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

Found Time- Between the Holidays

by Joanne Rock

I love the week between Christmas and New Years. The hardcore holiday prep has passed, leaving me with a week of relative quiet to enjoy the family, the décor I worked hard on, the good leftovers and—did I mention?—the relative quiet!

Duchess and I are on the same page.

Ideally, I never plan much for this time of the year. I block it off as holiday time and try not to work much. Lucky me, I know. But I notice even friends with more traditional jobs are often able to take lighter schedules this week. And, failing that, there’s less “work” in that the baking, shopping, wrapping frenzy is over. I love Christmas and the hoopla that accompanies it, but the downtime afterward feels just right—sort of like a quiet scene in a book that follows that big action moment! Both are good, but one helps you catch your breath from the other.

Today, I have a list of minor errands but they can all wait. I have a few Christmas returns, a post office run to make, a prescription refill… nothing urgent. First, I’m enjoying getting back to a routine, something that always comforts me. I like the ease of mind that comes with routine because the repetition lets my mind wander. I don’t need to be terribly mindful fixing my go-to breakfast or doing the laundry, so I can think about my stories and characters in a way that doesn’t feel like work. Basically, I daydream, and that’s always fun for me.

A gift for one random poster

Beyond that, I’m going to have fun searching up new book releases and doing some reading. I have a hockey game to watch tonight (go Pens!) and my dinner is going to be something like Tostitos with cheese since I’ve eaten relentlessly for days and don’t need one more decadent meal. My feet are up and I will check out social media for the first time in days so I can enjoy photos of friends’ kids and grandkids that they snapped over the holidays. A day of perfect aimlessness.

Happy 2017 to you all, my friends. I hope it brings you blessings, happiness and much love.

***

So I’m curious what you’re up to this week. Reading? Playing with something new that was under the tree? Share with me today on the blog and I’ll send one random commenter a prize with SCANDALOUS MISTRESS, a sexy 3-in-1 of stories by Leslie Kelly, Kira Sinclair and me, plus a Desire 2-in-1 with reads from Kat Cantrell and me, and a bonus notebook for your New Year’s resolutions! 

Winter is coming...

Winter is coming, the clocks have gone back and now the nights are longer I have a yearning for a new hobby. Something to get excited about.

I used to sew but my eyes really aren’t good enough these days and I do sometimes get out the knitting needles but I have arthritis in my thumbs and I can’t keep it up for long. I know – I’m falling to bits.

I do read. A lot. Sometimes obsessively when I’m glomming a new author, but it’s a bit antisocial.

It’s all the dh’s fault. We went to the Tank Museum at Bovingdon back in the summer – it’s huge, they even loaned tanks to the makers of the film Fury — and now he’s having the best fun imaginable building model tanks and then turning them into rusty wrecks for his battle dioramas. Or maybe it’s the browsing on the internet for a gazillion shades of paint, 1:35 scale barbed wire, flora and the thousand and one bits of essential stuff that I envy.

If I had a hobby I could do that…

So I’m looking for ideas, inspiration. How do you fill the long winter evenings when the television is rubbish? I want a hobby that I can seriously shop for!

Meanwhile, here’s what I can do for you. If you’re looking for something free to download to your ebook, Old Desires is free at Smashwords – where you can download for any device, including the Kindle — iBooks, Barnes and  Noble and Amazon will catch up in a few days.

And this basket of goodies including three books of the winners choice, a must-have Rosie tote bag, a pair of snowflake socks to keep your toes warm while you’re reading, a Lindt chocolate Santa sleigh, an ice cream cosmetic bag, an ice lolly keyring and a tartan heart to hang on the tree will be going to one of my newsletter subscribers at the end of November. You have to be in it to win it so if you’re not already signed up to my newsletter do it now on my website

Michelle Styles: Do you remember your first library card? plus giveaway

Yesterday, a meme on Facebook reminded me of a long lost technology – sign out cards for library books. And it got me thinking about library cards in general. Library cards have always been hugely important.

