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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Cowboy Lovin' Day 17: Anna Kathryn Lanier


To kick off Week 3 of Cowboy Lovin' I'm pleased to welcome western romance author Anna Kathryn Lanier....

Thanks, Amber, for having me here today! I’ve loved reading the posts of your other Cowboy Lovin’ guests. I write both contemporary and historical Westerns and really like writing about the sexy, strong, yet uncertain Cowboy. My heroes usually have something in their past that cloud their judgment toward women. In SALVATION BRIDE, my historical, Sheriff David Slade had a very rocky first marriage and he enters his second marriage, to a mail order bride he’s only known for a few hours, with trepidation. See below how to win a copy of SALVATION BRIDE.

Blurb: The hot dusty town of Salvation, Texas has more than its share of secrets in 1873 when Laura Ashton's stage rolls into town. Sheriff David Slade has no idea what baggage his mail-order bride is bringing into his life. Throw in the nightmares from his Civil War days and he's got more than courting to contend with. Laura's a woman ahead of her time, a woman trained in medicine. And she's got a will that could move mountains. Unfortunately, the only mountains in Salvation are in Sheriff Slade's memory. Can the determined doctor heal his pain, or will the dark secret in her past turn up to steal his Salvation Bride?

Unedited excerpt:

“Sheriff.”
“Miss Ashton, I’m sorry I had to leave before the stage left, but I was called away on business.”
Frankly, she’d been relieved not to see the sheriff standing on the porch when she escorted Mrs. McGuire back to the stage. It meant she’d have a while yet before she had to face him.
“I’m sorry, too, sir, for leaving you so abruptly after we met. I don’t know where my manners went.”
He smiled then, for the first time, and his eyes crinkled. “I image, ma’am, that you were just as nervous as I was about meeting.”
She smiled back. “True. One has to wonder about the wisdom of agreeing to marry a stranger.”
His smile faded and lead dropped into her stomach.
He turned his hat in his hand and stared at his feet. “Ma’am, I’d hoped it wouldn’t have to be like this, but there’s something we need to discuss.”
Laura’s breath caught in her lungs. He didn’t like her. He was going to send her away. She’d be alone in the world.
“I…Can I not change your mind, sir?” she whispered.
“I’m afraid not, ma’am. If I had an alternative, I’d suggest it, but the fact of the matter is the preacher changed his circuit route on us. I expected him to come in two months, giving us time to get to know each other. But he came early and he’s leaving tomorrow.” His hat made another complete turn in his hands. Blue eyes rose to meet hers. “The fact is, Miss Ashton, we have to get married tonight, before he leaves town.”
Her knees buckled. Strong arms gripped her and held her upright.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you and honest, ma’am, I wouldn’t force you into a marriage if it weren’t necessary. I don’t know when the preacher will be back and I learned last week that the Jacobs, they’re the people who have been taking care of Ginny and the ranch for me, are moving to Wyoming in a few days. That means I need to move out onto the Lazy S. I’ll need you there, too, so you can look after Ginny.”
His hands were strong, comforting. She wanted to lean into his solid form, forget the horror she’d barely escaped.
“It wouldn’t be proper for you to live there without benefit of marriage,” he said.
She licked her lips. Thoughts whirled through her mind. There was much she needed to tell him. She fisted her hands on his shirtsleeves. “I need—”
“Ma’am, I know you must be worried about the marriage bed, but I won’t take advantage of you in that way.” His fingers gripped her. “I need you only to care for my house and my daughter. I’ll expect nothing more of you.”
Intimacy between a man and his wife had been the furthest thing from her mind, but he must have taken her hesitation for fear.
She should tell him everything, but if he refused to marry her, what would she do? If the preacher wasn’t coming back to town for months she’d be alone. No friends, no family. No one. She swallowed to wet her throat. “I’d be honored to marry you this evening.”
His fingers dug into her arms. Had he expected she’d refuse his offer? She forced down a hysterical laugh. She was frantic to stay in Salvation, to have a family, to not be alone in the world.
He nodded and dropped his hands. “Fine. I’ll make the arrangements. We can be wed in the hotel parlor. Will seven o’clock be good for you?”
That would be just enough time to bathe and ready her dress.
She nodded.

Now here’s a fun game I’ve played on my own blog. How well do you know your cowboy lingo? The words and definitions came out of a great book I’ve found, WESTERN WORDS: A Dictionary of the Old West by Ramon F. Adams. Just match the Numbers (words) to the Letters (definitions). Example: 15 X, 16 Y, 17, U

Calico
Fannin' on her fat
Meat in the pot
Chopper
Gut-robber
Sheep-dipper
Fill your hand
Salty rider
Oklahoma rain
Yack


A. A rifle
B. One with guts
C. Stupid person
D. Slapping a horses side with a hat
E. A rustler's contemptuous name for a loyal cowboy
F. A dust storm
G. A cook
H. A pinto horse or woman
I. Draw a gun
J. A cowboy who cuts out cattle

Anyone who leaves a comment today will be eligible for the drawing I’ll do for an e-copy of SALVATION BRIDE.

Learn more about me and my stories (SALVATION BRIDE, A COWBOY’S DREAM and THE PRICELESS GIFT) at http://www.aklanier.com/ or http://www.annaklanier.blogspot.com/.

Anna Kathryn Lanier
Where Tumbleweeds Hang Their Hats


Thanks, Anna! Readers, you have until midnight EST January 21 to comment to this post and enter to win Salvation Bride. I will announce the winner the following Tuesday, January 26th. Chances of winning depend on the number of entries and you must be 18 years or older to enter.

