Wave if you love cowboys

Happy 2012, everyone! I’ve been gone awhile, but I’m now writing novels for Harlequin American again, and am so glad to be here. My new series, which debuts in February, centers around a fictional ranching town in Eastern Montana. (If you like ranchers and cowboys, raise your hand.) I’ve never written western-theme romances and am enjoying learning about ranch life–both from the western books written by my Harlequin American friends, and from my research.

In my research, I discovered a fascinating non-fiction book, The Cowboy Way, written by David McCumber, a journalist and magazine editor.

What a fascinating read! McCumber wanted to live the cowboy life and took a year off from his regular job to do just that. Some of the information in the book is a bit too gritty to put into a romance novel. (Such as the part about bulls who broke their, shall we say male apparatus, due to enthusiasm and an inaccurate aim! Not exactly romantic, is it?)

I hate to leave you with that image in your brain, so I’ll end with something far more pleasant–a few cowboy quotes and sayings I found online (http://www.coolnsmart.com/cowboy_quotes/). There are no names attributed to these, but they mostly show good, common sense. (Except for the first one, which is just plain true…)

“Whoever said a horse was dumb, was dumb.”

“The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back into your pocket.”

“Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.”

If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.”

Great words to mull over, don’t you think?

In that vein, are there any common sense quotes that stick in your mind? Something your mom or grandma or maybe your favorite uncle often says/said? If so, feel free to share the wisdom.

Here’s to cowboys, common sense, and romance!

Best wishes from your cowboy fantasy to mine,

Ann

www.annroth.net

DECEMBER WINNER!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Marcy! You’re the December winner. To receive your free autographed books please contact Lee McKenize, Laura Marie Altom, Linda Warren and Marin Thomas through their Web sites.

To enter the contest simply leave a blog comment and your name will go into the drawing. Simple and painless. And FREE BOOKS.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

My resolutions for 2012

Pray for forgiveness.

Ease up on yourself.

Remember that regrets are futile.

Face your shortcomings.

Emphasize what you can do now.

Change the flaws you can, accept those you can’t.

Take setbacks with a sense of perspective.

In all things, be grateful for love and friendship.

Obey the Golden Rule.

Never let envy guide your thoughts or actions.

Note that the first letters spell a word.

Best wishes to you all for the coming year.

Leftover Christmas Wrapping paper

Christmas is over, and you're stuck with 8 rolls of snowflake and candy cane wrapping paper because you bought the 10 roll jumbo pack that was supposed to save you a lot of money.  Now you have three rolls left and you don't want to save them for next year…because people do remember wrapping paper patterns!

Here are a few ideas to put that paper to good use from getgreeliving

Line Your Dresser Drawers with Leftover Paper

Drawer liners do wonders to protect your clothing. Believe it or not, wrapping paper makes great drawer liners. Cut pieces of wrapping paper to fit the bottom of your dresser drawers. Attach the paper with double-stick tape. Voila! Homemade drawer liners that are environmentally friendly because they are made of paper that didn’t end up in the landfill and they didn’t cost you a penny!

 Use Leftover Paper to Protect Fragile Ornaments

When the holidays are over and you have to pack up the ornaments and other Christmas decorations, use scraps of leftover wrapping paper to protect the ones that are fragile. As an added bonus, you’ll be greeted with holiday cheer when you unwrap them next year! This is also a great way to protect ornaments and other fragile items when moving.

Shred Leftover Paper

Shred any leftover paper and use it in place of packing peanuts to protect valuables when you ship them. The shredded paper can also be used as a fun alternative to tissue paper when you use gift bags. It also makes a great bed for your kids’ Easter baskets!

Homemade Holiday Coasters by Martha Stewart

And finally...Clean the Windows with Paper

Like newspaper, wrapping paper is great for cleaning windows and leaving them streak-free – use it instead of paper towels or a cloth. (Avoid using the shiny/plastic stuff though.)

