August--
Finished the edits on Re-ride at the Rodeo—at least I think they are done. If you like cowboys, I know you’ll like Re-ride at the Rodeo because Clay is the quintessential cowboy. Strong, determined and clueless as to what a woman really wants—except when it comes to the bedroom—hmmm.
If you didn’t have a chance to catch my short story contest winner, Ultimatum, on Long and Short Reviews, you can still read it at Long and Short Reviews. Just scroll down to the archives and there it will be.
Don’t forget that August 1 I’ll be blogging at Petticoats and Pistols and if you didn’t get a chance to read the blog then, just click through the archives to see what we were up to.
Hope everyone who went to National had a great time and recruited new fans to western romances. I’ll see you next year at DC.
Western Bits: things to chew on
I just finished two books on Texas history that provide interesting perspectives on Texas during the cattle drive era. The first book is a contemporary’s account titled Cowboys and Cattleland by H.H. Halsell and the second is a historian’s view called Hell’s Half Acre by Richard F. Selcer regarding Fort Worth’s notorious past. A common theme that struck me was the self-reliance that was necessary to survive during the period. I’m not talking just about taking care of yourself, but in trusting in your own sense of right and wrong and implementing your own brand of justice. Even the lawmen kept their own counsel about what laws to enforce and what ones not to. With everyone working out their own code, including the criminals, its no wonder people felt the need to be armed to protect what was theirs because there was not guarantee the law, such as it was, would see things the same way. I’ll be writing about some of the fun facts I found in both these books on My Blog.
July--
As you saw on the homepage, my short story, all one thousand words of it, Ultimatum, tied for First Prize in the first annual short story contest of Long and the Short Reviews. I entered this contest to challenge myself because such condensed story telling does not come naturally to chatty me. And I’m happy I did! You can read it on July 24th at the website here.
More good news! Edits have started with Re-ride at the Rodeo! My editor, Spencer Glenn, has been just super. Once I’m through edits, the release date follows and I’ll post it here first.
Be sure to check out my blog if you haven’t already because there are some great rodeo cowboy pictures there that I know you’ll like. Lots of inspiration.
Don’t forget I’ll be blogging at Petticoats and Pistols on August 1st about why we love western romances—contemporary and historical—so be sure to drop by.
You also have to check out the contest at The Wild Rose Press where they are giving away a Sony e-reader to some lucky person(s). I have a Sony e-reader and I’ve come to like it more than the traditional book format. I know to some of you that’s unthinkable (it was initially to me, too), but wait until you try one. I’ve blogged about what I love about my e-reader on MySpace and I bet you’ll be surprised by the list.
Western Bits: things to chew on
Making a living: Rodeo cowboys have a lot of expenses to contend with that come right out of their winnings. Since most rodeo cowboys don’t make it to the big money, they have to do it for the love of it (much like most authors write books for the love of writing since few make the New York Time bestseller list or the money that comes with that exposure). Here’s some of the expenses a rough stock rider incurs: entrance fees, gas money and other transportation fees to get from rodeo to rodeo, boots, chaps, saddles if you’re a saddle bronc rider like Clay Tanner from Re-ride at the Rodeo, and rigging if you’re a bareback or bull rider, motel room if you can’t find someone to stay with, truck if you can’t buddy up with someone, food while you’re on the road and the list goes on. If you don’t stay on for those eight seconds, you get nothing and you had to pay for the privilege, no less. So what do you think the tab is for doing something you love? Check out My Blog for the answer. Bet it’s a lot more than you think.
June--Well, I still haven't started edits for Re-Ride at the Rodeo but we should this month. I'm anxious to do so because I won't get my release date until we finish edits and I'm hoping I won't miss the opportunity to promote during the height of rodeo season which, of course, is the summer. Our local rodeo is next weekend and I'll be taking lots of pictures and videos so check out www.myspace.com/annecarrole for some new pics of hunky cowboys.
Some other wonderful news is that the lovely ladies over at Petticoats and Pistols have asked Karyna DaRosa and me to blog about Love Western Romances and our own books. It looks like the dates are
going to be August 1st and 2nd (Friday and Saturday) and we are just thrilled to be in the company of so many fabulous western romance writers. If you haven't checked out their site yet, be sure to do so. You'll find most of your
favorite western romance authors talking about everything from cattle drives to western sayings to sexy heroes. It's always a lot of fun.
Western Bits: things to chew on
We have heard all the legends about Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickcock, Billy the Kid and a slew of other famous men who claimed the West. But what about the women who left the comfort of hearth and home and
ventured west with nothing but a dream and a whole lot of hard work ahead of them. I've started blogging about little known women of the West; women such as Mary Low Sinclair who, at the age of nine, was one of the first settlers of
what is now Seattle in Washington Territory, was a pioneer in education and had to put up with hardship and depravation for most of her life. And then there is Sarah Bowman, known as The Great Western. At six foot two inches and weighing in at 200 pounds, Sarah fought alongside the men of Zachary Taylor's regiment in Texas and earned herself a lifetime Army pension and a burial with full military honors. Sarah was also married four times and wasn't exactly the proper Victorian lady in any sense of the term. Read more about these courageous women of the West on my blog.
May--Re-Ride at the Rodeo should go to edits this month. No word yet on a release date. Of course, out here we are in the midst of a beautiful spring, so I’m having a hard time ignoring my garden’s call. The mulch will keep but I’m not sure my perennials and annuals are going to be so patient.
I’m also working hard to get my other manuscripts out there. They are both western historical romances and you can read excerpts here on the site. They say western historical romances are coming back and I hope so (actually some publishers like Harlequin and Dorchester never let them get away!). After all, that was the reason we started www.lovewesternromances.com, to let publishers know there is an audience waiting for them.
One manuscript is a sweeping single-title romance set in 1875 about a scandalized debutante who meets a Texas rancher looking for a wife. Marriage would solve both their problems. Trouble is, even in Texas secrets don’t stay buried—and everyone has them.
The second story explores how far an independent-minded farmer’s daughter will go to save her family from devastation in 1881. Swallowing her pride and accepting help from a reckless rancher’s son is one thing. Marrying someone who doesn’t love her is quite another. But protecting her heart she will surely do—if she has a choice.
Western Bits: things to chew on
Cowboy gear: Some people may think chaps, those leather leg aprons worn over jeans, as just for show but they actually serve a purpose. From the Spanish name, chaparajos, they’re designed to protect the cowboy’s legs from getting cut-up in thorny bushes and underbrush like you would find on the chaparral. And different regions had different types like shotguns for Texas cowboys of the old west and woolies for those in the Rocky Mountains states. Batwings are popular today and the kind of chaps Clay wears as a rodeo cowboy. Southwestern cowboys also like them because they allow air to circulate and are cooler. Check out my blog for pics and more information.
April--Just signed my contract with The Wild Rose Press for publication of my story, Re-Ride at the Rodeo, as part of their Wayback, Texas Series! No release date yet but you’ll read it here first—so check back.
I’ve always wanted to write a rodeo story. I mean, where else can you find so many courageous, capable and handsome cowboys all gathered in one place but at the rodeo?
Dusty and Clay’s story is every bit a romance though. They both need to come to terms—Dusty with her past, Clay with his future—before they can take a re-ride on love.
Read below for some Western Bits and check out My Blog for more on romance, writing and the west—old and new!
Western Bits: things to chew on
Does height matter? Do you know that most rough stock riders are under six feet? Dusty’s surprised Clay is a saddle bronc rider because he’s tall for riding broncs. (When she notes that this has something to do with the law of gravity, she’s not far off.) There are exceptions, but most successful bronc and bull riders are built low to the ground. For instance, consider the 2007 NFR rough stock winners. Saddle bronc rider Taos Muncy is listed at 5’10”, bareback bronc rider Wesley Silcox is listed at 5’8” and bull rider, Will Lowe is listed at 5’5”. Cowboys who do the tamer events such as roping and steer wrestling tend to be the taller, muscular ones. Go figure. Check out my blog for more on rodeo cowboys.
What’s that mean? The Blue Bug Saloon in the Wayback, Texas series is a honky tonk. Called honkatonk, honk-a-tonk as well as honky tonk, no one seems to know exactly how the term came to mean a saloon but there are some fascinating theories. According to a citing on Wikpedia, the New York Sun in 1900 reported that the term honkatonk "came from the sound of geese which led an unsuspecting group of cowboys to the flock instead of the variety show they expected." Hmmm—doesn’t say much for the cowboys back then does it? Others say it came from the brand of piano (Tonks) used. That makes more sense but considering the honky tonks were in Texas and Indian Territory and that brand of piano had just started being manufactured in Chicago and New York, it’s a bit of a stretch too. What do you think? I’ll be blogging on this in the future.
Keep an eye out for my contemporary western, Re-ride at the Rodeo, this summer from The Wild Rose Press.
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She wants the happily ever after, he just wants a good time. She would never hook up with his type; he’d never looked at her type. But when they come together at the rodeo, it’s anyone’s bet if they’ll take a re-ride on love. |
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