We had some great comments here Wednesday and Thursday. Thank you to all the Readers and thanks especially to Celia for coming by and responding to everyone. I did a random drawing of all the names and the Winner of a pdf copy of All my Hopes and Dreams is...Sandy! Congratulations!! To receive your book please send an email to Celia at cayeary@hotmail.com. She will send that book out to you directly. Thanks again to everyone who came by.
If you'd like a FREE READ from Celia , stop by to download a story at The Wild Rose Press. Seriously, her story, The Wedding Auction, has a great ending. I literally laughed out loud.
I also have have two romantic suspense FREE READS at The Wild Rose Press. I hope everyone has a terrific weekend.
Guest Blogger ~ Celia Yeary
I'm so happy Celia Yeary agreed to guest on my blog today. I've just recently started reading (and writing) and historical western and Celia's book is one that will not disappoint. Please welcome Celia today and leave her a comment. She will be giving away a free copy of All my Hopes and Dreams to one person today.
CELIA'S BIOGRAPHY:
As a fifth generation Texan, I love to read and research all aspects of the state. Even though my degrees are in science and education, I find the history, the people, and our ancestors much more interesting topics, which provide endless characters and situations to create love stories.
Although my husband and I travel, no place on earth is more precious to my heart than our home in the Texas Hill Country, surrounded by acres of live oaks and whitetail deer. Romance novels are not my only form of reading material, but they are my favorite, and I wouldn’t leave home without several tucked away in my luggage. Being a member of Romance Writers of America has provided information, encouragement, and guidelines to help me on my exciting journey. What fun it is!
Many authors I know state that they’ve “always wanted to be a writer” and had “written stories from a very early age.” All I can say to that is I am way behind. I’ll never catch up, because I began playing around with writing only a few years ago. I don’t know how young mothers accomplish so much and manage to write and publish novels, too. They amaze me.
My career was teaching—some might call it a vocation instead of a profession, but truthfully, I never cared. I loved to teach, and I chose the older group—high school. Now, you might say exactly the same thing many others have said—“Are you crazy?” Their meaning, of course, is that teenagers are very difficult to deal with. My answer is this: you don’t have to line them up to go to the bathroom, you don’t have to eat with them, and they don’t burst into tears if their feelings are hurt. (Usually, the teacher does that.)
The word “teacher” might as well be tattooed across my forehead. I am a born teacher—not a born author. My life would be much easier at the present if I had been born knowing how to write a story, complete with correct Point of View and free of passive sentences. But alas, I knew not of such things. The first twelve manuscripts I wrote—yes, twelve—were so messy that if I’d had any knowledge of writing, I would have thrown them in the garbage. But I didn’t. I loved them as though they were my babies.
Since I am a teacher at heart, that means I also a learner—and a self-learner, at that. And so, I went about the business of discovering how to write better. When my confidence level was up, I entered contests and began to submit. After a relatively short period, I landed a contract, then two, then three, and well, you get the picture. It seems when a writer makes that first crack in the ceiling, the process becomes somewhat easier.
My first release with The Wild Rose Press is a Western Historical titled All My Hopes and Dreams starring Ricardo Romero, a handsome Spaniard who ranches on the far western edge of the Texas frontier, and Cynthia Harrington, somewhat spoiled young lady from East Texas . Here is a blurb about the novel:
To escape an arranged marriage, beautiful, proper Cynthia Harrington from East Texas impulsively marries Ricardo Romero, a striking, sensual Spaniard who ranches on the far western edge of the Texas frontier. Innocently, she steps into a hotbed of anger, rivalry, and strong wills. As she struggles to gain a foothold in the hostile household and foreign ranch community, she finds that her biggest challenge is to make her husband love her. Ricardo creates his own problems by marrying an outsider, angering his mother, father, and his jealous ex-lady friend. Then, the Texas Rangers arrive looking for a killer, and Cynthia saves Ricardo’s mother in a confrontation with the wanted man. Ricardo realizes that his delicate bride has more grit and spunk than he thought, and his greatest trial becomes a race to pursue his own wife and persuade her to stay with him.
The following is an excerpt from the early part of the story.
While he waited in the parlor, Ricardo thought through his plan once more. Was this the right thing to do? His schedule was to leave for home in three days. Would that be enough time? He paced back and forth in front of the large front window, hoping Mr. Harrington would not come home. All he needed to do was convince Cynthia to marry him, and he believed he could.
