A Husband for Christmas by Sarah J. McNeal in WISHING FOR A COWBOY #Christmas #historicalromance #western

A Husband for Christmas
by Sarah J. McNeal
a short story in
Wishing for a Cowboy
Prairie Rose Publications

RTW is pleased to host the authors of Wishing for a Cowboy, the debut offering of Prairie Rose Publications.  It's available in ebook at Amazon and Smashwords, and in print at Amazon.

RTW's guest today is Sarah J. McNeal.  Sarah is a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal, western, contemporary and historical fiction. She's a retired critical care/ER nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily and Liberty. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery, Victory Tales Press, Western Trail Blazer and Prairie Rose Publications. She welcomes you to visit her at her website or Facebook.

Her story in Wishing for a Cowboy is A Husband for Christmas — A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life.

Jane Pierpont and her son, Robin, survived the Titanic, but her husband went down with the ship and the emotional scars of that night have kept her and her son locked into that frightening event years later . Robin is terrified of deep water and Jane has nightmares and survivor’s guilt. She yearns for a family, a loving husband and maybe another child, but she feels disloyal to Michael’s memory whenever Teekonka RedSky comes near her.

Teekonka RedSky loves Jane and her son, but all his efforts to help them past their painful memories of the night Michael Pierpont died have been unsuccessful. Unwilling to give up, can his Lakota beliefs help him bring peace to Robin and free Jane to love again?

RTW: How did Jane Pierpont and Teekonka Redsky come to you? Were they fully formed, or were they stubborn about telling you their stories?

Sarah J. McNeal

Sarah: Jane Pierpont and Teekonka Redsky first appear in the World War I novel, For Love of Banjo. Banjo rescued Jane and her son, Robin, from a factory fire in New York City and Maggie took them home with her and gave Jane a job at the ranch. Teekonka Redsky is Banjo’s uncle, a half Lakota shaman who, like Banjo, is uniquely gifted with a knowledge for mechanical things.

I knew from the first time Jane and Teekonka met they were attracted to one another. Each of them has just what the other one needs.  I had to write A Husband for Christmas included in the Wishing for a Cowboy anthology for Prairie Rose Publications.

RTW: What is it about Christmas that lends itself to romance? How is Gingerbread Boys incorporated into your story and is it a part of your own family lore?

Sarah: Christmas is about love, love of children, love of family and romantic love. It’s the perfect season for lovers to meet and express their love because it’s a time filled with soft lights, beautiful music, the smell of pine boughs and delicious food and a special magic that encourages the belief that anything is possible.

When Teekonka takes Robin to get a Christmas tree for Jane, she has nothing to decorate it with. Inventive Jane uses gingerbread boys, strings of popcorn and pieces of ribbon and cloth to decorate her tree. The smell of gingerbread just says home to me. When I married, my husband loved gingerbread. I could barely cook, but I taught myself to experiment making the things he liked with my McCalls and Betty Crocker Cookbooks that had been given to me as wedding presents. I made gingerbread boys and loved the way they filled the kitchen with their spicy aroma. So, starting with that first Christmas back in 1970, I started making gingerbread boys. Sometimes I actually hung some on the tree, but mostly, I just decorate them and give them as presents.

RTW: If you lived in Jane Pierpont’s house, how would you decorate it for Christmas?

Sarah: Just the way Jane did, I would place fragrant pine boughs in strategic places with lots of candles and I would decorate a tree with cookies and popcorn strings. I would add bows made from old ribbons and scraps of cloth and see if I could find some sparkly crystals from old chandeliers just the way Jane did.

RTW: What other books do you have for our readers to enjoy?

Sarah: The Wildings of Wyoming stories begin with a time travel book that has a ghost: Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride.  Joe and Lola take in a homeless teenager, Banjo. I had to write about this brave boy all grown up and wrote For Love of Banjo.  I am presently working on a story about Lilith Wilding and Robin Pierpont, Fly Away Heart.

