Interview: Allison Merrit author of The Convict and the Cattleman @allison_merritt #RLFblog #historical

Title The
Convict and the Cattleman

Genre historical
romance

Author Allison
Merritt

Publisher
Lyrical Press

Book heat
level (based on movie ratings): PG13

His love is
the key to her release.

Sentenced
to seven years of servitude in the penal colony of New South Wales, Bridgit Madden is thrust into
a world unlike anything she’s known, dangers she never imagined and enemies with
their own interests at heart. Certain that the conviction has ruined her chances
of ever having a real family, she is fearful of her future.

Despite his
reluctance to take in a convict, Jonah Andrus, a grazier and pioneer cattleman,
needs a servant to care for his orphaned niece. When presented with Bridgit, who
is far too beautiful and distracting, he initially tries to refuse. However, with
a busy cattle station to oversee, he needs help right away.

Upon her first
meeting with Jonah’s niece, Bridgit immediately falls in love with the girl and
becomes entwined the mystery surrounding her birth. As she gets to know her employer
better, Bridgit makes it her mission to remind him that family is priceless. When
it seems as though she might have found the place she truly belongs, their love
is threatened by lies and deceit, and both of them might lose everything they hold
dear for a second time.

Why did you write this book?

The Convict
and the Cattleman is the first novel I ever finished. When I started it four years
ago―yep, that long―I hadn’t written anything in five years. I’ve always loved historical
romance, so I knew that was the route I wanted to take when writing a novel, and
I was looking for something unusual. I picked penal colonies, when I knew nothing
about and what I knew about Australia
amounted to they have desert, crocodiles, kangaroos, and an opera house. It took
a lot of research to figure out the where and what and how, but it was worth it,
and I learned so much.

What is your favorite genre to read?

Definitely
romance. I like historical, contemporary, and paranormal subgenres.

What is your favorite character from fiction (not including your
own characters)?

James T. Kirk
is one of my absolute favorites. Ladies’ man, charmer, the never-say-die type. He’s
the sort who gets you in big trouble, but at least you had fun getting there.

Do you enjoy films and/or TV shows? Which are your favorites?

I love both.
Rom-coms are always a good pick for movies. My favorites are Fool’s Gold, Warm Bodies,
The Bounty Hunter, Pretty Woman, Alex and Emma, Leap Year, Hitch, and 27 Dresses.
For TV shows, can you really go wrong with The Walking Dead? And Firefly?

What are you working on at the moment, and what are we likely
to see from you in the coming months?

I’m currently
working on the third book in a paranormal historical series, and a historical romance. I have a couple more historicals
planned for 2014 as well.

A love of
reading turned Allison Merritt into an author who writes historical, paranormal
and fantasy romances, often combining the sub-genres. She graduated college with
a B.A. in mass communications that’s gathering dust after it was determined that
she’s better at writing fluff than hard news.

She lives
in a small town in the Ozark Mountains with her
husband and dogs. When she’s not writing or reading, she hikes in national parks
and conservation areas.