Congratulations go to . . .
Barbara Raymond
You’ve got some edge-of-your-seat romance
coming your way!
Karen Witemeyer
Turning My Hero into a Cowboy & A Giveaway
When I first met my husband, he was very anti-cowboy. Except for the Dallas football team.
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Despite being raised in Texas, he hated country music and wanted nothing to do with trucks. He preferred sporty cars and high tech gadgets. But after over 30 years of living with me, he’s slowly turning into my very own cowboy hero. I got him into a pair of Wrangler jeans a couple years ago, then he bought himself a pair of boots for my birthday this year.
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And this month he traded in his sporty car for a . . . truck!
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Now, there still won’t be any country music twanging from the speakers, and there is a whole host of high tech gadgets for him to play with, but it’s still a truck. A BIG truck. The side mirrors are taller than I am.
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His old car was starting to fall apart and we both want to get a travel trailer eventually, so we decided we’d take the first step by getting the truck that will pull the trailer whenever we can afford to buy that piece of the travel puzzle.
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But for now, I’m enjoying watching my man embrace the inner cowboy he never knew was there.
Giveaway!
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This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the American Christian Fiction Conference in New Orleans. While I was there I got to enjoy lunch with two of my P&P Filly Sisters – Winnie and Mary.
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Also, while I was there, I had the opportunity to pick up a couple of free books. I thought I’d share the fun with one of our P&P readers. Leave a comment for a chance to win these two romantic suspense books set in the west.
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Do you have cowboys/cowgirls in your family, or do most of your cowboy friends live inside books?
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Reading Olympics
I love the Olympics. The amazing athletes, the human interest stories, and the spirit of sportsmanship and patriotism. Every two years, my daughter and I get together to watch either the summer or winter games. She geeks out about it as much as I do, which makes it that much more fun. We love wathcing the big events like gymnastics, swimming, and track & field. But we also enjoy watching the niche events like equestrian, archery, and badminton. We even watched a few rounds of shooting, though I tried to imagine the competitors wearing cowboy boots and hats for a more western experience.
Now that the Olympics are over, I thought it might be fun to turn that sporting spirit in a more bookish direction. So, I’d like to invite you to participate in the . . .
If you were participating in the Reading Olympics, which event(s) would you be most likely to medal in?
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Weightlifting – Reading the heaviest tomes
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Sprinting – Epically fast reading
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Wrestling – Taking down the TBR pile
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Gymnastics – Reading in twisty, convoluted positions
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Equestrian – Reading books about horses
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Shot Put – Longest toss of a disappointing book across a room
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Synchronized Diving – Diving into a good book with a reading partner
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Archery – Pinpointing the exact right book for a friend
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Relay Racing – Reading series straight through without dropping the baton to pick up a different book
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Marathon – Reading an author’s entire backlist in a single year
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Rowing – Participating member in a book club who keeps conversations on track while never rocking the boat
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Triathlon – Reading multiple books at the same time.
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Sailing – Skimming the surface to sail through as many books as possible.
- Boxing – Needing the largest number of boxes to pack up your personal book collection
My best two events would be Wrestling and Equestrian.
How about you?
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A Western Theme Park Adventure
At the end of June, my husband and I took a trip to Branson, MO for a few days to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary. We had a great time! We stayed in a cabin in the woods and really felt like we were stepping back in time. Especially the first day, when we visited Silver Dollar City.
If you’ve never been to Silver Dollar City, I recommend it. Especially if you love the idea of exploring life in the 1800’s. I had never been, but when I heard that there was a theme park celebrating 19th century pioneer life, I knew I had to visit. We weren’t able to do everything on my list in one day, but we squeezed in as many things as possible.
We rode a few rollercoasters, including the steampunk-inspired Time Traveler. Wes and I had our picture made to commemorate the event.
But even better than the rides were the historic buildings available to explore. We started at the Wilderness Church, an authentic log structure, orignally built near a local creek, that was dismantled log by log, and lovingly rebuilt in its current location. Not only could we go inside and explore, but several times a day, they had old-fashioned hymn sing-alongs! I adore hymns, so Wes and I made a point to join one of the sing-alongs and enjoyed worshipping with other park attendees.
