Road Trip by Diane Burton

I’ve mentioned a time or two that Hubs loves to drive. Being a passenger is an invitation for him to snooze. I’ve adapted by being the navigator. Give me a map (a GPS thingee or my phone) and I can get you anywhere. As you can tell by the map above, it's one I've used a lot--actually, since our first visit after our son moved to Arizona in 2010. Can you imagine Hubs wanted to throw it out and get a new Southwest US map from AAA? Heck, no, I told him. It's got all my notes. Anyway, after all the driving trips to Arizona, the old route is pretty much same-old, same-old: Michigan -> Illinois -> Missouri -> Oklahoma -> Texas -> New Mexico -> Arizona.

When we’re concerned about snow in the mountains (Flagstaff), we’ve taken a diagonal route across New Mexico. I even got to stop in Roswell. Twice! Perfect for someone who writes sci-fi. Soon, that became old, too. So, I suggested we go through Texas on our way home. First thing Hubs and Son mentioned was how close we would be to Mexico. On the map, it looks like the highway runs alongside the Rio Grande. We hear horror stories all the time about Americans being kidnapped, and my imagination worked overtime. I thought about bad guys creeping up the river bank and jumping out in front of our car. Wild imagination, right? For about a hundred miles east of El Paso, we drove next to the river, which we were so far away from that I saw it once or twice.

Next thing the guys said was won’t that take longer. Possibly. But…I’ve never been through that part of Texas—diagonally up through Odessa and Midland then through Fort Worth and Dallas. I had an ulterior motive. I wanted to see oil wells. Not just the pump jacks in the fields that I can see in Michigan, but the rigs/platforms for doing the actual drilling.

You might think that odd until you consider that for four years I worked for an oil and gas company. When I was sent there by a temp agency to do secretarial-type work, I was asked by my boss if I knew anything about oil and gas. I told him I put gas in my car and we heat our home with natural gas. That was the extent. He tried hard not to roll his eyes. What he didn’t know was I’m very curious. I wanted to know everything about how oil got out of the earth and into our cars. Or how natural gas came out and heated our house.

I’m like a sponge when I want to learn something. The guys I worked with were eager to explain things to a novice. After my temp stint was up, I was hired to work in the Land Department—that’s where leases are drawn up before the drilling can start. I still did a lot of secretarial work and learned more.

The thing is…I worked at the corporate headquarters. Never out in the field. I suggested to my (new) boss that we should do a field trip so we understood our jobs better. He said we could. On our own time. LOL Now I suppose Hubs (you know, the one who likes to drive?) and I could have driven up north to see the drilling. Never happened. When the opportunity to see oil rigs from the highway in Texas arose, I had to grab it.

So I convinced Hubs to go that route. Mistake #1: Texas is big, towns are far apart, towns with hotels are even farther apart. Mistake #2: not making a reservation. Hubs likes to see how far we can drive and then stop when we want to. Usually, that works. But not when drilling is going on around our designated stop, Pecos, Texas. Our first clue were the “Christmas trees” (oil rigs) on both sides of the highway. And since it was now dark, they were lit! Just like the nickname.

 

USA Today: Photo Courtesy Sacco, AP

All the pick-up trucks in front of the hotels was our second clue that we might not find a room. Well, there was one room we could have at $245 for the night. Did I ever tell you about Hubs’ Scot’s ancestry? Even though we’d been driving for eleven hours, no way was he paying that much for a room at a Comfort Inn. We drove on down the road. The hotel apps on my phone weren’t working. The internet wasn’t working. How the heck do you find the number for reservations?

Shakespeare said, “All’s well that ends well.” I found a phone number, got a reservation for a room at the next town. We’d driven 700 miles in 12 hours through two times zones. We were whipped. It’s amazing what comfortable beds and a good night’s sleep can accomplish.

In our youth, we could drive through the night and think nothing of it. We’d take turns sleeping and had a blast. Newsflash. We aren’t young anymore. The second day, even though we drove through (around) Fort Worth and Dallas, we stopped earlier. I'm writing this on Saturday, our 3rd day on the road. No problems. Until the storms started. Thank goodness, we're in a hotel room where we watched on TV about all the flooding...of the highway we're supposed to take in Illinois. Hopefully, we'll make it home. (I'll let you know in the comments.)

I don’t think Hubs was thrilled with my route. But we saw parts of the country we’d never seen before. I got to see the oil rigs. If I’d planned ahead, we could have stopped at the Petroleum Museum in Midland. I saw the sign as we whizzed past going 75 mph. Oh, well. Maybe another time.

