The truth is revealed!!!

So which of yesterday's comments was a lie and which were the truth?  Read on and find out!


1.  I sleep with six pillows.  Plus a husband.


Totally true.  Monya has it right.  You gradually add pillows to cushion the aches and pains.  I added one for each pregnancy, then another for a chronically achy knee, another when I tore ligaments in my ankle and the next thing you know.... 

2. If I were to become single again (widowed, divorced) I wouldn't remarry.  I'd just have more dogs.  Cause.... you can train dogs.


So very true.  And this came from an actual conversation with my sons after they overheard a discussion about the divorce rate on the radio.  I had to reassure them that mom and dad weren't quite ready to trade each other in for younger models just yet--and that should that ever happen, I would definitely lean toward canine companionship rather than trying the whole husband thing again, LOL. 

3.  I once made radio legend Casey Kasem cry.


This is surprisingly true!  Back in the day, I never missed Casey's weekly American Top 40 Countdown radio program.  My favorite part was the long distance dedication, where listeners wrote a letter to Casey requesting a song be played for a friend or loved one they'd lost touch with or who had passed on.  I wrote a letter to Casey myself and was thrilled when it was accepted.  Only the radio station in my area had changed its format and I could no longer listen to the AT 40 Countdown.  I contacted them, was put in touch with Casey's producer and told her that I wouldn't be able to hear my dedication air.  She said "Oh, I remember you, you're the little girl who made Casey cry."  She went on to explain that while taping the segment where he read my long distance dedication, Casey  kept choking up and had to start over several times.  Long story short, a few days later I received a cassette copy of that portion of the show in the mail, and when I popped it in and listened, sure enough, about halfway through the letter requesting a song in memory of my aunt, who had just passed on from breast cancer, you can hear Mighty Casey's golden voice crack.  I still have the cassette, btw, and a handwritten note from Casey telling me to "keep reaching for the stars."

4. My sister is also an author.


True.  She writes contemporary western romance.


5. I once turned down a really great job because it was on the 18th floor.  And I'm afraid of heights.


True. Can't believe you guys doubted this one, hee hee. Caroline has it right--I thought I'd get a nosebleed on that long elevator ride, and at nearly every floor, it stopped and more people got on  until we were packed in there like sardines (hold on... I'm feeling faint...did I mention I'm also claustrophobic???).  But really, even the idea of being that far off the ground is hard for this self-proclaimed wuss.


6. Speaking of fears, I suffer from lepidophobia, or fear of butterflies.  I'm also not good with birds, moths --pretty much anything that flutters.
Oh so very true.  Donna,  beautiful butterflies? Or harbingers of doom???  shudder, shudder. Lilly, your poor daughter.  I'd have been catatonic! Not sure what it is about them, they just give me the heebie-jeebies.


7. As a teenager, I won awards for bowling and could have gone on to compete professionally if I'd wanted to.
Gotcha!  Only Maeve and Monya caught my lie.  I was actually a pretty good bowler; my dad coached bowling and did take some kids on to competitive status.  I just wasn't one of them. 


8. I haven't written a dang thing since summer began.

Harumph. I see no one doubted this one, LOL, but it's true.  My kids have driven me CAR-AZY all summer long.  There just hasn't been time--or sanity--enough to write.


So since Monya and Maeve both guessed the correct answer I'll put their names in a hat (I'm not afraid of hats, as it turns out, LOL) and draw.... drum roll please....


The winner is Maeve!!  Email me at nmccaffreyauthor@yahoo.com with your choice of which e-book you would like to receive a copy of and I will get that out to you!


Thank you, wonderful TWRP authors, for your amazing show of support.  I won't forget it and will try to get out and visit your blogs soon as well (and Monya, I know I still owe you an email, I haven't forgotten!)

Forced out of my summer doldrums....

Darn that Darah Lace.  Not only does she tag me, forcing me out of my sleepy summer doldrums (read laziness!) , but now I actually have to come up with something to blog about.

Darah tagged me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  I have to list eight things you probably didn't want to know about me, and one of them has to be a lie.  If readers guess which is the lie, they win a prize.  (Okay, that part I like, LOL, I'm good with prizes.)

So here goes.  I'll list eight random things and the winner who guesses the "oopsie" gets a free e-copy of any of my releases.  Small Town Christmas, The Model Man or Wild Texas Wind.  Your choice.

1.  I sleep with six pillows.  Plus a husband.

2. If I were to become single again (widowed, divorced) I wouldn't remarry.  I'd just have more dogs.  Cause.... you can train dogs.

3.  I once made radio legend Casey Kasem cry.

4. My sister is also an author.

5. I once turned down a really great job because it was on the 18th floor.  And I'm afraid of heights.

6. Speaking of fears, I suffer from lepidophobia, or fear of butterflies.  I'm also not good with birds, moths --pretty much anything that flutters.

7. As a teenager, I won awards for bowling and could have gone on to compete professionally if I'd wanted to.

8. I haven't written a dang thing since summer began.

Okay, I nominate the following authors for the versatile blogger award:

Susan Macatee
Isabel Roman

Leave your comments and guesses as to the truth versus the lie.  I'll be back tomorrow to post the winner and reveal the truth!

