Happy Valentine's Day - And a Giveaway of No Place for a Lady!

Posted by Tina Dee Books | Labels: , , , | Posted On February 10, 2010 at 3:33 AM

by Maggie Brendan

In celebration of Valentine’s Day this weekend, my valentine to you romantic readers is to give you a chance to get a copy of No Place for a Lady, book 1 in Heart of the West series. 

I’m looking forward to the final release in June entitled A Love of Her Own.
 
Here’s a couple of 18th Century valentines and a couple of cowboy valentines.
 
Have you bought your valentines yet? Better get on the stick. It’s Sunday, you know. 

 Leave a comment about your most favorite Valentine Day Card you received for a chance to win my book. My favorite cards were the first ones that my daughter and son cut out and glued hearts on construction paper with their sweet little hands for me. I still have them. Such a treasure!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Maggie

Crystal Clark arrives in Colorado's Yampa Valley amid the splendor of a high country June in 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt Kate's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land--even if a certain handsome foreman doubts her abilities.

Just when she thinks she's getting a handle on the constant male attention from the cowhands and the catty barbs from some of the local young women, tragedy strikes the ranch. Crystal will have to tap all of her resolve to save the ranch from a greedy neighboring landowner. Can she rise to the challenge? Or will she head back to Georgia defeated?

Book one in the Heart of the West series, No Place for a Lady is full of adventure, romance, and the indomitable human spirit. Readers will fall in love with the Colorado setting and the spunky Southern belle who wants to claim it as her own. 

1 comments

I'm Pleased

Posted by Terry Burns | Labels: | Posted On February 07, 2010 at 6:00 AM


Yes, I’m pleased.

Forgive me for taking advantage of this forum to talk about myself, but allow me to take my agents hat off for a minute and put my writer’s hat on. For those that know me it means putting the new Silver Stetson back in the box until the next conference and slipping on the old sweat-stained Stetson.

I’m pleased because I was at a Christian writers conference at The Ghost Ranch in New Mexico and I was asked to read a little of my cowboy poetry (I haven’t written a lot of it but I do have a small cowboy poetry book) at an evening campfire they were having. It was very well received, but that wasn’t what surprised and pleased me. Following the conference I was approached by Maggie Woychik of Port Yonder Press asking if she could put the little poetry book back in print.

It has only happened to me a couple of times that an editor has contacted ME soliciting a project instead of the other way around and it is a nice feeling. It got better.

After I agreed and provided her with the manuscript for the poetry book she came back and asked if I had some short stories that could go with it. I had some that were unpublished and a number that had already been published somewhere, but of course I only sold first rights on them so they could be re-printed. She kept asking for more until finally we were talking about a four volume set of the “collected short works of Terry Burns.”

THAT is what pleased me, that someone would think my short works worth collecting and that she would make the contact with me to do it. It will be called “The Sagebrush Collection” and the first book “On the Road Home” is just coming out. It focuses on stories of ‘life and love’ with a good sized western short story in the back. The second book will focus on cowboy poetry and western content and will be the ‘cowboy book’ – untitled as yet. It still leaves plenty for two more, although the themes for them are not set in stone yet.

Port Yonder press is a start up that is getting up to speed fast. I'm expecting them to do very well and you can find out more about them at http://portyonderpress.com/ I just hope my little project does well for them (because I wish them well, but also so they will continue for the whole series).

You may not want to know what makes me tick, but some of the stories in the book are heavily autobiographical and reveal more about me than I ever thought I would make public. I hope you will favor it with a read . . . and let me know what you think.
18 comments

