Cowgirl Sayings

Today I posted a blog over at www.sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com about using Cowboy Slang in western-themed romances. After I stumbled across this website http://theurbancowboy.net which posted a list of cowgirl sayings I decided it might be fun to give the cowgirl her own say right here, so…I surfed the internet, found a few more sayings and added them to the list.

I know the cowgirls we write about in our modern-day romances must display the proper decorum to be considered heroine material but we authors can play fast and loose with cowgirl "secondary characters." I'll be launching a new series beginning April 2011 called Rodeo Rebels. We've all heard about the "Buckle Bunnies" that follow the cowboys around the circuit and those sweet honeys make perfect secondary characters that add color and humor to our books. In Dexter: Honorable Cowboy (July 2010) I mention a buckle bunny named Roxy who hounds Dusty--Dexter's infamous "Wild" twin brother. If you've read a rodeo cowboy story then you know it just wouldn’t be any fun without a buckle bunny around to shake the cowboys' spurs loose from their boots.


Cowgirl up!
Cowboy butts drive me nuts!
So many cowboys, so little rope!
Cowgirls do it in the saddle.
If you get in the saddle, be ready for the ride!
Boots, chaps and cowboy hats… nothin’ else matters.
If it doesn’t involve ropin’, ridin’, or saddles, count me out.
Cowboys are proof that cowgirls can take a joke.
When you count your blessings, count your horse twice.
You wish you could ride like a girl.
When in doubt, let your horse do the thinking.
Tell a gelding, ask a stallion, discuss it with a mare.
My other ride is a cowboy.
Cowgirl: A better-looking cowboy with brains.
Pretty in pink…wicked in spurs.

Thanks to http://www.zazzle.com/ here's the last saying!


Have any favorite cowgirl sayings you'd like to share?

Marin
Roughneck Cowboy (Feb 2011)
Rodeo Daddy (April 2011)
www.marinthomas.com
www.firstfamilyofrodeo.blogspot.com
www.sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com

Spurs

The cowboy is a reader favorite with many Harlequin American Romance fans. When I researched my latest book, Dexter: Honorable Cowboy (book #2) The Codys: First Family of Rodeo, I came across a slew of sites about cowboys, rodeo, ranches and a million other things associated with those wild west hunks. I thought I'd share a little trivia about a tool working cowboys wear every day while rodeo cowboys parade around arenas and show them off like a treasured piece of jewelry.

Spurshttp://www.cowboy-spurs.com/cowboy-spurs-101

Q: How old are boot spurs?A: They were first used in ancient Rome, but became more popular in the 14th and 15th century.

Q: What are western spurs made from?
A: The main part of the spur is made from metal, usually iron but sometimes silver. The straps used to fasten the spur to the boot are made from leather. Other makers made them from aluminium, or steel.

Q: What are the parts of the boot spur called?A: The main U shaped part that goes around the boot is called the "yoke" or "heel band". From there, the "neck" extends out from the boot and the "rowel" is the rounded object attached to the end.

Q: What are spurs for cowboy boots used for?
A: The spurs are worn by cowboys who ride a horse. The rowels are used to dig into the sides of the horse to aid in steering the steed in conjunction with the tack and reins.

Q: Do riding spurs hurt the horse?
A: No. Most spurs have rowels that are round and blunt by design. The more fancy custom made spurs are the ones most likely to feature pointed star rowels and therefore would hurt an animal - but they are seldom used.

Q: Are cowboy boots and spurs still used today?
A: Yes. They are used all over the world by riders and farm hands but are also worn as a fashion accessory or Western Jewelry by millions. I suspect that they are more popular as a fashion accessory.

Check out http://www.spillerspurs.com/ Joe Spiller has been a cowboy all his life and has made spurs for rodeo cowboys, ranchers, movie stars and famous people. The Spiller Ranch is locate outside the West, Texas town of Windgate. He's famous for his Texas Buckaroo and Tear Drop spur.

remember to stop by http://firstfamilyofrodeo.blogspot.com/

for the latest information about The Cody's First Family of Rodeo miniseries and fun facts about cowboys.

