Rawhide n' Roses Coordinator Susan Horsnell

Hi everyone! I have been invited here to Peggy’s blog to talk about the anthology of short stories myself and 15 other Western Romance Authors are currently working on. Due for release on March 15, 2014, the book is titled:

Rawhide ’n Roses

(A Western Romance Anthology)

Each story in the anthology will be a showcase of the author’s individual writing style and will hopefully encourage the reader to purchase full length novels of the author’s they like. Every story will have a Western Romance theme but there will be everything from old west romance to time travel and contemporary. Something to suit every western reader’s taste. It will also give the reader an opportunity to discover some new authors.
I am privileged to be associated with the very best of western writers and I know readers are going to be very impressed by the high quality of this work. The anthology came about from a comment I inadvertently made on a Western Romance Writer’s forum. From this comment the idea snowballed and I found myself nominated in charge of pushing the project forward. I cannot believe I am in such esteemed company and I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with such talented authors.
Over the next 1 ½ months, the authors will be blog hopping to promote this anthology and their own work. I hope readers will keep an eye out on blogs and social media for the cover release and official book release.
The best part? The culmination of this hard work by so many talented people – The Anthology – will be a steal at just $1.99!
Sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy the excerpt from my short story:

Petticoat Patrol

by Susan Horsnell

“Sissy, for heaven’s sake. Stop that damn wagon!” Lily screeched at the top of her voice. She crouched low over her galloping mare’s neck, reins in one hand and mane grasped in the other. As she drew alongside the wagon, which carried her sisters, she stood up in the stirrups and yelled again. “Stop that wagon now or so help me…”
Melissa, also known as Sissy, pushed her feet down hard to balance as she pulled back hard on the bay gelding’s reins. They all drew to a stop.
Lily lifted the hat from her head and swiped impatiently at the sweat on her brow. It was so hot she thought, if the damn dog was chasing the cat, they’d both be walking. “Why didn’t you stop when I called out?”
“How am I supposed to hear you with the sound of Buck’s hooves and these two tittering in my ear?” Sissy retorted.
The ‘two’ she referred to, as she flung her arm in the air, were their sixteen year old twin sisters – Amy and Emily. They had just discovered the appeal of two local boys and had been excitedly chattering.
“Why are you here, anyways? You’re supposed to be helpin’ Ma put a basket of food together. We gotta spend the night out with Pa watchin’ for rustlers and you know we get hungry.” Sissy pouted. She hated it when she thought her big sister was sent to watch over her. At eighteen years old she felt she was more than capable of doing things without being ‘chaperoned’.
“Ma sent me because she forgot a couple of things when she wrote out the list. It’s taken me all this time to catch up with you.”
“What else does she need?” Sissy enquired.
Lily pulled the list from her pocket and thrust it into her sister’s hand. “I might as well come with you now. It’s only another mile to town and I can help with the supplies.”
Sissy nodded before slapping the reins to get the big gelding moving. Lily urged her mount forward and they began walking at a leisurely pace.
They were in sight of town when a loud crack heralded something had gone terribly wrong on the wagon. Sissy brought Buck to a stop and glanced at her older sister in despair.
As Lily dismounted, the other girls jumped from the wagon. While the older two checked on the suspect wheel, Amy and Emily hovered nervously.
Lily crouched down and shook the wheel. It was looser than a whore in a cathouse. “Almost snapped clean off the axle,” she grumbled as she pushed herself to stand. “Sissy, unhitch Buck and we’ll walk the rest of the way. I’ll drop the horses at the livery and see what I can do about getting it fixed while you pick up the supplies.
Sissy did as requested and the girls began the short trek to town

Please visit Susan on her blog: http://susanhorsnell.com/

Rawhide n' Roses Author Lyn Horner

Peggy, thank you for inviting me to your lovely site. I’m delighted to have you on mine today as well. I hope your followers will stop by and leave you a bushel of comments. http://lynhorner.com/posts

Being a contributor to our Western Romance Anthology, Rawhide ’N Roses, is both a joy and a challenge. I don’t often write short stories. It requires a whole different way of plotting and forces one to cut out any “fluff”. I ended up cutting at least a third of my first draft, a painful process as you know. We authors don’t enjoy dumping sentences, paragraphs, even whole scenes for the sake of brevity. However, tightening our prose usually improves a story in the end.

