Holding Out for a Hero - Cowboys

One of the not-so-guilty pleasures in writing romance is writing about men. The opposite gender intrigues us from an early age, and for many of us, is a life-long curiosity. In addition to real life, a romance reader indulges this interest through reading. You meet all kinds of men in the pages of romance novels and fall in love along with the heroine. I think it’s a bit like dreaming in that you can try on different scenarios in a safe space. Maybe you’d never date a bad boy in real life, but in the pages of a book—go for it.

Writers enjoy this experience too. I don’t even have the option of conducting a romance with a medieval knight in my day to day world, but that didn’t stop me from bringing some of these heroes to life on the page so I could imagine my way through the experience. Knights still fascinate me. So do sports heroes, regular guys, and military men. Cops, sheriffs, and billionaires. And now… at last… cowboys.

I may have avoided this much beloved hero for a while because of my background. I grew up on a farm, and I envisioned ranches as a kind of farming operation. Dusty, dirty, and a lot of work. I picked tomatoes often enough as a teen and found it decidedly unromantic. The animals are adorable, but they too, are labor intensive. Time changes some of those perceptions though. Did you ever dislike something as a kid and then look back on it later with a degree of fondness? That nostalgia hit for the family farm a few years ago. Not just ours either, but a whole community of farmers that I remembered from my youth. Much of where I grew up—a place full of small farms—is now full of housing developments. A bedroom community for a nearby city.

As I saw the past through different eyes, I began to feel the tug of ranches. Cowboys. The West. I could see the appeal. I read more about it. Travelled those places. Admired the way of life. When I sat down to write Second Chance Cowboy, I thought I’d just see how it went. And the moment I met Matt Briggs on the page, I knew there was no turning back. I was going to have affair after affair with cowboy heroes. I’m hooked.

It might be the proud, independent streak. The commitment to a time-honored way of life no matter how the world changes around them. The connection to the land. Or it could just be the boots and denim. Kidding. I love all of it and I can’t wait to write more of these heroes in their native habitat and out of it. To explore how they see the world. Because, no matter how many books I write, men still intrigue me. And right now, I’m in a serious cowboy phase.

***What about you? Do you read all sorts of heroes or have a favorite type? Share with me on the Last Chance Christmas, the prequel to my current release, Second Chance Cowboy. 

blog and I’ll give one random poster a download of

Eve Gaddy: Procrastinating With Pens

I was “working” (i.e. procrastinating) on my current project the other day when I was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to do something about my pens. I have no idea what normal people (non-writers) feel about pens but I confess, I have an addiction to them.

I love pens, by which I mean the whole gamut of writing utensils. Ballpoint pens, gel pens, glitter pens, fountain pens, markers and highlighters of all kinds and colors. Fine tip, medium tip, any kind of tip you want. And pencils. Plain and colored, mechanical and regular, but I do like pens more. Some of my obsession comes with the colors. When I was a child a brand new box of 64 crayons was one of my most treasured possessions.

I love the different colors. But when I am jotting down notes I tend to use a black ballpoint pen. It must meet certain requirements. I don’t like fat pens, probably because I have small hands with short fingers. I feel very clumsy using a fat pen. I don’t like heavy pens, either. It needs to write smoothly, with no blobs of ink coming out and I don’t want to have to turn myself inside out to force it to work.

If you’ve ever been to a writer’s conference you know that going into the goodie room and being able to get pens of all sorts it pure nirvana to someone like me. Writers use them as SWAG. I found one of my favorites at this years’ conference. Joanne Rock’s pen is exactly what I like. Plus it’s pretty. I’m going to email her and see where she got it.:) Because, you know, I need more pens.

Here are a few I like. The top one is Joanne Rock’s, the middle is Falguni Kothar’s, and the one on the bottom is Misha McKenzie’s.

