Andrea Downing's Blog, page 2
January 1, 2018
NOW AVAILABLE ON AUDIBLE!
My western historical novella, Lawless Love, is now available on Audible, at all places Audible is sold. Listen to the not-so-dulcet tones of Jeffrey Fallin as he reads, over at https://www.amazon.com/Lawless-Love-Lawmen-and-Outlaws/dp/B078KH5WPS/
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Lacey Everhart has carved out a tough existence in the wilds of 1880s Wyoming, working hard to build a secure life for herself and her younger brother, Luke. She will stop at nothing to protect what’s hers and keep them safe. Even if it means keeping a secret that could destroy their lives.
Marshal Dylan J. Kane is a man who considers everything as black and white, right or wrong. He’s never seen life any other way until he sets eyes on Lacey. Suddenly the straight and narrow that he’s followed has a few twists and turns. Loving Lacey offers the home life for which he hankers…but can he really love a woman who seems to be plain lawless?
November 30, 2017
We’re Playing Santa!
[image error]As I write this, there’s less than a month to go to Christmas and, for me, even less than that ‘til I may move house. I’m just waiting for a few things to fall into place—here in NYC, if you live in a Co-op, which I do, you need Board approval of your sale after contracts have been signed, and I’m still waiting to hear about that. So I have no real idea where I’ll be for Christmas, but wherever I lay my head, I do know I’ll have the comfort of my family and will be looking forward to a merry time.
I’ll also, of course, be looking forward to time with friends, whether in person or via Skype and Facetime, or just sharing Christmas events via email. As I’ve written before, we all now have friends we may never have met in person but feel we know well via this cyber world we inhabit. In the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working on anthologies with several authors whom I now count among friends, and I’ve been delighted to meet two of them in person. We’ve got together again here with some thoughts about the holiday season. We’re also going to play Santa Claus and do some present-giving of our books to folks who leave a comment below.
[image error]My own ‘gift’ will be an Audible copy of my multi-award-winning, western historical mail-order bride novella, Dearest Darling.
He’s waiting for a different woman, she’s looking for a different life. Can love make a difference to them both?
All our winners will be announced here on or about December 20th. For now, my very best wishes for the Happiest and Healthiest Holiday Season ever!
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Christmas Ornaments
By Kristy McCaffrey [image error]
Christmas tree ornaments often tell family stories.
One of my favorite decorations is a small pine cone glued to a wooden base and sprinkled with glitter that was made by my eldest son, Sam, when he was three years old. It’s such a simple design and has held up well over the years, reminding me of that special time when he was young, and I was a new mother.
There is a lovely clear ball given to my youngest daughter, Hannah, from her swimming teacher many years ago—in the center is a photo of her and the other children in her class. Besides being a beautiful ornament, it helps me recall how Hannah, at the age of five, loved to swim.
The ornament that commemorates the birth of my younger son, Ben, is also a favorite. It’s a bear with a pacifier in its mouth and my son’s name and birthdate imprinted in red ink on the belly. My son was born big and cuddly and right on time (whereas the others came early).
While in grade school my other daughter, Kate, painted a ceramic cross with a yellow background and purple dots. As a youngster she quite enjoyed the act of creation and always took great joy in the spiritual side of her life. The cross is a favorite of mine.
I have a nice collection of ornaments from my close friends while we raised our children together. In any other situation we might never have been chums, but sharing the experience of watching our offspring grow created a connection like no other.
A Christmas tree can be a vault of family memories, alive with the pulse of your loved ones.
Kristy will be gifting an eBook of The Dove (Wings of the West, Book Two) [image error][The Wren (Wings of the West, Book One) is permafree at all eBook vendors. https://books2read.com/TheWren]
Reunited with Logan Ryan on the steps of the White Dove Saloon, Claire Waters hides under the guise of a fancy girl…and lets the ex-deputy believe the worst.
Visit Kristy at http://kmccaffrey.com/
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The Best Christmas Present Ever!
By Devon McKay[image error]
I love Christmas. In fact, there’s not one thing I don’t love about the holiday. The chilly temps and the scent of pine and cinnamon in the air. The cheerful holiday wishes. The bright, colorful lights decorating houses. The trimming of the tree. Yes, even the Christmas songs. I love it all.
This year Christmas came early for us and we received a very special gift. Anyone who knows us, knows we are animal people. We love our furry friends and have quite a handful of them to prove it. We have three dogs, two cats, three long horn steers, two pygmy goats, and chickens who run amuck here at the farm. Definitely animal people. We have our hands full, but, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Needless to say when my son moved into his own apartment, he wasn’t allowed a pet. This is hard for a young man who has always been surrounded by critters. He did end up investing in a fish tank, and though it’s filled with beautiful, vividly hued fish, it simply isn’t the same as a dog or a cat.
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Gracie
After three years, the apartment building owners have finally decided to allow small dogs and cats. Enter Gracie. The absolutely cutest little gal ever. Her spunky personality has already won our hearts and brought a smile to my son’s face that I haven’t seen in quite a while.
Though she only weighs a pound or two and can fit in the palm of one hand, this furry bundle of joy is full of mischief and curiosity. More so than any of our other animals.
At the moment, our Christmas tree has caught her eye. And though it’s over 6 feet tall, it has drawn her complete attention. I can only imagine the thoughts going on in her cute little head. That being said, this Christmas should be full of laughter from a tiny pup’s silly antics.
I’m looking forward to every minute of it.[image error]
Devon will be gifting a copy of Lead Me into Temptation
Violet Webster is a mail-order bride on the run. Garrett Sutherlin is the cowboy determined to catch her.
Visit Devon at http://authordevonmckay.com
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What I Like About Christmas
By Patti Sherry-Crews
What I’m looking forward to the most on Christmas is doing nothing. November is like birthdaypalooza for my family with three of them in that month, not to[image error] mention Thanksgiving which we host. I feel like November is a version of speed dating for extended family get- togethers.
Before the turkey leftovers are even put away, we start the Christmas shopping, cookie baking, tree decorating madness. This period of intense activity, which needs a master list of things-to-do, doesn’t end until Christmas Eve. I love Christmas Eve which is all about elegance and family traditions in my home.
By the time Christmas day comes around, I appreciate the quiet. The lack of expectations. The stillness. With almost everything closed, you’re forced into a state of muffled togetherness, which is how it feels to me. We sit around in our pajamas eating Christmas stocking candy. We might play a board game or sit and read books Santa left under the tree.
Later in the day, I venture out for a walk. The streets that were bustling with noise and activity since Black Friday are empty on Christmas day. I can casually take in the shop windows, now with their slightly ravaged-looking holiday displays. There’s always that one coffee shop that’s open, but it’s fun to run into friends and neighbors.
I love to cook, but by December 25, I’ve been stuck in my kitchen since November between birthdays, Thanksgiving, and our special Christmas Eve dinner. So, a few years ago we started a new tradition. Chinese take-out Christmas dinner! We set out all the white paper containers, buffet-style, not bothering with dressing things up. Then everyone finds a spot on the big sectional sofa and we watch movies—some family members are likely to still be in their pajamas.
