Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
Wyoming Special Delivery by Melissa Senate is a story about second chances. It intertwines family, forgiveness, and love, with emphasis on the role of family.
Readers meet Daisy Dawson, who has been down on her luck. Nine months pregnant, she realizes that the man she is about to marry is a runaway groom who literally left her at the altar. Frustrated and embarrassed she jumps into her car and throws away her cell phone to seek refuge by herself. Unfortunately, her baby has other plans. All of a sudden in the middle of nowhere Daisy experiences sharp labor pains. But luckily for her someone who is staying at the Dude Ranch, Harrison McCord, drives by, and is able to help deliver the baby boy, Tony.
A few days later, he comes clean and tells Daisy and her brothers that he is the rightful heir to the Dude Ranch. It seems ten years ago the Dawson father lost it in a card game to Harrison’s father. Determined to get what he sees as rightfully his, Harrison expects the Dawson family to sign over the deed. Always the optimist, Daisy convinces Harrison to stay the five days he paid for and find out about her family, the family ranch, and why he should not pursue his rightful claim.
This is a great story about how someone who spends time together can fall in love unexpectedly. Readers will go on a journey with the hero and heroine seeing how each is willing to open up to expose their vulnerability and honesty.
Elise Cooper: Why the runaway groom?
Melissa Senate: I did not want him to be the hero of this book. His behavior in the first book of the series, For The Twins’ Sake, was not heroic so I decided to get rid of this guy. This gave me an opportunity to tell a story about someone who must cope with losing control. The heroine, Daisy, lost her groom, and might lose her shelter, the ranch.
EC: How would you describe Daisy?
MS: I wanted to make sure as a single mother she had a strong support system, her brothers and sister-in-law. She is strong, smart, independent, a straight-talker, and feels family is very important. Readers see that she is also very impulsive. I wrote in this quote by her mother, “Daisy Rae Dawson, acting first and thinking later is gonna be your downfall.”
EC: How would you describe Harrison?
MS: He is experiencing a lot of grief, having lost his father and about to lose his aunt. I think sometimes he acts without thinking because he is carrying everything through a veil of grief.
EC: What about the relationship?
MS: Both are vulnerable. At first, they are Frenemies. They are adversaries one moment and the next moment they are friendly. Unexpectedly, they fall for each other.
EC: What role does the ranch play in the story?
MS: It is the legacy of the family. It has meaning for both of them, because it shows how the family is affected. It represents the past, present, and definitely the future for baby Tony.
EC: Do you have dogs because you have Dude in the story?
MS: I love dogs. My dog is a small German Shepherd mix. I made Dude a yellow lab because his partner is one of the brothers, Axel, who is a search and rescue guide and labs are trackers.
EC: You also include some American culture in the book. “Seinfeld,” are you a fan?
MS: I love that TV show. Recently I told my son about one of my favorite episodes, where Elaine and her boyfriend were on a plane.
EC: The Yiddish word, “Verklempt?”
MS: I snuck it in because I am Jewish. My copy editor asked if anyone in Wyoming knows what it means. I think readers can understand given the context and also some people throw that word around like in a Seinfeld episode. For those who did not know the word means, chocked up with emotion.
EC: Can you give a shout out about your next books?
MS: In June, the next book in the “Dawson Family Ranch series,” A Family for a Week, comes out. It is about a 99-year-old great-grandmother at a family reunion who mistakes a serious bachelor and a single mother for a newly engaged couple. It will highlight Axel. In July, my contribution to the new “Montana Mavericks miniseries,” is What Happened to Beatrix: The Cowboy’s Comeback. This series has six authors, each writing a different book. My book is about a rancher who reconnects with his first love, but is now a single father. The next Dawson Family Ranch novel out in October, The Long Awaited Christmas Wish, is about a U.S. Marshal who finds a 15 year-old letter to Santa in a bottle, and highlights the brother, Rex.
EC: THANK YOU!!