Back to my procrastination. I cleaned out my pens. I got rid of all the pens that didn’t work. All the ones I never used and never would. All of the dried out markers, etc. I didn’t go through every pen in the house but at least the majority are nicely organized now. But not for long.

How about you? What is your favorite method of procrastination?

Check out my latest release, Return of the Cowgirl, the final book in the Gallaghers of Montana series. Available at your favorite digital outlet.

Visit me at my website: www.evegaddy.net

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/EveGaddyAuthor

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/evegaddy/

Twitter: @evegaddy

Sat hello to Veronica...

It’s been a weird month for me. Aside from my looming deadline for Harlequin Mills & Boon book ten, I’ve been preparing for the Historical Romance Retreat in Spokane in September where I am thrilled to be one of the featured authors.

I’m in some illustrious company- Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Elizabeth Essex and my good friend and fellow Harlequin Historical author Nicole Locke to name but a few.

Billed as the Comicon for all lovers of historical romance, there is a tradition of dressing up in period costumes at the Retreat. To that end I have been sewing. In total I have made, or am still making, a genuine bonnet and three Regency dresses. The most impressive of which is ‘Veronica’, my red satin gown for the Grand Ball.

Being a larger lady, I’ve had to adapt the dress patterns. The easiest way to do this is to invest in a dress form. Mine is wearing one of my old bras stuffed with eight pairs of socks (yes, you did just read eight!) to ensure that my costumes fit my overt bosoms properly.

Here is a little montage of the stages of Veronica.

Virginia Heath writes raunchy, Regency romantic comedies for Harlequin Mills & Boon. 

How Do You Research? @AuthorKristina Knight

I'm in the middle of revisions...so I'm bringing back a familiar question: When do you research?

My favorite time to research is when I'm stuck. Doesn't sound very smart, does it? What I mean is, I don't necessarily research the place I'm writing about, the profession, the weather, etc. before I start writing. The beginnings of stories, for me, are kind of like epiphanies. Some of my writer friends talk about 'seeing' a fully-drawn scene and writing it down. I'm like that, kind of. I see a character, maybe two, hear a bit of dialogue and I'm off. The more the character 'talks' the more I see - foliage, buildings, beaches. It kind of draws itself in my imagination. All because the character is talking to me.

So I let that character talk and talk and talk. Until they can't talk any more. Sometimes they stop talking because I've written them into a corner or because I need to know something they aren't telling me. In either case, from that point, the research starts. I look up websites with pictures of the place I'm writing about, research the professions of my main characters, what homes in that area are built like/from, what the decor is..you name it, I look it up. Google is my friend, although I try to look at at least three sites before making a decision on anything. I also ask my friends and CPs (Facebook and Twitter are my friends when questions come calling), but I also try to look through professional sites - journalism, investment banking...and, on sites like the one for pro surfers or rock stars, the eye candy isn't bad, either.

From that research I may - or may not - find pictures of my main characters, people who remind me of them or look like them in some way. I make a collage of the 'best' pictures I find that evoke the feeling of that book on Pinterest and I make a collage pic that I print off and put on my writing board. While I'm making the collages, I'll also make my WIP playlist. Sometimes this is fast - less than an afternoon. Sometimes it takes days and I write a little and research a little. It's a clunky process but it works for me.

How about you? What's your research process? 

Kristina Knight’s latest release is <a href=“http://a.co/0fWvqvP”>Breakup in a Small Town</a>, the third book in her <a href=“http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/slipperyrock.html”>Slippery Rock series</a>!

This isn't the man she married…

Jenny Buchanan never considered what "for better or for worse" meant when she married Adam Buchanan at nineteen. Six years and two little boys later, "for worse" arrives in the form of a tornado that ravages Slippery Rock and injures Adam. Now he's a stranger to his family…and love won't be enough to bring him back.

Only when Jenny asks him to move out does Adam become the husband she needs…but Adam isn't the only one who's changed. As their attraction sparks back to life, Jenny and Adam must learn what it is to grow up—and grow together—before this small-town breakup lasts forever.