My first one was orange coloured from the Mountain View Public Library. I was allowed to have my own card as soon as I could sign my name. I was so proud the first time I checked out books. And then later when I was older, I changed my card for a yellow one so that I could take out books in the adult section. I used to spend hours in the library, looking for great books.

And I have a very vivid memory from when I served as a teenaged  hospital volunteer in the Emergency department ( a Candy striper). One afternoon in January, a young girl had drunk the better part of a bottle of vodka. She was in the operating theatre and no one knew if she’d survive. I went to see if I could get anything for her parents and her father was sitting looking at her orange library card. Turning it over and over in his hand as he asked why she had done it. I backed out and made myself useful elsewhere because intruding felt wrong.

At school things were a bit different as we had the sign out card system. You signed your name on the book’s card which you then handed to the librarian.  One by-product of this system was that you could see who else had taken out the book.

Being a frequent library user, I soon noticed that my choices often had been previously checked by one Lucy Ellis. Lucy Ellis had left the school by the time I started but her name lingered on. As I liked the books and sometimes did not have much time to choose, I started looking for her name. Invariably she had good taste and led to discover authors like Georgette Heyer and Philippa Carr.

I used to try to imagine what Lucy Ellis must be like – answer sauve, sophisticated, with a ready wit.. Many years later, I did get to meet her. She had become some high up executive at a computer company. I can’t remember if I confessed to having searched for her name on the card.

My high school librarian tells me that the system officially changed in 1995 so no one can use that sort of * word of mouth* anymore in theory but in practice the cards do remain and every now and then, she sees my name on one of the cards.

When I was at university in the UK, my library card doubled as my id. I found it the other day and looked so young. It surprised me in a way that when my eldest son and daughter went to that uni, the same system was in place.

One thing they have not done away with at the library I currently use is the date stamp. Because this library is so old (dating back to 1795) it is great to find books that were last date stamped in the 1940s.  I mentioned this to a librarian who sighed and said that sometimes it felt like there was a building full of books that no one wanted to read.

But for me, my library card has always a passport to adventure. Does anyone else remember their first library card? Or have library card memories?

GIVEWAY

My latest SUMMER OF THE VIKING is officially published on 1 June. I am giving a one signed copy. If you wish to enter the draw, please email michelle@michellestyles.co.uk with Totebags Summer Contest as the subject and answer the following question: Where does Summer of the Viking take place?

You can read the first chapter for free  here: 

The blurb reads:

We have the summer, Alwynn. It will have to be enough.' Washed up alone on the Northumbrian shore, Valdar Nerison is a stranger in a foreign land. He has unfinished business in Raumerike, but first he owes his rescuer, the beautiful Lady Alwynn, a life debt. Alwynn is wary of Valdar's promise to protect her – after all, she has known only betrayal at the hands of men. And as summer's end approaches Valdar must choose whether to return home and fight for his honour or to stay and fight for Alwynn's heart...

I will do the draw on 21 May

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods. You can learn more about Michelle's books at her newly revamped website -- www.michellestyles.co.uk 

Melissa McClone: Naming a Hero

Readers have asked me how I come up with character's names. I wish I had a process, but there's no one way. Often a name just comes to me. Sometimes I hear one somewhere that resonates with me. Other times I've brainstormed and/or asked for help. One thing I have figured out is I need to be more careful with what I name my secondary male characters.

Why?

Two reasons: Potential sequels and Bill Paulson

Bill first appeared as a secondary character in a Harlequin Romance called Rescued by the Magic of Christmas. His name came from Pacific Northwest climbers I met while researching the book—Bill (two shared this name) and Paul. Bill sounded like a good first name for a firefighter and volunteer mountain rescuer, a fun-loving, needs-to-grow-up, but has a big heart kind of guy.