What do you do with your leftover wrapping paper?

 Marin Thomas

A Rodeo Man's Promise (Dec 2011)

Arizona Cowboy (Feb 2012)

www.marinthomas.com

All My Heroes are Cowboys

Merry Christmas to You and Yours

May your home be filled with love and happiness, today and always.

With warmest wishes from
          the authors of Harlequin American Romance

'Twas the night before Christmas...

Actually it's still the morning of the night before Christmas, my home is bustling with holiday preparations, and I love it! In a couple of hours we'll decorate the tree and then it'll officially be Christmas.

My whole family will be here and we usually have an informal buffet supper on Christmas Eve, but tonight I'm serving a four-course sit-down dinner—butternut squash soup, apple-pomegranate salad, boeuf bourguignon a la Julia Child, and lemon custard for dessert. Tomorrow, of course, I'll do the more traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings. For me, a Christmas filled with family and food is the best present of all, and I wish the same for you. Let's all have at least as much fun as these goats...

Until next time,
Lee
The Christmas Secret (Nov. '11)
The Daddy Project (working title, TBA)
Daddy, Unexpectedly (working title, TBA)
Lee's website
Lee's Facebook page

Holiday Wishes

This year I'm on deadline during the holidays, which means the tree is half-trimmed, only a few packages have been wrapped, and the cookies may not get baked at all. Oh, well. I can't regret any of that, when I'm so happily immersed in the lives of my characters. (Besides, fewer goodies around the house means we'll get a jump on our New Year's diet resolutions!)

Still, for your sake, I hope your preparations are moving along much better than mine are. LOL

One not-to-be-missed event is writing my Harlequin American Romance Authors blog entry.

My December appearance here never gets old—to me, anyway (smile)—even though I say some of the same things from year to year. How could I not? A blog post almost smack in the middle of December requires some very specific messages, don't you think?

The first is a huge thank you for your support of my books and for your letters and e-mails and social media posts throughout the year.

I look forward to staying in touch, both here at the blog and "out there" in cyber space.

Meanwhile, no matter what special days you celebrate, I wish you a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season.

See you next year!


All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille
THE RODEO MAN'S DAUGHTER (February 2012)
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

Christmas Party Games

If you’re hosting family and friends at your house this Christmas holiday you can add to the fun with party games.  Just think how much more fun these games will be if you spike the eggnog!

Party ideas from Wryte Stuff

 Kiss it Relay: Place a large bowl of Hersey's kisses on a table. Divide your group into two teams and have them line up around 10-15 feet away from the table. Give the first people in the row mittens that are slightly larger than they would ever need. On the mark of "Go", the first player of each team runs to the table (with their mittens on), takes a Hershey's kiss out from the bowl and tries unwrapping it with the large mittens. After they unwrap it they have to run down and pop it into the next person's mouth. The next person takes the mittens and runs to the bowl to do the same.

Reindeer Antlers: Divide your group into teams of two to four people. Give each group a pair of pantyhose. Give each team eight balloons. Then, when "Go" is said, the race starts, and the teams start blowing up the balloons and stuffing them into the pantyhose. Once all the balloons are stuffed inside the pantyhose, a team member wears the "reindeer antlers" and the team yells "Rudolph" when finished. The first team to finish is the winning team.

Snowball Toss: Divide the group into teams each team forms a line. Place a 2 taped markers on the floor a few feet from the teams. Give each team a bag of marshmallows (large, not the mini size). The first team member in line stands behind the tape marker. On "Go" the 2nd one in line takes a turn trying to "catch" a marshmallow in their mouth. Once a team member catches a marshmallow, they get out of line. The team that finishes their line first wins.

Do you have a favorite Christmas game you play at your holiday parties?

Marin Thomas

A Rodeo Man's Promise (Dec 2011)

Arizona Cowboy (Feb 2012)

www.marinthomas.com

All My Heroes are Cowboys