Patti will be gifting a copy of Desert Heat
Single mom, Angel Harper, only has time for her son and trying to keep her [image error]guest ranch afloat, in that order. She’s not willing to risk all for romance, but when sexy fireman and cowboy, Boone Donovan, happens to fall into her life, he’s not taking no for an answer. Will she let go of past injuries and give him a chance?
Visit Patti at http://pattisherrycrews16.wix.com/author-blog
October 31, 2017
A Targeted Journey by Carmen Peone
[image error]I’m absolutely delighted to welcome back Carmen Peone. Carmen is not only a fellow member of Women Writing the West, but is currently President Elect. She lives on the Colville Confederated Reservation with husband, Joe. Carmen had worked with elder, Marguerite Ensminger, for three years learning the Arrow Lakes-Sinyekst- Language and various cultural traditions and legends. With a degree in psychology, the thought of writing never entered her mind, until she married her Native husband and they moved to the reservation after college. Later, an idea for a story persisted in her head so she decided to write what came to be, Change of Heart.
Then came Heart of Passion, Book 3 in a trilogy about Spupaleena, a young Native American girl, coming of age and racing horses in the mid-1800s, a time when girls would not think of behaving in such a manner. Hannah Gardner was five then, a young girl in love with her adopted Aunt Spupaleena and having a strong desire to emulate the young woman. In Hannah’s Journey, Hannah is sixteen and has to decide if her future is to include horses, racing, a husband, or returning home to enjoy her young life within the strength and protection of the family unit.
Carmen has very graciously offered to give away one copy of Hannah’s Journey to someone leaving a comment below. Winner will be announced on or about Nov. 20th
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The thwack of an arrow sinking into a target pumps blood swiftly through veins.[image error] But when fifty hit at a time, echoing off gym walls, the hair on the back of a mother’s neck raises, and a shiver sizzles down her back.
Parent’s cheer. Teammates send out shouts of encouragement. Coaches praise and advise.
For the last five years, I’ve been one of those coaches. Through grants, archery is the highest attended sport in the local K-12 school on the reservation I reside with 3 student-athletes qualifying for Nationals in 2017 in Kentucky. Speaking of a life-changing journey! And it was those girls I escorted to Louisville.
As a lover of the sport, it’s only natural to place bow and arrow in fiction. But not compound bows crafted from aluminium alloy or arrows formed from aluminum, or fiberglass. The bows and arrows in my historical fiction are made of what my husband’s Native American ancestors used–yew wood, rock arrowheads, quail feathers, pine or cottonwood bud resin. The rough stems of horsetail were used like sandpaper to smooth jagged edges.
Light to carry, bows were effortlessly hand-carried on foot and even easier to transport while slung over one’s neck and shoulder on horseback.
To raise the stakes among my female protagonist, Hannah Gardner not simply raced horses, but deftly shot at leaves stuck on trees with pine pitch and thick branches stuck into the ground. She and the other jockeys shot them from the backs of horses at high speeds. Today, mounted archery is a fast-growing sport. Hannah and her mare, Moonshine, begin with a walk and quickly advance to a faster pace. Bareback.
[image error]For my upcoming launch party, I borrowed a friend’s prairie clothes and rode my Paint gelding in our back pasture that overlooks the Columbia River–the actual setting for my YA books. I used my compound bow and arrow while my husband, Joe, was kind enough to shoot several fun pictures. If only I’d had my hands on traditional gear.
Archery was a means of survival in the old days. Today it’s not only used for hunting, but for sport. My husband and sons are avid archery hunters, a skill I admire. It’s rewarding to bring the best of both worlds and blend them together in my new release–Hannah’s Journey.
In my Young Adult novel, Hannah is sixteen and has to decide if her future is to include horses, racing, a husband, or returning home to enjoy her young life within the strength and protection of the family unit. Hannah spends some of her time chewing on life’s complications while staring down the shaft of an arrow after running away with friends.
The finale involves a final race scene that embraces horses and archery. And again to increase stakes, knife throwing.
The thwack of an arrow skidding into a round target or tree is enough to scamper shivers down any archer’s arms. It was for Hannah.
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[image error]Hannah’s Journey
In the mountains of northeast Washington, sixteen-year-old Hannah Gardner fights for her childhood dream––to race horses with her adopted Indian Aunt Spupaleena. Her mother fears Hannah will get hurt. Frustrated with her daughter’s rebellious spirit, she threatens to send her away to Montana to live with an aunt Hannah’s never met.
To escape this perceived punishment, Hannah runs away to the Sinyekst village along the Columbia River to train with Spupaleena. After Hannah’s first race, an Indian boy pulls her off her horse and spews threats. When Running Elk comes to her rescue, Hannah plans their life together and possible marriage. Will this be the pathway to her freedom?
Buy Links:
Excerpt
“Loot!” Running Elk once again uncinched my saddle. He sneered at Falling Rain and motioned for her to set hers on the ground. With a scowl she complied.
I groaned, slid the saddle off Moonie, and set in on the grass. With an extra-hard whack, I settled the pad on top.
Falling Rain set hers back down.
They hopped on their horses with ease. I tried to lift myself up with a couple hops, but failed. I led Moonie over to an old log and heaved myself on her back. The other two looked at me like I was about to give them something bitter to taste.
“Well? Let’s go!” The word patience came to mind. I scoffed and planted the pouch hung around my neck inside Delbert’s shirt. As heavy as Falling Rain’s doeskin dress and leggings were, I was amazed by her agility. I was thankful for boys’ britches. I couldn’t imagine hopping up on Moonie with a dress and all the underclothing required by a lady. But then again I’m no lady. Not yet anyway.
We raced up and down the meadow and somehow I managed to stay on. Until Running Elk had another harebrained idea.
“We could attach leaves on sticks and shoot them with arrows.” He turned and rode into the woods. A loud war-whoop echoed through the valley.
“This will be fun!” Falling Rain said.
I rolled my eyes, nearly toppling off Moonie. I swear I saw my horse roll her eyes, too. “I do not favor a bow like you two. I’ll watch from over there.” I turned to ride off.
“Loot!” Her sharp voice sliced the air.
I spun Moonie around and faced her, eyes wide. “Why not?” I’d never heard her use such a tone.
“I will teach you. It is easy.”
“Easier than fishing with a net?”
Falling Rain laughed. “Much easier.”
I doubted that, but agreed to give it a try. Falling Rain and I rode to the opposite side of the meadow. She insisted we remain seated on our horses since we’d be riding them and shooting from that height. I groaned. But knew she was right.
She pinned a leaf to a tree with sap, moved back beside me on her mare, and drew an arrow. After drawing back her bow, she released. A swoosh stung the air. The thwack the arrow made into the tree echoed. She made it look so easy.
An over-exaggerated sigh escaped my lips. “Give me a rifle and I can kill a spider on a rock at twenty yards. I am not certain I can hit a leaf with a stick.”
