About the Book

Book: To Love a Beast (Once Upon a Time in Texas Book One)

Author: Karen Witemeyer

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: June 10, 2025

Beauty & the Beast in 1800’s Texas.

Once known among New York’s elite as the American Adonis, Everett Griffin now lives as a recluse in the wilds of Texas. The treachery of a former admirer left his face and his spirit riddled with scars, so he hides himself away, his only companions a trio of trusted servants and an oversized dog. Locals whisper of the beastly man who lives in the gloomy manor outside of town and his tendency to attack anyone who dares approach. Everett relishes his fearsome reputation and uses it as a shield to guard his privacy. Until a young woman as stubborn as she is beautiful infiltrates his sanctum and lays siege to his defenses.

When an injury to her father jeopardizes the family’s book binding business, Callista Rosenfeld determines to fulfill the contract herself, and no insufferable client or woman-eating dog will deter her. Finding unlikely allies among Mr. Griffin’s staff, Callista secures her position and sets to work transforming the manor’s remarkable library. Her employer transforms as well, his ill-tempered growls subsiding to reveal a considerate, intellectual nature. Affection blooms as Callista and Everett discover hidden depths in each other, but the evil schemes of a vengeful hunter threaten to leave their love and their lives in tatters.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Voted #1 Readers’ Favorite Christian Historical Author of 2023 by Family Fiction Magazine, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. Karen’s books have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Christy Award, Carol Award, and National Reader’s Choice Award. Karen is an avid cross-stitcher, and makes her home in Abilene, Texas with her husband. Learn more about Karen and her books at her website.

More from Karen

Having Fun with Character Names

I was a college student when the Disney animated adaptation of Beauty and the Beast released, and it instantly became my favorite fairy tale of all time. As a bookish young woman myself, I found Belle so relatable, and the rest of the cast delighted me as well. Throughout my Texas Ever After series and continuing with this new Once Upon a Time in Texas series, I’ve enjoyed paying homage to the Disney characters who inspired my western retellings. To Love a Beast is no different.

Let’s start with our beastly hero, Everett Griffin. The name Everett means “wild boar” and a griffin is a mythological beast with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. Quite fitting for our Beast. Next is the lovely Callista Rosenfeld, a book binder and novel lover. Callista means “most beautiful,” perfect for our Beauty. Rosenfeld references the enchanted rose that plays such a key role in the fairy tale plot.

Next, we have our supporting cast. Mrs. Potter is our motherly housekeeper who invites Callista to tea on a regular basis. Our stuffy butler playing the role of Cogsworth is Mr. Timens. Notice the TIME in his name that pays homage to the clock-faced Disney character. Everett’s valet and best friend is Ray Lightfoot, who’s name plays with the candlestick image with both his first and last name.

I love having fun with my character names and giving them additional story meaning. You’ll find more Beauty and the Beast Easter eggs in my story as well. Those elements make the story so fun to write, and I hope you will find it incredibly fun to read as well.

Happy Reading!

~Karen

Interview with Karen

How long does it take you to write a book?

I am a fairly slow writer. It takes me about 40 weeks to write a full-length novel (90-100,000 words). I can write a novella in about 10 weeks. To Love a Beast is my first short novel (60,000 words). I can’t say exactly how long it took to write because I had to work on it while writing my other books. I still work a day job, so I write mostly on weekends, which is part of what keeps me on a slower pace. However, I am a natural perfectionist, so I’ll always be on the tortoise side of things. I write one very slow and careful draft, editing as I go.

What are your favorite books to read?

I adore historical romance, especially stories that are dusted with humor. Jen Turano, Pepper Basham, and Roseanna White are some of my favorite authors.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

Well, my first book was published as part of my third grade English class. It was a stunning science fiction masterpiece about a girl who visited a purple planet and encountered purple people and the deadly Purple People Eater who plagued them. That’s probably not the first book you were referring to, though. Ha! The first book I wrote has not been published. It contains short biblical fiction stories based on the lives of lesser-known women of the Bible. I wrote it in 2007, I think, so I would have been 36 years old. My first novel was written in 2008. After meeting with an editor, I completely rewrote it, and it eventually became my debut novel in 2010 – A Tailor-Made Bride.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

When I manage to carve out a bit of free time, I really enjoy cross-stitching. It probably won’t be a surprise that my cross-stitching preferences follow my reading preferences. I love designs that have a romantic, historical feel. If there are book involved, even better!

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

The best place to find me is at my website – www.karenwitemeyer.com. You can find all my books there as well as lots of bonus material and my newsletter subscription. I give away two books every month to someone on my newsletter list. You can also find me in my Facebook group called The Posse. We have a great community of Christian fiction lovers over there. We talk books, cowboys, and I even let my readers help me design my characters. You can find us here: The Posse.

Blog Stops

Maureen’s Musings, June 27

Melissa’s Bookshelf, June 27

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 28

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 28

The Important Things in Life: God, Books, & Chocolate , June 28

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 29

Inspired by Fiction, June 29

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions , June 30

Where Faith and Books Meet, June 30

Devoted Steps, July 1

Sylvan Reads, July 1

She Lives To Read, July 1

Texas Book-aholic, July 2

Blossoms and Blessings, July 2

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 3

Blogging With Carol, July 3

Stories By Gina, July 4 (Author Interview)

Labor Not in Vain, July 4

For Him and My Family, July 5

Holly’s Book Corner , July 5

Jeanette’s Thoughts, July 6

Jodie Wolfe, July 6

The Lit Lady, July 7

Wishful Endings, July 7

Bizwings Book Blog, July 8

Life on Chickadee Lane, July 8

Books You Can Feel Good About, July 9

Mary Hake, July 9

To Everything There Is A Season, July 10

Life Love Writing, July 10

Min Reads and Reviews, July 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize of an eBook copy of the book and Beauty & the Beast themed goodies!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54249