Weddings Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Petticoats & Pistols

A Christmas in July Giveaway AND a haunted hotel…~Tanya Hanson

July 24, 2014 by Tanya Hanson

Despite my histrionic attempts to get late registration at the Romance Writers of America national convention in San Antonio this week, I had to settle for staying at home. Sob. (I usually prepare well in advance for such events as this, but family summer plans changed… and I realized I DID have the time to get there after all. Ah, well, the travel gods paid me no nevermind.)

Anyway, best I could do was take Mary Connealy’s place at Wildflower Junction today–she’s rockin’ it in San Antonio–and spread some love from my visit there several years ago.

Yup. I loved The Alamo.

And The River Walk.

And The Menger Hotel. The HAUNTED Menger

In 1859, twenty three years after the battle of The Alamo, a San Antonio brewer named William Menger added a boardinghouse for his customers. Since then, the hotel has expanded, and many dignitaries have stayed at the historic place including Robert E. Lee, Sam Houston, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, Presidents Grant, McKinley, Taft, Eisenhower and Clinton, as well as such “stars” as Mae West, John Wayne, and Bob Dylan.

(“Menger Hotel San Antonio Texas photo of historical photo”. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://tinyurl.com/nys5q7g)

But several guests have never checked out! Texas mega-rancher Captain Richard King (1824-1885) sometimes left his spread of 600,000-plus acres to stay at his favorite hotel. He passed away from cancer in his favorite room at The Menger, and his funeral was held in the hotel parlor. Although the room has been remodeled several times, his ghost doesn’t mind and seems to find it no matter what. Just ask those sleeping there in the King suite on the second floor.

Another famous, or perhaps infamous ghost, is hotel maid Sallie White. Her ghost is seen often on the third floor, carrying towels. She worked at, and died at, the hotel. The Menger cared for her after she suffered a severe beating by her husband in 1876. Lingering for two awful days, she died, and the hotel covered her funeral costs.

It is claimed that more than 40 ghosts wander The Menger. An old lady knits in the lobby. A little boy plays in guest rooms. Are sounds of marching and bugles soldiers from The Alamo?

Anyway, I had lunch there and didn’t see anything but beautiful gardens and splendid architecture.

No wonder this lovely hotel has earned recognition on the national registry of historic hotels.

Now a haunted hotel has NOTHING to do with my latest release. Covenant. It’s Christmas in July at Prairie Rose Publications, and my short story is being re-released tomorrow for 99 cents. (It was part of the Wishing for a Cowboy anthology last Christmas.)

What a steal. To celebrate, I’m giving away FIVE non-gift wrapped Kindle editions, so please don’t leave me hanging and post some comments today!

Ever been anywhere supposedly haunted? Ever seen/heard/felt anything-anyone other-wordly?

Alone, abandoned, struck with guilt and grief, mail order bride Ella Green refuses to celebrate their first wedding anniversary by herself on the Nebraska homestead. Her fault Charlotte died.

Her fault her husband couldn’t stick around. So it’s back to Pennsylvania. Until the snow hits.

But do the spingerle cookie molds depicting her life–Carsten’s hand-carved courtship gifts to her across the miles–still have more story to tell?

Or is it truly The End?

Widower Carsten Green took on a bride merely to tend his little daughter. Unbeknownst to Ella, he gave her his heart instantly. Yet he believed she’s got no reason to stay after the child’s death. So he’s left her first.

How can the Christmas blizzard separating them warm their hearts, brighten their future, and ignite love gone cold?

Dr. Sue…Until The Day Dawns ~Tanya Hanson

June 16, 2014 by Tanya Hanson

With the heroine in my current anthology release, Her Hurry-Up Husband hailing from Omaha, I came across a fascinating real-life woman while researching the city. Dr. Susan Le Flesche Picotte (1865-1915) of the Omaha tribe was the first Native American Indian woman to receive a medical degree.

She was also the first American to receive federal aid for professional education.

