A Gown of Spanish Lace

    The book that I chose this time is different form the others that I have written about in the past. The book is called A Gown Of Spanish Lace and is Written by the Author Janette Oke. This book takes place in the West when the USA is first being inhabited.
     This book takes pace in a small town called Smithton, in the 1870's when the West is just getting settled. The protagonist of this book is a sixteen year old girl who is also the schoolmarm for her towns school. She is also the adopted daughter of a preacher and his wife. All seems like an ordinary life of a girl back in the 1870's middle of winter, wind howling outside while Ariana our protagonist is in her school room marking homework from the day by the iron stove. When out of nowhere the door opens and two men walk in wearing heavy buffalo coats and black hats over bearded faces and say "Reckon we won't take time fer warmin',...Got some ridin' to do.Now iffen you'd jest git yer coat, miss--we'd welcome ya to join  us." What would you do? How would you respond having someone come up to you tell you to grab your coat and leave with them during a snowstorm. To leave with someone you don't know....
     On the flip side of this there is a young man named Laramie also known as "the kid" who was brought up in a camp in the middle of no where. Hidden  from the out side world  by a "band of rough, cursing, hard riding , desperate men," known as his only family in the world. He was brought up not knowing anything but the steady toy and companion; his gun from a young age. He had no one close to his age that he could talk to about his fears. He lived in a world that if you so much as look at someone the wrong way you could get shot!!!!
       Now throw Ariana, the daughter of a pastor, Laramie, the son of an outlaw and a Gown of Spanish Lace together and watch the excitement unfold...
       This is one of my favorite books by Janette Oke, once you start reading you just don't want to stop till you finish and find out Why Ariana was taken, what connections the Spanish Gown holds for both Ariana and Laramie, and also how incidents can change a person for better or worse. How ones faith can keep them believing in the best when they are faced with the what may look like the worse.
  
    The understanding of why Janette Oke writes books the way she does can be best described by taking a look into how she was raised, as well as the factors that help make her who she is.
          Janet Steeves was born in Champion Alberta in February 18 1935 to Fred and Amy Steeves, who were prairie farmers during the Great Depression. She was brought up in a religious background and ended up going to Mountain View Bible College in Didsbury Alberta where she met Edward Oke  and married him in 1957. Since then they have pastored churches in Indiana, Calgary as well as Edmonton, Canada.

     They Have four children and Lauren one of her daughters even has co-written books with Janette.Janette has Written 75 books, her first book was published 1979 by Bethany House Publishers. The first book Love Comes Softly has been made into a movie along with almost all of her other books in the Love Comes Softly series.
      In 1992  Janette received the President's Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association for her contribution to Christian fiction. She has also been awarded the Gold Medallion Award for fiction and in 1999 the CBA life impact award. 
        This is all very important information because we get to understand why all her books have religion as the bond that holds the protagonist through there hardships.