7/23/2016

WHY DO WE LOVE COWBOYS?

ANGI MORGAN
In honor of National Day of the Cowboy I thought it would be fun to see why romance authors love cowboys. How about you? How would you answer the poll?

WHY DO YOU LOVE COWBOYS?

  • their honorable character
  • their boots
  • their riding abilities
  • their work-ethic
  • the way they fit their jeans


I think the Cowboy Code by Gene Autry pretty much sums up why we love our cowboys!
"Seriously? I have to choose an answer? You have made this poll waaaaay tooooo tough :) 

Because I'm forced to pick, I'll say #1.  Probably because I'm at the time in my live where a person's character matters more than anything else." ~Cathy McDavid

GENE AUTRY'S COWBOY CODE
as stated on GeneAutry.com 
REBECCA ADLER
* Work Ethic

The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

CAROLINE CLEMMONS
* Work Ethic
He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.



He must always tell the truth.

He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

CATHY McDAVID
*Honorable Character
He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
E.E. Burke


He must help people in distress.

He must be a good worker.

He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
CAROLYN RAE
*Honorable Character

He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.

LEXI POST
*Honorable Character
The Cowboy is a patriot.

~ ~ ~

The Real Cowboy Way article has a lot of cute sayings. Check it out. Angi's favorite: A COWGIRL CAN DO IT BY HERSELF...A COWBOY WON'T LET HER.

Heidi Hormel
*All of these
ROMANCE READERS WHO I POLLED AGREED...
* their honorable character
* their boots
* their riding abilities
* their work-ethic

* the way they fit their jeans

THEY LOVE THEIR COWBOYS because...
...ALL OF THE ABOVE


CARO CARSON
KYM ROBERTS

"The entire package! Their strong work ethic leads to an incredible fit in their jeans and their boots create a very sexy swagger. Add a little patriotism with their honor and you've got a keeper. The ability to ride however, is a dream come true!" ~Kym Roberts


"The way he fills out his jeans." 
~Caro Carson, E.E. Burke & Angi Morgan
Cathy MacRae
*Honorable Character
Heather Long
*Work Ethic



And what Cowboy celebration would be complete without some 
Waylon and Willie

WHY DO YOU LOVE COWBOYS?

7/22/2016

Get Lost With Shari Elder!

Hi, folks! Please join me in welcoming a friend of mine, Shari Elder! Shari and I have been friends for a few years and often share writing information. Today we're sharing details of her brand new book!
 
WHO IS SHARI ELDER?
By day, Shari Elder saves cities. By night, she builds them—on Saturn’s rings, under a lilac bush, in a coral reef – then packs them full of shifters, vampires, Olympian gods, extra-terrestrials or whatever else comes into her head. In all these wondrous worlds, romance and passion blossom, since she cannot resist writing a happy ending, especially for those who have given up on ever getting one. Now that's satisfaction. 
Raised on science fiction and fantasy, fueled by coffee and red wine, Shari writes early in the morning, late at night, and in between crises at home. She lives, contentedly albeit crazily, with her teen-age daughter, teen-age dog, and the elderly cat who rules the roost.
 
THE STORY BLURB
On the night of the full moon, any male shifter can call the Trials to race against Talia Orion, alpha of the united wolf-eagle clans. Clan law requires Talia to marry the winner of the Trials, a grueling twenty-mile marathon through dangerous, rugged terrain. The product of an unhappy, political alliance masquerading as a marriage, Talia trains obsessively to ensure she avoids her parents’ fate.  Her newest vampire trainer, Hayden Mitchell, makes her powerful even as he knocks down her defenses, and finds his way, first, into her bed then into her heart.
Hayden has loved Talia since the first moment he saw her. As the destined ruler of the vampire clan, he has another agenda – to politically unite Talia’s clans with his own—what Talia fears most, and will never forgive him for.
 
 

Amazon         |    All Romance     |     Bookstrand

             
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SHARI?
Email
Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Pinterest
Blog
Twitter:@ShariElderBooks

AND NOW…

ALEXA:What was the first story you remember writing?
SHARI: For a High School English writing assignment, I wrote what I thought was a masterpiece about General Strep’s defeat at the hand of the anti-bodies. Yes, it’s a story about what happens when you get strep throat. Creating non-human characters, building the world, organizing the plot – it was a total thrill, and what turned me on to writing. Even though it took me a great many years to embrace that side of me, I can point to it as the start of it all.

ALEXA:What’s the best birthday present you ever received?
SHARI: One year on my birthday, while I was out shopping, my darling daughter decided to surprise me. I walked into a house filled with posters, each saying something quite wonderful, such as I love you, Mom, Best Writer Ever, Best Mom Ever Sleeps here (hung over my bed), and You’re so pretty. The posters were interspersed with cut out and colored hearts in varied sizes. In addition to all of this, she gave me a hand-made coupon books full of free back scratches, do my laundry coupons, and perfect kid for a day passes. Best birthday ever.