The first book I wrote was 150,000 words long, way too much! After several edits I got the story down to a manageable level, even after adding a paranormal element -- psychic siblings. There are no psychics in my short story, just a case of opposites attract.

The Lawman’s Lady

by Lyn Horner

Blurb:

Marshal Trace Balfour doesn’t care for schoolmarm Matilda Schoenbrun’s straight-laced attitude. However, a few moments alone with the spinster lady makes him realize she isn’t quite what he expected. It also makes him curious. Why doesn’t she like to be called Mattie? Most of all, what would she look like without her specs and with her hair down?

Excerpt:

“Move aside,” Marshal Trace Balfour ordered, pushing through the noisy throng gathered in the street outside the Golden Slipper Saloon. Their shouts and laughter had drawn him from his office up the block. Among the crowd, he saw the local Methodist preacher, the undertaker and the owner of the mercantile across the dusty street. Several ranch hands, in town on their day off, made most of the racket.

Trace also noticed the schoolmarm, Matilda Schoenbrun. With her brown hair wound in a tight bun at her nape and wearing a drab calico gown of the same color, she brought to mind a brown jay such as he’d seen as a boy in south Texas. When she spotted him, she threw her shoulders back and narrowed her lips, looking down her bespectacled little nose, setting his teeth on edge.

Texas Devlins 4 Book Bundle

Meet the Devlins, a trio of Irish-American siblings blessed with rare psychic gifts. This boxed set combines the Texas Devlins trilogy and White Witch, a prequel novella.

Darlin’ Irish, book one in the trilogy, is Jessie Devlin’s story. Haunted by dreams of a man she’s never met, she believes they are fated to love. A clairvoyant vision sends her west in search of him. Will her quest lead her to happiness . . . or into a deadly trap?

Dashing Irish stars Tye Devlin, an empath in modern terms. Tye literally feels other’s emotions. He has learned to block out most of the “racket” to save his sanity, but he has no defense against a Texas cowgirl’s troubled heart. Feuding families and a perilous cattle drive threaten any hope for love -- unless Tye’s gift proves stronger than hate.

Dearest Irish is Rose Devlin’s story. Youngest of the siblings, Rose has an amazing ability to heal with her mind, but she keeps a dark secret that blights her very soul. Meek and mild, she’s terrified when a half-breed cowboy carries her off to the Indian Territory to save his dying mother. Can she overcome her fear and dare to love?

http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Devlins-4-Book-Bundle-ebook/dp/B00H6MN4R6

Find Lyn Here:

http://lynhorner.com

http://lynhorner.blogspot.com  

http://www.amazon.com/author/lyn.horner.award-winning.books

https://twitter.com/LynHornerauthor

https://www.facebook.com/lyn.horner.1

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lyn-Horner/161787403863487 (Fan page)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WHRbookclub/?fref=ts

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Well, today marks the beginning of a new year. I have now been a published writer for two years, and it continues to be an incredible journey for me. Last year I had to say goodbye to my beloved Yellowstone characters, and try to expand my writing into some other stories. Of course, there are certain people (and you all know who you are) who won’t let me forget the Osbornes and Russells, and we continue to discuss them as if they were our next door friends and neighbors. 



 I wrote and published Come Home to Me late in 2012, the first book in a new time travel venture, which took me completely away from the Yellowstone setting. The book was my personal challenge to write about something other than Yellowstone and the characters who were familiar to me. Being a history buff, I chose the Oregon Trail. 

