A Wild West Christmas...twelve days long

Currently reading: The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith
Just finished: When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber A++++

Merry Christmas!

What? That's like, five days ago.

But did you know Christmas has long been celebrated for twelve days afterward, until the Feast of the Magi, or Epiphany, on January 6? I'm so happy the Hallmark Channel is still showing Christmas flicks this week and our cable system's "Sounds of the Season" is still belting out carols full force. So much better than the Los Angeles station that started playing Christmas music mid-November, non-stop, 24/7...only to cease cold turkey at 12:01 a.m. December 26. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. And all the marathons of White Christmas, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone and A Christmas Story stopped then too.

In fact, if you want the true meaning of the Twelve Days (it is NOT those twelve gimmicky shopping days beforehand), get on over to my recent blog at Petticoats and Pistols to learn the secret, sacred symbolism behind all the French hens and those maids a'milking.

That blogging day, I asked readers to help me re-write the classic Christmas carol, and here's what we composed: (No symbolism; we just had fun.)

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...a roadrunner in a pinon pine tree.

...Two blue jays squawking,
...Three crows cawing,
...Four calves a-bawling,
...Five jangling spurs,
...Six cowgirls roping,
...Seven tumbleweeds a'tumbling,
...Eight pioneers a camping,
...Nine broncos bucking,
...Ten cowboys singing,
...Eleven roosters crowing,

And I just couldn't decide on the last one. Take your pick. They're all great.

Twelve stallions leaping
Twelve Texans twanging
Twelve riders riding
Twelve fillies rhyming
Twelve coyotes howling.

Point is. It's still Christmas!

A Very Merry Christmas, and God Bless Us All, Everyone

Just finished: The Forgetful Bride, by Debbie Macomber, C-


It's that time of year when...I'm running out of time. But I love it! Bought out the dollar stores yesterday with stocking stuffers...have the cul-de-sac party on Saturday for which I make my famous mac and cheese. Best of all, Hubby's gift arrived by FedEx at a time when I could actually keep it a secret

There's shopping, baking for the neighbors, and tons of wrapping ahead all the while I'm finishing my next-year's holiday novella, Christmas for Ransom, and finishing the edits for Marrying Mattie. BTW, Marrying Minda could be the answer to your question about what to get for that special person. Available both print and e-form at The Wild Rose Press

And my short story His Christmas Angel (the prequel to next year's Marrying Mattie) is a FREE download at Wild Rose! Doesn't get much better than free!

Hope you enjoy the hottie cowboy. Off to pen the Christmas letter now, and no, it's not one of those obnoxious braggy ones. Just a quick sentence about each one of us.

Once again, God bless you all, every one.

P.s. The George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol is far and away the very best.

I'll Be your Huckleberry...

Current read: Home for the Holidays, by Debbie Macomber

One of the greatest books of all time, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was published on this date in 1885 in Canada and England. It wasn't released for two months in the United States and has been in trouble ever since.

Ernest Hemingway declared it the "one book" from which "all modern American literature" came. Too true. Heretofore, all great works by American authors had bitten off from European counterparts. But this one, crammed full of local color, written in the regional dialogue of the time (which makes it the bane of students), showcasing a true if nasty art of American culture (slavery), set on a river like none other in the world, is indeed the first and the best. Contemporary critics and scholars have treated it as one of the greatest American works of art.
Why is in trouble? Well, mostly the whiners are people who haven't read it. They don't like some of the common terms of the time--which are not used as derogatory in the book. (Besides, why do females get to be called bitches and ho's and nobody seems to sense a way double standard?)

Here's to you, Samuel Langhorne Clemens!

Always in My Heart...

Two years ago today my twin brother died. Cancer, ravenous, irrevocable, incurable. We got the dreaded news of his diagnosis on Mothers Day weekend, in a phone call at 8:30 p.m.--the time he always called, with a joke, news of his two daughters, plans for a get-together. All the stuff of real life. We never expected a death sentence.

But I believe in miracles and prayed for one. A transplant. Some magic experimental drugs. Which, truth to tell, there was one of the latter. (The former was impossible.) But the drug so compromised Mike's quality of life he said, no thanks, after several months of poison and misery.

