Broken Bondage: Q&A with Carmen Peone + Giveaway

Broken Bondage JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Broken Bondage by Carmen Peone, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Broken Bondage
Series: Seven Tine Ranch #2
Author: Carmen Peone
Publisher: Iron Stream Fiction
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Genre: Clean/Christian Contemporary Western Romance

A Road Trip to Redemption

Rita Runninghorse is about to marry the wrong guy. She has to get away from him. Now. She flees to a guest ranch in Eastern Washington State that offers a safe haven for women in need only to find the owner on a month-long speaking tour.

Robert Elliot has one thing on his mind: bronc riding. The Indian National Finals Rodeo is within reach, and he’s not about to let anything ruin his chances of going pro. Not even the woman he finds asleep in the stall of their rankest horse.

When Rita’s fiancé discovers where she’s hiding out, she takes Robert’s offer to go with him on the road and prays her fiancé gives up the hunt. Saddled together, Rita and Robert must rely on each other as they go on the road to keep her alive.

About the Author

Carmen Peone

Carmen Peone is an award-winning author of Young Adult and Inspirational Contemporary Western Romantic. She worked with a Tribal Elder, Marguerite Ensminger, for three years learning the Arrow Lakes Language and various cultural traditions, which led to her writing career. With the love of history and the Western woman's lifestyle, she weaves threads of healing, hope, and horses into her stories that lead to happily ever after. She lives with her husband in northeast Washington and on the Colville Confederated Indian Reservation.

Connect with Carmen by visiting carmenpeone.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

Author Interview

Welcome, Carmen! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and giving my readers a chance to get to know you and your new book Broken Bondage.

When did you first discover you had a passion for writing?

Thank you for having me!

God planted a seed in college when I took a creative writing class. It was fun. Something I never thought I’d be good at. I scored a “B.” Not bad. Then I moved to the reservation and worked in the school system. We are a tight-knit community of about four hundred or so, and all grades are on one campus, most in one building.

While working in the school system as a sub-teacher and in the after-school program, I learned a lot about the Native culture. Spupaleena (meaning rabbit) would not leave me alone. I managed to write and publish a young adult adventure. It was so much fun, I kept writing.

That was twenty-plus years ago.

Your website tagline reads ‘Healing, Hope & Horses Lead to Happily Ever After’. Can you tell us a little more about what that means?

I’d love to! My books, young adult (mostly historical) and romance (contemporary Western), feature horses. I often weave God’s healing and hope through the pages, and my romance books lead to a happily ever after. Even my young adult adventure books have happy endings.

What does your writing routine look like? 

This spring and summer, my schedule has been all about editing books 2 (Broken Bondage) and 3 in this series and launching books. But when I write, I write in the morning with a goal of 2K words a day. In the afternoon, I either continue to add words to the page or work on blog or newsletter posts.

If you could describe your main character(s) in just three words each, what would those words be?

Grit, grace, and able.

Can you tell us a little bit more about Broken Bondage?

This story deals with murdered and missing Indigenous women, a movement close to my heart. The Author’s Note at the back of the book will tell you why.

Broken Bondage takes place both on the Umatilla and Colville reservations, as well as in Idaho, Oregon, and Las Vegas. And, yes, there is a happily ever after. Robert is the grit, and Rita is the grace. And trust me, they both are very able—Robert as a saddle bronc rider and Rita as a cattle rancher.

Their journey together is unique and thrilling.

And I bet you’re curious about the title—Broken Bondage. It’s not one you normally see on the romance category shelf. But is one that deals with abuse and domestic violence, which tends to bind victims in life-shattering chains. The good news is that God can break those chains of bondage if we let him. And that’s what this story entails.

What was the most challenging part of bringing this story to life? The most rewarding?

The most challenging part is reliving certain images and events. I spent many tears bringing words to the page. But the most rewarding thing is to know that I have and will continue to bring awareness to domestic violence and abuse. Something else that’s rewarding? Is to watch God heal hearts and bind wounds.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

For starters hope and healing, as well as awareness, for those who are victims. And I pray those going through abuse will find their happily ever after.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Before you go, where can readers follow along to see what’s coming next?

Readers can sign up for my newsletter and Connect with Carmen. When they do, they will receive my novella, Gentling the Cowboy as a thank-you gift.

Tour Giveaway

(2) winners will win a signed copy of Broken Bondage, an $25 Amazon gift card, and photo cards that pertain to the series!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 10, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 17, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for prize as described. Winners outside of the US will receive an ebook of Broken Bondage only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

A Modern Day Fairy Tale

Tuesday, October 10, 2023