LAUNCH FOR MY NEW BOOK, BRAZOS BRIDE!

Me doing a
happy dance!

This weekend is the official launch of my new western historical BRAZOS BRIDE, set in 1870 North Central Texas. Woo Hoo! I am so excited about this book. While considering this trilogy, I engaged in a lot of research on stage lines, Comanche attacks, pioneer settlements, and a million other things specific to the area and time period. Let me share with you some of the places and events that inspired me.

Frankly, I love trilogies. I like seeing the hero and heroine from the first book reappear still happily married in the second and third books. Family-oriented books also appeal to me, so this trilogy features three brothers: Micah, Zach, and Joel Stone. Zach lives on Stone Mountain and his brothers live nearby. You can see why it’s subtitled Men of Stone Mountain, can’t you? But back to inspiration.

A fascinating non-fiction book, PAINTED POLE by Barbara Belding Gibson, is about the Belding Ranch. Fortunately, I bought mine years ago because now they're very hard to find and expensive. When the first Belding came to Palo Pinto County, Texas in 1859, he found an abandoned small cedar log cabin already on the land. To people in the east or in Europe and the UK, I realize thatjust ovee 150 years is not old. But y'all remember, we’re the “new” part of the US, and that time period is early for Texas, partner. Texas only became a country in 1836, and then a state in 1845.

Mr. Belding had a huge ranch that has since been divided several times among descendants. The portion on which Barbara and Cy Gibson live includes the original cabin, smokehouse, and cold room. These structures have been preserved and incorporated into the newer portions of the ranch house. The former cabin is now a bathroom--roomy for that purpose, but very small for a home. Fortunately, the Gibsons love history and are excellent stewards of their heritage.

Approaching the
Palo Pinto Mountains

Several years ago, Hero noticed in the local newspaper that the Belding-Gibson Ranch was holding an open house. YeeHaw! We attended and I was enthralled. This ranch was perfect for the first book in my trilogy! Although I was working on other projects, I took notes like mad.

California hacienda in Laguna Beach
similar to Hope Montoya's (sans
plam trees and beach)

The heroine, Hope Montoya, is Hispanic from a very wealthy family who were in Texas before there were anglos. She lives in a two-story Spanish-style hacienda reminiscent of the Moorish Spanish architecture found in many areas of the Southwest.
 However, that's not true of the hero, Micah Stone.

Belding cabin on right, dogtrot,
and smokehouse on left from a
photo in PAINTED POLE

Micah lives in a replica of the Belding Ranch cabin with a dog trot extension. I enlarged the cabin minutely, so there was room for five bunks and some other furniture. I also attached a porch with a couple of benches and a chair for the hero, his brothers, and two ranch hands. That’s the fun part of writing; we can take reality and twist it to suit our stories. Mmm, I feel so empowered! I can almost hear Helen Reddy singing in the background. "I am woman, hear me roar...."

Part of the Belding Ranch is beneath
Possum Kingdom Lake, which
was created by daming the Brazos. The
white cliff on the left is Hell's Gate and
a part of the original ranch.

The Brazos River runs through this area, winding through ravines and creating lovely scenery. The hills are the Palo Pinto Mountains, called that by the Native Americans who labeled them “painted poles” for the scrub oaks colorful fall leaves. They aren’t the Appalachians or the Rockies, folks, but the Palo Pinto Mountains are beautiful in their own way. To someone like me who mostly grew up in relatively flat West Texas, they are gorgeous. I used this area in another book, a modern time travel titled OUT OF THE BLUE. That book has an Irish girl from 1845 plopping into the modern lake beside the bass boat of a police detective.

When I was a small girl, I lived in Southern California and fell in love with the Spanish architecture prevalent there. Probably that's why I love Santa Barbara, San Antonio, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque so much. Anyway, that’s the style I chose for the heroine’s home. In my mind, I can picture it so clearly. I hope my writing brings the home to life for readers.

And I love romances where there is also murder and mayhem. This one has both. I just love torturing my characters. (Ghoulish laugh)

Another commonality of this trilogy is that each involves a type of poison. In BRAZOS BRIDE, the heroine is being poisoned and enlists the hero’s help to discover the killer. Her plan involves a temporary marriage of convenience so she can control her estate. Well, you’ve read enough romances to know how that will end, right? But you need to read this book to see how Hope and Micah arrive at their happy ending. Really, you do need to read the book!

Here’s the blurb:

Hope Montoya knows someone is poisoning her, but who? She suspects her mother was also poisoned and knows her father was murdered. Who wants her family eliminated? She vows to fight! She realizes she won’t last the eight months until she turns twenty-five and her uncle no longer controls her or her estate. Never will she be dominated by a man as she was by her father, as she has seen her mother and grandmothers dominated. If she marries, she gains control now, but only if she weds a man she can trust. Only one man meets her requirements. Can she trust him to protect her and capture the killer...but then to leave?