In those last months, we danced together at niece Katie's wedding, myself in tears. The Beatles' "In My Life." There's nobody who compares to you, I wept into his shoulder.

I love your family like my own, Tonna. That was his special name for me. My son used it until he was about five, never calling me mommy.

With our spouses and closest friends, we did manage one last trip to Palm Springs, one of our favorite places, in July. Oh, the memories! Now, knowing what chemo does to the human body, I can only applaud Mike for his courage in accompanying us. I know now he was in hell much of the time.

Oh, I miss him every day. Every major event of my life, he was at my side. In some way, he still is. I know he was looking down and laughing with joy at Christi's wedding last August. That he sent me his love during those harrowing months of my hubby's chemo. But when the phone rings in the evening, my heart stops, and I wish things were different.

Because that was Mike's time, not some stupid "Unknown" junker that shows up on Caller ID.

I gave a talk at his graveside, and I managed laughter instead of tears. My hubby got up to speak, but just couldn't, awash in emotions. Our best man. Godfather to our son, an incredible uncle, father, husband...one month later, we got the horrific diagnosis of cancer ourselves.

In my life, Mike, there's nobody who compares to you.

Love always....

A blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours!

I'm a bird lover and a bird watcher, but there are two nasty territorial crows hanging around trying to scare off Rocket J., the darling squirrel who lives in one of our trees. So I need a scarecrow!

But I need little else. This is the time of giving thanks, and so I do. For my hubby in general, for his full health in particular. For two great kids who picked spouses who complete our family.

For the grandbaby who has totally stolen my heart.

For friends and neighbors who fill our days, and the Lord who sustains us.

For the memories of our sweet Labradors who left us all too soon.

For the loving and loved relatives who will join us on Thursday. They complete us too.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Ps. The Tim McGraw concert totally rocked. I'll blog about it in depth soon at Petticoats and Pistols. Wait for it!

Live Like You Were Dying....

I haven't had that great of a start to today. I just found out my terrific editor is leaving the profession to concentrate on her own writing career. I can understand. As meticulous and gifted as she is with editing, it's got to take its toll on her creativity...and her time. We've still got one project we're working on together, and I know she's passing me on to good hands but...

....I'm broken hearted. As I told her, I can't decide if I want to cry or throw up.

To help me feel a bit better, though, I'm heading out in a bit for a Tim McGraw concert with my dear buddy Charlene Sands. I figure this is our sixth concert hunting him down LOL. He's not only a hottie, but the author of much of my life around here:

Live Like You Were Dying became one of our anthems during and since testicular cancer. My Little Girl is the beautiful, tear-jerking song our own little girl picked for her daddy-daughter dance at her wedding three months ago.

And My Old Friend brings to our heart and mind our own dearest friend, my twin brother Mike, who passed away two years ago come Christmas.

I fear I'll be plenty tearful during the concert, don't you?

Friday the Thirteenth...at Petticoats and Pistols

While you're here, why not click again and visit my take on cowboy boot lore and superstition over at the all-western site, Petticoats and Pistols! If you're wearing cowboy boots today, make sure they're old ones. New ones bring bad luck today!

And while you're there at Petticoats, don't forget to enter our Cowboy Under The Christmas Tree contest.

Before you go, got any superstitions to post for today?

Give a Vet a Hug Today...and every day...

A blessed day to those who serve and protect us. I myself am the wife, daughter, sister, niece, cousin, great-niece and great-great-great-granddaughter of U.S. veterans.

Daddy served as a translator/radioman in the Aleutian Islands in WWII. Hubby medic-ed in Germany. My great-uncle Albert died in The Great War. His remains didn't return home for three years, in time for my uncle/godfather to be named after him.

My great-great-great grampa marched with Tecumseh Sherman to the sea. Family lore says he got sidelined with illness before the burning of Atlanta. All right by me.

Veterans' Day started out in 1919, as Armistice Day, to honor the first anniversary of the end of "the war to end all wars." World War One. Ironic, isn't it? Less than 20 years later another one raged.

Truth to tell, have wars ever stopped?

In 1938, Armistice Day became a national holiday and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all veterans from all wars, living and dead. Today there are 23.2 million veterans. Let's give them their due. Let's tend those in need.

After all, all gave some. Some gave all.

Thanks, veterans, for keeping us safe and free.

