Tag: After the Shadows

Just Released: Against the Wind by Amanda Cabot

Against the Wind – Book 2 in the Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing by Amanda Cabot is finally here! If you’ve read the first in this series, After the Shadows, I know you’ve been chomping at the bit to get a hold of this next book. I was.

If you enjoy well researched historical romances with loveable characters you can relate to, you won’t want to miss this book. The secrets add an extra thrill – no, I won’t let you in on them.

Sneak peek:

Doctor-in-training Louisa Vaughn has no intention of remaining in Sweetwater Crossing. She’s just there for a few days to help a friend. But she can’t abandon the injured man she finds at the side of the road. Until his broken leg heals, she’ll serve as the town’s doctor and midwife. She may not be fully qualified yet, but surely she’s better than nothing.

Josh Porter’s plans to win his grandfather’s challenge and fulfill his father’s final wish to gain full control of the family business hit a roadblock when he breaks his leg. But his enforced stay in Sweetwater Crossing gives him new ideas about the expansion of the company into new territory–ideas Louisa could help turn into reality.

If only the town were more accepting of Louisa’s talents! Someone is determined to convince her to abandon her dream of healing others. Can Josh help her uncover the person behind the threats before it’s too late? And is there any future for them together when neither of them plans to stay?

after the shadows

If you haven’t read After the Shadows, you don’t need to read it first to enjoy Against the Wind, but you’ll definitely want to read it.

Here’s a glimpse:

Emily Leland sheds no tears when her abusive husband is killed in a bar fight, but what awaits her back home in Sweetwater Crossing is far from the welcome and comfort she expected. First she discovers her father has died under mysterious circumstances. Then the house where the new schoolteacher and his son are supposed to board burns, leaving them homeless. When Emily proposes turning the family home into a boardinghouse, her sister is so incensed that she leaves town.

Alone and broke, her family name sullied by controversy, Emily is determined to solve the mystery of her father’s death–and to aid Craig Ferguson, despite her fears of men. The widowed schoolmaster proves to be a devoted father, an innovative teacher, and an unexpected ally. Together they must work to unmask a killer and escape the shadows of their own pasts in order to forge a brighter future.

Bestselling author Amanda Cabot transports you to 1880s Texas Hill Country for a new series that will have you flipping pages to solve the mystery and get to the happily-ever-after you long for. Both books, as well as all of Amanda’s books are available worldwide. For your convenience, here is the Amazon link.

amanda cabot

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than forty books and a variety of novellas. Her books have been honored with starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best.

You can find Amanda Cabot at:

Fact or Fiction: The House on the Cover by Amanda Cabot

“Finley House is beautiful, but where in Texas did you find it?”

That was the question a friend who lives in the Lone Star State asked when she saw the cover for After the Shadows. It’s a valid question, because the house on the cover is not one you’d expect to see in the Texas Hill Country. The houses there are beautiful but less elaborate.

The frugal German settlers would have considered Finley House’s dual staircases leading to the front door extravagant and unnecessary. And the columns and elaborate verandahs I describe in the book are definitely not typical of the Hill Country.

So, why did I make a building that’s decidedly out of place a central character in my new trilogy? The answer is simple: I wanted the house to be an anomaly as well as a building with a history of its own. Human characters have a backstory, and so does Finley House.

The Backstory

Determined to fulfill his dream of living in the Texas Hill Country with his sweetheart, Alabama native Clive Finley heads to Sweetwater Crossing in 1859 to build them a house. But it’s not just any house. Since his future father-in-law has decreed that he will not approve their marriage unless Clive can give her a home that equals the mansion where she’s been raised, Clive begins construction on a plantation-style house that’s even more elaborate than his father-in-law’s.

Sadly, Clive leaves Texas in early 1861 to fight in the War of Northern Aggression with his fellow Alabamians and is presumably killed in that horrible war, leaving the house in the care of his closest friend, Pastor Joseph Vaughn.

Joseph’s three daughters, you may have guessed, are the heroines of the three Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing books. As for what happened to Clive, that’s the underlying secret of Sweetwater Crossing and one that’s not resolved until the third book.

The Inspiration for the House

Where did I get the design for the house? I could have invented one, but since I wanted Finley House to resemble a real house, I turned to a sixteen-volume set of books called The Architectural Treasures of Early America, which had been a gift from a friend.

As I leafed through the books, I found a number of houses that were almost right, but Volume XIV had the proverbial eureka moment when I saw the perfect house. It’s known as The Wedge Plantation and is located in South Santee, South Carolina.

Copyright laws won’t let me share the drawing that captivated me, but here’s a link to pictures of the house online. Sadly, when The Wedge was restored, the second story verandah, which was one of the architectural elements I particularly liked, was eliminated. Still, I hope you agree with me that it’s a house worthy of becoming a character in a book … or three.

And the Answer Is

It’s time to answer the underlying question of Karen’s blog: is the house on the cover fact or fiction? Finley House is not a real house, but it was inspired by one. Does that make it a blending of fact and fiction? I think so.

© 2023 Amanda Cabot

Emily Leland sheds no tears when her abusive husband is killed in a bar fight, but what awaits her back home in Sweetwater Crossing is far from the welcome and comfort she expected. First she discovers her father has died under mysterious circumstances. Then the house where the handsome new schoolteacher, Craig Ferguson, and his son are supposed to board burns, leaving them homeless.

When Emily proposes turning the family home into a boardinghouse, her sister is so incensed that she leaves town.

A brighter future awaits—if she can escape the shadows of the past

Alone and broke, her family name sullied by controversy, Emily is determined to solve the mystery of her father’s death—and to aid Craig, despite her fears of men. The widowed schoolmaster proves to be a devoted father, an innovative teacher, and an unexpected ally. As they work to uncover the truth, they just may find the key to unlock a future neither could have imagined.

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than forty books and a variety of novellas. Her books have been honored with starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best.

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Buying Links

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/After-Shadows-Secrets-Sweetwater-Crossing-ebook/dp/B0B6Q2N6WK

Baker Book House https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/465111

Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-the-shadows-amanda-cabot/1141496562?ean=9780800740641

Christian Book Distributors https://www.christianbook.com/after-the-shadows-1/amanda-cabot/9780800740641/pd/074064