Next to the church was McHaffies Homestead. A real, hewn-log cabin built in 1843 by the pioneering Levi Casey family, it was home to the McHaffie family before it was reassembled and preserved at Silver Dollar City in 1960. Most historic buildings are “look but don’t touch,” but this one was open for exploration. I loved that! I decided to fix my hubby a little snack while we were there.
After some actual lunch, we headed to the local saloon for some entertainment. The bar served sodas and rootbear floats, but Wes and I headed to the balcony to watch the show from there.
After spending over 8 hours in the Missouri heat and humidity, we decided to unwind in a shaded area full of good old country rocking chairs. Most of the other guests had cleared out of this section of the park by this time, so we enjoyed the quiet along with some end of day treats. We found a shop that sold our two favroites desserts – Cakes & Cones. Wes loves funnel cake, and I’m an ice cream girl. Such a sweet way to end the day.
On the way out of the park, we spotted a giant-sized triangle peg game. My son and daughter-in-law always play this game whenever we go to Cracker Barrel. So in their honor, we grabbed a quick picture.
They have working craftsmen who demonstrate trades from eras past as well, like blacksmiths, candymakers, glassblowers, and soapmakers. I wish I’d had time to watch them work. We also weren’t able to find time for the train ride or exploring the cave the the theme park is built over. I guess we’ll just have to go back for another visit!
Have you ever visited Silver Dollar City?
If so, what is your favorite thing to do there?
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A Cowboy Surprise
It’s always a special treat when my birthday falls on Memorial Day as it did this year. Not only do I get a day off of work (the day job, anyway) but I also get to spend extra time with my family. But my husband surprised me a couple days early with a romantic cowboy gesture on the Friday night before.
First, he showed up at my office unannounced and kidnapped me from work an hour early. He brought me a change of clothes, including my cowgirl boots, then showed me his own footwear. He’d bought HIMSELF a pair of cowboy boots that afternoon just for the occasion. He hasn’t worn boots ince high school, so this was a big deal. He wore Wrangler jeans, boots, a button-down shirt, eveything but the hat. It was as if he’d walked out of the pages of one of my books!
Then he took me on a 90+ minute drive through the country (we saw wildflowers, longhorn cattle, herefords, deer, and sheep) to a ranch outside of Graham, TX called Wildcatter Ranch. They have a steakhouse there with beautiful hilltop views.
We had a scrumptious dinner next to a large set of windows looking out over this porch and the wooded hills below. So lovely! They served cheesy southern biscuits with a honey glaze for an appetizer, which were scrumptious! I had trout with glazed carrots and salad and Wes had a half-rack of ribs with a baked potato and salad. My fish was good, but when he let me sample the ribs, I regretted not getting some for myself. They were literaly melt-in-your-mouth tender and delicious.
After dinner, we walked around the grounds, and took lots of pictures.
One of my favorites was when we sat in a pair of rockers on the back porch of the Wildcatter Hotel and snapped a photo of our boots.
Then in true Texas style, we stopped at a Dairy Queen in Breckenridge,TX on the way home for a Blizzard. Ha!
It was a wonderful western evening with my personal cowboy hero!
When was a time you received a fun surprise?
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Fan Fiction Contest
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One of the characters in my latest book – If the Boot Fits – is a young boy with a vivid imagination. Fergus Ellis is the hero’s youngest brother, and he never goes anywhere without his pencil and tablet. He names the animals around the house and dreams up adventures for them that he jots down in his tablet. He has dubbed the family milk cow Mrs. Merriweather and has set her up as banyard maven. Throughout the novel different people (especially ther hero and heroine) introduce new animal characters into his story world and help him come up with adventures for them to experience.
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I had so much fun with Fergus in this story, and readers have clamored for a bonus story about Mrs. Merriweather and her barnyard friends as written by Fergus. I love the idea, but I just don’t have the time to write one myself. So why not turn it into a contest?
