Natalie’s name was picked from my random drawing to receive a book from my backlist and Harlequin Coupons! Congratulations and thanks for posting everyone! It was fun!

Please email me with your address and title you’d like at charlenesands@hotmail.com

 Available titles….

Silhouette Desires about Cowboys –

Bunking Down with the Boss

Fortune’s Vengeful Groom

Like Lightning

Harlequin Historicals –

Lily Gets Her Man

The Courting of Widow Shaw

Chase Wheeler’s Woman

Renegade Wife

LOOK FOR THE PETTICOATS AND PISTOLS BIG FALL BONANZA CONTEST COMING ON SUNDAY’S BLOG!  LOTS OF GREAT PRIZES!

TOMORROW-

GUEST BLOGGER KIM LOUISE!

Yes, I’m talking about country music! Who’d have thunk that this New York born, Motown-loving, transplanted Californian would be moved by the rockabilly twang, the slow easy ballads, the humor, the honesty that is now the country music phenomenon.

The truth is my venture into writing began about the same time I found country music on the radio. Tired of the oldies, unable to relate to the new hip-hop sounds blasting the stations nationwide and feeling a little lost — musically and professionally, I knew I needed more of something in my life. I recall hearing Faith Hill on a pop music station. But it wasn’t just Faith who intrigued me, but the man singing the duet with her, her new husband, Tim McGraw.  I knew little of both of them, but thought to investigate this “country music” thing.  

I bought a Tim McGraw CD, watched him perform on Jay Leno one night, and as they say, I was a goner. Being a western romance writer,  I fell in love with country music from that day on.  Tim’s tight jeans, black hat and amazing smile, helped just a little.      (Met him once and never miss his concerts) 

Seriously, the music called to me, beckoning with tunes of lost loves, of heroes found, of sweet smiles and first crushes.  The songs tell a complete story in three minutes, painting vivid pictures with impressions that stick in your head, long after the tunes are gone.   

I found the music inspiring, the lyrics fresh and honest, the images real. Sometimes humorous and fun, sometimes  heart-breakingly sad, sometimes soulful and  deep.  Those heart-tugging emotions evoked a longing for something else in my life.   They inspired me. They moved me. They made me feel. 

I can’t say that music solely played a role to help me find my lifelong passion of writing, but those short musical bursts of true life told beautifuly through rhythm and lyrics, with fiddles and drums and guitars and keyboards surely inspired me at a time when I truly needed inspiration.

The same holds true today.  Often I’m asked the timeless question writers are asked- where do I get my ideas?  My silent answer : From Tim and Faith and Toby and Kenny. From Martina and Brad and Shania.  From  Rascal Flatts and Brooks and Dunn, to name a few of my favorites.

LYRICS THAT PAINT IMAGES:

 Should Have Been A Cowboy…Toby Keith

I bet you’ve never heard ol’ Marshall Dillion say, Miss Kitty have you ever thought of running away
Settling down would you marry me?
If I asked you twice and begged you pretty please.  She’d have said yes in a New York minute
They never tied the knot
His heart wasn’t in it
He just stole a kiss as he rode away
He never hung his hat up at Kitty’s place

I should’ve been a cowboy
I should’ve learned to rope and ride
Wearing my six-shooter riding my pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girl’s hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
Oh I should’ve been a cowboy

I might of had a sidekick with a funny name
Running wild through the hills chasing Jesse James
Ending up on the brink of danger
Riding shotgun for the Texas Rangers
Go west young man, haven’t you been told
California’s full of whiskey, women and gold
Sleeping out all night beneath the desert stars
With a dream in my eye and a prayer…
In my heart

LYRICS THAT INSPIRE

Anyway … Martina McBride

You can spend your whole life buildin’
Somethin’ from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
When I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world’s gone crazy and it’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway

LYRICS THAT REACH INTO YOUR SOUL:

Live Like You Were Dying …Tim McGraw (10 weeks at #1)

He said I was in my early forties, with a lot of life before me
And one moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days, looking at the x-rays
Talking bout’ the options and talking bout’ sweet times.
I asked him when it sank in, that this might really be the real end
How’s it hit ‘cha when you get that kind of news?
Man what did ya do?
He said

I went skydiving
I went rocky mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denyin’
And he said some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin’

