I guess you could say Petticoats & Pistols was my crazy idea.
I blame it on a marketing class I took from Gwen Schuster-Haynes last spring. It was a fab class, and in one of her lectures, she featured a blog site put together by a group of writers. She hailed them as one of her alumni success stories for their dedication to a career plan. And the amazing thing? They weren’t published, but yowza, were they motivated to be. I fell in love with their site for being so clever and memorable. Check them out:
These ladies inspired me to do something similar, but there were already a gazillion single- and multi-author blogs out there. I knew I needed something unique, too, to market myself and my books.
Now I don’t consider myself clever or memorable. Not by a long shot. But the one thing I could claim to be was a western romance author, and by golly, there wasn’t a single blog out there dedicated to us and what we write.
It didn’t take long, and Petticoats & Pistols was born.
My time on MySpace, Shelfari and reader sites has revealed that romance lovers miss westerns. Writers miss writing them. And we’re hearing whispers that westerns are coming back . . ..
The ten of us have banded together to keep that pendulum swinging in our direction. We want to be THE go-to site for western romance. We want readers to come to us to find the latest western romance releases, both historical and contemporary. We want western romance writers to guest blog with us. We want published and aspiring western romance writers to share info links about the Old West, writing tips, good news about their sales, etc.
Most of all, we want to have fun!
Each of us will blog a couple of days a month. Weekends are reserved for guests. Come over often. See who’s here and what we have to say.
You just might find Petticoats & Pistols a clever and memorable place to visit!
(Heartfelt thanks to Laura at Swank Web Style for her infinite patience and talent!)
Pam has written 30 romances, most of them historical westerns, but she's proud of her contemporary sweet romances featuring the Blackstone Ranch series published by Tule Publishing, too! Stay up on the latest at www.pamcrooks.com
Hooray that you are doing this.Thesite looks lovely and I hope it really raises the profile of Westerns.
I’m going to be checking in a lot, ladies. Historical romance, that’s me, too.
Great idea. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with it.
Thanks for stopping by, Michelle. And Mary, we WANT you to check in! We’d love to have you guest blog for us, too . . .
Well I think it’s a lovely site and idea – and I’m not just saying that because I love westerns so much. Hooray!
Not crazy at all, Pam. I love to read and write hunky cowboys and Indians. I’ve read Westerns most of my life. And I discovered Pat Potter many moons ago. Love her Westerns, have some on my keeper shelf.
A long time ago Pat spoke at our first conference we sponsored here in Fort Myers/Naples. And I met Pat Kay when she did a book-signing in Fort Myers…last year, I think it was.
Okay, so I’m a ditz, today. It’s KAREN Kay. Sorry!
Joyce,
Nice to hear from you! I’m a former Dorchester author, too. Congrats on the new book sale–a western, yay! Closer to your release date, give us a holler. We’ll help you spread the word.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hi, Pam!
What a great idea,
I am sure it will go well!
Best wishes
Carol
Great website ladies! Lots of fun stuff–I love the puzzle.
Hmm, makes me think about writing westerns!
I’ll be back…
*lizzie
I LOVE western romances and love your new blog! I look forwared to visiting often!
I can do that, Pam. Thanks for the invite. I’ll get back with you in a couple months. Westerns need all the huzzahs they can get. And there are such stellar writers here, I feel blessed that I write the same sub-genre.
Thought I’d mosey on over and say hello to all you fellow western romance writers! It think this is a super idea, Pam–the site is gorgeous! What a great way to lasso western romance readers and writers–both new and old!
Wow! I’m glad we could be an inspiration to you. Your site looks terrific. I have a friend who writes westerns and I’m going to send her this link right away.
I met Patricia Potter last year in Atlanta and learned she lived in Huntsville, Alabama during her high school years. The Playground members live in Huntsville or the surrounding area.
Best of luck with your new site.
Hey – thanks for the compliments! Come by the Playground to visit whenever you like.
Good luck!
Andrea
This is great! I love Westerns! Cowboys….yummm.
And thanks for the shout out! I’ve always wanted to inspire someone 🙂 I hope y’all have as much fun with your blog as we do.
Wow! I’ve never been inspiration before. 🙂 But let me tell ya, if it brings a site like this I’m happy to be inspiration any time. Love the look! And you’ve really found a niche that needs to be filled. Good Luck!
It’s the Writing Playground children! LOL. I’m so glad you stopped by to see us.
Wow, this site looks great, ladies! I love western romances and will surely visit often! 😀
We look forward to seeing you and hearing from you, Andrea!
Better late than never! My computer had gone on the fritz when Marilyn let us know about your site. Wow! This looks great, ladies! Can’t wait to check back in.