He made an appearance in a free read I wrote for Harlequin.com, three sequels to the first book, and ended up the hero of the final story in the series, a series I never intended to write when I started the first book. There's nothing wrong with the name Bill. It fit him. But I'll be honest, had I know Bill might one day be the hero in his own book, I probably wouldn't have named him that even though now I couldn't imagine him called anything else!

When I wrote Home For Christmas in 2013, I kept thinking of Bill. The story had sequel possibilities so I kept thinking hero potential when I was coming up with names. The heroine's brother ended up being named Tyler and a wrangler was called Zack.

My Haley's Bay series for Harlequin Special Edition features a family of seven siblings, five of which are brothers: AJ, Ellis (already married), Flynn, Declan and Grady. Once again, Bill popped into my head. Only this time I could hear him say what's wrong with a Tim or a Tom or a Bob. Nothing, I had to admit. But those weren't the names that fit the Cole brothers.

When I wrote Picture Perfect Love, I could almost hear Bill whispering a name. Sam. Sam. Sam...

I knew when to give up!

One of the secondary characters is named Sam. He's a nice guy who needs to grow up a little, and he's got definite hero potential!

I've got a mini-swag pack up for grabs! You'll get an autographed book, fuzzy socks to keep your feet warm while you read, a couple bookmarks and a chocolate bar.

To enter the giveaway, comment with your favorite male name (from real life or a book!) I'll post the name of the winner in the comment section on Friday!

Michelle Styles: Shield Maidens -- Legend or Fact? plus giveaway

For many years, various historians and archaeologists have doubted if Viking shield maidens actually existed. Women warriors who fought along side and sometimes commanded men.  In fact, the first English woman mentioned in any context is a warrior – she objected to be jilted, hunted down her man and married him after some persuasion. True the archaeologists would say, the various sagas and legends speak of them but… women didn’t actually do such things.  As proof they would cite no grave had been found with both women’s brooches and weaponry together.  This was supposed to be the end of the argument.

Very recently, they started DNA testing bones found in various Viking cemeteries. Perhaps to the surprise of the male archaeologists, they discovered that some of the graves designated as male because of the weaponry actually had female bones  in them! The type of weaponry found in these graves was mostly throwing spears or bows and arrows — items which women could actually use with ease. Because of the differences in upper body strength, the broad sword can be difficult for most women to use effectively.

So it does look like there were female warriors after all.  But why no both items? The sagas  which mention shield maidens and women warriors make it very clear  that there is a difference. Women warriors do not do feminine or peace weaver things. In other words, women had a choice they could be warriors or they could be wives. The word wife in Old English literally means one who weaves. And a wife wove the fabric of a family together. 

Could a shield maiden ever become a wife? The sagas do speak of this but often it seems she does not continue her warring ways. However her husband can sometimes count her advice for strategy. T this stage, I would assume, she would be buried with her spinning whorls, brooches and other accouterments of female power over the household.

Anyway, as I wrote TAMING HIS VIKING WOMAN before some of this DNA evidence started becoming widely available, I was very pleased that the archaeological record is now showing something that I felt to be true.

GIVEWAY:

And because TAMING HIS VIKING WOMAN will be published on 20 January, I wanted to offer the Tote Bags Readers a chance to win a signed copy of TAMING HIS VIKING WOMAN (void where prohibited) . Please send the answer to the following question: 

What are the names of the hero and heroine of TAMING HIS VIKING WOMAN to contest@michellestyles.co.uk.  before Wednesday 20 January 2015.

You can read an excerpt here

UPDATE: I drew Denise's name out of the hat and will post off her copy later today. Many thanks to all who entered.

The sea-king's warrior bride 

Legendary shield maiden Sayrid Avildottar will marry no man unless he first defeats her in combat. And in powerful sea-king Hrolf Eymundsson she has finally met her match. 