He heard her approach and spun on his heels. There she was, pale but beautiful, sad but strong.
“Cynthia?”
“What are you doing here?” She cocked her head to one side. She looked like she’d been crying sometime during the previous hours.
“Will you sit here beside me?” He swept his arm toward the love seat.
She sat and he joined her. “Cynthia, I have news. And I have a proposition. Will you hear me out?”
Turning slightly toward him, she leaned forward in curiosity. “What do you want, Ricardo?”
“I want to ask you to marry me. Three days from now, if you will.”
She gasped and pulled back. “What?”
“I ask for your hand in marriage.” He studied her light blue eyes, so wide with surprise.
She had not turned from him yet. “The marriage proposal you received yesterday will be retracted soon, before the afternoon is over, I’m certain. So, I ask you to marry me instead, but not a month from now—in three days.”
“Why three days?” she asked. “And how do you know Harris will retract his proposal?”
He almost laughed. She asked why so soon, not why on earth he would ask in the first place.
“Believe me; Harris Newton does not want to marry you.”
“Why?”
“He will retract his proposal because you were out on the road with me all night.”
“Well, then, why should I marry you in three days?”
This was a good sign, a good sign, indeed. “Because I’m going home, and I want you to go with me—as my bride. Will you, Cynthia? Will you marry me?”
She was speechless, but she did not reject him out of hand. After some moments of heavy silence, she asked. “Where exactly do you live?”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “West of San Antonio, on a very large ranch.”
“Why were you here in Nacogdoches? I’ve often wondered.”
“To buy blooded mares to add to our herd.”
“Our. Who else?”
“My father. He and I ranch together on property that has been in his family for generations. He and my mother live there, but it’s a very large house, and an enormous operation. It takes all of us and many vaqueros to keep things going. My father is aging, so I am mostly in charge.”
“A ranch? I know nothing of ranching or the West. I would like to live in a city. But you live…”
“Not far from San Antonio,” he hastened to say. “But it is far enough away that we only go twice a year for a holiday.”
She lowered her head and looked at her hands. “I don’t know. That seems far out of my realm of expertise. I’m not certain I could do that.”
“Answer this, Cynthia. Would you rather live here until your father finds another husband for you, or would you rather make your own decision? I’m giving you a choice.”
At that moment, they heard heavy, hurried footsteps on the porch. Both knew it was the master of the house. Ricardo gathered Cynthia into his arms. He turned her just so, placed his lips on her soft, feminine ones, and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. For good measure, he moved his hand to one breast. Instead of fighting, she responded as though she hadn’t heard her father.
“Cynthia Louise Harrington! What the devil are you up to?”
Ricardo and Cynthia pulled back, but they did not jerk apart. Instead, they gazed into each other’s eyes and parted slowly. Without caring if the man was in the room or not, Ricardo placed his palm on her cheek, and kissed her on the other, ever so sweetly and gently. Before he let her go, he whispered, “Will you marry me?”
She nodded and whispered in return, “Yes, I will marry you.”
To: Rafaelo Romero. Double R Ranch. Rico Springs, Texas From: Ricardo Romero Arriving Home STOP Twenty Mares STOP One Stallion STOP One Bride STOP
Thank you so much for visiting Cindy’s blog and allowing me to share my first release. Celia Yeary www.celiayeary.com ********************************************************************** You may purchase the eBook from www.thewildrosepress.com or, you may purchase the print February 22, 2009 from www.Amazon.com OR: you may leave a message here on Cindy’s blog, and at the end of the day, she will randomly draw a name to receive a free copy (pdf) from the author—Celia Yeary.
CELIA'S BIOGRAPHY:
As a fifth generation Texan, I love to read and research all aspects of the state. Even though my degrees are in science and education, I find the history, the people, and our ancestors much more interesting topics, which provide endless characters and situations to create love stories.
Although my husband and I travel, no place on earth is more precious to my heart than our home in the Texas Hill Country, surrounded by acres of live oaks and whitetail deer. Romance novels are not my only form of reading material, but they are my favorite, and I wouldn’t leave home without several tucked away in my luggage. Being a member of Romance Writers of America has provided information, encouragement, and guidelines to help me on my exciting journey. What fun it is!
Many authors I know state that they’ve “always wanted to be a writer” and had “written stories from a very early age.” All I can say to that is I am way behind. I’ll never catch up, because I began playing around with writing only a few years ago. I don’t know how young mothers accomplish so much and manage to write and publish novels, too. They amaze me.
