Near and dear to my heart are the three books comprising the Texas! Trilogy, which was first published in the late ’80’s. Lord, that seems a long time ago!

Let me tell you how it came about: I was sitting at my desk one day trying to come with a storyline for a Loveswept. Into my mind flashed an image of a cowboy-type, sitting at a bar, his boot heels hooked over the rung of his stool, staring into his whiskey. “There was going to be trouble, and, hell, he just wasn’t in the mood for it.” With that image and that line, Texas! Lucky came about as Lucky is drawn into a barroom brawl. I didn’t know he had an older brother until Chase comes into the bar and starts fighting, too.

It was one of those moments, when the hair on my arms stood on end. I’m sure you writers out there can relate.

Immediately, I called my editor, Carolyn Nichols, and told her I thought I was on to something. I told her I wanted to write these two books, one for Lucky and one for Chase, entirely from the male point of view. Up till then, most all romances were written strictly from the p.o.v. of the heroine, so to write a story from the hero’s standpoint was risky. She hedged, but I won her over by promising a third book about their bratty younger sister — who until that instant hadn’t existed. I also bargained for writing the books 100 pages longer than the standard Loveswept length. After the manuscripts went in, Bantam decided to let Doubleday publish the books first in hardcover and then in paperback editions.

I’m pleased that a reprint of Texas! Lucky will go on sale December 30 in a new, hardcover edition. It will be followed by new editions of Texas! Chase and Texas! Sage. If you’re a collector, I hope you’ll eventually buy all three. These books have been published around the world in numerous languages, and readers everywhere have found these characters as endearing, interesting, and fun as I found them to be when I initially told their stories.