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I’m a Californian at heart, having lived in So Cal for most of my life, so the pop culture tune, California Dreaming is a song I know very well.  I love California and once set a series, Napa Valley Vows in northern California. Those heroes were not cowboys, but vintners who had love affairs with women and wine.

For my new series, The Slades of Sunset Ranch, I needed the perfect location to set these three modern day cowboy stories.  I really wanted to move out of Arizona (where the Worths of Red Ridge reside) and I wanted to pick a setting that was a little more picturesque than the flatlands of Texas where I’d set so many other books, so I began my Nevada Dreaming.

For most people, when they hear “Nevada”, they immediately think of Las Vegas, but with me, that wasn’t the case at all.  I’m always thinking of ranches and cowboys and history.  My mind clicked away and I remembered my visit to the Ponderosa Ranch amid tall sugar pine trees, deep green valleys and the awe-inspiring Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

 The Ponderosa was a fictional ranch owed by Ben Cartwright and his sons, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe not too far from Virginia City, in the immensely popular and iconic western TV show Bonanza.  It aired from 1959 to 1972, having a long 13 year reign in TV land. As a result, many of us became familiar with the Cartwright ranch house and surroundings.  Bonanza was shot on location at the Ponderosa Ranch in Incline Village, Nevada, for the most part and for many years after the show ended, tourists were welcomed to the ranch and given tours of the inside rooms where the television series was shot.  

That’s where my Nevada dream came in.  I thought, wouldn’t it be great to center this new Desire series in a similar type of location… I wanted picturesque and I got it!  I dreamt up Sunset Ranch, a thoroughbred horse farm and Sunset Lodge, an upscale dude ranch, to tell my stories.  Then I tossed in Logan, Luke and Justin Slade into the mix, three love-resistant brothers who run the massive Slade empire.

After that, I invented the town of Silver Springs (although I’m sure there are many real towns with that name) and pulled memories from my trips to the Lake Tahoe area, for the rest.  BTW, Lake Tahoe is where we honeymooned and were lucky enough to see Elvis Presley in concert, so that area does really hold a special place in my heart.    

I’m into my 3rd Sunset Ranch story now, with military hero, Justin Slade’s homecoming, and the landscape hasn’t failed me yet.  Though, I will have completed the three stories in this series soon, I might very well end up writing a fourth one using one of the characters from book two. After all, I know the lay of the land now!

For me, sometimes figuring out where to set my stories is just

as hard as creating appealing characters and a compelling story.  When a writer develops a series in one location they get to know the area inside out and hopefully the setting feels real to the reader…that’s my goal. 

My Nevada Dreaming was chockfull of good memories and beautiful scenery.  

 

Were you a fan of Bonanza? Did you recognize that interior room and Ben Cartwright’s desk?    Would you have liked to visit The Ponderosa Ranch?  And here’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask.  If you had to pick one, are you a Mountain, Beach or City type of tourist?  What’s your favorite kind of vacation? 

 

Sunset Surrender – in bookstores and on Amazon now.

Sunset Seduction –  June 2013

Sunsets and Baby Secrets – Nov 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a winner on today”s blog.  Yea!  And the winner is Bonnie Jean.  Bonnie, if you could drop me a personal email, we”ll figure out what you might want — ebook or mass market — and which book, also.

Many thanks to all those who came here today!  I loved reading each and

every post — and thanks again for your compliments and your stories.  I really enjoyed them.

And the winner is…

Cori

Congratulations! Email me directly at renee@reneeryan.com and I’ll get you set up with one of my western historical romances.

The other night, overloaded on holiday Christmas specials, my husband, Mark, and I went on a channel surfing expedition to see what else we could find to watch. With the remote control in Mark’s possession, we came across one of our favorite movies, TOMBSTONE, or as my husband likes to call it: That Kurt Russell movie you like so much, Renee. Although we own the DVD, there’s nothing better than watching this particular movie on television. I don’t know why this is true, fodder for another blog, I suppose.