Micah Stone has been in love with Hope since the first time he saw her. But he was accused of her father’s murder and surely would have hung if not for his two brothers’ aid. Most in the community still believe him guilty. But the drought has him too worried about water for his dying cattle to care about his neighbors’ opinions. When Hope proposes a paper marriage in exchange for land on the Brazos River and much needed cash, her offer rubs his pride raw. His name may be Stone, but he’s not made of it. He can’t refuse her for long, and so their adventure begins.

And here’s an excerpt from in the hotel room after the wedding:

She looked at her hands. Perhaps she was unreasonable. Or maybe insane for sympathizing with a man who'd had to work harder because of her family.


"I know it is an odd situation. If—if you wear your shirt and britches, I guess it would be all right if you slept on top of the cover here." She patted the bed beside her.


He froze. Not a muscle moved, and he only stared at her. Had she misunderstood? Did he think her offer too forward?


She babbled, "That is, if you want to. You said I should trust you. Well, maybe you would be more comfortable where you are." Why didn't he say something? Would he prefer sleeping in a chair to sharing the bed?


From the street below, she heard raucous laughter and someone called to a man named Ben. Music from a piano, she supposed in the saloon, drifted in through the open windows. A gust of breeze moved the curtains and slid across her skin. In this room, though, there was no sound.


Slowly, he rose and extinguished the lamp as he moved across the room. She slid one of the pillows beside hers then scooted down. What had possessed her to offer him half her bed? Would he think she invited more?


Too late to take it back now, for the mattress dipped as he stretched out. Quaking inside at the thought of him so near, she turned her back to him. She heard his weary sigh, as if he relaxed for the first time in a long while.


"Good night," she offered, and hoped he understood the finality of the phrase.


"Yep. Good night, Mrs. Stone." The mattress shook as he turned his back to her. She felt the soles of his feet press against her ankles. He must be several inches too long for the bed and she guessed he had to bend his legs to fit. She didn't dare turn to see firsthand.


She lay perfectly still, afraid to take a deep breath. Soon his breathing changed and she knew he slept. Outside the open window the town quieted and the distant tinkling of the piano was the only sound. Light from the full moon illuminated the room and slanted across the bed. A soft breeze drifted across her, lulling her in its caress.


With a sigh, she fought to relax, but abdominal pain kept her awake no matter how her body cried for rest. Perhaps if she planned, she’d forget the pain and chills that racked her frame.


Plan, yes. She needed a plan for food preparation when she returned to her home. No, Micah said he had a plan. Oh, dear, once more he took charge when it was her life, her home.


Maybe Aunt Sofia and Uncle Jorge would have left by then and things would be fine. Already she felt more secure. She sensed her eyelids drifting closed and the sleep’s blessed relief approaching. She snuggled into the pillow.


A gunshot ripped apart the night.


The blast startled her and she screamed as something thudded near her head, showering her hair and face with splinters. Panic immobilized her. What had happened?


Micah dragged her onto the floor as a bullet ripped into the mattress.

Want to know what happens next? BRAZOS BRIDE is 65,000 words, mildly sensual, and only 99 cents at Amazon Kindle. Here’s the buy link:


http://www.amazon.com/Brazos-Bride-Stone-Mountain-ebook/dp/B007HS10SY/ref=sr_1_18?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1331156267&sr=1-18


On Monday, Ann Christine will by a guest, so please return. Thank you for stopping by!

REVIEW OF WEST OF WAWA

WEST OF WAWA
By Lisa De Nikolits
Publisher: Inanna Publications (September 30, 2011)


First readers, let me tell you that Wawa is a town in Ontario, Canada. As nonsensical as the title sounds, this is a book of serious self-discovery.


Twenty-nine-year-old Benny Chau has run away from her home in Sydney, Australia. Run really, really far away. After a disastrous review to her gallery show she had thought would bring her fame and a way to escape a job she hated, followed by the humiliating failure of her marriage, she fled to Toronto via some impressive stops. When she steps off the plane in Toronto, the tulips are in bloom and she thinks the city beautiful and friendly.


Benny decides to give Toronto a try and begins a journey to lose herself as far from Australia as she can. She misses her parents and her sister, Shandra, but bemoans the state of her life near them. She is jealous of her sister, although clearly Benny had more advantages. Benny has allowed her bitterness to shape her, define her, sinking further and further into drugs, alcohol, and bad boys.


In spite of all this, WEST OF WAWA is a fascinating book. I don’t approve of self-medicating, but don’t worry. Not to give a spoiler, but Benny’s story ends happily. After enduring bad buses, slow trains, and seedy traveling companions for 72 days, she finally reaches the end of her journey in Vancouver. Not all of it was bad, though. In addition to breathtaking scenery, Benny makes two friends, real friends, the kind who stick with you.