Susan was born on June 17, 1865 on the Omaha reservation in northeast Nebraska. Her parents were Chief Joseph “Iron Eyes” Le Flesche, son of a French fur trader, and his wife Mary “One Woman,” the mixed-blood daughter of an Army physician. Although Iron Eyes raised his four daughters Christian, in a frame house on the reservation, he never abandoned native traditions. In fact, his strongest wish and recommendation for Susan was that she become educated in both the white and native cultures. A relative later described her as having one foot in both worlds.

As a child, Susan witnessed a white doctor refusing to care for a dying Indian woman. After attending school on the reservation and Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies in New Jersey, she returned to the reservation to teach at the Quaker Mission School. Here Alice Fletcher, the renowned ethnologist, encouraged Susan to pursue medicine. She enrolled at the elite Hampton Institute in Virginia, the nation’s first school for non-whites.

At Hampton, the resident physician urged Susan to enroll at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Miss Fletcher helped Susan obtain scholarship funds from the U.S Office of Indian Affairs. Susan graduated at the top of her class in 1889, and after an internship in Philadelphia, she returned to the reservation to provide health care.

Never in vigorous health, due to a degenerative bone condition, Susan nevertheless managed a career that served 1,300 patients and covered 450 square miles. Not merely a healthcare giver, she often gave financial advice and family counseling. She instructed the Omaha peoples on the necessities of cleanliness, good hygiene, and ventilation. In a buggy drawn by her chestnut horse Pie, she made house calls at all hours, even in sub-zero weather. She earned about $500 a year, one-tenth of the salaries of military physicians. Bucked from a horse in 1893, she was too injured to fulfill the invitation to speak at the World’s Fair in Chicago.

Despite early vows to remain single, at age 29 “Dr. Sue” married Henry Picotte, a Sioux from Yankton, South Dakota, in 1894, and raised their two sons Pierre and Caryl in Bancroft Nebraska. Her practice here treated both white and non-white patients.

Henry Picotte battled alcoholism much of his life, inspiring Susan’s ambition to outlaw alcohol on the reservation. She led a delegation to Washington D.C. in 1906 to lobby for such prohibition. Her lifelong dream to open a reservation hospital came true in 1913 in Waithill, Nebraska. The hospital is now a museum dedicated to her work and the history of the Omaha-Winnebago tribes.

When the bone disease ended Dr. Sue’s life at age 50, September 18, 1915, three priests eulogized her as well as an Omaha tribesman reciting in the native language. This showed her successful assimilation into both her worlds..

Her tombstone is inscribed “Until The Day Dawns.”

Another incredible American I never learned about in history classes!

Excerpt from Her Hurry-up Husband in the just released antho...Rancher Hezekiah is waiting at the train station for his mail order bride, needing a wife for life. Little does he know Omaha debutante Elspeth wants a husband for only one month.

For a quick second, Hezekiah considered jumping on the train and riding it to Utah. The iron bench he sat on was harder than any boulder, colder than a long night in a line shack. What had he done?

His heart thumped so hard it hurt and all but broke a rib when the woman departing the train came into eyeshot.

A woman wrapped in a black cloak like a bat closing its wings. A woman with hair so white she could have been the snow queen in a fairy tale. And so old she could have mothered Methuselah.

Good Lord, had the telegraph operator in Omaha meant 91, not 21?

The conductor gently loaded her onto the platform, and Hez prayed for death.

“Great granny? Great granny?”

A herd of Hunsakers ran from behind their worn-out wagon, all nine of ’em grabbing the old lady close. Life returned to Hez’s bloodstream.

But his heart stopped again when he heard the conductor call out his name.

“Hezekiah Steller? This lady’s looking for you.”

It was happening for real. Hez, heart stopped, plodded forward like he was that old woman’s man. Until the conductor pulled another female outside and unwrapped the long linen duster passengers wore to keep away the coal dust.

Beneath the grimy coat stepped his bride. Like an angel bursting forth from a bank of clouds. Like a dream coming true. Her beauty astonished him; her tiny waist brought on sweet relief. And Hez realized his life would never be the same. Realized he just might never breath normal again.

“How do, ma’am.” He tried to speak but no sound came forth.

