The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is:
Sabrina
I’ll be in touch. Congratulations!
Jeannie Watt
The Cowboy’s Reckoning by Jeannie Watt and a Give Away
I have a new release coming out tomorrow. The Cowboy’s Reckoning is the third book of my Bad Boys of the Rodeo series and I’m excited for its journey out into the world.
Imagine what it would be like to spend your life thinking that your father was a cattle thief who passed away in jail, only to discover that he was actually a wealthy businessman who left you a ranch. That’s what happens to Jordan Matthews, the hero of my latest Bad Boys of the Rodeo book, The Cowboy’s Reckoning. Inheriting a ranch out of the blue would be an amazing windfall to most people, but it doesn’t feel that way to Jordan. His surprise father had obviously been aware of his existence and had the means by which to care for him, yet he’d let Jordan go into foster care at the age of four when his mother died. Why? And why leave Jordan the ranch, which is now long-termed leased to Lil and Meg McAllen, sisters who lost their family ranch to bankruptcy?
Rather than get answers to those questions, Jordan wants to get rid of the ranch and go back to life as he knows it. The only thing standing in his way is Lil, who not only refuses to vacate the place, but insists that he uphold his end of the lease and fix what’s broken. And lately a lot of things have been mysteriously broken on Jordan’s new ranch—to the point that he and Lil begin to wonder if someone is purposely sabotaging the place. They also start to wonder if perhaps they can find a middle ground for both the ranch and a future between them.
Here’s an excerpt:
“That’s him!” Meg said, eye widening.
Lil followed her sister’s gaze to see three men standing near the crowded hotel bar. “Who?”
“The guy I saw today while I was riding. The spy.”
Aubrey pushed her glasses down to look over the top. “That’s Jordan Matthews. He’s local and harmless.” She bit the edge of her lip as she canted her head to one side. “I take that back. Not harmless. He’s broken countless hearts, mostly by accident. But he’s cowboy through and through. Not a stalker or anything.”
“Jordan Matthews?” Lil gave Aubrey a stunned look. “That’s the name of my new landlord.”
“No way.” Aubrey gave her head an adamant shake. “I mean … No. Way.”
“Why?”
“Jordan’s dad died in jail years ago. The guy was a cattle thief of all things.”
“Wow,” Lil said softly, studying the dark-haired cowboy.
He was strikingly handsome, with chiseled cheekbones and a pirate-y smile that flashed as he talked to his friends.
“What about his mom?” Meg asked, obviously intrigued by the cattle thief angle.
“She also died,” Aubrey said, “which is why a local rancher adopted Jordan when he was little. He was two years ahead of me in school. His origin story made him double romantic, you know. Being drop-dead gorgeous didn’t hurt either.”
Lil tried to keep from staring, but the guy was an eyeful, with a perfect profile, easy smile, and a lean yet muscular build.
She blew out a breath. “I wasn’t expecting … him.”
“It can’t be him,” Aubrey said.
“So why had he been spying on the property just before I’m supposed to meet with a man named Jordan Matthews?”
A few thoughtful seconds passed before Aubrey conceded, “You’ve got me there.”
Lil looked away just as Jordan casually swung his gaze her way. She was very glad to have seen the man in the wild, because it gave her an indication of what kind of guy he was. Comfortable in his own skin. Quick to smile. He looked like he could charm a cranky grandmother into mending his torn jeans.
“I hope he’s good with a hammer,” Lil murmured. “I have stuff that needs to be done.”
“You do set the bar low,” Aubrey replied as the server approached their table.
She declined another round while Lil continued to low-key study the man who might be her landlord. Jordan’s friend nudged him and a dark gaze suddenly swept her way, catching her mid-stare.
Drat.
Even at a distance, she saw a questioning expression form on his handsome face and felt her cheeks grow warm. Surely a guy like that was used to being stared at, so she didn’t look away. He could make what he liked of it. For all he knew she was staring through him. Then, after a few very long seconds, she casually turned her attention back to Aubrey who was once again discussing why her Jordan Matthews couldn’t be their Jordan Matthews.
Lil was ninety percent sure that he was indeed the owner of the place, and she didn’t care how it had come about. She just wanted the man to honor the language of the lease and repair the things that had started to go wrong on the place.
And to maybe not recognize her as the stalker in the bar.
AMAZON KOBO BARNES & NOBLE APPLE BOOKS GOOGLE PLAY
To celebrate the release of my book I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly chosen respondent. To qualify, please tell me a time you got a surprise gift. I’ll start–when I was nine years old, my parents surprised me with a beautiful white horse to use for 4-H.