Falling Rain chuckled. “Pretend it is your last meal.”
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You can discover more about Carmen at:
Website/blog: http://carmenpeone.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarmenEPeone/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carmenpeone
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/carmenpeone/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jcpeone/
October 15, 2017
For Your Halloween Enjoyment
I never thought I’d write a so-called ‘paranormal’ western, but last year I did. It appeared in the anthology The Good, The Bad and The Ghostly and is titled Long a Ghost, and Far Away. Also in that anthology was Patti Sherry-Crews’ The Ghost and the Bridegroom. Since the anthology only made a brief appearance but garnered a raft of good reviews, Patti and I decided to revive our stories in a duet now on sale at all good eBook-sellers.[image error]
The Wild West gets even wilder when Nat Tremayne sends out his agents from Psychic Specters Investigations offices in St. Louis and Denver. Across country and across time, these agents will stop at nothing to unravel the mysteries that beset poor unsuspecting ranchers and cowboys who have no idea what they’re seeing . . .or not, as the case may be.
In Patti’s The Ghost and The Bridegroom, P.S.I. Agent Healy Harrison is sent to Tucson to rid a rancher of the ghost in the bedroom interfering in his marriage to a mail-order bride. Healy doesn’t think she’s destined for romance–until she meets Pinkerton detective Aaron Turrell. But when their two cases dovetail, will their newfound love survive the ultimate showdown between mortal and immortal.
In my own Long A Ghost and Far Away, agent Dudley Worksop aims to unravel the mystery of Colby Gates’ dead wife. Lizzie not only seems to have reappeared as a ghost, but has time traveled from 2016 to the 1800s. Can revenge be had for her murder? And can the couple be reunited across country and across time?
Amazon Reviews from previous anthology edition:
Long A Ghost, and Far Away by Andrea Downing – is my absolute favourite as I love time travel stories & who doesn’t love added a unique twist like ghost. This story is brilliant written and unique. The character’s are very well developed and great to read about this amazing journey.
The Ghost and the Bridegroom by Patty Sherry-Crews- This novella is very well written and it is very compelling & leaves you wanting more. The character’s are realistic with real emotions and flaws.
I highly recommend reading this . . . as you will not be disappointed. Just in time for Halloween go grab it now. . . .
–Sophie Koufes
My favorite was Long A Ghost and Far Away. I loved Lizzie and Colby’s story. I actually laughed out loud at Lizzie and when she went back, I cried but I loved the ending. Great story.
–Susan K. Davis
The Ghost and the Bride Groom – 5*
Wow! What an amazing book! I have never read any books by this author before reading this book and i am so glad that i came across Patti Sherry-Crows as her books are so alive and vibrant (i would imagine her other books are the same as this).
You feel every single thing that happens in this book, you feel the fear and pain along with the hope of what could come and the sympathy you feel for the characters.
The book was written in a way that feels so real to you while you are reading it. It is a highly addictive read, compelling you to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next.
Healy is an amazing, inspiring character. I loved reading about how strong and independent she is, she relies on herself and is guarded but deep down she is so full of love that she believes she will never have.
I really enjoyed Aaron’s character. He has also got a strong and independent mindset making them the best match full of fire and passion. He comes across as a very charismatic and protective character.
I absolutely loved this book and i would recommend this book to everyone and anyone! A must read!
–Lyn McKenzie
Long A Ghost, and Far Away by Andrea Downing
What a great story! It shows that love is truly timeless and sometimes you just know who your soulmate is, even after a short time. However, this wasn’t a neatly wrapped with a bow story. It had some twists that I didn’t see coming, but that made it all the more enjoyable.
The Ghost and The Bridegroom by Patty Sherry-Crews
Healy and Aaron (Oh my!) had me laughing so much. Loved it!
–Dali
Long a Ghost and Far Away – Andrea Downing
I love the romance between Lizzie and Colby. That’s what one calls a love to test time! I liked how the author intertwined real life events into the story to make it seem more realistic too.
The Ghost and The Bridegroom – Patti Sherry-Crews
Healy and Aaron are rather comical together and also rather sweet. This was a really good tale. I liked the interaction with the elusive Nat Tremayne as well and what it hinted at. I also like the twist in the book.
–Jennydm
September 11, 2017
REVISITING THE SEVENTIES
I’ve been working on a novel that takes place in the seventies and it has proven eye-opening in what research has uncovered,, and what it’s brought to mind. Although I am old enough to have lived through that era, I spent most of it in the U.K. , which had problems other than the ones so divisive to the United States.
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Haight Ashbury, courtesy of Arjun Sarup via Wikimedia Commons
Viet Nam and Watergate marked the decade, the former possibly sewing the seed of today’s divisions in our country, the latter being compared at times to the present government. But I’m not here for political proselytizing; I did not give (thus far) politics anything more than a passing mention in my book. I’ve used the seventies as background, and in so doing, have discovered quite a few interesting things.
Birth Control: Although the contraceptive pill came on the market in 1960, it wasn’t made available to all women regardless of marital status until 1972. Meanwhile, IUDs were held responsible for the deaths of seven users and removed from the market. In most people’s minds, it was ‘the pill’ that was responsible for free love and the sexual revolution.
Abortion: Roe vs Wade was decided 22 January 1973, disallowing many state and federal restrictions on abortion. More than forty years later, the arguments continue.
DNA Testing: Although DNA Testing became available in 1960, it only had 80% accuracy and could not distinguish between close relatives. It was not until 1970 that a specific enzyme was identified to improve results.
Seat Belts: Although it became law in 1968 that all vehicles except buses had to be manufactured with seat belts, it didn’t become law that you actually had to
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1978 Chevette, photo courtesy of The Paper at The English Language Wikipedia
use them until 1984—in New York. Today all states except New Hampshire have seat belt laws; eighteen states make it only a secondary offense under which the car cannot be stopped for that reason alone.
Child safety seats: Although some form of child booster seat was invented and in use as far back as 1933—allowing children to look out the window—it was not until 1971 that the government brought in safety standards, and 1979 that Tennessee was the first state to bring in laws making child safety seats compulsory.
Some Popular Children’s Toys: A stuffed Lassie dog, Peanuts character dolls, a Waltons Playhouse, Apollo Moon Rocket, Radio Flyer Wagon, Etch-a-Sketch, Charlie’s Angels dolls, Erector sets, Starship Enterprise, and the perennial favorite, Barbie dolls were popular through the decade. The Atari Home Computer system became available in 1979 at $594.95, a whopping sum at the time.
Sport: In 1973 Billie Jean King (world No. 2 female tennis player) fought fifty-five year old former champion Bobby Riggs in a match that was called ‘Battle of the Sexes.’ King won in three sets. In 1971, Muhamamed Ali won a Supreme Court decision after four years reinstating his boxing titles of which he had been stripped for refusing to be drafted on the basis of religious beliefs. He went on to win heavyweight championships in both 1974 and 1978; famous fights included the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman, and the Thrilla in Manila against Joe Frazier, both of which he won. Gymnast Nadia Comaneci won three gold meals at the Montreal Olympics with seven perfect scores.
