Susan Page Davis

This week it's my pleasure to introduce Susan Page Davis, the author of forty published novels. A Maine native, she now lives in western Kentucky with her husband Jim. Susan is a past winner of the Carol Award and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, as well as Heartsong Presents Favorite Author of the Year. You can find Susan at www.susanpagedavis.com 

Cowgirl Trail 

In 1884, Maggie Porter returns to the Rocking P Ranch. The sanatorium was not able to save her mother and now her father’s health is failing. When the cowboys walk off the job leaving no one to drive the cattle to market, ranch foreman Alex Bright cannot convince the men to stay. Maggie is desperate to save the ranch, and she turns to the town’s women for help. The new cowgirls must herd, rope, and drive the cattle to market. Unfortunately, some of the strikers resent their actions and want to liven up things on the cattle drive. Maggie can’t believe Alex, whom she always admired, would cause trouble for her family. Can she forgive him and accept his offer of help when trouble comes?

Welcome to Ink Dots, Susan. Tell us a little about your family. My husband and I live in western Kentucky, toward the middle of the U.S. We have six children and eight grandchildren. My husband is retired from news editing, and he goes over my books for me before I send them to my book editor. Wow, what a great partnership! 

What’s the main theme you wish readers to take away when they read Cowgirl Trail? This book is about trust and forgiveness. All of the main characters must learn to forgive.

If you could follow one historical person for one day and one night,
who would it be, and why? Captain James Cook, the famous explorer, navigator, and cartographer. I’ve always admired him and his work. Well, you have us Aussies listening now. Captain Cook's cottage sits in Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens. 

Speaking of Australia, have you visited our beautiful country? No, but my son spent five months there on an agricultural exchange after earning an associate’s degree in farm management. He loved it, and it made me want to visit. If I went, I would definitely want to see some of the historical sites and the wildlife. I’d love a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef and some of the Outback. You will love it, Susan. Make sure you leave heaps of time to do all the great holidaying on your list. 

What are you working on now? I just finished a proposal for another Texas Trails book, and I’m currently writing a mystery in a different series, Patchwork Mysteries, from Guideposts. This will be my fourth in that series. You’re a busy writer. I can’t wait to read your work.


Here’s a peek of Susan’s Cowgirls Trails. If you would like the chance to win your own print copy, please leave a comment below and I’ll announce the winner on Friday. Good luck and happy reading. 

From the prologue of Cowgirl Trail: 

“The princess wants to ride this morning. Saddle up her horse.” Jack Hubble, the ranch foreman, clapped Alex on the shoulder and walked past him into the barn.

Alex shot a glance toward the house, but the boss’s daughter hadn’t come out yet. “Uh. . .which horse?”

“Duchess, of course. Come on, I’ll show you her gear.” Jack strode into the tack room, and Alex hurried after him.

“That’s the chestnut mare out back?”

“That’s right. Here’s Miss Maggie’s saddle.” Jack laid a hand on the horn of a fancy stock saddle with tooled flowers and scrollwork on the skirts.

“She doesn’t ride sidesaddle?”

“Nah. Maggie’s been riding like a boy since she was a little kid. Her father lets her get away with it, so don’t say anything.”

Alex nodded. His own sisters rode astride around the home place, and no one thought a thing about it. Why should he expect the boss’s thirteen-year-old daughter to behave differently? But he had. Maggie Porter was a pretty girl, blond and blue-eyed. She’d looked like a china doll on Sunday morning, wearing a pink dress with gloves and a white straw bonnet when the family set out for church in the buckboard.

“Here’s Duchess’s bridle.” Jack placed it in his hand.

“Just saddle the mare and take it out to her?” Alex asked.

“Get your horse ready, too.”

Alex stared at him. “Me? You mean I’m going with her?” He’d been hired at the Rocking P less than two weeks earlier. Now wasn’t the time to argue with his foreman, but it seemed a little strange.

Jack laughed. “You’re low man around here. Oh, the fellas don’t mind, but it gets kind of boring. It’s an easy morning for you. And Maggie’s a good kid. Let her go wherever she wants on Rocking P land, but make sure she doesn’t do anything dangerous. Where’s your gun?”

“In the bunkhouse.”

“You’ll want it today, just in case.”

“In case of what?” Alex’s first thought was Comanche, but the tribes were now confined to reservations—his parents had followed the saga of the Numinu with special interest.

“You never know, do you?” Jack said. “Snakes, wild hogs, drifters.”

“All right. How long does she ride?”

“As long as she wants, but get her home by noon. Her mother gets fretful if she’s late for dinner.” Jack looked him up and down. “Oh, there’s one other thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Maggie’s young, but she’s starting to notice you boys. Don’t do anything to give her ideas.” 

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Thanks for being with us at Ink Dots this week, Susan. I'm looking forward to hearing more great publishing news from you in the days ahead.