Janet Tronstad: “Mail Order Sunshine Bride”

May 10, 2014 by Guest Blogger

I’m delighted to be back at P & P with another one of my mail-order bride stories. Usually when I visit we talk about something related to these brides of the Old West (my favorite historical setting and I’m guessing it’s yours, too).

Today I am going to ask a question that has bedeviled women throughout history – from servant girls in the 1800’s to today’s ultra-modern internet dater. Regardless of the time in history, scores of women are always asking — ‘What does a man want in a wife anyway?’

I’ll wager that nowhere have women asked that question with more desperation than the mail-order brides in the late 1800’s. In the western territories, men outnumbered women by as much as nine to one. In the east, thousands of women wanted to get married and were unable to find mates. Today a single life is a good life, but in those days it wouldn’t have been fun to be ‘on the shelf’ as they said. A spinster had no status and, often, limited social options. For her livelihood, she usually either depended on relatives (sometimes being an unpaid servant to them) or lived a life of hard work and poverty.

It was no wonder that publications like the “The Matrimonial News,” a San Francisco paper, were flooded with personal ads from women as well as men seeking marriage.

For my brides, I’ve created a fictitious publication, Mrs. Murphy’s Matrimonial Catalogue, that will mirror these newspapers.

In my upcoming novella, “Mail-Order Sunshine Bride,” my widowed heroine, Nellie O’Reilly, tries to figure out what it is that men want in a wife before she sends an ad to Mrs. Murphy for publication. Nellie’s late husband, not a particularly kind man, always said she had little enough beauty, but she did have a non-demanding personality and that was what men wanted anyway. So Nellie advertises that she has a ‘sunshine personality.’

Unbeknownst to Nellie, the night before she and her young son arrive in the Montana territory, the storekeeper who had pledged to marry her reads her letter aloud to a dozen men at a poker game. He gathered so much interest in his “Sunshine Bride” that he was offered a wager by another man for the right to marry her. The storekeeper lost the bet.

When Nellie steps off the train the next morning, the question of who she is to marry is so problematic that the sheriff takes her into protective custody until it can be resolved. Thus begins a rousing tale.

There are many things a man or a woman could find attractive in a mate. But if you were going to answer the question right now, what would you say you would most look for in a marriage partner?

My ‘Mail-Order Sunshine Bride’ will be part of an indie anthology published in late June. When it is available, I will give a free e-copy of that anthology to someone who comments on this post.

For updates on this and other historical mail-order bride stories I will be writing in the future (I’m planning another Christmas one, ‘Mail-Order Santa Bride’), please like me on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Janet-Tronstad-Dry-Creek-author/183817431655670

In the meantime, let’s talk!

Fascinating Historical Sites by Maggie Brendan

October 19, 2013 by Guest Blogger

My latest book, Perfectly Matched, takes place in historic Denver, 1888. I lived in the suburbs of Denver and grew to love the city and Colorado for over seven years. When possible, I enjoy visiting the places I write about, and although I used to live there, we went again to visit for my story. I’ve had the privilege to have visited all these wonderful historic sites.

My hero and heroine, Anna and Edward, are married in the beautiful United Methodist Church in Denver where it still stands today. It’s a magnificent structure of sandstone and stained glass. At the time, it was the tallest stone tower in the US in 1888. The reverend at the time Henry Buchtel later became Colorado’s seventh governor. I love discovering small tidbits like this to use in my stories.

Trinity United Methodist Church

TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

After the marriage of my heroine, Anna, a mail-order bride, I wanted her to have a unique calling from what is typical of a mail-order bride. So amid the conflict of two totally opposite people, a desire to care for abandoned animals begins to fill Anna’s heart. She learns about the ASCPA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the desire to care for animals is born, much to the chagrin of her obsessive compulsive husband, who can only tolerate complete order.

As the hero begins to fall in love with his mail-order bride, he takes her shopping for pretty dresses and for tea at the famous tea room at The Denver, which was built in 1879. Later, it was called May D&F until its doors closed in 1986. I shopped there years ago before it was turned into apartments in 1994.