As an aside, I’ve used my experiences at the oil and gas company in my Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. In The Case of the Meddling Mama, one of the characters worked in the Land Department of a fictional oil and gas company. Can’t let experience and good info go to waste.

Once again, Alex O’Hara is up to her ears in mysteries. After surviving an attempted murder, all she wants is R&R time with Nick Palzetti. But his mother leaving his father (“that horse’s patoot”) and moving in with Alex puts a crimp in their plans. Then Nick leaves on assignment and the teen she rescued from an abusive father believes his buddy is doing drugs. Meanwhile, Alex has two easy cases to take her mind off her shaky relationship with Nick—a philandering husband and a background check on a client’s boyfriend. Piece of cake.

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes ~ Smashwords

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mysteries. She blogs here on the 30th of each month.

Pinch me, I must be dreaming...by Donna Michaels

It’s been a remarkable year, so far, and it’s only half over. When I sit and think about all that has taken place the past few months, I can’t help but wonder if I am dreaming.

I barely recovered from hitting the NY Times and USA Today Bestsellers list back in January, (Who am I kidding? That still hasn’t sunk in. It’s just too surreal), then Kathryn Falk personally contacts me to invite me to RT last month—I just…wow. And I got to go up on stage at the welcome party in front of the whole 2k plus contingent with my 11 wonderful cowboy author cohorts to announce the new 12-Alarm Cowboy boxed set spearheaded by Kathryn. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, I got to meet my idol, Jill Shalvis several times, again…just…wow. AmazonEncore Publishing bought one of my books and actually gave me an advance. I’d never received one before. You can bet I copied the check and framed that sucker!!

Next month, I’m receiving 2 awards for HER UNIFORM COWBOY at the Author/Reader CON in New Orleans. (Still in shock, maybe pinch me again…) AND two weeks ago, I learned I have another cowboy up for a possible award this September. HER FOREVER COWBOY just finaled in InD’tale Magazine’s 2015 R.O.N.E Awards for Best Contemporary Cops, Jocks and Cowboys!  

 

Please don’t think I’m writing this post to boast. Absolutely not. I’m writing it to THANK all of those responsible. Don’t think for one second I assume all of that wonderful stuff happened because of me. Nope. It all happened because I have the most amazing, terrific, loyal readers, and the best, fabulous author friends in the world! Thank you all from the bottom of my fluttering heart! <3

The book I have with AmazonEncore is on sale right now for $1.99!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UK7IBEK/ 

That new 12-Alarm Cowboy boxed set I mentioned is up for Pre-Order and only .99cents! Now’s a great time to get 12 hot, cowboy firefighters before the price goes up when it releases on August 4th. My contribution HER VOLUNTEER COWBOY is the 6 ^th book in my Harland County Series, and I won’t be releasing it as a single until September. This is a good way to get your copy, along with 11other smokin’ hot cowboys, and all for only .99cents!

Amazon

US – http://tinyurl.com/12AlarmCowboysUS

UK – http://tinyurl.com/12AlarmCowboysUK

AU – http://tinyurl.com/12AlarmCowboysAU

CA – http://tinyurl.com/12AlarmCowboysCA 

Barnes & Noble (Nook)

http://tinyurl.com/12AlarmCowboysNook 

Kobo

http://tinyurl.com/12AlarmCowboysKobo 

iBooks

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/12-alarm-cowboys/id993683709?mt=11  

And I just had a New Release three weeks ago. HER HEALING COWBOY, Book 5 in my Harland County Series is now available in eBook and Print, and has garnered 16 Five Star reviews and 3 Four Stars. A big thank you to all who took the time to leave such wonderful reviews. <3

Holly’s stay in Harland County Texas is limited. She’s only there to help run her uncle’s ice cream business while he recuperates from an operation. Her home is in Colorado. Her life is in Denver. Her dream job is in Denver but won’t be if she doesn’t get back before her leave of absence runs out. Everybody knows this, but apparently her heart and body didn’t get the memo because they spark to life whenever her uncle’s smoking, hot doctor is around. But she’s been burned by one before and is definitely not interested. Much.

Doctor Jace Turner has one goal: Join Doctors Without Borders. Ever since his father was in a car accident and became HIV Positive from a blood transfusion, Jace set his sights on the organization and plans to join, once his contract is up with the Texas National Guard. The last thing he needs is the crazy attraction he feels toward the beauty from Colorado.