New Mexico Petroglyphs
I just returned from the Romance Writers of America conference, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During my first days there, I viewed the petroglyphs or rock carvings found in Boca Negra Canyon (Black Mouth Canyon). I found them fascinating—some looked like spacemen!—and would like to share some information about them with you.
Most of the petroglyphs were made by the ancestors of the modern Pueblo people. The petroglyphs are carved into basalt (lava) rocks. When the rock formed from volcanic fissures, it was light gray in color. As it aged, it developed a dark patina called desert varnish. The people would carve through this patina to the lighter gray rock below to make their patterns and symbols.
The ancestors of the Pueblo people lived in the Rio Grande Valley since 500 AD. A drought in 1300 AD caused many people to move closer to the river. Most of these petroglyphs are thought to be made between 1300 and 1700 in a style called the Rio Grande style. The early Pueblo people did not have a written language, so these symbols may have sacred meaning, mark trade routes, record an event or simply be a means of communication.
While the images are located in this area, the people did not live here, rather living in adobe buildings along the Rio Grande.
Many of the petroglyphs are on the sides of boulders facing south or southeast. One theory is that these were made in the winter when that side of the boulder was warmer and had less snow accumulation.
The images show patterns, animals and humans. Archeologists have found over 21,000 petroglyphs along 17 miles of escarpment. Some petroglyphs date from later ages, including some carved in the 1700s by early Spanish explorers.
Jackson Sundown Nez Perce Warrior Rodeo Hero
Jackson Sundown was born in 1863 in Montana. His given name was Waaya-Tonah-Toesits-Kahn, meaning Blanket of the Sun, and he was the only Native American to win the All Around title at the famous Pendleton Roundup. He won it at the age of 52.
Waaya-Tonah-Toesits-Kahn was born into the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce, led by Chief Joseph. At the age of 14 he was involved in the Nez Perce War of 1877. He managed to escape the calvary into Canada during the Nez Perce Retreat and then, according to legend, joined Sitting Bull in his Canadian Camp for two years along with other survivors of the Battle of Little Big Horn.
In 1879, Waaya-Tonah-Toesits-Kahn moved from Canada to Washington State, and then to the Flathead Reservation in Montana, where he became known as Jackson Sundown. He married there and had two children. In 1910, he returned to the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho, married again (I couldn’t find what happened to his first wife), and settled on his new wife’s ranch near Lapwai.
Jackson was a skilled horseman and made his living breeding, raising, training and selling horses. He bolstered his income by entering rodeos, often winning the all-around purse for having the highest scores in every event. Jackson won so often that other competitors would withdraw from events in which he was entered. Spectators loved him not only because of his talent, but also his striking presence. He wore colorful shirts, wooly chaps and would tie his braids under his chin when he rode rough stock.
In 1915, Jackson came in third at the Pendleton Roundup. He retired then at the age of 51. His body had taken a beating from rodeoing for so long and he was done. But the next year he was at the Roundup and an artist, who was sculpting him, encouraged him to enter again, offering to pay the entry fee. Jackson accepted.
He drew a very rough horse and his ride was legendary. The horse, Angel, bucked so hard that Jackson removed his hat and fanned the horse to “cool it off”. Jackson won the Roundup and retired once more, this time as a hero, the first and only Native American to win the title. He died seven years later at the age of sixty from pneumonia. His memorial in Idaho reads:
Jackson Sundown
Waaya-Tonah-Toesits-Kahn
Nez Perce Born in Montana 1863
Died at Jacques Spur, December 18,1923
At the age of 60 years
He is still celebrated at the Pow Wow held at the Pendleton Roundup every year.
Modern Conveniences and a Give Away
I lived off the grid for twenty-two years. We only lived two miles from power lines, also two miles off a main road, but the power company wanted $500,000 to take a power line to our house. We chose not to do that, so we created our power with a generator, first propane with a wind backup, and then diesel. I learned a lot of basic mechanics over the years because the one rule of generators is that they will fail, and usually at a very inconvenient time. Ask me why I flinch when the lights flicker. My fridge was propane and a whopping 7.7 cubic feet. It too failed every now and again, so I am now quite adept at fixing propane fridges.
Now that I have “regular” power, I have it easy. At my old house, I had to schedule laundry, ironing, showers, TV watching, hair drying, cooking with the electric oven, and using the microwave around the times that the generator was running–from whenever we got up to 10:00 in the morning, then from 4:00 in the afternoon to bedtime. I could not use a crockpot. I did not charge my phone at night. Oh–I also had one of the first cell phones because the telephone company took eleven years to run a line to us. It was so big that it was mounted on the wall, and if you took it somewhere you had a special carrying bag like a brief case to hold it. All calls, incoming and outgoing, were 60 cents a minute. If a telemarketer called you, it cost you.
