Happy Labor Day! And Writing What We Love

Bobbye Terry/Daryn Cross gave me this photo because she
knows I love Texas sunrises and sunsets. No, it has nothing
to do with this post except I love the photo.

Labor Day Weekend—a nice long weekend with an extra day to relax and be with family. What could be better? I hope you have time to read a good book. Like THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE, hint, hint.


Why do I write historicals? A writer should writer the kind of book he or she likes to read. Although I’m an eclectic reader, one type book I love is western romance. The first one I read was by Lorraine Heath. I fell in love with the concept and read each one of her books I could find. She’s a very nice person as well as being a great writer. I’ve continued to follow her books as she’s moved into English Victorians, but that’s another subgenre of historical romance. A bookseller I trust suggested I try Jodi Thomas’ books. Thank goodness she told me about Jodi Thomas, because I read each of her books—and reread several—including the contemporary and suspense as well as the western.

Writing is more involved than reading. Any novel usually requires research to set up the world the writer will describe. My husband and I took our dream trip to Ireland and fell so in love with the country that we returned a second time, and would love to go back there. We also love our home state of Texas. What better than to combine the two? Cenora Rose O’Neill, the heroine of THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE, is from Ireland. Dallas McClintock, the hero, is a Texas rancher in the Texas Hill Country, near Bandera but in the fictional area of McClintock Springs.

McClintock Springs was founded by Dallas’ grandfather, Vincent McClintock, and the fictional county named McClintock, too. It’s so much fun to invent a new town and county. Then I can make them anything I choose. The ranch buildings and house are so vivid in my mind that I’d like to be able to paint them so others could see them as I do. Perhaps I’ve described them well enough in the book that readers will be able to form a mental picture for them. Large two-story home painted butter yellow with dark green shutters and white railing around the wide front porch. Screened in sleeping porch on each floor to catch the Southwestern summer breezes.

I hope you enjoy western historical romances, too. I’ll include a copy of mine in the prize drawing on September 11th. You have until 11:59 pm that day to enter. If you don’t win, please keep returning to comment. I’ll have weekly drawings for quite a while. To enter, you simply comment on my blog and include your email address. If you sign up as a follower, that counts as an extra entry. Couldn’t be easier.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day!