I write is other genres as well. In my paranormals, I just had the Legends of Winatuke series released. These stories are filled with monsters, adventure and, of course, undying love.  Dark Isle, Legends of Winatuke (Book 1), Lake of Sorrows, Legends of Winatuke (Book 2), and The Light of Valmora, Legends of Winatuke (Book 3).  I am presently writing a story about Pennytook, the Gypsy who appears in all these books.

Also just released in a single, is a scary love story, The Curse of the Amber Tomb.  Two other short stories are: Gifts From the Afterlife (a contemporary, paranormal Christmas story), and Heart Song (a contemporary, paranormal romance about a man who survives breast cancer).  I am revising Bitter Notes, a contemporary novella with a sexy Romanian hero and a baby grand piano left out to rot in the rain.

And my all time favorite story, a time travel, paranormal, written about a real family tragedy: The Violin.

♥ ♥ ♥

Cowboys, kisses, and love in the holiday air make for a special recipe in each of these wonderful new stories. Christmas miracles can happen when you're 

Wishing for a Cowboy! 

A Christmas Miracle by Phyliss Miranda 

Acceptance comes not through frosty eyes, but from the warmth of loving hearts. 

Outlaw's Kiss by Cheryl Pierson 

A long-ago schooldays crush is rekindled by an Outlaw's Kiss that sparks true love, and a new future for Jake Morgan and Talia Delano. 

A Husband for Christmas by Sarah J. McNeal 

A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life. 

Peaches by Kathleen Rice Adams 

When a strong-willed schoolteacher invades an irascible rancher's Texas range, not even the spirit of Christmas may be able to prevent all-out war. 

A Gift for Rhoda by Jacquie Rogers 

A mail-order bride disaster! 

Her Christmas Wish by Tracy Garrett 

Her only wish for Christmas was the man who left her behind. 

Covenant by Tanya Hanson 

Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold? 

Charlie's Pie by Livia J. Washburn 

A wounded man, a desperate woman, a gang of ruthless outlaws... and the best pecan pie in Parker County!

Kindle | Smashwords | Print

Peaches, by Kathleen Rice Adams in WISHING FOR A COWBOY #historicalromance @disorderlywords #christmas #western

Peaches
by Kathleen Rice Adams
a short story in
Wishing for a Cowboy
Prairie Rose Publications

RTW is pleased to host the authors of Wishing for a Cowboy, the debut offering of Prairie Rose Publications.  It's available in ebook at Amazon and Smashwords, and in print at Amazon.

RTW's guest today is Kathleen Rice Adams.  An award-winning journalist, editor, and ghostwriter, Kathleen added fiction author to her resume with the publication of “Peaches.” Her first novel will bow in early 2014. Find her online at her website or on Facebook.

Her story in Wishing for a Cowboy is Peaches — Can Ruth sweeten a surly rancher?

Running a ranch and fending off three meddlesome aunts leaves Whit McCandless no time, and even less patience, for the prickly new schoolmarm’s greenhorn carelessness. The teacher needs educating before somebody gets hurt.

Ruth Avery can manage her children and her school just fine without interference from some philistine of a rancher. If he’d pay more attention to his cattle and less to her affairs, they’d both prosper.

He didn’t expect to need rescuing. She never intended to fall in love.

RTW: How did Ruth and Whit come to you?  Were they fully formed, or were they stubborn about telling you their stories?

Kathleen: My characters, particularly the heroines, always start out stubborn. Once I coax them out from under their rocks, though, I can’t get them to shut up. It’s like wrangling a herd of five-year-olds on speed over here most of the time.

One of the most enjoyable — and at the same time, most frustrating — things about writing fiction is the way characters and their stories morph during the writing. No matter how much I try to cast stellar, team-spirited, ensemble players, I never end up with the characters I intended to hire. Evidently, the word is out that I’m an idiot in need of serious supervision, and it’s best to play along with me until someone who knows what they’re doing can snatch the reins and steer the wagon away from the cliff.

Kathleen Rice Adams

RTW: What is it about Christmas that lends itself to romance?

Kathleen: Sugar overload. Everyone alternates between a sugar high and a tryptophan snooze from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, and the constant vacillation fools with our heads.