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Several years ago, I ran a fan fiction contest asking readers to write a romantic epilogue pairing Chloe and Duncan from To Win Her Heart. I received some fabulous entries, and the winning epilogue has been posted on my website as bonus material for the last twelve years. You can read it here: http://karenwitemeyer.com/epilogue-twhh.html
I decided to try that again with a Fergus story. If you have read If the Boot Fits and if you enjoy writing, I’d love to invite you to submit an entry. Fergus is a bright ten-year-old boy, so we will be looking for a children’s story. Here are the official details:
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RULES
- Write a children’s story about Mrs. Merriweather as if you were Fergus Ellis. (Bonus if you incorporate details Fergus was already considering in If the Boot Fits.)
- There are no word count parameters, but children’s stories are typically short, so I’d expect something between 1,000 – 2,000 words. If you go a little shorter or longer, that’s fine.
- DEADLINE: May 18, 2024
- Send your story to me as a Word doc attachment to this email address – karen@karenwitemeyer.com
PRIZES
- The winner’s story will be published on my website.
- The winner will receive two autographed books of their choice from titles I have in stock. (If the winner is international, we will come up with an alternative prize.)
I can’t wait to read these stories!
Once I have chosen the winning story, I will run an illustration contest as well so that we can add 2-3 images to the text. The illustrator who wins will receive the same prizes. This is going to be so fun!
Have you ever written a fan fiction story?
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Karen’s Favorite Things – Bookish Socks!
Writers are a quirky bunch. We talk to imaginary people, dream up ways to torture characters we claim to love, and have been known on occasion to show up to work in our pajamas. We all have different ways of getting into the writing zone, too. Some create playlists for each book they write to set the mood. Others load up on coffee and dark chocolate. Me? I put on bookish socks.
Fun socks make me happy and put me in a positive frame of mind as I sit down to write, and over the years I’ve amassed a pretty good collection of book-themed footwear.
Books and tea are always a favorite of mine. And I adore the cute little bookworms!
Jane Austen even makes an occasional appearance.
I thought I would personally foot-model my cowboy socks for you. (You’re welcome for not blinding you with the white legs above the sock line. Thank goodness for crop capability!)
I even have a pair of knee-highs, but I don’t wear these very often for writing sessions. Unless it’s really cold in my office.
Do you have any favorite “fun” socks you like to wear?
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April in Texas = Bluebonnets
When late March arrives, I start looking for bluebonnets. Where I live in Abilene, we don’t get the dramatic fields of flowers that you see in the Hill Country. Our bluebonnets come later in the spring and are harder to find, but you’ll hear me cry, “Bluebonnets!” and point out the car window whenever I happen to drive past a patch. In fact, just a few days ago, I saw a family pulled off the side of the road to take pictures of their toddler daughter in a thick patch downhill from the highway. Made me smile since I did the same when my kids were small.
As the state flower of Texas, bluebonnets are as iconic as longhorns and the lone star flag. I thought you might enjoy some quick facts about these beautiful wildflowers.
- The bluebonnet was named the Texas state flower in 1901, but it was a contested race. The cotton boll and prickly pear cactus bloom were also in the running. In the end, however, the bluebonnet prevailed, and I’m so glad it did!
. - The bluebonnet is a variety of lupine that grows only in Texas.
. - Some believe it got its name because the individual buds resemble a lady’s sunbonnet.
. - It is also been known by the names Buffalo Clover and Wolf Flower.
. - Blue is the most prevalent color, but on rare occasions this flower can also be seen in white and pink.
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- Legend has it that you will only find pink bluebonnets near San Antonio. The story goes that the flowers were originally white, but changed to pink when the river ran red with the blood spilled at the Alamo.
. - Texas was the first state to plant flowers along state highways. The Texas Highway Department was organized in 1917, and officials quickly noted the abundance of wildflowers along the roadsides. In 1932, they hired a landscape architect to maintain, preserve, and nurture these wildflowers. In 1934, the department outlawed all mowing during spring and summer wildflower season unless required for safety purposes. In addition, the Texas Highway Department purchases and sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds each year!
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Ennis is known as the Official Bluebonnet City of Texas. Up to 100,000 people visit the small town each year to travel the scenic 40 miles of the Official Texas Bluebonnet Trail. The trail changes each year depending on where the best growth is found.
.- Bluebonnets are toxic. Don’t eat them!
