WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

On Facebook, several people have been naming ten favorite books that meant something in your life. Narrowing my preference down to only ten would be impossible. And what each meant depended on where I was at that stage of life. Although I’ve been an avid reader as long as I can remember, I’ll skip the school years and move on to after I became an adult. I’ll also skip the classics and go for popular fiction.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee. Okay, so it’s a classic now. Who didn’t love that one? I kept waiting for another book from Harper Lee (as did a lot of others). I thought Scout’s story was wonderful. I saw the film starring Gregory Peck and in which Robert Duvall had his first role. This is one of the few times I enjoyed a movie as much as the book.

THE HELP BY Katherine Stockett. Didn’t we love the way the heroine obtained justice for her friends? I didn’t like the movie because so much had to be changed. This is why books are better than movies—you get the main characters’ internal thoughts and motivation in a book. Usually impossible for a movie.

THE GUENSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. How sad that Ms Schaffer died before she learned how successful her wonderful book had become. Thank goodness her niece Ms Barrows finished editing the manuscript. I have to admit my knowledge of the Isle of Guernsey was nil, but this story uplifted my spirit even though it dealt with Nazi occupation. 

MR. CHURCHILL’S SECRETARY by Susan Elia Macneal. This is another World War II setting, but Maggie Hope brings just that. I love this series and will save them to reread.  FALLON by Louis L’Amour. Any of his, really. What a great writer. He captured history and people and painted the West in words. I’ve read each of his books and will never tire of rereading them.

FOR THE ROSES by Julie Garwood. This was a wonderful saga about lost boys and the baby girl they rescued as they moved from New York to the West. Family and redemption are themes I love.

PRINCE CHARMING by Julie Garwood. Probably my all-time favorite book, I love the subtle humor the author introduces into the story and the developing love and adventure. I loved so many things about this book: the scene where we learn who stole Lucas’ knife, where we see Taylor shooting rabbits, where Taylor covers Lucas’ friend with a blanket, and so many more.

THE PROMISE OF JENNY JONES by Maggie Osborne. Jenny had only one thing and that’s her word. She keeps her promise through unbelievably difficult conditions and triumphs. My first time to read a book with a six-foot, redheaded, muleskinner heroine. In a speech once, I heard Ms Osborne say this was the traditional governess story turned on its ear. ☺

SLIGHTLY SHADY by Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz). This is the first of the Lavinia Lake and Tobias March trilogy and I loved each one. This first was probably my favorite. However, this woman cannot write a bad book under any name. I think I have each of her books by each of her names. The historical romances are my favorites.

MONTANA SKY by Nora Roberts. This is one of my favorites by Ms Roberts (although THE WITNESS may tie). I liked the three half-sisters learning to work together on a ranch and learning to be family. Family is a wonderful theme.  

TO KISS A TEXAN by Jodi Thomas. Wes McClain is my favorite member of his family and his rescue of the captive woman Allie,who salves his wounded heart, is amazing. Theirs is a memorable romance that has stayed with me for years.

 

FALLON by Louis L'Amour, along with each of his other historical works. What a creative genius this man was. He once told a group of writers that he could write while sitting in a folding chair in the center of Hollywood and Vine with a typewriter balanced on his knees. I know he was the master of setting and characterization. I chose FALLON as my favorite of his books because  it's the story of a man who is much better than he believes, a story of redemption. But L'Amour wrote only great books. Hero and I save them and reread them from time to time. I practically know FALLON by heart, yet it still calls to me. 

I have deliberately not mentioned any of the books of personal friends. To do so would be insane. I’d be certain to overlook someone and then be in the dog house forever. And there simply is not enough space or time to list all my favorites. There are huge numbers of wonderful writers whose books I’ve enjoyed and saved. And I continue discovering new writers whose works I love. Someday maybe I’ll quit writing and just read.

Naw, this is too great a job. Why would I ever give up a job where I can work at home in my jammies?

Thanks for stopping by!

  

THE POWER OF WORDS

As readers and/or writers, words fascinate us. They carry the power to mesmerize or anger us. Phrases, descriptions, active verbs, words that paint pictures in our minds. As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with words and phrases. 


The first book I remember is a LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK OF PRAYERS. In fact, I think it’s still packed away in a trunk in the basement. I just can’t let go of books, more’s the pity. I notice it's still for sale with the same cover. Amazing!


The second book I remember is a book of verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. At the time, I had no idea who he was. but I loved that book. Somewhere along the way, it was lost or loved to death. It wasn’t until I purchased A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES for my own children that I realized the title and author of the book. My daughters also loved the book’s poems. 