Welcome Special Guest: Paty Jager

Hi Nicole, Thinks for sharing your blog on my release day!

Yes, today, Friday, August 13th is the release of my first historical paranormal Spirit of the Mountain. This is one of those books of the heart. I have put a lot of research and heart and soul into this story. I found a Nez Perce woman and man to help me with my research and hopefully kept me on task with the cultural aspects, while my imagination blossomed when putting tougher the spirit aspect of the story.

When Red Wolf acknowledged the information I found about a lineage of Nimiipuu with blond hair and blue eyes, he said he was of that line and their eyes could also turn to red when emotional, I knew I had the makings for my spirit hero.

Jade Blackeagle helped by taking questions I couldn’t find in books to her elders and asking them how this was down or was this something that would offend.

This first book is set before the White man comes to the Wallowa Valley and causes problems. It is a time when the Nimiipuu only have to fear other tribes they have dealt with for years. And Himiin the hero has to deal with the dark spirit trying to take over his mountain. Evil in any shape or form is deadly and Wren and Himiin find they are battling it from both their worlds.

Blurb for Spirit of the Mountain

Wren, the daughter of a Nimiipuu chief, has been fated to save her people ever since her vision quest. When a warrior from the enemy Blackleg tribe asks for her hand in marriage to bring peace between the tribes, her world is torn apart.

Himiin is the spirit of the mountain, custodian to all creatures including the Nimiipuu. As a white wolf he listens to Wren’s secret fears and loses his heart to the mortal maiden. Respecting her people’s beliefs, he cannot prevent her leaving the mountain with the Blackleg warrior.

When an evil spirit threatens Wren’s life, Himiin must leave the mountain to save her. But to leave the mountain means he’ll turn to smoke…

Excerpt

Wren’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “My gift is to save The People. The weyekin who came to me in my vision quest said this.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if staving off a cold breeze.

Himiin hated that they argued when they should relish their time together. He moved to her, drawing her against his chest, embracing her. The shape of her body molded to his. Her curves pressed against him. Holding her this way flamed the need he’d tried to suppress.

He placed a hand under her chin, raising her face to his. The sorrow in her eyes tugged at his conscience. To make her leaving any harder was wrong. But having experienced her in his arms, he was grieved to let her go. Even for the sake of their people.

Her eyelids fluttered closed. Her pulse quickened under his fingers. Shrugging off the consequences, he lowered his lips to hers. They were softer than he imagined. Her breath hitched as he touched her intimately. Parting his lips, he touched her with his tongue, wanting to see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

Honey.

This is the last day of my six day blog tour that includes a puzzle and a prize. Copy the puzzle piece in this post to a document and collect all the pieces at the blogs I visit. Then when you have them all, send them to me at patyjag@gmail.com and I'll put your name in the drawing for a copy of Spirit of the Mountain and other goodies.  I'll draw the name and post it on my blog on Monday July 16^th.  If you want to go back and check out all the blogs to join the contest, hop over to my blog and find the places I've been. http://www.patyjager.blogspot.com

If you'd like to read more about me and my books or enter my website contest go to: http://www.patyjager.net

Nicole, Thanks for having me!

Paty

Hangin' with Sarah Simas

It's Friday!!!! (I survived the first few days of summer vacation--whew!) Anyway, I'm still celebrating the release of Wild Texas Wind and those great reviews.  Today I'm hanging with the always sweet, always adorable Sarah Simas over at The Lovestruck Novice.  She asked if I'd say a few words about writing to different genres and writing to please yourself.

Drop by and say hi and share your thoughts!

First Reviews Are In!

And it's.... four spurs  from Love Western Romances!!!!

Read the fabulous review here!

Thank you hugs to reviewer Kathryn from Love Western Romances for "getting" my story and for her thoughtful and insightful review.

And.... four books from Long and Short Reviews. Thank you hugs to Camellia from LASR for her amazing review!!!

Woo hoo--you ladies sure know how to make an author's day!

Wednesday on Writing: Speical Guest Paty Jager

It's my pleasure to have my long-time friend and critique partner Paty Jager here visiting with us today.  Paty is a multi published author of historical western romance--and how do you like that! We're each other's blog guests today!  So after reading this, mosey on over to Paty's Blog and  settle in for a visit!


Tell us a bit about yourself and why you write the genre you do.


I'm an Oregonian and proud of it. My husband and I farm/ranch 350
acres in central and eastern Oregon. We're empty nesters with children
and grand children coming and going faster than the change of weather.

I enjoy writing historical westerns because it is a time when the
women thought legally not treat equal, they were equals in the day to
day living with the men. They had to be for the families to survive.
It was a time when everything was wild and raw. Which makes for great
scenes and fun dialogue.


 How long have you been writing?