At then end of her journey, Benny has discovers her true self. Watching another woman reduced to begging, “Benny thought how easy it was to take a wrong turn in life – a turn where one thing led to another, and another, until one day you woke up and the face in the mirror belonged to no one you knew, no one you ever thought you’d know.”


WEST OF WAWA is about Benny’s internal journey while she engages in her external journey. Authors are told to avoid stories set in moving vehicles, that they are boring. Not so! Ms De Nikolits creates an exotic ride across Canada, each step exciting and eventful. And whether she stops over in a motel, hotel, hostel, or private home, Benny finds adventure.


I love Ms De Nikolit’s turn of phrase, such as describing Manitoba’s mosquitoes as “So big they could chew through leather trousers.”


Benny started out a selfish, bitter woman. Although I always liked her in this book, she ended up a person I can admire and respect. A talented, energetic person I might want for a friend.  She realized, with a small measure of pride, that the trip had taught her a couple of things, not the least of which was that she was a survivor.”


Don’t let that tidbit from near the end prevent your reading WEST OF WAWA. Benny’s is a fast-paced, intriguing journey.


Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/West-Wawa-Inanna-Poetry-Fiction/dp/1926708245/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331100945&sr=1-1


I was furnished a free copy of this book for an honest review.

WEST OF WAWA AUTHOR,
LISA DE NIKOLITS

Originally from South Africa, Lisa de Nikolits has been a Canadian citizen for eight years and has lived in Canada for eleven. She has also lived and worked in the United States, Australia, and Britain. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. As an art director, her magazine credits include marie claire, Vogue, Vogue Living, Cosmopolitan, SHE and Longevity. Her first novel, The Hungry Mirror, was published by Inanna Publications in 2010 and was awarded the ippy Gold Medal for literature on women’s issues in 2011. She currently lives and works in Toronto.


Thanks for stopping by!

LISA DE NIKOLITS INTERVIEW

LISA DE NIKOLITS, AUTHOR

Please welcome Lisa de Nikolits to the blog.



Caroline: Where did you grow up? Siblings? Locale?


Lisa: I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. We lived an hour north of the city and had four hectares with horses and I enjoyed a wonderful time growing up.


I have one sister and she suffered the consequences of my book-wormish tendencies more than anyone – she was (is) very sporty and she was always begging me to play netball with her (she was captain of the A-team, while I hid under the bleachers and read). She recently sent me a photograph of the two of us when we were kids – she’s sitting chewing on a finger, looking bored and miserable, looking into the distance, and I’ve got my head down, nose in a book, happily reading, ignoring her entirely. I feel awfully bad about this now – now that we live so far apart (she’s in Australia and I live in Canada), I wish I’d played with her more even if I was bad at sports and hated them.

And now that I think about it, I wasn’t bad at all sports, just school ball-sports like tennis, hockey and netball. I loved swimming, and I did very well at show-jumping and I have my brown belt in karate (although that’s a skill sadly long-unused).

Caroline: It sounds as if you had a lovely childhood but were probably you considered a “bookworm.”  Married, single? Children?

Lisa: I am a married bookworm without any children. I knew my husband and I were a match when he took me home to see his apartment and he opened the door to one entire room filled with books – and I do mean filled! It was amazing.

He and I sometimes take a day on a weekend to just lie in bed and read – it’s really great! Of course we don’t get to do it too often but when we do, it’s such a treat. Or we’ll read late into Saturday nights and into the early hours of Sunday morning and there’ve been times when we’ve gone out to all-night doughnut shops for just that right hit of carbs and sugar to see us through to the end of our books!

Caroline: My husband is a bookworm also, which is wonderful for me. Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?



Lisa: I read a huge variety of books. Huge. Here are just a few that I’ve read (and reread) in the past few months…. THE WITCH OF BABYLON by D.J. McIntosh; THE ANTOGONIST by Lynn Coady; MY SISTER, MY LOVE, by Joyce Carol Oates; HALF-BLOOD BLUES by Esi Edugyan; A CENTURY OF SOUTH AFRICAN SHORT STORIES; THE STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM; COLD STONE JUG by Herman Charles Bosman. I read poetry, the classics, the dictionary, a book on synonyms – you name it, I read it!

As for all-time favourites; John Steinbeck, Annie Proulx, Charles Bukowski, Harry Crews, Mordecai Richler, Edeet Ravel.

I also love short story collections – I have such great respect for short story writers; they hone their craft like sculptors – not a single excess word. I strive to achieve that.