Marin

Media Blitz Contest this Friday!

Counting down the days until Friday July 16th--our second One Day Only Media Blitz Contest to promote The Codys: First Family of Rodeo miniseries!

On July 16th I'll be blogging about Dexter: Honorable Cowboy--RT Top Pick for July! For those who've read the first book in the series, Walker: The Rodeo Legend, then you know Dexter is a fraternal twin. I'll be blogging about how Dexter's relationship with his brother Dusty is tested as Dexter struggles with that special bond the brothers share.

Help spread the word by mentioning the book and posting a link to this blog on all your favorite social media sites--Facebook, MySpace, Twitter. The more places you link to and mention Dexter: Honorable Cowboy and The Codys: First Family of Rodeo the more chances you have to win an autographed copy of the book and some "cowboy stuff" pictured above.

Earn additional chances to win if you refer a friend and they in turn post a link to their favorite social media websites. Be sure to return to http://www.harauthors.blogspot.com/ and tell us where you're spreading the word in the comment section of the blog.

I'll keep a tally of your activity and post the winners' names in the comment section of the blog on July 17th--be sure to check if you're one of the lucky winners!

For those readers who are reading this miniseries, we'd love to know what you think about The Codys: First Family of Rodeo!

Marin * www.marinthomas.com *

Cowboy Up!

This is a very exciting day--y'all should head on over to the Harlequin American continuity blog where we're celebrating the First Family of Rodeo, the Codys. http://firstfamilyofrodeo.blogspot.com/ Our terrific American writers are going to talk about the cowboy!

Yep, as much as I'm a small town girl from the Midwest (or maybe because I am), I love the American cowboy. I grew up watching reruns of John Wayne, Gary Cooper and all the other heroes and villians clothed in chaps and riding the range.

Put Jimmy Stewart in a cowboy hat, give him a horse to ride (his favorite "actor" horse was named Pie), and our entire perception of him changes. He's no longer saving the Bailey Building & Loan or talking to Harvey. He's saving the ranch and upholding justice.

So, is it the clothes that make the man? Not at all. Did anyone believe John Travolta was a cowboy, Urban or otherwise, just because he had the boots and hat? Not me. I want my cowboy honorable, dependable, loyal. I want him tough and yet ready to have a good time, preferably loving the heroine.

The cowboy is bone-deep American. Yum.

I'll be back next month after our RWA conference in Orlando, but right now, it's cowboy time! See y'all over there.

Megan Kelly

www.megankellybooks.com

The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo—Social Media Blitz Contest Today!

Dear Readers,

June kicks off the debut of Harlequin American Romance's first-ever six-book continuity series—The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo. In honor of this exciting occasion we're running a ONE DAY ONLY Social Media Blitz Contest here on the Harlequin American Romance Authors' blog.

Contest Scoop

Check out today's blog--Rebecca Winters discusses the first book in the Codys:First Family of Rodeo, WALKER: THE RODEO LEGEND. After reading her blog, post the following info:

www.harauthors.blogspot.com, Rebecca Winters and
WALKER: THE RODEO LEGEND

to your Facebook, MySpace and/or Twitter pages as well as your favorite blogs. The more places you link her post, the more chances you have to win! You can earn additional chances to win if you refer a friend and they in turn post a link to their favorite social media websites and blogs. Be sure to return to www.harauthors.blogspot.com and tell us where you're spreading the word so we can keep a tally of your activity.

Remember, the CONTEST IS TODAY ONLY—June 6, 2010!

Rebecca is giving away autographed books—both Harlequin Romance and American Romance. Plus, the grand prize winner will receive Rocky Mountain Chocolate! Remember, for each social media site you link to this blog and for each friend you contact who in turn spreads the word through their favorite networks, your name will be entered into a drawing. You have twenty-four hours to link us and win! Rebecca will post the winners in the comment section of her blog tomorrow. Be sure to return to see if you're one of the lucky winners.