To be published? Probably twenty years. I started out writing mysteries and floundered unable to find a support group. Then I read LaVyrle Spencer's Hummingbird and tried my hand at historical western romance. I also found RWA(Romance Writers of America) and learned I had a lot to learn about writing a romance. But I did well in contests and found a wonderful critique partner and I learned to write. I became published four years ago with Wild Rose Press.

 Where do you get your ideas?



My ideas can come from song lyrics, a newspaper article, or something I read while I'm researching for a book. I even had an idea come from something I heard on the radio. My ideas are open to anything!


Describe your typical writing day.

Lately, my typical day is getting my dh out the door to work but 6:30 am. Then I'm queuing the music for the current WIP and writing. I've made a pact with myself that I can't get on the internet until I've written 2000 words. Once I've hit that mark I can check e-mails, visit blogs,and work on promotion. Then after that if I don't have outside or inside chores that need done, I'll write some more on the WIP until I have to make dinner.

Now if I'm at our place that's three hours away. I wake up at 6 am and
change pipes.  Have breakfast, then I write until I can't stand to sit
any longer and go outside for a walk. Then I come in and write more
until I need to move and then I eat dinner and go out to change pipes
again. Then I watch a movie and go to bed.



What was your “Aha!” moment—when you knew you had to be a writer?

I was a senior in high school. We were given the assignment to write about a figure in history. We researched the character and then wrote the story. I wrote about Joan of Arc burning at the stake in her POV.  I still remember the teacher reading my story aloud in class and the quiet that followed when she finished. Even the class clown didn't have a joke.  That was when I truly realized the power of the written word even though I'd been an avid reader and traveled many continents and emotions through my reading.




If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?


I think I would have like to work in advertising if I'd had the opportunity to fully explore all occupations when I was in school.



Tell me your best cure for writer’s block?

Knock on wood. That rarely happens to me, but when it does it is
usually because I've written myself into a hole or trying to make a
character do something out of character. Or I've had some negative
feedback on my writing and that throws me for a loop. Then I just look
at the books I have published and read the good reviews and get myself
back in the game. So far, I'm never at a loss for things to write
about or characters to take on a journey.





 Tell us a little bit about Doctor in Petticoats (coming June 25 from The Wild Rose Press)

Doctor in Petticoats is the fourth book in the Halsey brother series.
Clay finds himself blind after an accident and his older brothers
decide the best thing for him is to learn how to deal with his
blindness and send him to a blind school across the state. While there
he learns a lot about himself and falls for an independent female
doctor in charge of the students at the blind school.

At writer workshops you're always hearing your book will only work if
there is no one else in the world who will compliment your characters
but each other. I think I did that with this book.


After a life-altering accident and a failed relationship, Dr. Rachel
Tarkiel gave up on love and settled for a life healing others as the
physician at a School for the Blind.  She's happy in her
vocation--until handsome Clay Halsey shows up and inspires her to want
more.

Blinded by a person he considered a friend, Clay curses his
circumstances and his limitations.  Intriguing Dr. Tarkiel shows him
no pity, though.  To her, he's as much a man as he ever was.

Can these two wounded souls conquer outside obstacles, as well as
their own internal fears, and find love?


“I’m going to look in your other eye now.” She, again, placed a hand
on his face and opened the eyelids, stilling her fluttering heart as
she pressed close. His clean-shaven face had a couple small nicks on
the edges of his angular cheeks. The spice of his shave soap lingered
on his skin.

She resisted the urge to run her cheek against his. The heat of his
face under her palm and his breath moving wisps of wayward hair caused
her to close her eyes and pretend for a few seconds he could be her
husband. A man who loved her and wouldn’t be threatened by her
occupation or sickened by her hideous scar.

His breathing quickened. A hand settled on her waist, slid around to
her back, and drew her forward. Her hand, holding the lens, dropped to
his shoulder, and she opened her eyes. This behavior on both their
parts was unconscionable, but her constricted throat wouldn’t allow
her to utter the rebuke.

Clay sensed the moment the doctor slid from professional to aroused
woman. The hand on his cheek caressed rather than held, her breathing
quickened, and her scent invaded his senses like a warm summer rain.


Wow!! That's a great excerpt!   Anything else in the works you can share with us? 



My first attempt at historical paranormal will be released in August. It's a book set among the Nez Perce Indians in the 1700's. The hero is an Indian spirit. And I have contracted a contemporary western that is waiting for a release date. It's the story of an ER nurse and a bareback bronc rider. For a glimpse at these you can go to my website. http://www.patyjager.net

This week I'm starting a ten day blog tour and giving away an
autographed copy of Doctor in Petticoats, a $25 B&N gift card, and a
summer tote full of goodies. to enter the contest just follow my blog
tour and leave a comment. The person who comments on the most blogs
will win. To find out where I'll be go to my blog:
http://www.patyjager.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting with us today, Paty!  We'll see you back in late summer to tell us more about Spirit of the Mountain!

And the winner is....

The winner of last weekend's celebration drawing is.....

Susan Macatee!

Congratulations, Susan!! There's an e-copy of WTW on the way to you!

If you didn't win, there's still a chance! Stop by Darah's Lace's blog anytime today and leave a comment for a chance to win !

Nic