Cynthia D'Alba's Blog, page 24

CHECK YOUR SHAMPOO BOTTLES

Got this important consumer alert from my mother. She's just full of motherly advice.

I don't know WHY I didn't figure my weight problem out sooner.

It's the shampoo I use in the shower!

When I wash my hair, the shampoo runs down my whole body and   printed very clearly on the shampoo label is this warning:

FOR EXTRA VOLUME AND BODY —

No wonder I have been gaining weight!

Well! I have gotten rid of that shampoo and I am going to start using Dawn dish washing liquid instead.

Their label reads,

DISSOLVES FAT THAT IS OTHERWISE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE.

 

Problem Solved.

If I don't answer the phone, I'll be in the shower!

Don't forget! My Texas Two Step Blog Tour Starts on Wednesday Feb 1 with loads of fabulous prizes.

Click the banner below to check out the stops on the tour

Click on the next banner if you want to see my slew of prizes

Texas Two Step is available for preordering at Samhain, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

I'll see you on "The Tour"

The Rodeo Man's Daughter by Barbara White Daille – A Review

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the author whom I know personally.

The Rodeo Man's Daughter    by Barbara White Daille

Publisher: Harlequin American Romance

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Full Length (184 pages)

Heat Level: Sensual

Back of the Book Blurb

When Caleb Cantrell left home as a dirt-poor teenager, he never thought he'd return as a wealthy rodeo star.

As a matter of fact, he didn't think he'd return at all. The accident changed all that. It ended his career, nearly ended his life and rekindled a bitterness he thought he'd left in the dust long ago.

To rebuild, Caleb has to go back to where it all began—back to Flagman's Folly, New Mexico, and back to his high-school sweetheart, Tess LaSalle. But a ten-year-old secret stands between them, one that could hurt everyone Tess loves, especially her daughter…their daughter…the one Caleb never knew existed.

No rodeo ever required the courage Caleb needs now—to forgive, to forget and to start over again…if it's not already too late.

I do love a damaged hero and in Caleb, the author has definitely given him some damage, both physical damage and mental damage. Caleb (one of my favorite "cowboy" names!) left Flagman's Folly and worked his way up in the Professional Bull Riding (PBR) world. He was right there, ready to grab the gold ring (or big silver buckle) when he rode a big, mean, nasty bull. After being thrown off, the bull then proceeded to stomp Caleb, doing massive damage…internal organs, broken bones, concussion, etc. His extensive injuries required a long hospital stay and then rehab. Even today, he walks with a limp.

Mentally, Caleb was the son of the town tramp. He knew everyone held him in contempt because it. In fact, he fell in love with a girl whose grandfather forbid him from seeing her again. Caleb owns a large ranch in Montana. He doesn't need a large ranch in New Mexico. But he comes back to Flagman's Folly to rub the townspeople's noses in his success (especially his high school sweetheart Tess LaSalle), buy the biggest ranch (that'll show them they were wrong about him), and then go home to Montana. Great plan, huh?

Tess LaSalle remained in Flagman's Folly raising a daughter, Nate. She'd loved Caleb with her entire being. When she found out she was pregnant, she took every cent she had to find him on the rodeo circuit, went to him to tell him about their child. It didn't quite turn out as she had planned. Caleb had a buckle bunny on each arm. He might have been glad to see her, but he never let her know. Now he's back in town and wanting to buy a ranch. As one of the only real estate agents in this small town, Tess is thrown into seeing him again when he insists she be the one to show him around.

Barbara White Daille has written for HQ American Romance for a while. She has the tone of this book perfect for that line. If you haven't read in this category, this book is a perfect example of what American Romance is all about.

The only thing I would change is that I would have liked to have gone along on some of the ranch tours! I just love to look at real estate

This is a good book, one I can recommend. I hope you all enjoy it.

To learn more about Barbara White Daille:

Website:  www.barbarawhitedaille.com

Blog:  www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

~ ~ ~

After I finished reading The Rodeo Man's Daughter, I wanted to spend a little more time with Caleb and Tess. I had an opportunity to interview them for my other blog, EverybodyNeedsALittle Romance. You can find that interview on Friday, January 27. Click here  to read more from Caleb and Tess.

