Guest Post by "In The Reins" Romance Author Carly Kade { @CarlyKadeAuthor }

Jackson Hole, Wyoming:  The Perfect Cowgirl Getaway for a Cowboy Romance Author

By Carly Kade, Author of In The Reins

I couldn’t stop bouncing in my cowgirl boots when I learned that my husband (turned cowboy) was gifting me a cowgirl getaway to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was the perfect birthday gift for this author’s cowgirl soul!  So when Maria asked me if I’d like to write a guest post for Whiskey Tales, I immediately thought I’d share a post about how a cowgirl getaway can jump start a cowboy romance author’s creative juices.  So here’s three awesome ways to inspire your inner cowgirl in Jackson Hole, Wyoming!

1. Stay at Hotel Jackson

Hotel Jackson is top notch and the perfect spot for a cowboy romance author’s cowgirl getaway.  The boutique hotel boasts equine and Western-themed art on just about every wall, is located in the heart of Jackson Hole and offers impeccable service!  I recommend visiting the library at Hotel Jackson.  It is the perfect location for an inspired writing session.  Once you settle into one of their plush leather armchairs in front of the fireplace and pop open your laptop, you’ll realize you are surrounded by gorgeous horse paintings and big beautiful picture books about the cowboy way!  I made some major headway on the sequel to In The Reins in their peaceful Western-lifestyle inspired library.

Hotel Jackson

2. Horseback Ride at Local Outfitters

On the first day in Jackson Hole, we rode at Horse Creek Ranch through beautiful mountain trails.  Located just south of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, they offer one hour, two hours, three hours and half day horseback rides.  My husband and I chose one of their full day rides with lunch.  I highly recommend it!  From the back of our horses, we crossed creeks, looked out on the majestic Gros Ventre Wilderness and took in the breathtaking views of the Teton Mountain Range.   We even saw a moose and her calf during our ride!  It was a great outdoor adventure and turned out to provide some excellent research for the second novel in my horse book series!  Our guide was a born and raised Wyoming cowboy.  A regular bull rider at the Jackson Hole Rodeo, he shared his adventures training his horse as a heeler in a roping event!  

On our second day in Jackson Hole, we rode at the famous Mill Iron Ranch.  The Mill Iron Ranch has been a Wheeldon family tradition for four generations and has been in business since 1921.  The Ranch is bordered on three sides by the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the second Largest State Ran Elk Feed Yard in Wyoming.  It made for spectacular horseback riding!  I loved that their horses are born and raised on their ranch.  I recommend going for the four-hour trail ride and then attending their real cowboy cookout maybe even have a lil' whiskey too!  I felt like an authentic cowgirl (one that might have ridden back in the days when people traveled by horse rather than automobile) spending time at these two wonderful Jackson Hole Outfitters!

Horseback riding at the local outfitters in Jackson Hole

3. Million Dollar Cowboy Bar

Do the boot scootin’ boogie at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson Hole, Wyoming!   It is like being transported back in time and is an awesome display of the true Wild West. I was fascinated as I wandered around admiring the amazing collection of western memorabilia and cowboy décor draped over all the walls!  Being inside the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar made me reminisce about writing the Silver Spur scene from In The Reins where McKennon Kelly and Devon Brooke share some of their first romantic sparks.  This is no ordinary bar.  It is the type of place where McKennon or Devon could walk through the door at any moment!  At this establishment, you don’t pull up a bar stool; you take a seat in a western saddle.   

The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is located in Jackson’s town square and is walking distance from Hotel Jackson.  Since it’s famous for its western dancing and live entertainment, I pulled on my favorite red cowgirl boots and grabbed my cowboy’s hand for some two-stepping in front of the famous stage where well-known entertainers on the country music scene have been known to play … think Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jr., Tanya Tucker, and Willie Nelson (just to name a few).

Million Dollar Cowboy Bar

It felt so good to unplug from the real world & have fun with my hubby turned cowboy for a week.  This cowgirl getaway to Jackson Hole really inspired my writing!  My hubby has given me the best gifts a writer could ever ask for and I recently recounted them in a blog post called "5 Gifts for the Author in Your Life" so other people with authors in their lives might gain some insight on what those best gifts are on birthdays, holidays or merely simple days! Thanks to my husband for knocking my 40th birthday out of the park. I can't wait to see what the next 40+ brings!

Carly Kade in Jackson Hole

Thank you to Maria for the opportunity to write this guest blog post.  As McKennon and Devon’s story continues, I will be sharing sneak peeks, updates and new release info on my blog for readers that can’t wait to find out what happens next for the handsome cowboy and his wannabe cowgirl.

About Carly Kade

Carly Kade is an Arizona-based equestrian author.  In her free time, Carly enjoys competitively showing her registered Paint Horse, works on her next novel, reads voraciously, and loves exploring the great outdoors.  

In The Reins, Carly’s cowboy romance novel inspired by the equestrian lifestyle has steadily climbed the charts to rave reviews.  The book has been an equestrian best seller on Amazon for more than 10 weeks and is an official 2016 EQUUS Film Festival literary selection.  The novel is available now in paperback and eBook on Amazon.  Filmed in Arizona, the book trailer is viewable at http://www.carlykadecreative.com/media-room.

Connect with Carly Kade Creative on Facebook or Twitter @carlykadeauthor.

Thank you, Carly!

In The Reins by Carly Kade 

A city-girl-gone-country, a handsome cowboy and a
horse meet by fate on a southern farm. She's looking for a
fresh start and unexpectedly falls for the mysterious cowboy.
But can a man with a deeply guarded secret open himself up
to the wannabe cowgirl in the saddle next to him?

