Sunday, October 1, 2017

Meet the Authors of Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 - Roxanne Rustand and Magdalena Scott





A Christmas in Montana
Roxanne Rustand


A Christmas in Montana is my novella in this year’s Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 anthology.  I’ve written over thirty-five contemporary romance books now, often set in small towns or ranch country.  Since I love the Rockies and grew up with horses and lots of other animals, I love incorporating those elements into my stories. A Christmas in Montana is a loosely connected preview for my Heart of the Rockies series, which thus far includes full-length sweet romance titles Comeback Cowboy and A Montana Legacy.  But more are coming!




Though I grew up in the Upper Midwest, I love writing about ranches, cowboys and veterinarians and have used those elements in a number of my books.   I got my first horse at the age of six, and in our small Minnesota town it was like giving a child car keys, because off I went riding bareback through winter spring, summer and fall, every day, with friends who also had horses. What a Tom Sawyer experience that was.  That whole distant, western suburb of the Twin Cities is now highly developed into beautiful homes—the lakes, hills and abundance of trees made it perfect for that.  But back in the 1960s it was still undeveloped, with quiet roads.  I grew up swimming my horse in the lakes, riding all day long, having adventures, and perhaps it’s a miracle that I survived them all! Looking back, I’m amazed that my parents gave me all that freedom, but times were different then and I wouldn’t change these experiences for anything!


I also began showing, eventually upgrading my horses with whatever money I could save, then moved into raising, training and showing quarter horses.  After marriage, my husband and I raise quarter horses, some paints, and then thoroughbreds for several decades before finally dispersing our breeding stock.  We’ve never been without horses, though...our kids had them while growing up and we still have three.  Just doing chores and seeing them in the pasture makes me feel so at peace.  So, when I do write contemporary romance set in the West—on a ranch, or somewhere in the Rockies, I get to write about the kind of life I love.  I hope you will enjoy reading A Christmas in Montana!


 For those who leave a comment, there will be a drawing for a free copy for Comeback Cowboy!




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A Cowboy for Christmas
Magdalena Scott

A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS (Serendipity, Indiana--Book 9) features Hannah Kincaid. Her twin sister, Taylor, is the heroine in Book 8, ONCE UPON A TIME. 





In Taylor's story we eventually learn that Hannah has her eye on a certain tall, tanned cowboy. Just out of college, the twins are living with their parents and working local jobs while searching for something better. Below is a snippet in Taylor's point of view, when she first gets an inkling that her twin is hiding something. 


Upstairs, we lounged in my room. Hannah was pleased about Ken changing my hours. “Now you’ll understand what it’s like to have a real job. That eleven a.m. start was a joke.”


I took one of Opal’s diaries out of the trunk. “I’m going to save every penny toward our place in the city. You are too, right?”


Hannah looked away, back to the laptop she had been staring at. That was suspicious.


“What are you doing?” I peered over her shoulder before she could move to another tab.


Horses? Why are you reading about horses? Is Francie starting a trail ride service through the tree farm?” B&B guests stayed in miniature cabins secluded in the Christmas trees. It was quaint and seriously dull, but the new-ish addition to the farm seemed to be doing really well for the Standish family. Francie was energetic, and since taking over the farm operation from her mom, she’d added a fall festival. So the trail ride idea wasn’t unbelievable.


“Won’t that be a mess when people swarm all over the farm on foot, in December?” I shivered at the idea of stepping in horse-stuff while looking for a Christmas tree. Or dragging the tree along, and then-smoosh.


Hannah slammed her laptop shut. “No, Francie isn’t starting trail rides. You don’t know everything I’m interested in, Taylor. Just because we’re out of school doesn’t mean we stop learning about stuff.”


Whoa. Somebody was defensive. “I’m just surprised. Didn’t know you ever did research that wasn’t about celebrities or fashion.”


She flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “I’m evolving.”


Then I knew. “Okay, who’s the guy? Let me guess—somebody who works for Francie commutes on his horse.”


Her face was red. “Of course not.” She knew it was pointless to try to keep holding me off. We could never keep secrets from each other. In a way it felt like being untrue to ourselves to be less than fully honest with our twin. That was inconvenient sometimes. For Hannah, now was one of those times.


 ~End of Excerpt~

 Find ONCE UPON HERE: 
iBooks: http://apple.co/2r8GsNe
Kindle: http://amzn.to/2qras5u
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2qve1Ho
Nook: http://bit.ly/2r8eFwm


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Find SWEET CHRISTMAS KISSES 4 here:
Amazon: http://a.co/600caJ1
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2xgU0sG
Google: http://bit.ly/2viH7g4
B&N: http://bit.ly/2g8xyO8
Tunes: http://apple.co/2ykC8NM



6 comments:

  1. Ladies,
    So excited to read both of these wonderful books!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Josie! I'm excited to read yours, too!

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  2. Roxanne, I grew up in Wisconsin, on the western side close to MN. I didn't have horses but had an upbringing in a more relaxed time. I lived in MN for many years before I moved out West! I now live in Western North Dakota. I am excited to read your story!

    Magdalena I am excited to read your story as well. I have twin nieces, one of whom had her own set of twins, a boy and a girl. Such fun with twins.

    This set of books is just so exciting!

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    Replies
    1. Sandy, one of our son's lives in western Wisconsin, just off 94. And as I type this, I am visiting an author friend in northern Wisconsin. I love this state! But I grew up in Minnesota. What part of MN were you in?

      Thank you so much for your comment!!

      Roxanne

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    2. Sandy, thank you for taking time to visit the blog. Your family twins sound like great fun! My mother had a twin brother, but so far no more twins in our family.

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  3. Roxanne, I grew up in Rice Lake, WI and then moved to Hudson. Just off 94 :) and on the MN/WI border where I raised my family. Then for about 2 years I lived in St. Cloud and then back down to the St. Paul area. I lived in Stillwater and Oakdale until I moved to North Dakota.

    It is always fun to connect with someone from your home states.
    Sandy

    ReplyDelete