Only two more days to enter Marguerite Arotin's drawing for a Victoria's Secret Gift Card so scroll on down to enter that giveaway too if you haven't already...

21 comments:

Lisabet Sarai said...

Hey Anna,

Salvation Bride sounds great. Unfortunately I'm a total dunce when it comes to western lingo, so I'm not going to even try your quiz!

All the best,
Lisabet

Anna Kathryn Lanier said...

Good morning. It's great to be here. We forgot to mention that I'm also giving away a $10 The Wild Rose Gift Card to the winner of SALVATION BRIDE. We added that in the end, and it didn't make it onto the post.

I also wanted to say that my stories always have food in them, and I like to include recipes when promoting them. Laura makes a peach cobbler in the story and it is mentioned in more ways than one. Here's an updated version of it, because Laura wouldn't have had Bisquick to use.

Laura’s Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

1 cup Bisquick Mix
1 cup milk
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 29-oz can sliced peaches, drained

Directions

Hat oven 375°. Stir together Bisquick, milk and cinnamon in an ungreased 8x8xx2 pan. Blend in butter. In a bowl, blend peaches and sugar; spoon over batter. Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Becky said...

Salvation Bride sounds really good. Here is my guess to the cowboy lingo: 1 H, 2 D, 3 B, 4 J, 5 G, 6 E, 7 A, 8 I, 9 F, and 10 C.

Linda Henderson said...

I'm not very up on my cowboy lingo. I knew a few of these, but not all.

seriousreader at live dot com

Andrea I said...

I enjoyed the excerpt, but won't try the quiz as most of them aren't familiar to me.

Unknown said...

These were tough, but here are my best guesses...
1 - H
2 - D
3 - B
4 - G
5 - A
6 - J
7 - I
8 - E
9 - F
10 -C
Whether I win or not, I would like to read and review your book for Examiner.com :)

Julie said...

Yey, lingo quiz! And I'm loving your excerpt...might have to check out your book. ;)

1 H
2 D
3 A
4 J
5 G
6 E
7 I
8 B
9 F
10 C

Thanks for the chance to win!

Redameter said...

I enjoyed this excerpt. I just wrote and finished my first western it is coming out with Whimsical Publications, Jodi's Journey.

I finished a second one and have started a third, so I'm hooked on the western genre.

I love the mail order bride theme, it has always been one of my favorites. This one reminds me of Love Comes Softly.

I'd love to read this one.
Good luck and send me notices on your next releases.
Love and blessings

Rita
Rita

Mary Ricksen said...

I figure I could probably get most of them but not all.
I really enjoyed your excerpt and I will have to get my hands on this one.
Good luck!

Anna Kathryn Lanier said...

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm finally back home...had church, then the annual meeting there, so was tied up for longer than usual.

Thanks for all the comments. Liasbet, I was reading some of your free short stories yesterday...let me just say, my husband enjoyed the fringe benefits!

Oh, I should say, I'll post the answers to the Match Game later, probably after we draw winner, not that you have to play to be included in the drawing. I just added that for fun.

Redameter, I didn't start my writing career planning to do Westerns. I sort of fell into them...I realized they're a little easier to write than Regencies! Not as many rules. I just finished a sequel to THE PRICELESS GIFT and will get it to my editor by the end of the month....another sexy cowboy!

Ginger, I'll be contacting you!

Thanks again for stopping by, everyone!

Margaret Tanner said...

Hi Anna.
Salvation Bride sounds like a great read. Loved the excerpt. I'm an Aussie so I won't even try your western lingo quiz.

Regards
Margaret

Anonymous said...

Great excerpt, Anna!! I love your cowboys!!

Tessy

Lisa L. Leibow said...

Loved delving into the lingo! Fun quiz:

1H
2D
3G
4J
5B
6C
7I
8E
9F
10A

These are complete guesses. How'd I do? Thanks for an entertaining post!

Best to you,
Lisa
www.LLLeibow.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for your post. I am having so much fun trying to figure out all of the Western Words and find that I don't know as many of them as I thought. Thanks for the peach cobbler recipe.

Anna Kathryn Lanier said...

Hi, Leni and Tessy, thanks for stopping by!

Carol L. said...

Hi Anna,
I love the blurb for Salvation Bride and love Historicals. And what a treat that peach cobbler is going to be. Thank you for that. :)Good luck everyone.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com

Anna Kathryn Lanier said...

Hi, Lisa. I'll post the quiz answers on Wednesday (if I don't forget!). Thanks stopping by and playing.

Kammie said...

hahaha! Have to laugh at some of that cowboy lingo. Not very good at quizes. Love the excerpt you posted and that peach cobbler recipe!

Anonymous said...

I love your stories and can't wait to read this one. I love your blog - especially the recipes. I am going to try this Peach Cobbler recipe soon. Here are my answers to the cowboy lingo:

1 - H
2 - D
3 - B
4 - G
5 - A
6 - J
7 - I
8 - E
9 - F
10 - C

Some of these I've never heard of - Can't wait to see how bad I did. :D

CrystalGB said...

Hi Anna. Salvation Bride sounds wonderful. I am horrible at western lingo.

Fedora said...

LOL! Wow, I don't know much western lingo at all, it seems! I so enjoy westerns, but I guess I don't read as many with the dialogue so colorfully written! Thanks for the introduction to Salvation Bride--it sounds like a good read! I'll be adding that to my TBB! And thanks for the cobbler recipe--I'll bet my kids would love it!