#Interview with Tess LeSue of Bound For Eden

Lexi: Spring time goes along with newborn calves, fresh wildflowers, and mountain views…Westerns! If you’re itching for a Western Romance, our guest today has the perfect book for you. Please welcome, Tess LeSue!

Thank you so much for inviting me! It’s such a pleasure.


Lexi: Maybe it’s just me, but this time of year is my favorite for picking up a Western Romance. I want to go riding across the plains and laze by a river. And I definitely want a cowboy to make me swoon. And Luke on the cover of Bound For Eden sure has my girlfriends melting! What was your favorite thing about Luke when you were writing him?

What I love about Luke is he isn’t quite what he seems. When you meet him you think he’s a shameless womanizer, but he actually has a heart of gold. His parents died when he was a kid and he raised his two younger brothers single-handed. He has a depth of kindness to him, and a strong sense of responsibility. He’s an optimist too. I love all of those things about him – but I think kindness is probably my favorite quality in a man.


Lexi: A spunky heroine is always a must in a Western, too. They had to be, life was so rough! And Alexandra isn’t having an easy time of it with the Grady gang encroaching on her land. I LOVE that you have her becoming Alex and making everyone believe she’s a boy. What’s the one thing she missed most about having to dress up as a boy?

Poor Alex! As soon as she’s dressed as a boy, she finds herself doing everyone’s chores. And when she has to watch gorgeous Luke Slater flirting with her sister, she misses her gowns and her long hair and the chance to dance on Saturday night. But then, when she has to return to being a girl, she misses the freedom of being a boy  - particularly the freedom of wearing pants!


Lexi: Jealousy would be difficult when you’re hiding your gender. Especially when your home is on the line. Alex can’t exactly throw off her hat and reveal all. How does Alex handle her flirtatious sister?

I think what’s touching about the situation is that while Alex is jealous of Victoria and her chance to flirt with Luke, she also loves her sister and doesn’t want her to get hurt. So she stays hidden and lets Victoria have her moment in the sun – because she knows Victoria would be devastated if she knew about Alex and Luke. While they’re not blood related, Alex and Victoria have a deep and abiding sisterhood. That was important to me, because I think female friendship is one of the most beautiful things.


Lexi: Book two in your Frontiers of the Heart series, Bound for Sin, comes out in September! Another great cover for that one. Please tell us you have another sassy heroine in store for us!

I do! But she’s very different to Alex. Georgiana Bee Blunt is a refined eastern lady, born to wealth. But she’s been left penniless and widowed by her ne’er-do-well husband and has to travel two thousand miles to rescue her son, with a pack of children in tow. She decides she needs someone to keep her and the children safe as they journey West and so she advertises for a mail order groom. She doesn’t want a handsome man, or a charming man, what she wants is a brute. And what she gets is Matt Slater, a man who looks like he could wrestle a bear and not even raise a sweat. The problem is… the last thing on earth Matt wants is a wife.


Lexi: Thank you so much, Tess, for coming by the blog today and letting us get to know Luke and Alex a bit. Congratulations on Bound for Eden and we are excitedly waiting for Bound for Sin!

Thank you!

Bound For Eden 

(Frontiers of the Heart #1)

by Tess LeSue

ebook, 400 pages

Published July 1st 2016 by MIRA (first published June 20th 2016)

ISBN 1489210180

A rollicking, funny historical romance of mistaken identity, wagon trains and an irresistible attraction

Alexandra Barratt has found the perfect man – it’s a shame he thinks she’s a boy.
Fleeing from the murderous Grady brothers with a stolen fortune hidden in her luggage and her younger brother and sister in tow, Alex disguises herself as a boy to join a wagon train headed West … a wagon train captained by the irresistible Luke Slater.

At first, Alex can’t believe the way every woman in town falls at Luke’s feet, including her suddenly flirtatious sister. But when she sees him naked in the bathtub, she finds herself swooning over him too. If only she could wash the muck of her face and show him who she really is…

As for Luke, he has no idea that the ragtag boy in his care is none other than the woman of his dreams. But when circumstances connive to throw Luke and Alex into each other’s arms, their relationship becomes very complicated indeed. In fact, with the brutal Silas Grady in pursuit, keeping their secret becomes a matter of life and death…

AMAZON | B&N 

About the Author:

Tess LeSue writes raunchy and adventurous historical romances, with strong and sassy heroines and heroes to make your knees go weak. Set against vast and dramatic backdrops, these are love stories to sweep you back in time, and off your feet.

Her historical Western, Bound for Eden, was runner up for Romance Writers of Australia’s 2016 EmeraldPRO award and will be published by Harlequin/MIRA in 2016.