THE DENVER

THE DENVER’S TEA ROOM

Elitch Gardens was another historic place in Denver’s history that was being built during the time of my story. Elitch Gardens was a famous family theme park. Mary Elitch’s support for Anna’s cause was a surprise, and Mary treats them to her restaurant.

ELITCH GARDENS

Through many disagreements, chaos, and some light-hearted moments, the story culminates at the place where Edward first laid eyes on his bride to be—the beautiful historic Union Station. This is another wonderful historic rail station that I’ve visited several times when I lived there. It is still in operation today and is just as beautiful. If you get a chance to visit Denver, you can discover its rich history and enjoy the Mile High City.

UNION STATION

Do you have a favorite historic building? Post me a comment for a chance to win a print copy of Perfectly Matched!!

Buy your copy of PERFECTLY MATCHED on Amazon!

It All Started with An Ad in a Mail Order Bride Catalogue . . .

June 14, 2013June 14, 2013 by Margaret Brownley

The Hitching Post: A Mail Order Bride Catalogue for the discerning, lonely or desperate

A Bride For All Seasons

Margaret Brownley

Debra Clopton

Mary Connealy

Robin Lee Hatcher

Yesterday Mary Connealy and Robin Lee Hatcher regaled you with their delightful stories. Today, Debra Clopton and I will attempt to do likewise.

P&P: Please share a little about your plot and how your heroes and heroines first meet

Debra: Ellie has come to Honey Springs Texas believing she is meeting a lonely widower who is looking for a woman of faith to take care of his poor baby girl. A man who should be happy to see her—but when she spots the handsome, disgruntled cowboy marching across the rutted road toward her she can’t believe he’s looking for her! Sparks fly when Mathew realizes that this beautiful woman clutching a Bible is the supposed “practical woman” he’s requested from the Hitching Post Mail Order Bride Catalogue. Practical, the woman is bedecked in so many frills and flounces. And her hat—the monstrosity is ridiculous. Everything about her screams impractical. No, this first meeting is not what either expected…but both are desperate in their own way so what can they do?

Margaret: Mary-Jo Parker travels to Kansas as a mail order bride, but the moment she steps off the train she’s fit to be tied. Not only does her erstwhile fiancé forget to pick her up, it seems he has an eight year old son he forgot to mention. But this is the least of it. She soon learns that the reason her lawyer fiancé didn’t meet her train is that he’s dead—shot clear though the heart by an irate client. A widow before she even weds, she plans to leave town posthaste when her fiancé’s way too handsome brother steps forward with a daring offer.

P&P What makes your hero and heroine all wrong for each other? What makes them completely right for each other?

Debra: A born killer—or at least blamed for the deaths of her family—Ellie’s never really had friends and has relied on her faith to help sustain her. She also desperately wants and needs to be loved…even if it’s only by the baby she’s compelled to come to Honey Springs to become mother to. But deep in her heart she longs for Mathew to love her. But Mathew has loved and lost the only woman he ever plans to love. And though he desperately needs love, he wants nothing to do with the beautiful mistake who arrived on the stage, Bible in hand.

What makes them right for each other? That’s just it…sometimes exactly what you don’t think you want or need is exactly what you do want and need.

Margaret: A gambler’s daughter, Mary-Jo Parker believes that everything that happens to her good, bad or indifferent is the result of luck. Having now lost two fiancés, she’s convinced that love isn’t in the cards for her. As a man of faith Tom Garrett believes that all things come from God. You can bet this creates a chasm between them. Each has something the other needs, but it will practically take an act of congress before they see it.

Award winning author Debra Clopton’s spunky, heartfelt romances help you face life with a smile. Debra’s Mule Hollow novel, Operation Married by Christmas is in development for an ABC Family movie starring LeAnn Rimes.

http://clicktotweet.com/ IJdP2

http://debraclopton.com/

margaretbrownley.com

For The Love of a Mail Order Bride

May 17, 2013May 17, 2013 by Margaret Brownley

Cover Photo

What the mail order bride ad says: Traditionally built

What the ad means: Better reinforce the floors

I’ve always loved mail order bride stories. So imagine my delight when I was invited to write one for a collection with Mary Connealy, Robin Lee Hatcher and Debra Clapton. The result is A Bride for All Seasons, our June release.

