Sunday, August 28, 2022
New release; Forbidden Paths #1 of The Clayton Boy's series
Hello, I'm Ruthie L. Manier. Thank you for joining me here today on Cowboy
Kisses Blog!
The subject I'm going to talk about today is child abuse whether it
be mental, physical or sexual. I know, most of us dont want to think about these
things happening, let alone talk about it. Yet children of all ages have been abused by
family member's all throughout history. Even with all the laws and safety precautions they've set in motion to prevent abuse from
happening.
In my new release Forbiddin Paths the heroin Mischief was abused by
her adopted father Albert King, after her adopted mother unexpectedly died from
the fever. He was a good father up to then, but after his wife died he tured to
alcohol as a means to deal with his suffering. Mr. King could not handle the
liquor and became a mean, perverted, drunk.
It started with a slap across her face when she objected to him drinking too much and he tried to kiss her on the
lips. She was seventeen and knew it was inapropriate, besides he had never tried to kiss her on the lips before.
As time went by his anger at her unwillingness
to let him touch her became fierce and he started using his fists to beat her
down. Then when she was the most vulnerable and too weak to fight back anymore he did the unimaginable, he raped her.
Mischief felt lost, betrayed, dirty, and angry. Her hope was almost gone. Nowhere to go, nowhere to seek help,
for she had already tried, until one stormy night she found the strength to fight back. Let's just put it this way...her stepfather never bothered her again.
Men ruled the women and children in the 19th century
and could treat them how they saw fit. Wrong or right did not matter. Mischief was able to get away from her
stepfather but soon after she caught a gunslingers attention who was planning to
take her willing or not. The same cyle was begining and she was scared.
Mischief had vowed after her adopted father had fled, that shewould never let anyone abuse
her again and bought a small handgun for her protection. She would be ready to defend herself if anyone ever tried to abuse her again.
In the twentieth century things aren't handled the way they were when it was a wild frontier and an eye for an eye was the way problems were deal with instead of through the law, but there are many different avenues of getting help from the time children are very young, starting at their doctors office, preschool, and then school. Everybody must be aware of the signs and be watchful.
THE LINK BELOW IS WHERE YOU CAN
GO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SIGNS TO WATCH FOR. And what you should do if you
suspect a child of any age is being abused in any way.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/signs.pdf
The first documated case of child
abuse was in 1874 in the United States. Mary Ellen McCormack was the abused
child. “My name is Mary Ellen Wilson. I don’t know how old I am. Mamma whips and beats me almost every day. I’ve never been kissed by love. I’m never allowed to play with other children and I never dare to speak to anybody because if I did, I would get whipped. Whenever mamma goes out she locks me in the bedroom. I’ve never been outside…”
I shared an article below from The New York Times.
>
Here is the link to my new release: FORBIDDEN PATHS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B54FBN2H
It is a heart breaking story yet as always in a romance Love provails and her hero Hunter returns.
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and many other social sites!
I'd love to hear from you!
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Guest Author Lariette Lee
Hello Cowboy Kisses. I'm western romance author, Lariette Lee, here to tell you about my new release, My Cowboy's Calling.
Miss Adeline had all the bounce and
fury of a bobcat.
Foreman Asher Cade returns to
Adeline, a place where all his bitter memories reside. He’s forced to mend more
than just a fence when he tears down the one belonging to Tobyn McCall. Beloved
daughter of Adeline, she can make or break the future of the new AXL Ranch. But
he never expected her to help him turn what used to be bitter into something
scorchingly sweet.
That cowboy is smokestack lightning hot.
When her new neighbor purchases the pasture next door to Tobyn McCall, the
AXL Group sends Asher Cade to take hers as well. He still bears traces of the
irresistible bad boy as well as the pain he suffered years ago. She can’t fall
for this cowboy who will leave town again, or she’ll lose her land and her
beloved Adeline, too.
If they can find a way to come to terms, there’s not a town or a fence that
can contain their love.
Excerpt:
He ought to be
thankful for Tobyn’s friendliness instead of being annoyed by it. It’s a
helluva a lot easier to negotiate with someone when you’re on their good side.
And he had yet to get Tobyn to agree on the boundary between her place and the
AXL Ranch. Everything else—a new fence, stocking cattle on the Lamar pasture,
his long-delayed return to the executive suite—depended on that.