Kristina Knight is a contemporary romance author, part-time swim-kid wrangler, and full-time Thin Mints enthusiast. You can find out more the book and Kristina on her website, and feel free to stalk follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 

It's Time for your Big O! By Jenny Gardiner

Ack!
I forgot I needed to post something and now I'm in a place with really lousy wifi so here's hoping this actually posts!

I just finished writing the last book in my Royal Romeo series and am awaiting edits from my editor. I laughed at myself with this book--The Royal Romeo series is a spin-off from my royal contemporary romance series, It's Reigning Men. Back when I started writing the It's Reigning Men series, I was sort of more a writer of women's fiction and chick lit, and with those genres you didn't need to write much in the way of sex scenes.

But when I started writing rom/com series, I knew I was going do need to step it up a notch (or two or three). But it was a very gradual process. Back when I started the IRM series, I kept thinking "ugh, what it my mother reads this?!" Which I know is stupid but still. My mom passed away a couple of years ago so that is no longer a concern. But then my mother-in-law kept telling me she wanted to read all of my books in my series and I kept assuring her she wouldn't enjoy them. I no longer worried about my mother reading my stuff and then my mother-in-law is going to make me anxious about it?

I know, I know, it's ridiculously juvenile of me to even worry about this but hey, what can I say?! I finally just had to let go of that and not sweat it. Which brings me to my last book in the Royal Romeo series, Big O Romeo. The title alone, well, sort of needed legit sex scenes in it based on the title alone. And I did not disappoint. Not only that, but I realized that finally I was actually comfortable writing sex scenes and frankly don't care who reads them (well, um, I'd be fine if my kids don't read them, but, whatever!).

I've really enjoyed writing these two series and now have to figure out what my next series is going to be. Whatever it is, I'm sure that there are going to be ample sex scenes at this point, now that I've hit my stride haha!

I hope you'll have a chance to check out my Royal Romeos series, which is a spin-off of my wildly popular It's Reigning Men series--please do check them out!

Happy reading!

    

  

 

Michelle Styles: Historical fact-checking can be rewarding.

People like their history to be the way they think it was. They tend to get upset when a historian or a historical novelist makes a change that  seems different than their perceived notion. It can be the things you think you know because they are widely accepted fact that can get you into difficulties.

Recently there was a social media kerfuffle about a Roman British cartoon by the BBC. One of the characters was an African military officer supposedly serving in the Britannia. In one picture, he was flanked by his wife. Apparently people on the both sides of the Atlantic (who thought they knew history) screamed – Impossible, political correctness gone mad. Everyone knows Roman Britain wasn’t like that. There were no sub-Saharan Africans there and other such exclamations.

Photograph BBC

 I rolled my eyes. I have spent many hours along the Roman Wall, researching the period and I am happy to report that yes, there were African officers on the Wall. Some of whom may have their families (officially or unofficially) with them. There is a story that the Roman emperor Septimus Severus (a man with North African roots,  it was where the money was during the 2nd century AD) encountered an Ethiopian legionary officer when he arrived at the wall. There were others, including a troop of Nubian cavalry officers who probably were stationed at Chesters. (They may have been responsible for the re-dedication or rejuvenation symbol aka the phallus tile in the floor of the headquarters building which made my children giggle). The Roman Empire was ethnically diverse and they moved trouble-makers from one region to be soldiers in another, but Rome was not multi-cultural. When in Rome, do as the Romans do was an apt saying. It always surprises me when film-makers or other people depict Rome as one single national type. The Roman empire was huge and people did move about.