The brides in our book all found their matches through the Hitching Post Mail Order Bride Catalogue, a marriage broker for the discerning, lonely or desperate .

Thanks to the editorial talents of the Hitching Post owner, the most undesirable man or woman could, with a stroke of the pen, become a highly desirable candidate—at least on paper.

Our four trusting heroines don’t have the foggiest idea what they’re getting into. But then neither did the thousands of women who traveled west during the 1800s to marry men known only through letter correspondence.

What the mail order bride ad says: Loving spirit

What the ad means: Keep her away from the cowhands

The original mail order bride business grew out of necessity. The lack of marriageable women in the west was partly responsible, but so was the Civil War. Not only did the war create thousands of widows but also a shortage of men, especially in the south.

As a result, “Heart and Hand” catalogues popped up around the country. According to an article in the Toledo Blade, lonely men even wrote to the Sears catalogue company asking for brides (the latest such letter received was from a lonely Marine during the Vietnam War).

Ads averaged five to fifteen cents and letters were exchanged along with photographs. It cost as much as five dollars to send a letter by Pony Express and it took ten days for delivery. Often the wax seals melted in the desert heat, causing the letter to be thrown away before reaching its destination.

Not all marriage brokers were legitimate and many a disappointed client ended up with an empty bank account rather than a contracted mate.

What the mail order bride ad says: Maternal

What the ad means: Has six children and one on the way

For some mail-order couples, it was love (or lust) at first sight. In 1886, one man and his mail order bride were so enamored with one another they scandalized fellow passengers on the Union Pacific Railroad during their honeymoon.

Not every bride was so lucky. In her book Hearts West, Christ Enss tells the story of mail order bride Eleanor Berry. En route to her wedding her stage was held up at gunpoint by four masked men. Shortly after saying “I do,” and while signing the marriage license, she suddenly realized that her husband was one of the outlaws who had robbed her. The marriage is said to have lasted an hour.

No one seems to know how many mail order brides traveled west during the 1800s, but the most successful matchmaker of all appears to be Fred Harvey who, by the turn of the century, had married off 5000 Harvey girls.

What the mail order bride ad says: It’s easy to order a book

What the ad means: Just click on the A Bride for All Seasons cover

Any of you have a mail order bride in your family history? Under what circumstances might you have been a mail order bride?

www.margaretbrownley.com

Here Come The Brides: Wedding Surprises

June 27, 2012 by Tanya Hanson

Elizabeth and I are sharing some ceremonies that, well, didn’t quite happen as planned. We’re each giving away a copy of our books today so don’t be a stranger!

Excerpt One: from “Marrying Mattie” by Tanya Hanson

“Dearly beloved…” Jake, his childhood pal, sounded so masterful and mature Call snickered and Mattie giggled. “We are gathered today…”

Coyly she peered up at him beneath her pink bonnet, and Call’s breath caught. Jake went on with a dear little homily about the two of them, but Call didn’t hear a single word. From chuckles throughout the congregation, however, he reckoned Jake did a fine job, then the preacher segued reverently into the Lord’s prayer before starting the vows.

As directed, Call took Mattie’s hand and said firmly, “I will.”

“I will.” Mattie replied firmly when it was her turn.

Before the final pronouncement, Jake gave the congregation the time-honored directive. “If anybody has any objection why these two should not be united in holy wedlock, let him speak or forever afterward hold his peace.”

Brixton Haynes chuckled a bit then; Caldwell understood. He had threatened to break up the wedding vows between Brix and Minda those two years ago although of course, he hadn’t followed through.

“I object.”

A deep voice Call didn’t know resonated through the little church, and the congregation gasped. Shock smacked him in the gut.

At the appalling words, Call’s skin crawled from his toes up his spine to his neck. As he turned around to see who had spoken, Mattie slumped against him. Her mouth hung open.

What was happening? Call couldn’t find air to breathe.

“Who disrupts this sacred ceremony, sir?” Jake asked, voice stern but shaky.

“Woodrow.” Mattie was so breathless only Caldwell could hear.

