Tag Archives: blog hop

Spring ‘Tastic Tour

April 24, 2017 admin 11 Comments

April 24 through April 26, 2017

Sponsored by the Highway Cafe including members from the Trans Canada Romance Writers, this tour introduces you to 17 total authors with posts about spring and giveaways. Links to all participating authors is here.

My anticipation of spring may be different than that experienced by others. My current residence is a cabin set on Forest Service land in the southern California mountains. Because of the strict guidelines about keeping the area in its natural state, I don’t get to enjoy tulips or other spring flowers or see the blossoming of cherry or almond trees. So I’ve learned to appreciate the difference in the wildlife during my five years here. I notice the return of the stellar jays and woodpeckers to the trees (as long as they stay there and don’t peck on my cabin walls) and incorporate their caws and rat-a-tat sounds, as well as the swishing of the leaves, into my background sounds.

While sitting on my front deck, I saw the chipmunks and squirrels have started their inspection of the camp, too. Watching their antics always brings a smile.

The other day I was thrilled to spot a bobcat running across the road less than a quarter mile from our camp. I even slowed to a stop and just stared at where it hunkered behind a log. On the next trip away from home, I saw a juvenile coyote trotting alongside the road.

The new life always brings a sense of looking forward and wondering what’s yet to come. Spend at least a few minutes outside everyday and find something in your area that brings enjoyment.

~*~*~

Hunt for the Easter eggs on my site and leave a comment where you found them for an extra chance at winning a copy of my contemporary story, Anything But Flowers. (print to US only, ebook for other locations). Completing the tasks in the rafflecopter below earn more entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don’t forget to visit the other authors’ blogs by clicking here

Blog Hop, Candlelight Reads

Grateful For Books Blog Hop

November 6, 2015 admin 20 Comments

Why I’m grateful for books:

Growing up a shy child, books were the friends I wished to have. Reading about brave or adventurous story characters helped me absorb just a little of those elements. Pippi Longstocking was an elementary school favorite because she was so bold, outrageous and had super-strength. Not go to school? Sail away on the ocean with a horse and monkey as pets? Those actions were daring to imagine but very far outside my suburban experience. This is about the time I discovered the Little House books and what young city girl didn’t want to get into such innocent mischief like she did. I’ve re-read the series a couple of times, attributing the beginning of my love of historical fiction to that series.

When I hit that age when all girls seemed to yearn to own a horse, I discovered My Friend Flicka, The Black Stallion, National Velvet and Black Beauty. Those books were read and re-read, and plastic horses were integrated into my Barbie doll collection. Then I discovered the Nancy Drew series and imagined myself as a young crime-solving detective. And oh, Nancy drove such a sporty little car. During high school and college, pleasure reading took a backseat except for the occasional “must read” like The Exorcist or Roots.

While raising my kids, I always made sure to include a wide diversity of type of books in our family read-aloud titles. From their homework assignments, I was introduced to new authors and exciting characters in stories that became much-beloved. I remember one summer of several novels having death as a theme and those titles are imprinted as definite tear-jerkers. Like the movies you’re glad you saw but won’t seek out again for a repeat viewing.

Now, as a writer, I build on all I’ve learned from those stories and always have the fervent wish that a story I’ve created has the power to evoke emotion in the reader.

Please enter the rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance at the audio version (3 copies) of historical Christmas novella, The Ring That Binds, or an ebook of On With The Show, a Thanksgiving-themed contemporary novella. [if the icon doesn’t appear, use this link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/585af0479/? ]

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also participating in the blog hop are the following authors:

Blog Hop, Candlelight Reads

Books That Make Your Heart Flutter Blog Hop

August 14, 2015 admin 16 Comments

As someone who has read thousands of books over her lifetime, I can think of two aspects of a story that make my heart flutter.

First, I can get swept away and be unable to put down a book that has a driving plotline. One action leads into the next and both put the protagonist in even worse danger to the point that the reader can’t imagine anything possibly getting worse…and then it does. A couple of books come to mind here.

One is The Hunt For Red October by Tom Clancy with the basic plot being a Russian submarine commander wants to defect to the free world. The format of the novel was that action occurred on three primary stages (settings)–US government, Russian government and the sub itself. Each scene flipped to a different setting and the reader knew the ultimate showdown had huge consequences. I remember reading part of the novel aloud on a long drive the length of California. (before audio books, folks) Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton was another that hooked me. Other authors who write similar compelling works are Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Camilla Lackberg, John Grisham.