And he sure as
hell wasn’t staying in Adeline any longer than he had to.
“I have
something for you, Asher,” Tobyn said. “It’s not much but seein’s as we’re to
be neighbors, I mean, you being the—uh—the representative of the AXL Ranch or
Group, or whatever they are—”
Her voice
trailed off as she tried to reach a jar of something on a top shelf. She
teetered on tip-toe. “Oh, it’s hell being short!”
He went to
help her again, reaching for the jar. He closed his fingers around it and
looked down into her upturned face. “Is this it?”
She nodded,
her eyes wide, warm like liquid honey.
Oh,
baby.
“Is this it?”
he asked again, bringing it down off the shelf.
Not only was
he repeating himself, his voice sounded slurred, his movements seemed sluggish.
There was surge in his body that overpowered everything else.
Hell, he
wasn’t sorry he’d touched Tobyn down in that gully—not one damn bit.
“Oops—don’t drop it,” she chuckled. Her
small fingers, soft and topped with clear nails, closed over his hands still
holding the jar. “It’s for you. Dewberry jam. Super sweet, on biscuits, or most
anything else.”
“I can believe
that.”
Asher
struggled to get ahold of himself. It was as if he had turned back into a wild
colt of a teenager, high-speed hormones and impulsive as hell. He pulled his
hand away from Tobyn’s and cleared his throat. “Hallum over at the feed store
said you make the best in Adeline.”
Tobyn was all
sunshine, her lips parting, clearly unaware just how close she came to getting
swept off her feet again. “That was nice of him to say that.”
It grew quiet
in the kitchen. Outside the dying cicadas sang in the cottonwoods. The wind
blew through ruffled curtains and a bob-white called across the pasture.
Through the hallway off to one side, Asher caught a glimpse of a bedroom with a
bed framed by a feminine wicker headboard. The bedspread was lacy, moving,
almost floating from the breeze coming through windows open to the fresh air.
That bed
sparked an image that took Asher’s imagination from there. He was all alone
with a girl who was turning him on. If it wasn’t for his job, his purpose in
being here, this whole neighborly thing—he could easily see his way to getting
awful friendly with Tobyn McCall.
‘Cause things
can get mighty uninhibited when you’re in the country.
My Cowboy's Calling is available on Amazon and can be purchased here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9CJ8VBS
As for myself, I grew up raising cattle in Texas, fighting weather and drought, hauling hay and building fences, changing tires on gooseneck trailers and competing in the occasional playday on stock horses out of the ranch remuda. But like my characters, all modern-day cowboys and cowgirls, I had to find another career to make ends meet. That meant abandoning the land for lawyering. But the land did not abandon me, at least in my mind. I still carry the memories of white-faced cattle long gone and bottomland hay pastures now vanished beneath subdivisions.
Today I saddle up and ride the range in my imagination, writing stories
that take place there. Stories about men and women looking to find what’s
missing in their lives in a seemingly blank landscape. They always discover the
same thing, far from the city crowds, in places where bob-whites call, a horse
nickers and the wind whispers through cottonwood leaves—love.
https://www.facebook.com/LarietteLee
https://twitter.com/LarietteLee
https://www.pinterest.com/LarietteLee/
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Go West Young Man ~ Nan O'Berry
We were born with wanderlust in our souls.
Man, and his thirst for new horizons is one of the oldest needs to be experienced. To go, to see, to experience, what is beyond our touch seems to come naturally. From the first explorers on this continent, we have been pushing west to see what is just around the river bend, over the next hill, or beyond the mountainside.
What thrusts the species forward?
Our inquisitive nature? Perhaps.
The need for more land?
Indeed, the idea of hitting the riches, finding the next big deposit of riches excites something deep inside.
There is something to be said about sending roots down deep. When the Spanish and English explores first came to the New World, their thoughts were to spread Christianity, to establish a new threshold in a world unknown for their king ( aka glory) , and Gold. Wealth and the ability to move up the ladder socially has driven both sexes to find their destiny.
American’s love Manifest Destiny. We see it as our “Holy Grail” to expand our beliefs in “every man is equal” (Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence) therefore promised a piece of the pie. The Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark’s Expedition opened what lay beyond the Appalachians and the Mississippi River. An epic promise if you followed your dreams, surely good things such as wealth will follow.
