About the Book

Book: Lone Star Ranger

Author: Renae Brumbaugh Green

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: January 21, 2020

Elizabeth Covington will get her man.

And she has just a week to prove her brother isn’t the murderer Texas Ranger Rett Smith accuses him of being. She’ll show the good-looking lawman he’s wrong, even if it means setting out on a risky race across Texas to catch the real killer.

Rett doesn’t want to convict an innocent man. But he can’t let the Boston beauty sway his senses to set a guilty man free. When Elizabeth follows him on a dangerous trek, the Ranger vows to keep her safe. But who will protect him from the woman whose conviction and courage leave him doubting everything—even his heart?

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About the Author

Renae Brumbaugh Green is a city-girl-turned-country-diva. She’s married to a handsome country boy named Rick, and she’s mom to four nearly-perfect, nearly-grown children, two rowdy dogs, and some ducks. They live in rural Texas where Renae wears overalls, western boots, and bubblegum pink nail polish. She’s a bestselling author of over 30 books, an award-winning humor columnist, and an online English teacher. In her free time, she can be found leaping tall buildings and rescuing kittens from trees. Or, she’d like to do those things, if she had free time.

More from Renae

I’ve been a fan of historical romance from the moment I graduated from The Babysitter’s Club. A friend of mind introduced me to the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke, and I was hooked. In college, between exams and extracurricular stuff, I read those books like they were M&Ms. That’s why, when I started writing grown-up fiction, I knew historical was my genre.

But there’s another reason—perhaps a more compelling reason—why I had to write The Texas Rangers series. See, my granddaddy was a Texas Ranger. Not the baseball player kind. The gun-toting, cowboy-hat-and-badge-wearing kind. As far as I know, he was not a master of any kinds of martial arts, so if you’re a fan of Walker, Texas Ranger, I’m sorry to disappoint.

And he was not alive during the late 1800s, as are the characters are in this series. Grandaddy died in 1980 when I was 12 years old. He was a good man, known for rescuing puppies and bringing small gifts and toys to children in stressful situations—i.e. when their parents were arrested. My favorite memory of him is sitting on his lap, falling asleep to the sound of his big, round pocket watch ticking. I have a picture of myself, age three, sitting on his knee while he typed up his reports. I love that typewriter picture, and find it significant since I’m now a writer.

Grandaddy was Robert Everett Smith, and Grandmother (yes, I called her that—she was very formal, but also very sweet) was Ellie Marie (Edgar) Smith. The two lead characters in Lone Star Ranger are named Rett (Everett) and Elizabeth, in their honor.

Like Grandmother, Elizabeth is refined and formal, yet strong headed, with her own lady-like brand of spunk. She hails from Boston, and is a little overwhelmed at the grit and gravel of Texas lawmen. But she’s not intimidated—not even by handsome Texas Ranger Rett Smith.

Thanks so much for sharing in my cherished family memories. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

—Renae Brumbaugh Green

My Review

Texas, August 1877. On a trip to celebrate her brother Evan’s graduation from Harvard Law School, Elizabeth Covington finds herself in a quandary when Evan is wrongly accused of being a wanted criminal responsible for the murders of dozens of people. He will be hung in one week unless he can be proven innocent. Because of her own extensive knowledge about law, despite being female and therefore unqualified for such a career, Elizabeth sets out to gather the information that will affirm Evan’s identity.

This historical novel by Renae Brumbaugh emphasizes trusting in and relying on God regardless of what others may say or how things may appear. We don’t really grow or mature in our faith until we face trials that seem terrible at the time but that are actually cultivating the fruit of the Spirit within us. “Lone Star Ranger” drives this point home through the main characters. Elizabeth portrays a nineteenth-century woman drawn to the untamed nature of Texas, which matches the rebellious streak within herself. In regard to this, she is what I visualize as an early suffragette. Albeit naïve in some ways, she also proves to be intelligent and resourceful. Her relationships have always been platonic, so throwing Rett, a Texas Ranger, into the mix leads to an entertaining story! Far too often I identity with Elizabeth’s feelings: “Oh, she believed in God. Trusted Him, even. But she trusted herself more. She wasn’t keen on waiting, and with God, one almost always had to wait.” Part of this comes, in Elizabeth’s case, from being very tall and studying the law informally. The faith aspect is a poignant reminder that God’s plans are always better than our own, and that when we wait patiently, we experience His divine protection and love.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.