Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Lily and the Lawman Tour & Giveaway

About the Book

Book: Lily and the Lawman

Author: Erica Vetsch

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: October 13, 2025

A desperate aunt and a duty-bound sheriff—thrown into marriage by necessity, driven by danger, and risking everything to rescue a child…and their hearts.

All Lily Whitman wants is to open her bakery and provide a good life for her sister and infant niece. But when her niece is kidnapped by a ruthless gang, Lily is frantic to get her back. The only one who can help is the new acting sheriff, Trace McConnell. Though she’s sworn never to trust a man again, she finds herself forced to rely on this quiet lawman—worse, she’s forced to marry him to protect her reputation during the search.

Trace McConnell, a man who sees the world in black and white, does everything by the book, and keeps his feelings to himself. He’s dreamed of being a real lawman his whole life, not just a temporary replacement. When a U.S. Marshal arrives with news of a child kidnapping ring, Trace sees his chance to prove himself worthy of the badge. But his new “wife” keeps throwing his carefully laid plans into chaos with her determination to help—and his growing feelings for her threaten to compromise his focus on justice.

Can two people burned by past betrayals learn to trust again in time to save an innocent child? Or will their fears cost them not only their chance at love, but the life of the baby they’re desperate to rescue?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Best-selling, award-winning author of The Debutante’s Code, first in the Thorndike & Swann Regency Mystery Series, Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum.

More from Erica

Lily and the Lawman has one of my favorite opening lines that I’ve ever written.

No man should have to arrest his own father—at least not more than once a month.

And so begins Trace McConnell’s adventure to lasting happiness. Trace is a lawman, and his father is the town drunk. He heads out on the trail of some bad men who have kidnapped a baby girl. He doesn’t go alone, the child’s aunt goes with him. Mayhem, danger, and love along the way happen, hopefully leading to a satisfying conclusion for everyone but the bad guy.

But I wanted to talk about first lines in fiction. First lines have to do some heavy lifting! So much responsibility! If you are a writer, you have to consider so many things when writing that first line. Does it set the tone of the book? Does it reveal something up front about the character? Does it make the reader ask a question? Does it make the reader want to continue on to see what happens next?

When I’m writing a new story, I often put in all capital letters in the first draft: WRITE A GREAT FIRST LINE HERE. Then I go on with the opening scene.

You see, there is something intimidating in starting a new story, seeing all the blank, white space where words need to go. And it’s worse when you know how important a first line can be. So I put in a place holder. Often I don’t know what the first line should be until I’m into the story a ways. Only rarely do I know what the first line will be, and even then I often change it later.

When I need inspiration, I peruse my bookshelves to read first lines. Here are two of my favorites, both from the late secular writer, Dick Francis

From To the Hilt: I don’t think my stepfather much minded dying. That he almost took me with him wasn’t really his fault.

From Longshot: I accepted a commission that had been turned down by four other writers, but I was hungry at the time.

Do you have a favorite first line?

MY REVIEW

This story is easy to follow and makes me feel like I’m there in the west when times were tough. It really shocked me when one of the characters had to pay for medicine that was barely over thirty cents. That was a very hard sacrifice in those days.

Lily takes on a big responsibility when she faces a great loss. I liked how caring she was to her sister and niece and moved with them when her sister is disowned by their father. When she faces a crisis she is stubborn when it comes to trusting anyone especially a man. Lily is overwhelmed with having to depend on a stranger to help her when her precious niece is kidnapped. The author illustrates the turmoil Lily has and shows how she needs to turn to God to heal her. Have you ever faced a time when you needed to trust God and struggled with it?

Trace is a very liked character who tries to keep peace in the town. It is not easy since his dad is the town drunk. People have judged Trace and his brothers unfairly but I admired how he still honored his dad and watched out for him. When it is brought to his attention that children are being kidnapped, he takes action. There is a bit of violence in the story that could be a trigger but I didn’t find it to be overwhelming.

I enjoyed how the author incorporates Trace and Lily into an unexpected pair as the race is on to rescue Lily’s niece. The mystery is explosive when children are seen in dire conditions. Readers will like how the relationship between Trace and Lily develop with a twist. The faith in the story is nice and reminds us to trust God with everything. Lessons are hard but in the end overcoming hurt, betrayal and bitterness leads to a solid foundation in a relationship.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.