Fashion: Best not to go there! Polyester coordinates and leisure suits remain forgotten, please. Wet-look vinyl and fake furs also made a stand. But we had flared pants, fringe, and embroidery still in use today.
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Fashion Model Twiggy, 1970
Cars: the Ford Mustang, the Mercury Bobcat and the Chevette shared the road with station wagons like the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, and ‘woodies’ were a favorite.
Travel: Concorde took off in 1976, cutting transatlantic travel time to three and a half hours—if you could afford it.
More food for thought: Taking 1975 as my example, inflation was at 9.2% in the US and at 24.2% in the UK, the Dow Jones was averaging 858, interest rates were at 7.25% in the USA and 11.25% in the UK, gas was around 44¢, the average cost of a new car was $4,250 and a new house $39, 500. While the heyday of hippies in Haight-Ashbury may have passed in the sixties, despite heavy drug use and a lack of a police presence, communes were still going, most famously the Scott Street Commune and The Red Victorian, which served as both hotel and commune after 1977.
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Bomber during Operation-Linebacker, Viet Nam war
So, Viet Nam: The war had actually been going on since 1965 after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Pres. LB Johnson permission to wage war—after an attack on one of our destroyers which just happened to be out there. By 1970, Richard Nixon was president and Cambodia was in the war, Henry Kissinger was trying to negotiate a peace settlement but protests continued. Four students were killed and eight wounded by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio. In 1971, Lt. William Calley Jr. was convicted of the murder of twenty-two unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the Mai Lai Massacre. He was released after three and a half years for a number of reasons, not least was the fact he was the only army officer singled out for the crime. In 1972, Nixon won re-election and Kissinger revealed peace talks were underway with Le Duc Tho. By 1973, a cease-fire was signed, the end of the draft was announced, and the last American troops left Viet Nam. Kissinger and Le Duc Tho won the Nobel Peace prize; Kissinger accepted and Le Duc Tho declined saying peace did not exist.
And finally, Watergate: In 1969, Richard M. Nixon was inaugurated as the President of the USA. In August, 1971, a list of his enemies was started by his White House aides. A group called the White House Plumbers was started to find information to discredit his enemies. On June 17, 1972, the Plumbers were arrested in the process of planting bugs at the Democratic National Committee
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Richard M. Nixon during campaign, photo by Oliver F. Atkins, public domain
headquarters at The Watergate Hotel. On June 20, 1972, Mark Felt, Director of the FBI (J. Edgar Hoover had died in May)—previously known as ‘Deep Throat’—started giving tips to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post. Later that month attempts were made to shut down the investigation of the FBI. In September, 1972, the first indictments were made and in November, Nixon was re-elected. Through 1973, televised hearings and indictments continued. In October 1973, VP Spiro Agnew resigned due to corruption as Governor of Maryland, and Gerald Ford took his place. In July of 1973, Nixon refused to hand over the White House tapes, and in November delivered his “I am not a crook’ speech. But by March, 1974, Nixon was named as a co-conspirator while the Watergate Seven were indicted; in May, impeachment hearings began, in June All the President’s Men was published, and in July the tapes were finally handed over. On August 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon (Tricky Dick) resigned from the Presidency and Gerald Ford—unelected to the vice-presidency but holding that office—became President of the United States.
And that, folks, was the Seventies.
July 31, 2017
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY ROAD
It’s a tradition that August is a time for travel and when someone says ‘travel’ [image error]nowadays, I think ‘Road Trip.’ While I’ve recently lost my main travel partner, my daughter, to marriage, I can speculate that some time in the hopefully not too distant future, I might be relegated to a back seat, overseeing child or children, while husband and wife share driving to some enchanting site I’ve longed to see.
Road trips for me were initiated when I was still very young, way back in the ’Fifties. My family took off every Christmas-time to Florida in order to be with my great-aunts and their families who had moved down from NYC. Since my grandmother was one of eleven children, there were quite a few of these great aunts along with offspring, a giant family my own daughter has sadly been denied. The trip down took three days in a car that insisted on getting a perennial flat tire. We would pull off the road and my father would bravely remove jack and spare from the trunk but inevitably someone would stop to help us—for which we all sent up prayers of thanks. My father would always try to ‘tip’ the savior and sometimes it was pocketed with thanks, sometimes rejected, but it didn’t matter—we were off! Other years, the radiator overheated, another persistent problem in those days, and it often saw us sitting by the side of the road, a plume of steam like a genie from a bottle coming from the raised hood. One time we were able to pull into a diner. Believe it or not, my father went in to ask for water for the radiator and the waitress refused to give it to him. We were down south at that point and I think she just had a ‘thing’ against northerners perhaps. Another, more kind-hearted waitress came rushing out with a pitcher for us.
[image error]Yet another foible of road travel in my youth was car sickness, from which I suffered often. I would moan from the back, my father would pull over and I would throw up out the door. Okay, so this is not a pretty picture—apologies. But once my dad pulled onto the soft shoulder—which were rampant in the days before freeways—and my mother slammed the back door shut without looking, screaming for him to pull off. She caught my finger. Skin and bone were sticking out and it remains crooked to this day.
The traditions of that trip south stay with me. Burma shave signs lined the road at frequent intervals. Burma shave was a brushless shaving cream, and their advertising was a series of signs along the road with what would now be considered advertising ‘jingles’, or alternatively common sense warnings about driving or, apparently, some political propaganda during WWII. Keep well / To the right / Of the oncoming car / Get your close shaves / From the half pound jar/ Burma Shave. That bearded devil/ Is forced/ To dwell/ In the only place/ Where they don’t sell/ Burma Shave. Cattle crossing/ Means go slow/ That old bull/ Is some/ cow’s beau/ Burma Shave. Apparently, John McCain’s camp tried using the same promotion strategy with slogans against Obama without success.
Another tradition was stopping at Howard Johnson’s on the highway for lunch.
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courtesy Christopher Ziemnokwicz/CZMarlin
I always ended my meal with their ice cream cake roll—vanilla ice cream in a swirl of chocolate cake topped by hot fudge sauce. I can almost taste it now. And I long for the candies at Stuckey’s. Known for their pecan chocolates, my family gravitated toward chocolate covered cherries and chocolate covered flavored marshmallows. I’ve never been able to find these anywhere else and yet I can envisage them in their square shape as if it were yesterday. Now some of Stuckey’s items are available on line, but the chocolate covered marshmallows are not among the offerings.
When we reached the South the scenery changed markedly. Our motel would always be the highly kitsch ‘South of the Border’ in [image error]South Carolina. A complex which now encompasses two gas stations, a pharmacy, shops, and so on, even back in the fifties and early sixties it was huge. I left our room one night to get a candy bar from the dispenser and couldn’t find the room. I wandered for ages before finally, somehow (and at this stage I don’t remember how!) locating it. The motel’s Mexican theme remains today, and for those seeking a ’50s/ ’60s travel experience, this is the place.