All kidding aside, I think those of us who celebrate Christmas learned when we were very young that it’s the one time of year when even enemies put aside grievances and try to live the spirit of the words “peace on Earth, goodwill to men.” Families block out work, politics, and the struggle to survive in an increasingly volatile society and focus on what really matters: one another. The effort may last only a single day, but it creates a special kind of magic.

RTW: How is peach pie incorporated into your story, and is it a part of your own family lore?

Kathleen: Remember those characters I mentioned earlier—the ones who grab the reins and steer the wagon away from a cliff? They’re not always human, or even sentient. In “Peaches,” the reins-snatcher was juicy, fuzzy fruit.

When I started working on “Peaches,” an episode from my grandmother and grandfather’s apparently brief-but-intense courtship served as inspiration. The story goes that Granny, a young widow, had moved to rural North Texas with her three rowdy, pre-teen sons in order to take a job as the schoolmarm in a one-room country schoolhouse.

And lo, a church social came to pass, and a gaggle of the faithful—determined to ensure the poor, widowed minister’s daughter with three darling boys didn’t embarrass herself before the eligible men in the congregation — arrived to help Granny with her contribution to the feast: a peach pie. Because no one wanted the pie to suffer from a lack of spice, every time Granny turned her back, one of the “helpers” added more nutmeg on the sly.

As luck would have it, the first person to taste the pie at the social was a local rancher of some fifty years who had never married. Reportedly, after his near brush with the Hereafter at the hands of the nutmeg, he announced to the congregation that he supposed he ought to marry that little woman lest her next attempt to lasso a husband killed somebody.

Of course, “Peaches” turned out nothing like that. Word to the wise: Resist the temptation to turn fruit loose in a story.

RTW: I'll certainly be wary of any peaches knocking on my door. :)  If you lived in Ruth’s house, how would you decorate it for Christmas?

Kathleen: Honestly, I’m more drawn to the scents than the sights of the season, so I’d probably decorate much as Ruth did: a small, fragrant tree with whatever ornaments I could scrounge up and the aromas of baking and spices filling the air. In all likelihood, Whit would never set foot inside the door of my home during the holidays, because the top of the big Franklin stove in the dining room always bears a simmering pot of spices and pine or citrus. The whole house smells wonderful.

RTW: What other books do you have for our readers to enjoy?

Kathleen: I don’t have anything else in print right now, but I’m hoping to rectify that soon. I’m contributing to Prairie Rose’s Valentine’s Day anthology, Hearts and Spurs (due in print and e-book Jan. 15, 2014), and my first novel is on Prairie Rose’s schedule for early next year. In the western historical romance Prodigal Gun, childhood sweethearts separated by one war are reunited by another…but they’re on opposite sides of the barbed-wire fence at the heart of the conflict.

Thanks for hosting me, Jacquie. It’s a pleasure and an honor to appear on Romancing the West.

♥ ♥ ♥

Cowboys, kisses, and love in the holiday air make for a special recipe in each of these wonderful new stories. Christmas miracles can happen when you're 

Wishing for a Cowboy! 

A Christmas Miracle by Phyliss Miranda 

Acceptance comes not through frosty eyes, but from the warmth of loving hearts. 

Outlaw's Kiss by Cheryl Pierson 

A long-ago schooldays crush is rekindled by an Outlaw's Kiss that sparks true love, and a new future for Jake Morgan and Talia Delano. 

A Husband for Christmas by Sarah J. McNeal 

A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life. 

Peaches by Kathleen Rice Adams 

When a strong-willed schoolteacher invades an irascible rancher's Texas range, not even the spirit of Christmas may be able to prevent all-out war. 

A Gift for Rhoda by Jacquie Rogers 

A mail-order bride disaster! 

Her Christmas Wish by Tracy Garrett 

Her only wish for Christmas was the man who left her behind. 

Covenant by Tanya Hanson 

Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold? 

Charlie's Pie by Livia J. Washburn 

A wounded man, a desperate woman, a gang of ruthless outlaws... and the best pecan pie in Parker County!