Hrolf may have won her lands—and her body—but can Sayrid welcome a stranger to her bed? The world of fighting is all she knows! With a husband intent on seducing his new bride, perhaps, just this once, Sayrid will discover that surrender can bring the greatest pleasure of all…

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical. TAMING HIS VIKING WOMAN is out on 20 January. To learn more about Michelle and her books please visit www.michellestyles.co.uk 

All the fun of the fair plus giveaway by Michelle Styles

My latest book Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her Match originated in part because I happened to read about the Stagshaw Bank Fair. In its time, the Stagshaw Bank Fair was the largest one day fair in England and it was always held on the 4th of July. It was included a huge stock sale as well as various traders brought their goods from around England to sell to the local populace. The Stagshaw Bank Fair is has also been immortalised in several folk tunes. This is one rendition done with the Northumbrian (as opposed to the Scottish) bagpipes.



Fairs and their possibilities always intrigue me. When I was a young girl we used to go to the Calavaras County Jumping Frog contest. I also super enjoyed Charlotte's Web which has its climax  at the fair. But there are not so many fairs in historical romance these days, even though the fair or show was a large part of rural life.
Fairs could be happy and joyous times but they could also be fraught with danger. I clearly remember driving through Angel's Camp, the day before the Jumping Frog contest started and seeing all the policemen on the rooftops. We had not realised until we got to the fair but the fair had become a huge gathering point for the Hell's Angels and other motorcyclists. My father was friendly with the sheriff who said that year, they ended up using every spare cell, including the black as night one from the 1850s where the outlaw Black Bart had ended up.
The Stagshaw Bank shortly before the Regency period was notorious for people snatching and press gangs preying on the farmhands and the like. Apparently, many of them were snatched and sent to work on the sugar plantation in the West Indies. Unfortunately, I could not find out enough information to write a credible story and it is not my time period but the story intrigued me.
Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her Match. The back cover reads:

WHEN OPPOSITES ATTRACT…!

In the eyes of the ton Hattie Wilkinson is a respectable widow, content with her safe, if somewhat modest life.

On the other hand Sir Christopher Foxton prides himself on being regarded as one of London’s most notorious rakes, with a particularly mischievous streak!

Upon their first meeting Kit threatens to shatter Hattie’s well-ordered peace—and her reputation!—if only she’ll allow herself to succumb to his playful advances. This time they’ve both finally met their match…

Set in June/July 1816 Tyne Valley
You can read an excerpt here.

UPDATE on Totebags Giveaway: Barbara was the first name out of the hat this morning so she wins a signed copy of Hattie.

You can also enter the giveaway I'm doing with Good Reads.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her Match

by Michelle Styles

Giveaway ends November 01, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide variety of time periods. her latest Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her Match will be published 1 November in both the US and the UK. She is currently working on her next Viking.You can learn more about Michelle's books at www.michellestyles.co.uk

Winning the Gold - with Natalie Anderson

FLIRTING TO WIN is my novella anthology that released last week with Entangled publishing. This trilogy was such fun to write.  It’s all about the game of love—how we can meet the ‘one’ when and where we least expect it (or perhaps even want it!).

There are three stories in the collection—Bargain in Bronze, Seduction in Silver and Gamble in Gold.

As you can see, the trilogy titles are a play on prize medals—bronze, silver and gold. I once read somewhere that a study had been done and researchers discovered that bronze medallists were actually happier with their medals than silver medallists—that the silver medallists had that ‘if only I’d pushed that bit harder I could have gotten gold’ feeling, whereas the bronze medallists were more ‘I’m so glad I came third and actually got a medal, because I could have gotten fourth!’

Really, winning a medal of any colour is an amazing achievement. And the heroines in my three stories are most definitely winners! Because Jack, Eduardo and Luke—the three heroes, are all very fit, fine and fun!

Here’s the blurb to Seduction in Silver…

A limited engagement...

For two weeks Nina Breslin had passed an enticing stranger when catching the Baker Street Tube to go to work. So utterly sexy, and enticingly foreign, she figures he's eons out of her league--until the day he makes an outrageous proposal.