Caroline: One of my friends, Earl Staggs, has a great short story collection on Amazon, but I have trouble condensing what I want to say. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

Lisa: I read, walk, knit, play the classical guitar, window-shop, daydream, make spirit sticks, celebrate the seasons and the various celebrations that come with them; I plant tulip bulbs, tend to my garden, ride my bike, paint Easter Eggs, decorate Christmas trees, hang Valentine decorations, celebration full moons (I just love a glorious full moon). I ruminate on new moons, I value the beauty that each season brings. I talk to my friends a lot, I eat Ethiopian food, I play with my cat, my Mom and I email a couple of times daily (she’s also in Australia)… I have an endless list really! I love taking long baths and a new bar of special soap is a joy as are scented lotions and candles. I love chocolate and make sure I treat myself well in this regard – not that I have to worry, my husband keeps me well-stocked!

And I just love every moment I get to spend with him. One of our greatest pleasures is heading out into the countryside in summer on road trips where we stop to photograph things and there was a while there where I felt the need for us to veer for every yard-sale and he obliged! I also do yoga and I recently discovered Bollyfit was just about the most fun ever!

Caroline: You definitely stay busy, and that’s good. I don’t understand people who are “bored” when there are so many choices. Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?


Lisa: “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein


Caroline: I love that quote and it's also one of my favorites! How long have you been writing?


Lisa: All my life. Really! I can’t remember not writing. Or not thinking about writing. I suffered from terrible insomnia as a child and so my Mom taught me to read from a very early age. I can’t remember not being able to read. Words were my friends when everyone else had gone to bed.


Caroline: My youngest daughter suffers from insomnia, and she reads a lot. Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude? PC or laptop?

Lisa: My fantastic Apple laptop (MacBook Pro) is my writing partner. That, along with my Magic Mouse. They both help me to be super-speedy – they’re incredible time-savers and it’s like driving the very best BMW – smooth and fast! I’ve been working on Apples since their incarnation in the late 80’s (yes, I’m that old) in the design field and so I work on my writing on an Apple too, I simply can’t bear the clumsy contraption that is a PC! And yes, I offer my apologies to PC fans – I’ve just loved Apple for too long!

I definitely need quiet unless I am inputting corrections that I’ve made to hard copy. Then I need music and lots of it. And chocolate-covered peanuts.


I love a laptop because I move around the house to write. In summer I write in the sun-room or the living room during winter. I must edit in my study. Sometimes I write in bed. My laptop (covered in swirling glittery paisley decals) moves a lot! Her name is Uber Isis and she’s my ally!


Caroline: I do like my laptop, but I’m more a PC person in my study. Are you a plotter or a panzer?


Lisa: I’m both! I’m a panzer when I’m at my computer and I’m a plotter when I’m not! I plot on the subway, in the bathtub, on walks, while watching TV and then I get to my computer and I fire away!


Caroline: Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Lisa: I definitely use real life as my starting point for my writing – but only as a starting point. Jeffrey Eugenides (THE MARRIAGE PLOT and THE VIRGIN SUICIDES) said (in a talk in Toronto) that real life is messy, and not dictated by dramatic events in the same way that fiction is. I take the shapeless messy clay of life around me, and life as I imagine it could or would be, and I use it as a medium from which to create a sculpture that bears no true resemblance to that from which it was plucked.

I think that this practice makes me a super-vigilant observer in life; I’m always on the lookout for some scrap or gem that I can take home and build a story out of.

Caroline: Yes, I think writers always collect kernels that could become stories. Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

Lisa: I make sure that I write every day. And even if that’s just a paragraph, I try to stick to it. Just one small bit, every day. I don’t worry about word count – I always write too long anyway! The main goal is to keep myself active by writing something, no matter how small.

Caroline: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Lisa: Ah, many things. I hope they enjoy the read. I hope they relate to the characters. I hope they learn something about themselves and I hope that my books help them to like themselves more and forgive themselves for the times in life when things haven’t gone so swimmingly well. I hope that they like my style of writing and I hope that they think my books have value in this world.

Caroline: What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Lisa: I’ve never been big on long-term planning. I’ve always thought that I just need to keep putting my one foot in front of the other, and working hard today, in this day and doing the very best I can, and hoping that God will smile upon me and that my efforts and my work will bear a fruitful harvest. I can’t really imagine thinking beyond that, nor do I think that it’s my job to think beyond that – I tell myself this daily; “just do your job today, do what’s needed today,” and if that means just writing a paragraph or doing a seven hour stretch on a weekend or staying up all night, or going back over my research – well that’s all I have to do – keep my chin up when the knocks come and keep doing my job. I have faith that the rest will take care of itself down the line. I really think that life is all about finding joy and gratitude in today. It’s hard because we are so encouraged to think about ‘when’ things are truly fantastic – meanwhile they’re really rather wonderful right now! And you know, when I started out as a layout artist creating real estate ads for a free brochure, I never dreamt I’d end up working for Vogue (Australia) but I did – and I attribute that to my just doing the best job I could, every single day, no matter how small or insignificant the task.

Caroline: That’s a terrific philosophy, and one that obviously works for you. Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?