The cowboy isn’t looking for a relationship. She isn’t staying. Perfect set up for a fling. What harm could there be?

US:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XWFRCX8

UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00XWFRCX8 

 As always, thanks for reading,

~Donna

Lost in America (Somewhere in Texas) by Alicia Dean

(If you are looking for the lovely Brenda Whiteside, she was kind enough to trade days with me, so I'm posting today in her place. She posted in my place on the 19th)

Leah’s story reminded me of a trip from Hell that I embarked on with some friends right after high school. (We weren’t really lost geographically, but boy, were we lost in every other sense of the word.)

After graduation, I shared a one-bedroom apartment with some girlfriends (at any given time there were 2 to 5 of us living there, and believe me, there are plenty of stories I could tell just about that, but this is about the trip). One of the Roomies—we’ll call her Liz (because that’s her name)—had a mother who lived in Odessa, Texas. As it turns out, country singer Mickey Gilley was appearing in Midland, Texas. My family and I had met and become chummy with Mickey a few years earlier, and when we went to his shows, we always hung out with them on the bus, and at hotels, etc . I thought it would be cool to introduce my friends to him.

So, Liz and I decided that we’d take a trip to see her mother and Mickey Gilley. Liz’s brother, Tom, and his best friend who was also our friend, Terry (who would end up being my husband, now ex-husband, which is, again, a whole ‘nother bunch of stories) decided to go too. They would ride in Terry’s little Chevy S-10 and me, Liz, Robin, and Kathy (I think Kathy went along. My memory sucks, and I can’t remember for sure) would ride in Robin’s car. So, we set out on the nearly 500 mile trip. For part of the drive, we remained in fairly close proximity of Terry and Tom on the highway. However, at some point, we lost contact. In that day, we did not have cell phones so we had no way of reaching them. Not that it mattered all that much, since we were all going to end up at the same place.

Sometime during the wee hours, on a dark, deserted stretch of highway, Robin’s car started making a funny noise (Not funny ‘haha,’ funny ‘concerning’) and in moments, it chugged to a stop and we pulled off on the side of the highway. Here we were, four 18 year old girls in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night with no phone and a disabled car. At that point, we realized that we did indeed need to stay in close proximity with Terry and Tom, because we were now stranded.

For a period of time (I can’t recall how long, but it seemed like an eternity) we cried and cursed and tried to figure out what to do. (although, if I recall correctly, at some point, Robin settled down to sleep, which infuriated me. How could she sleep at a time like this????) Anyway, hardly any vehicles passed, and the few that did didn’t bother to stop and help. Until, finally, a vehicle’s red taillights glowed and it started backing up and off to where we waited on the side of the road. We were at once elated and frightened. Perhaps help had arrived, or perhaps we would all be raped and murdered. We waited in anticipation/dread for the good Samaritans/psychotic killers to reach us. Then, to our disbelief, we recognized the vehicle and its occupants. Yes, you guessed it, Terry and Tom. I still have no idea how, after all those hours of being separated, they were the ones who found us.  At the time, we didn’t know if they were behind us or ahead of us. Thankfully, they ended up being behind us.  If memory serves, they had stopped somewhere to eat or get gas or something and ended up meeting some random girls and hanging out/partying with them for a bit. We didn’t know whether to kiss them or kill them.

So…the six of us piled into the S-10 and drove the remainder of the way to Odessa/Midland. (Yes, six. Some of us were in the back and it was October and freezing with the wind whipping around us as we sped down the highway.) I don’t remember that much about our stay there, except if I recall, I did get to introduce my friends to Mickey Gilley, only briefly. And, it seems that Robin’s dad ended up coming to get her and the five of us ended up traveling the 500 miles back to OKC in that tiny truck. 

We did figure out why Terry and Tom were so far behind us. Terry was known as being somewhat of a tightwad. And, even on a 10 hour drive, each time he stopped for gas, he refused to put more than $5 worth in the tank. I remember at some point screaming at him, “Are you kidding me???? Are you afraid you’re going to DIE before you use up the gas and you would have wasted the money????”

Somehow, we made it back. And, in case you’re wondering, you read the above correctly about Terry ending up being my husband. Yep, I actually married him. (We were together for twelve and a half years and have three amazing kids together and we are still friends, so I would say it was worth it. But, I do have to question my sanity at the time).  