Deeply romantic and suspenseful, In The Reins captures
the struggle between letting life move forward and
shying away from taking the reins. Passionate, captivating,
and full of equine epiphanies, this is a love story
sure to touch your inner cowgirl.

Purchase your copy at Amazon 

Cover Reveal and #Giveaway for SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF SIMPLE by Kristy Woodson Harvey @kristywharvey #GoodBooks

On my list of favorite authors is Kristy Woodson Harvey who has written Dear Carolina, and Lies and Other Acts of Love. You may have read my reviews of those two books, and you may have also read Kristy's guest post on this blog. Well, along with an action-packed touring schedule, she has been very busy behind the scenes writing the first book of a new series of books. 

SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF SIMPLE will be the first in The Peachtree Bluff series published by Gallery/Simon and Schuster, April 25, 2017. If it's anything like her others, I'm sure the story will be engaging and heartfelt. I'm delighted she has signed on to write a series. 

Today is the publishers cover reveal, and it is, as her others were, gorgeous. 
The kind of cover I gravitate toward automatically.  I think you'll agree!

To celebrate, Kristy is giving away a $100. Amazon gift card and several bundles of books on her blog. 

That's a super sweet giveaway!

Kristy's new book is available for preorder on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, through your local bookstore and everywhere else books are sold. I'll order mine from Bookworks, my favorite Indie!

"From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” 

comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys 

of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past 

that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape 

their very definition of what it means to be a family."

~New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand)

And here it is! The Cover is revealed...

Slightly South of Simple

Read a little bit, get a little taste of SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF SIMPLE:

Caroline Murphy swore she’d never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father’s death, her mother selfishly forced her to move—during her senior year of high school, no less—back to that hick-infested rat trap where she'd spent her childhood summers. But now that her marriage to a New York high society heir has fallen apart in a very public, very embarrassing fashion, a pregnant Caroline decides to escape the gossipmongers with her nine-year-old daughter and head home to her mother, Ansley.Ansley has always put her three daughters first, especially when she found out that her late husband, despite what he had always promised, left her with next to nothing. Now the proud owner of a charming waterfront design business and finally standing on her own two feet, Ansley welcomes Caroline and her brood back with open arms. But when her second daughter Sloane, whose military husband is overseas, and youngest daughter and successful actress Emerson join the fray, Ansley begins to feel like the piece of herself she had finally found might be slipping from her grasp. Even more discomfiting, when someone from her past reappears in Ansley's life, the secret she’s harbored from her daughters their entire lives might finally be forced into the open.Exploring the powerful bonds between sisters and mothers and daughters, this engaging novel is filled with Southern charm, emotional drama, and plenty of heart.

Go to Kristy's blog and enter the giveaway today, then share this blog post with your friends. I just know they will enjoy Kristy's writing, and some lucky ones just might be winners!

Artistic Photography?

Such an Artsy photo, I just had to post this photo. I think it's fabulous! What do you think?

Would you want to cast this model in your next photo shoot?

Guest Author Blanche Day Manos ~ Those Shivery Cozies @BlancheManos

Those Shivery Cozies

by Blanche Day Manos

I have often said that the characters in the books I write tell the story. I just put on paper what they say. Although this may seem nonsensical to some, it is really quite true.

Pre-order beginning
August 19th! 
Available everywhere in
September! 

The Cemetery Club, Grave Shift, Best Left Buried and the soon-to-be-released Grave Heritage are stories about two women sleuths, Darcy Campbell and her mother, Flora Tucker. They live in Levi, a small town in northeast Oklahoma. The area is rich in folklore, natural beauty, and mysterious happenings.

“Oh the surface,” Darcy says, “Levi seems to be a peaceful, placid town but it’s like a still pool with deadly currents swirling beneath the beauty.”

It’s those deadly currents that land Darcy and Flora in a heap of trouble. As I said, these ladies pretty much tell the story. If I write something that doesn’t sound like either one, I instinctively know it and set about re-writing. When the story is finished, it must be a believable mystery that Darcy and Flora have lived.

The first book, The Cemetery Club, involves a brush with unscrupulous men hunting for hidden Cherokee treasure. Grave Shift derived its name from two things: the shifting of the earth during two Oklahoma earthquakes, and a hidden grave which comes to light in a most unusual way. Darcy decides that some secrets are Best Left Buried in book number three.

Happily, the fourth Darcy and Flora cozy, Grave Heritage, is to be released by Pen-L Publishing this September. In it, our intrepid sleuths inadvertently become involved in yet another mystery. The danger comes at them from two points: the rainiest July in history and a heartless killer in town.

My latest cozy mystery is Moonlight Can Be Murder with a new protagonist, Ned (or Nettie) McNeil. Ned is a middle-aged woman with a healthy curiosity. She did not return to her hometown of Ednalee to be involved in a murder, but she finds herself plunged into a mystery that is forty years old. The way she discovers the deranged killer and her near brush with death keeps the reader turning pages.

A second “Moonlight” book is in the works. By the Fright of the Silvery Moon continues with Ned in the Granger Mansion in Ednalee trying to unravel a murder which seems to be connected with the history of her home.

Writing is a demanding, exciting, tiring job, but it is a work I love. I hope to keep turning out mysteries this year and the next year and the next…

~~~~

For more about Blanche's work go to www.Pen-L.com/GraveHeritage.html and https://www.amazon.com/s

Thank you once again, Blanche, for sharing your writing world with us. I am looking forward to your next article as our Guest Blogger.

~~~

Check out the indie bookstore I like the most at Bookworks