Lyn Cote Reviews Erica Vetsch's Sagebrush Knights

Here's another sweet romance I think you might enjoy! Who doesn't like a Western romance?


Sagebrush Knights by Erica Vetsch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

  Sagebrush Knights is a four in one collection fo mail order bride stories--four sisters off to Wyoming to meet and marry four strangers. I enjoyed the first three of these stories and the first very much. As with most reading experiences, this one was very personal. The age-old question--what draws one reader to a book that leaves another cold--is no nearer being answered (Unless you have one?)

 Anyway Evelyn, the oldest sister, is the heroine in the first of the four stories. Her first misconception was that her sisters would be near her. As an Eastern girl, Evelyn had no idea how far ranches could be one from another. And she'd given her intended no idea that she was bringing a young son with her. Which was fine because he hadn't told her he had a tomboy daughter, nicknamed "Mad Dog," but should have been called Madelyn. That should give you some idea of Erica Vetsch's lively style.

Z I thoroughly enjoyed this book even if #4 wasn't my favorite ever. I highly recommend Erica's books. (And yes, she gave me this book--but this is an honest review. I don't write any other kind.)

  View all my reviews

So do you enjoy Western Romance?

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This Little Light of Mine by Shanna Hatfield

A few days ago, I released a new book.

The sweet romance, set in 1906, includes a young woman in need of a change of pace, two men vying for her heart, a temperamental chicken, and a crazy mule named Steve that refuses to let fences hold him back from where he wants to go.

At the heart of the romance, though, is a story about overcoming challenges.

The dedication reads: To the broken who find a way to mend.

The heroine, Bertie, endured a terrible trauma but it stripped away her trust in others and left her constantly glancing over her shoulder. Riley, the hero, survived a horrible tragedy that keeps him mired in the past and unable to look to the future.

When they meet, they see something shining in each other that helps them both begin to heal.

Their story made me recall something someone shared with me years ago. They said it's the broken vessels that allow the most light to shine through them. The cracks and shards and jagged edges make it possible for light to penetrate what would otherwise be a perfect vessel.

Think of a stained glass window. It begins as pieces of broken glass and ends with light streaming through a beautiful work of art.

The broken places in our lives (our hearts, our spirits, our bodies, our minds), aren't irreparable or something to hide. It's through those broken place the lights seeps in and shines out to others.

And in some way, aren't we all a little broken?

So go on, and let the light pour through your broken places. You never know when the light shining in you might be a beacon to someone else.

 

Shine on, my friends. Shine on.

~*~

 She needs an adventure —

He needs the warmth of her smile…

Bertie Hawkins survived a traumatic ordeal that stripped away her sunny outlook on life and left her afraid of every shadow. Terrorized and tired of reliving the past, she accepts an offer to change her situation. Although she only intends to work through the summer, the peace she finds at Nash’s Folly keeps her there every bit as much as her interest in a mysterious new ranch hand.

   Desperate to escape his memories, Riley Walsh buys a run-down farm in Pendleton, Oregon. To pay for the many necessary repairs, he goes to work for his neighbor, never intending to fall in love with the effervescent girl who helps around the house. Riley isn’t the only one enchanted with Bertie. His own crazy mule and the neighbor’s son both share his infatuation, driving him past the brink of jealousy.

   A sweet romance that embraces the trials and triumphs of yesteryear, Bertie blends laugh-out-loud adventures with heartwarming moments.

~*~

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield is out to make it happen, one story at a time. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances combine humor and heart-pumping moments with characters that seem incredibly real.

    When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please),  this USA Today bestselling author hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

 

  Find Shanna’s books at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple

Shanna loves to hear from readers! Follow her online:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | You Tube | Twitter | Newsletter

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Research: A Writer's Rodeo by Karen Rock

One of the best aspects of writing novels is the chance to research. I love learning about new places and people and I recently had that opportunity while penning my March 2016 Harlequin Heartwarming release HIS KIND OF COWGIRL.

Since I decided to set the story in Texas (where I've only been to once before), and create a heroine that lived on a prize bull ranch (my uncle's a dairy farmer... so not the same thing at all) and a hero who is a professional bull-rider (I've only seen rodeo on TV), I knew I had my work cut out for me! What would I have done without the kindness of strangers- who became friends?