While I was in Yellowstone in the summer of 2012, finishing up Yellowstone Deception, the idea for a story line set in the Tetons came to me (I remember standing in the Jenny Lake parking lot in Grand Teton National Park, gazing up at the mountains, when the idea popped into my head), but I had already started on Come Home to Me, a story idea that came to me from hearing the Eric Church song, Homeboy. 

 The Teton Trilogy, which would again bring me into a familiar setting (sort of my “comfort zone setting”) would have to wait until Come Home to Me was done, but the wheels in my head were already in motion. It’s an annoying habit my brain has to think about a new story while I’m in the middle of a current work in progress. I managed to publish Come Home to Me in 2012, making it five published novels in one year (but I had already written the first three Yellowstone books in 2011, so I didn’t actually write five books in one year, a seemingly impossible task), and couldn’t resist writing a Yellowstone novella that popped into my head during a four day weekend in Zion National Park.

 Finally, in December 2012, I was free to “return” to the mountains and begin the Teton Trilogy! I wrote Teton Sunrise in about eight weeks, because the story just came to me. Although it was sort of a spin-off of the Yellowstone Series, my intent was to make Teton Sunrise darker and more realistic than the Yellowstone books, to depict the harsh life of a mountain man with a bit more realism than what I had done previously, and yet still maintain the romantic aspect.  I wanted a completely different overall tone for the book than what I wrote in the Yellowstone Series. Under no circumstances did I want to clone Daniel Osborne when I wrote Alex Walker.

 I continue to experiment with different types of characters and situations – the anti hero, the tough as nails heroine, the heroine who, as a product of her time and upbringing might come across as weak but finds her inner strength because of the love of a good man, domestic abuse, rape, a bad childhood and rising above it, second chances and redemption, etc. 

 Although I didn’t meet my own goal of writing four books in 2013, I did manage to write and publish three - Teton Sunrise, Teton Splendor, and Ain’t No Angel (a long overdue second book in the Second Chances Series). 

 2013 was a great year in my writing career for many reasons. For the first time, I submitted two of my books, Yellowstone Heart Song and Come Home to Me, for formal review, to InD’Tale Magazine, a  romance publication in the Indie World. To my absolute disbelief, both books received Crowned Heart Reviews. 

 Yellowstone Heart Song remained on the Time Travel Best Seller list on Amazon for a second year. It even made the top 100 overall best-seller list on Amazon for a short time. Come Home To Me became my second best-seller that made it onto Amazon’s top 100 overall, going as low as #62. For me, that was a tremendous achievement. 

 This past year, I also managed to get all my books in print, and started the journey of getting them produced in audio. Hearing my characters come to life through the voices of some great narrators has been a neat experience. 

I’ve met some wonderful new readers this past year. It continues to humble and amaze me that people read and enjoy my books, and some of the emails and messages I receive from readers touch me to the very core, readers who tell me the books inspire them to go see the Tetons and Yellowstone, or have touched them in some other way. There is no greater reward for me than reading these kinds of emails. 

 One of the highlights of 2013 was my annual Yellowstone trip. It would be the highlight of my year anytime, but 2013 was especially great because I got to meet my editor, and two of my beta readers. My husband and family spent two wonderful weeks with my editor and her family, camping and hiking in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The husbands had a great time kayaking in the Tetons and camping in the wilderness, while us girls enjoyed “girl time” at base camp. We’ll try and forget the near run-in with a grizzly while we hiked the String Lake Trail in the Tetons without bear spray. Of course, the husbands were rather jealous that they missed that experience! (Hey! They had their own adventure kayaking Jackson Lake to camp overnight on Elk Island!) 

 In Yellowstone, I met my head beta reader, who came to Yellowstone for the first time specifically because she wanted to see the park after reading my books. We spent a great day touring the park and a couple of evenings hanging out in camp. As an added surprise, one of my newer betas happened to be in Yellowstone at the time, and I got to meet her, too. 