In Search of Fred Harvey - Guest Post by Tracie Peterson

Posted by Tina Dee Books | Labels: , | Posted On February 04, 2010 at 12:02 AM


by Tracie Peterson 
Who was Fred Harvey and why should I care to search for him?  Fred Harvey was an incredible Englishman who came to America with a spirit to succeed.  He was one of the first to bring about the “chain restaurant” in his Harvey Houses.  19th century train travel was definite not for the faint of heart.  It was long, dirty, uncomfortable (many train seats were wooden without cushions), and expensive.
Add to the above mentioned problems was the issue of feeding folks.  Trains had schedules to keep – not that they did that very well, but they tried.  Water stops generally didn’t even allow folks to get off the train, and when they were allowed to make lengthier stops to take on fuel or tend to other matters, the time allowed wasn’t all that long.  Most passengers learned to pack food for long journeys on the train, but most would make a mad scramble for the local general store or pray there were food vendors on the depot platform.
Now given that some train trips from the east to the west lasted as long as weeks instead of days – depending on the weather and track conditions – that was a long time to go without regular meals.  Fred Harvey saw this situation and decided to do something about it—at least for the Santa Fe Railroad.
The Santa Fe Railroad started in Kansas. Remember the “Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” song of fame and fortune?  Harvey’s goal was to provide fast, pleasant service with waitresses who were uniformed, clean, pleasing to look at, and personable.  The “Harvey Girls” had to sign a contract promising to work for six months and not get married during that time.  They were to have at least an eighth grade education and show good manners. They underwent rigorous training to learn how to wear the uniform—how to style their hair—and how to handle customers
 Fred also wanted to provide a “cut above” type service regarding the food and setting.  In order to do this, Harvey decided it would be crucial to have every single restaurant present the same benefits and meals right down to the taste of the coffee.  In order to do the latter, he had water brought in tanker cars to each of the restaurants along the rail to avoid local water issues like too much iron or alkali.  Each restaurant was also set with the finest china, crystal, Irish linens and silver.  It was to be a fine dining experience even if it lasted only a few minutes.
Portions were to be served of only the finest cuts of beef, lamb, pork and so forth.  World famous chefs were hired to cook. Pies were to be cut in quarter—just image eating a quarter of a pie after an already generous meal.  No skimping.  Fred didn’t want anyone going away hungry, and he didn’t care about his restaurants making profits.  If they broke even that was successful as far as he was concerned, and if a restaurant started showing a profit, he fired the managers because he knew they were cutting corners.  When Fred died, it’s recorded that he told his sons, “Don’t cut the ham too thin, boys!”
The Harvey Houses were located every 100 miles all along the Santa Fe Railroad with a decided southwest and Native American flavoring.   Eventually the Harvey Houses were expanded to other lines and dining cars were added to the trains to offer “on-the-rails” service.  Fred loved what he was able to provide the public, and the traveler loved Fred.  There are a few Harvey Houses around today, and an extension of the business can still be seen in some of the National Parks.  If you get a chance to visit some of these sights, I highly recommend:
La Fonda in Santa Fe, New Mexico –

  La Posada in Winslow Arizona –

 and El Tovar at the Grand Canyon to name a few.
You can actually enjoy great meals 
and stay in these wonderful hotels 
for a real historical experience. 



 Released December 2009                                                                              Releases March 2010   
4 comments

Tamera Alexander ~ A giveaway of her latest book!

Posted by Tina Dee Books | Labels: , | Posted On February 01, 2010 at 12:05 AM


by Tamera Alexander

Let’s play a game! And yes, there will be a prize at the end!

I'm going to list some dialogue from a few of my favorite movies and let's see how many you're able to guess. Just raise your hand when you recognize the movie. Ready? Let's go! (And no googling or cheating!)