I did love the “simple” life and it was a great way to raise kids. That said, it’s so nice to take a shower without tuning on the power. To cook when I want, sew when I want, make a phone call that doesn’t cost 60 cents a minute (that did change to a more reasonable price as cell phones became more common).
Would I go back? Let’s say this–I could go back. It’s a tougher life, and expensive, but doable, and there are some definite advantages. It’s really peaceful and at that time, before phones and battery powered laptops, you looked to other things to fill your time. And even though it was a challenging life in some ways, it was nothing compared to how rural people lived in the first part of the last century. Now those were tough people.
My question to you today, for a $10 Amazon gift certificate, is an offshoot from my topic. Let’s say you have a cooking stove that needs no electricity, an ice box, and (wonder of wonders) indoor plumbing. No communication or entertainment devices. What modern convenience would you like to add to the mix? For me, it would be electric lights.
Jeannie Watt has a Winner!
Thank you everyone for responding! The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is:
Joannie Sico
Congratulations!
Taming the Wild Cowboy Preview and Give Away
The second book of my Bad Boys of the Rodeo series, TAMING THE WILD COWBOY, is about to be released. The official release date is April 28, but it is available now for preorder. I had a lot of fun writing this book. The hero, Trev Matthews, is one of my favorites and he plays a part in all four books of the series. Here’s an excerpt:
Trev put his phone in his pocket, studying the truck as it approached and wondering where he’d be directing the driver to. When the truck got close enough to read the Montana plate, he could see that a woman was driving with a smallish dog bouncing on the seat beside her.
The truck lurched when it crossed the cattleguard, as if its suspension was shot, then continued across the wide gravel yard that separated the houses from the barns and outbuildings, pulling to a stop a few yards away from where Trev stood. She turned off the engine and started to open the door, only to stop abruptly when he pushed his hat back, giving her a good look at his face. He might have been mistaken but it looked like she’d silently mouthed a curse word.
Trev’s first thought was that she was nervous, being miles from the public road and quite possibly lost. His second thought, when she once again raised her chin, was no way.
Maclyn Kane.
He felt like rubbing his eyes to see if she disappeared when he opened them again. What was she doing here? And why was she driving a truck that looked like the front quarter panel would fall off if someone breathed too heavily on it?
They faced off through the gravel-pitted windshield for a few more seconds, then Maclyn squared her shoulders and pushed the truck door all the way open, telling the little dog to stay. The door remained ajar after she’d stepped to the ground, making it easier to jump back inside, he figured. The dog danced on the edge of the seat but followed orders and stayed put.
So, again, why was Maclyn Kane on his ranch?
She appeared to be wondering the same thing as she stopped a few feet away from him, perhaps waiting for him to make the first move. That wasn’t going to happen.
A breeze came up and caught hold of her dark hair, which was about a foot shorter than during their rodeo days, falling to her shoulders instead of to her waist, and her clothes were remarkably utilitarian. The loose-fitting jeans bore signs of wear that were not part of the manufacturing process, and her scuffed boots spoke of actual ranch work. No glitz. No bling. No visible jewelry. If he’d passed her on the street, it would have taken him a few seconds to recognize her. That said, she still had that air about her, as if she were royalty masquerading as a cowgirl.
Or she’s nervous.
She had reason to be.
“Long time,” Maclyn finally said, hooking a thumb in her pocket.
“Six years,” he acknowledged.
Her eyebrows lifted. “Five and a half since you tanked my job chances with Buckley Livestock, but who’s counting?”
Yeah. That. Not his fault. He’d been asked his opinion of Maclyn Kane as a potential employee and had explained his personal experience with her, every word of which was true. He had not sought out the hiring manager of Buckley as she seemed to imply, and was about to correct her, when he thought better of it. Nothing good came of arguing the past, and beyond that, there was something about the way Maclyn held herself, as if about to wade into battle, that stopped him.
“What can I do for you?” he finally asked.
“I’m here about the job you posted in the feed store on the highway.”
Trev tried to hold back the laugh. Failed. Mac’s expression shifted from defensive to pure ice at the choked sound.
“Sorry to have wasted your time.” She turned toward the truck and jerked the partially open door until it bounced on the hinges. The little dog scrambled into the passenger seat.
“Wait.”
Mac turned her head, Sam Elliott style, to wordlessly meet his gaze as he took a few steps forward, making him wonder if he’d imagined the crack in her voice.
“For?” she asked.
He shifted his weight, buying time as he tried to find a place of mental equilibrium. This was weird. “You’re here about the job.”
Her jaw shifted sideways. “I was.”