Lisa: I’m in the process of rewriting and cutting my murder mystery novel. My wonderful publisher evaluated the book and they think it has potential, and have mentioned a 2013 publishing date IF I can make the grade of doing what’s needed to reshape it. So that’s what I’m working on right now – and I’ve been working on this novel for four years; I’m heading into my fifth year on it. I also have to find a new title and I’m stuck between a few options – maybe your readers can weigh in on the choices? That would be great!


Some background info: it’s an Agatha Christie type of novel, very long, with over twenty characters all told – they go on a trip across the Namibian desert and all kinds of mayhem unfolds…


Here are my (current) prospective titles:


UNDER THE SPELL OF AN AFRICAN MOON
THE WITCHDOCTOR'S HAT TRICK
AN ACCIDENTAL MADNESS
BACK AGAINST THE SUN

I hope your readers will tell me which one they like best!

Caroline: Each sounds intriguing. What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Lisa: Never give up. Hone your craft. Take criticism with good cheer and think about what you can learn from rejection. There IS a hidden lining to every dark cloud and what looks like a blow can really make you stronger and can help you in the long run. Trust your creativity – if you need to rework something, don’t worry, the creativity will be there for you.

Caroline: Sage advice. Where can readers find your books?

Lisa: Amazon.ca – http://amzn.to/xY4d0B


Indigo.ca – http://amzn.to/w62lEB

Caroline: A fun fact that readers wouldn’t know about you.

Lisa: I always keep chocolate next to my bed in readiness for midnight ‘emergencies’!

Caroline: Clever girl! Something about you that would surprise readers.

Lisa: I was expelled from Catholic school – but I had to be reinstated!


The headmistress was having a ‘bad day’.

Caroline: Now there’s a story I’d love to hear! How can readers learn more about you?

Lisa: I have a website; http://www.lisadenikolitswriter.com/.
I’m also very active on Facebook and I post a daily quote on Twitter – I post the quotes in the morning and then say who said it in the afternoon. I love researching my quotes, I learn a lot.


Friend me on Facebook (I love connecting with fellow writers) or find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/lisadenikolits


                  


Thank you so much for sharing with us today, Lisa. 

Readers, please return on the 7th for a review of Lisa’s current release, WEST OF WAWA (Wawa is a town in Canada). In the meantime, please tell her which title you think is most engaging for her mystery in progress.



Thanks for stopping by!

ANN MONTCLAIR SHARES WRITING STEPS

Welcome Ann Montclair today. Born in Los Angeles, California, Ann now lives in the Finger Lakes Region of Western New York with her husband, almost teenage son, and lots of dogs and cats. A grown daughter lives in Los Angeles where she has moved to be near Ann’s parents and grandmother.



Ann’s family enjoys many outdoor activities: hiking, cycling, gardening, birdwatching, snow-shoeing and snowboarding as well as the many cultural activities WNY provides, attending theatre and concerts and visiting museums as often as possible. Inside their little cabin in the woods, it is all about cooking, music, and, of course, reading and writing. When Ann’s son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, the family embraced a healthier lifestyle, and that's also when she decided her dream of becoming a romance writer couldn't wait. Life's just too precious to waste one moment, and she completely embraces the concept of happily ever after.


Ann cut her teeth on the classics of romance literature and is still passionate about the genre. Her day job is professor of English at a community college. She attended the University of California at Los Angeles, earning a BA in English Literature. At Humboldt State University, she earned two MAs—one in English Literature and another in Composition and Rhetoric. Once she moved east, she earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College. Since then, she has published poems and non-fiction in various small publications.


Now, here's Ann to share a writing tip with readers. 

Step One in Writing a Novel: Building Your Characters



My firm belief that a great story is character driven means I spend most of my plotting or outlining time on character development. When it’s time for me to start a new novel, I spend a full week on building my lead roles.


For the hero, I start with physical appearance, current occupation, family structure, childhood events, tragedies, triumphs, unmet goals, met goals, where he lived and lives currently, pets, pet peeves, past love-life and present love-life, one motto/maxim that drives him, and then I write a few pages titled “A Typical Day in the Life of…”


Answering these questions is a long and messy process, but lots of fun. Once I’ve written all that information down on my legal pad, I name him. His name should somehow reflect his character. I try a bunch of different combinations, ask my family, and take suggestions before I settle on a name. I always live with the name for a few days before I start drafting my story.


I follow a similar process for my heroine except I add an extra section on “Where (name) will be in Twenty Years.” My female protagonist always has a clear view of where she wants to be, and my male protagonist is living day by day, never forgetting past lessons.


Once I know so much about each character, I begin to imagine how they’ll meet on the first page of my novel. Their back-story is so rich in my mind, it’s easier to imagine them in a scenario that is exciting and has some risk and something at stake.


