HELLO EVERYONE!! by Andrea Downing

So there I was, innocently stepping into the hallway outside my apartment to put something in the garbage. And I tripped…

Snap! I broke my shoulder. In two places.  And then the call came…

Okay, so being asked to join The Roses of Prose wasn’t quite the kind of ‘call’ I’d been hoping for, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.  You know the call I wanted:  Steven Spielberg ringing to say Loveland would make a great television series and was I willing to dash off eight two-hour scripts. That sort of thing.  But this will do, and I’m very pleased to be here.  Except for the shoulder, of course.  Sort of makes typing difficult.  My two hands work perfectly fine, only trouble is that one of them is now located in the general area of my belly button. To see what I mean, bring one arm tightly down your side (it can be the less used arm—mine is, but give me a break—not THAT kind of break!—this is tough enough).  Now, the lower part of your arm with hand has to be at right angle across your stomach. Now tie it up nice and tight. And NOW see what you can do.  Try taking a shower and washing your underarms. (for those of you grossed out, I fling the washcloth….never mind)   How about getting your bra done up?  Washing your face…and rinsing it. (Warning: have mop to hand)  Flossing? Now for some more fun, throw Percocet into the mix. Once you discover what day it actually is, take that shower again, and when you realize, as I did, that you just put shampoo on your washcloth instead of body wash, try not to then put hair conditioner on the washcloth—as I did.

Life is full of surprises, and being asked to join the Roses of Prose was one of the better ones this week.  Thank you, ladies, I’m very pleased to be here. 

And for those of you out there who don’t know me, I write both contemporary and historical western romance (the apartment is in New York, the mind is in Wyoming).  You can also find me on my Website Facebook Twitter  Goodreads  and Amazon

 My latest, a novella Bad Boy, Big Heart, has just come out in an anthology titled Come Love a Cowboy. Only 99c for 8 stories by best-selling and award-winning authors, it’s available at http://www.amazon.com/Come-Love-Cowboy-Kathleen-Ball-ebook/dp/B01D5876UK/  

Here’s the blurb for Bad Boy, Big Heart :    

     When New Yorker K.C. Daniels heads to Wyoming for a summer job, she wants nothing more than to fit in with the staff of the Lazy S Ranch. Yearning to be independent of her mom and dad, and have a taste of the west before she starts her Master's degree, getting involved with a cowboy is the last thing on her mind—especially when she’s greeted with warnings about ‘Bad Boy’ Chay Ridgway.

     High school dropout Chay Ridgway sees summer as his time to be a rodeo star and win a girl in his life, while facing the responsibilities he has for his father. Although working to bring in cash to help his dad, he's never had a problem finding a woman who's happy to be that summer love—until K.C. Daniels appears on the scene.

     As two different worlds collide in a season that will end all too soon, is this going to be another summer romance or a love that will last for years?

And a little taste to tempt you:

“I…I’ve been told things about you. I don’t want to be a summer romance. And I do have to leave at the end of the summer, and the summer is fast fading.”

“It’s only June, K.C.” He hesitated before, “What sort of things were you told?”

K.C. looked around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “That you like to…to date the girls who work in the office because we leave at the end of the summer, and it makes for a clean break.”

“True.”

K.C. blinked at his honesty.

“But it doesn’t mean it will always be the case.” Chay fidgeted on his chair. “What time do you get off? Let’s go for a ride. You do ride, don’t you?”

“I ride…English.”

“Oh, yeah. Bob said something about that. That can be fixed. So what time?”

“Five-thirty weekdays, Saturday noon as long as the check-outs are complete. Sunday is hit or miss; I work virtually all day until all the check-ins are done.”

“Hmmm. I’m taking out a pack trip tomorrow, back Friday. Meet me down at the barns as soon as you’re off Saturday.” Chay swung out of the chair and stood, then leaned in and stabbed one more bite of cheesecake. “Saving you calories,” he said. “You’d be amazed at what goes into this.” And with that, he stuffed the piece in his mouth and was off.

K.C. sat there, turning over Chay’s words in her mind: ‘It doesn’t mean it will always be the case.’ Yet the fact was, her Master’s degree meant two years…oh, what was she thinking? That was way ahead and, while she knew she was deeply attracted to Chay, it didn’t necessarily mean…. She stared at the remaining cheesecake on her plate, then pushed it away.

What was ‘the case’?