Every students recalls Horace Greeley’s editorial about “Go West Young Man and grow up with your country”. The reason many left the east was the decline in employment, the threat of war, or even their own incarceration by the law. Out west, a man set his rule and lived by his own laws until civilization tamed the land. Perhaps it was best written by the Miles Hood Swarthout for the movie, The Shootist.
“I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.”
Of course, it was uttered by the greatest cowboy of all time (in my opinion) John Wayne. It was his last film. It gets me every time I watch it. His character had come west. Skirted the law as a gunfighter and knowing his death was a matter of time, decided he was going out on his own terms in his own way. Something, I think all of us wish to live life to the fullest and to die on our own terms.
There can be no greater glory than that.
Writers write hero’s larger than life. We create landscapes with words that no man has walked on until our hero emerges. We give them glory. We give them the greatest gift one can, the love of a good woman with a heart of gold.
So, let’s Go West. Let’s keep dreaming. Let’s set our own rules and live by them.
Until next time,
Nan.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Horses of the American West
A cowboy’s life on the range wasn’t easy. Without his horse it would have been impossible, making stealing a man’s mount a hanging offense.Many of the cowboys’ horses came from captured mustangs which made up a large portion of the remuda on cattle drives. Half-broke, half-wild, the mustangs were small, fast and sturdy.
Also popular among cowboys were American Quarter Horses. They were highly prized for their intelligence, calm dispositions, speed and sturdy bodies. Besides working cattle, these equines were also used to pull wagons.
While a cowboy’s life wasn’t easy, neither was the life of his horse. The horses had to depend on what the prairie offered for their food and water. Oats were used occasionally as a treat but not a staple.
Horses in the Wild West dated back to the 1500s when they were brought over by the Spaniards. Notably the Palomino; the buckskin which would later become a cowboy favorite; and the appaloosa.
When the Spaniards left, the horses survived and thrived because of the Native Americans who cared for them and bred them, finding their lives suddenly much easier because of the horses. They used them for traveling, hunting and to move their portable lodges, previously dragged by dogs, whenever they relocated.
The Native Americans became exceptional horse men. The Nez Perce known for their Appaloosas, their horses of choice.
Pony Express riders favored Morgans. These equines were also used by the cavalry during the civil war. They’re a smaller horse, hard-working and friendly.
These diverse breeds helped men shape the West as we know it. Where would cowboys and/or Native Americans have been without these magnificent companions? Can you imagine a cowboy without his horse or for that matter a world without horses in it? I can’t.
For more cowboy trivia: https://www.cowboytrivia.blogspot.com.
Pre-order link
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
What I'm NOT going to do for the rest of the year by Rhonda Lee Carver
YOU read that title right...
What I'm NOT going to do for the rest of the year.
1. Procrastinate.
For some, procrastination works. For me, it does not. I've been overwhelmed this year...a bubble in my chest overwhelmed. WE all feel that way sometimes. Disorganization needs tossed out the window and I need new organizational habits. Maybe I should hire a professional organizer...?
2. Feeling guilty for making myself a priority.
You all know what I'm talking about. Juggling a career, family, invisible fires. One day we wake up and we haven't worked out in weeks, secretly eaten a tub of ice cream for dinner two days in a row, and haven't watched our favorite juicy reality show in a week...no, a month. Or has it been two months? Who can remember because we're being pulled in all different directions. If we're not good for ourselves then we're sure as hell not good for anyone else.
3. Sweat the small stuff.
Easier said than done, right? I've always been a worrier. Over everything. That's my personality. Change doesn't happen overnight, but where there's a will there's a way. Sometimes it takes sitting down and making a list of the things that matter and those that don't. Which list do you think always turns out to be longer? Will you remember that your house was a mess ten years from now? Five years? Even three months? Will it matter that you finally told nosy Aunt Jahosey that she should mind her own beeswax?
