Can you believe it is FALL already???

     What happened to last spring and this past summer? Seems like a couple of weeks ago my grandson was over helping me clean up wet leaves from winter and helping me set up the patio for summer. I bought my usual potted plants and did a lot of trimming shrubs and mowing to keep up with spring growth. It's kind of scary to realize how fast the months fly by.

       Well. If you are looking at the cover of my newest book (left) and thinking that something just doesn't seem right about it -- PLEASE NOTE! I have had to change the title from IF I LOVED YOU to BE STILL, MY HEART. Long, long story, but here we are. I am still hoping for a Valentine’s Day ’26 pub date. I know that sounds far away, but I haven’t finished the book yet, and once that is done, I have to go through edits and deal with my agent and Amazon and the cover designer on font sizing, cover sizing, the story description on the back cover … etc. These things take time.

        Of course, it’s also partly my fault because I have had to deal with … that awful word for writers … PROCRASTINATION. I hate that word, and I have never, ever had to deal with it. To me procrastination means LAZY!! LOL! I can’t really say that applies in this case because I have been very busy for months dealing with personal issues, my knee surgery and the pain I suffered before the surgery and again AFTER the surgery, as well as keeping up with a job and yard work (which takes me longer now because, well, those of you who are older understand).

       As I've already mentioned, BE STILL MY HEART (formerly IF I LOVED YOU) was inspired by the song by the same name from the 1945 musical CAROUSEL. I find this a bit ironic because I didn't know when I picked the title that it came from a musical that was popular the year I was born. I just knew and loved the song. When I hear it, I picture two people from two extremely different worlds who fall in love but are kept apart because of their very different lifestyles, beliefs and customs. BE STILL, MY HEART brings a well-educated and well-mannered young woman, Margaret Phillips-Gaines, into the wild and challenging world of a Cheynne Dog Soldier named Thunder Spirit. Both characters suffer shattered hearts for very different reasons. Being faced with a love each knows is impossible to keep for the other makes that love an even bigger challenge because neither is sure their hearts can bear more hurt and loss. The Josh Groban/Audra McDonald version of the song "If I Loved You" brings forth the vision of how my story will end. You will cry, but you will love it. I think it’s a beautiful story about how we allow cultural differences get in the way of love and joy and stop us from following our hearts. You can listen to the song here -- just skip the ads.

       I see BE STILL, MY HEART as one of my best love stories, not just because of impossible odds, but because it also involves Thunder Spirit's five-year-old son, Little Owl, the only child left of Thunder Spirit's family after the Sand Creek Massacre. Little Owl will win your hearts as he becomes the catalyst that gives Margaret and Thunder Spirit hope for a relationship that never should have survived. I just know all of you will love this story.

       Meanwhile, I'd like to send another big THANK YOU to everyone who is enjoying the reissue of THIS TIME FOREVER, buying it as gifts for friends, etc.. For those of you who haven't already read it, THIS TIME FOREVER is about an independent, brave woman who is orphaned on her way to the US from Scotland and travels west with a Mormon family, though she is not Mormon herself. It's a beautiful depiction of the fortitude of pioneer women, and my heroine's ability to survive the harsh realities of a woman alone in a rugged land. It also one of my foreign "hits" -- it has been translated into Norwegian and reprinted at least four times in French!

    Order THIS TIME FOREVER    

       After that I will be writing either a sequel to DANCING BENEATH YOU or the next “Jake” book, which will zero in on Lloyd and Katie. I also need a story about about Young Jake as a grown man. I might combine their stories. I do know Young Jake will have his grandfather’s personality and that “wild side” that will often get him in trouble. I think his parents, Evie and Brian, will have to bail that young man out of jail more than once. But along will come a young woman who will help change his life … the kind of woman Young Jake has always searched for … someone who is as faithful as his Grandma Miranda was to Jake. The story will also get Young Jake involved in World War I.

       The ideas never end! I pray every night for the health I’ll need to continue writing. My goal is 80 books before I am gone from this earth. SHADOW TRAIL is number 76, so I have a good start! I appreciate all of you so much. You are what keeps me going, so keep reading, and as long as the Good Lord allows my brain and fingers to work, I will keep writing!

        If you are new to my writing -- or even if you want to replace old favorites -- please see my Books in Print page for a complete list of all my books, with most recent covers, publication histories, and Amazon.com ordering links. Eventually, I want to have all of my backlist available for both new readers and long-time fans who have reread the original print versions so many times that the pages are worn out! If you prefer the convenience of e-books, check out my E-books List, where you will find ordering links for electronic versions of my books in several different e-book formats.

       Brand new Bittner titles are distributed through Amazon.com. But locally in Southwest Lower Michigan -- my books are available at Hardings Market and Linda's Antiques in Coloma and Back On the Rack in Watervliet! You'll find my new books there, as well as an assortment of my older titles. I am excited to have such great outlets for my work right here in and near my own hometown. (Plus, Email mefor a personalized autograph.) You can also check with your local library or book store and ask them to order any of my books you’d like to read.

       And if you want a print book personalized for yourself or before you “gift” it, just e-mail me privately at rosannebittner17@outlook.com for mailing information, and I will pay the postage to send the signed books back to you! Or, if you prefer, I can autograph a label for you to stick into your book.

       I'm hearing from more and more men who enjoy my books because they are packed with action, western history, and solid family values as well as heart- felt romance. Yes, "real" men really DO enjoy reading my books!

       Many thanks for your continuing e-mails and notes. YOU keep me going back to the computer to write more books. Many of you tell me that reading my books got you through something physically or emotionally traumatic -- well, WRITING those books does the same thing for me! Keep reading, and I will keep writing!

Rosanne

Because of the large number of requests I receive for full lists of my books, the Books In Print section of this website is frequently updated to reflect my latest releases, as well as listing all of my past works. I have also added a My Books Now Available in E-Reader Formats page with ordering links for all e-reader formats. You can also use the "Search" link below to find new, used, and Kindle versions of my books on Amazon.com!