This month the second book in my Rodeo Rebels series for Harlequin American Romance hits store shelves. The Bull Rider's Secret takes place in Bandera, Texas. Known in the Hill Country as The Cowboy Capitol of the World, Bandera is a unique town with lots of western flavor and a tradition of welcoming the Biker community. I love adding a bit of reality to my stories and that's exactly what I did in The Bull Rider's Secret when my hero Brody enters the Wild Hog Explosion contest at Mansfield Park in Bandera, Texas.
This real life event features a wild hog catch. Teams of two enter a ring to try and catch a Texas wild hog and stuff it into a burlap sack. I haven't had the fortune to attend this event in person but one day I hope to return to Bandera to watch these crazy hog-catching people!
I found this description for the town on the web and I can attest to it being 100% TRUE—right down to the cold beers served in the local saloons!
In a rugged county filled with hills, rivers, and a sprawling lake, the small town of Bandera holds a really big place in the hearts of Texans. Located in the beloved Texas Hill Country less than an hour from San Antonio, Bandera reminds us of a different, more authentic, era, when a handshake was all the contract you needed, self-reliance was the norm, and chivalry was a given. There is a spirit of independence and individualism here that speaks of the cowboy tradition of hard work and hard play. Bandera embodies the cowboy in its strong rodeo tradition. Even today you'll often see horses tied to downtown hitching posts. At local honky-tonks, the music is lively, the dance floor is full, and the beverages are cold.
And the former Bandera County Jail
You can read an excerpt for The Bull Rider's Secret HERE!
Happy Trails!
Marin
www.marinthomas.com
Buy a Marin Thomas Book!
4 comments:
This would be an awesome town to visit.
I can't imagine trying to stuff a hog, especially a wild one, in a burlap sack.
What a very wild experience. I think the hog catch was so thrilling and exciting. And thank you for sharing the Bull Rider's secret with us.
Just reading The bull Rider's Secret now as the mail strike held up all my books. I thought the Hog catching was too funny. A little like the wild cow milking at the rodeos I used to go to. If I ever get back to Texas, I'll be looking for Bandera. I thought it was a made up Town.
Estella, I, too can't imagine trying to catch a hog. With my luck the pig would bite my fingers off :-)
Plumming Supplies :-) Thanks for stopping in, glad yu enjoyed the wild hog scene!
Linda S thanks for picking up a copy of The Bull Rider's Secret, I appreciate your support! You gotta love Texans--they're always thinking up unique ways to have a "good ol' time" lol!
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