My problem with the cartoon was that having gone to the trouble to get the skin colour correct, was it too much trouble for the BBC to get woman’s costume correct? Her hairstyle and dress were all wrong for that era.  If you look at tombs of Romano-British women, particularly the famous Regina tomb, Romano British women tended to be all covered up in what has been termed a Gallic robe. Wearing something bare armed would have resulted in the woman being cold and several of tablets found at Vindolanda complain about the cold!  The woman on the tombs had big hair. But that is an aside. The BBC was right to point out that Roman Britain like the rest of the Roman Empire had many hues of skin contained within it. This is far better than assuming African people only really reached Britain after the World War 2 which some people myopically seem to think. 

One question is what happened to these African legionaries and possibly even merchants?  The short answer is we do not know.The large scale excavation of Roman cemeteries really has not happened. They could have served their time and retired back to their homeland. They could have retired in Roman Britain or even beyond the wall (the wall was more like a porous border control) and married local girls or other Romano-British inhabitants. They might have left when the legions left and the entire economy collapsed. Why stay in such a lawless and cold place? They might have been killed during the plague of 541 when approximately half the population of Britain, Europe and the Byzantium empire died. And some might have stayed and intermarried. There could be people whose families have been in the North of England for nearly two thousand years who had an African legionary as an ancestor and that is kind of cool to think about.

In short, checking facts can lead to interesting discoveries.  Given what passes for news these days, it can be helpful to go back to primary sources.  It is always useful to remember that history by its nature is always written through a dark and shadowy mirror and sometimes those reflections are not entirely accurate.

IN OTHER NEWS:

My latest Viking set historical romance THE WARRIOR’S VIKING BRIDE will be published by Harlequin Historical in March 2018. It features a Viking Shield Maiden and a Celtic warlord who has been sent to  return her to her long-estranged father. 

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romances set in a wide variety of time periods from ancient Rome to the Victorian. Her most recent SOLD TO THE VIKING WARRIOR was set on the Western Isles of Scotland in 875. You can read more about Michelle and her books at her website www.michellestyles.co.uk. 

Christina Hollis: A Country Conference

Last month, I and around two hundred and fifty other members of the Romantic Novelists' Association converged on the Harper-Adams University in Shropshire for our annual conference. From Friday 14th July until Sunday 16th, we enjoyed three days of talks, workshops, and networking.

There were sessions on the role of an agent and how to write the perfect submission letter, using images from embroidery and tapestry as inspiration for historical fiction, how to make social media work for you, how to revive your backlist, how technology can help writers and many more. The  Gala dinner gave us all a great excuse to dress up and act like romantic heroines.

Harper-Adams University is set in glorious English countryside, and the fresh air gave us all big appetites. Luckily the catering team are geared up to feed hungry farmers, so there was a huge range of food on offer every morning.  After a croissant followed by porridge and fresh fruit, then tea and biscuits mid-morning, a cooked lunch and dinner in the evening, I came home quite a bit heavier than I left.

All the sessions on the craft of writing were fascinating. Hearing the stories of other writers' roads to publication was inspiring. Jill Mansell has a very civilised way of working. She writes her first draft longhand with a gold Parker pen, on the right-hand side pages of a Pukka Pad. Her editing notes are made on the left hand side pages. When she's happy with the result, she has her draft typed up by somebody else. I hate sitting at a computer screen, so if I can come to some arrangement with my offspring, I'll sub-contract my word-processing and go back to writing on paper, which I love.

After hours, the University campus came alive with people socialising at the students' bar. Residential delegates stayed in student accommodation with one communal kitchen to every six flats. That meant the fun went on after hours, too. great opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones. I enjoyed every minute of The Romantic Novelists' Association's Conference 2017. IT's being held in Leeds next year. I'm already looking forward to it.

I'll be posting my notes from the conference at http://christinahollis.blogspot.co.uk over the next few weeks, so follow my blog to read more about individual conference sessions.

Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women. She has written six historical novels, eighteen contemporary novels, sold nearly three million books, and her work has been translated into twenty different languages. When she isn’t writing, Christina is cooking, walking her dog, or beekeeping.