The newcomer stood tall in the back row and faced the altar with his bowler in his hands. “Reverend, I am Woodrow Paulson Carter the Third,” he said in a loud, confident voice. “Mayor pro Tem of Gleesburg, Pennsylvania. County assistant District Attorney, and husband of this beautiful woman.”

In one loud voice, the gathering emitted a long howl.

A cold worse than winter clammed Call’s skin. His right arm grabbed Mattie as her knees wilted, her pink hem a puddle at her feet. Eyes big as blue moons dwarfed her white face. The air around him started to turn black…

Jake finally found his voice. “Mr. Carter, just what are you doing?”

“Reclaiming my wife.”

Mattie stiffened against her bridegroom. “Woodrow, how could you do this?”

“I could, darling, because I must. I am your husband. And I intend to run for President of the United States. There is no one but you worthy enough to be my first lady.”

“You are not my husband!” Mattie spoke firmly. “I was duly represented in Pennsylvania’s Court of Common Pleas. You and I are divorced.”

Excerpt 2: From: “The Hand-Me-Down Bride” by Elizabeth Lane

WEDDINGS UNDER A WESTERN SKY by Lisa Plumley, Elizabeth Lane and Kate Welsh

Arabella’s wedding had been far different than she’d imagined. There’d been only a few days to plan it before the circuit preacher came through. Grandma Peabody’s silk wedding gown was splotched with water stains that not even Sally had been able to remove. Arabella had chosen to wear it anyway, for luck. The wreath of wild flowers in her hair, had matched the bouquet she carried down the aisle of the little white church. She had never felt more beautiful. And when she looked up into Stewart’s eyes to recite her vows, his love had flowed through her like warm sunlight.

In attendance at the simple ceremony were a few friends from town, as well as Charles and Sally who’d smiled and held hands the whole time. A special guest of honor, Stewart’s dog, had been bathed, brushed, and adorned with a garland of ribbons and daisies around its shaggy neck. During the ceremony, the wayward mutt had wandered off to romp in a puddle with a canine friend, then returned to the church, leaving muddy footprints down the aisle. A wedding picnic at Charles and Sally’s had capped the festivities.

In other words, the day couldn’t have been more perfect.

Carolyn Brown and One Hot Cowboy Wedding

April 7, 2012 by Guest Blogger

Thank you for inviting me back to your blog site for a visit. One Hot Cowboy Wedding hit the book stores last week and I’m so excited. It’s the fourth book in the Spikes & Spurs series and there are three more on the docket behind it. So keep your cowboy hats and your boots on—there are more sexy cowboys and sassy women on the way.

One Hot Cowboy Wedding is Ace and Jasmine’s story. They’ve been best friends for well over a year so it’s understandable when he comes into her café, Chicken Fried, with a hang-dog look on his handsome face that she’s worried. Turns out that there’s a clause in his grandfather’s will that has just surfaced which says that he must be married within a year of taking over the Double Deuce ranch and stayed married for a year or else the whole ranch…cows, bulls, equipment, land, barns and house goes to his worthless cousin. He’s got a week to find a wife and it’s looking like a damn near impossible mission because he doesn’t even have a girlfriend.

Jasmine, being the good friend that she is and running from any kind of commitment anyway, says that she’ll marry him. Of course it will be a secret that no one will ever know and in a year, they’ll go to the divorce lawyer and end it quietly. No problem!

Now what does a fake bride need for a fake wedding? They have to convince the lawyers and Ace’s scumbag cousin that it’s a real marriage so Jasmine chooses a cute little white dress that she’s never worn before. She attaches a veil to a white western hat and packs her white western boots for the trip. Everything is in order since Ace is picking up a set of cheap wedding rings at the Wal-Mart store on the way. The wedding chapel will provide all the rest so the bride is ready!

What happens in Vegas, and all that, right? You got it! It stands true that it won’t leave Vegas and will be their secret right up until the time that the wedding kiss has happened and they are legally married. Then they find out that they’ve won a weekend honeymoon because they were the 5000^th couple to get married in Cupid’s Wedding Chapel. And it is broadcast on national television on the ten o’clock news that night! Oops! Secret is out and phones are ringing.