Lawmen and Outlaws, Christmas-style

Just finished: Painted Desert by Nancy J. Farrier, grade B+

Sincere thanks to Melinda Elmore for visiting my blog this past week! Good work, Melinda. Keep it up!

I was thrilled last Thursday to learn I will be part of the 2010 Christmas "Lawmen and Outlaws" anthology from The Wild Rose Press! Right now you can read about four hottie Wild West heroes and the women who tame them in the current "Lawmen and Outlaws" anthology, written by four of my "Cactus Rose" colleagues.

In my upcoming Christmas for Ransom, horsethief "Canyon" Jack Ransom finds himself guilt ridden after snatching the horseflesh of a sweet old lady rancher who reminds him too damn much of his own gram-maw. The old gal raised him best she could and extracted two promises from him on her deathbed...promises he has yet to keep.

Throw in the old rancher's granddaughter, Eliza, a beautiful schoolteacher whom Jack hires to teach him to read, a snorting outlaw gang reluctant to let Jack reform himself, and a blazing shootout, and all you have left is Jack and Eliza getting snowbound...just in time for Christmas.

I'll keep you posted.

Meet Melinda Elmore!

"This book shows that true love knows no physical or spiritual bounds and that destiny will always prevail." -----Wells Mahkee Jr., Managing Editor, Navajo/Hopi Observer


I’d like to introduce you today to fellow historical romance author, Melinda Elmore, who sets her stories in the 19th century native American cultures. Melinda is a writer, a wife, and the mother of two. Native Dreams reveals the turbulent times of the 1800s and the hardships of Native Americans. Melinda is a freelance writer for the Navajo/Hopi Observer in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Here’s an excerpt from her latest release, Native Dreams.

Precious Hawk is viciously taken from her people
and forced to live in the white world, causing
inner turmoil. Many years later, Cloud Feather, a
perfect stranger, arrives to work on her
husband’s ranch. Experience the “awe” when Cloud
Feather rescues his beloved Precious Hawk, who
has come to him in many of his dreams. His heart
is to return Precious Hawk to her ancestral lands where she rightly belongs.

On the run, the daring couple nearly lose their
lives. Cloud Feather is gravely wounded. He is
taken to his village in hope that Red Wing, their
medicine man, can save his life. All the while,
Precious Hawk is with child, Cloud Feather’s child.

But Precious Hawk knows the evilness of John
Altan. Will he ever leave her alone? No, not until he is dead.

The Great Spirit joins their love, faith keeps
their minds hopeful, and their spiritual guides deliver guidance.


Melinda, I love your cover and the names of your H and H. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I have lived in Arizona and Tennessee. I have discovered wealth is not measured in how much money you have but in how much love you share.
I have been happily married to my wonderful husband, Tom for 22 years. I have two remarkable children, Shaelee and Erik.

As a young child, I loved reading and writing. Many nights I would wrap up in a blanket, daydream, while I turned the exciting pages of a book. The books would take me to many places. I loved the idea of going from the normal world in which I lived, then instantly I would be taken to a place far away.
To my surprise, I started writing and creating my very own world. A place where I could go and lose myself with just a pen and paper.

I grew up with the fascination of the American Indian. My love for them grew by leaps and bounds as I read about them from my history book. I wanted to show, in my writings, of the proud people that the American Indians truly are. They show honor and respect for all living things. If I can capture just a small portion of that in my writings then that would be an added bonus for me.

Native American Romance and Native American mysteries is my passion. I hope to reveal in my books the uniqueness of the American Indian. I feel truly blessed to try and reveal how special the American Indians truly are.

The love of my family and the love for the American Indian have become focal points in my stories. I will do my best for both of them. I sincerely pray readers enjoy the characters that I bring to life on each turning page!!!!

I promise, Melinda, we’ll enjoy those characters you bring to life, and the native cultures you so honor. Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope you visit me again soon!

Dia de la Muertos...the grateful dead

Hello! Happy Day of the Dead!

More than three thousand years ago, natives of today's Mexico mocked death in rituals honoring their goddess Mictecacihuatl during the month of today's August. Spanish explorers deemed the rites pagan and sacrilegious...but changed the dates to coincide with the Christian All Saints and All Souls Days, November 1 and 2, when the Aztec practice refused to die out.

