Melinda Dozier Talks Christmas Ranch

Continuing the Christmas Novella series of author interviews, today I have Melinda Dozier as a guest. She’s telling us more about her novella, The Christmas Ranch.

Q: Here is your novella, The Christmas Ranch set?

Melinda: A few years ago I visited my sister’s house in a small rural town in Louisiana. Two miles from her house is a Christmas tree farm that hosts a Fall Festival on Thanksgiving weekend. People drive from near and far to cut down their own Christmas trees. I knew this had to be a setting for a future story. Years later, when I saw the Anaiah Press Christmas novella call for submissions, I knew it was the perfect chance to write the story that brewed in mind about the Christmas farm. However, ever since I moved to Texas, I promised myself that my next books would take place in the great state I’ve grown to love. I joined the two ideas and that’s how The Christmas Ranch was born!

Q: What is your favorite part about Christmas and does it show up in the novella?

Melinda: My favorite part about Christmas is the time spent with family. For me, it all starts from Thanksgiving Day. Families travel from afar to be together. In The Christmas Ranch, the Blackstones are the cornerstone of the book. I love their rapport, their support of each other, their bantering. They spend Thanksgiving together and lead up to Christmas while running the ranches activities, including a light show, Santa visits, and more!

That’s awesome. My family is spread all over the globe. Makes it hard to get together.

Q: Tell me about your main characters.

Melinda: Brody Blackstone is my first true cowboy. He is a hardworking, family-oriented, single dad. Though he had a rocky relationship in the past, he learns to trust and move forward with Megan Palmer. Megan is from The True Faith Network and has come to The Christmas Ranch to make a report about the famous ranch. She is an independent city-gal who learns that it’s not about where you live, but who you spend your life with that matters.

Q: If you have cats or dogs, tell us how they react to the putting up of the Christmas tree. (I have cats and they bat the ornaments off. Every. Day.)

Melinda: My German Shepard, Bella, loves to try to drink the water from our live tree. We’ve had to train her NOT to drink from the tree stand. Besides that, she guards the tree by sleeping by it at night and protecting the gifts.

That’s so cute!

Q: What are you working on now?

Melinda: The Christmas Ranch is the first in a three-book series called Hill Country series. So, you can expect The Cowboy Rescue, featuring Brody’s brother Colton, and The Rodeo Rebel, with Brody’s sister, Sadie in the future.

BUY THE BOOK

(Amazon affiliate link)

ABOUT THE BOOK

Megan Palmer, a T.V. journalist for True Faith Network, is assigned to report on Flying B Ranch, known for its Christmas lights and tree farm. When Megan meets owner Brody Blackstone, a single father and cowboy, she has to come to terms with deciding what’s truly important — her career or her heart.

With his ranch in jeopardy and family responsibilities, Brody Blackstone has given up on relationships. When Megan Palmer shows up, he has to move forward and learn to listen to God — the city-girl, Megan, might be the one.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melinda is Louisiana born, New Mexico raised, Guatemala adopted, and recently a newcomer to Houston, Texas. Though Melinda has only lived in Texas for four years, she feels she’s a Texan at heart. Melinda has been known to watch too much reality TV, crochet for hours, or sit by the pool in the hot Texas sun.

Thank you for chatting with us Melinda!

FIND MELINDA HERE:

Melony Teague is a freelance writer who believes everyone has a story to tell. As co-author of As the Ink Flows, she loves to inspire and motivate others through her written words. With foamy lattes in-hand, she writes Contemporary Romance with a dash of humor. Watch for her fiction debut, A Promise to Keep, out in Jan 2020. Though she has no hobbies outside of reading, writing, and eating chocolate, she is a member of ACFW and teaches seniors in her community to write their memoirs. She confesses with no shame that she has a strong belief that pumpkin pie is an acceptable breakfast food since it’s mostly vegetables. Melony was born in South Africa and now lives in the melting pot that is Toronto with her husband, their two teenagers, and two cats who think they’re humans.