. - Historian Jack Maguire once said that the bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland.
What wildflowers grow in your area?
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If the Boot Fits
It’s official! If the Boot Fits has released. YeeHaw! I’m so excited to share book two in my Texas Ever After series with you. I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek into the story itself, so without further ado, may I present Asher and Samantha . . .
I’m sorry, Pop. I’ve tried everything I can think of to fix this, even a few things I’m ashamed of, but there’s no putting it right. The house is gone.
Nothing to do now but make the new place as habitable as possible before he left. Which was why he reined Bruno to a halt in front of Patterson’s Hardware. If he was going to weatherproof Mama Bess’s roof, he was going to need some supplies.
A bell rang as he entered the shop. The clerk behind the counter glanced up from the customer he was assisting and smiled.
“Afternoon, sir.”
Asher fingered the recently reshaped brim of his hat. “Afternoon.”
“Farm implements are along the back wall. Ironware to your right. Carpentry tools in the center. Cutlery and kitchenware to the left.”
“Much obliged.” Asher strode toward the center aisle in search of nails. He’d probably have to special order the shingles he’d need, but—
A pile of wiggling pink froth stole every thought from his head as he rounded the corner and stepped into the aisle.
It was a woman—obviously—but what she was doing, he had no earthly idea. Hunkered down in front of a display of chisels, she seemed to be trying to peer beneath the shelving to view something in the adjacent aisle. Asher eased backward, took a couple steps to his left, and peered down the next walkway. A pair of men stood about even with her position, discussing the merits of whitewash versus paint.
Not exactly the type of conversation to entice an eavesdropper.
Inching back to his right, he found the female where he’d left her, only this time she held two gloved hands along the bottom of the shelf, as if measuring the length of something, though the spread of her hands failed to match any of the items housed on the nearby shelf.
Deciding it might be best simply to pretend he didn’t see her, Asher turned his gaze away and stepped into the aisle. Unfortunately, his elbow clipped a dangling hand saw and sent it flying off its nail and onto the floor. The woman gasped and lurched to her feet, spinning toward Asher as he gave chase to the runaway saw.
Her cheeks flushed pinker than her dress and her eyes darted to him then past him as if checking to see if anyone else had witnessed her odd behavior.
Instinct prompted Asher to look over his shoulder. See if anyone was there. But he didn’t. He couldn’t seem to look away from her.
Blue. Her eyes. Summer sky blue. Rimmed with thick lashes. And returning their attention to him.
Feeling his own cheeks heat, Asher held up his hands in apology. “Sorry to startle you. I . . . ah . . . accidentally knocked it with my arm.” He took a few steps forward and bent to retrieve the errant saw.
“That’s all right.” She offered a shaky smile and ran a hand down the front of her dress.
Asher straightened, the saw clutched awkwardly in front of him. Say something, you dolt!
“I’ll just . . . ah . . . put this back.”
Ugh. Something intelligent, Ash.
He sidled down to the front of the aisle where the other saws hung, keeping her in his peripheral vision. His mind spun but failed to grip anything worth saying out loud.
“Are you . . . interested in carpentry?”
Her downturned gaze jerked up to meet his, a hint of guilt playing about her face. Had she been staring at his feet? Why would a woman wearing a dress that probably cost more than his saddle be interested in a worn-out pair of boots? Wait . . . had that been what she was looking at while she’d been hunched over? The boots worn by the men on the next aisle over?
“Carpentry?” Tiny lines etched her forehead. “Not particularly. Why?”
He grinned, feeling more himself now that he had the upper hand in the conversation. He tipped his head toward the shelf beside her. “You seemed quite enthralled by those chisels. I thought you might be a hobbyist.”
“Ah, yes. Well. My father has a birthday coming up.” She fiddled with a bit of lace at her cuff.
“And he’s a carpenter?” He really shouldn’t derive so much pleasure from teasing her, but it felt good to let go of his worries for a few minutes and flirt with a pretty girl.
“A rancher, actually, but tools are always handy to have around, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I would.” He grinned. “A ranch can never have too many chisels.”
Her lips twitched and amusement gleamed in her vibrant eyes, but she managed to keep it contained. Unfortunate, since he found himself intensely curious about what her laugh would sound like once unleashed.
