A Tempered Mess

By Pamela S Thibodeaux

Do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes or during the creation of a book or series?

In this free ebook, A Tempered Mess, author Pamela S Thibodeaux shares with you the setting, timeline, secondary characters, blurbs, story behind the story AND her favorite chapter in each book of the Tempered Series and spin-off short story, Lori’s Redemption.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pamela S Thibodeaux
• Release date: Jul 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781735339320

Pamela S Thibodeaux

Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” TM and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.comBayou Writers Group: http://bayouwritersgroup.com

Book preview

A Tempered Mess

An Introduction to the Tempered Series

by

Pamela S Thibodeaux

Sometimes we have to go through a mess to get to the message. ~Author Unknown

A Tempered Mess

An Introduction to the Tempered Series

Book 6 in the Tempered Series

by

Pamela S Thibodeaux

Publisher/Distributor:

Temperance Publishing; an imprint of

Pamela S. Thibodeaux Enterprises, LLC

PO Box 324

Iowa, LA 70647

ISBN: 978-1-7353393-2-0

Copyright © 2021 by Pamela S. Thibodeaux

Cover Design: Pamela S Thibodeaux

Messy desks Images: by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay

Published in the Unites States of America

Publishing History: First edition July 15th, 2021

Note:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized print and/or electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author!

Dedication

Thank You for downloading this free eBook. Many people wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a book or series. I hope you enjoy finding out more about the Tempered Series and Lori’s Redemption — setting, timeline, secondary characters, blurbs, story behind the story AND my favorite chapter in each book.

To my faithful Tempered fans. Thank you for following this series from beginning to end. I hope you enjoy finding out more about the creation of these books and I pray you are blessed 100-fold for your continued love and support. I appreciate you more than words can say!

If you enjoy A Tempered Mess or any of the Tempered Series books, please write a positive review and post it at online retailers and websites where readers gather and/or your social media platforms (FaceBook, Good Reads, BookBub, Twitter, etc).

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Introduction to the Tempered Series

Book 1: Tempered Hearts ©2000

Story Behind the Story: I first wrote Tempered Hearts in a 5-subject notebook. I’d visited Bandera, TX as a young child of 4 or 5 with my grandparents when they went to visit a friend whom I called, ‘Aunt’ Ellen. Something about the area touched my soul because when I wrote this story I thought, what better place to write about a cowboy than in Bandera, Texas? I had no idea Bandera was the Cowboy Capital of the World. Neither did I realize where this one book would lead or how the characters and their stories would become so real to me, I had no choice but to write them. And it all started with Craig and Tamera. A jaded cowboy and an innocent veterinarian who’d both endured hardships in their young lives, but with God’s help and blessings, experienced a love so rare, so precious it changed my own perception of what a real romance is.

Tagline: A jaded cowboy…

An innocent veterinarian…

Will they find love in the Texas heat?

Setting: Bandera, Texas, 1978-79

About Bandera, Texas: Founded in 1852 as a cypress shingle camp, Bandera Texas is located in one of the most beautiful areas of the state –the Texas Hill Country. Approximately 60 miles northeast of San Antonio, Bandera is one of the oldest Polish communities in the U.S and has a population of under 1000.

Surrounded by both working and dude ranches, Bandera, is known as the Cowboy Capital of the World. One of the most visited cities in the United States, Bandera depends heavily on tourism to keep it going. Holding true to its western character, Bandera has a working blacksmith shop. The architecture, attitude and décor are all authentically cowboy and a bronze monument honoring the many National Rodeo Champions who call this small bustling community home stands on the courthouse lawn.

An authentic Western town, Bandera holds rodeos twice weekly from Memorial Day through Labor Day and you’ll note that the Rockin’ H Ranch hosts its own Charity rodeo also!

Hero: Adam Craig Harris III Craig

Under the guidance of his grandfather, Adam Craig Harris the Third has shouldered the responsibility of the Rockin’ H Ranch since the death of his parents at age fifteen. Disillusioned and distrustful from a past wrought with scandal, tragedy and disastrous relationships with women, Craig is immediately on guard against his feelings toward the little veterinarian despite his growing attraction for her.

Heroine: Tamera Collins

Tamera Collins has worked hard to earn her degree as a large-animal veterinarian and finds it very distasteful that anyone-especially an arrogant jerk cowboy- would doubt her ability just because she’s young and a woman. The death of her parents and her fiancé’s betrayal has left her raw, wounded and questioning both God and her faith. She hopes this job will give her life new meaning and purpose despite the secret shame she carries.

Secondary Characters:

Gramps – Craig’s Grandfather; raises Craig after the death of his parents.

Dr. Scott Hensley – Neighbor/Doctor/Craig’s Best friend…. main character in book 2 Tempered Dreams.

Shorty – Ranch Foreman

Maria – Housekeeper

Stephanie Parker – Craig’s ex-fiancée

Anthony Gerard – Tamera’s ex-fiancé’s father

Frank Coleman – handyman hired to do upkeep of Tamera’s childhood home in Mississippi.

Blurb: Rancher Craig Harris and veterinarian Tamera Collins clash from the moment they meet. Innocence is pitted against arrogance as tempers rise and passions ignite to form a love as pure as the finest gold, fresh from the crucible and as strong as steel. Thrown together amid tragedy and unsated passion, Tamera and Craig share a strong attraction that neither accepts as the first stages of love. Torn between desire and dislike, they must make peace with their pasts and God in order to open up to the love blossoming between them. It is a love that nothing can destroy when they come to understand that only when hearts are tempered, minds are opened, and wills are softened can man discern the will of God for his life.

Book 2: Tempered Dreams ©2001

Tagline: He took an oath to preserve life…

Can he stick to that oath when the woman he loves is in jeopardy?

Setting: Lafayette, Louisiana 1989-1990

Story Behind the Story: After writing Tempered Hearts, my next idea was to write about Craig and Tamera’s daughter growing up and finding love of her own. Since he’d been so arrogant to think his daughter wouldn’t have him wrapped around her little finger, I just had to prove him wrong LOL! But I had written a scene about a couple in an automobile accident and the doctor that came along to help them. That idea sat in another 5-subject notebook just waiting to be developed. Then, Dr. Scott Hensley made his appearance in Tempered Hearts, and I knew he was the perfect hero for a battered woman in a bad situation. Tempered Dreams, the last book written, turned out to be the second one in the series – or at that point the trilogy. Having been in an abusive situation, Tempered Dreams was cathartic and fueled my faith in the ability of God and true love to heal a wounded soul.

Also, it was during the editing of this book, the thread of whether or not Craig and Scott were related came to light. Sandy Cummings, Editor and CEO of Writer’s Exchange E-Publishing, who’d published Tempered Hearts and contracted Tempered