At last there was Florida. Florida is a long state so there are many miles before you get down to the Hollywood/ Miami area. But you would always know when you were in Florida as alligator wrestling signs lined the road; oranges were readily available from farm stands along with a little plastic mini-straw you stuck into the fruit to suck out the juice; coconut patties were for sale everywhere; and Seminoles were selling coconuts carved into Indian heads, painted, and decorated with shells and so on. I once got into trouble with my parents when a
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Library of Congress photo
stand across the highway from where we had stopped attracted my attention. A rainbow display of colorful feathers drew me over and I thoughtlessly crossed the two lanes.
Of course, that was it: you could walk across the one-lane highway just as you would cross a street now. The roads were slower, there was more to see. The signs and rest stops were varied. A friend recently said to me that road trips were SO different back then. And they were. We had no superhighways, no five lane major Interstates, no traffic-laden freeways. Life was slower; life was gentler. Route 66 was still the ‘Mother Road’ and Route 1 still drew travellers down from the northeast to, as yet, hardly developed Florida. On my 2015 seven week road trip with my daughter, it was obvious that lunch meant leaving the highway, and that signs were advertising places at specific exits. In the early ’Sixties, three-day drives to Florida were replaced all too soon by a four hour flight. Americans seem to want ‘fast’ now: fast roads, fast food, and an information superhighway.
There is still the call of the Open Road, that glorious moment when the door clunks shut, the seat belt snaps down, and you know you’re headed somewhere new and exciting, but the road itself has lost its mystique in most places. Yet in others, that straight line where the sky meets the earth, that destination of horizon, still holds its aura of endless possibility.
Even if there’s no hot fudge sundae en route.
July 24, 2017
Carra Copelin
[image error]Although with working on an anthology you rarely get to meet the other authors in person, you still get a good idea of them through your correspondence. That said, it’s been a pleasure working with Carra Copelin. Carra is an award winning and Amazon Best Selling Author in contemporary and historical romances but, unlike so many other authors, didn’t write from childhood or read long into the night beneath the covers with a flashlight. She found romance novels as an adult. After reading about a million, she discovered numerous people residing in her head, all looking for a way onto the printed page.
She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and she regularly contributes to romance blog, Smart Girls Read Romance. She is a member of The Daughters of the American Revolution and The Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Carra and her hero live in North Central Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex where they enjoy family and their three beautiful grandchildren.
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Hi, and thank you, Andrea Downing, for having me here today! This anthology, A COWBOY TO KEEP, Contemporary Western Romance Collection, has been a fun project. It is a privilege to work with this group of talented authors and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them and their work. I think readers will love this collection of contemporary western romances.
I always fall in love with my characters, even the bad guys, and from the time Sheriff Ben Hammond walked on stage in my first book, CODE OF HONOR, Texas Code Series, I’ve been in love. Originally, he was a minor character and love interest for Dinah Horne, while the main story played out. The more he supported the other characters in their investigations, the harder I fell.
He is tall, dark, and handsome, carries a badge and packs heat – in more ways than one – plus he’s serious, smart, and loyal. If you’re looking for a guy with a big heart and the ability to keep you safe and protected in any situation, Ben Hammond is your man.
I went down the western historical trail for a while leaving Ben and Dinah to wait in the wings, non-too patiently I might add, for their own story, and it’s finally here. We find Ben recovering from a broken heart, dealing with the down-sizing of his small police force, and buying a ranch. What will he do, when the woman who walked out on him six months ago, suddenly reappear?
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Blurb: THE LEGEND OF BAD MOON RISING [image error]
Dinah Horne left for Dallas, Texas, to make her mark. When her money runs out, she returns to her hometown and the man she can’t forget. Sheriff Ben Hammond is finally over the woman who shattered his heart, and he plans to rebuild his life with the Hard Luck Ranch. Under a rising moon, will Ben and Dinah surrender to the passion still burning hot between them?
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[image error]EXCERPT:
Dinah Horne sat in a booth, in the darkened corner of the Bigger Jigger, her butt, literally and figuratively, frozen to the worn, red vinyl, seat. In the last few days, she and Maggie had discussed the situation with Ben Hammond, ad nauseam. Should she move back to McTiernan? Would he accept her living here again? Could they even reside in the same county?
She’d known her leaving last year had hurt him badly. But she’d needed to follow her dream of owning and running her own business. Hadn’t she? Well, she’d done it, all right. She’d even gone the extra yardage by telling him she couldn’t spend her life simply being Mrs. Sheriff Hammond. She was destined for greater things.
And, how’s that working out for you, Sister Sue? Her mother’s voice reverberated inside her head. Less than a year and she was back in McTiernan, tail between her legs, imposing on the kindness of friends. Pathetic.
She watched Maggie hug Ben, give her an almost imperceptible nod, and leave.
How much longer would he wait for the new realtor to show up? Not long, she surmised, if he was still in the habit of having one beer before heading home for the day. Slowly, she exited the booth and made her way toward the bar. She approached Ben just as Harry set a Styrofoam box on the counter. Ben paid his bill, picked up the white carton, and fished his keys out of his pocket.
Without fanfare, Dinah slid her card onto the lid of his dinner box.
He picked up the Packard Realty card, read the generic front, and said, “Hey, I was about to leave. I thought you weren’t going to make our appointment.” He half-swiveled on the stool, stretching out his hand. “I’m Ben, and you are, Ms?”
The look in his eyes told her most of what she needed to know. “Hi, Ben.”
He stared at her, and looked again at the card. He flipped it over to see her name scrawled across the back. Handing it to her he said, “We’re not doing this. I’ll call Tristi tomorrow.”
“Ben, you can’t just run away from me.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I’ve heard it works for others. I think I’ll give it a try.”
“That’s not fair, Ben.”
He set the container down with enough force that his thumb pushed through the lid. He grabbed her by the upper arm and marched her back to the booth she’d vacated mere minutes before.
“Fair? You want to talk fair?” He pushed her into the booth and slid in next to her, effectively blocking her escape. “You up and leave with only a note taped to my gun safe. You were afraid of losing yourself? What the hell does that mean?”
“Ben, I should go.” While she knew in her heart, he wouldn’t hurt her, she did her best not push him too far. The floodgates were threatening to overflow, and she absolutely would not cry in front of him. “This was a mistake.”
“You have no idea how huge.” With that, he got up and walked straight out the front door without so much as a glance over his shoulder.
* * *
Ben walked into the sheriff’s office, sat in his chair, and realized, as his stomach growled, he’d left his double cheeseburger with grilled onions and fries at the Bigger Jigger. Damn. He’d been really looking forward to that most perfect combination of meat, bun, and cheese with a liberal dose of jalapeños. His mouth watered at the thought, but there was no way he was going back to pick it up. He’d starve first.
His gaze drifted over to his only other option. Unhappily, he got up and slid a dollar bill into the vending machine slot, and retrieved a bag of chips. He ate one, grimaced at the remainder of the contents, and tossed them into the trash can beside his desk.