You can catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Her current release, Heart Of A Hostage, is published by The Wild Rose Press and available at myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage  worldwide.

Back to School!

Orientation

I'm going back to school this fall. My first official school event was orientation. About a dozen adult students and grad students gathered and listened to the Adult Ed people talk about schedules, dates, parking...  Travis headed the team.  He asked who was nervous...no one raised their hands, but I glanced around the room and a few people did seem to fall into that category.  He talked about making sure you got the best grades you could in every class.  Scholarships and Grad programs rely on it.  I've got to confess, I wasn't nervous.  You see, I'm in this weird position.  Most of the adult/grad students are working toward a specific degree with a specific goal in mind.  I have no goal.  I'm going back to school for fun and for personal growth.  And while I'd like to get good grades, I will confess, I'm sort of ambivalent about the idea of someone else judging what I learned and accomplished in a class. I've spent my entire adult life taking classes and learning new things.  From my work advising lactating moms, to learning sign language, to beer classes, herb classes, composting class, water conservation class, basketweaving classes...and oh yeah, writing workshops.  You've seen some of my eclectic learning reflected in my books.  I covered composting in Her Second-Chance Family, sign language in Do You Hear What I Hear?...

But here's the thing, none of those learning experiences came with grades. My kids have assured me that years of working at home in a fictional world has ruined me for the real world.  I'm my own boss. I create my work environment every day.  I create my coworkers...otherwise known as my characters.  I choose my projects, set my schedules and basically learn what I need (want) to learn for fun.  And I'll confess, even though I will be graded on this first ceramics class, I'm going in with that same sense of learning for the joy of it...for the glee of it if you will.

I plan to blog the experience, so keep an eye out for my first day of class...it's almost here!

Holly

You can also keep your eye out for my newest releases:

2017 Beach Reads

Can't Find NoBODY

Confessions of a Party Crasher

The Book

Not Precisely Pregnant

Summer Holidays? Kate Walker

It’s still supposed to be summer. At least that’s what the calendar says.  August  - is part of summer isn’t it?  Though I have to admit that, listening to the rai lashing against the windows as I write this, it doesn’t seem that way, It feels a lot  more like autumn – sorry, Fall – with a nip in the air and a

wind whistling round the chimney. 

In the UK the  schools are still closed and the children on holiday so everywhere is busier than normal.  If we go out, travel anywhere by train or bus, the seats are full of boys and girls, all glad to be out of the classrooms and enjoying their free time. So right now, for me, it’s a good time to be staying at home and writing.  It’s cool enough to work, damp enough to want to stay indoors, and I can get the peace and quiet I want sitting at ,y desk and enjoying the company of my characters.

So as far as I’m concerned, August can stay like this for a while. I’m glad to pause and take a breath. 

  You see,  July is always a pretty hectic time for me and my DH. We have the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association Conference  which this year was held in  Telford, Shropshire. That was  a fun get together of so many romantic fiction writers-  or would-be romantic fiction writers – lots of great workshops, discussions, debates,  excellent meals and a little bit of wine drinking.  Oh, and a quiz – our team (myself, DH and  4 friends) won the quiz, if only by half a mark!

We had time to come home, do some laundry, arrange for a changeover of cat-sitters, and then we set off again – for Wales this time.  As always we headed for Fishguard and the wonderful Writers’ Holiday.   More workshops, more talking, more discussion, more eating – the food in Fishguard is always good and plentiful. Another quiz – which our team won again,  this time by 5 points!  Oh yes, and the usual wonderful ending to the holiday listening to the fabulous sound of a Welsh Male Voice Choir.  We were all in tears by then at the thought that so sadly  this was the last summer Writers’ Holiday. (But we will be back again for February!)

After we arrived home, we had to set out again – this time for my DH to appear and do a signing in a bookshop in York – August 1^st is Yorkshire Day – so as a Yorkshireman  born and bred, his books on Yorkshire history and crime were very popular. I’m always happy to visit this wonderful city so  I didn’t even mind when the rain started – there were plenty of shops to visit!