Dr. Eduardo Ruiz needs a break from the heart-breaking reality of his job. So when he finally introduces himself to the vivacious woman he's been admiring, he quickly realizes they could help each other with their sticky situations...and have great fun in the process.

They agree to an outrageous plan. For one night only, she'll masquerade as his girlfriend to appease his overzealous family members, and he'll accompany her to meet with her ex-fiancé's friends, pretending to be her attentive lover. Can they play by their own rules, or will they succumb to the pull of seduction?

 Bargain in Bronze is available separately for only 99c, or you can scoop up all three novellas in the one FLIRTING TO WIN anthology for 2.99 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I’d love to give away a copy of the full anthology to one commenter today—just let me know, have you ever won any kind of medal? If so, for what? And yes, medals awarded in kindergarten definitely count!

(Entries are open to anyone in the world, the prize is an ebook via Amazon and will be drawn on Friday August 31. Please check back to this post to see if you won!)

EDITED TO ADD: The giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much for all your comments - the winner drawn is yadkny - please email me, natalie(at)natalie-anderson(dot) com so I can send you your prize!

With very best wishes!

~Natalie

Engaging with German Readers at the Loveletter Conference by Michelle Styles

Spandau Zitadelle where the gala dinner was held

On 2-3 June I went to Berlin or more specifically to Spandau and the first Loveletter magazine conference. I was so right to be excited . The conference was far better than I dreamt. The European readers (people came from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Scandinavia) were big hearted and exuded warmth. It was just wonderful being surrounded by like-minded people.

My 2nd blind date

The thing I was most worried about – the blind dates turned out to be my favourite bit. Luckily they had set up several tables where English was spoken. And ladies at my tables were just lovely.  They loved books and chatting about books. I made the mistake of starting The Hunger Games on the Saturday night as a way to relax before the gala dinner. I ended up staying late to finish it and then I couldn’t get the wireless on my kindle to work. The ladies in the second blind date who had read the series also refused to give me spoilers.  Once I arrived at the airport, I downloaded the other 2 books and devoured them. I cried at the end which the ladies had sworn I’d do.

doing a reading

The panels  I participated in were very interesting. I learnt that the German market is far more geared towards unusual historical time periods, in particular medieval (including Viking!). The American west which is so popular in the US does not have the same resonance. This is also true in series, South American, Mediterranean and sheik heroes are preferred. Cowboys just don’t sell well.  Paranormal has peaked in Germany (something that has also happened in the US). This does not mean paranormal is going away, simply that it is not expanding at the rate it once was. Trends are like that. It is why when you are writing a book, your heart has to be in the genre.

during the break, posing  for an editor

The true trend is writing a book that really engages the reader. It is all about engaging the reader’s emotions (particularly if it is a jaded editor or agent) and making them stay up far too late or nearly miss meetings.

Part of the dessert spread at dinner

The gala dinner was great, if a bit noisy. The trouble with a castle’s cellar is that it is wonderfully atmospheric but the noise echoes. The food was sublime. I really enjoyed the starters, the poached salmon for the main and the desserts. I like tiramisu.

After the signing with some of the lovely ladies I met

I am looking forward to going the next time and will brush up on my German so that I can say a few more words...

If you ever get a chance to go to a reader's conference, go! They are just so much fun and you get to meet such pleasant people.

In Other News

The Harlequin Historical Authors are doing a Summer Beachbag giveaway with the grand prize of a kindle fire (or top rated kindle the winner’s country). My day is 27^th June, but there are plenty of opportunities still left to win goodies.

If you like to live vicariously, check out Carole Mortimer’s blog on her meeting with the Queen of England. Carole recently went to the Queen’s Garden Party. She was invited because of services to literature. Carole has written 180 books for Harlequin. She is also  a super person.

My latest His Unsuitable Viscountess will be published in August, so next month I will do a giveaway for Tote Bags readers. (I am waiting for my copies to arrive!)

 Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance. His Unsuitable Viscountess will be published in August 2012. Visit www.michellestyles.co.uk for more details.