Kindle | Smashwords | Print

Outlaw's Kiss by Cheryl Pierson in WISHING FOR A COWBOY #western #historicalromance #Christmas

Outlaw's Kiss
by Cheryl Pierson
a short story in
Wishing for a Cowboy
Prairie Rose Publications

RTW is pleased to host the authors of Wishing for a Cowboy, the debut offering of Prairie Rose Publications.  It's available in ebook at Amazon and Smashwords, and in print at Amazon.

RTW's guest today is Cheryl Pierson.  Cheryl is a native-born Oklahoman who writes award winning westerns and WHR novels and short stories. She is also co-owner of Prairie Rose Publications. She lives with her husband, Gary, and “granddog,” Embry, in Oklahoma City, OK.

Her story in Wishing for a Cowboy is Outlaw's Kiss — Can Talia resist the Outlaw's Kiss?

Talia Delano has been humiliated before the entire town of Rock Creek by Jake Morgan. A known gunman, Jake has bid an outrageous sum for Talia’s "boxed supper", a kiss, and the gift of her time for the rest of the Independence Day celebration. But, as always, Jake changes the rules and takes more than he should—especially with the whole town watching. Talia’s chance of happiness is dashed, along with her reputation, when Jake leaves Rock Creek suddenly.  When he shows up five months later at her farmhouse, wounded, and in the midst of a blinding snowstorm, she can’t turn him away — even though she knows being along with him will cause tongues to wag once more. But with Christmas only two days away, how can she harden her heart against the handsome outlaw who has no place else to go—even if he is being trailed by someone just as dangerous? Magic and danger are woven together in the Outlaw's Kiss.

Cheryl Pierson

RTW: How did Jake Morgan and Talia Delano come to you?  Were they fully formed, or were they stubborn about telling you their stories?

Cheryl: I actually wrote part of this story as a flash fiction piece — just one short scene of it. From there, the full blown story of their relationship evolved, and it just flowed. I knew Jake was going to be wounded — my heroes always are. (They all run for the hills when they find out they're going to be in one of my stories! LOL) Just wasn't sure what had happened to him at first. Then it all became very clear.

RTW: What is it about Christmas that lends itself to romance?  How is Talia's recipe for Parker House dinner rolls incorporated into your story and is it a part of your own family lore?

Cheryl: Christmas is always a time of evaluating, I think, with the coming year approaching. For my characters in this story, it's a chance of a true Christmas miracle happening, and a time for them to look for their own happiness, for a change.

My mom used to make some wonderful rolls from scratch. I'm not sure that this is the exact recipe, but it's close. I still remember how good they were!

RTW: If you lived in Talia's house, how would you decorate it for Christmas?

Cheryl: Talia inherited her house from her parents who both passed away five years earlier. She lives there with her little brother, Michael, whom she has cared for since he was seven. They don't have a lot of money, but they do have a home that's nicer than most for the area. Talia is very resourceful, so she knows how to bring the inner glow of things out with simple decorations — and while she would love the beauty of the more elaborate candles and so on, she would never spend money on them. So if I were decorating her house, I would buy some fragrant candles and put up a good-size tree in the corner of the front room.

RTW: What other books do you have for our readers to enjoy?

Cheryl: Gabriel's Law is my latest novel, published through Western Trail Blazer. Here's the blurb for it:

When Brandon Gabriel is hired by the citizens of Spring Branch to hunt down the notorious Clayton Gang, he doesn't suspect a double-cross. When Allison Taylor rides into town for supplies, she doesn't expect to be sickened by the sight of a man being beaten to death by a mob. When Spring Branch's upstanding citizens gather round to see a murder, nobody expects to hear the click of a gun in the hands of an angel bent on justice. Life is full of surprises. Brandon and Allie reconnect instantly, though it's been ten years since their last encounter. She's protected him before. As Brandon recovers at Allie's ranch, the memories flood back, and his heart is lost to her. He also knows staying with her will ruin everything. She's made a life for herself and her son. She's respectable. She has plans – plans that don't include him. But could they?