Recently, I read Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, which has been turned into a TV series. Partially because of the extremely short chapter length (1-4 pages each) but also the almost non-stop action of incidents and events that propel the protagonist forward.

The second type of book that makes my heart flutter is a well-written romance that really digs into the characters. Especially stories that start out with flawed characters who think they have done something that makes them unlovable. Like The Wives of Bodie Stone by Maggie Osborne or Portraits by Stef Ann Holm–both historical novels have heroes who were in prison.

Strong characterization and deep point of view go a long way to guarantee my reading pleasure. I strive for those two elements in the stories I create. In my latest release, Forged By Fire (part of the anthology, A Cowboy Celebration from Prairie Rose Publications), I created a hero, Berg, who thought an event that happened in his past made him undesirable and therefore, he shies away from people. One simple act of kindness makes Ivey, the cook of the boarding house, to look at him in a different way.

Forged By Fire is just one of four historical stories included in Prairie Rose anthologies set in a Texas town.

Leave a comment about a book that made your heart flutter and the reason why for a chance to win your choice of a print copy of :

Cowboys, Creatures and Calico, Vol 1. (Halloween setting) with other stories by Lorrie Farrelly, Tanya Hanson, Sarah J. McNeal, Shayna Matthews and Cher’ley Grogg

Present For A Cowboy (Christmas setting) with other stories by Gail L. Jenner, Lorrie Farrelly, Sarah J. McNeal and Livia J. Washburn

Cowboy Kisses (Valentine’s Day theme) with other stories by Lorrie Farrelly, Kristy McCaffrey, Gail L. Jenner, Gil McDonald, C. Marie Bowen, Tanya Hanson, Beverly Wells

Double your chances of winning by signing up for the inaugural Fall issue of my quarterly newsletter.

http://eepurl.com/bjKueH

To be eligible for the giveaway, comments must be made by 11:59PM PDT on Monday, August 17th. (Newsletter sign ups always accepted)

Then visit others who are participating in this blog hop.

winner announcement

Summer Begins hop winners announced

May 27, 2015 admin Leave a comment

I wanted to thank all of the entrants to the most recent blog hop titled Summer Begins sponsored by Candlelight Reads.

The winners have been individually notified and are as follows:

Present For A Cowboy print anthology–Jonella Moore

Cowboy Kisses print anthology–Kathy Davis

ebook choice from my backlist–Elizabeth Hyatt

Blog Hop

Merry May Blog Hop

May 10, 2015 admin 3 Comments

In celebration of the warm weather, (today is sunny and warm, but on May 8 we had almost 2″ of snow) join in this blog hop for a chance at a variety of prizes offered by lots of authors. Be sure to click on over to the Roane Publishing site for the grand prize of three e-books.

http://www.roanepublishing.com/merry-may-blog-hop.html

I’m giving away to three lucky winners, their choice of print copies of the western historical anthologies from Prairie Rose (in which I contributed a story) titled Cowboy Kisses, Present for a Cowboy OR Cowboys, Creatures and Calico, Vol. 1. (US only for print copies. International winners have choice of ecopy format) I’m sticking with the lucky number 3 and offering three choices of entries in the rafflecopter contest, or you can simply leave a comment about how the weather is where you live. a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Sexy Saturday

My Sexy Saturday blog hop–Lone Star Angel

January 31, 2015 admin Leave a comment

My selection as part of the My Sexy Saturday blog hop is seven paragraphs from the first chapter of Lone Star Angel, a western historical set in 1868 west Texas.

Carni’s gaze was pulled to the muscles straining the thighs of his muddy denims. The man obviously worked hard for a living. But, how dare a ranch hand question her? Rudeness was not to be tolerated. Grasping the reins with one hand, she reached under the cart seat to collect the velvet reticule lying at her feet. “I’m tired and I’m cold. As wonderful as our conversation has been, I need to get to the Bar-T ranch. I’ll pay you four bits to direct me to the ranch house.”

