Mountain Man’s Harvest Bride Begins a New Autumn Series

I don’t know about you, but by the end of August, I’m ready.

Ready for cool mornings. Open windows. The first sweater pulled from the back of the closet. Pumpkins appearing on porches. Apple cider. Changing leaves. And that wonderful feeling that something new is beginning.

Yes, I know the calendar may insist it’s still summer. But I’m choosing not to listen. 🍂

Because in Cady Springs, Colorado, autumn has officially arrived. And with it comes an entirely new series:

Rocky Mountain Autumn Nights

The first book, Mountain Man’s Harvest Bride, brings us back to the mountains of Cady Springs for autumn weddings, small-town characters, gorgeous Colorado scenery. Naturally, it also has one very distracting mountain man.

It Started With a Wedding Venue…

Readers who joined me for the free prequel, Mountain Man’s Ever After, already know how all of this began.

If you don't have it, download here

Jack and Chloe Stone, the couple from Sold to the Mountain Man, have built something very special on their mountain property above Cady Springs. It's not a giant resort. Jack would never go for that. Nor is it a place filled with hundreds of strangers every weekend.

Instead, they’ve created an intimate mountain wedding destination surrounded by the land they love, with local vendors, beautiful accommodations, protected wilderness, and all those little thoughtful touches that make Chloe very, very happy.

And once I started imagining those weddings? Well. You probably know me well enough to understand what happened next. 

I wanted autumn weddings beneath the mountains. Lanterns glowing after sunset. Pumpkins and fall flowers lining an aisle. Apple cider stations. Firelight. S’mores. Beautiful dresses. Rugged men in suits who would much rather be wearing flannel.

And somewhere along the way, Rocky Mountain Autumn Nights was born.

Then Delaney Walked Onto the Mountain

At the end of Mountain Man’s Ever After, Chloe brings former model Delaney Price to Cady Springs for an autumn bridal campaign designed to introduce the new wedding venue.

The plan is simple. Gorgeous curvy model on a beautiful mountain with stunning wedding photographs. One small problem occurred: The male model doesn’t make it.

Enter Mason Harris.

Mason is far more comfortable building something with his own two hands than standing in front of a camera pretending to be somebody’s groom. He considers modeling pretty easy work right up until someone starts telling him where to put his hands, how to stand, where to look, and exactly how close he needs to get to Delaney.

His opinion changes rather quickly. Because Delaney knows exactly what she’s doing in front of a camera. Mason absolutely does not.

When she tells him to stop trying to pose and simply look at her? That’s when things get interesting. Very interesting.

The Director’s Cut: The Pictures Behind the Story

One of my favorite parts of creating this book was building the visual world around it.

I spent far too much time looking at autumn weddings. (For research purposes, obviously.)

I collected photographs of rustic mountain ceremonies, timber arches covered in fall flowers, glowing lanterns, pumpkins tucked among greenery, cider bars filled with apples and cinnamon sticks, gourmet s’mores stations, outdoor tables under strings of lights, gorgeous bridal details, and one especially beautiful idea involving a suspended stained-glass window.

Those images helped me see Jack and Chloe’s venue more clearly.

They also helped shape the atmosphere surrounding Mason and Delaney.

Because this story is very much about what we see.

Delaney has spent years understanding exactly what a camera sees when it looks at her. She knows how to create an image. She knows how to manufacture chemistry. She knows how to give people the picture they expect.

Mason distrusts appearances for almost the opposite reason.

He’s met enough women attracted to the idea of a rugged mountain man to wonder whether anyone actually wants the real man or the real life that comes with him.

And suddenly these two people are standing together in front of a camera pretending to be desperately in love.

The camera says they’re falling for each other. The question is whether they’re pretending anymore.

Want to See My Inspiration Board?

I’ve saved many of the images and ideas that inspired this autumn world over on Pinterest.

If you love fall weddings, mountain scenery, pumpkins, warm lights, rustic romance, cider bars, beautiful bridal details or simply want to peek inside my brain while I’m creating a book, you can wander through the inspiration with me.

🍁 [Visit My Fairytale Fall Weddings

Fair warning: you may emerge wanting to plan an autumn wedding whether you need one or not.

And This Is Only the Beginning…

Mountain Man’s Harvest Bride is the first romance in Rocky Mountain Autumn Nights, but we’re going to be spending quite a bit of time in Cady Springs this fall.

There are more mountain men waiting.

More women about to disrupt their carefully ordered lives.

More familiar faces around town.

More visits to Millie’s Mountain Café.

More Colorado autumn nights.

And, because this is Cady Springs, probably more than one man who is about to discover that his life can change very quickly when the right woman appears.

I’ve been wanting to create a series that really lives inside a season rather than simply taking place during one. I want you to feel autumn while you’re reading these books ... the cold air, changing leaves, warm drinks, glowing lights, woodsmoke, mountain sunsets, and that irresistible urge to move a little closer to someone when the temperature drops.

This is my invitation to come experience it with me.

Welcome to Autumn in Cady Springs. 🍂

Now somebody bring me a cup of cider. I am officially declaring autumn open.

Link to Series Page on Amazon