Thursday, June 8, 2017

Fruition

If you've been following my posts for the last 3 months, you'll be aware that my daughter Cristal's wedding finally (phew!) took place Memorial Day weekend.  On the Saturday we had a Welcome Party for all our guests, an informal get-together on a tavern rooftop in Manhattan.  Since most of our guests were from out of town, or at least out of state, it was wonderful to have that opportunity to chat with them all.  The prize for coming the furthest went to Rosy Greenaway, a friend of Cristal's from school days, who had to take 3 different planes and a helicopter over 36 hours to get out of Afghanistan to NYC...along with her helmet and flack jacket.
     The wedding itself went off like a dream; even the rain held off until 1.30 am when it all ended.  Here's a little photo story of it all:
Ceremony out on terrace of Stone MIll
Cristal & Daniel with some of the
 Colombian family at the Welcome Party    
with my family


First Dance
                                                      Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my story, City Boy, Country Heart has come out in the anthology, Come Love a Cowboy.  I'm very excited to be in this anthology with six other terrific authors:  Hebby Roman, Hildie McQueen, Kristy McCaffrey, Patti Sherry-Crews,  Devon McKay and Carra Copelin.  It's available now at https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Keep-Contemporary-Western-Collection-ebook/dp/B072869SGV/

Catch a cowboy … Keep a cowboy …

Don’t miss this great collection from USA Today, Amazon Bestselling, and Award-Winning authors!! 

THE LEGEND OF BAD MOON RISING by Carra Copelin
Dinah Horne left for Dallas, Texas, to make her mark. When her money runs out, she returns to her hometown and the man she can’t forget. Sheriff Ben Hammond is finally over the woman who shattered his heart, and he plans to rebuild his life with the Hard Luck Ranch. Under a rising moon, will Ben and Dinah surrender to the passion still burning hot between them?

CITY BOY, COUNTRY HEART by Andrea Downing
Rodeo star and rancher Chay Ridgway has left Wyoming to follow his girlfriend, K.C. Daniels, to New York. Leaving behind all he knows for a small bite of the Big Apple, Chay discovers the canyons of city streets may be too claustrophobic for this cowboy. As K.C. continues her two years of study for her Master’s degree, can she also keep a rein on Chay’s heart? Will this cowboy become a city boy, or will the wide-open spaces of Wyoming call his country heart home?

BLUE SAGE by Kristy McCaffrey
Braden Delaney has taken over the family cattle business after the death of his father, but faced with difficult financial decisions, he contemplates selling a portion of the massive Delaney ranch holdings known as Whisper Rock, a place of unusual occurrences. Archaeologist Audrey Driggs arrives in the remote wilderness of Northern Arizona searching for clues to a life-altering experience from her childhood. Together, they’ll uncover a long-lost secret.

THE DRIFTER’S KISS by Devon McKay
Addison Reed’s stock is coming up short. Unfortunately, she suspects her foreman and dearest friend may be the person responsible for the missing cattle. For Sawyer Dawson, Hardin, Montana, is nothing more than a pit stop before moving on to bigger and better things. After a surprise kiss leads to helping a damsel in distress, he starts to question his drifter ways.

HER MAN by Hildie McQueen
Deputy Mark Hunter’s past returns full force when the first murder in twenty years happens on his watch in the usually quiet town of Lovely, Montana. This is definitely not the time to fall in love, especially with the beautiful witness Eliza Brock, who may be involved.

BORDER ROMANCE by Hebby Roman
When Leticia Villarreal, a lonely widow, considers adding Quarter horse racing to her ranch, she finds she has a lot to learn. John Clay Laidlaw, a millionaire rancher and old acquaintance, races Quarter horses and offers to help. But he also cares for her and wants a relationship. Remembering his high-handed tactics when they were young, she doesn’t trust him. But when someone tries to harm her horses and John Clay rushes to her rescue, can she open her heart to him?