She dug out the coins and held them suspended over the side of the cart, staring with a narrowed gaze at the man’s shadowed face. When he sat as still as a statute with only his eyes tracking her movements, her temper simmered but discussing her personal business with a ranch hand was unthinkable. She shook her hand and raised an eyebrow in his direction. “Okay, six bits.” Another coin was added to her hand.

The wind teased her skirts, flipping back the hem to reveal several inches of a red petticoat.

His gaze flicked to the exposed lingerie and the right side of his mouth quirked for just a second.

But she saw his reaction and steamed even more. Taking advantage of the wind’s mischief instead of averting his gaze like a gentleman would. “A dollar for the directions. Take it now, I won’t be offering more.” Money well spent to remove herself from the belligerent company of this sullen man.

Several moments passed before he clucked out of the side of his mouth and urged the horse forward until abreast of the cart. “Whoa, Hades.” He held a cupped hand under her outstretched one, looked up from under the brim of his black hat and winked.

Heat flashed through her at his bold gesture. With a quick movement, she released her hand and let the clinking coins drop into his bare hand. “Your boss will be hearing about your surly attitude.”

BUY LINKS

Here is a list of the other participating authors.

Candlelight Reads

Candlelight Reads Trim The Tree Blog Hop

December 5, 2014 admin 8 Comments

At this time of the year, many of us are rushing around–decorating, baking and shopping for the holiday season. I have to remind myself to take a moment and reflect on what makes the holidays special, or what I am most sentimental about.

For me, the week-long visit with my granddaughters and family members who live 400 miles away is so very important. Moments of quiet conversation and sharing new experiences are often the most previous gifts we can give one another. Making cookies or wrapping presents are great for easy-going chats. Or working a puzzle together or playing a card game. These are the times we remember, often more than a physical gift bestowed.

That’s the feeling I hoped to create in my latest story, Clari’s Hero, included in the Present For A Cowboy anthology from Prairie Rose Publications. Clari is new to the West, sent to live with an aunt and uncle in hopes of curing her asthma. Now healthy, she wants to have the experiences she was previously denied and spies adventure in a cowboy’s rescue of first a small child in town and then herself from a runaway horse.

The tagline is: Can a starry-eyed dreamer’s search for adventure overcome a taciturn man’s belief he has nothing to offer? You’ll have to read the story to learn how Clari translates her first encounter with the quiet cowboy Trevor into a lasting present.

Enter the rafflecopter contest below for a chance at winning either an e-copy of Present For A Cowboy or a glittery notepad & pen set (US,CA address only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Then hop over to participating author blogs to learn their thoughts on what’s special about the holidays and their giveaways.

1. Bonnie Blythe’s Pure Romance	2.Living the Dream	3.Aileen Fish, Love as Old as Time
4.Emerald Barnes’ Dreaming Awake Blog	5.Nona King’s Angel Breath Books	6.Musings About the Writing Life
7.Jo Grafford, Author	8.Heather Gray, Writer of Inspirational Romance	9.Jo Grafford, Romance Author
10.Krysten Lindsay Hager, Author	11.Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia	12.Makai Queen Going Deeper
13.Author Franky A. Brown	14.Monica’s Blog	15.Christian Romance Author Laura J. Marshall
16.Dragons of Dragondor Blog	17.Christmas by the sea in Pajaro Bay

Blog Hop, My Sexy Saturday

My Sexy Saturday-Tie Down My Heart

September 20, 2014 admin Leave a comment

Here are 7 paragraphs that served to introduce the main characters in Tie Down My Heart, a contemporary western novella set in the rodeo world released by Decadent Publishing.

~~~

For an instant, her shoulders sagged until she pulled on the natural persistence that her daddy claimed was strengthened by years of beauty-pageant competition. “Now, don’t be hasty. A bit of press is always good for a rodeo-rider’s career. I saw those posters on my way in. The association spent a chunk of change to promote those riders.” She studied his face and thought she recognized him as a bronc rider. “A good story could boost ticket sales for the next event.”

“Those posters aren’t new. Do you even know who I am?” He settled his hat more firmly on his head, then squared his stance and crossed both arms over his muscled chest.

Which only pumped his biceps into rounded bulges that she fought to ignore. This man’s body was honed and chiseled with no sign of fat anywhere. “If I know, do I get the interview?”

“Depends.”

“On what?” Her gaze narrowed on the smirk that threatened his lips.

“Dunno.” A shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I leave my options open.”