I always begin with an internet search and by typing in key words. For HIS KIND OF COWGIRL, I searched with the terms "Prize Bull Ranch" and "Texas" and found the V8 ranch in Wharton, Texas. I used the "contact us" link on the website to reach out to the owners, Rachel and Brandon Cutrer who are the latest trustees of an operation that's been in their family for generations. 

Rach wrote back the same day and agreed to chat with me. I learned so much, from the breed of bulls and cattle they raise: Brahman, to the daily tasks of running a professional bull ranch, information that informed my story-telling and lent the novel authenticity. One particular scene, in which my heroine goes to the Houston Livestock Show to compete with her three-year-old bull, Guardian, is one of my favorites in the story and couldn't have been possible if not for Rach's help. 

Her only request? Would I send her grandma a copy of HIS KIND OF COWGIRL when it came out. Happy to say that copies are in the mail as I type!

As for the bull-riding aspect of the book, I google-searched "Bull-riding" "PBR" and found Sheri Smith, agent to Mike Lee, a national bull-riding champion. Sheri graciously worked with me a great deal to ensure my characterization of Tanner Hayes, a champion who overcomes obstacles to achieve his dreams, was grounded in reality. She also put me in touch with Brandon Bates, a former bull-rider and now an announcer for the Elite PBR tour. He was so helpful that, in addition to phone chats and email exchanges, he offered to read scenes in which Tanner rode a bull. His first comment about one scene was: This gal's from the north, isn't she? Yep...LOL. The hard work paid off, though, and I'm proud how Tanner's scenes turned out because of Brandon and Sheri's stamp of approval.

Through the course of our discussions, I learned about a wonderful charity that Sheri, a Navy veteran has founded: Warriors And Rodeo. WAR provides rodeo gear, via donations and sponsorship to military, EMS, firefighters, law enforcement and other professionals that protect and serve our country who are interested in the rodeo/western lifestyle. Whether it be vests, helmets, chaps, boots, spurs, hats, ropes, clothing or other items--WAR gives back to those who are willing to give it all. I'm proud to have become a sponsor and hope you'll check out this very worthy cause at http://www.warriorsandrodeo.org/ . Thanks!
*Read HIS KIND OF GIRL'S Prologue and Chapter One on Wattpad- click HERE

Snowballing by Shanna Hatfield

Through our twenty-two year relationship, my husband (Captain Cavedweller) and I have learned three very important facts:

1. Home improvements never go as planned and quickly snowball into a huge project.
2. We are incapable of happily working on home improvement projects together.
3. To maintain harmony in our home, home improvement projects should only be entered into under the most dire circumstances.

Despite these facts, we've managed to not drive each other beyond the brink of sanity or do bodily harm while putting in fence around a pasture, having our well and entire septic system replaced, installing new wiring, and putting in underground sprinklers.

Barely.


 A while back, I posted a question on my facebook page asking for people to share ideas for a color to paint my front door. Many fun and helpful suggestions poured in. As I stood outside gazing at the portal, my gaze wavered from the door to the windows surrounding it. In no time at all, I'd decided we could no longer avoid  buying new windows.

Half the windows in our house were original to its construction in the mid-1900s and single-pane glass that was about to fall right out of the frames. Admittedly, it was far past time to get new windows, but all I'd started with was wanting to paint the front door. 

(See where the snowballing begins...) 


Fast forward two months - the installers were in the midst of the window installation when they discovered one side of the house had dry-rot around the windows and beneath a good portion of the siding. They repaired around one window then left for the day. When Captain Cavedweller arrived home from work, we made a frantic trip into town to the building supply store, loaded the pickup with siding, and rushed back home. We spent the evening putting it up.

(The snowball is gathering steam as it rolls downhill and grows in size.)

The installers did a great job finishing the installation and I adore my beautiful new sparkling windows. Part of the prep work for having them come was to remove all the window treatments, move all the furniture away from the windows, and take anything off the walls that might get knocked down.

Once we did that, I realized I really, really needed to paint.


I waited until the installers moved from the front of the house to the back to whip out the paint for the front door and go to work.