He said I was finally the husband, that most the time I wasn’t
And I became a friend, a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden goin’ fishin, wasn’t such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad
Well I finally read the good book, and I took a good long hard look
At what I’d do if I could do it all again
And then

I went skydiving
I went rocky mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Shu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denyin’
And he said some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin’

My Top 10 Favorite Country Artists

Tim McGraw

Faith Hill

Martina McBride

Carrie Underwood

Reba

Brooks and Dunn

Josh Turner

Toby Keith

George Strait

So Much More

I could go on and on about country  songs that inspire me.  The ones that make me laugh out  loud. (Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off)  The ones that are almost too heartbreaking to listen to (Concrete Angel). The ones that pull at your parental heartstrings(There Goes My Life) and the ones that speak about love and romance. (I Need You)   

The stories they tell and  rich emotions they evoke all help me develop my characters, create my plots and put those words on the page.

There are too many songs to name and too many artists I enjoy to post here.  But I’d love to know if you’re a fan of country music?  Are there songs that help inspire you whatever your profession?  Who are your favorites? 

Post a comment and be entered into a drawing for Harlequin Coupons and a book from my backlist of available titles!

Happy Trails !

UP TOMORROW – GUEST BLOGGER KIM LOUISE !

The winner of my drawing for a copy of THE STRANGER is PATY.

Congratulations, paty.  Please send me your snail mail before Saturday morning.  If I don’t hear from you, I’ll draw a second name.  My email is elizlane123@msn.com.

Thanks all of you for your comments.  It’s been a fun day.

Coming on Friday from Charlene Sands! 

Need I say more? 

See you tomorrow!

          Some people ask me if we authors get to design our book covers.  The answer is no.  We don’t see them until they’re print ready—not at Harlequin, at least, or any other publisher that I’m aware of.  I’m sure there’s a good reason behind this.  If we were given input into our covers along the way, the poor production folks would never hear the end of us.           

Most publishers, including Harlequin, do let their authors fill out a form describing the setting, the hero, heroine and any other important characters, and some key scenes that might work as cover art.  Along with the form we can submit sample photos—catalog models or actors that resemble our hero and heroine, pictures of the setting, key objects, etc.  From there it’s all up to the editors and art directors.           

Cover art has changed a lot over the years.  The early Harlequin Historical covers were paintings.  They were exquisite.  Some of us were lucky enough to have covers painted by the legendary cover artist, Pino (Cheryl, is your RAIN SHADOW cover a Pino?  It has the look.)  Today’s covers are more likely to be computer-enhanced photos, but they’re still beautiful.            

Covers in the early days of sensual romance usually showed the hero and heroine in a passionate clinch.  I was told (and it seemed to be true) that you could tell the level of sensuality in a book by two things—the position of the hero’s hands and the depth of the heroine’s cleavage.  Aren’t we glad that era is over?            

Seeing your cover for the first time is always a thrill.  The heart leaps—or sometimes it sinks.   Egad!  My hero looks like Donald Trump!  What were they thinking?   Usually, however, it’s just a Wow! I love the cover for my new book, THE STRANGER.  The house is supposed to be a one-story adobe.  But that scrumptious hero…oh, yeah!   Who’s going to look at the house?

You can see all my covers on my web site.  Most of them are wonderful (I’d love to hear your favorite).  But the winner of my Worst Cover award is no contest.  One of my earliest books, BRIDE OF FORTUNE, was based on real events and real characters.  The heroine was an American woman who married a Prussian prince and became involved in the Mexican war to depose the Austrian Emperor Maximilian.  I sent clearly labeled photos of the heroine, her handsome, clean-shaven prince, and the bearded emperor.  Somebody mixed them up.  The cover shows the heroine in the arms of the emperor.  To add insult to injury the art on the back cover is an exact copy of a scene from the movie, “Anastasia” with Ingrid Bergman and Helen Hayes, clearly recognizable.   (No, the publisher wasn’t Harlequin.)

And my favorite cover?  It’s WILD WINGS, WILD HEART, my only Silhouette Special Edition.  The beautiful heroine is my daughter, Tanya, who died in a car accident in 1985.  I sent them her picture and they used it as a model.  My throat still gets tight when I look at it.

Do you have a favorite book cover?  Any questions or fun cover stories to share?  We’d love to hear them.  And the winner I draw from those of you who post comments will receive a copy of THE STRANGER or your choice of my other recent books.