Anyway…

My husband isn’t much of a movie watcher. He prefers sports. But there’s something about this particular movie that always captures his attention. The other night was no exception. Because he was already half-bored with the television he had his computer on his lap. Next thing I know he’s surfing the Internet, looking for information about Wyatt Earp and the rest of the boys in the film. As most of you probably already know, the movie TOMBSTONE took a lot of creative license.
For fun, I’ve decided to point out a few things the writers got right and several they got wrong or left out or simply ignored.

Let’s start with Wyatt. The casting, in my opinion, is spot-on. Here’s a picture of Mr. Earp in real life (on the left) and Kurt Russell in the role of Mr. Earp (on the right).

The movie also got the following right. Wyatt was a lawman in Dodge City (a city policeman, actually). He was enamored with the opportunity of boomtowns, hence moved to Tombstone to better his lot in life. His older brother Virgil went to Tombstone as well, as did his little brother Morgan. Doc Holliday joined them there. The outlaw gang known as the Cowboys was a real and present danger throughout the southwest territories. There was a gunfight in the OK Corral between The Earp brothers and several of the Cowboys, including Ike and Billy Clanton. Three of the Cowboys were killed in this shootout and thus began an ongoing feud between the Earps, Holliday and the Cowboys. Within five months of the gunfight, Virgil was, indeed, ambushed and maimed, while Morgan was assassinated while playing billiards. Wyatt then pursued a vendetta ride where he chased down the Cowboys he thought responsible. Doc Holliday had tuberculosis and died in a sanatorium in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Wyatt and Sheriff Johnny Behan shared a mutual interest in Josephine Sarah Marcus, who first visited Tombstone as part of a theater troupe.

The movie failed on the following (just to name a few). There was no mention of the other Earp brother in Tombstone, James. Nor did the movie include yet another brother, Warren, who it is believed joined Wyatt in the vendetta ride against the Cowboys. The Earp brothers bought rights in a mine while in Tombstone, as well as secured some water rights. The prostitute Celia Anne “Mattie” Blaylock was Wyatt’s common law wife, they weren’t actually married. Josephine was actually Sheriff Behan’s common law wife, not just his girlfriend. She left Behan when she caught him with another woman, not because she fell in love with Wyatt. Wyatt and Josie (Sadie as he called her) were together for the last forty-six years of his life in a common law marriage. There is no proof of Doc Holliday’s tale about falling in love with his first cousin, also no mention that he was a dentist by trade.

And…I could go on, but I think you get the idea. The movie Tombstone definitely romanticized the story of Wyatt Earp and I, for one, am just fine with this. Even with the inaccuracies, it’s a great movie. Kurt Russell will forever be Wyatt Earp in my mind.

Since this is the start of a new year, leave a comment and I’ll put you in a drawing to win one of my historical western romances.

Hello and Merry Christmas Eve!

It’s been a crazy year in my home, full of lots of events. My husband is in radio. One of his stations is a country station that plays all the current hits. We also live in Savannah, GA, home of one of the largest St. Patrick Day celebrations in the country. In honor of my husband’s job and Savannah, I’m sending all of you country fans ‘A Red Solo Cup’ Merry Christmas.

The biggest event of the year, as you will see below, was the addition of a new member to our family, the youngest Mrs. Halverson! So, from my family to yours…MERRY CHRISTMAS. Love, Renee, my husband Mark, our daughter Hillary, our son Daniel, and our new daughter-in-law, Kelsey!

Hi everyone! Christmas always brings back wonderful memories of home and family, doesn’t it? One of the things I remember so well about my dad was how he could remember and call forth the perfect quote for just about anything and everything.   He always made Christmas a very special time of year around our house and was a true practical joker. He was a super-intelligent man with an IQ off the scale (I didn’t get that from him, sadly<G>) and as an adult I understand why he was able to remember so many things and be able to say them at just the right time–as a child, it was a mystical thing. One of the things I’ve come to appreciate with adulthood is how hard my dad worked to provide for us. He loved to read and was an eloquent writer–I think if he could have made a living at it, he’d have given it a try himself. Thinking about him and his love for quotes prompted me to go in search of some heartwarming Christmas quotes.