Robert Louis Stevenson said, "All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, until it finds a willing and prepared hearer."To that, I add the reader. And I was so willing to read and hear his verses.

Bugs still makes me laugh!

Neither of those is the book my dad used when teaching me to read. I was thrilled with Bugs Bunny’s antics and Daddy taught me to read using the comic strip in our daily newspaper. To this day I’m not sure whether his greatest motivation in teaching me to read was to educate me or so he wouldn’t have to read to me. ☺ Since he was an advocate for education, I hope it was so I would be able to read more diversely. 


I often reread books I’ve loved to study the word pictures the author painted. Do you have favorite authors whose descriptions are so perfect you long to write like them? I do. One is Loretta Chase in LORD PERFECT. Her descriptions of the hero and heroine are breathtaking. I love that book as you have already guessed. I enjoy all of Ms Chase's books, but LORD PERFECT and MR. IMPOSSIBLE are my favorites. At least  for now. She continues to write amazing books and I continue to buy and read them. Her word choices are perfect and vivid.

1880's Mogollon, New Mexico 

Another Louis whose words impacted me is Louis L'Amour. His words paint pictures for me, and for my husband. We have read each of L'Amour's books. In fact, we have most of them in hardback from the Louis L'Amour book club. Hero and I have detoured a couple of times while traveling to include a site mentioned in a Louis L'Amour book. Warning! Skip the town of Mogollon, New Mexico unless you are driving a small car. Worst one-way mountain road we’ve ever driven. It’s frightening to look over the side of the mountain road (no rails most of the time) and see all the vehicles that didn’t make the turns.  Once in the town, though, the scenery is so worth the trip. Oh, no, I digressed again.


Words have tremendous power: power to soothe, power to harm, power to change lives forever. A harsh word cannot be recalled. A kind word never goes unnoticed. 


A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.  Proverbs 25:11 


Thanks for stopping by!

ROMANCING THE WEST AND MORE!

The RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS GIVEAWAY HOP has ended. My giveaway is a copy of one of my e-books, winner's choice, and this is open worldwide. In fact, I am feeling very happy because we thought Darling Daughter 2 had a serious health issue that a CTScan proved she did not have. So, instead of one winner, everyone who commented on the Dime Novels post wins! Those people are: Mary, Andrea, Mitzi, Filia, Vinci, Stephanie, Tiffany, Laurie, Pragya, Sarah, and Childrensbook. I will contact the winners by email to learn which e-book each wishes.

              ROMANCING THE WEST

What began my personal love of the West? In the evenings, my dad often told stories of his family coming to Texas after the Civil War. I couldn’t hear enough of those tales. Even after I’d memorized them, I urged him to retell each one.

Roy Rogers and Trigger

Next came the movies: Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Lone Ranger, Hoppalong Cassidy. Have I forgotten any? Personally, I wanted to ride the range with Roy, saving the West from the bank robbers and rustlers I was certain plagued the land. We watched television cowboys on Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Rifleman, Maverick, and others and never tired of them. Then life intervened, as it did for all would-be cowgirls and cowboys.

Louis L'Amour

As an adult, I discovered Louis L’Amour. Among others, I also love the books of Jodi Thomas, Maggie Osborne, and the westerns Lorraine Heath wrote several years ago! However, Louis L’Amour is my author hero. I’ve read each of his books at least twice, and several of them too many times to count. FALLON is my personal favorite: what woman can resist a man who thinks he’s bad but is actually a good, hard working, clever man protective of others?

I usually choose to write about 1870-1890 and the time of the Texas cattle drives. Yes, I also write contemporary cowboys (including sheriffs and detectives), but none are more appealing to me than those of the late 19th century. So many things fascinate me about this time period. Would I have wanted to live then instead of now? Not on your life. I'm eccentric, but not crazy! I like my current creature comforts, thank you, but I love reading and writing about that earlier time. In that time period, the Civil War and Reconstruction were over, yet law and order was far from established. Men--and women--were often isolated and had to defend themselves and their families. If there was an area lawman, he was often too far away to offer immediate help.

When the Civil War was over, men returned home (if they still had one). In Texas and a few other states, many unbranded cattle had bred during the war and ran wild. An industrious man could gather these beeves and place his own brand on them, then drive them to market in Kansas. According to T. H. Fehrenback in his book LONE STAR: A HISTORY OF TEXAS AND THE TEXANS, cattle sold for two dollars a head in Texas in 1875, but brought ten dollars a head in Kansas. Since cowboys made the same wage per month and received the same food regardless of where they rode, it cost no more for a rancher to have his ranch hands drive cattle to market in Kansas. Fortunes were built during this time!




