Cora Seton's Blog, page 15

I’m at Our Wolves Den today!

I’m on tour today for the release of my box set: The Cowboys of Chance Creek Vol. 1 – 3! Today I’m visiting Our Wolves Den and I hope you’ll stop by to chat, find out more about the box set and enter for your chance to win a $100 gift card!

I’m at Long and Short Reviews Today!

It’s Day 2 of my blog tour for The Cowboys of Chance Creek Vol. 1 – 3. Come visit me today at Long and Short Reviews and enter for your chance to win a $100 gift card!

Blog Tour – Two Stops Today!

Come visit me today at Books to Light Your Fire  and Welcome to My World of Books to participate in my blog tour for my Cowboys of Chance Creek Box Set, Books 1 – 3!

Stop by to learn more about the books and sign up for my a $100 gift card!!!!

Come Check Me Out at In The Pages of a Good Book

This is a double blog tour day, with two stops. I’m at In the Pages of a Good Book as well as at Dawn’s Reading Nook. That’s two chances to enter to win a $50 gift certificate!

At In the Pages of a Good Book, you’ll find out five reasons I write romance! I hope you check it out. Don’t forget to leave me a comment there, too!

I’m at Dawn’s Reading Nook Today

It’s Day Two of my blog tour for The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire and I’m at Dawn’s Reading Nook - come on over and join me and enter to win a $50 gift certificate, too!

The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire Tour Starts Now!

I’m being interviewed over at Literary Nymphs today on the first stop of my blog tour for The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire. Stop by to find more about me, read an excerpt of the book and don’t forget to leave a comment to register for a $50 Amazon gift card giveaway!

 

The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire Now Available

I’m so excited that The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire is up for sale now. Here are the buy links:

Here is the blurb:

Bella Chatham will lose everything – her veterinary practice, her animal shelter, and even her home – if she can’t find another source of income, fast. So when her best friend signs her up for the hot new reality television show, Can You Beat a Billionaire, Bella accepts the challenge and hopes against hope she can win the ten million dollar prize. If she doesn’t, it’s bye-bye pet clinic and shelter, bye-bye Chance Creek, Montana, and hello to marriage to the billionaire for a year!

Evan Mortimer, billionaire, can’t believe he’s reduced to competing in a television contest to win a wife. Unfortunately, it’s the only foolproof way to secure his position as head of Mortimer Innovations. At least he’ll be able to dump his “spouse” at the end of the year; he’s much too busy to be tied down to a country bumpkin cowgirl.

Bella doesn’t expect her adversary to be handsome – or funny, or compassionate – but Evan’s all three, and he’s proving a tough competitor, too. When they end up sharing a tent – and a sleeping-bag – her body betrays her with a longing so deep it cuts her to the core. Still, this cowgirl must stay strong. If Evan uncovers her secret fears, he’ll use them to win the contest – and then he’ll own her for a year. She’ll be out of luck, out of cash, and stuck being Mrs. Mortimer until he kicks her to the curb. Too bad she can’t decide which is worse – winning the show and losing Evan forever, or losing the show and only being his temporary wife.

Evan can’t believe he’s falling for the one woman who doesn’t want him. This cowgirl’s not impressed by his money, his name, or his inability to sleep in a tent with her for an entire night, but every look and touch she gives him sends his desire through the roof. With a director determined to use his claustrophobia to make him look like a fool, and an adversary so sexy he can hardly see straight, he’ll need all his savvy to come out on top. Too bad he’s going to lose no matter how this show turns out. If he beats Bella, he’ll destroy the first woman he’s ever loved. If he doesn’t beat her, it’s bye-bye Mortimer Innovations.

Will either of them remember in time that it’s not who wins or who loses – it’s how they play the game that really counts?

An Adventure to Exstew Falls

I’ve lived in northern British Columbia for nine years(!!!!) but I’m still often flabbergasted by the scale of things here. Back in California I thought nothing of throwing the kids in the car and heading off on an adventure by myself. When my boys were 5, 3, and 1, I took a daytrip from Santa Cruz to Yosemite with little more than a tank of gas and a pack of sandwiches.