I found some great quotes, published in ABOUT.COM, and wanted to share them with you.  Here’s a picture of my dear mom, El Wanda, and dad, Fred,  when they were young newlyweds, back in 1944. 

 

Edna Ferber, Roast Beef Medium Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.
Bess Streeter Aldrich, Song of Years Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart… filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.
Lenora Mattingly Weber, Extension Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.
Louisa May Alcott The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting.
Charles N. Barnard The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol But I am sure that I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round… as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.
W. J. Tucker, Pulpit Preaching For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home.
Mary Ellen Chase Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.
Dr. Seuss And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?
G. K. Chesterton When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time.  Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?
Dale Evans Christmas, my child, is love in action.
Andy Rooney One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.
Hugh Downs Something about an old-fashioned Christmas is hard to forget.
Freya Stark Christmas is not an eternal event at all, but a piece of one’s home that one carries in one’s heart.
Marjorie Holmes At Christmas, all roads lead home.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and that many of these quotes make your heart glad this Christmas season! Thanks so much for being a regular part of our lives here at Petticoats and Pistols!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!

 

Merry Holidays Friends and Family!!  

The lights are on, the decorations are up, awaiting Santa’s arrival. 

We are ready for Christmas!

I feel especially blessed his holiday season to have new two additions to our family.  Little Everley Frances was born in 2011 and little Kyra Nicole arrived on the scene last June.   Their arrival has surely brightened our life with joy and laughter.  

Traditions are a “must” at our house.   My hubby is one to Never put up a tree until December rolls around.   It was his hard and fast rule.  Funny, how his rule instantly changed when those two little sweet-faced pumpkins arrived. Now, I think our tree was the first in the neighborhood to go up, the day after Thanksgiving.  Lights too and more than we’ve ever had before.  I don’t know who’s happier, the kiddies or us. 

My daughter and I usually do what we call our mother/daughter “something Christmasy”.  Usually we attend a church play or a small theatre musical.  This year we are seeing A Tigglemeister Christmas, a musical for all ages. 

We spend evenings baking and this year we’ll cook up my mother’s “S” cookie recipe, which will now  change to “E” for Everley and “K” for Kyra cookies.  We make homemade cannoli and throw together peppermint bark too.

We have two trees, one for our formal living room where Santa keeps his presents and where we open gifts.  And the silver tinsel tree sparkles up our family/TV room with joy where we spend most of our time.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and PEACE to the WORLD!

Wishing you a joyful season!

CHARLENE SANDS

 

 

The winner of IN HIS BROTHER’S PLACE is CONNIE J!  Connie, please send your snail mail to me at elizlane123@msn.com, and I’ll get that book right out.

Between the readers and Fillies who commented, and a little rounding up, I’ll be sending $15 to Have a Heart Humane Society.  Thanks for your support and your heartwarming stories.

 

CATHY AND CONNIE !!!! Congratulations to you two ladies. Cathy I have your e-mail that you provided, and will be sending your prize probably tomorrow. Connie, if you will contact me at fabkat_edit@yahoo.com and send me your e-mail I will be glad to send out your prize too! Congratulations again, and I hope you both enjoy A 2012 Christmas Collection!

Cheryl

We have a winner!

I want to thank each and every one of you who came here today and read the story and left me a comment with your thoughts.  I read each and every post and treasure each one.  We do have a winner and that winner is Katie.

Katie if you could please email me privately, we’ll make the arrangements to get a book sent to you.  My email address is:  karenkay(dot)author(at)earthlink(dot)net

Many, many thanks again!  And Merry Christmas to you all!