ALEXA:What three things are, at this moment, in Talia’s, your heroine, purse, satchel, reticule, weapons belt or amulet bag (whatever she carries)?
SHARI: She has a phone, a back-up charger, and a scrunchie in her zipped workout jacket pocket. Since Talia is an Alpha shifter, who trains almost obsessively to remain strong, fast and agile, she does not carry a purse or bag. The only things she really needs is a good mobile phone, to stay in continuous contact with her clan. The phone also provides her with a camera and music among other key apps she’ll need during the day in various duties. She has the back-up charger to ensure she can always use the phone, and a scrunchie to pull her long hair back during a workout.

ALEXA:What is your favorite trait about Hayden, your hero in Shifter Trials?
SHARI: He has a special place in his heart for children. As one of his roles as heir apparent to the vampire clan leadership, he trains their disabled children, which are common in this world. When he was young, he was smaller and weaker, so he knows what it’s like to be pushed around simply for what he was.

ALEXA:Who’s your favorite villain?
SHARI: Hans Gruber from the film Die Hard. Suave, sophisticated, great dresser, charming, dropped a great one-liner, yet was pure evil. RIP Alan Rickman. We miss you.

ALEXA:What’s your favorite fairy tale?
SHARI: Mulan, the Chinese warrior heroine made into a Disney princess movie. She is one of my favorites because she takes the future in her own hands. As much as I like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White among others, it feels like they are being rescued. In Mulan, she rebels against her traditional role, and in doing so, because a heroine and rescues herself and others.

ALEXA:What’s the last show you binge watched?
SHARI: Doc Martin. It’s a British comedy-drama starring Martin Clunes and Caroline Katz with a host of eccentric characters in a small port town in Cornwall. It’s a cross between House (grumpy, anti-social doctor, exceptional diagnostician) and Northern Exposure (classically trained physician in small, quirky town, not fitting in and not really wanting to). I can’t wait for them to make the next season.

ALEXA:I LOVE Doc Martin! What’s your favorite rerun?
SHARI: There’s more than one, but there is a theme. I adore science fiction series. I can always watch Star Trek and Dr. Who reruns. No sell buy date. They always work.

ALEXA:What’s up next for you, Shari?
SHARI: I am finishing up a science fiction romance novel at the moment, called Race to Redemption. Here’s a quick summary.

Terran Alliancestorm racingchampion Elaina Carteret has it all—wealth, celebrity, respect and a god-of-a-fiancee—until betrayal and tragedy sends her into exile. Resurfacing as Lainie Carter, a medical transport driver on the isolated desert planet ofRanhar, her rule-bending approach to her job infuriates the med facility director, Dr. Erik Hansen, who runs the outpost with an iron hand, a permanent scowl and the tightest bod on the planet.

ALEXA’S GOTTA ASK, SHARI’S GOTTA ANSWER:
WHAT’S THE MOST ROMANTIC THING ANYONE’S EVER DONE FOR YOU?

This remains one of my most special and most poignant memories. When I was in college, I fell in love for the first time. We could not spend our first winter holiday together because my grandmother was taking my sister and me to Mexico for a special trip over Christmas break, arriving back home on December 30. When we returned home from the airport when the trip ended, there was a giant box in my driveway addressed to me. My boyfriend had driven to our house from another state and packed himself in the box to surprise me. He didn’t want us to be separated for our first New Year’s eve together. It was an amazing gesture, and I feel extremely grateful someone would have done that for me.

ALEXA:Okay, thanks so much for joining us today, Shari! Folks, Shari has a question for you and she will giveawaya Shifter Trial coffee mug to TWO commenters!

SHARI: What stories aren’t being written that you want to read?

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited.Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only.Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the authormay not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.
 

7/20/2016

Checking in...


Just a quick post from me today, as I'm headed back into the writing cave. What books are you reading and liking right now? What about movies? Mister and I hope to see Star Trek this weekend, but there are a lot of movies out now that I'd like to see. What about you? Tell me what's keeping you entertained during these dog--er, cat--days of summer!

Hard Core Law Day 3

5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT 
HARD CORE LAW

Waco, Texas
Home to Bush's Chicken and Baylor University. A major crossing point of the Brazos River for cattle drives. Home of the ALICO building, the first high rise of it's kind in the area. Just big enough that everybody doesn't know everybody, but small enough that the good guys know the lay of the land.

I loved having my readers choose the names of Josh's twins. I hoped to have Jackson and Sage steal the scenes they were in. I have author Lena Diaz to thank for adding tension to my kidnapping plot with her suggestion that one of the twins have diabetes. She took time to check y facts and give me accurate info about what would happen every hour that Jackson didn't have his insulin. Smooches to Lena !!
  