“Everything all right back here?” The clerk who had greeted Asher from behind the front counter hurried into the aisle, his smile strained. “I heard a crash.” He scanned the shelves, no doubt looking for evidence of an avalanche.
“Sorry,” Asher said. “That was my fault. I clipped a saw with my elbow. The stray’s been wrangled and is back with the herd now, though, so no harm done.” He nodded to where the saw hung, nice and tidy.
The clerk, however, didn’t bother looking at the cutting-edge display. His attention remained riveted elsewhere. Not that Asher blamed him. What fella wanted to look at saws when there was a blonde beauty a few feet away?
“Miss Dearing? Are you sure there’s nothing I can assist you with? I’d be happy to lend you my expertise.”
Asher’s ears rang. Miss Dearing? As in Samantha Dearing? The pampered princess he’d flattened when jumping out of her daddy’s study window? The one whose little brother nearly drowned trying to chase him down?
Had she recognized him? Slowly, he turned his face away, thankful for the distraction of the overzealous clerk. He hadn’t recognized her, but then he’d not seen her up close that night. But what if she had seen him? In the study, or after he’d leapt from the window.
Breathe, Ash. It had been dark. A boy had been drowning. She’d had other concerns on her mind. Plus, no recognition had registered in her eyes while they’d been talking. He would’ve seen it with as hard as he’d been staring at those blue beauties.
But what if it wasn’t his face that gave him away. His gut tightened as her interest in men’s boots suddenly made a dreadful sort of sense. If she’d found the boot he’d dropped . . .
Asher yanked his fingers away from the hand saw he’d been pretending to inspect. He needed to get out of here. Now.
Lengthening his stride, he left the carpentry aisle behind and made a beeline for the door. Shingles and nails would have to wait. He couldn’t chance being recognized by the one woman in town who could send him to prison.
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt.
You can grab a copy of If the Boot Fits from your favorite retailer.
Amazon | Baker Book House | Christianbook
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Western Cinderella
Happy Valentine’s Day!
On a day built for romance, I thought we could celebrate one of the most classic romance stories ever told – Cinderella.
Next month, my western Cinder-fella story will release, and I can’t wait to introduce you to Asher Ellis (ashes instead of cinders) and Samantha Dearing (endearing instead of charming) to you. Can you tell I love playing with character names? Reimagining this fairy tale in an 1800’s Texas setting has been so much fun.
What’s a girl to do when the most interesting man at her matrimonial ball isn’t one of the bachelors on her father’s guest list? Hunt him down, of course, using the only clue at her disposal—the boot he left behind.
As any self-respecting rancher will tell you, boots don’t just fall off like ladies slippers do, so coming up with a reason for my hero to take his boots off at a ball he wasn’t invited to, created a tricky plot point. But once we got that figured out, the rest fell into place with adventure, danger, romance . . . and a pair of imaginary sewing mice.
Did I mention I love playing with names? I worked hard to create names that would harken back to the original Disney tale while still carrying meaning of their own. Instead of Cinderella, we have Asher Ellis – Ash being a synonym of Cinder, and Ellis playing off of Ella. The three key older ladies of the story all have names inspired by royalty as befits a fairy tale – Regina, Elizabeth, and Victoria. Asher’s step brothers are named Jonathan and Fergus. However, Jonathan goes by Jack, giving a nod to the mice from Disney’s Cinderella, Jaq and Gus. Asher’s horse is named Bruno in honor of the dog who saved Cinderella from the tower room. And don’t forget the cattle king with a foreman named Duke.
While I used the classic Disney version of Cinderella that I grew up on as my main inspiration, there are other versions that I have fond memories of as well.
I adore musicals, and as a child of the 80’s, I adored seeing Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother in the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s version with Brandy and Broadway superstar Bernadette Peters.
And what romance lover doesn’t adore Ever After with Drew Barrymore? One of the best Cinderella movies ever!
As an extra bonus, I wanted to mention that there is a Goodreads Giveaway going on now for If the Boot Fits. You can enter here.
What is your favorite Cinderella adaptation?
Do you have any romantic plans for Valentine’s Day?
