Author, author... Sweetwater Springs Christmas

As one of the contributing authors of Sweetwater Springs Christmas, please welcome a guest post by...

 Linda Carroll-Bradd

Behind The Scenes of Writing For An Anthology

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

Early this summer I was thrilled to be invited to contribute to a Christmas anthology of western historical stories set in Debra Holland’s Montana Sky world. In addition to being one of Debra’s editors, I enjoy her series of sweet historical romances. The eleven participating authors did a bit of brainstorming to make sure we didn’t duplicate on names or professions, and checked a fact here or there about details where our stories would overlap. Then we retreated to our writing spaces to create the collection of stories that became Sweetwater Springs Christmas.

My original plot involving a female doctor coming to town to receive training didn’t work because Debra has that role already planned for a future book. But she said we could tie the short story to any of our current works. Several other authors have series set in Montana or nearby and they made their connections. I have a contemporary novel that released in October, Rekindled Dreams, that is set in Montana so I made the heroine of Wishes On A Star an ancestor to the hero in the contemporary. The tie-in may be one that only I appreciate but it’s there.

Because 1895 is the latest in the 1800s I’ve ever set a story, I jumped onto Google and Wikipedia to start checking out the early 1890s. I studied inventions, historic events, clothing fashions, etc. My minor in college was Women’s Studies so I knew women were involved in rallies and speeches forwarding the cause of women’s suffrage during these years. Based on information included in a journal found in Rekindled Dreams, the heroine was from a ranching family who help found her northern Montana hometown.

So how did women’s suffrage and an isolated ranch fit together? I made Richelle Quaid the youngest child and only daughter in the family, somewhat pampered, and Daddy dotes on her. The family is wealthy enough that she has attended academies and finishing schools and traveled to stay with relatives in other parts of America. Raised with only brothers, she’s outspoken so she can be heard and is adept at ranch skills and chores. Her counterpoint, hero Landon Howard, is a rancher and horse breeder who is visiting Sweetwater Springs to bring a horse to be used for stud services. Because the boarding house in town was already reserved (by characters in someone else’s story), my hero had to know someone in town with whom he could stay. So I made Landon friends with the banker and his widowed sister who wishes she could monopolize his time. A bit of fun there.

Sweetwater Springs Christmas released November 18^th and already has some nice reviews on Amazon. A print version should be available next month in time for Christmas shopping. The participating authors are: E. Ayers, MJ Frederick, Debra Holland, Paty Jager, Jill Marie Landis, Linda MacLaughlin, Trish Milburn, Bev Pettersen, Tori Scott, Cynthia Woolf…and me.

Blurb for Wishes On A Star:

Free-spirit Richelle Quaid is outspoken, confident and a little bit spoiled. She sets tongues wagging with her bloomers and bicycle but also catches the eye of visiting rancher Landon Howard. An incident with her bicycle causes his prize colt to bolt into the cold Montana night. As Richelle and Landon track the animal together, they can’t fight their growing attraction. Will a wish made on a star foretell their future?

BUY LINK:  http://amzn.com/B00G06W3SA

BIO:

As a child, Linda was often found lying on her bed reading about characters having exciting adventures in places far away. Upon reaching a landmark birthday, she decided to write one of those romances she loved so much. Easier said than done. Perseverance paid out and twelve years later, she received her first call from a publisher and a confession story was published. Now Linda writes heartwarming contemporary and historical stories with a touch of humor, and many have a tie to her previous home of Texas.

Linda currently lives in the southern California mountains with her husband of 34 years and their two much-loved dogs, Shiba Inu Keiko and terrier mix Phoenix.

FIND LINDA HERE:

www.lindacarroll-bradd.com

http://blog.lindacarroll-bradd.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Carroll-Bradd-author/440814942635289

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1806413.Linda_Carroll_Bradd

https://www.amazon.com/author/lindacarroll-bradd

Author, author... Tie Down My Heart by Linda Carroll-Bradd

...read all about her !!!

Today we have with us a great author and a fantastic person !!!

Today Linda Carroll-Bradd is sharing a guest post and her latest release, Tie Down My Heart.

History of The Rodeo

The major events in professional rodeo competition are an extension of the activities performed by cowboys who work with cattle. My guess is cowboys have been competing informally since the first group of vaqueros (when the southwestern part of the current day US was part of Mexico) herded cattle from one location to another. Undoubtedly, the competitions held in the 1820s and 1830s were among those on the same ranch and then this activity expanded to neighboring spreads.

But officially, after the Civil War ended, the competitions became more organized and the first official rodeo was held in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory in 1872. Sixteen years later in Prescott, Arizona Territory, the first professional rodeo that charged admission and awarded trophies was held. Rodeo events were incorporated into shows that traveled to the East coast and were featured in Madison Square Gardens. In the early years, the events included in a rodeo were not standardized. This changed with the emergence of rodeo associations starting in 1929.