Naming the bad guys. Even though it was hard, I still loved referring to all my bad guys as Mack. Mack the Knife didn't make it into the book, but I wanted to add it. (LOL, I'm dating myself, right?) Mack-In-Charge, Baby-Faced Mack, Rifle Mack, Knife Mack, they all had something that identified them for the hero and heroine. Fingers crossed that it worked for the readers.


Garrison, Jesse, Bryce & Josh

Texas Rangers all wear white hats for their official photos. It's said, that's where Hollywood got the idea that good guys wear white. Thanks for the great reception for my four special guys from Company F, headquartered in Waco. Also located in Waco is the Texas Ranger Museum. If you're ever driving on I-35, stop and take a look. It's a small museum, but filled with memorabilia.


Tracey's life changes from thinking about ice cream sprinkles to five minutes of complete terror as the twins are kidnapped.




EXCERPT from HARD CORE LAW





ASK ME ANYTHING...I'LL TRY TO ANSWER. Or you could tell me YOUR favorite thing about the TEXAS RANGERS: ELITE TROOP series.

7/19/2016

Hard Core Law Day 2

Traveling and getting back into my routine delays... my apologies for posting late.

I love to incorporate real locations and history into my stories. 

Waco is actually full of history. Crossing cattle across the Brazos river was very dangerous, so they built a suspension bridge. Locals use the bridge for all types of photo opportunities...including weddings. On a personal note, my first time to walk across the bridge was my daughter's 20th birthday when we took photos. 


I mention the bridge twice in HARD CORE LAW. The second is a big secret reveal, but here's the first.
~ ~ ~
“They have a new phone listed in my name. Bought it pre-paid at a kiosk. No idea what the number is. Handed us another and told us to head to the Brazos Suspension Bridge.”

“You can cross that on foot. Right?” McCaffrey was asking someone on his staff. “You know they’ll be waiting on the other side.”

Tracey kept watch, walking back and forth along the wall. She’d look out the storefront window, then make the horseshoe along the outside walls again to look out the other side.

Josh kept his head and his voice down. “I can’t contact you on this again. It’ll be in the car.”

“We’ll have men on the north side of the bridge waiting,” McCaffrey stated. “Trust me, Josh.”

“For as long as possible.”

EXCERPT from HARD CORE LAW
Amazon | Barnes &  Noble | Google Play | Kobo | iBooks
a Rafflecopter giveaway











If you'd read part of the series... who would you like to see return next?

7/18/2016

Hard Core Law Day 1

HOW DO YOU GET A TEXAS RANGER TO BREAK THE LAW?

. . . KIDNAP HIS KIDS

The twins were all Josh Parker had in this world. So when they were kidnapped, he couldn't rely on his Texas Rangers star to get them back safely. Or involve Tracey Cassidy, the only person he trusted to care for his children. 

A family of criminals was asking him to break the law if he ever wanted to see his children again. 

But when Tracey caught wind of his plan, she knew no matter how big Josh's heart was, he had a future with his twins to look forward to. They needed their father. And this was one burden he wouldn't have to shoulder alone.

"THE BOSSMAN FINALLY GETS HIS OWN HEA!"
~NIKKI BROOKS

"ALL MAKINGS OF AN ENTERTAINING STORY,
THAT KEEPS THE READER ON THE EDGE."
~BOOKS & SPOONS

"FULL ON TERROR, WORRY AND ACTION FROM START TO FINISH"
~WENDY


We're having a party. To register for the Texas-Themed bracelet, join the facebook party and leave a comment. invite a friend (in the comments) for a 2nd, 3rd, etc. chance.


I had the rare privilege last week of watching a new friend read Hard Core Law. Even my "where-are-you-now's" didn't ruin the book for her. (YAY!!) She looked genuine when she told me how much she enjoyed it and what her favorite parts were. That's why I write. And I think the beginning of Nikki's review says it all: "The Bossman gets his HEA" (Happily Ever After). That's my favorite part of romance.
~what's your favorite thing about romance?
There are lots of ways to enter a giveaway this week:
7/18-31: Happy July

7/17/2016

Sunday San Diego Fun

Pictures from the Marina: 

I love to walk through outdoor malls and gardens and take pictures with color or just a cool image. How about these crystal dragons and the windsocks?  




Don't forget to check out the giveaway for the rafflecopter.
WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU RETURN FROM A TRIP?


7/16/2016

Saturday San Diego Fun

Jan & Super author Pamela Hearon
Jan & Desire author, Lauren Canan

Friday evening was the annual Harlequin Party for its authors and I managed to snap a few pictures of me with some familiar faces. There was great music, fabulous chocolate creations and an open bar. What more could a girl ask for??





Jan & Super author Janet Lee Nye



Jan & Super author Nan Dixon





Larissa with Harlequin

Thanks to Harlequin for another fabulous party. I love seeing and dancing with all my friends. Okay, the deserts aren't too shabby either.

It's glam time. Special. Made so more by those who organize and work behind the scenes to make it seem effortless.
Olivia Gates

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Nancy Robards Thompson




Shirley Jump