In my first contemporary romance novel, THE BILLIONAIRE'S BAUBLE, my hero is a rich oil company owner and CEO interviewing candidates for an executive assistant position; my heroine is trying to get the job. When she enters the office as part of the hiring process, she is shocked to find he’s the guy she met in a bar two years earlier, kissed, and never forgot. The story ensues. It is fun and sexy, and David and Sloane are people I hope my readers can love as much as I do.


If you want to write a novel, knowing your characters inside and out is key. Everything evolves from them. I promise: if you do the work up front to build rich characters, your story will be easier to write.


Thanks, Caroline, for allowing me to visit your blog and its readers. Readers, come visit me! I’d love to meet you!


Ann Montclair

Available now from Soul Mate Publishing

The blurb for BILLIONAIRE'S BAUBLE:

She wants a soul mate. He wants another bauble. But once fast-track billionaire David Grant meets modern day, home spun sweetheart Sloane Porter, he finds a gem too rare to discard.


The hero is David Grant, billionaire owner and CEO of Grant Oil. He meets Sloane Porter once, briefly, at a college bar in Fairbanks, Alaska, and their passions explode. She runs away after one dance, one kiss, but neither can forget the moments they shared, even though they don't know each other's names. Sloane decides to stay in Alaska in hopes of reuniting with her "mystery man." The novel opens two years after the kiss in the bar. Sloane, fresh out of college, trying to land a job that will keep her in Alaska, enters David's office, a final candidate for a position as an executive assistant. They are mutually shocked when they recognize one another, and again they let their incredible magnetism get the best of them. But Sloane won't run away this time, and she won't be any man's one night stand. David Grant doesn't know it, but the pretty bauble he seeks will become his most precious gem.

Buy link: http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/the-billionaires-bauble/

Learn more about Ann Montclair from her website http://www.annmontclair.com
Find her on Facebook at: 
http://www.facebook.com/annmontclair
Twitter @annmontclair

SPRING AND A SNEAK PEAK

Has spring arrived in your neighborhood? Right now, we have spring temperatures, but this is Texas. The saying is true, “If you don’t like Texas weather, wait three days.”


Still, I’m hopeful. Perhaps you noticed I’ve put the spring redbud photo back as my header. My friend Celia Yeary said the snow scene made her cold and she requested I put the redbud photo back up so she wouldn't freeze when she visited the blog.

Daffodils are in bloom, and the redbud’s buds are swelling. Unfortunately, the elm and cedar are pollinating. Ahhhhchoo! Cough!

Hero and I watch our bird feeders
and bird houses from our breakfast table

Spring is my favorite time of year. It holds such promise! The blue birds are nesting in our birdhouses. Baby bunnies are appearing. Our grass has greened up (and the weeds) and early flowers are blooming. Dandelions and vetch do count as flowers, right?



Darling Daughter 1 brought me a
starter plant of this wild rose
from her wild rose hedge.



Several rosebuds are on my Earthkind roses. Roses are my favorite flower. All in all, I’m a happy gal all spring.

Farmer's Market = Work!

This year, Hero and I plan a small raised-bed vegetable garden, about four feet by eight feet. A few years ago, we planted several acres of vegetables and melons for us and to sell to the farmer’s market. We don’t want to sell produce now. Yikes, is that ever work! What we want is food for our table. Good, fresh, organic food.

Similar to my blue ribbons

In past years I won blue ribbons at the State Fair of Texas for my canned jams, jellies, and veggies. Okay, only one blue ribbon for green beans, but several for peach jam, grape jelly, cinnamon crabapple jelly, and blackberry jelly. Seeing my jars on display with a blue ribbon was exciting.

My worst experience was the year we had a bumper crop of pomegranates. My sister in Fresno puts the juice in ice trays to use with a sprite or seven up. She also uses it in pumch. Hero and I decided that was a great idea and we'd  extract the juice for jelly and to drink. Bad, bad idea. We had no idea how that juice stains! And it sticks to everything! We cleaned our shoe soles and mopped the kitchen four or five times, but our shoes still made sticky whop whop sounds when we walked. I think my sister only works with a few pomegranates at a time. We went way overboard. 

Better than winning a blue ribbon at the fair is seeing my books for sale. I love writing, and love having people tell me they enjoyed my books. It’s an addiction but there is no Writers Anonymous or 12-Step program. So, I’m hooked on writing. I’m only a week or ten days away from publishing a new western historical romance on Amazon Kindle. Here’s a sneak peak at the cover.

Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s from Jimmy Thomas and Novel Romance Covers. He’s a very popular cover model and I’m sure you recognize him from many book covers. Both independent publishers like me who publish on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords as well as large publishing houses use his work.

Obviously, the book is titled BRAZOS BRIDE and it's the first of the MEN OF STONE MOUNTAIN series. BRAZOS BRIDE is the first of a trilogy of three brothers and is set in 1870 North Central Texas on a ranch beside the Brazos River. Stay tuned for the launch date.