Contemporary rodeos include events based on the working tasks of cowboys who herd and capture cattle for various purposes. Rough stock events include: calf roping, team roping, saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, bull riding and barrel racing.

Calf roping (also called tie-down roping, hence the title of my novella, Tie Down My Heart) is the oldest of the timed events. From horseback, the cowboy lassoes a running calf, the horse stops and keeps pressure on the rope while the cowboy runs to the calf, pulls it on its side and then uses a rawhide strip to tie 3 of its feet together.

Team roping involves two riders in capturing a running steer—one ropes the horns and the other lassoes the hind feet. (men and women can compete together)

Barrel racing is a timed event where a horse and rider gallop in a figure 8 around barrels without knocking over the barrels. (exclusively a women’s event at professional level)

Bronc riding can be done bareback with rider holding special rigging or with a specialized saddle. The rider must last 8 seconds and is judged on riding style.

Bull riding (sometimes called the wildest event) includes the same rigging as bareback bronc and the goal is to last 8 seconds. Because of the unpredictability of the bulls, rodeo clowns are present to divert attention away from a fallen competitor.

Additional events connected with rodeos at the high school or collegiate level are goat tying, steer daubing, and pole bending.

      Didi Pierpont needs an in-depth interview with a rodeo participant at the Northern Texas Regional Championships. Problem is, most of the entrants remember her from her beauty pageant days and don’t take her seriously. Right before a calf-roping event, she lines up an interview with a striking Native American cowboy. But the calf is uncooperative, and Chay Red Fox is wheeled out on a stretcher. What’s an ace reporter to do but volunteer to watch him for symptoms of a concussion?

     Chay’s cocky attitude is his defense against the allure of this nosy, but so cute, reporter. He doesn’t think his soul can take another hit from a woman. But she hangs tighter than a bull rider, forcing him to  question his determination to protect his privacy and his heart.

      The more Didi learns about this intriguing man, the more her heart melts. Can she keep her journalistic distance, or will she succumb to the man who has her tied in knots?

Excerpt:

First hurdle crossed. Didi stepped through the doorway and walked along the row of curtained spaces. Just like the fitting rooms in her favorite specialty shops. Except for the brownish grit underfoot. A shudder ran through her. She’d be leaving her boots outside on the hotel room balcony tonight.

Hmmm. As she walked, she noticed the majority of the curtains were open, displaying small, empty cubicles. Somehow, she’d thought she’d find a central room with competitors hanging around and she could have her choice of subjects. Not the case. At the very end, she spotted a partially closed curtain and her heart sped up.

Under the curtain was a pair of scuffed tan boots topped with worn jeans. Stopping short of the cubicle, she angled her position until she could look into the mirror and catch a glimpse of a well-muscled chest. Closer inspection revealed a small patch of black hair between his tanned pecs, bisected by a long scar. The white line started on the man’s breastbone and disappeared under the bandage he was busy wrapping around his ribs.

Ooh, that injury must have hurt. Her hand moved to the skin above her camisole and rubbed, as if to erase the mark from the man’s bronze skin. Wonder what caused that type of cut?

“Like what you’re gawking at?”

His raspy voice made her gasp and stiffen her stance. Her gaze shot to the mirror and met narrowed, dark eyes under twin black slashes of frowning eyebrows. “Pardon my rudeness. I haven’t seen a scar quite like that.”

“Must not have been around many bull riders.”

“I used to live with a couple, but they were unscathed.” Her gaze went back to his chest, and her stomach tumbled at the thought of either JJ or Garland suffering through a similar injury.

An eyebrow quirked, and he pulled open the curtain. “Lived with a couple? Angel, this is getting interesting.”

“Oh, not what you’re thinking.” Her cheeks flamed. “They’re my older brothers—dull as dishwater.” She sucked in a breath and extended her hand. “Didi Pierpont from the Dallas County Gazette. I’m working on a piece about individuals who compete at rodeos and would love to interview you.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.” His fingers touched the brim of his hat before his calloused hand enclosed hers and shook. “I’ll pass on the interview.”

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

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

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

“Depends.”

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

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

Buy Links:    DecadentPublishing    Amazon

About the Author:

After years spent in the administrative support field, Linda decided to exercise another part of her brain and write a novel. She loved reading romance and figured that’s what she’d write. Easier said than done. After years of workshops and RWA chapter meetings, she finally saw her manuscripts place in contests. Twelve years after her first writing class, she sold a confession story. From that point on, she couldn’t be stopped and is always pleased when her sweet contemporary and historical stories find homes.

With interests as widespread as baking, crocheting, watching dog agility matches, and reading thrillers by Swedish authors, Linda is the mother to 4 adult children and grandmother to 2 granddaughters. She currently lives in the southern California Mountains with her husband of 34 years and their two spoiled dogs.

Author Links:   Website    Blog    Facebook    Goodreads   Twitter

Giveaway:  

1^st Prize Winner of a $20 Amazon GC

2^nd Prize Winner of a Silver Charm of Cowboy Boots

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