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WHY DO YOU DO THIS?

Some days everyone questions their reasons for doing whatever it is they've chosen to do professionally. I think those of us with an artistic nature probably do it more than is healthy.

I know I have my own struggles with the question, "Why do you do this?" But then there are those moments, often rare as jewels, that you know in your heart you are doing what you were meant to do. I get one of those every time I read this review of my second book, Far From Paradise:

FAR FROM PARADISE BREN YARBROUGH BRUHN
ISBN: 1-4241-2426-3
Historical Fiction/Historical Romance
Rating: 4 cups

"Grayson Prophitt is really the Seminole brave, Hawk, but with a fabricated identity, he moves alongside the new ruling class of white invaders. His former life ended with the death of his family, so he lives for eventual revenge. He manages to keep his abiding hatred well hidden. However, there are some who know his background. They are as wary and distrustful of him as he is of them. A few treat him with contempt, especially some of the Army officers.
Jordyn Bowen barely survives a murderous attack by Indians on the small military unit with which she is traveling. Suffering a blow on the head, she wakes with amnesia and cannot recall who she is. The man who saves her appears to be a savage like those who killed her escort, but he speaks English and has manners enough, although he treats her with little respect. He says he is Grayson Prophitt, but the name means nothing to her at that point.

From this initial meeting, the couple's repulsion/attraction relationship winds through a tangle of violence and conflict. The Seminoles suffer continuous mistreatment by the Army, government agents, and white people who want their land and will not let the tribes stop them. Unfortunate events in Florida in the middle of the nineteenth century are well chronicled as the story unfolds.

Although the noble savage and white female captive plot has become nearly a genre cliché, the author handled it well, adding enough twists to rise above the trite. Her grasp of the historical background was sound, and her characters were realistic, while being nobly heroic or vilely villainous, as their roles required. Far From Paradise is darker and deeper than the average historical romance, but is well worth a read if you enjoy a novel of substance. I enjoyed this one and respect the author's care and craft."

Alegria Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books

Though it was written when the book was released, the inspiration of a reading a review like this never loses it's impact. Each time I read it, I'm encouraged to remember that I have a purpose, (and perhaps even a lttle talent