From the back of the book:

A refined lady goes far west to save her broken relationship with her son, but after a little coaxing from a spinster sister, is hired by a brooding ranchman to save his daughters from their boyishness.

Originally educated in England as a governess, prematurely widowed Anne Lacey has managed her successful Finishing School for years in the American east. She fears her practiced abilities will be wasted in Colorado on unruly hooligans who don’t wish to be turned into ladies, no matter all the fellows who might turn their pretty heads.

But what hints of romantic mystery lay in the Knight library? Why are Jane Austen novels hidden and unloved under layers of dust, when once gifted by the rugged man to his lost wife? He never speaks of either, nor enters his abandoned literary sanctuary.

Will happy surprises await around muddy corners? Can familial love prevail? Only time and taming will tell, but the lady has given herself one year out west to create successes in the face of wild challenges.

Story Inspiration:

Inspired by experiences of my own, and those I’ve known as told to me by others, but also heavy on my Muse and her continual pushing of ideas that keep me awake at night.

This is my first key ‘mid-life’ romance thread in a story (because not just the young can fall in love again, and sometimes very good marriages do begin later in life); but once again, or as usual for me, it’s also about other relationships and friendships in life.

I wasn’t planning on putting any of Jane Austen’s works into this one, but suddenly, there they were, in the cranky main man’s library, of all places! Voila! A whole other thread emerged to fully round out the story and characters. I couldn’t help but like that.

Another detail I enjoyed, was an illustration of the way things sometimes used to be, in the good old days: house and barn raisings, and old-fashioned communities replete with helping spirits in small town North America.

‘Mrs. Lacey’s Finishing School’ is available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Laceys-Finishing-School-Bennett-Williamson-ebook/dp/B071XNNXD2/ref