Trouble is never far away, and someone else wants Allison Taylor and her ranch. Danger looms large when a fire is set and a friend is abducted. Allie and Brandon discover they are battling someone they never suspected; someone who will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who stands in his way. As Brandon faces down the man who threatens to steal everything from him, he realizes he is desperately in love with Allie and this new life they are making for themselves. Has Brandon finally found everything he's ever wanted only to lose it all? Can Brandon and Allie confront the past, face down their demons, and forge their dreams into a future?

[RTW Note: Cheryl has lots more books.  For a complete listing, check her Amazon page.]

♥ ♥ ♥

Cowboys, kisses, and love in the holiday air make for a special recipe in each of these wonderful new stories. Christmas miracles can happen when you're 

Wishing for a Cowboy! 

A Christmas Miracle by Phyliss Miranda 

Acceptance comes not through frosty eyes, but from the warmth of loving hearts. 

Outlaw's Kiss by Cheryl Pierson 

A long-ago schooldays crush is rekindled by an Outlaw's Kiss that sparks true love, and a new future for Jake Morgan and Talia Delano. 

A Husband for Christmas by Sarah J. McNeal 

A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life. 

Peaches by Kathleen Rice Adams 

When a strong-willed schoolteacher invades an irascible rancher's Texas range, not even the spirit of Christmas may be able to prevent all-out war. 

A Gift for Rhoda by Jacquie Rogers 

A mail-order bride disaster! 

Her Christmas Wish by Tracy Garrett 

Her only wish for Christmas was the man who left her behind. 

Covenant by Tanya Hanson 

Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold? 

Charlie's Pie by Livia J. Washburn 

A wounded man, a desperate woman, a gang of ruthless outlaws... and the best pecan pie in Parker County!

Kindle | Smashwords | Print

Covenant, by Tanya Hanson in WISHING FOR A COWBOY #western #christmas #romance

Covenant
by Tanya Hanson
a short story in
Wishing for a Cowboy
Prairie Rose Publications

RTW is pleased to host the authors of Wishing for a Cowboy, the debut offering of Prairie Rose Publications.  It's available in ebook at Amazon and Smashwords, and in print at Amazon.

RTW's guest today is Tanya Hanson.  A California beach girl, Tanya loves cowboys and American history, so she writes Western romance, both historical and contemporary, both sensual and inspirational. She’s even concocting a Young Adult romance set in the Donner party.

Her story in Wishing for a Cowboy is Covenant — Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold?

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 springerle 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?

RTW: How did Ella and Carsten come to you?  Were they fully formed, or were they stubborn about telling you their stories?

Tanya:  Ella is a family name, so that one was easy. Since the couple has a German heritage, I went to a list of German boys names on the internet. Carsten jumped right out! 

I have to admit, when I was invited to contribute to this anthology, the story... well, it didn’t write itself. It’s crazy when an author says that because writing is hard work. But the bones of the story formed quick inside my head.

Tanya Hanson

RTW: What is it about Christmas that lends itself to romance?  How is springerle incorporated into your story and is it a part of your own family lore?

Tanya: I am a Hallmark Christmas movie junkie. I even watch/DVR them during their Christmas in July month when they preview their new ornaments. I just love how everything in those movies fixes up on Christmas Eve, promising peace and hope. I know that’s not how real-life is, but we write romance, right? How we’d like things to be! So I wanted to write a story that really wrenches the heartstrings, but turns all warm and fuzzy at the end.

The springerle (anise cookies shaped by carved picture molds) popped into my head right away. Weird, I’m not a baker and my gram, who used to make them, has been gone from us a long, long time. So maybe she sent that inspiration down from heaven. I mean it sincerely.  Carsten, the carving scenes of Ella’s life during their courtship, and then their reconciliation, just gelled.

RTW: If you lived in the Green’s house, how would you decorate it for Christmas? 

Tanya:  You know, I almost put this in the story: a tree branch with white cotton batting (for snow) around each twig, each hung with a hand-made Christmas ornament.  Paper hearts and lace angels. Pinecones or nuts hung with calico ribbons. Popcorn and paper chains. Decorations made from punched tin...