And now here's Rebecca Winters' blog. Please keep reading!

~~~

Howdy Pardner from the Cody Stampede!

The cute little cowgirl you see in the middle with the tan cowboy hat is my darlin’ granddaughter Reese Burton. She’s here at the Denver Stock show with friends. Doesn’t she look great there watching the stockmen spray off those steers?

When her daddy sent me these pictures, I told him I was going to use this one to celebrate the launch book for Harlequin American Romance’s first-ever six-book continuity series.

The Codys: First Family of Rodeo

Everyone who loves rodeo enjoys milling around the grounds, checking out the bulls and horses. Some of the older gals enjoy checking out the Steer Wrestlers and bull riders, too!

Here’s Walker Cody, practicing for his event. Walker's the bulldogger in the first book of the series: WALKER: THE RODEO LEGEND. This guy’s a heartbreaker and a world champion bulldogger. He’s also a Marine who came back from war a wounded hero.

Come on and join me while I show you around. You’ve got to admit this is the prettiest country God ever created. When I saw this meadow, I knew it was the place where Walker yearned to come home to after the war.

A vision came to me of a mountain cabin built on John Walker Cody land years earlier at 10,000 feet. That’s where eight-year-old Walker and his siblings knew happiness sleeping in the loft while their grandmother cooked them trout they caught for breakfast. His fond memories include riding horses up there with his best friend and later on riding around double with a girlfriend. Now at 28, it’s his shelter away from everyone, his cave, his retreat, his fortress, his eyrie where he can try to heal his scarred heart and body before facing the world again.

Ya want to stay a spell and enjoy a week of rodeo? Cody’s the place!

Of course it won’t look all peaceful and quiet like this come rodeo season. A few miles away there’s another little fictitious town called Markton. From there you’ll come to the Cottonwood Ranch. There’s so much land, I envisioned a 600,000 acre spread in my mind as far as the eye could see and going right up the mountain. The rest came easy. A main ranch house here, bunk houses there, corrals, bullpens, you name it and the other gals writing for the series just kept addin and addin things like a fancy barn, a landing strip for their plane, a mechanical bull. It just grew and grew until…well…you’ll have to read all six books to capture the full flavor of a true rodeo family layout.

Walker needs help with his PTSD and decides to take up bulldogging again to fight it. But can he bring down a bull fast enough after being away six years?

One vet I know still suffers from it after many years, but with the help of a good psychiatrist and art therapy, he’s doing much better. Being around him gave me insights into Walker’s suffering. Here’s a sample of what he puts down on paper to get out his fear and emotions.

The picture of this dog walk-a-thon fit right into my story. I needed a setting where Walker and Paula, a grieving war widow with a two-year-old son Clay, will meet. What happens here throws three people together and lives are changed forever.

One of walker’s big challenges is getting back with his family again.

I come from a family of six children, and I’m second to the oldest. So is Walker. Being from a large family I was able to come up with some dynamics for the Walker family that defined my own. I had four sisters. My brother was the baby. Walker has three brothers, Jessie, Dex and Dusty, and his sister Elly who’s the baby. There were similarities I could incorporate. The rest came from the other authors as they developed their stories.

I had the luxury of doing the first draft of everything. That’s nice in one way because there’s nothing pre-conceived. You’re working from scratch. But as the other layers are added, you have to rework some parts until everyone’s satisfied.

Walker’s is a story of redemption through rodeo where wounds heal and happiness eventually triumphs.

Don’t forget to return next month for our second One Day Media Blitz Contest on July 16th when Marin Thomas blogs about book two in The Codys:First Family of Rodeo, DEXTER: HONORABLE COWBOY.

Write to me at http://www.cleanromances.com/ and share any thought or feelings. I’m signing off for now.

Yours till the Stampede is over!

Becky

Introducing The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo

Howdy,

You all are readers—I know because you are reading this blog. As readers, you will likely agree with me that when you find an author you love, you want to search out and read all of their books. And when you find a miniseries that really grabs you, you want to read the books one after another. Well, I found one. And it’s called The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo.

