From the West Indies to the Wild West:
Why I Wrote American Stallion
I grew up lost in the pages of cowboy romances and western historical fiction, captivated by the sweeping landscapes, rugged heroes, and strong resilient heroines brought to life by one of my favorite authors at the time, Linda Lael Miller.
My brothers also devoured westerns, and when our religious parents weren’t within earshot, we’d tune in to country and western radio, listening to shows like Gun Smoke, and singing along to melodies that spoke of love, adventure, and the untamed frontier.
From my tiny, verdant island in the West Indies—just 36 square miles—my imagination stretched to envision the endless plains extending toward the horizon, towering mountain ranges dusted with snow, scorching deserts where the sun baked the earth, and cowboys riding for miles across rugged terrain. In my mind, those landscapes became as vivid as the swaying palms and turquoise waters around me.
Then, last year, I binge-watched the entire Yellowstone series, and something stirred inside me. As mountain doves cooed outside my window, cows and goats roamed my backyard, and monkeys laughed from the forest beyond. I was reminded of those childhood afternoons, nestled beneath the shade of a mango or guinep tree, book in hand, dreaming of places far beyond my island home.
It also brought back memories of hiking the Presidential Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountains with my husband and daughter, and looking down at the breathtaking valleys that stretched endlessly beneath us, a sight that felt as vast and awe-inspiring as the western landscapes I had long imagined.
I never thought that I would write one of those western romances that inspired me as a young girl, but after creating Pine Valley Ranch and writing American Stallion I realized that there are no limits on the worlds I can create. As I wrote this love story, warm memories flooded my mind—sneaking off to the Charlestown Public Library to borrow novels that could earn me a good old-fashioned chastising from my parents for indulging in “things of the world”; my sister, D, bringing country records back from St. Maarten and us singing and dancing to Neil Diamond, Anne Murray, and Kenny Rogers late into the night; my brothers, M and J, strumming their guitars, playing Burl Ives’ songs, their voices full of heart and nostalgia as they sang.
So yes, there has always been a little country in me. That’s why diving into American Stallion felt so natural—like slipping into a well-worn pair of boots and stepping onto the wide, open range of storytelling.
Gianna, my heroine, knows what it means to leave everything behind. Like me, she comes from a world vastly different from Montana. But while I first set foot on American soil as a twenty-year-old college student, she arrived as a twenty-three-year-old Italian heiress on the run, with dangerous men willing to do anything to get their hands on her fortune. If I’d had a choice, I might have preferred Gianna’s story—after all, she’s destined to ride off into the sunset and her happily-ever-after wrapped in the arms of her tender-hearted cowboy.
Though my own immigration story wasn’t nearly as dramatic as hers, I know what it’s like to be far from home, navigating an unfamiliar land, missing the voices, the scents, the rhythms of the place that shaped me. It’s a story shared by so many immigrants, migrants, and refugees—those who, like Gianna, and like me, find themselves torn between the past and the promise of something new.
And so, American Stallion isn’t just a romance—it’s a journey of courage, resilience, and finding love in the most unexpected places. It’s a story of home—not just the one we’re born into, but the one we create for ourselves with the people we love.
Get your copy of American Stallion and lsoe yourself in the Montana Wilderness with Gianna and Cooper…