Back-to-School Celebration!

All around the country, our kids are back in school again. By this time—hopefully!—the students are settled into the routines of their new grade levels and the teachers have survived the new-school-year chaos. And it is chaos. I know too many teachers not to realize that!

Even a couple of my heroines are teachers. Kerry Anne MacBride, from FAMILY MATTERS, teaches high-school art classes. Kayla Ward, from A RANCHER’S PRIDE, teaches American Sign Language.

Of course, for the most part, it’s not the teachers or kids who are celebrating the start of the school year, but the parents. LOL

I’ve always been a student and probably always will be. There’s so much to learn in this great, big world—something as kids we don’t always appreciate.

But even as an elementary-school student, I looked forward to going back to school in the fall.

Did you?

There’s so much going on at the start of a new year. New teacher, classroom, textbooks. New classmates. New clothes! :-)

To this day, I get most excited over brand-new, never-been-cracked-open notebooks and an array of brightly colored pencils and pens. (I guess I was always meant to be a writer.)

How about you? What are your favorite items—or memories—from your first days back in school?


All my best to you,

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

What's a Picture Worth?

What is a picture worth?

A second look? A hands-on exam? Drooling over? LOL

Above and to your right (I hope!) is the cover of A RANCHER’S PRIDE, my May 2011 Harlequin American Romance. Is Sam Robertson drool-worthy or what?

In my humble opinion—which may be just a teeny bit biased—he’s a hottie. A hunk. A honey. Or whatever word you’d like to describe a hero of your dreams. And he’s getting quite a bit of attention from readers. Wonder why? (smile)

A RANCHER’S PRIDE is part of the Men of the West miniseries from Harlequin American Romance. The covers have been fabulous. And if you ask me, American makes a habit of that!

All the May Americans look great, too, with a cowboy, a wedding, and babies times three.

I’ve been lucky from the start with my covers.

Here’s a shot of my very first book, THE SHERIFF’S SON. Isn’t it adorable? And it was so perfect for the story, I got teary-eyed the first time I saw it.





My second book, COURT ME, COWBOY, also had a cover that matched the story perfectly. I’ll give you a hint with this one...the package is very important. (Well, the full package, Gabe included, is special, too.)






And the cover for my previous book, FAMILY MATTERS (October 2010), catches both my hero and heroine at a perfect moment. In addition, though I hadn’t seen the cover before my website was revamped, the flowers just happened to tie in...perfectly!

Are you noticing something they all have in common? LOL I'm very happy with perfection. (smile)

When it comes to the differences--kids, couples, hot heroes--they’re all good, too, as far as I’m concerned.

How about you? When you walk into a bookstore or browse online, what's the first thing that catches your eye? What do you most like to see on a cover?

Leave a comment or question to be entered in a drawing for a copy of either THE SHERIFF’S SON or COURT ME, COWBOY. Here’s the scoop.

By Wednesday night:

1. Leave a comment or question for me here.

2. Visit my website http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/ and send me an e-mail from the comment form, letting me know which book you’d like to receive if your name is drawn.

The winner’s name will be posted here in the comments section of this blog post on Thursday.

Also, while you’re at my website, you might want to check out the blog tour I’m currently on to celebrate A RANCHER’S PRIDE. There are more tour stops and book drawings ahead.

Thanks!

All my best to you,
Barbara
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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/

Books and Babies

Before you read my post below, feel free to let your gaze linger on the man to the right.

This is Sam. Hot, isn’t he? ;)

I won’t go into details, but trust me, he has just experienced a life-changing event and is still reeling from it. You couldn’t tell by looking at him, though, could you? Anyway, on to my regularly schedule blog post...

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I’m due in two weeks!

No, I don’t have a deadline two weeks from now. As if that’s what you were thinking! ;)

And, no, I’m not expecting a baby.

Or am I?

All right, I may not be the first person in the universe to compare publishing a book to having a baby. But the truth of the matter is, A RANCHER’S PRIDE, my fourth Harlequin American Romance, will be hitting bookstores shelves soon (and is already available online), and it’s not much of a stretch to say I feel as though I’m welcoming a child into the world.

After all...

~~~Warning! Pun Alert~~~

...I conceived the idea for this story, carried it with me for months, labored over the manuscript, and am eagerly awaiting its delivery. And I know, once it makes its first appearance in the world, I’m going to feel extremely happy and proud.

Baby or not, it seems like—and is to me—a very special event.

I’m sure many authors know the feeling and many mothers do, too.

Speaking of mothers... My next post here at the blog will be past the date to wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day, so let me do that in advance.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

To get us ready for the upcoming holiday, I’d love to hear about your best, most touching, or funniest Mother’s Day memory ever—whether you play the starring role or the honor belongs to another mother you know.

Please share!

All my best to you,

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/