Congratulations to  . . .

Deb

Veronica

Lisa

My email is VictoriaBylin@aol.com.  When I get your mailing addresses, I”ll send the books.  I hope you each enjoy the story!

To order from Amazon, click here:  Kansas Courtship.

The pub date for my next Love Inspired Historical, Kansas Courtship,  is Tuesday, March 16th. That’s just around the corner.  This is a milestone book for me.  When I sold to Harlequin in February 2002, I never dreamed I’d someday have 10 books to my name.  Well, Kansas Courtship is No. 10! It’s also the book I most enjoyed writing.

Here’s why . . .

Kansas Courtship is book No. 3 in a three-book continuity series called “After the Storm: The Founding Years.”  That means I received the characters and  basic plot from the editors at Steeple Hill.  Two other LIH authors, Valerie Hansen and Renee Ryan, wrote the first two books, High Plains Bride and Heartland Wedding. (You’ve  met Renee here at Wildflower Junction.)  All three books are set in 1860 in a Kansas town that’s been devastated by a tornado.  As authors, we had to coordinate certain elements, which meant being in constant contact via email. 

I can’t say enough about these two women.  I loved working with both of them. Early on, I ran into a plot problem with the timeline for my heroine’s arrival in High Plains. Renee came up with the perfect solution. Not only did she solve the problem, she made the whole book more believable. Val had done a continuity before, and she knew how to keep us all on track.  I loved checking email and finding notes from these two wonderful writers.

The other thing I loved about doing this book was the research. My hero, Zeb Garrison, is one of the town founders and he owns a mill.  I knew zilch about mills when I started this story, buy my husband came to my rescue.  We were living in northern Virginia when I wrote this story, and he knew about Colvin Mill.  Colvin Mill is a fully restored 19th century mill that turned out to be a 30 minute drive from our house.  We had a great day watching the mill in full operation.

So far I’ve gotten several comments on the realism of the mill scenes.  I owe that accuracy to my husband and the docents at Colvin Mill.  We were there for a good two hours, watching and especially listening.  You can look at pictures online and in books, but you can’t usually hear what something sounds like.  I’ll never forget the music of the mill, and I used it in the book.  

Readers also seem  to be noticing the medical research.  My heroine, Dr. Nora Mitchell, is one of the first female physicians in America.  I wrote about a lady doctor for Harlequin Historicals, but that book was set in 1899, not 1860. Fashion changed in those 40 years, and so did medicine. I had to start from square one when it came to Dr. Nora’s training. 

I also had to educate myself on a particular kind of injury.  I was fortunate to be working for a modern day lady doctor at the time, and she set me straight on a few things. No spoilers (though I’m itching to say what happens!) but she saved from embarrassing inaccuracies. It’s not smart to kill off a main character by accident!  

Since I’m celebrating, I want to give away three more copies of Kansas Courtship.  We’ll do it like we did it last month.  Anyone who comments will be eligible for the drawing.  Good luck!

To order now or right after the drawing, here’s the link to Amazon:  Kansas Courtship.

The Winner of a signed copy of

Black Hills Blessing

is

TABITHA

If you don’t hear from me soon, Tabitha, email me at mary at maryconnealy . com

I wouldn’t rip you off of your honorably won book. But I might be an air head and forget…so don’t be afraid to get tough with me.

And thank you EVERYONE who stops by Petticoats & Pistols.

There’ll be more chances to win this book in the flurry of promo days ahead so check for up to date info at my blog .

AND, I’m going to be in OHIO on a book signing tour in March, if you’re from Ohio, well, I’m going to be a lonely wandering author. I’d love to find some Petticoats & Pistols friends.

Congratulations to . . .

Virginia C

Melinda

Karyn Gerrard

Way to go, ladies!  My email address is VictoriaBylin@aol.com. Where would you like me to send the books? 

Many thanks to everyone who commented.  We’ll do this again closer to the pub date!

To pre-order from Amazon, click here: Kansas Courtship.

Hello, Darlings! 

What could be more fun than Christmas mistletoe? A big Filly thank-you goes to Janet Tronstad for blogging with us about a subject near and dear to our hearts!

The winner of a copy of

Mistletoe Courtship

is

Connie Lorenz

Congratulations, Connie!  If you email Miss Janet through her website,

www.JanetTronstad.com

She’ll pop that book in the mail for you.

A Big THANK YOU to EVERYONE for stopping by Petticoats & Pistols and sharing your delightful stories!

Shout hallelujah and pass the ammunition!

Christmas is a-coming and the Fillies have cooked up a doozy of a contest to help you little darlins celebrate. Having this Cowboy Under the Christmas Tree will fill your noggins with all sorts of hot bothersome thoughts instead of those sugarplums. Ah durn sure guarantee! Ah’d like to hogtie the handsome rascal and take him home. Wouldn’t stash him under the Christmas tree though if you know what I mean. *wink*

From November 1 to December 6 all you have to do to enter is click on the contest link on the left side of your screen and fill in the blanks.

BONANZA OF PRIZES: One lucky winner will get some of the Fillies Western Romance Christmas novels, handmade earrings by our own Cheryl St. John, Holiday Napkins, Christmas Ornaments, glitzy baubles, and a whole slew of prizes too numerous to list.

So don’t let Santa catch you napping. Shake your bustles and get on over there. Time’s a wastin’!

 It’s getting that time of year again when we fill our stockings, sit by the fire and sing yuletide songs!   Who wouldn’t want this cowboy under  the holiday tree? And he’ll be delivering grand prizes from all the authors at Wildflower Junction! 