 For 2014, my first goal is to get Teton Sunset, the final book in the Teton Trilogy, finished and published. I actually started the book right after returning from Yellowstone back in July. At the same time, however, I also started on Ain't No Angel. I can write two books at the same time, right? No problem, right? Wrong! Five chapters in on each book, and I couldn't do it anymore. I had to make a choice, and since it had been so long since the first Second Chances book, I decided to concentrate on ANA, and finish that story before diving into the last Teton book.

Now that I'm getting to know my Teton characters again,  Teton Sunrise is shaping up to be a fun book to write. After that (okay, I’m letting the cat out of the bag), I promised one of my betas I would write another Yellowstone novella. We’ve already been busy tossing around plot ideas for that story for months. Then it’s on to the third Second Chances book. After that, I have a few new projects swirling around in my head. Perhaps I should let my readers decide what to write next. 

 I am also taking part in a western anthology with a dozen other western romance writers, to be published in March of 2014. We’re putting together a sampling of our writing in short story format. I’ve already written and submitted my short, and I will shamelessly admit that I am not a short story writer. 

 One final book-related goal is to get the rest of my books produced in audio this year. All in all, I can’t wait to see what the new year will bring. 

I want to wish all of my friends and readers a happy and healthy 2014!

~Peggy

Guest Author - Carol A Spradling

My guest author today is Carol Spradling, my critique partner for the last two years. She writes historical and time travel romance. Welcome, Carol!

About the Author:

As a youth, I loved reading Trixie Belden books. She was great—smart, witty, and surrounded by good-looking guys. What’s not to like? While in my teens, I discovered the answers to that question when I heard someone mention a romance novel she had read. Her shallow breathing and flushed face was enough to pique my interest. A trip to the bookstore was in order. I read with wide-eyed amazement. Trixie never spoke of such occurrences! 

Other than the obvious, I found myself trying to appreciate what my friend had enjoyed about this book. Yeah, there was the hot guy and beautiful woman, but the book as a whole frustrated me. Why did it take 380 pages for the couple to admit they loved each other? To me, this is where the story began. Much to my sadness, I found this to be the writing norm. 

That was several years ago, don't ask how many.  ;)  I still love a good romance, as well as the mountains of North Carolina.  This is the High Country, after all.  We have skiers in the winter and Kilt-wearing Scot descendants in the summer.  Now that the Forever Time Travel Romance is nearing a close, I'll have to start a new series with a local influence.  Hmm, has anyone every skied while wearing a kilt?

Why did you decide to write Romance? What is the appeal?

I am a sucker for an attentive man and a happy ending.  I love characters who will go to the ends of the earth to be with one another.  I'm feeling all squishy inside just thinking about it. 

What is the best comment you ever received from a reader?

"Not since Audrey Niffenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife" (2003) have I read and enjoyed a time travel romance as much!"

Tell us a little about your writing style? Do you plan and plot your stories, or do you just plow through them?

It always depends on the story.  I've had ideas come to me that got me started and then left me hanging with nowhere to go.  I have mapped other books from chapter one to the epilogue.  Of course that doesn't mean the end product still resembled the original notes.

Have you ever had writer’s block? How do you deal with it?

Well, maybe not writer's block, per se, but there have definitely been walls that have been hard to circumvent.  When that happens, I cry on my critique partner's shoulder and hope she has a fresh insight.  Of course, when she reaches for a shovel, I hold my breath to see if it is for digging under the wall or to hit me on the head.  J  Both actions have their benefits.

What's on the horizon for your readers?

 I have a contemporary romance in the works.  I hope to have it ready by this summer.

Can you tell us a little about your current work, The Highwayman's Grace?

The Highwayman's Grace is the third book in my Forever Time Travel Romance Series.  The series is about 4 sisters.  Grace is the youngest and meekest of the four…or at least she was the meekest.  When her older sister forces the family time travel gift on her and then abandons her in the middle of nowhere, all she wants is revenge, until she meets highwayman Ethan Tanner.  Take a look. 