Because I don't have a pic from the trip, I thought I'd share this. My ex and my son, Presley, from a few years back on Presley’s prom night:

 

 

Interview from Texas by Brenda Whiteside

The two main characters from my latest release, The Morning After, are the subjects of today’s interview. The Morning After is a novella from The Wild Rose Press and is part of the Honky Tonk Heart Series.

Can there really be love at first sight?

Abigail Martin doesn’t think so. Unless the sexy redheaded stranger she wakes up with the morning after her best friend’s wedding is telling the truth.

Bobby Stockwood fell cowboy-hat-over-boot-heels for the brown-haired beauty, and married her in an impromptu wedding ceremony.  Now he just has to convince his new bride that the morning after can be the first day of the rest of their lives.

But just when Abigail starts believing the fairy-tale is real, she finds out exactly who Bobby is, and the walls of make-believe start crumbling down.

And now, straight from their mouths to your ears.

Me: Hi Abigail and Bobby. Let’s start with ladies first.

Bobby: But of course. That’s my motto too.

Me: Tell me a little bit about yourself, Abby.

Bobby: Ohhh, don’t call her Abby. Only her mother and her husband can call her Abby.

Abigail: Bobby! You are so forward. Hmm…but it’s true, Brenda. Sorry.

Me: I’m sorry. Totally forgot. Now something about you, Abigail.

Abigail: I’m single, working at a job I’m not too crazy about and kind of tired of being the bridesmaid and not the bride. And thanks to my mom, am reminded rather frequently that the old clock is ticking. I’m not the gorgeous, voluptuous heroine you find in most romance…

Bobby: Now she’s just plain wrong there. Darlin’, you’re beautiful, splendid and spirited.

Abigail: In his eyes! I’m thirty-five and pretty much the girl next door in the looks department. Now hush, Bobby, until she asks you a question.

Me: Let’s go ahead and hear a little bit about Bobby from Bobby.

Bobby: Thanks, Brenda. And she is pretty. As for me, I’m not too tall at five foot seven but I like practically looking Abby eye to eye. I’m a redheaded cowboy who does more corporate work for the family business than cowboy business. And I like to have a good time no matter what I’m doing.

Abigail: Now that’s stating it mildly. First off, he’s damn sexy. And to put it in Texan terms, Bobby’s a hoot. And he believes in love at first sight.

Me: How about you, Abigail?

Abigail: Now? After the fact? Still not entirely sure. I’m a bit more grounded than Bobby is, although lately I feel like I’m floating three feet off the ground. He did sweep me off my feet, but then I’d had a few too many of those tropical blitz things in cute pink and purple glasses – and you got to keep them!

Bobby: Tried to drink yourself to a full set, huh?

Abigail: No! I’m just not a drinker. Ugh. So he swept me off my feet…

Bobby: Are you telling her you wouldn’t have been swept off your feet if you hadn’t overindulged. Abby, honey, don’t tell me you were that drunk. I knew you were more than tipsy, but not mind-numbing drunk. The night was all too perfect. Damn near a double wedding with Sue Ellen and JT.

Abigail: Snickers.

Me: Would either of you like to tell me more about your story?

Bobby and Abigail in unison: No!

Abigail: There are twists and turns and lots of fun that the readers need to enjoy without a hint.

Bobby: Y’all enjoy now, ya hear!

4 Star RT Rating

There is only one word to describe this novella — adorable! While readers miss the couple’s “meet cute” the truth is that we don’t need to know what happened the first night they met because Abby and Bobby’s entire relationship is heartmeltingly sweet. This is a morning after that readers will not regret one bit.

The somewhat introverted Abigail Martin is shocked when she wakes up the night after her friend’s wedding hungover with a man in her bed. The surprises keep on coming when Bobby Stockwood introduces himself — as her husband! Even though he is sexy, smart and charming, Abby still feels rushed into the situation. So she kicks Bobby out, only to wish he would have stayed. However, Bobby doesn’t take the rejection to heart. After a string of not-right-women, he knows that he has finally met “the one” even if she doesn’t believe in love at first sight. 

5 Cup Coffee Time Romance Rating

This is a really fun read that is based on falling in love at first sight. Abigail and Bobby are extremely likeable characters and they have great attraction between them. The western setting is realistic and adds strength to the storyline. The story flows very naturally and is well-paced; I even held my breath towards the climatic scenes near the end. I heartily recommend this book.

Amazon Link
The Wild Rose Press Link