Sunday, June 28, 2009

"Stop and Smell the Roses" Blog Bouquet



Howdy ya'll!

Welcome to Tanya Writes Romance! Please leave a comment for a chance to win an e-copy of Marrying Minda, my current release at The Wild Rose Press. Check back tomorrow for the winning name drawn from my cowboy hat!

I'm part of the Cactus Rose posse, authors who write romance set in the Old West. There's something about a guy in a Stetson...does it for me every time. Marrying Minda is the tale of a mail-order bride who finds herself married to the wrong man, and with a daughter of my own getting married in a few weeks, I guess you could say I've got weddings on my mind big-time.

I'm thrilled and humbled at Marrying Minda being a best-seller at The Wild Rose Press for four weeks now. For this I must thank my terrific editor Helen Andrew and cover designer, Nicola Martinez for their amazing talent and professionalism.

I hope you like the excerpt and blurb posted below. Please check out my website. I've always got some kind of contest going on. And I sure hope to see you at Petticoats and Pistols, the all-Western site where I am a regular blogger along with a dozen other authors of western romance. This week's Excerpt Week!

Don't forget: after leaving your comment here, mosey on to each author blog linked below. Everybody's got prizes and fun going on. See you again real soon!
http://amberleighwilliams.blogspot.com
http://authorsstudio.blogspot.com

http://bettyhanawa.blogspot.com
http://christineclemetson.blogspot.com
http://findagreatromance.blogspot.com
http://www.freewebs.com/lesmora/apps/blog/
http://freewebs.com/teriwilson/apps/blog/
http://hywelalyn.blogspot.com
http://jennfrancesca.blogspot.com
http://lianalaverentz.blogspot.com

http://plotsandthoughts.blogspot.com

http://traveltheages.blogspot.com


http://grgiall.blogspot.com
http://LindaHopeLee.blogspot.com
http://joycemoore.blogspot.com
http://lje1.wordpress.com
http://noveltrails.blogspot.com
http://tinagayle.blogspot.com
http://willtravelforromance.blogspot.com

Blurb:

Mail-order bride Minda Becker arrives in Paradise, Nebraska and eagerly marries the handsome man who meets her stagecoach. His wedding kiss melts her toes. Too bad he's the wrong bridegroom. Cowboy Brixton Haynes can't deny he'd like a wedding night with the eastern beauty, but the last thing he needs is to be saddled with a wife and the three children his brother left behind. First chance he gets, he'll be back point riding along the Goodnight. But leaving Minda proves to be much harder than he expected.


Excerpt:

Night fell soft and silent, and the snuffles of Norman Dale’s livestock comforted Brixton with memories of the trail. Lord, he couldn’t wait to get back.
Habit had him walk quiet as he could from the barn to the house. Even the tiniest noise sparked stampedes on the trail, so his footsteps were cautious wherever he went.

At the back porch, he set down Minda’s valises and paused to peek in the back window. Her lush curves swayed beneath the simple dress as she readied the children for bed, and he couldn’t fill his vision fast enough. The memory of her soft sweet cheek brushed his fingertips once more, and his heart raced and his groin throbbed. It was the heartbeat he didn’t like; a man desiring a beautiful woman was just what a man did. But a galloping heart might mean a man felt something deep inside.

Even worse, night after night alone on the trail, he’d keep seeing her shining hair sweep across little Ned’s shoulders while she kissed the top of the lad’s head. So he pulled out his flask and drank deeper. It was too much like having a family of his own, something he swore he never needed. Suddenly he missed his brother more than he’d missed anything.

Until this minute, he had never felt shy about coming through this door without a knock. His wife’s current disposition gave him pause, but he had goods to deliver and damn, the kids just might like one of his good-night songs. His tongue clicked. Truth to tell, his bride would think him nothing but a rowdy bridegroom wanting a tumble between the sheets. Already she’d tried to disgrace him by letting a room at the boardinghouse just for herself.

Another long hard swig consoled his throat as it emptied his flask. Damn woman.


32 comments:

Skhye said...

Wonderful excerpt! Congrats on your being a bestseller for weeks over at WRP!!! Have a wonderful week.