My career was teaching—some might call it a vocation instead of a profession, but truthfully, I never cared. I loved to teach, and I chose the older group—high school. Now, you might say exactly the same thing many others have said—“Are you crazy?” Their meaning, of course, is that teenagers are very difficult to deal with. My answer is this: you don’t have to line them up to go to the bathroom, you don’t have to eat with them, and they don’t burst into tears if their feelings are hurt. (Usually, the teacher does that.)
The word “teacher” might as well be tattooed across my forehead. I am a born teacher—not a born author. My life would be much easier at the present if I had been born knowing how to write a story, complete with correct Point of View and free of passive sentences. But alas, I knew not of such things. The first twelve manuscripts I wrote—yes, twelve—were so messy that if I’d had any knowledge of writing, I would have thrown them in the garbage. But I didn’t. I loved them as though they were my babies.
Since I am a teacher at heart, that means I also a learner—and a self-learner, at that. And so, I went about the business of discovering how to write better. When my confidence level was up, I entered contests and began to submit. After a relatively short period, I landed a contract, then two, then three, and well, you get the picture. It seems when a writer makes that first crack in the ceiling, the process becomes somewhat easier.
My first release with The Wild Rose Press is a Western Historical titled All My Hopes and Dreams starring Ricardo Romero, a handsome Spaniard who ranches on the far western edge of the Texas frontier, and Cynthia Harrington, somewhat spoiled young lady from East Texas . Here is a blurb about the novel:
To escape an arranged marriage, beautiful, proper Cynthia Harrington from East Texas impulsively marries Ricardo Romero, a striking, sensual Spaniard who ranches on the far western edge of the Texas frontier. Innocently, she steps into a hotbed of anger, rivalry, and strong wills. As she struggles to gain a foothold in the hostile household and foreign ranch community, she finds that her biggest challenge is to make her husband love her. Ricardo creates his own problems by marrying an outsider, angering his mother, father, and his jealous ex-lady friend. Then, the Texas Rangers arrive looking for a killer, and Cynthia saves Ricardo’s mother in a confrontation with the wanted man. Ricardo realizes that his delicate bride has more grit and spunk than he thought, and his greatest trial becomes a race to pursue his own wife and persuade her to stay with him.The following is an excerpt from the early part of the story.
While he waited in the parlor, Ricardo thought through his plan once more. Was this the right thing to do? His schedule was to leave for home in three days. Would that be enough time? He paced back and forth in front of the large front window, hoping Mr. Harrington would not come home. All he needed to do was convince Cynthia to marry him, and he believed he could.
He heard her approach and spun on his heels. There she was, pale but beautiful, sad but strong.
“Cynthia?”
“What are you doing here?” She cocked her head to one side. She looked like she’d been crying sometime during the previous hours.
“Will you sit here beside me?” He swept his arm toward the love seat.
She sat and he joined her. “Cynthia, I have news. And I have a proposition. Will you hear me out?”
Turning slightly toward him, she leaned forward in curiosity. “What do you want, Ricardo?”
“I want to ask you to marry me. Three days from now, if you will.”
She gasped and pulled back. “What?”
“I ask for your hand in marriage.” He studied her light blue eyes, so wide with surprise.
She had not turned from him yet. “The marriage proposal you received yesterday will be retracted soon, before the afternoon is over, I’m certain. So, I ask you to marry me instead, but not a month from now—in three days.”
“Why three days?” she asked. “And how do you know Harris will retract his proposal?”
He almost laughed. She asked why so soon, not why on earth he would ask in the first place.
“Believe me; Harris Newton does not want to marry you.”
“Why?”
“He will retract his proposal because you were out on the road with me all night.”
“Well, then, why should I marry you in three days?”
This was a good sign, a good sign, indeed. “Because I’m going home, and I want you to go with me—as my bride. Will you, Cynthia? Will you marry me?”
She was speechless, but she did not reject him out of hand. After some moments of heavy silence, she asked. “Where exactly do you live?”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “West of San Antonio, on a very large ranch.”
“Why were you here in Nacogdoches? I’ve often wondered.”
“To buy blooded mares to add to our herd.”
“Our. Who else?”
“My father. He and I ranch together on property that has been in his family for generations. He and my mother live there, but it’s a very large house, and an enormous operation. It takes all of us and many vaqueros to keep things going. My father is aging, so I am mostly in charge.”