The Highwayman's Grace blurb:

Grace Blackstone never wanted to be a time traveler.  She also didn't want to be abandoned within reach of a notorious highwayman.  A chance meeting with the outlaw leaves her vulnerable to more than her new ability.  Having seen behind the wanted man's mask, Grace is confused to find another man claiming to be her rescuer.  

Highwayman Ethan Tanner has one goal in life, to destroy Bennett Brown.  He has faced gunmen, and braved the elements, but a young woman who seemingly appears out of nowhere terrifies him.

A rainy night brings Ethan and Grace together in more ways than one.  She will have to trust him with her secret, and he will have to trust her with his life, but are they willing to release their pasts in order to have a future together?

Excerpt:

"You are agreeable to this?" Ethan asked, wanting to know her honest opinion.  He tried to keep his tone flat, giving her a chance to revise her decision.

She walked toward him, looking as uncertain as he felt.  "I'm not sure I know a better option," she said.

"I hate to admit it," he offered, "but this might be the best way to keep you safe."  He reached his hand to her, hoping she saw his action as an open gesture, without concealed intent.  "As soon as I can find a way out of this," he tried to assure her, "I'll grant you your freedom.  I promise."

"I hate to intrude, but I am in a rush," the pastor interrupted.  The clergyman pointed to the lower section on the paper, and Ethan obediently signed the document.  Strangely enough, his hand didn't shake as he affixed his name above Grace's.

"Fine.  Fine."  The pastor sanded the wet ink, and then opened his Bible.

"Ethan Tanner, do you solemnly promise to take this woman, Grace Blackstone, as your wife, providing for her and protecting her all of your days while in the sight of God?"

The words weighed heavy on Ethan's shoulders.  All of your days.  He had just promised Grace he'd find a way to free her, now the pastor asked him to affirm to the contrary.  Deep red and purple abrasions encircled her throat next to the collar of the dress she wore.  He hadn't seen them before, but Addie assured him, these marks were not isolated incidents.  He'd swear an oath to both God and Grace, and hope that one pledge wasn't contingent on the other.

"I promise," he said. 

The minister turned to Grace.  "Grace Blackstone, do you promise to accept Ethan Tanner as your husband, abiding in his household and obeying his commands?"

Grace nodded slowly as though unsure.  She lifted her eyes to Ethan and her chin rose assertively.  "I promise."

Addie sniffled behind them, and Ethan cringed.  This had been an impromptu ceremony.  What would she have done with a year to prepare?

"You are husband and wife," Pastor Whitten proclaimed.  "May your life be filled with many children.  Now that this is done, I'll be on my way to the Clancy farm to discuss the details for tomorrow."  He touched the signatures with his fingertip, folded the paper, and then placed it inside his Bible.  Tucking everything under his arm, he waved to them in passing.  "Good day," he said, and then disappeared through the opened doorway.

Ethan stared awkwardly after the minister, not completely certain what to do next.  He supposed he should take his wife and sister home.  His wife.  When he started out this morning, he hadn't thought his day would end with a marriage ceremony.  He glanced over at his bride.  She was caught in Addie's tight embrace, being rocked from side to side. 

Lavender oil should soothe her abrasions, but he doubted her internal scars would heal as easily.  Other than give her time to forget what had happened to her, he didn't know how else to help her.  He looked to the bruised skin at the cuffs of her sleeve, feeling as responsible for her pain as if he'd personally clamped the constraints against her delicate skin.  He'd taken two vows tonight, and while he wasn't sure how, he planned to honor them both.  Whether successful or not, one thing was certain, no one would lay a hand to her again while he lived.  But more importantly, Bennett would pay for what he did to this woman…his wife.

See what I mean?  Grace and Ethan are a perfect match.  Wait until you see them in action.

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