Comment here and over at ENLR for 2 chances to win A Rancher's Pride, the first book in the Flagman's Folly series.

To order THE RODEO MAN'S DAUGHTER, follow one of the links below

Harlequin | Indiebound | Borders | Powell's | Amazon | B & N

Water & Writing

So I'm posting my agenda for today here to keep me honest. I need a little ass-kick to get me going!

I'm going to water aerobics at 9:30 and then get at least 1500 words today.

What on your schedule?

Call for Submissions

Below is the call for submissions for Wild at Heart. This isn't your usual anthology. This one will benefit some well deserving wild animals. Back in October, a group of writers visited the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Rescue and fell in love with the place and the animals. We wanted to do more, thus an anthology of short stories that will raise money for Turpentine Creek. Click here and see a few of the pictures I took that weekend.

 

Wild at Heart

Editor: Delilah Devlin

Publisher: Diamond State Romance Authors

Deadline: April 1, 2012

Wild at Heart is open to all authors.

Editor Delilah Devlin is looking for stories for a special project to benefit the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Recently, six Diamond State Romance Author chapter members spent a weekend falling in love with the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and its exotic inhabitants. The refuge is home to large cats and a variety of exotic animals that would otherwise have to be put down because they aren't suitable for placement in zoos or to be returned to the wild. The need for financial support was apparent. Our chapter decided to pool its resources and find a way to help.

What we propose is to produce a volume of short stories, all centred around animals in need of refuge. All proceeds from the sales of the book will go directly to the Turpentine Creek Refuge. We will edit the submissions, seek professional cover art and formatting, and assist the refuge by uploading the anthology to online bookstores like Amazon's Kindle store and Barnes & Noble's Nook store.  Additionally, we will help upload the book to CreateSpace so that printed volumes can be available for sale in brick-and-mortar bookstores throughout Arkansas and inside the refuge's shop.

This is a national call for submissions of short stories to be donated for the cause. Only the best stories will be accepted. All genres of fiction (contemporary and paranormal, sweet adult romance and Young Adult) will be considered. Please keep in mind that stories must be PG-rated as the book will be two-sided—one side geared toward adult readers and the other toward teenaged readers.

Examples of the kinds of stories we seek:

A maimed Iraqi war veteran learns to accept his disability by working with equally damaged animals
A teenaged girl helps a were-cougar hide his true nature while both hunt for an escaped cat
A teenaged couple encounters a tiger escaped from its private owner's cage and work together to find help to capture and care for it
A pushy animal psychic must gain the trust of the refuge's veterinarian to help a depressed bear
A troubled teenager discovers a tiger living in a national forest, then seeks a way to prevent locals staging a hunt from killing it

How to submit: Prepare your 1,500 to 4,000 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12 point, black font Word document with pages numbered (.doc, NOT.docx) OR rich text format. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing, do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). US gram! mar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the page, include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), mailing address, and 50 word or less bio in the third person to dsrawildatheart@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you'd like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories.

About the editor: Ms. Devlin has published over one hundred stories in multiple genres and lengths. Her published print titles include Into the Darkness, Seduced by Darkness, Darkness Captured, Down in Texas, Texas Men and Ravished by a Viking. Her short stories are featured in Zane's Purple Panties, and Cleis Press's Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Carnal Machines, and Dream Lovers. She is published by Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, Atria/Strebor, Ellora's Cave, Samhain Publishing, and Berkley. In Fall 2011, she debuted her first anthology with Cleis Press, Girls Who Bite.

Direct any questions you have regarding your story or the submission process to Delilah at dsrawildatheart@gmail.com.

Happy New Year!!

I can't say I'm sad to see 2011 go. Why? Not because it was necessarily a bad year. After all, I did sell a book. But 2012?

MY BOOK COMES OUT!!!

I had such great plans for all the blogs I'd write in 2011. Sorry. Didn't happen. I found myself spending a lot more time over at my group blog. A great group of ladies over there!

