The Fillies have a heap more prizes to give out, so keep your guesses a-coming’.  It’s as easy as pie to enter.  All you gotta do is take wild-mustang guess and leave a comment. Right or wrong, your name gets dropped in that big ol’ Stetson. Let’s round up two more Fillies and give away five more prizes. Take a look-see at what’s up for grabs.  

 Give Me a Texas Ranger from Phyliss Miranda

Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy

A gift certificate to Wild Rose Press from Tanya Hanson

Lone Cowboy and other goodies from Donna Alward

Title of your choice from Winnie Griggs’ backlist

HERE WE GO….Remember now, all you gotta do is guess the Filly who kicked off her books with these first lines…

 Filly #3

 1. Vultures signaled trouble ahead.

2. Of all the blasted luck!  Josh Travis couldn’t believe his eyes.  Now he had no choice but to cut the dumb thing off.

3. Old man Hank Applegate should have known trouble was brewing the moment the stagecoach thundered into town one week and two days late.

Filly #4

1. “Don’t kill me! Please!”

2. The steel wheels screamed as the train slowed.

3. Angela Bentley breathed a sigh of pure exasperation.

Are y’all ready for Filly First Lines?  Before we get started, here’s what’s up for grabs from that ten gallon hat chock full of prizes…

Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy

A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley

Give Me a Texas Ranger from Linda Broday

Fire Eyes from Cheryl Pierson

Touched By Love and a bracelet from Tracy Garrett.

Winning sonethin’ is easier than falling off a greased log.  You don’t have to guess which book, just the name of the Filly who wrote these high-kickin’ first lines. Leave a comment and your name goes in the hat  for today’s drawin’.  Right or wrong, you’ve got a shot at a prize.

 On Friday the Fillies are gonna count up the guesses on their fingers and pretty little toes. Whoever gets the most right wins a $25 gift card from Barnes & Noble. If there’s a tie, we’ll  break out the hat and have a draw-off. Good luck, y’all!  

Filly #1

1. The Five Horsemen of the Apocalypse rode in, late as usual.

2. Belle Tanner pitched dirt right on Anthony’s handsome, worthless face.

3. Beth McClellen would die before she missed Mandy’s wedding.

Filly #2

1. There were times in life you either had to go big, or go broke.

2. When Mike Gardner came walking up the path in just that way, Grace knew she was in trouble.  

3. “In two hundred meters, turn left.”

Post your guesses, ladies!  The lucky winners will be named in the wee hours of the mornin’, so check back tomorrow .  . . There’s good stuff a-coming from Wildflower Junction!

A huge yeehaw to Pat Cochran, who has won an e-copy of SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! 

Pat, if you can pony express an e-mail to me at donnaalward@hotmail.com, and let me know what format you’d like, I’ll get a copy to you right away quick-like.

Thanks everyone for visiting this weekend!

Donna

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!