Both mothers are suddenly up to their eyeballs making preparations for a “real” wedding because everyone knows that a Vegas wedding in a chapel can’t be one hundred percent guaran-damn-teed legal. So now Jasmine finds out that what she needed to get married in Vegas and what she needs for a Texas sized wedding is two very different things.

She must have a designer dress and her mother intends to bring a back up dress of her choosing if Jasmine picks out something to plain and cheap looking. She has to have at least eight bridesmaids because Ace will have to use all six of his brothers and his two best friends, Rye and Wil, as groomsmen. And there has to be a meeting of minds about their dresses, shoes, jewelry and their bouquets.

There has to be a rehearsal dinner and motel rooms and an enormous reception after the wedding and it all has to be planned in one month’s time.

The difference in a Vegas wedding to Texas wedding is about to drive her and Ace both crazy but what is she to do? Upset her mother who has had her heart set on a big fancy wedding for her daughter since the day she was born? Or put a stop to the whole thing?

The answer is in One Hot Cowboy Wedding. What I think a bride needs for a cowboy wedding is just what Jasmine had when she went to Vegas. She needs a dress that makes her feel pretty; whether it’s long or short, from the second hand shop or a fancy designer, makes no difference. She needs a pair of boots because there will be some two-steppin’ at the reception or in the bedroom after the wedding. And a cowboy hat to hold a puff of illusion.

But the most important thing a girl needs for a cowboy wedding, big or small, Vegas or Texas, is a cowboy who loves her, promises to be faithful forever and thinks he’s the one getting the prize. Anything more than that is what you want; not what you need.

If you were planning a cowboy wedding what would you need? I’ll be looking forward to your answers. I’ll be away from the computer about two hours this evening because at 7:00 CST, my granddaughter, Kela Rhae, will be getting married at the Arbuckle Wedding Chapel and I’m going to go see just exactly what she’s doing for her cowboy wedding.

ONE HOT COWBOY WEDDING BY CAROLYN BROWN – IN STORES APRIL 2012

A marriage made in Vegas…

Hunky cowboy Ace Riley wasn’t planning on settling down, but his family had other plans for him…The only way to save his hide, and his playboy lifestyle, is to discreetly marry his best friend, Jasmine King.

Can’t possibly last…

Fiesty city–girl Jasmine as just helping out her friend—that is, until their first kiss stirs up a whole mess of trouble, and suddenly discretion is thrown to the wind.

One hot cowboy, one riled up woman…

And they’ll be married for a year, like it or not!

Miss Carolyn is giving away 2 copies of One Hot Cowboy Wedding to 2 lucky winners. All you have to do is leave a comment to enter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than forty books published, and credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. She writes bestselling single title cowboy and country music mass market romances. Born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma, Carolyn and her husband now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma, where she continues to write more cowboy romances! For more information, please visit www.CarolynLBrown.com.

Brides of the West: Something Old, Something New

February 22, 2012February 22, 2012 by Victoria Bylin

That’s the theme for the upcoming Love Inspired Historical spring wedding anthology, Brides of the West. It won’t be out until April, but my author copies arrived in a nice big box. Time for a giveaway! Leave a comment and I’ll toss your name in the Stetson–a white one to honor weddings. Sometime tonight I’ll pull out two names and post the winners.

I’m delighted to be sharing the antho with two wonderful LIH authors, Janet Dean and Pamela Nissen.

Here’s our back cover copy:

Josie’s Wedding Dress by Victoria Bylin

Desperate for someone to help her save her ranch, Josie Bright makes a deal with Ty Donner. Now the man who left her waiting at the altar is making her hope for things she had long stopped wishing for.

Last Minute Bride by Janet Dean

Elise Langley was stung to the quick when her would-be suitor suddenly left town. But when David Wellman returns and they are thrown together organizing their friends’ wedding, can she open her heart again.

Her Ideal Husband by Pamela Nissen

As a girl, Lydia Townsend hoped to marry Jebediah Gentry–until his rejection spoiled her dreams. When family duty brings her home, it’s Jeb’s chance to show Lydia that now is the time for wedding dreams to come true.