PHOENIX HEAT by Patti Sherry-Crews
When Harper Donovan loses both her fiancĂ© and business in that order, it’s the end of her dream of making it in New York City. Returning to the bosom of her family in Arizona is not her favorite option, but it’s her only one. When she meets handsome firefighter and cowboy Frank Flynn, she decides it’s time to get into the dating game again. Except Flynn shows no interest and dodges her, but not before claiming they’ve met before. Will his past and their differences extinguish the heat between them?

Available at https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Keep-Contemporary-Western-Collection-ebook/dp/B072869SGV/

16 comments:

Leah St. James said...

I've been waiting for the wedding report, Andi! :-) Congratulations on graduating from MOB to MIL! :-) The wedding looks lovely and joyous. Cristal is stunning. She and Daniel look so sweet together. I wish them a lifetime of love and happiness. Thanks for the photos! And congratulations, too, on the new anthology. I love, love, love the cover.

Andrea Downing said...

Thanks Leah--the happy couple are now off in Capetown at the start of their South Africa and Mozambique honeymoon. After a 21 hour flight they are going to sleep!!

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

What a beautiful bride and handsome groom. And let's not forget the stunning mother in law. I'm glad the rain held off for Cristal's special day. It looks as if all the preparations were worth it. I'm sure once all the guests left, you breathed a huge sigh of exhaustion.

Congrats on the new anthology and its handsome cover. Wishing you great sales.

Jannine Gallant said...

Your daughter looked lovely! I'm glad you enjoyed the wedding weekend. As for the anthology, that cover is awesome! Wishing you and the other authors much success.

Alicia Dean said...

Gorgeous photos. So glad the wedding was a success. Congrats on the anthology, sounds like some awesome reads!

Andrea Downing said...

Vonnie, I'm still recuperating! I was actually ill that weekend with nervous headaches etc. which magically went away as soon as the vows were said!

Jannine, thanks for your good wishes. Since the anthology hit NO. 1 in westerns and other areas are doing well, I guess we can relax on that point as well.

Thanks Alicia. Getting those photos up on blogger was a bit of an experience, otherwise I might have put a couple more up.

Brenda Whiteside said...

What a wonderful day. Love the pictures.

Alison Henderson said...

What a beautiful wedding, Andi! Congratulations to the whole family AND big congrats on the new bundle. I'm so glad you found a terrific artist to do the cover--it's perfect.

Andrea Downing said...

Thanks Brenda and Alison. and everyone seems to love that cover! As did we...

Patti Sherry-Crews said...

Hi, Andi! I'm so glad for you that the wedding is behind you and that it was such a magical day. Everything is just beautiful! I had the pleasure of working with you on another anthology. Hope we work together more in the future.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Such a happy couple! Thanks for the pics, Andi. You are allowed to show us more of them in your next post. We are, after all, vicariously experiencing this milestone with you. Cristal's dress is lovely...I like the back of it, too! The ceremony sounds unique as is their choice of a honeymoon setting. I suspect interesting stories are to come about this couple...keep us up on their doings. Congrats, Andi...she's for sure on her own. Deep breaths, now...and mush on with your cool new anthology!

Carra Copelin said...

Andi, major congrats to you, family, but especially to Cristal and Daniel on their wedding. Congrats to the anthology, as well. So pleased it's doing well! We have a great group of authors.

Andrea Downing said...

Hi Patti, it's a definite go to work together again! I'll hold you to that.

Glad you liked the dress, Rolynn; Cristal actually asked for the open back as it was originally a solid white back. The happy couple are safely arrived in Cape Town, and enjoying an upgrade in room to suite with marina view and champagne. Could life be any better?

Hi Carra, thanks for stopping by--we do, indeed, have a great group of authors. I'd love to work with them all again.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Wishing you much success with the anthology. Congratulations on the wedding success. Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Andrea Downing said...

Thanks Margo for your good wishes. It's greatly appreciated.

Hebby Roman said...

Wonderful pictures, Andrea. So glad it all went off so well after your planning! Thanks for including our boxed set, too!