Trailblazer

October 1, 2018
Schmidt (the Last Chance Cowboys series) builds this middling romantic western around strong and plucky farm girl Grace Rogers, who travels to New Mexico to become a Harvey Girl, one of the first waitresses of the Old West. On her way there, she meets Nick Hopkins, a handsome rancher. Harvey Girls aren’t allowed to be married, and Grace wants to send money home to her family, but the promise of romance tempts her all the same. Descriptions of Grace’s job are the novel’s high points, and readers who have worked in restaurants will be able to connect with her plights, such as fending off rude customers and having to learn the job on the fly. Though the romantic plot has a bit of a lackluster start, it develops well. Readers may have to suspend their disbelief when the story acquires a third layer involving attempted rape and murder, and Grace’s career falls somewhat by the wayside, but it’s easy to identify with Grace’s yearning for money, happiness, adventure, independence, and love. Easygoing western romance readers will cheer for this good-hearted heroine to achieve all her dreams. Agent: Natasha Kern, Natasha Kern Literary.

November 15, 2018
Schmidt brings the Wild West to life in her new Cowboys & Harvey Girls series. Readers will join Grace Rogers as she embarks on a great adventure, leaving her family behind in Missouri, to start a new life with the esteemed Fred Harvey Company. As a Harvey Girl, Grace is expected to be a stalwart example of respectability and innocence?certainly not the sort of woman who would get involved with a cowboy. While traveling to her new post in Juniper, New Mexico, Grace meets a charming, handsome stranger on the train who might derail her carefully laid plans. Nick Hopkins is living his dream as a foreman on a successful ranch when he and Grace meet. The two quickly become friends and maybe something more until the local high-powered attorney, Mr. Perkins, sets his sights on Grace. Will Perkins' lust destroy the future happiness of Grace and Nick? Schmidt's engaging historical romance will have readers asking for more. This is a perfect story for fans of Mary Connealy and Margaret Brownley.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)