Tricia Schneider said...

Your story sounds great! Weddings are on my mind, too, since there are so many people I know getting married. Well, it IS June! lol

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great read! Good luck playing mother of the bride.

Penny Rader said...

Congrats on being a bestseller, Tanya! Way cool!

And I hope you have a blast at your daughter's wedding.

Tanya Hanson said...

Thanks for the good wishes, Skhye. Yeah, I'm both stoked and shocked LOL.

A good week backatcha!

~Tanya

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Tricia, thanks for coming by. Duh, maybe that's why TWRP picked June for a wedding story LOL.

Tanya Hanson said...

Thanks JKW for the good wishes. Everything is in control but I admit to waking up in the middle of the night.

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Penny, fellow Wild Rose Author. Thanks for your good wishes all around. And good luck with your new release! oxoxox

Nightingale said...

Congratulations on the Best Seller List. Stop and Smell the Roses Event sounds fun,

Lauri said...

Yes, I too love a Stetson, but more than that...it's the boots! I LOVE COWBOY BOOTS!

Great excerpt! Congrats on your sales, and I wish you many, many more!

Lauri

Marianne Evans said...

Great excerpt!! There's something so romantic about the old west! Best of luck - and continued best selling success!!!

Roni said...

Great excerpt Tanya. Loved it. Thank you for participating in our rose bouquet.

Rhonda

Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer said...

I'm a sucker for a man in a Stetson or a man who sports boots like a second skin!

great blog!

Karen H said...

Great excerpt! And congratulations on your daughter's marriage. Hope all goes well.

Helen said...

Most of the credit for Minda's success goes to you, Tanya. You were a joy to work with!

Helen

Jennette Green said...

Sounds like a great book! :) And congratulations on being a best seller--that must be thrilling!

Tanya Hanson said...

Thanks, Lauri and Nightingale, for your good wishes, and for stopping by today!

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Marianne, I do think the Old West is romantic...so I try not to recall outdoor plumbing and no antiobiotics LOL.

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Roni, the bouquet is such a wonderful idea!

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Wendi, yeah, there is something about men in boots...although I attended a Highland Festival on saturday and guys in kilts are pretty rockin' too. We kept hoping the wind would, you know, blow up their skirts. But...nada.

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Karen, thanks for your good wishes. There is a bit of bridesmaid-dress drama today but gotta have a bit of drama, huh?

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Helen, thank you very much. I hope and pray for a long association LOL.

Tanya Hanson said...

Jeannette, thanks for stopping by today and wishing me well.

Maggi said...

I've been dying to read this - I hope I win, if not I will order - it is on my TBR list! Stetsons look great on men - although not on my husband - pi

Teri Wilson, Romancing the pet lover's soul said...

Oh, oh, oh. Pick me. I really want to win a copy of your book. I, too, love a man in a Stetson! puppylove@satx.rr.com

Blessings, Teri

Teri Wilson ~ Romancing the pet lover's soul

www.teriwilson.net

Christine Clemetson said...

Congrats on your book and also that its been a best seller! Way to go!!

Great post!

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Maggie, oh, my fingers are crossed. My hubby looked best in a fire helmet LOL. But one can only hope

Thanks for posting!!! oxox

Tanya Hanson said...

Hi Teri, oh your blog got me all teary-eyed. In the last ten months, we had to say good-bye to both of our black Labs. Yeah, they were both elderly, but it totally sucked! I will join your loop.

Thanks for coming by today and wishing me well. oxoxoxoxxo

Tanya Hanson said...

thanks for your kind words, Christine. I enjoyed your blogspoT. isn't the "blog bouquet"
FUN? I totally love everything about TWRP. (Hopefully they'll love my next submission LOL."

Betty Hanawa said...

Great excerpt! Congratulations on your sales. Enjoy the wedding.

Babyblue22 said...

I love the Old West Too!!
The men are so rough and rugged it;s so sexy.
Great excerpt, it sounds like Brixton has his work cut out for him.

~Afshan
Afshan522@aol.com

Hywela Lyn said...

Hi Tanya. I love the old west as well.Great excerpt (and lovely cover) Wishing you many sales