Thanks for stopping by.

BOOK REVIEW FOR HORSE LOVERS

GROUND MANNERS: A Novel
By Cynthia D’Errico
Xlibris
Soft Cover, 2011, $19.99
Hard Cover, 2011, $24.99
ISBN: 978-1-4568-2394-8

Available at: www.groundmannersnovel.com or on Amazon

                               Reviewed by Carol M. Upton

Learning that horses were butchered for meat left many people feeling raw and lied to, like suddenly finding out that your neighbour had barbecued your retriever or microwaved your cat. Like so many others, Yanne was clearly unaware that, whether for meat or other reasons, horses were slaughtered at all. ~ Part Three, Chapter Four, p. 116

GROUND MANNERS: A Novel is an innovative synthesis of adventure, romance and animal advocacy. Cynthia D’Errico has produced a compelling tale based on true stories about Canada’s horse slaughter industry, the dangers of continuing to ignore coastline erosion, and which features an especially intriguing thread on how le Canadien became both Quebec’s heritage breed and the National Horse of Canada.

Through the thoughts of Ausencia, a slaughter-bound polo horse, the opening pages introduce us to the horse refuge run by animal communicator Skye Spahro and her daughter on Isle-Saint-Jean- Baptiste. The Institute of Nature Communications, like many horse rescues across the country, is dedicated to the care and rehoming of abused horses, including the rescue of those slated for slaughter.

The horses narrate a good part of the story as D’Errico performs skillful shifts from the human to the animal point of view. These shifts are reminiscent of those in other classics like Babe and Black Beauty, with that same brilliant seamlessness that keeps the reader fully engaged. The character of each horse is carefully delineated so that when Ulric, the eternally calm Belgian draft says: “I don’t like the look of things, Tessa,” his ominous tone ushers the reader into the darkness of the book’s last half.

The themes in this book require the reader to confront the moral dilemmas often present in horse ownership and attempt to expand the reader’s vision of horses. Yet the darkness is never overdone.

The storyline is simultaneously about love, heroes and hope for lasting change in our treatment of animals and the planet – indeed of the very ground we walk on. D’Errico’s writing style intimately involves readers in the lives of her characters, human and animal, in such a way that their world becomes difficult to leave as the book nears its gripping finale.

GROUND MANNERS is the tale that horse lovers have waited for, but also essential reading for anyone intent on creating a more harmonious relationship with our planet. It will definitely raise public consciousness and is sure to spark debate.



Cynthia give a big kiss
to Fern Rigg's Ladies Man
of Canoe, British Columbia

 A former ESL teacher and business editor, Cynthia has always felt a special empathy toward horses with whom she was raised. She continues to promote animals' rights to live in whatever is left of their natural environments free of cruelty and neglect. Visit Cynthia at www.groundmannersnovel.com or on her Blog at: www.cynthiaderrico.com

Thanks to Carol for sharing her review.

Readers, I hope you noticed that winter's snow-covered tree has been replaced by spring's redbud tree photo in the header. Our redbud is beginning to bud out, and soon we'll have lovely dark pink blooms again. Cab spring be far away?

Thanks for stopping by!

SHERRY GLOAG WISHES AND DREAMS

     WISHES AND DREAMS TO REALITY

What is the difference between a dream and a wish? To paraphrase Harry Nilsson lyrics in his “The Puppy Song”...


“But dreams are nothing more than wishes

And a wish's just a dream you wish to come true

Dreams are nothing more than wishes you wish will come true...”

So how do you "make your dreams and wishes happen?" Do you shout out about them to everyone you know in order to spur you forward in achieving those dreams and making those wishes come true?



Do you, perhaps simply "put your *wish/dream* out there" and then let it gestate on its own and hope it will come to fruition?



Or do you, like me, go silent, afraid that if you verbalize it, it will vanish into thin air, or be tainted in some inexplicable way? Do you fear that the very verbalization of your dream is enough to put the cob-wash on it? I mean who else, but me, would be such a wimp? ;-)



And yet...



For many years I have had this dream. This goal, this *wish*, this *dream* to have one of my stories published and 'out there' before a certain birthday.



When it happened, and THE BRAT, published by The Wild Rose Press in October 2010, and I quit "happy dancing" all over the place, I reset my goal/dream/wish and vowed to have another one published, no not before that same birthday, by now it was so close I didn't believe it could be achieved - Oh me of little faith! Because it happened; and DUTY CALLS, was published by Black Opal Books, in February 2011. Not only did my second novel come out before my next birthday, but my first Valentine novella, THE WRONG TARGET, published by eTreasures came out days before my second book and so also released before my birthday. Three books published before my next birthday!