So that was July. And I’m sure you can understand why I feel glad to snatch a break and stay inside at home and actually do some writing! I have a book to finish and send in to my editor before September – because in September it all starts again – There’s a trip to London  for the Association of Mills and Boon Authors lunch. A Conference in Liverpool  (DH is speaking there so hopefully I can find it a bit of a break ) . . . another writing weekend to plan and teach.

Funny thing is, DH and I are supposed to be retired!  But then I suppose writers never really retire.  Certainly my husband never did – he’s written more since he left his fulltime job than he ever did before.

So – summer holidays?  Er, no – we plan (fingers crossed ) for a short break later in the year. I won’t mind where or what the weather’s going to be like because I have a pile of books to be read that

would challenge the Eiffel Tower in height.

And of course, by then I will have hopefully finished off the revisions on this book and maybe even started on another . . .

What’s that they say about no peace for the wicked? Well, all I can think is that I must have been very

very bad – but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I hope your summer is fun – whatever the weather.

I've been slow writing this year so there isn't a new title out until January - which I'll tell you about just as soon as I get the full title and cover details - but until then you can keep up to date with all my news on my web site blog page  or my Facebook page   where you can find out when I have new books appearing in the shops.

By Jeannie Watt

Today for your viewing pleasure, I offer up the men of Tule's American Extreme Bull Riders Tour.  If you haven't done so already, you might have to check out these guys as they tour around the USA challenging bulls and learning a few lessons in love.

This is the first round of stories, and they are all available right now!

The next three stories, including Katherine Garbera's American Extreme Bull Riders Tour finale, will be released in August and are available for pre-order.

It was so much fun writing with so many authors and researching bull riders. Sarah and I accidentally discovered that our heroes were cousins, which we didn't know going in.

I had the great pleasure of meeting with Katherine Garbera, Megan Crane and Barbara Dunlop at the RWA conference and we had an excellent chat about bull riding guys.

So without further ado, here are the final three entries in the American Bull Rider's Tour--

 

Jeannie Watt writes contemporary western romance for Tule Publishing and Harlequin. She's currently in the middle of the world's longest settling-in period after moving house and hopes to someday be totally unpacked. In the meantime, she writes books. 

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Close to home – Kandy Shepherd

I love to travel but for various reasons (most to do with dollars or shortage thereof!) sadly no travel plans were made for this year. Most sadly, I didn’t get to the Romance Writers of America annual conference in Florida. It’s been a cold winter in my part of Down Under and I was looking enviously at peoples’ social media posts from the hot summer in Orlando and feeling sorry for myself.

But then I had to go spend some time in a town not too far from my home town in Sydney, Australia. My daughter was on a university placement at Lake Macquarie, near the city of Newcastle less than two hours drive away. We drove up and spent a few days with her. While it wasn’t a vacation, it was a lovely short break in a part of the world I hadn’t visited since I was a teenager. (And that's a long time ago!)

We loved the sea birds on the dock of our motel

We stayed in a family run motel right on the lake, which is more of an inland sea. Each morning we woke to a glorious view of the ever-changing sky and water. 

There's something about palm trees to give a vacation feel!

We went for walks on fabulous beaches that were practically deserted in winter.

There's something moody about a beach in winter!

 And we ate wonderful food at cafes and restaurants not far from our motel. 

This caramel stack was demolished in minutes!

It made me appreciate how sometimes the nicest places to visit can be not far from home.

Do you have a favorite place to visit or vacation that’s not too far from home?  I’d love to read your comments!

Kandy Shepherd’s most recent book Conveniently Wed to the Greek is a May 2017 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon Cherish in the UK; and Mill & Boon ForeverRomance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance

and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

We stayed at the Squid's Ink Motel at Belmont, NSW Australia.