4. Go to bed angry.
I've heard this all my life. Don't go to bed angry. When I was younger, I didn't lose a wink of sleep after having an argument with someone. Something happens as we age. Is it that we start to see that life doesn't last forever? That our social circles get smaller and we need to nurture what--who--is left? Back in my twenties I would have had no problem jumping out of a plane, bungee jumping, being in the center of a mosh pit at a rock concert, or sleeping in my makeup (a rebel I was :)). I had life by the horns. Then one day something switched in me. Now I'm kept awake thinking of what I could have done differently. How others are feeling. Did I leave the stove on? Did I pack my kid's lunch? Did I pay the bills? Did I make my best friend angry? Will nosy Aunt Jahosey not come to anymore Christmas gatherings? Aging isn't for the weak, let me tell you...
5. Doubt myself as a writer.
Yep...I said it. I have doubted myself as a writer for the last ten years. There are always better writers. Bestsellers. Those who can post on social media and within minutes have a thousand likes. Writers who make this all look so easy. Wrong! This isn't easy. Imagine being in a room with thousands of people and asking each of them what they'd like on their pizza. Well, writing is similar. I'm sure I'm not the only author who cares what my readers want in the next book. However, I have to write what inspires me. I have to stay focused on where my characters are headed. You all understand that, right? After all, sexy Cowboy Joe is a figment of my imagination.
Life is short. Be kind to others and to yourself.
Here's an unedited excerpt from All Cowboy and Bodyguard
“Yes.
Yes. Yes! That’s it. That’s the move. Doesn’t that feel right? Move those hips.
Make a circle.”
“No, it
feels off. Too tight. I told you I wouldn’t be any good at this.”
“Stop
complaining and relax. Let the feeling take you. You have an amazing body, lots
of core strength and perfect rhythm. You’re a natural, but you just have to let
go of all your worries.”
Blue
Dawson shook his head at the petite brunette who stared up at him in complete instructor
mode. Her eyes were wide, surrounded by long, thick eyelashes, and her plump, cherry-lip-tint-shiny
bottom lip was tucked between her teeth.
“Is it
too late for you to find someone else?” he groaned. “It’s best for both of us.”
With a dismissive
sigh, Maggie March sashayed across the dance studio, the cute little shorts showing
off her firm bottom. He practically salivated and moisture beaded his forehead.
He’d been sweating buckets. She switched off the music and turned back at him
with a tapered gaze. She’d always been a confident spitfire, but the closer to
the competition they got the more stressed she became, and the more she kicked
his ass in the studio.
For a
good ten seconds they had a staring contest, neither saying the obvious. She tapped
the toe of one cowgirl boot in annoyance. “How many times have we been through
this? Yes, it’s too late for me to find another dance partner. You agreed we
would perform in the Texas Amateur Country Dance competition and share the
money. This is big. If we win we’ll be the faces for the Master Dancing League
which includes a paying contract. We’re lucky that the video and essay we sent
in earned us a place in the dance off. But we have to practice. Competition
will be stiff and you can’t win this by your handsome looks alone.” She reached
for a towel from the stack and padded her forehead.
“That’s unfair,
especially when you said my looks would get us a shoe in,” he groaned.
She
lowered the towel and some of the severity left her expression. “You’re
complaining and disappearing act is on my last nerve. This is serious, Blue.”
“And you
think I don’t get that, drill sergeant?”
There it
was…the frustration returned on her soft features.
While
she unscrewed her water canister and took a long drink, he tracked his gaze
down her white tank and got caught up a second in the visible shadows of her
nipples under the thin material. He moved his attention past the sliver of her
stomach the knotted waist exposed and tight black shorts that landed high on her
toned thighs. Her skin glistened with sweat and her cheeks were flushed, making
her eyes look more lavender than usual.
Connect with Rhonda
Lee Carver
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Tuesday, August 16, 2022
What to do with those minds-of-their own Secondary Characters By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless
It’s always a thrill to me as a writer when, out of the blue, a secondary character suddenly demands their story be told. I wrote a proxy bride story a while back. A Bride for Shane introduced Lacey, a rich-girl horse breeder in Maryland who heads West as a proxy bride to save the life of her brother’s best friend. I had no idea when Lacey’s former jockey showed up mid-book with some of her horses that he would hang around and fall in love with Lacey’s housekeeper.
Meanwhile Tom and Kate really felt that just because they were older, with her twice widowed, didn’t mean they couldn’t experience the passionate ups and downs, the he-loves me-he loves me-not stuff that fuels an angst-filled romance before it culminates in a happy-ever-after.