“A ranch? I know nothing of ranching or the West. I would like to live in a city. But you live…”
“Not far from San Antonio,” he hastened to say. “But it is far enough away that we only go twice a year for a holiday.”
She lowered her head and looked at her hands. “I don’t know. That seems far out of my realm of expertise. I’m not certain I could do that.”
“Answer this, Cynthia. Would you rather live here until your father finds another husband for you, or would you rather make your own decision? I’m giving you a choice.”
At that moment, they heard heavy, hurried footsteps on the porch. Both knew it was the master of the house. Ricardo gathered Cynthia into his arms. He turned her just so, placed his lips on her soft, feminine ones, and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. For good measure, he moved his hand to one breast. Instead of fighting, she responded as though she hadn’t heard her father.
“Cynthia Louise Harrington! What the devil are you up to?”
Ricardo and Cynthia pulled back, but they did not jerk apart. Instead, they gazed into each other’s eyes and parted slowly. Without caring if the man was in the room or not, Ricardo placed his palm on her cheek, and kissed her on the other, ever so sweetly and gently. Before he let her go, he whispered, “Will you marry me?”
She nodded and whispered in return, “Yes, I will marry you.”
To: Rafaelo Romero. Double R Ranch. Rico Springs, Texas From: Ricardo Romero Arriving Home STOP Twenty Mares STOP One Stallion STOP One Bride STOP
Thank you so much for visiting Cindy’s blog and allowing me to share my first release. Celia Yeary www.celiayeary.com ********************************************************************** You may purchase the eBook from www.thewildrosepress.com or, you may purchase the print February 22, 2009 from www.Amazon.com OR: you may leave a message here on Cindy’s blog, and at the end of the day, she will randomly draw a name to receive a free copy (pdf) from the author—Celia Yeary.
It's Snowing!!
I can hardly believe it! It's snowing here in North Carolina. We are so unprepared for all this snow. This is the 4th winter I've lived here and we haven't really had any snow and today we could have 2-4 inches. The kids are thrilled I can tell you. They have been waiting and waiting for snow to finally fall. I attached a picture of my backyard with all the snow. Happy Tuesday!
CAPA Nomination--Relationship Rescue
I’m excited to share that my short Inspirational, Relationship Rescue, has been nominated for a CAPA Award at The Romance Studio. In fact several fellow The Wild Rose Press authors have also been nominated in the Inspirational category. I’m very honored to be among them.
Have you ever wished for a second chance at happiness?
Cindy K. Green has crafted a bittersweet story of failed love and second chances. Sometimes touching, sometimes funny, this short, sweet read will warm your heart. ~ Kara Lynn Russell, author of the Orchard Hill series of Inspirational romances.
Two blind dates: one was stood up and the other one wishes she was. Have they both been set up in more ways than one?
After Mitchell Regan and Robynn Hartley broke off their engagement, they remained friends and continued attending the same church. They’ve attempted to keep their unhappiness a secret from each other and everyone else but they can’t fool their close friends, Marina and Chad Anthony, who decide enough is enough. It’s time for a Relationship Rescue.
Excerpt:
“You know, Robynn, I think we’ve been set-up.”
“Set-up? Yes, I was set-up. It was a blind date, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why Marina and Chad thought I would have gotten along with Norman Clark.”
“That’s my point. Marina and Chad set me up on a blind date that never showed. You had the date from a sitcom episode.”
Robynn sat up straight. “We were set-up!”
Mitch glanced at the counter again. Robynn turned around to look as well, her face close to his, sending his pulse racing. As he glanced down, she turned her eyes up to him and they locked onto each other. The pull to kiss her here and now was intense. “Robynn, I think they were hoping we might bump into each other tonight and talk just like we have.”
Realization entered her eyes. She began to nod her head as she spoke. “I know Marina was terribly disappointed when we didn’t get married.” She swallowed hard on the last word, her eyes glistening again.
“I think there were several people disappointed about that but maybe we don’t have disappoint them tonight.”
“What do you mean?” A stony expression entered her hooded eyes as she deeply assessed him. She didn’t trust him any further than she could throw him and he couldn’t blame her.
After taking her hand firmly into his, they sat back into the couch. It seemed like an eternity since he’d held her hand so intimately. It gave him the courage to go on. “Come take a walk with me…
Now Available at The Wild Rose Press ($1.50).
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