A branch was a make-do Christmas tree on the prairie where pines didn’t grow. A branch like this would last from year to year. Carsten was proud to have a wood house for his mail-order bride instead of a soddy (we’re in Nebraska)... so I can see a Christmas branch as the real centerpiece of their holiday. But this year, they’re grieving the loss of a child. 

RTW: What other books do you have for our readers to enjoy? 

Tanya: I LOVE my Lawmen and Outlaws series going on at The Wild Rose Press — three novellas where a bad guy turns good because of a good woman’s love. Christmas for Ransom takes place, duh, at Christmas. It’s a short, heart-warming read all y’all just might like — Jack stole her granny’s horses and unbeknownst to either of them, the handsome outlaw hires lovely schoolmarm Eliza to teach him to read... of course they are In Love before he gets found out. Sigh.

(The second book is releasing right now, and the third one will be out next year. Doing edits on it just now, my editor suggested another story about one of the unseen characters so... there ya go!)

Better yet, my first-ever long, inspirational western historical, Claiming His Heart, will be released by Prairie Rose Publications this very month! I’m extra-thrilled... my mom just went into hospice care (she’s 93 and frail) so now I can give her a print copy for Christmas.  She’s never been able to Kindle e-books.

♥ ♥ ♥

Cowboys, kisses, and love in the holiday air make for a special recipe in each of these wonderful new stories. Christmas miracles can happen when you're 

Wishing for a Cowboy! 

A Christmas Miracle by Phyliss Miranda 

Acceptance comes not through frosty eyes, but from the warmth of loving hearts. 

Outlaw's Kiss by Cheryl Pierson 

A long-ago schooldays crush is rekindled by an Outlaw's Kiss that sparks true love, and a new future for Jake Morgan and Talia Delano. 

A Husband for Christmas by Sarah J. McNeal 

A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life. 

Peaches by Kathleen Rice Adams 

When a strong-willed schoolteacher invades an irascible rancher's Texas range, not even the spirit of Christmas may be able to prevent all-out war. 

A Gift for Rhoda by Jacquie Rogers 

A mail-order bride disaster! 

Her Christmas Wish by Tracy Garrett 

Her only wish for Christmas was the man who left her behind. 

Covenant by Tanya Hanson 

Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold? 

Charlie's Pie by Livia J. Washburn 

A wounded man, a desperate woman, a gang of ruthless outlaws... and the best pecan pie in Parker County!

Kindle | Smashwords | Print

A Gift for Rhoda by Jacquie Rogers in WISHING FOR A COWBOY #romance #western

A Gift for Rhoda
by Jacquie Rogers
a short story in
Wishing for a Cowboy
Prairie Rose Publications

RTW is pleased to host the authors of Wishing for a Cowboy, the debut offering of Prairie Rose Publications.  It's available in ebook at Amazon and Smashwords, and in print at Amazon.

I'm my own guest today, actually, and what an honor to be included in this anthology! I’m a country girl at heart, raised on a dairy farm in Idaho — a great place to grow up.  My friend and I rode our horses all over the Owyhee Mountains and managed to get ourselves in just about every sort of pickle.  Now I live in the suburbs of Seattle with my husband who is also my cheerleader (sans pompoms) and proofreader.  I write in several genres including fantasy romance, and YA fantasy, but mostly western historical romance.  My latest release is Sleight of Heart.  The fourth book in my award-winning Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Miners, will be released later this month.

I love to hear from readers!  Please visit my website, sign up for my newsletter, or join the fun at the Pickle Barrel Bar & Books at Facebook.

My story in Wishing for a Cowboy is A Gift for Rhoda — A mail-order bride disaster!

Rhoda Johnson is stranded in a lonely cabin without a groom.  The townsfolk say she's better off without him, but her drunken groom sends a message that he'll claim her as his Christmas bride.  Gunman and ex-Confederate soldier Nate Harmon comes to Idaho to make peace with his abolitionist preacher father.  When half-frozen Nate reaches the cabin on a snowy Christmas Eve, instead of finding his folks, he's greeted by a pretty blonde with a shotgun who keeps calling him Mr. Snyder.  Will she shoot him, or melt his heart?