Today, to celebrate the release of Just Wicked Enough, which hit the stores yesterday, I’m going to hold a drawing among all those who post comments today by midnight Texas time. The prize is a Just Wicked Enough mug and an autographed copy of Just Wicked Enough.

Hence the title of today’s post—it’s a quick draw(ing). I’ll bet you thought I was going to discuss how cowboys handled their guns. Nope. Not today.

Today, I’m going to share with you a little known fact about my Texas-set historicals. All contain some version of (or a different spelling of) my mother’s name. Her name was Lily Elizabeth; friends and family called her Lee. She passed away unexpectedly in August of 2004, so I’ve been thinking about her a lot more lately as August draws to a close, remembering all the times she made me smile, how supportive she was of my dream to be a writer. I’m not sure she ever noticed that I paid tribute to her in my books. I’m wondering if anyone else noticed how often similar names showed up. Some of the characters were very obscure, some had leading roles. So here is the list of westerns, inside of which is a tribute to my mom.

Sweet Lullaby: Lee Hastings, ranch hand
Parting Gifts: Lilly, stagecoach passenger
Ladies’ Man: Hercules (Lee) Daltry, hero
Always to Remember: Dedicated to Lily Elizabeth and Curtis Rayburn
Texas Destiny: Houston Leigh (pronounced Lee)
Texas Glory: Dallas Leigh
Texas Splendor: Austin Leigh
A Rogue in Texas: Elizabeth Fairfield, heroine’s sister
Never Love a Cowboy: Elizabeth Fairfield
Never Marry a Cowboy: Elizabeth Fairfield
The Outlaw and the Lady: Lee Raven, hero
To Tame a Texan Anthology: Lillian Madison, heroine
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys: Lonestar Lily (character in heroine’s stories)

Before we leave for the evening, I wanted to thank you all for joining me here today in our discussion of pow-wows. A special thanks goes to Buffie, AndreaW., Mary Connelly, Debbie, Tanya Hanson, and Lew Gordon for joining me, and of course a special thanks goes out to my fellow Western authors, Linda Broday, Lorraine, Charlene, Pam Crooks, Elizabeth Lane and Pat Potter, who have made the day special. I’ve enjoyed chatting with you all.

Be sure to join us tomorrow for more fun. more stories, and more chatting.

Ah-ho!

Good Morning!

In July, my huband and I spent three weeks on the Blackfeet reservation. We were there with church volunteers and my friend, Patricia, where we were sponsoring some literacy and drug education programs. Plus, last week we were on the Crow reservation where we were again working with volunteers. Therefore, I thought you might like to hear something about the pow-wow, both the historical pow-wow and modern-day event.

The pow-wow — so much a part of the Western landscape and culture — attracts visitors from all over the world.

What are they all about?

Okay, let’s start first with the history of the modern pow-wow. Probably the early beginnings of the modern pow-wow has its roots in the summer/autumn gathering of the tribe. During the winter and spring months, the tribe would separate in their different bands to go their own way, to hunt and to prepare for the coming winter. Spring was of course devoted to gathering food and hunting. But in the late summer or early autumn the entire tribe would come together for ceremonials and religious renewal, as well as for cultural activities. It was a chance for young people to get to know other young people from other bands of the tribe, as well as for relatives and old friends to come together again. Often the Sundance was an part of the gathering, as well.

Today, at the modern pow-wow, you’ll see Indian and non-Indian people from all over the country enjoying the community and inspiring atmosphere of the pow-wow. Before we go any furhter, let me explain some terminology: there are some tribes (like the Navajo), who like to be referred to as Native Americans. But on the Northern Plains of North American, those tribes like the Blackfeet and Lakota, these people prefer to be called Indian. As one person put it to me, “I’m Indian and proud of it.”

Here in Los Angeles we have such a diverse and large American Indian population that if you were to ever attend one of our pow-wows, you’ll notice traditions being observed from all over the country. For instance, here in Los Angeles we have Aztec dancers, something one doesn’t see in the more northern pow-wows.

In the northern pow-wow, you’ll see the men’s Chicken Dance, something you won’t see normally in the Los Angeles Pow-wow.