“Why?” It made no sense.
“I didn’t know that you’d be here.”
She climbed into the truck then and pulled the door handle. Trev caught the frame before the door closed, dropping his hand as she shot him a look. Right. What was he thinking?
He was thinking that he wanted answers. “Mac.”
She abandoned the battle for the door, letting her head drop back against the split vinyl of the headrest. “Yes?”
“What’s going on?”
She closed her eyes as if shutting out a bad memory. It took her a long moment to say, “I need something temporary. A few days even.”
“Why?”
Her eyes came open. “I’m in a spot.”
“What kind of spot?”
“The kind I didn’t expect.”
He raised his eyebrows.
She shifted her gaze to the windshield. “I got fired from my job. I have two horses and a dog to feed.”
He waited for more, but she reached for the ignition instead of explaining. Trev wasn’t ready to let her go. Not just yet.
“Mac.”
She kept her hand on the key as she once again glanced his way. “I don’t expect you to believe me, given our history.”
She gave the word history a nasty twist, which in turn caused something to shift uncomfortably in Trev’s brain. She had been so adamant when he’d confronted her about paying for the damage to his truck. Damage she’d caused, yet refused to take responsibility for.
“Won’t your parents help you out of the spot?” The parents everyone assumed bankrolled her back in the day. Someone had paid for that flashy truck and trailer and one of the best barrel horses on the circuit. Since Maclyn had been barely into her twenties at the time, the assumption was that it wasn’t her writing the checks.
“Not an option.”
Her tone spoke of bridges burned, and he realized how little he knew about this woman. What he’d had was assumptions and amusing anecdotes from Brooke, who had admired her travel partner’s quiet grit. Grit that Trev had secretly pegged as privilege and the knowledge that she could get away with stuff.
“Sell the horses.”
Maclyn gave him a dark look. “Also not an option.”
“Then it appears you’re low on options.”
“Thanks for pointing that out.” She pulled the door shut then and started the engine. Trev stepped back as the truck rolled forward a few feet, then stopped. After a brief hesitation, Maclyn lowered the window.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Here it came.
“I was not driving your truck that night.”
She did stick to her story.
And now for the give away. My book has heat in places (nothing crazy mind you) and some salty language. I know many of our readers are sweet romance readers, so instead of giving away the book, I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card so that the winner can buy any book they’d like. Hopefully two books. Hopefully books written by me or my fellow fillies. 🙂
This is a second chance romance, which is one of my favorite tropes, so I write it often. To be eligible for the gift card, tell me one of your favorite tropes or story themes. Winner will be announced on Sunday.
Felicia Filly Winner!
You guys are so good! Yep, I visited Jeannie Watt in Big Sky Country The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is:
Carrie McCauley
Congratulations!
Fun Town Winner!
I had a great time reading all the fun town names! I’m pleased to announce that the winner of the Amazon gift card is Rhonda Pierce, who shared the name Toad Suck, Arkansas. Congratulations, Rhonda!
Here’s a list of the fun town names collected from the comments. Thank you for sharing!
Fun Town Names and a Give Away
It seems like every state has a few towns with truly unusual names. I wonder sometimes what it’s like to write ZZyzx, California as a return address on an envelope (and this is from someone who wrote Winnemucca, Nevada for 30 years.)
Idaho, the state where I grew up, has a lot of interesting names–Slickpoo, for instance, named after a man who gave land for a Jesuit mission. Washington state has many fun names that are impossible to pronounce unless you’re from the area.
Below I’ve listed a few of my favorites from around the country:
Why, Arizona — named after a Y joining State Routes 85 and highway 86. Arizona law requires that a town’s name have three letters, so Y became Why.
Big Sag, Montana — named for a large sag or dip in the landscape
Atomic City, Idaho — named after its proximity to the National Reactor Testing Station
Skookumchuck, Washington – means water in the Chinook language
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico — named after the Ralph Edwards radio show.
Hygiene, Colorado — named in the 19th Century by the National Cleanliness Society for a sanitarium nearby
Rough and Ready, California – named during the Gold Rush
Boring, Oregon – has a sister city in Scotland named Dull
Chicken, Alaska – named because the miners couldn’t spell ptarmigan.
Now it’s your turn. For a chance for a $10 Amazon gift certificate, add a fun city name in the comments. The only caveat is that it has to be or have been populated at some point in time. I’m looking forward to reading the additions!
UPDATE: I’m reading the fun town names in the comments and loving them! I’m amazed at how the names evolve and stick. Thank you for making me smile and adding to the list! WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON SUNDAY MARCH 29 along with a compilation of the names. I think we need a summary. 🙂