Jacquie Rogers

RTW: How did Nate and Rhoda come to you?  Were they fully formed, or were they stubborn about telling you their stories?

Jacquie: My first vision of this story was a huge bear of a man, Nate, huddled over from the cold, trudging up a mountain trail leading his tired horse.  What I didn’t know was why Nate would endure so much to get wherever he was going — but I knew his personality and how much he hurt inside.  I wrote the first scene and before I finished it, I saw Rhoda peeking through the cabin window.  She’s of mostly Swedish ancestry, a natural blond, but has had little available to eat so is thinner than she’d normally be.  Once I saw her, she jabbered in my ear to convince me she was the right woman for Nate — because I had my doubts.  She did sway me to her side, and I think Nate and Rhoda complement each other very well.

RTW: What is it about Christmas that lends itself to romance?  How is Rhoda’s Wedding Custard incorporated into your story and is it a part of your own family lore?

Jacquie: Christmas is the end of the year, the Winter Solstice, the dawn of new beginnings.  It’s a time where we practice the adage that it’s better to give than to receive.  Nate keeps giving but Rhoda doesn’t know what to make of either the gifts or the man.  

As for our own family food lore, it’s mostly based on delicious, down-home cooking.  When I was invited to participate in Wishing for a Cowboy, I panicked because our family doesn’t use recipes.  I cook and bake, but I come from a long line of “dumpers.”  A little of this, a handful of that, a dollop of that over there.  Stir until it feels right.  Oops, throw in a little more of that.  Stir again.  Now you know our family recipe for just about anything.  So I had to measure what I put in — which totally messes me up but luckily I’m married to an engineer.  He measured all my additions and subtractions and wrote up the recipe for Rhoda’s Wedding Custard printed in Wishing for a Cowboy.

RTW: If you lived in Rhoda’s house, how would you decorate it for Christmas?

Jacquie: I’d want that wonderful smell of Ponderosa Pine, so I’d decorate the sitting room with pine boughs and cones, maybe even berries if available, and ribbon would be pretty, too.  There might be room for a dinky Christmas tree in the corner.  I’d string anything I could find that’s colorful and make garlands for it.  Assuming I had string, of course.

RTW: What other books do you have for our readers to enjoy?

Jacquie:  My latest release is Sleight of Heart, the first in the High-Stakes Heroes series.  Next week, my traditional western short story, ’Twas the Fight Before Christmas, will be released in the Western Fictioneers anthology, Wolf Creek, Book 9: A Wolf Creek Christmas.  Later this month, the fourth book of the Hearts of Owyhee series will be released, Much Ado About Miners.

♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Mavericks

♥ ♥ ♥

Cowboys, kisses and love in the holiday air make for a special recipe in each of these wonderful new stories. Christmas miracles can happen when you're 

Wishing for a Cowboy! 

A Christmas Miracle by Phyliss Miranda 

Acceptance comes not through frosty eyes, but from the warmth of loving hearts. 

Outlaw's Kiss by Cheryl Pierson 

A long-ago schooldays crush is rekindled by an Outlaw's Kiss that sparks true love, and a new future for Jake Morgan and Talia Delano. 

A Husband for Christmas by Sarah J. McNeal 

A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life. 

Peaches by Kathleen Rice Adams 

When a strong-willed schoolteacher invades an irascible rancher's Texas range, not even the spirit of Christmas may be able to prevent all-out war. 

A Gift for Rhoda by Jacquie Rogers 

A mail-order bride disaster! 

Her Christmas Wish by Tracy Garrett 

Her only wish for Christmas was the man who left her behind. 

Covenant by Tanya Hanson 

Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold? 

Charlie's Pie by Livia J. Washburn 

A wounded man, a desperate woman, a gang of ruthless outlaws... and the best pecan pie in Parker County!