Movie #1
“Look, I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some time, one or both of us is gonna want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life…”
Got it? Okay, here's another one...
Movie #2
“Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least for a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take...our freedom!”
Okay, that was easy, right? Here's another...
Movie #3
"You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before…”
Okay, stop your swoonin', gals, and raise and your hand. I know you know that one!
Movie #4
First woman: "I do not attempt to deny that I think very highly of him--that I greatly esteem him... I like him."
Second woman: "Esteem him? Like him? Use those insipid words again and I shall leave the room this instant."
Got it? If yes, then you'll immediately recognize this line of dialogue from the same movie...
"My heart is, and always will be, yours."
I LOVE that scene, and I've watched this movie no telling how many times. Okay, three more, then I'll give you the answers (if you don't already know them).
Movie #5
"I find it amusing. Men are supposed to be made out of steel or something. I just sat there. I just held Shelby's hand. There was no noise, no tremble, just peace. Oh God... I realize as a woman how lucky I am. I was there when that wonderful creature drifted into my life and I was there when she drifted out. It was the most precious moment of my life."
Can't you just see that scene again? Aren't you right back in that moment? I am. All because of words.
Movie #6
First Character: I wish [it] had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened.
Second Character: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
Okay, that was [almost] a “gimme.”
And lastly...
Movie #7
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind..." 
How many movies did you recognize?
The movies are (in order): Runaway Bride, Braveheart, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Steel Magnolias, Lord of the Rings, and Beauty and the Beast
Words have such power, and words stay with us, as evidenced above. (And if you’re wondering why I chose movies to quote instead of novels, it’s because it’s more likely that our movie viewing will overlap, since we’re such a diverse group, rather than our novel reading.)
In Bird by Bird (fabulous book for writers), Anne Lamott shares, “One line of dialogue that rings true reveals character in a way that pages of description can’t.”  That’s so true! I love reading a book where I can hear the characters speaking. When I can hear their individual voices. Authentic dialogue makes for authentic characters that jump off the page and make us want to keep reading.
The same is true for us in  “real life.” Our conversation and dialogue with each other reveal who we are. The words we choose say so much about us. At times, perhaps far more than we’d like for them to!
I’ve just spent the last few hours––yes, hours––reading through a few pages of dialogue in my next book that’s due to the publisher today (can you hear me choking?). As I read the dialogue aloud, I checked for pacing and tone. Did the dialogue adequately reflect the emotions of the character? Was the dialogue “true” or was it “subtexting” (where the characters are talking about one thing on the surface, when really they’re talking about something else entirely different). Had I chosen the best words to communicate what the characters were trying to say?
And then it struck me…how much better––more uplifting, more God-honoring, and encouraging––would my dialogue in real life be if I spent more time thinking about what I was going to say before I said it. You may not have that little problem, but I often do. And I identify with David in Psalm 141:3, when he prayed, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
Words are powerful and lasting, as proven by the snippets of dialogue from the movies above. Which reminds me…I promised a prize!


I’m giving away a copy of my latest book, Beyond This Moment, coupled with a DVD of Sense and Sensibility, one of my all-time favorite movies. If you’d like to be included in the drawing, simply indicate that when you leave a comment.
Continued blessings, and may your words (and mine) be full of life!
Tammy
38 comments

Movies To NetFlix® From 1954

Posted by Stephen and Janet Bly | Labels: , , , , , | Posted On January 29, 2010 at 12:01 AM

By Stephen Bly

In doing research for Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon, I learned a lot about the year 1954. For one thing, I was there as a 10-year-old. So was the narrator of this novel to be released June 2010, set in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I can’t tell you about television in 1954. We didn’t have one yet. Didn’t matter. Didn’t need one. When I came home from school, I did chores or played outside until dark and Mom made me come indoors. Now, that does sound like a century ago.
I listened to Sergeant Preston on the radio. What memories. How I wanted to be a mountie and own a dog like King.
And I went to the movies.

Here’s four western movies that might have been playing in downtown Albuquerque in 1954:
Broken Lance. . . cattle baron Matt Devereaux raids a copper smelter that is polluting his water, then divides his property among his sons. Stars Spencer Tracy and Robert Wagner.

Apache. . . Following the surrender of Geronimo, Massai, the last Apache warrior is captured. He escapes and heads for his homeland to win back his girl and settle down to grow crops. His pursuers have other plans. Stars Burt Lancaster and Jean Peters.


The Far Country. . .In 1896, Jeff Webster sees the start of the Klondike gold rush as a golden opportunity. Two cowboys in search of gold in Alaska help a wagon train along the way. Stars James Stewart and Ruth Roman.





