Blue Moon Cowboy

 

It's almost release day for Blue Moon Cowboy!

When I saw the cover for sale from one of my favorite designers, I knew I had to have it. She'd put "Blue Moon Cowboy" as the title as a placeholder, but I loved it.

 
So, I decided to write a story to match the cover, and ended up using an older couple who had no intention of falling in love.

Once in a Blue Moon is such a fun phrase. Did you know it's been kicking around for more than 400 years?

The earliest known recording of a "blue moon" appeared in a 1528 pamphlet by William Roy and Jerome Barlowe. Back then, saying "the moon is blue" was synonymous with something completely impossible or untrue—much like saying "pigs can fly."

By the 19th century, the phrase began shifting to mean something highly unlikely but possible. This is because massive volcanic eruptions (such as Krakatoa in 1883) and forest fires (like the 1951 Canadian wildfires) threw dust and smoke high into the atmosphere, which really did make the moon appear pale blue.

The Maine Farmers' Almanac popularized the term in the 19th century, defining a "blue moon" as the third full moon in a season that contained four instead of the usual three.

Regardless of where or when the term originated, it sure fits the cowboy in my story.

He’s spent decades guarding his heart.

She’s spent a lifetime chasing the horizon.

Neither of them were prepared for love to catch them by surprise.

Widower Jason Price isn’t looking for romance. As a trusted pickup man for the Rockin’ K Rodeo Company, part-owner of his family’s ranch, and a proud grandpa, his days—and his heart—are already full. Love is for younger folks with fewer scars and more time.

Photographer Lainey Collins traded corporate life for the open road, capturing the faces and stories of everyday people. Living out of her travel van, she’s built a life of freedom, purpose, and just enough distance to keep her heart safe.

But when a chance meeting at a rodeo puts her in Jason’s orbit, everything begins to shift.

As Lainey sets out to create a book featuring the faces of the rodeo, she finds herself returning again and again—to the arena… and to Jason. What begins as a project turns into something deeper as sparks fly, laughter comes easy, and two guarded hearts start to open.

Falling in love is one thing.

But trusting it—and daring to build a future—is another.

Can a cowboy who’s learned to live without love and a woman who’s always kept moving finally find a place to belong… together?

Coming June 4!

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield grew up on a farm where her childhood brimmed with sunshine, hay fever, and an ongoing supply of learning experiences.

Today, Shanna draws on her rural roots to create sweet and wholesome romances filled with hope, humor, quirky small-town characters, realistic heroes, and women of strength. Her historical westerns have been described as historically accurate, blending facts with engaging fiction, while her contemporary works have been called laugh-out-loud funny, swoony, and heartwarming.

When this award-winning author isn’t writing or testing out new recipes (she loves to bake!), Shanna hangs out at home in the Pacific Northwest with her beloved husband, better known as Captain Cavedweller.

To learn more about Shanna or the books she writes, visit her website.

Once in a Blue Moon

 

Have you ever wondered about the phrase "Once in a Blue Moon?" 

Something about it always seemed a little magical to me. Something rare and random. 

The phrase "once in a blue moon" originally meant "never" or "impossible," but it evolved over centuries to mean "rarely" due to changes in how we define a "blue moon."

In the 16th century, the phrase didn't mean "rare"—it meant "impossible". The earliest recorded use was in a 1528 anti-clerical pamphlet by William Roy and Jeremy Barlowe, which joked that if church leaders said the moon was blue, people had to believe it. It was basically the 1500s version of saying "when pigs fly".

The meaning shifted from "impossible" to "rare" by the mid-1800s. This was reinforced by the 1837 Maine Farmers' Almanac, which used "blue moon" to describe the rare third full moon in a season that has four.

The modern definition—the second full moon in a calendar month—actually came from a mistake!  For centuries, the Maine Farmers' Almanac defined a Blue Moon as the third of four full moons in a single season.

In 1946, writer James Hugh Pruett misinterpreted the Almanac in an article for Sky & Telescope, calling the second moon in a month a "Blue Moon". This "mistaken" definition is now what most of us use today.

The shift from "impossible" to "highly unlikely" was helped along by nature. After the massive Krakatoa volcanic eruption in 1883, ash in the atmosphere actually made the moon appear blue or green for nearly two years. Suddenly, a blue moon wasn't just a figure of speech; it was a rare, real-world sight.

Today, a "Blue Moon" (by the calendar definition) happens roughly once every 2.7 years. So the next time you use the phrase, you’re not just talking about a rare event—you’re participating in a 500-year-old linguistic evolution!

When I had the opportunity to purchase a beautiful book cover with a placeholder title of Blue Moon Cowboy, it felt meant to be! I loved the title and the cover.

Coming June 4 - Blue Moon Cowboy

He’s spent decades guarding his heart.

She’s spent a lifetime chasing the horizon.

Neither of them were prepared for love to catch them by surprise.

Widower Jason Price isn’t looking for romance. As a trusted pickup man for the Rockin’ K Rodeo Company, part-owner of his family’s ranch, and a proud grandpa, his days—and his heart—are already full. Love is for younger folks with fewer scars and more time.

Photographer Lainey Collins traded corporate life for the open road, capturing the faces and stories of everyday people. Living out of her travel van, she’s built a life of freedom, purpose, and just enough distance to keep her heart safe.