He dropped into his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. What was the matter with him tonight? His reaction and resulting actions toward Dinah had been, while marginally understandable, completely unacceptable. He’d convinced himself, over the past few months, he was over her, and never again would she affect him. Tonight, however, had proved how wrong he’d been. Seeing her out of the blue like that had flummoxed him almost as much as seeing her that first time in Maggie’s living room last summer. Their break-up had hit him hard, and he’d promised never again to let a woman get that close. Evidently, he hadn’t moved as far along as he’d thought.
In an effort to, finally, put his relationship with Dinah Horne to bed — an unfortunate turn of phrase indeed — he started the computer and began composing an email to Tristi Packard, owner of Packard Realty. He’d call her in the morning with his concerns, but for now . . . this was a way for him to organize his thoughts.
The front door opened and closed, breaking his concentration, and when he looked up, Dinah stood inside, with her back against the glass closure.
“Hi, Ben.” She crossed the room and set a slightly worse-for-wear white box, with a hole in the lid, onto the desk in front of him. “You forgot your dinner.”
“You didn’t have to go out of your way.”
“I was driving by anyway, and promised Harry I’d drop it off. Sorry it’s gone cold.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He managed a measure of control to avoid a repeat of his actions at the bar. He cleared his throat. “You can go now.”
She pulled up a chair and sat down. “We need to talk, Ben.”
“No, we don’t. You chose to leave, you don’t get to come back.”
“Seriously? Childish much?”
Ben stared at the blank computer screen, wishing she’d leave, yet hoping she’d stay. Quite the impossible conundrum. He waited a few beats longer until the screen went dark, and then forged ahead.
“You bleached your hair. Why?”
“There’s so much competition in Dallas real estate, that when I got my license, I thought I needed something to help me stand out in the crowd. So, I got a makeover.” She smoothed her shoulder-length hair and pressed her gloss-covered lips together into an exaggerated pout. “What do you think?”
“Doesn’t matter what I think.”
“Of course, it does, Ben. Always did.
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You can find Carra at: http://www.carracopelin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carra-Copelin-Texas-Skies-Author/233861816666958
https://twitter.com/#!/CarraCopelin
[image error]And you can Catch a cowboy … Keep a cowboy …Don’t miss this great collection from USA Today, Amazon Bestselling, and Award-Winning authors!! Available at https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Keep-Contemporary-Western-Collection-ebook/dp/B072869SGV/
THE LEGEND OF BAD MOON RISING by Carra Copelin
Sheriff Ben Hammond is finally over the woman who shattered his heart, but when Dinah Horne suddenly returns, can he ignore the passion still burning bright between them?
CITY BOY, COUNTRY HEART by Andrea Downing
Trading horses for subways for two years seemed like a good idea to cowboy Chay Ridgway, but can city girl K.C. Daniels keep a rein on his country heart?
BLUE SAGE by Kristy McCaffrey
Archaeologist Audrey Driggs rolls off a mountain and lands at the feet of rugged cowboy Braden Delaney. Together, they’ll uncover a long-lost secret.
THE DRIFTER’S KISS by Devon McKay
Determined to take back what belongs to her, Addison Reed will do anything. Even trust a complete stranger.
HER MAN by Hildie McQueen
Deputy Mark Hunter falls for Eliza Brock during a murder investigation. Is it fate or bad luck, especially when she may be involved?
BORDER ROMANCE by Hebby Roman
Widow Leticia Villarreal wants to establish a horse-racing stable and old acquaintance John Clay Laidlaw offers to help. But can she trust him with her business and her heart?
PHOENIX HEAT by Patti Sherry-Crews
After losing her fiancé and her New York City business, Harper Donovan returns to Arizona and meets cowboy Frank Flynn. Will his past and their differences extinguish the heat between them?
July 22, 2017
Bad Boy, Big Heart by Andrea Downing
The trickiest thing when it comes to summer romances? There’s always a time limit. Sooner or later, the summer must come to an end.
What’s it About?
When New Yorker K.C. Daniels heads to Wyoming for a summer job, she wants nothing more than to fit in with the staff of the Lazy S Ranch. Yearning to be independent of her mom and dad, and have a taste of the west before she starts her Master’s degree, getting involved with a cowboy is the last thing on her mind—especially when she’s greeted with warnings about ‘Bad Boy’ Chay Ridgway.
High school dropout Chay Ridgway sees summer as his time to be a rodeo star and win a girl in his life, while facing the responsibilities he has for his father. Although working to bring in cash to help his dad, he’s never had a problem finding a woman who’s happy…
View original post 706 more words
July 16, 2017
Hildie McQueen
[image error]I still have a coaster on my desk from the first author’s conference I ever attended back in 2012–it’s pink with the now familiar name of Hildie McQueen on it. So imagine my delight to now find myself in an anthology with Hildie.
Hildie is a USA Today Bestselling author who loves unusual situations and getting into interesting adventures, which is what her characters do as well. She writes romance because she is in love with love! Author of Romance in Highland historical, Western Historical and contemporary, she writes something every reader can enjoy.
Most days she can be found in her pajamas hiding from deliverymen while drinking tea from her David Gandy coffee mug. In the afternoons she browses the Internet for semi-nude men to post on Facebook. Hildie’s favorite past-times are romance conventions, traveling, shopping and reading.
She resides in beautiful small town Georgia with her super-hero husband Kurt, an unruly boy Chihuahua Pepito and a spoiled rotten girl Chiweenie named Lola.
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Inspirations for stories are everywhere.
Giddy from my first visit to Montana, I rushed from the airport gate to where I’d gather my bags and rental car. I couldn’t wait for the scenery, the experience of Big Sky Country.
Then the perfect thing happened. As I went down the escalator, a tall, broad-shouldered, handsome guy stood next to the rental car counter. With a light blue and white plaid shirt, well-worn jeans, boots and a cowboy hat, he was the perfect romance book hero.
The cowboy scanned the crowd for whoever he came to pick up and sure enough another guy, almost same M.O., except for the hat went to him and they did the awkward, “glad to see you” man greeting.
While I waited for my luggage to come out on the carousel, I watched them walk out of the terminal ideas forming.
What would it be like for a guy to return home to Montana? After rambling for a while, sometimes a man needs to come home to the familiar to ground himself and get a fresh start. So that is how my story Jaded:Luke, came to be.
What about Her Man? Well that’s easy. What can be sexier than a lawman who wears a Stetson and a badge? In my novella for this anthology, I decided to write a light romantic suspense, with characters that are almost comical. In this small town setting, my hero Mark Hunter is starting anew. I hope you enjoy his story!
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[image error]Her Man:
When someone is murdered, it’s definitely not a normal week in the usually quiet small town of Lovely, Montana.
Deputy Mark Hunter’s past returns full force when the first murder in twenty years happens on his watch in the usually quiet small town of Lovely, Montana. This is definitely not the time to fall in love. Especially with the beautiful witness Eliza Brock, who could be involved.