Comanche Warriors

 The wealth didn’t come without cost. Danger lurked everywhere in the West, but on the trail hazards multiplied. Indians, rustlers posing as Indians, rustlers posing as law men, and a plethora of bad men wanted the benefit of others’ hard work.

Lightning on the prairie
could stampede cattle

Then there were the natural disasters: swollen rivers, lightning storms, and stampedes. Plus Texas cattle carried tick fever, to which they were immune, and threatened to infect cattle in other states. Cattlemen from the intervening states crusaded to block Texas cattle from crossing into their area, and it’s no wonder, is it? The astonishing fact is that any cattle made it to market.

Availabe on
Amazon Kindle

Yes, you say, but how can it be a romance when there were no women on cattle drives?  Cowboys are a superstitious lot, and they believed women on a drive brought bad luck. In that way, cattle drives are far from romantic. If you’ve read my book THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE (available for 99 cents from Amazon Kindle), you learn that wives are NOT invited on a cattle drive. No, it’s not the actual cattle drive that appeals to me, but the era. A young man with nothing could homestead land, gather unbranded cattle or buy a few head, and create a small ranch. With hard work and perseverance, he could expand. Of course, then he’d need a wife to share his life. They’d face trouble--it always came--and stand side by side to triumph. Well, that’s the way it happens in my novels.

HEARTS WEST
by Chris Enss

Women from areas where most young men had died in the Civil War didn’t have to remain spinsters. They could travel West and marry, sometimes via mail-order arrangements. How many mail-order western romances have your read? I’ve read too many to count, but I still love them. There were wagon trains heading West (love those wagon train romances, too!), then stages and locomotives. By heading West, a single woman had an opportunity for a family of her own. I think I’d have risked it, wouldn’t you? Chris Enss has a great book, HEARTS WEST, of accounts by mail order brides if that subject interests you.

Reading about people who adapt to new circumstances, meet obstacles they’d never imagined, and triumph while finding a soul mate is very romantic. Who wouldn’t love a tale like that?

Thanks for stopping by today!

By the way, I'm Sky Purington's guest the 22nd at
http://www.skypuringtonwrites.blogspot.com/ 

Please stop by an visit her beautiful blog if you can.

Where Do You Work Best?

When I first began writing, I worked for a newspaper and did most of my writing at home. My "office" was a corner of the garage. Needless to say, it lacked ambiance. Didn't matter to me--I just.pounded out my articles on an old IBM Selectric.

I remember a quote from Louis L'Amour that he could write sitting on a folding chair on the median at Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood CA. I'll bet he could have, too. He was a great writer whose books I reread. In fact, Hero and I have a section of our bedroom bookcase reserved for Louis L'Amour books.

Through the years, my office space has evolved. Now I have taken over Darling 2's former bedroom. I call it my pink cave, because the walls are a little brighter pink than we planned. When I took over the room, Darling 2 redecorated it with lovely prints suited to a romance writer--a Victorian cherub, hearts, pink roses (my favorite), and a Monet Water Lily print. Very soothing!. One wall is mostly family photos, another holds prints of my book covers.  A couple of bookcases hold my :"keeper" books. It's a pleasant writing retreat. Definitely a step up from a corner of the garage, right?  Of course, the room is not entirely mine. Our three cats share it with me. I doubt they care what color the walls are or what's hanging on them, as long as the litter box is clean and the food and water bowls are full. Hero and I are the cat's staff and they don't tolerate slow service.

The point of this article is that a nice office makes writing more comfortable and more pleasant, but it's not necessary to a writer. We write because we just can't help ourselves. LOL

The late science fiction writer Warren Norwood taught writing classes. He said the most important tool for a writer is a comfortable chair. I can agree. Sitting at a computer (or typewriter if you have to) all day leaves your back, shoulders, and neck in kinks. Sure, I could write while sitting on a folding chair, but thank goodness I don't have to!

Talented romance writer Lorraine Heath once said her dream place to write would be an office in the Texas hill country with a huge picture window to look out on a pastoral landscape. Sounds great, doesn't it? I think of the tree at the top of my blog as my window. Darling 1 took the photo. That giant tree soothes and invites me to sit in the shade under its limbs and curl up with a good book. Yeah, in my daydreams I can ignore fire ants' existence.And bugs n general. But can you see what I mean about inviting?

Romance writer and radio celebrity Candace Havens said she does most of her writing in a recliner with her laptop balanced on a pillow on her lap. And she can write while watching TV. Yikes! Talk about using both sides of your brain and multi-tasking.

Do you have to have a special place to write or pursue your hobbies? Do you require quiet or can you shut out noise?

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in my May giveaway. Join as a follower for a second chance to win. If you don't win the May contest, return and enter my weekly June contests.