Kindle | Smashwords | Print

Charlie's Pie by Livia J. Washburn in WISHING FOR A COWBOY

Charlie's Pie
by Livia J. Washburn
a short story in
Wishing for a Cowboy
Prairie Rose Publications

RTW is pleased to host the authors of Wishing for a Cowboy, the debut offering of Prairie Rose Publications.  It's available in ebook at Amazon and Smashwords, and in print at Amazon.

My special guest today is Livia J. Washburn, who's been writing award-winning, critically acclaimed western, romance, mystery, and historical novels for over thirty years. She's secretary and publisher at Western Fictioneers and co-owner of Prairie Rose Publications.

Livia's story in Wishing for a Cowboy is Charlie's Pie — Lauralee Brannam just wants to bake her son's favorite pie for his birthday, which happens to fall on Christmas Eve. But then a wounded stranger shows up on her Texas ranch, and his fateful visit leads to violence, tragedy, and redemption in this stirring Western tale.

RTW: How did Lauralee and Burke come to you?  Were they fully formed, or were they stubborn about telling you their stories?

Livia J. Washburn

Livia: They came to me almost fully formed. Both have secrets, or at least things about them that aren't immediately apparent, but I knew what those things were before I started the story. Because of the length, there isn't room for a great deal of history about either of them, but I was able to get in the important things, I think. Sometimes when I start a story I don't know that much about the characters and even less about what's going to happen, but that wasn't the case here. I have no idea why some stories are so much more developed in my head before I start writing, but it's a happy accident when it happens. Of course, I always allow myself the freedom to change my mind if something better occurs to me during the writing.

RTW: What is it about Christmas that lends itself to romance?  How is Charlie's Pecan Pie incorporated into your story and is it a part of your own family lore?

Livia: For me, Christmas lends itself to romance because it's a time of year when we take stock of our lives, a mile marker on another year nearly done, so to speak, a time to reflect on all the good things we have in our lives but also the things that we're missing. I had the heroine of "Charlie's Pie" bake a pecan pie because that's my youngest daughter's favorite type of pie, and I like it a lot, too. It's a central part of the story not only because it's the main catalyst for the action but also because of what it represents to Lauralee.

RTW: If you lived in Lauralee's house, how would you decorate it for Christmas?

Livia: If I lived in Lauralee's house, I would definitely have a Christmas tree. It's just not Christmas without a tree! I'd decorate it with colorful bows and ribbons and homemade ornaments carved from wood. If any holly plants grew in the area I'd put sprigs of holly on the fireplace mantle. I might have candles burning, too, but carefully. You don't want to be careless with candles when you live in a wooden cabin.

RTW: What other books do you have for our readers to enjoy?

Livia: I have a sweet romantic western that came out a few years ago, but is still available, Mending Fences. The eighth book in my Fresh Baked Mystery series, Wedding Cake Killer, was released in mass market paperback on November 5 (it's already available as a trade paperback or e-book), and #9, The Fatal Funnel Cake, was released in trade paperback and in e-book on the same day.

♥ ♥ ♥

Cowboys, kisses and love in the holiday air make for a special recipe in each of these wonderful new stories. Christmas miracles can happen when you're 

Wishing for a Cowboy! 

A Christmas Miracle by Phyliss Miranda 

Acceptance comes not through frosty eyes, but from the warmth of loving hearts. 

Outlaw's Kiss by Cheryl Pierson 

A long-ago schooldays crush is rekindled by an Outlaw's Kiss that sparks true love, and a new future for Jake Morgan and Talia Delano. 

A Husband for Christmas by Sarah J. McNeal 

A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life. 

Peaches by Kathleen Rice Adams 

When a strong-willed schoolteacher invades an irascible rancher's Texas range, not even the spirit of Christmas may be able to prevent all-out war. 

A Gift for Rhoda by Jacquie Rogers 

A mail-order bride disaster! 

Her Christmas Wish by Tracy Garrett 

Her only wish for Christmas was the man who left her behind. 

Covenant by Tanya Hanson 

Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold? 

Charlie's Pie by Livia J. Washburn 

A wounded man, a desperate woman, a gang of ruthless outlaws... and the best pecan pie in Parker County!

Kindle | Smashwords | Print