And then, for the first time, I discovered I had a "twelve-month plan" in front of me. That said; you have to understand, plans and I do not normally make good bed-fellows! Those plans usually take a hike when they discover who made them!



Not this time!



So could I wish, dream upon another dream and make it five within the coming twelve months?


Yes.



Those wishes and dreams just kept on coming. And all the while I maintained my policy of silence. :-)

The British royal wedding in 2011 inspired my next story, FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER, published by Astraea Press in December 2011. I assumed this would be a stand-alone story when I wrote it, and until after publication had no reason to believe otherwise; and then a secondary character demanded his own story and FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER became the first in a four book series. Henri's Valentine story, HIS CHOSEN BRIDE, released on the 14th February 2012, also by Astraea Press, completed my first attempt at long-term 'dreaming/wishes'. I have five stories published before this fast approaching, and significant, birthday number.

 “But dreams are nothing more than wishes

And a wish's just a dream you wish to come true”


This time my dreams and my wishes melded and became one in their reality. I no longer have to wish for those dreams to come true. They already have and I still have time to anticipate my next birthday.


So, I've achieved my dream, what next?



Now I have plenty more and new dreams. I have two more Gasquet Princes' stories to tell to complete the series, and an experimental Regency to finalize to mention just a few of my newest dreams that I wish to become reality.


Dreams that are nothing more than wishes I wish will come true.

Blurb for FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER:


For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom. Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot?


Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?



FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER Excerpt:


Liam Fitzwilliam Gasquet stared in amazement at the blooming patch of red milliseconds before the pain exploded in his arm. Some trigger-happy idiot had fired in his direction. Indignation didn’t have time to take root before another bullet kicked the dust at his feet. Not ‘trigger-happy’. Intentional. The rebels had found the fourth and youngest son of Jean-Phillipe Gasquet, ruler of the tiny kingdom adjacent to the Swiss border. When had they discovered his whereabouts? With a reluctant sigh, he faced the truth of it. They hadn’t ‘found’ him at all. They’d followed him.
Astracea Press
http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=7105194
Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/From-Now-Until-Forever-ebook/dp/B006GYAV44/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322854797&sr=1-1-spell
Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Now-Until-Forever-ebook/dp/B006GYAV44/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322854884&sr=8-1-spell
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/sherry-gloag-from-now-until-forever?keyword=sherry+gloag+from+now+until+forever&store=book
Nook:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/sherry-gloag-from-now-until-forever?keyword=sherry+gloag+from+now+until+forever&store=ebook

Blurb for HIS CHOSEN BRIDE:

Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him until he meets Monica Latimer.



Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it.



HIS CHOSEN BRIDE Excerpt:



She lost track of time until the flames caught her attention once more. They flickered from orange to gold, to silver, to white.



A flurry of snowflakes masked the flames and for a second Monica watched the most beautiful, pristine snow-scene she’d ever seen. Her lips curved in longing. How she’d love to get a toboggan and slide down that slope. She knew where it was, and had done just that many times in her childhood, first with her parents and then, in clandestine manner, with her brother. Sneaking an old tin tray from the back of her mother’s walk-in pantry, she’d then grabbed Billy’s hand and they’d rushed out the back gate, heading for the lakeside track that led up into the hills.



Darkness, dense and thick with grief dropped over the scene. Startled and disconcerted by the strength of emotion emanating from the vision Monica shifted to her knees, ready to stand, when a voice, a deep male voice, sharp with fear called out her name. “Monica!”



She knew she’d never heard the voice before, and yet—it was as familiar to her as the image she saw in her mirror each morning.



“Help me, Monica.”



Desperate for more clues, she searched the darkness within the flames until it sputtered and faded. With a curse she jumped up and ran for the phone. With her outstretched hand hovering over it she halted and let her hand drop to her side once more. What could she say? What would the police or rescue team think of her if she called them and told them she’d seen a vision of a man in distress?



They’d laugh in her face and classify her as a lunatic. Well, maybe not. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d contacted them with positive information but something—an instinctive gut reaction told her what she’d seen this time hadn’t happened yet.



http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=1651593&mode=product&product=9472803


http://www.amazon.com/His-Chosen-Bride-ebook/dp/B0079A7V9W/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6/190-6871302-0103505

http://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Chosen-Bride-ebook/dp/B0079A7V9W

Multi-published author, Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England. She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel. While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office. She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic. You can find Sherry on the web at these places:


Website: http://www.sherrygloag.com
Blog: http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/
FB: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/sherry.gloag
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SherryGloag

 

Sherry, thank you so much for sharing your wishes and dreams with us today. Here's wishing you continued success with your writing.

Thanks for stopping by! And while you're here, why not surf over to our team blog, Sweethearts of the West at
http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com Normally, I post there on the 26th of each month, but due to my earlier goof, my friend Elysa Hendricks is posting in my place this month. Please stop by if you can.

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.