Your holiday gift includes signed Christmas books, handmade earrings from our own Cheryl St. John, Holiday napkins, Christmas ornaments, glitzy baubles and much more!  

 Look for this COWBOY come early November for your chance to enter!! 

Happy Trails Until Then!

The winner of Lena Nelson Dooley’s book

WILD WEST CHRISTMAS

IS

Vickie Couturier

The winner of Lena’s book

CHRISTMAS LOVE AT LAKE TAHOE

Is

DIEDRA

Email me: mary {at} maryconnealy .com and I’ll get your contact info and send it on to Lena

And thanks everyone for stopping by Petticoats & Pistols

Congratulations to Laney4!!!

You’ve won a title from my backlist.  Your choices are Midnight Marriage or Stay for Christmas.  Or if you’d prefer, I’d be glad to send a Love Inspired Historical. 

 If you’ll email me at victoriabylin@aol.com, I’ll get the book in the mail. Enjoy!  

At the end of this blog you’ll find a chance to win the coolest contest EVER and everyone who leaves a comment will get their name in the drawing to win a copy of Tammy Barley’s new release, Love’s Rescue.

Now, here’s Tammy Barley:

Greetings all, and a special howdy to everyone I haven’t had the pleasure to meet yet!

Whew! I just finished throwing a huge Travel Back to 19th Century America book launch for my new release, the award-winning book one of the Sierra Chronicles Series, Love’s Rescue. My church sponsored the event west of Chicago, members brought 19th century Western/cowboy, farm, and Civil War memorabilia to entertain visitors (good turnout), I signed books in period costume plus I’d crafted displays to allow folks to try their hand at Indian basket weaving, braiding strips of leather, touching several kinds of pelts to guess the animals (whoda thunk buffaloes are THAT hairy?), and trying to guess the origin of several cowboy words, among other activities.

So I’d like to give you a chance to do the same—see if you can figure out the origin of cowboy words, that is. Normally guest bloggers give away one book, but I’m giving away THREE since I have more than one thing for you to guess. I’ll tell you more about that in a sec. First, here’s a little more about Love’s Rescue:

A Dividing Conflict

In 1863, the War Between the States is dividing more than a nation. To escape the conflict, Jessica Hale and her family flee their Kentucky home and head for Nevada Territory. Her brother, Ambrose, committed to the Confederates, rejoins the Kentucky militia and is disowned by his father. But the worst is yet to come.

A Heroic Kidnapper

When Unionists presume the family to be Confederate sympathizers, they set a devastating fire to their home. All alone and then “kidnapped” by cattleman Jake Bennett, Jessica is taken to a ranch deep in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. Can she overcome her resentment toward Jake for failing to save her family?

The Depths of Love

When Jake launches a plan to help Jessica’s brother escape from prison camp, she sees him for the honest, good-hearted Christian man that he is and now knows the depth of his love for her. Through the lingering smoke and smoldering ashes from her ruined home and murdered family, will Jessica see a future with Jake?

Me again. Yep, Jess Hale is headstrong, feisty, and Jake is calm and solid as the earth itself. (He also looks like Hugh Jackman’s character in Australia which doesn’t hurt a bit)

As I was saying a moment ago, I’m giving away three books—one for our little contest number one, one for our contest number two (winners drawn randomly from correct answers), and one for having the gumption to take a stab at one and two (drawn randomly). So here we go!

Mini Contest One:

Here’s a scene from Love’s Rescue. See if you can figure out what Jess did to get even with the cowboys. The scene setup: The night before this scene, Jess was attacked by a pack of wolves, bit deep enough that Jake had to stitch her leg, and after he tied off the thread, her nerves were so shot that she threw up outside while the cattlemen looked on. They spent the day teasing her mercilessly about “spewin’ in the sage” while she scrubbed their laundry and seethed.

            The next morning brought with it a fresh breeze, and Jess hummed merrily as she hung the last of the clean, damp clothing and called cheery greetings to each one of the cattlemen as they passed by. Sheepish about their ruthless teasing the day before, they returned her greetings with extreme politeness, calling her ma’am or offering to lend a hand should she have need of it. These offers she responded to with an outpouring of gratitude and assurances that yes, she certainly would prevail upon their kindness, should she have a need.

The men went away, glancing at each other in unease.

When evening came and Jess was just as charming as she had been all day, they began to relax, apparently glad that she had forgiven them. She overheard one remind the others that they best not tease her again to the extent they did the day before. After all, everyone’s good humor does have its limits.

While they ate dinner in the cookhouse, Jess stayed out behind the bunkhouse, humming again as she took down the wind-dried shirts, union suits, and pants. The sun was setting when she returned the neatly folded clothes to the men with a smile as pure as golden honey.

Here’s the question: What do you suppose Jess did to get even?

Mini Contest Two:

Can you guess the origin of these cowboy words?

chuck (food)

buckaroo

calaboose

stampede

maverick

 Good luck! I’ll see you in the Sierras!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Simply read Love’s Rescue, answer ten questions about the story at http://www.tammybarley.com/Bookshelf.html, and you are entered to win a one-week vacation for two to a western guest ranch resort in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado! (One entry per reader.) The winner will be drawn on Valentine’s Day 2010, randomly from entrants who have answered all ten questions correctly. For more information and to enter, visit http://www.tammybarley.com/Bookshelf.html.