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Just when she thinks she’s defeated the past, it returns with a vengeance.

Fighting to keep her late husband’s dream alive and her land-grabbing neighbors at bay, Laurel Tillman longs for a peace she knew before the war. But when her skill with a rifle saves a stranger from a mountain lion attack—a man whose life she once wouldn’t have hesitated to take—wartime memories rush back.

While raising her daughter and taking responsibility for the stray women who work on her sheep ranch, Laurel can’t wait to get the injured Yankee out of her house. Getting him out of her heart is an entirely different matter.

Quinn Spencer, a former Union cavalry officer, owes Laurel a debt, but his career as a new lawyer in town comes with a warning to stay away from the unconventional women of La Casa del Fuego. Then, with the discovery of a dead man on Laurel’s ranch, Quinn must choose between his career and justice for a woman who can’t bear the sight of him.

As they battle an unknown adversary who sets out to destroy Laurel, will she join forces with her former enemy? Or will she allow the past to overcome any chance of a truce between them . . . and, possibly, something more?

Set in the late 1870s, meet the women of La Casa del Fuego—House of Fire—as circumstances compel them to live their lives outside the bounds of accepted femininity.

Thank you, Danielle, for letting me tell your readers about me, my writing and, especially, about A Lady Divided.

What is something interesting readers would enjoy learning about you?

I’m brave when writing my stories, but I’m afraid of heights. I remember going to the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago when it was still the tallest building in the city and plastering myself against the wall. When I’m in situations like that, it’s my typical reaction. Then I stretch forward on my tiptoes to see as much as I can—all from a safe distance from the edge. 

What makes up your ideal reading environment?

Sheets, pillows, and a bedspread. ? 

I love to read in bed at night for about an hour and a half. If it’s an ebook, I turn the room’s light off and use the light from my Kindle. If it’s a print book, I still turn the light off and use a book light. The low light gets me ready for sleeping.

What does a day in the life of your characters look like?

Ooh, great question!

Laurel Tillman owns La Casa del Fuego, her late husband’s sheep ranch in the Hill Country of Texas. She’s the boss lady but works as hard on the ranch as her employee friends—all women. She’s up and going at the crack of dawn, overseeing the chores of others, making decisions about the sheep, treating them when sick or injured, handling business details, and raising a young daughter. Fortunately, cleaning and making meals isn’t on her daily to-do list. Her mother takes care of the house. For supper, all the women take the time to dress like ladies, as opposed to wearing their manly outfits when working.

Quinn Spencer lives in a boarding house in town, so he takes his breakfast and supper there. Having been mentored by an experienced lawyer, he has joined the man’s practice. For the book, Arthur Bruner mainly has him running errands, studying legal cases, and writing letters, clerk-type things that Quinn, a former military major used to giving orders, sometimes bristles against. While he appreciates the experience Arthur has afforded him, he hopes to move into politics in the future.

What was your favorite scene to write in this story? And why?

This is a hard one, because I have more than a couple. I’ll go with Thanksgiving, which involves four actual scenes. I don’t want to get into it too much, but it’s where Laurel confesses her past to Quinn and he reacts to her story.

What unique research was required to write this story?

I did some research into sheep ranching in the Texas Hill Country. In reading information from a sheep rancher of the period, I thought it was interesting to discover that they would mark the sheep with symbols—triangles, etc.—when it came to the animals’ fates, so they could see that decision just by looking at the individual animal. Nearby, a neighbor raises sheep, and I’ve noticed marks on the members of his flock on occasion. 

What encouragement do you hope readers will take away from your story?

The encouragement is that no matter what we’ve done in life—short of the sin of rejecting Him—God waits to grant His forgiveness when we truly seek Him. In that case, He forgives and forgets, and because He’s willing to do that, we should also be willing to forgive ourselves and others.