The last twenty-four hours have been hell, between a fight with her ex that left her with a bruised face and now finding a dead man Eliza Brock can barely keep it together. In the middle of all the mess Eliza still manages to feel an undeniable attraction to the handsome deputy and damn if she can’t resist when he knocks on her door.
Fate decides to bring two solitary people together, just when neither of them needs it.
Excerpt:
The sound of the doorbell made her jump. She glanced at the clock. It was only eight-thirty, she supposed not too late for someone to stop by. Still on the couch with her feet up, she took in her outfit. She wore green polka dot pajama shorts and a loose t-shirt. Not bad since it was probably Mrs. Miller anyway.
Her stomach sunk when she peered through the peephole and caught a glimpse of Mark Hunter’s face. He stood away from the door staring straight forward.
“Shit.” Eliza mumbled and dashed to put the glass on her kitchen table. She yanked the towel from her wet hair and shook it out. Raking her fingers through her shoulder length locks, rushed back to the door.
His eyes met hers when she opened her front door and immediately her stomach filled with butterflies. How she wanted to roll her eyes at her body’s reaction to the flat but beautiful hazel eyes.
“Deputy Hunter. Is something wrong?” She took a step back. “I didn’t expect you to stop by. Would you like to come in? I just got home not too long ago from the diner.” Okay this was the time to shut up and allow the man to talk.
To her surprise he walked in and stood just inside the door. Once again he accessed her face. “I need to ask you a couple more questions.”
He wasn’t wearing his uniform. Instead wore a white t-shirt and jeans. Although he looked handsome in his police clothing, the casually dressed Mark Hunter was a totally hottie.
“Would you like some coffee? Tea? I have wine.” She hustled to the kitchen and stood behind the counter like a fast food worker, waiting to take an order.
He moved closer and frowned. “I’ll take some coffee, please. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Not a problem.” She measured grounds into her coffee maker and poured water into the reserve. It had to be a good sign that he was drinking coffee. Surely if he suspected her of having something to do with Eddie’s death, he’d not ask for coffee. Would he? “Can I ask you a question?”
His lips quirked at the corners. “Sure. I haven’t asked mine, though.”
“Oh.” Her eyes rounded. “You go first then.”
“Thank you.” His eyes twinkled as she hurried to the kitchen table and sat, motioning him to do the same.
Once he lowered to a chair opposite her and pushed the wine glass toward her, he took out his small pad again. Eliza was too nervous to pick up the glass. Instead she clenched her hands together under the table.
“I spoke to Mr. Garrett today. He was worried you’d reported him for striking you.” He watched her intently. Those penetrating gazes of his making her want to either scream. She fidgeted instead.
“I…er. What is the question?” She bit her bottom lip and prayed the coffee maker would beep. It would give her something to do.
“Mr. Garrett was worried you’d pressed charges against him. Do you plan to?”
Eliza let out a breath. So this had nothing to do with the murder then. “I planned to speak to Sheriff Clark and ask him to talk to Jay.” She felt heat rising to her cheeks. Great, there went her chances of ever going out with Mark Hunter.
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You can find Hildie at:
Author Amazon Page: www.facebook.com/authorhildiemcquee…
Author Website: http://www.hildiemcqueen.com
Author Facebook: www.facebook.com/hildiemcqueen
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Catch a cowboy … Keep a cowboy …
Don’t miss this great collection from USA Today, Amazon Bestselling, and Award-Winning authors!! Available at https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Keep-Contemporary-Western-Collection-ebook/dp/B072869SGV/
THE LEGEND OF BAD MOON RISING by Carra Copelin
Dinah Horne left for Dallas, Texas, to make her mark. When her money runs out, she returns to her hometown and the man she can’t forget. Sheriff Ben Hammond is finally over the woman who shattered his heart, and he plans to rebuild his life with the Hard Luck Ranch. Under a rising moon, will Ben and Dinah surrender to the passion still burning hot between them?
CITY BOY, COUNTRY HEART by Andrea Downing
Rodeo star and rancher Chay Ridgway has left Wyoming to follow his girlfriend, K.C. Daniels, to New York. Leaving behind all he knows for a small bite of the Big Apple, Chay discovers the canyons of city streets may be too claustrophobic for this cowboy. As K.C. continues her two years of study for her Master’s degree, can she also keep a rein on Chay’s heart? Will this cowboy become a city boy, or will the wide-open spaces of Wyoming call his country heart home?
BLUE SAGE by Kristy McCaffrey
Braden Delaney has taken over the family cattle business after the death of his father, but faced with difficult financial decisions, he contemplates selling a portion of the massive Delaney ranch holdings known as Whisper Rock, a place of unusual occurrences. Archaeologist Audrey Driggs arrives in the remote wilderness of Northern Arizona searching for clues to a life-altering experience from her childhood. Together, they’ll uncover a long-lost secret.
THE DRIFTER’S KISS by Devon McKay
Addison Reed’s stock is coming up short. Unfortunately, she suspects her foreman and dearest friend may be the person responsible for the missing cattle. For Sawyer Dawson, Hardin, Montana, is nothing more than a pit stop before moving on to bigger and better things. After a surprise kiss leads to helping a damsel in distress, he starts to question his drifter ways.
HER MAN by Hildie McQueen
Deputy Mark Hunter’s past returns full force when the first murder in twenty years happens on his watch in the usually quiet town of Lovely, Montana. This is definitely not the time to fall in love, especially with the beautiful witness Eliza Brock, who may be involved.
BORDER ROMANCE by Hebby Roman
When Leticia Villarreal, a lonely widow, considers adding Quarter horse racing to her ranch, she finds she has a lot to learn. John Clay Laidlaw, a millionaire rancher and old acquaintance, races Quarter horses and offers to help. But he also cares for her and wants a relationship. Remembering his high-handed tactics when they were young, she doesn’t trust him. But when someone tries to harm her horses and John Clay rushes to her rescue, can she open her heart to him?
PHOENIX HEAT by Patti Sherry-Crews
When Harper Donovan loses both her fiancé and business in that order, it’s the end of her dream of making it in New York City. Returning to the bosom of her family in Arizona is not her favorite option, but it’s her only one. When she meets handsome firefighter and cowboy Frank Flynn, she decides it’s time to get into the dating game again. Except Flynn shows no interest and dodges her, but not before claiming they’ve met before. Will his past and their differences extinguish the heat between them?[image error]
July 8, 2017
Patti Sherry-Crews
[image error]This is the third anthology on which I’ve had the pleasure of working with Patti Sherry-Crews, and I’m not sure I could proceed to work on one without her! She has been a redoubtable ally against the foibles of publishing, and has stopped me from pulling my hair out on many an occasion with her delightful wit and sense of humor. Patti Sherry-Crews lives in Evanston, IL with her husband and two children. She writes both historical and contemporary romances. Her historic western and medieval romances are published by Prairie Rose Publications. Patti is also known to do the occasional good deed.
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My cheery neighbor comes toward me, arms extended. We greet each other with a hug, because it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.
“Where do you get the ideas for your stories?” she asks me.
