nora & Todd again and to see Wade continue on his journey to healing from his PTSD that we saw him start in Book 1.”

“Return To Marker Ranch is a unbelievable story that tackles topics that really get to your heart and mind, making you feel a range of emotions. I would recommend that anyone who loves a romantic, sweet story with passion should definitely read this book!”

“What the…” She stood up in the stirrups, trying to get a sense of the size and scope of the thing. And then she jerked Dakota to a halt at the sight of barbed wire. They’d reached the rusted old fence marking the far northern boundary of her family’s ranch. The new tank was on the other side. On Marker Ranch. The Hoffmans’ land, abandoned for the past decade.

When Lori Allen, the heroine of my new book, Return to Marker Ranch, was going through a rough time, I knew she needed a special dog too. A dog who would bring her out of her protective shell and teach her what she needed to know about living. So I sent her a dog named Coyote Snack. Or Snack, for short.

What would you like my readers to know?

My books are published by Harlequin, and sometimes I think people don’t want to give Harlequin books a chance because they assume the books will be old fashioned, or like what your grandmother read. Honestly, before I got to know Harlequin better, I felt that way! But trust me, this is not your grandmother’s Harlequin! I feel like the series I write for, Superromance, is incredibly modern. They let me take on all kinds of issues in my stories that other publishers might shy away from. I absolutely love how the editors encourage creativity and powerful writing in our books. I try to read many of the Superromance books written by other authors and I always love them, and find them far more interesting than many of the other romance novels out there. If you’d like to learn more, we have a blog at www.superauthors.com and we’d love it if you stopped by!

My new book, Return to Marker Ranch, takes place in my fictional town of Benson, California, nestled against the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. People often ask me why I set my books out there. And the only answer I can give is “Because I love it.”

“This series is fast becoming another one of my favorites. I have to admit that I live in Texas and so cowboys, etc. just aren’t that exciting for me anymore. I know, yall can kill me later but there is something about Ms. McEwen’s heroes and heroines that I can’t get enough of. She writes them with emotional depth and while, their ranches are important, each one of them is dealing with bigger issues than just ranching or horses.”

One of my favorite parts of writing Return to Marker Ranch was researching the way that animals can help heal people. Specifically people suffering from PTSD. My hero, Wade Hoffman, has PTSD from his tours in Afghanistan. If you read the first book in this series (and you don’t have to, each book stands alone) you’ll be very familiar with Wade’s troubles!

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway…