Heidi M. Thomas's Blog, page 29

Cowgirls, Balladeers & Concerts (Or What I Did This Summer)

Juni Fisher sings at a cozy concert venue at the Cowgirl Co-op near Spokane WA

I did a book signing and reading and was honored to meet Juni Fisher and enjoy her wonderful voice and storytelling.

Book signing in Monroe WA with Dawn Nelson & Jessica Hedges

On National Cowboy Day, I shared a table at Del's Feeds in Monroe with author Dawn Nelson and cowgirl poet Jessica Hedges, whom I had met at the Juni Fisher concert.

A book signing with Mary Trimble

Mary Trimble and I signed books at A Book For A...

7-Year-Old Rodeo Star

I just ran across this story. I love it. Reminds me of a certain grandmother I used to know!

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If you've ever been on a horse, you know how powerful it can be. Little Haley Miller from Bristol has been riding with her mom and grandma since her neck was strong enough to support her head. Now the 7 year old is turning heads every time she races out into the arena.

Haley's favorite song is "Cowgirls Don't Cry" by Brooks and Dunn.  You don't see any tears from this "Cowgirl". Riding a...

Juni Fisher: Songwriter & Balladeer

My guest today is songwriter and singer Juni Fisher. Her newest CD "Let 'er Go, Let 'er Buck, Let 'er Fly" is currently the Number One Album on the Western Music Charts. She was also 2009 Western Music Association's Female Performer of the Year, her "Gone For Colorado" was the WMA's 2009 Album of the Year, and she was awarded the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 2008 Wrangler Award for the same album.

I recently had the privilege of attending one of her concerts at the Cowgirl...

History of Women's Rodeo

Prairie Rose Henderson

The 1920s were the heyday in rodeo for women who competed with men on the same rough stock in the same arenas. WWI nearly brought rodeo in general to extinction, and then the nationwide drought and Great Depression of the 1930s, along with mechanization for farming added to rodeo's decline, especially in the West.

Ironically, the East still had the Boston Gardens Rodeo and the Madison Square Garden Rodeo in New York, begun by the  London Rodeo producer Tex Austin. In the ...

A Sweet Addiction to Hairspray & Horses

"You have to love travel, wear more makeup than a clown, and have a sweet addiction to hairspray," Carolyn Hunter quips about the requirements for becoming a Rodeo Queen. But it's much more than that.

I recently had the pleasure of talking to Carolyn, the Sedro-Woolley WA Rodeo Queen and her sister, Amanda Hunter, Miss Pro West Rodeo. These young ladies are not just pretty faces. They are both expert horsewomen, have a great deal of poise, and stand as an example for young girls.

The...

Seattle Author Debuts Murder Mystery

Today's guest is Seattle author Joan Merrill with her debut novel And All That Murder, a Casey McKie Mystery. I had the privilege of helping with the editing process and I can say this is a fun, fast-paced, exciting read.

Synopsis of And All That Murder : Casey McKie is a 36-year-old private investigator who lives in San Francisco's Chinatown and hangs out at her singer friend's jazz club in nearby North Beach.

When Dee asks Casey to check into the supposed suicide of a long-time friend, Casey...

Meet Helena Harper: Teacher, Poet, Translator

Helena Harper is a native of England, but she grew up in a household that did things somewhat differently to other English households, because her mother was German (her mother had met her father in Hamburg at the end of WWII, when as a British soldier he had been stationed there). This mixed background has had a profound influence on Helena and her understanding of so-called national divisions and whom we call an 'enemy' and whom we call a 'friend'.

From an early age she loved to read and...

The Horse That Wouldn't Trot

This entertaining and informative book by Rose Miller is not only a fascinating history of Tennessee Walking Horses, but also contains delightful anecdotes about her trials and tribulations in breeding, training and showing horses. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew her family and horses like neighbors, experiencing their successes, joys with births and sorrows in death.

A back injury led Rose to the Walkers' smooth gait and their dependability for pleasure riding or for show. She...

Bride of the Living Dead Author Talks about Research

My guest today is author Lynne Murray, who is blog-jogging through a virtual book tour for her romantic comedy, Bride of the Living Dead. Lynne has had six mysteries published. Larger Than Death, the first book featuring Josephine Fuller (sleuth of size who doesn't apologize), won the Distinguished Achievement Award from NAAFA (the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance).  She has written three e-books of encouragement for writers as well as essays, interviews and reviews on subjects...

10 Rules for Being Human

I love this!

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.  You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.

2.  You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called LIFE.

3.  There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The failed experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately work.

4.  Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented t...