Today, the holiday honors loved ones who have died, celebrating their lives with joy, special foods, and displays of their favorite things, on altars called ofrenda. Marigolds are the traditional flower and are even eaten in certain recipes.

I hope you'll join me on Wednesday, my regular blogging day at the all-Western romance site, Petticoats and Pistols, for a bit longer explanation on this fascinating holiday. Today, skulls are still an important part of the tradition, and but not with the grim gore of Halloween. Calacas and catrinas are usually depicted laughing and dancing, and kids enjoy eating sugar candy skulls.

I'm thinking of my dear, departed dad right now, with love and joy.

Hallo-"weenies"

Here are my niece-pups who live in Nevada.

Despite the cute pictures, Halloween isn't exactly a pet-friendly holiday. Thanks to the SPCA for the following information.

• Keep pets indoors on Halloween night as the extra activity can be dangerous.

• Confine your pets to a safe and quiet area. The constantly ringing doorbell can be stressful so place your pets in a quiet room, with their pet bed, favorite toys, soothing music, and if possible, a human companion.

• Do not take the family pet out trick-or-treating. Pets can be frightened by strange costumes and may result in the animal running away or acting out by attacking. Remember, pet owners can be liable for injuries inflicted by their pets.

• Never let your pet around lit candles. Pets may knock over candles and cause a fire. Curious kittens and puppies especially run the risk of getting burned.

• Candy is not for pets. Most candy will get your animals sick and chocolate is very dangerous as it is poisonous to many animals. Tinfoil wrappers can get lodged in your pets’ digestive tract. Keep the number of your local poison control center and emergency veterinarian handy just in case.

• Never dress your pet in a costume that is not made for pets. If you do dress your pets for Halloween, make sure it is a costume made for pets their size.

• Current Identification Tags are vital. With the door constantly in use on this holiday, pets can sneak out of the house. Make sure they’ve been microchipped and are wearing a collar with current tags.

Happy "BOO"-day!

Happy "HOWL"oween.

Current read: Painted Desert, by Nancy J. Farrier

Cute puppies, no?






Thanks to my cousin Trudi for the cute pix. Don't worry. I'll be back soon with more canine pictorial treats.

Signin' Books in Encino, CA

Current read: Painted Desert, by Nancy J. Farrier (Barbour anthology)


Los Angeles Romance Authors Book Fair...fifteen authors, and here I am among them. Yay. What a great day! We even got mentioned in the Los Angeles Times.

Highlights? Sold 'em all...and the grandbaby came. Sigh.

My New Book Cover! hip-hip HOORAY

Just finished: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown; Grade C-
Here it is...isn't it gorgeous? I got the designer I requested (yes, she did Marrying Minda also), the marvelous artist and editor Nicola Martinez, and got the horses and lone cowboy as well. Sigh.

Now I need to speed-read and finish my edits. I've got a book signing on Sunday for Marrying Minda (can you tell Minda and Mattie are sisters?)...so wish me luck! I'll be posting the blurb next. My wonderful editor helped me with it. I am definitely not a woman of few words.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tanya's Take on Wild Horses and Burros

Current read: The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown


Did you know nearly 37,000 wild horses and burros --descendants of the Wild West -- roam Nevada, California, and Wyoming? Another 32,000 are tended in corrals and pastures in Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. While the Bureau of Land Management rounds p thousands annually for adoption, there have been fewer takers the last few years.

In recent months, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Ken Salazar had warned that the slaughter of many of these animals might be inevitable. Water and forage are limited in the West, he said, and drought and wildfire threaten both range land and the animals' well-being. There are actually ranchers, Western lawmakers, and even a few Native American groups who long for this practice! Fortunately, Salazer, who is a former rancher, rejects this idea along with most of the American public.

Secretary Salazer has just announced to Congress a new plan to protect both the animals and range by moving thousands of horses and burros to preserves in the Midwest and East. Five preserves in addition to two already maintained would become refuge for 25,000 wild horses and burros. Many remaining on the range would be neutered, and reproduction closely monitored.

The planned preserves, essentially large ranches, would be accessible to the public, ecotourism. Salazar's plan is highly praised as it reverses decades of government policies that consider these critters "nuisances."