Now here’s an excerpt from Josie’s Wedding Dress. It’s taken from the middle of the first scene. We’re in a church cemetery and in Ty’s point of view as he faces the woman he left at the altar…

EXCERPT

The buggy halted, then creaked as the female climbed down. With his neck bent, Ty listened to the squeak of the gate as she opened it. He tried to follow her movements, but the grass muted her steps. He listened for the rustle of her skirt but heard nothing. Frozen and alert, he thought of the years he’d waited in a prison cell. He’d learned to be patient. He could be patient now. He wouldn’t budge until the woman went on her way. He thought of the graves he’d seen. Was she visiting the small one that belonged to a child? A newer one with a name he didn’t recognize?

A rose-like fragrance drifted on the air, becoming stronger as the woman approached. Josie liked fancy soaps. She also liked roses. A soft gasp confirmed his deepest fear. This woman knew him. This woman was Josie.

“Ty? is that you?”

He turned enough to see the hem of her skirt. It took him back to the day before the wedding and the banter about “something borrowed, something blue.” She’d whispered in his ear about a blue garter, and he’d loved her more than ever. Now he looked up slowly, taking in the hard line of her mouth. Gone was the cheerful girl who’d teased him with mischievous smiles. In her place he saw a woman burdened by life. Her eyes were still turquoise and her chestnut hair gleamed under a straw bonnet, but she’d lost her sparkle.

Ty had come home for this very moment, yet he felt unprepared as he matched her gaze. Instead of the words he’d practiced, he stared into her eyes, feasting on the past until he found his tongue. “Hello, Josie,” he said in a drawl. “I’m hoping we can talk.”

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be eligible for the drawing. For fun, let’s share our favorite wedding memories. What made you smile or laugh? Or do you tear up like I do? My favorite part of any wedding is when the bride and groom exchange their vows.

On Being a MOB…

July 25, 2011July 25, 2011 by Winnie Griggs

…Mother Of the Bride that is. On Saturday (two days ago when this post goes live) my oldest daughter got married. She is the first of my four children to take this step and it was a very emotional day for me. In fact, I hope you’ll forgive this indulgence, but I’m still too wrapped up in the occasion to produce an intelligible post for you, so instead, I’ll let the following pictures do the talking for me.

Oh, and because this is such a very special occasion, I’d like to share a little touch of the joy I feel by offering one visitor today a choice of any of my books, currrent or back list.

Proud parents with bride. (As you can tell from my flushed face it was a HOT July afternoon)


Linda Broday	Mary Connealy

Pam Crooks	Winnie Griggs

Shanna Hatfield	Karen Kay

Sarah Lamb	Cathy McDavid

Kit Morgan	Cheryl Pierson

Nan Reinhardt	Jo-Ann Roberts

Jeannie Watt	Karen Witemeyer

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My ‘Mail-Order Sunshine Bride’ will be part of an indie anthology published in late June. When it is available, I will give a free e-copy of that anthology to someone who comments on this post.

In the meantime, let’s talk!

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A Bride For All Seasons

Margaret Brownley

Debra Clopton

Mary Connealy

Robin Lee Hatcher

P&P: Please share a little about your plot and how your heroes and heroines first meet

P&P What makes your hero and heroine all wrong for each other? What makes them completely right for each other?

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What the mail order bride ad says: Traditionally built

What the ad means: Better reinforce the floors

What the mail order bride ad says: Loving spirit

What the ad means: Keep her away from the cowhands

What the mail order bride ad says: Maternal

What the ad means: Has six children and one on the way

What the mail order bride ad says: It’s easy to order a book

What the ad means: Just click on the A Bride for All Seasons cover

Any of you have a mail order bride in your family history? Under what circumstances might you have been a mail order bride?

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EXCERPT

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be eligible for the drawing. For fun, let’s share our favorite wedding memories. What made you smile or laugh? Or do you tear up like I do? My favorite part of any wedding is when the bride and groom exchange their vows.

Share this:

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