I’ve always wanted to do a big family drama in American Romance—something with a western theme, of course. And one night (there may have been some wine involved) I sat down and tinkered away at the computer, coming up with an outline for a town, a ranch, and a big family whose members would find their happiness, one at a time, with the loves of their lives. But things didn’t get interesting until I emailed the outline to six amazing authors who truly created the world of the Codys.

Even after all these years of being an editor, it still delights me to see an author’s finished story. Going from an idea to a book is a long process. It’s fun to brainstorm ideas with authors, or work with them on sketches and small pieces of characters and places and situations. But actually reading the final finished books, and seeing how an author has developed her characters—emotionally, physically, mentally—impresses the hell out of me. Sometimes I think where the heck did she come up with that? Fantastic! And it all came out of one little germ of an idea.

From a small outline, six authors created six great stories. I’ve been reading the finished and polished manuscripts as they came in and they have made me laugh, and get a little teary at times, and most of all they have made me whoop with glee. Wow, guys. You have made this family tick, and taken these characters places I never would have imagined. A shout out to Johanna, who has worked with all six authors from proposal to finished manuscript. She has been an integral part of this miniseries, and is an all-around cool person and a fantastic editor. Way to go, Jo. You da woman!

Thanks, Rebecca, Marin, Cathy, Pamela, Trish, and Lynnette. It’s an honor to work with you all. Thanks for these stories—pick ‘em up, people! You’re going to love them. And who knows…we might end up back at the Cottonwood Ranch one day soon.

Kathleen Scheibling
Senior Editor
Harlequin American Romance

P.S. The pictures here are posters Johanna and I have up in our offices. When we embarked on this journey into the world of rodeo, I thought it would be fun to have some authentic inspiration. These posters are from the Cody, WY, rodeo. Mounted, framed, and hung with pride in our offices at Harlequin.

**Dear Readers don't forget to return tomorrow June 6th for the first One Day Only Social Media Blitz Contest when Rebecca Winters talks about her launch book in the series, Walker: The Rodeo Legend.

Media Blitz Contest Coming June 2010!

Dear Readers:

June kicks off the debut of Harlequin American Romance's first-ever six-book continuity The Codys: First Family of Rodeo. In honor of this exciting occasion we're running 6 one-day-a-month Social Media Blitz Contests at www.harauthors.blogspot.com

Contest Scoop
Beginning next month in June, an author in the continuity will post a blog at www.harauthors.blogspot.com and discuss her contribution to the The Codys: First Family of Rodeo series. After reading the author's blog, post the link www.harauthors.blogspot.com, the title of the book and the author's name to your Facebook, MySpace and or Twitter pages as well as your favorite blogs. The more places you link to and mention the author and her book, the more chances you have to win.

You can earn additional chances to win if you refer a friend and they in turn post a link to their favorite social media websites and blogs. Be sure to return to www.harauthors.blogspot.com and tell us where you're spreading the word by posting the information in the comment section of the blog--that way we can keep a tally of your activity. Remember, it's One Day Only Each Month June-November 2010!

Authors will be giving away prizes to several lucky winners. Your name will be entered into a drawing for each social media site you promote The Codys: First Family of Rodeo and for each friend you contact who in turn spreads the word through their favorite networks. You have twenty-four hours to link to us and win! The author will post the winners in the comment section of her blog the next day--be sure to return to see if you're one of the lucky winners.

On June 5th Senior Editor for American Romance, Kathleen Scheibling will introduce The Codys: First Family of Rodeo to readers and the following day on June 6th Rebecca Winters kicks off the Social Media Blitz Contest with the first book in the series-- Walker: The Rodeo Legend!

With the help of our faithful readers we're hoping that on June 6th the web is buzzing with chatter about The Codys: First Family of Rodeo!

Marin
www.marinthomas.com