The thought of slaughter broke my heart. Horses and burros are tightly woven into the fabric of the Old West. I almost wish those buckaroos were called horseboys in honor of those elegant, hardworking, temperamental equines. And as for burros, well, I just love them and have sponsored three at a sanctuary in Israel.

If only I lived on a farm or ranch and not a typical suburban cul-de-sac. There would be no end to the number of critters in my homegrown zoo. (I'll write about the Safe Haven for Donkeys in Israel soon.)

And maybe Salazer's compassion will reverse the recent horrible decision to open hunting of wolves in Idaho. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. HOWL!

LiveSTRONG and Prosper

Today is LiveSTRONG Day world-wide. Wear yellow. Donate and get a wristband.

On this date 13 years ago, cyclist Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer...at a time in his life he had no health insurance. His memoir, It's Not About the Bike, broke the ground on T.C. awareness.

Thanks also to my hero, Dr. Lawrence Einhorn, whose research at Indiana University invented the chemotherapy protocol in 1978 that saved Lance's life. And also my husband's last year. Dr. Einhorn makes himself available by e-mail and phone to guys needing answers and second opinions. Thank you, God.

In 1978, s dying patient begged Dr. Einhorn to use him as a guinea pig.

He's alive today.

Of the 7,600 men who will be diagnosed with T.C. this year, more than 95% will survive. But only if the disease is caught in time!

I can't deny the BEP protocol is harrowing and life-threatening in itself. But it works. Get the men in your life to check their balls. Just like our BSE's, guys gotta do TSE's.

Please?

Tanya Writes About Lefthandedness

It's one of my favorite things about myself although I clearly recall in grade two, handwriting J's like F's just as the principal came into the classroom to observe. Although heat flooded me, he didn't seem to mind a bit.

Did you know males are more likely left-handed than females? How special am I? In fact, there are twice as many left-handed boys as girls. Neither of my kids got it, though.

I share the stage with some pretty cool left-handed folks: Picasso, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Beethoven, Paul Mc Cartney, Lou Gehrig, Helen Keller, Prezzes Garfield, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Reagan (is Obama, too?), and some other guys I like: Ben Franklin and Mark Twain.

Well, I've no politics in me, but I did major in Art in college and I do play the piano pretty well. And since the right side of a brain controls the left side of a body, this surely this means I'm in my right mind.

(Although my hero pictured with me at our daughter's recent wedding may lovingly disagree.)

Tanya Writes About The Falconer

Current read: The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
Just finished: The Falconer, Elaine Clark McCarthy, A++ a perfect read


I'm not a reviewer or a critic, but this book really touched my heart. I guess because cancer rears its ugly head in it, and the hero puts out wildfires and it's set in California. So many things that make up my up the fabric of my life.

Thing is, I've had this book in the attic for years. It was released in the mid-90's and I don't know how it got into my hands. Maybe someone who knew my hero is a firefighter. Dunno. It's slim and spare with a beautiful cover but somehow didn't make the cut of a TBR list.

But I found it again, going up into the attic for fall decorations. It's short, almost a one-sitting read, with the lyrical prose that I love and our MTV culture usually doesn't.

But oh god she wanted him. She wanted his hands to reinvent her skin, she wanted his eyes to find here there behind her face and release her. She wanted her heart thrown into the sky; she wanted to fly. She wanted it before the dark closed in. So mucy dark and so soon.

The only trouble was, she didn't know if he could want it too. But he might. Please, whatever god may be he might.

The author claimed it only took three days to write. But she to my knowledge never wrote anything else. Sad. It's timeless and wondrous and worth your time. A keeper. A re-read. Again and again and again.

(Ps. If I used this cover image and shouldn't have, please let me know., and I'll remove it)

Tanya Writes About the USS New York

I got this in an e-mail from some fire-buddies and can't help but pass it along. We visited Ground Zero a summer ago on our first (but it won't be last!) trip to New York. Still get chills. Still get tears, thinking of the great sacrifices of 9/11.

Maybe this ship is a kind of phoenix, something rising from the ashes. Something hopeful out of the destruction on that day the world as we knew it stopped turning.

This ship was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center destroyed on that horrific September day.

The fifth in a new class of warship, she's designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. She will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my
neck stood up. It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back..."

Notice her twin towers? Her motto?

“Never forget.”