The Cattle Queen of Montana. . .The Jones family, about to prove claim to prime Montana land, is raided by renegade Indians. Stars Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan.


Like a good movie, a novel can so captivate you that you’ll forget time and place, take a break from anxiety and angst, at least for an afternoon. That’s one of the delights of the books like those featured on Tina Dee’s great Bustles And Spurs blog.

On the trail,
Stephen Bly


Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BlyBooks
Friend me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/StephenBly


Check out what’s available today on the Free Stuff page and Articles that you or your study group can download from our website:
http://www.BlyBooks.com/freestuff.html or http://www.BlyBooks.com/articles.htm
4 comments

Meet My Cowboy Grandfather

Posted by Tina Dee Books | Labels: , | Posted On January 27, 2010 at 5:14 AM


by Molly Noble Bull
www.mollynoblebull.com


Seth Woods, Molly’s grandfather, 
at the Santa Rosa Ranch in Kenedy County,  
Texas in the nineteen twenties or thirties.


My grandfather, Seth Woods, ran the Santa Rosa Ranch in Kenedy County, Texas for almost forty years and led the kind of life that actor, John Wayne, often played in the movies. During his later years, author Jay Frank Doby visited Seth at the Santa Rosa near Sarita, Texas to get background information for his books on Texas and the old west. 
           

Jay Frank Doby (Texas author) at the Santa Rosa Ranch in 
Kenedy County, Texas in the twenties or thirties. 

Born in San Saba, Texas in 1879, Seth Woods learned about horses at an early age because his father, Andrew Woods, broke wild horses for a living. Seth's father would tie him to the saddle in order to break the horses, and while still in his early teens, Seth ran away from home—deciding that if he was going to have to work that hard, he was going to get paid for it. Seth worked on various ranches, punching cattle, until he met and married my grandmother in Del Rio, Texas. After they married, the couple moved to Seth’s ranch near Laredo, Texas.

            Family members say that Seth agreed to sell his cattle to a man who visited his Laredo ranch. However, the man was dishonest. Seth thought he was signing a paper to sell his cattle only, but the dishonest cattle-buyer switched papers on Seth at the last minute. The document stating that Seth had not only sold all his cattle but his Laredo ranch as well for the price of his cattle only—thus ending Seth's dream of owning a ranch of his own. The loss of his land resulted in the next chapter in the life of Seth and Nettie Woods.
           

Seth Woods on the Santa Rosa Ranch in Kenedy County, Texas in the twenties or thirties. 

In 1913, Seth was hired by the McGill brothers, Frank and Claude, to run the Santa Rosa Ranch in Kenedy County, Texas, and Seth, his wife, and their three daughters moved from Laredo to Kenedy County. The youngest, my mother, was one-year-old at the time. Later, a son, Seth (Mac) Woods, was also born to them.
 
While on the Santa Rosa, Seth served as a Special, Texas Ranger, giving him all the powers of a regular Texas Ranger but allowing him to live at home. Once while riding in a pasture on the Santa Rosa one day, Seth was captured and held at gunpoint by bandits from Mexico who had crossed the Rio Grande illegally. Seth wasn't sure if he would live to tell the tale, but the bandits took only his bridle and saddle blanket, leaving Seth with his horse and his saddle. The horse was branded with a Santa Rosa triangle and the saddle clearly showed the Running W brand via the King Ranch saddle shop in nearby Kingsville, making these items valueless to the bandits from Mexico.

            Seth Woods was known to be a hard man—but honest. He became a Willacy County commissioner in 1914 and served in that position until 1921 when the Santa Rosa and the town of Sarita became a part of the newly formed Kenedy County. Seth Woods served on the Kenedy County Commissioners Court until 1952. He also served many years on the local draft board. When he retired from the ranch, Seth and Nettie Woods moved to Sarita, Texas in order for Seth to keep his position as Kenedy county commissioner. During his 46 years on the Commissioners Court, Seth missed only two meetings. Still later, Seth and Nettie moved to Riviera, Texas where Seth died. Nettie died a few years later in a nursing home in Kingsville, Texas. Seth and Nettie Woods are buried in the cemetery in Riviera, Texas. 