Since I’ve lived here I’ve been cowed into carefulness. The woods are too big, the bears too ferocious, and too many people–careful people, capable people–die in accidents when they’re enjoying the great outdoors.

So I was thrilled when friends asked my daughter and me to accompany them to Exstew Falls the other day. I’d heard about the falls for years, although no one seemed to know quite where they were, and I wanted to finally get to see them. I went online, found a YouTube video someone else made about their trip, took note of landmarks and directions, and set out happily in my Honda Fit on the appointed morning. I don’t know how many times during the next few hours I was thankful I hadn’t gone alone.

About fifteen minutes out of town we started seeing landmarks. Between the map my friend’s brother had drawn on a scrap of paper, and my memories of the video, we found the road after one mishap. There is no sign for Exstew Falls. Instead, a dirt road crosses the highway few hundred meters before the highway crosses the Exstew river. Once you cross the tracks you are warned that the road (and bridges!) aren’t maintained. Bolstered by this soothing message, you drive forward on the rutted road.

And drive. And drive. And drive. Over countless bumps and potholes. Through standing water where the swamp to the right seems higher than the road. Around bends and bumps. Over three or four (unmaintained) bridges. If not for my friends’ truck bumping over the road ahead of me, I’d have turned back for sure. (If I ever actually found the road.)

About halfway down the road my Honda picked up a stone, so the grinding sound that accompanied me for the second half of this harrowing drive added to the fun of it. Thank goodness for my friend’s husband who identified the sound and told me there was nothing to worry about.

We drove on and on and on. Past two forks in the road (always heading right), to a kind of parking area, again completely unmarked. Ahead of us lay a track through a birch grove I recognized from the YouTube video. To the right the main road went on and up a hill.

I thought it was the main road, anyway. My friend’s husband told me it was suitable only for ATV’s. I’ll admit if I was on my own I’d have gamely taken it with my car. Judging by what we heard about that track later, I’d have been in serious trouble.

We continued on by foot.

Some ways down the track we came across some animal poop my friends quickly identified as wolf poop (it’s full of fur). Did I mention I was glad I wasn’t alone?

About twenty minutes down an easy track we got our first sight of the falls:

 

A few minutes later we came to a memorial erected for a man who’d come to grief on the afore-mentioned ATV track–an impressive monument to find in such an out of the way place. His story was harrowing, so I was very glad (once again!) I wasn’t alone, and hadn’t driven that hill. After the memorial, the track veered right, and soon we came to a smaller offshoot trail that goes directly to the falls. (Finally, a sign!) Short, but very steep, we climbed it easily and emerged from the forest out of breath ten minutes later at the base of the falls.

The falls themselves are beautiful now and must be incredibly impressive during the spring runoff. There’s a pool at the base where you could dip your feet during warm weather (taking care not to slip!).

 

As the mist soaked our jackets and hair, we turned back to make the hike back out, but I’d definitely come again. Maybe on a sunshiny summer day, with a picnic lunch and a bunch of friends.

And a truck.

A Brand New Cover for The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire

I decided to splurge and hire Kim Killion to redesign my cover for The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire. I’m so thrilled with the results. I love Kim’s painterly style and her typography is to die for. Now that we’ve figured out fonts and placements of the various design elements, she’s going to go back and re-do my old covers, too. Can’t wait to get the whole lineup of them.

It will be especially fun for my print versions to have these new covers. I wasn’t happy with the way my old ones translated to print.

What do you think? Do you like the upgrade?

Get Walking

I love just about everything about writing, except the fact that I have to sit while I do it. Before writing became my career, I was pretty active, but a combination of getting older, moving, and sitting in front of a computer daydreaming up new ways to torture my characters has left me out of shape.

Luckily, I have an 11-year-old daughter who loves to walk, too, and what’s better–loves to walk with me. Now I’m getting up in time to shower, do some yoga, journal, and walk the 2 miles to her school and back. Then picking her up in the afternoon, too.

That’s four miles a day. I’m aiming for five, though. Just need to add in another short walk in the evenings and I’m golden.

I plan to start taking along my camera, too, so brace yourself for lots of “early sun on the mountains” type pictures….

Okay – that’s not a “sun on the mountains” picture. That’s a whole different story.