There is much dancing and gift giving at the modern pow-wow. All ages participate and there is contesting within the different men’s and women’s forms of dancing. There are several different styles of men’s dances as well as women’s dances, as well. At many of the pow-wows in the west, you’ll also see the modern rodeo in action with some different aspects like the Indian relay race and the tepee raising contests.

There are food ventors — Indian fry bread is popular at all pow-wow’s that I’ve attended — and Native American jewelry of all kinds abounds. At the Blackfeet pow-wow there is the hand game and card games that continue well into the wee hours of the morning and at the Crow Fair pow-wow, one is treated to the sight of 500 or more tepees all set in the background of the beautiful Little Big Horn area.

Have you ever been to a pow-wow? If so, what are your observations? Are you thinking of attending a pow-wow? And if so, do you have questions you’d like to ask before attending? I will be checking into the blog all day long, so let’s start a discussion. I’d love to hear from you.

Here are three of us at an LA pow-wow, resting between dances. Patricia, on the left is a Traditional dancer, while Elaine and I are Fancy Dance dancers. As a note, each particular style of dance has its own regalia.

And for your info, all people are welcomed at the pow-wow, and many a romance has been sparked at pow-wow, both the historical, as well as the modern day pow-wow.

So come on in and leave a comment or two. See you later!

A very good afternoon to all you bloggers! I will be your hostess tomorrow on Petticoats & Pistols and, since my husband and I have only returned from the Crow reservation, I thought that you might like to hear a little bit about Pow-wow’s in general — how they started, what they are, what happens at them, who can attend, where they are, who you might see there, what do you eat, etc.

Here is a picture taken of my husband and myself the Blackfeet Indian Days pow-wow in July of this year. In the picture, I’m wearing the Women’s Fancy Dance regalia. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow, so come and join me for a discussion of this, or any other topic of your choice, as well as a Q & A of pow-wow’s.

Cover art for RED HAWK’S WOMAN

Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us at Petticoats & Pistols. We’re so glad to have you!

This is my first blog to the site. It feels appropriate to me because this Monday morning is a new beginning in a lot of ways. It’s my first work week in my brand new empty nest (yes, I was a child bride,) the first week to work on a new project (Mark’s story for those of you who read my romantic suspense novels,) and it’s kick-off week of one of my life’s passions–college football!!!!!

I had intended to blog about how I renamed the villain in my upcoming western historical (The Loner, May 2008) after a neighbor because he talked our city into cutting down a majestic fifty-year-old cottonwood tree. (Its cotton clogged up his pool pump. The horror!)

I even started that particular blog, but thinking about how much I miss that tree depresses me so I’ve turned my attention to the return of Game Day. Game Day makes me happy!

For those of you who don’t know me, I am an Aggie, a graduate of Texas A&M University. My husband is an Aggie. All three of my children are Aggies. My father-in-law, two brothers, four nephews, and three nieces are Aggies. (Because every family must have a black sheep, my sister is a tea-sip which means she went to that other school over in Austin.) My favorite shoes are my Aggie flip-flops, my ringtone is the Aggie War Hymn, and on my back patio we fly the American flag, the Texas flag, and the Aggie flag. I truly do bleed maroon.

Obnoxious, I know, but there you go.

Each year, the beginning of fooball seaon fills me with optimism that seems to carry over into other parts of my life. At the beginning of the season, everying seems possible. We will win the close ones this year. I will lose ten pounds by Thanksgiving. We will beat Texas Tech in Lubbock and OU in Norman. I will hit the USA Today bestseller list higher than ever before with my October release, NEVER SAY NEVER. And when those cursed ‘Horns come to Kyle Field in November? They’ll be taco meat, and I will be putting the finishing touches on a manuscript that will be the best book I’ve ever written.

And when my December 1st deadline rolls around, my manuscript will be winging its way to New York where it will be greated with cheers and enthusiastic approval, and I will be in the stands at the Alamodome watching my Aggies win the Big 12 Championship.

Okay, maybe I’ve been inhaling too much smoke at the tailgate barbeque.

However, the first Game Day of the season is almost here and I’m excited about life! Come Saturday night I’ll be in College Station with my family and friends watching the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band march into the stadium and listening to my daughter tell me about her first week of classes.

It’s gonna be a great year.

So, anybody else out there like college football? Have any predictions about the season? Wanna talk some football smack? <g>