            In 1954, the Santa Rosa was divided into three ranches—the East Santa Rosa, the Old Santa Rosa and the La Paloma. And my late father, Sam Noble, was the La Paloma’s first ranch foreman.
 
            I feel fortunate to have spent part of my growing up years on the Santa Rosa and later the La Paloma Ranches and to have known real cattlemen like my grandfather, my uncle, and my father, Sam Noble.

7 comments

HOW GENNIE MET DANIEL, or When Opposites Collide

Posted by Tina Dee Books | Labels: , , | Posted On January 24, 2010 at 8:44 PM




What if a nineteenth century city girl with dreams of stepping into a scene from her favorite dime novels finds a way to do just that? This was the starting point for what would become The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (Waterbrook, June 2009). Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper was a New York socialite with a reading habit she hid from everyone but the help.


Daniel Beck, however, was far too busy tending his fortune and running Beck Mining to find time to read. With no interest in any sort of adventure, the Englishman turned Colorado resident needed help – as in someone to tame his adorable but allegedly out-of-control ten-year-old daughter. Thus, as fate and the Lord would have it, Gennie gets her chance to exchange train tickets with the woman headed out West and lands on Daniel’s doorstep. Unfortunately, he’s not home, which sets her off on a tirade about her opinion of a man who would so poorly esteem his duties as a parent.


With two opposite personalities about to attract, how could anything but a love story follow? What readers of The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper don’t know is that until Gennie galloped her way into Daniel’s life and heart, he was dangerously close to giving in to logic and marrying the girl next door, the lovesick Anna Finch.









So, what of Anna? Will she meet her match? Of course! If she can just get rid of the pesky Pinkerton bent on ruining all the fun. But that’s a story for another day. A story called Anna Finch and the Hired Gun (Waterbrook, June 2010).
9 comments

A Moment in Time

Posted by Tina Dee Books | Labels: , , | Posted On January 20, 2010 at 12:01 AM


by DiAnn Mills
        While working on a new historical title, I realized that my most difficult challenge of all times existed in this project. I realized I needed to step into the head and heart of a Navajo male in the 1930s New Mexico, and I didn’t know a thing about the culture or the era.



          What was I thinking when I agreed to write this novel? How could I ever conduct enough research to make my story credible and compelling? For that matter, how could I create a story that was unpredictable and realistic? Those vital ingredients rested in my character and his role in my story. What my character would take for granted, I would find interesting, fascinating, even frightening. The project needed to be written in such a way that a Navajo Indian could pick up the book and believe the author had spent a considerable time with these Native Americans.
            I sighed. Aren’t all of our historical novels supposed to appeal to the reader in the same way?
            Ever been in my shoes - or moccasins - for lack of a better word? Research is time and money invested in a worthwhile project, and a professional writer needs to work smart. Wise use of my resources was in order. If I’ve learned anything over the past twelve years of publishing, it’s that going to the source of information is the best. I Googled the Bureau of Indian Affairs and searched for “Navajo.” Ah, a phone number in New Mexico Another concern was to phrase what I needed in the research in such a way that cultural sensitivity was not an issue. I despise the phrase “politically correct,” but we are a nation of proud people, and I wanted the Navajo who offered the research to know how much I valued and respected them. After a few calls, I was directed to the Navajo Library and Museum. After another call, I was directed to the museum’s curator. Bingo. She loved talking about the Navajo’s, and her enthusiasm sparked mine. She offered great assistance, and now I’m feeling good about the project.

             That’s what good research is all about: digging for facts and being persistent. Knowing what you need to make your story credible doesn’t have to be daunting. And don’t settle for mediocre information. Your readers deserve a story that takes them away from their world and into the one you’ve written - just for them.
Releases March 2010

 Click the book cover to pre-order you copy! 
www.diannmills.com

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