 

The color is called Vintage Velvet by Behr. The name sold me as much as the color.

Quite a transformation, isn’t it?

 I love the color and the new hardware Captain Cavedweller installed. However, the door was just the beginning of a horrendous week of painting that followed the installation of the windows. CC wisely hauled himself off to work each day to avoid joining in the fun.

The living room needed some touch up paint, but I’d used it all the last time I covered up a few scuffs and stupidly didn’t save the can lid or color. Off to town I went to get a new color.

It’s hard to see, but I had a taupe color before. I’ve hated it every day since I slapped it on the walls a decade ago. It was supposed to be a light tan color and ended up looking rose or lavender (or maybe it was a sickly shade of mauve), depending on how the sun hit the walls. Silver Shadow is the name of the new soft gray color.

 

And it looks so pretty with the white-framed windows!

While I was already up to my elbows in paint with streaks of it in my hair, I decided to paint our bedroom and bathroom. Four years ago, I wanted to take our blah beige room and do something exciting with the color. So I switched it up to a mottled brown. Looking back,  I must have been on a chocolate-induced high when I chose the colors because the only time I liked the color of the walls was in the autumn.

 

Since I’m a huge fan of green, I used the same soothing spa green shade I have in my office. And I can’t tell you what the name of the color is because I took the paint can lid, smeared with dried-on paint to the paint store and asked them to match it. I especially like the way the green makes the white around the windows and doors pop.

(Snowball continues to gain speed.)

Before it was all said and done, I’d also painted the guest bathroom, the entire hallway (ceiling included), and did touch-up painting in the office, guest bedroom, family room and kitchen.

As I admired the freshly painted walls and new windows, I concluded we needed new curtains and hardware. We just finished hanging up the last of the curtains last week.

(Snowball rapidly descending downhill.)

Now, I've got my eye on some new carpet...

  A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna Hatfield is a bestselling author of sweet romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor. In addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, she is completely smitten with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

  Find Shanna’s books at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple

Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | You Tube | Twitter

 

 

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Happy Mother's Day

 by Shanna Hatfield

I couldn't let this day go by without wishing all you moms out there a very happy day!

Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914.

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.” Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service. Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.

The roots of the modern American Mother’s Day date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War (1861-65), Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children. These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.

Anna Jarvis had originally conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. But once Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants capitalized on its popularity. Jarvis eventually denounced the holiday, appalled the commercialism. Regardless, it continues to be one of the biggest holidays for spending in America.

I've been fortunate to have several "mothers" in my life who are greatly important to me and dearly loved.

This is my mom (circa 1950). She fell in love with a boy who moved to town their senior year of high school and married him the year after they graduated. They had three children in the next five years and thought they were close to being empty-nesters when they discovered a new addition to the family would arrive not long after their 20th wedding anniversary.
Growing up, I always felt fortunate to have my mom. She was the one who introduced me to the joys of getting lost in a good book. She taught me how to cook and bake, garden and keep house, sew and crochet.

This is Aunt Robbie (my dad's sister). She and I would have shared a birthday if I'd arrived just a few hours earlier. We do share a middle name, a love of sweets, and an affinity for shopping. Aunt Robbie has always been full of fun (as witnessed here by the hat she donned for a tea party luncheon), style, grace and encouragement. Whenever I needed someone to tell me everything would work out just fine, Aunt Robbie's door was the one I knocked on. We spent many an hour at her kitchen table talking about everything and nothing.

My mother-in-law and I have been friends since the early days of my marriage to Captain Cavedweller. Maybe it's because she's the same age as my oldest brother. Maybe it's because we just enjoy each other's company, but we've had so much fun together over the years. She's always got a listening ear and the warmest hugs.

To all the mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, daughters and women who open their hearts to one another - thank you and have a marvelous day today.

Just for fun... one randomly drawn winner will receive a digital copy of the Women of Tenacity boxed set, which includes a short story and three full-length contemporary romances set in the fictional town of Tenacity Oregon.

To enter, answer this question:
Who was the most influential person in your life as you were growing up?

A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna Hatfield is a bestselling author of sweet romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor. In addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, she is completely smitten with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

  Find Shanna’s books at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple

Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | You Tube | Twitter

 

 

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