A thus was born, A Bride for Tom. If you enjoy a shorter read with a few surprises along the way, I’m making this story available free next month for subscribers to my Newsletter. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bV0sb1 to receive a free Western romance as a thank you right away, plus the link to claim A Bride for Tom next month. I hope to see a few new names on my subscriber list.
And if you're a fan of audiobooks, Shane will soon be available in that format. It was pretty exciting to hear my words come to life through the voice of a narrator.
All the best for the remainder of August and the cooler days and nights of September. I know some of you have experienced extreme heat where you live, so please take care and stay safe.
USA Today
Bestselling Author Kathleen Lawless blames a misspent youth watching Rawhide,
Maverick and Bonanza for her fascination with cowboys, which doesn’t stop her
from creating a wide variety of interests and occupations for her many alpha
male heroes.
With nearly 50
published novels to her credit, she enjoys pushing the boundaries of
traditional romance into historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic
suspense and women’s fiction.
She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest and
loves to hear from her readers. www.kathleenlawless.com
Sign up for Kathleen’s VIP Reader Newsletter to receive a free book, updates, special giveaways and fan-priced offers. http://eepurl.com/bV0sb1
Monday, August 15, 2022
Texas trail in Wyoming
Texas trail in Wyoming, 1866 to 1897
Growing up in Newcastle, Wyoming, I saw the Texas trail historical markers but never checked it out until recently. The trail entered Wyoming near Cheyenne and headed north past Fort Laramie. Then to Newcastle, Upton, into Moorcroft and the west to Powder River.
Herds between 2000 to 3000 head of cattle would make the long journey. The could be moved 10 to 15 miles a day and 300 to 500 miles in a month. In 1894 32,000 steers passed through the Newcastle area.
One day I may have to put the trail in one of my books.
Newcastle keeps the Texas Trail history alive. A "Dogie" is the high school mascot, as well as the name of the local theater.
Pictured below is the Newcastle stockyard, a busy place for many years. Toomey’s Mill began in 1919 and was the largest flour mill in Wyoming. In 1974 the main building was turned into a restaurant called "The Old Mill Inn". It was a great place to eat.
Building on the left was the restaurant and bar. The rest of the Mill went on to house pigeons. In 2012 the Mill and restaurant were torn down. The lot is now a gas station.
Series starter sale!!!
Promise of Tomorrow (Book 1 of the Rimrock Series) and Outlaw's Redemption (Book 1 of the Wild Love Series) are on sale for .99 until the end of August!
Promise of Tomorrow
She needed a fresh start...
Kidnapped by a ruthless man, Shyfawn Tucker has given up all hope of ever being free. Luck turns in her favor and she begins anew in a place she least expects - working as a cook and housekeeper for the rancher who reluctantly helped in rescuing her. Determined to make the best of the situation, until she is able to move on, Shyfawn finds that she loves her new life. But when the time comes will she be able to leave him? She's finally found happiness and passion in his gentle hands and heated kisses.
He didn't want a house keeper...
When Matthew Reeves went on a mission to help rescue a saloon girl, he never expected to suddenly find her in his employment. This beautiful, sassy and very desirable woman is the last person he needs on his ranch. She proves to him that she's nothing like he expected. It doesn't take long for him to realize that his ranch is exactly where she belongs. He's finally found the woman he can't live without. When their new found happiness is threatened, Matthew will do anything to keep them together.
Outlaw's Redemption
A promise made to a dying man brought Boone Cain to the town of Rimrock. Four years of war had left scars on his body and soul and years of drifting had turned him into a dangerous gunman. He had been prepared for a lot in fulfilling his promise, but he hadn't been prepared for Leslie Barkley. She melted the ice surrounding his heart and his need for her could make keeping his promise extremely difficult. Getting involved with her was something he couldn't let happen, but his need for her could win and put her in danger.
Leslie's gift of premonitions had not warned her about the gunman that came to her boardinghouse looking for a place to stay. Nor had it warned her of the trouble that would follow this handsome, haunted man. Though Leslie had never met Boone before, he is familiar to her. A past premonition? This secretive gunman is connected to her in a way she never imagined and the truth will test her feelings for him.
Can they put the past to rest and live the lives they were destined for?