So here's my plan for 2012…

I figure January and February 2012 will be quite busy for me. I've got a blog tour to do and quite a bit of work to do before then. I've got 25+ blogs to write. I've got a slew of prize3s to give away. Before then, I've got to get all those prizes photographed and listed on the Blog Tour Prizes page. Needless to say, there is no link to that page as it's still under construction.

In March, Delilah Devlin and I will be cleaning out my dad's old office building and then setting up private writing offices for each of us. One of the things I've learned is that I don't write well at home. Dogs. Dishes. Dirty clothes. Messy house. Everything and anything can distract me. I'll try to remember to take some pictures

In April, I'm flying out to Arizona to visit with Vicki Lewis Thompson and Cindy Kirk, then attend the Desert Dreams Conference. I am really looking forward to that!

In May, my local chapter is doing a weekend writing retreat to a Cedar Crest Lodge , a private lodge in Arkansas.  I'm hoping for a few thousand words from that weekend.

The rest of the year is up for grab!

So what are your plans for 2012? Will our paths cross? I do hope so.

Until we meet in person…

Quiz Answers from ENLR

Romantic Facts

A = Shawna Thomas

B = Liz Talley

C = Keri Stevens

D = Cynthia D'Alba

E = Keri Ford

F = Heather Brewer

G= Crystal Posey

H = Melissa Ohnoutka

I = Natalie Damschroder

J =Julie McCrae

K = Kari Lynn Dell

L = Gwen Hernandez

Post the number you got right in the comments section of the original post!

Did you match the car to the owner?

A = Natalie Damschroder

B = Cynthia D'Alba

C = Keri Stevens

D = Kari Lynn Dell

E = Liz Talley

F = Heather Brewer

G = Melissa Ohnoutka

H = Shawna Thomas

I = Gwen Hernandez

J = Keri Ford

K = Crystal Posey

L= Julie McCrae

I'm Gonna Deck Ya!

Trading Card deck, that is!  Surely you've heard of Romance Trading Cards, right? Check Romance Trading Cards.com to see some examples of what has been done.  Jeannie Lin did a series of videos that gives a step-by-step tutorial on how to design Romance Trading Cards, where to order them, how to upload your work, etc.  These were extremely helpful. Without those, there is no way I could have begun or even thought about designing my own card.

I've spent the weekend learning GIMP2.6, which is a very cool (and free) image manipulation program. This is the program one needs to use. It's not impossible to learn but if you lack experience with software such as GIMP, your learning curve may be greater than mine.

However, I wanted to share my final work.

This is the front of the card

This is the back of the card.

There wasn't a trading card "frame" for westerns, so I had to make one.

SO, what you do think?

Thanks for coming by and leaving me an opinion.

Chit-Chat Anyone? Samhain Christmas Party This Weekend!

So what are YOU doing tonight? Nothing, you say. Well, come talk to me!

Tonight is my FIRST EVER Samhain Author chat where I'm the author and not the reader! GULP!!

I'm tonight from 9:00-10:00 (ET) [8:00-9:00 CT; 7:00-8:00 MT; 6:00-7:00 PT]

Here is the 4-1-1 on the whole weekend…

When: Friday, December 16 from 8-11 p.m.

          Saturday, December 17 from 6-11 p.m.

          Sunday, December 18 from 3-6 p.m.

All times are EST

Where: The Samhain Publishing Café ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/samhaincafe/ )

PLUS
Samhain Publishing is giving us lots of lovely prizes to award our readers including a KINDLE!
WOOT!

So please come hang out with me tonight. I'll owe ya!

Thanks

Don't forget…

Texas Two Step is available for preordering at Samhain, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Until Next Time…

I Have A Texas Two Step Cover!

My wonderful editor, Heidi Moore, sent me the approved/final version of my Texas Two Step cover. It was tweaked a tad after I approved it and those little tweaks added so much to the final version. LOVE this cover!

Awesome, huh?

Guest Post – Come visit me at http://wildandwickedcowboys.wordpress...

I'm guest blogging over at Wild and Wicked Cowboys.

Come leave a message and maybe win a copy of Delilah Devlin's vampire cowboy book, Undeniable.

http://wildandwickedcowboys.wordpress...