Waiting on Wednesday

Another book challenge I signed up for! 🙂 Which falls perfectly on the day I usually head out to the bookstore to see what new goodies they had arrive on the truck on Tuesday. I usually wait until Wednesday to head over so I can give them enough time to put everything on the shelves so that I’m not constantly harassing them. ROFL

So for my first Waiting on Wednesday book choice, I have to say I’m very very eager to get my hands on this book.

The Eyes of the Republic are Everywhere.

When her estranged husband’s mysterious death is declared an accident, Lilia Desjardins knows that it is a lie. She leaves all she knows to risk the dark heart of the Republic — only to find that she herself has been targeted by forces unknown.

Adam Montgomery will do anything to complete his earthly mission, even if he has to tangle with the enigmatic Lilia Desjardins. But when his contact is murdered and he must rely on Lilia’s silence to save him from the slave dens, Adam knows that his wings were only the first sacrifice required of him.

As danger and intrigue surround them, Lilia and Adam realize that they must work together — body, mind, and soul — in order to save the world.

So what about you? What upcoming book is a MUST BUY for you?

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For the Love of Cowboys :)

A sheriff with a stone-cold reputation. An innocent madam hell-bent on disturbing his peace. Who will be the first to give in?

Rebecca Hamilton passed through life as bland as biscuits—until the day she buried her father and fled out West with a fortune in stolen jewelry. She arrives in Gardiner, Texas to find her aunt has bequeathed to her the only whorehouse in town.

With no other prospects except a proposal from a tall, dark stranger wearing a badge, Rebecca decides to embrace her vibrant aunt’s legacy and never again live under the thumb of an overbearing man.

After years of cultivating a reputation as a ruthless lawman, Adam Caldwell can’t believe he’s offered to marry the quiet, rather plain new madam. Even more perplexing is the fact she turns him down, choosing instead to become a sass-talkin’, sashay-walkin’ vision in feathers and lace.

With an innocent madam wanting him to teach her to be as wicked as she looks and rowdy townsfolk split over the scandal, the sheriff figures his cup of troubles is about full. But a man from Rebecca’s past catches up with her, and Adam has to decide just how much he’s willing to sacrifice for the woman who refuses to give up on becoming Miss Becky.

Writing Taming Eliza Jane and Becoming Miss Becky was like a homecoming for me. Historical westerns were my first love, and my very first manuscript was a western. It was epic, really. A great deal of horseback riding, rather chaste kisses (I was young), and more horseback riding. Gunfights and stampedes and more kisses. It had no plot, but the hero was a handsome cowboy and he rode a fiery stallion.

Fortunately the handsome cowboy, his impossibly beautiful true love, his newly-discovered twin sister, the misunderstood, codgy old mountain man, and the black hat-wearing, mustache-twirling villain went and lived under my bed while I learned about craft and structure and plotting. Oh, and a little something about fictional stereotypes, as well. I moved on and have since written contemporaries, action adventure romance, a futuristic, and a couple of paranormal romances. But the love of historical westerns never left me and I returned to them with Taming Eliza Jane and Becoming Miss Becky.

But why the cowboy? What about him appeals to me?  They’re larger than life, I think. The Sacketts. Conagher. Marshal Dillon.  Hey, here’s a digression:  Was Little Joe Cartwright or Charles Ingalls sexier?

Anyway, I’ve been married a long time. When my hero says he’d do anything for me, he’s really talking about changing my tire or grabbing fast food for the kids if I’m sick. But when a cowboy said he’d do anything for his woman, he’d scour the country on horseback, fight Indians, face down a stampede, charge through a hail of bullets—whatever he had to do to sweep her up onto his horse and ride off into the sunset.

And there’s nothing better than watching movies to capture a mood before writing, so I’ve had a great excuse for watching a lot of my favorite westerns in the past year. Lonesome Dove, Unforgiven, Broken Trail, Crossfire Trail, Young Guns, Open Range, McLintock and Deadwood, to name a few. (I’m still so angry with HBO for not finishing Deadwood.)

What do you love about cowboys?  Do you have a favorite western book or movie? And are you as hopeful as I am that historical western romances are really making a comeback?

****Leave a comment for the chance to win a book off Shannon’s backlist! Good Luck! (Pssst…if you need recommendations about Shan’s books…let me know! *G*)

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