But when a chance meeting at a rodeo puts her in Jason’s orbit, everything begins to shift.

As Lainey sets out to create a book featuring the faces of the rodeo, she finds herself returning again and again—to the arena… and to Jason. What begins as a project turns into something deeper as sparks fly, laughter comes easy, and two guarded hearts start to open.

Falling in love is one thing.

But trusting it—and daring to build a future—is another.

Can a cowboy who’s learned to live without love and a woman who’s always kept moving finally find a place to belong… together?

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield grew up on a farm where her childhood brimmed with sunshine, hay fever, and an ongoing supply of learning experiences.

Today, Shanna draws on her rural roots to create sweet and wholesome romances filled with hope, humor, quirky small-town characters, realistic heroes, and women of strength. Her historical westerns have been described as historically accurate, blending facts with engaging fiction, while her contemporary works have been called laugh-out-loud funny, swoony, and heartwarming.

When this award-winning author isn’t writing or testing out new recipes (she loves to bake!), Shanna hangs out at home in the Pacific Northwest with her beloved husband, better known as Captain Cavedweller.

To learn more about Shanna or the books she writes, visit her website.

Who is the person many people put off going to see?

 

  Answer: The dentist. Do you put off seeing yours? Please leave a comment. Click on comments at the bottom.

  I have a new dental group. The dentists are female. To be fair, I didn’t choose them because of their gender. They had an opening, and their office was near my home. So, I didn’t have to drive all the way downtown, and then find and pay for parking.

   I had a pleasant experience with the excellent woman dentist and was pleased that I decided to use her. This got me thinking. Who was the first female to take up dentistry?

    After some research, I learned of two exceptional women who practiced dentistry in the eighteen hundreds.

   1855: Emeline Roberts Jones, (1836–1916), became the first woman to practice dentistry in the United States. She married the dentist Daniel Jones when she was a teenager, and had two children, a son and a daughter. She became her husband’s assistant in 1855.

   Her husband believed that dentistry was not a suitable career for a woman. He thought the “frail and clumsy fingers” of women made them poor dentists.

   However, she studied in secret. And after her husband's death in 1864 she continued to practice dentistry by herself, in eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. She often traveled with a portable dentistry chair. From 1876 until her retirement in 1915 she had her own practice in New Haven, Connecticut. It was one of the largest and most lucrative practices in Connecticut.

   Emeline served on the Woman’s Advisory Council of the World’s Columbian Dental Congress in 1893. In 1912 she was elected to an honorary membership in the Connecticut State Dental Society, and in 1914 she was elected to an honorary membership in the National Dental Association. 

   

    Lucy Hobbs Taylor was the first woman to graduate from dental school. Born in 1833, Taylor attended the Franklin Academy in New York. She taught for ten years in Michigan, and in 1859 moved to Cincinnati where she applied to Eclectic Medical College. She was denied based on her gender, although she studied privately under the supervision of a teacher from the school. She then applied to the Ohio College of Dentistry and she was refused admission because of her gender. Again, she studied under a private program with a professor from the school.  She applied to the dentistry program once more and was  rejected, so she opened her own practice in Cincinnati in 1861. When the Ohio College of Dentistry decided to accept women, she matriculated as a senior in 1865 because of her experience and graduated in 1866.

       It is believed Lucy Hobbs Taylor was the first woman in the world to earn a doctorate in dentistry.

       Emeline Roberts Jones and Lucy Hobbs Taylor were extraordinary people. In my books, the women, whether they are characters from small town contemporary novel (Our Country Heart) or romantic suspense books including Dangerous Denial, are extraordinary people who have serious goals. Regardless of the obstacles, they will not be deterred from reaching them.

    Dangerous Denial by Reggi Allder." Reviews: “An enthralling read that takes you in from the first sentence.”  “Very exciting, suspenseful, and intense! This had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I could not put this book down! Very well written. Tons of action, danger, threats, increasing tension, and romance. Amazing and powerful, this had me hooked from start to finish.”

    A black ops member, a student, and a Russian oligarch, what do they have in common?  

Executive assistant Skye Turner believes the death of her boss was not a suicide as the police have ruled. She needs help to uncover the circumstances leading to his death. United States black ops member Jon Lancaster is restless while he recovers from injuries received during his last assignment. Pretty and diverting, Skye is probably mistaken about the man’s death. Still, he decides to assist her in deciphering the events of the day the man died and also dig through the clues her boss left before his demise. Buy link Dangerous Denial  Are you ready for the lurking danger waiting for them? 

  

  

 Need a heartwarming read? The third book in the Sierra Creek Series buy link,   Our Country Heart By Reggi Allder  

   OUR COUNTRY HEART BY Reggi Allder Sierra Creek Series Book 3, “The book was so good, I didn’t want it to end.” “A stand-alone book with great characters!” Now in paperback too!

   Have you ever made a mistake you would do anything to change?

   An actress from Los Angeles and an all-around champion cowboy return to the small town of Sierra Creek to right a wrong. Can they ignore the past and put aside their personal problems for the good of the town? Are they wrong to have confidence in their ability to work together? 

   A man is in town to help reopen the lumber mill. Why is he determined to get in their way and cause trouble?

 

 

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