Well, neighbor, I’m not sure that’s something I want to share with you at this late date, I think to myself. I’d taken a short break from writing Phoenix Heat, to pop in at an open house down the street.
The thing is, I’m writing a scene taken from the pages of my own book and it involves this woman. Years ago, decades really, a massive storm was about to break. I was hurrying home when I saw a dog frantically trying to get into her house. I rang the doorbell but nobody was home, so I let the dog into the vestibule and went on my way. Good deed done. I’ll collect my karma later, thank you.
Months later I overheard my neighbor talking to someone. “And, I came home to find a strange dog in the hall! It shredded the wallpaper and ate a table!”
Oops…
If I had heard this immediately after throwing a dog into her house, I’m sure I would have said something. But since so much time had passed it seemed enlightening her wouldn’t help the situation, so I zipped my lip. Instead, I stored the incident away in my writer’s brain to use at a later date, thinking what better way for a hero and heroine to meet?
Writers do that: we tuck away the odd incident witnessed, bits of strange conversations overheard, and significant experiences for later use. I think of my stories as scrapbooks for my memories.
When I was developing the character of Frank Flynn, who is the firefighting cowboy in Phoenix Heat, I had a vision of what I wanted him to be like. Sort of a self-contained, quiet guy whose still waters run deep. I wanted him to have something in his past he carried around with shame. It also had to be something that makes him turn away from Harper Donovan when they meet. Whatever it was haunting him, it couldn’t be so terrible that the reader lost interest in him.
Then I thought how some of our deepest wounds are things we carry from childhood. Maybe even things we had no control of like having a family different from everyone else’s.
So, I gave Frank a family who lived down the street from me when I was growing up. Without giving too much away, this was a household run by teens. There were five extraordinarily good-looking kids, who got into every kind of mischief kids without parents around can get into. As a kid, it was a fun house to visit, but as an adult I reflected on what it must have been like to live there. Only one of the five children, the oldest daughter, went on to make a stable life for herself. I gave Frank the strength of character she had to rise above it all.
I hope you enjoy Phoenix Heat! And by the way, my neighbor’s dog was a greyhound and the dog at her door was also a greyhound, so I ask you what would you have done? In fact, I’m now asking myself if there were two times someone threw a dog into her house, because unless you frequent the race track how often do you see greyhounds?
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PHOENIX HEAT Blurb:
Harper Donovan thought she had it all when she turned her dream into a reality—opening a restaurant in New York City. But when the venture fails and her fiancé leaves her, Harper has little choice but to return to her family in Arizona.
When she meets handsome firefighter and cowboy Frank Flynn, she decides it’s time to get in the dating game again. Except Flynn shows no interest and dodges her, but not before claiming they’ve met before. Solving the mystery of the complicated Flynn gets under Harper’s skin, making her even more determined to seduce him.
When the two finally come together, the smoldering passion ignites into a heat that rivals the Phoenix desert. Now that Flynn has opened his heart, can Harper handle this wounded cowboy who’s playing for keeps?
Excerpt:
Harper rolled down her window as Flynn approached and looked back at him over her shoulder. His feet landed in her tire tracks leading him closer, boot prints stamping a new pattern in the dust. Maybe she could hand him the bag and be on her way. He leaned down and put his hands on the driver’s side of her car with his arms spread wide. Oh my. He has a tattoo. Around one muscular bicep ran a band of Celtic design. He had his cheek sucked in like he wasn’t too pleased to see her.
“Hi, I brought you some food from the hotel,” she said, surprised by the slight squeak in her voice when she’d been going for relaxed.
“Rosa have you running her errands?” No squeak in his voice. He spoke in a deep, slow drawl. Very sexy.
“I pass by here on my way to work. It’s not a bother. I work at—”
“I know where you work,” he said in that same slow, deliberate way. That man didn’t do anything fast.
“Oh, right, well, here you go then,” she said, shifting the bag in his direction. “Nice of you to do this. I brought the food yesterday, so I know normally I’m to put the bag on the back porch.”
To her discomfort, he stood there, not reaching for the bag, intense eyes boring into her. She lifted the bag higher. “Well, here you are. I’ll just be on my—”
“Yesterday? You were here?” The muscles in his wide-spread arms bulged, making her feel like prey trapped by a more powerful opponent. His body, radiating heat, blocked her view. His male scent filled the car.
“Yes, I let your dog in too. Poor thing was frantic to get in with the storm coming.”
His face got tight and he narrowed his eyes. “Very kind of you, except I don’t own a dog.”
“Oh, well, I—”
“That dog did some damage.” A vein in his neck twitched and his compressed lips went white.
The scorch of shame flashed over her cheeks. “I’m so sorry! It never occurred to me…. Was it bad?”
“Words fail to describe. Let me show you what I came home to yesterday. Come on,” he said when she continued to sit in the car.
He stood back to let her open her door and step out into the hot sun, pulling the bag after her. She stood face to face with him now. With his hands hooked in his belt loops, elbows out, she was aware of the size of him. Large and imposing, his body held her captive without touching her. She didn’t know what to say, and he seemed to be taking his time raking her over with his eyes. He stood so close to her, she smelled the musky scent of him. The individual stubble of each whisker on his chin, clear to her.
Finally, he walked away, moving to the back of his truck, where he picked up something large and threw it over one shoulder—a fifty-pound bag of dog food.
“I thought you said you don’t have a dog?”
“It appears I do now.”
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You can find out more about Patti at
http://pattisherrycrews16.wix.com/author-blog
[image error]Catch a cowboy … Keep a cowboy …
Don’t miss this great collection from USA Today, Amazon Bestselling, and Award-Winning authors!! Available at https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Keep-Contemporary-Western-Collection-ebook/dp/B072869SGV/
THE LEGEND OF BAD MOON RISING by Carra Copelin
Sheriff Ben Hammond is finally over the woman who shattered his heart, but when Dinah Horne suddenly returns, can he ignore the passion still burning bright between them?
CITY BOY, COUNTRY HEART by Andrea Downing
Trading horses for subways for two years seemed like a good idea to cowboy Chay Ridgway, but can city girl K.C. Daniels keep a rein on his country heart?
BLUE SAGE by Kristy McCaffrey
Archaeologist Audrey Driggs rolls off a mountain and lands at the feet of rugged cowboy Braden Delaney. Together, they’ll uncover a long-lost secret.
THE DRIFTER’S KISS by Devon McKay
Determined to take back what belongs to her, Addison Reed will do anything. Even trust a complete stranger.
HER MAN by Hildie McQueen
Deputy Mark Hunter falls for Eliza Brock during a murder investigation. Is it fate or bad luck, especially when she may be involved?
BORDER ROMANCE by Hebby Roman
Widow Leticia Villarreal wants to establish a horse-racing stable and old acquaintance John Clay Laidlaw offers to help. But can she trust him with her business and her heart?
PHOENIX HEAT by Patti Sherry-Crews
After losing her fiancé and her New York City business, Harper Donovan returns to Arizona and meets cowboy Frank Flynn. Will his past and their differences extinguish the heat between them?[image error]
