The Last Rose of Summer

The last rose of summer and the first mums of fall.

A Rose is a Rose is A Rose

Spiders busy in the cool weather.

I’ll miss the roses… the fresh garden tomatoes…And the spider webs!

Good-bye, Summer. Hello, Fall.

Cowgirl Dreams is USA Best Book Award Finalist

I was thrilled to receive the news that my first novel, Cowgirl Dreams is a finalist in the USA National Best Book Awards. It’s not an Edgar or a Spur or a WILLA, but I’m happy to have my efforts recognized in whatever form I can!

Fellow Authors: It’s worth the effort to research and enter contests with your book. There aren’t that many publishers or awards organizations who will recognize you without a little “tootin’” from your own horn!

E-books, Vooks and Wovels

Technology is an awe-inspiring thing. We’ve all been hearing about the trend toward e-books for some time, especially with Amazon bringing out the Kindle and other manufacturers with their versions of electronic readers. Travelers like them because they can download multiple novels, and it’s less bulky than packing several books, and students can download large textbooks onto their Kindle.

Although e-books by themselves haven’t hit the best-seller lists yet, this seems to be the wave of the future. I’ve believed for some time that if our youngest generation reads at all, it probably will be in some electronic form. After all, now you can read books on your iPhone.

Paul Gillan, author of Secrets of Social Media Marketing, writes that teens today spend 60 percent less time watching TV and spend that time on-line (on MySpace, Twitter, FaceBook and YouTube via computer or cell phone).

Now there is something called the “Wovel,” a serialized novel that is written for easy reading on the cell phone. According to Writer Magazine, these are all the rage in Japan (a poll indicates 86 percent of Japanese high-schoolers read cell phone novels) and now U.S. websites like Quillpill and Textnovel have popped up. These sites allow people to post serialized novels in 140-word increments (think Twitter).

And, Publishers Lunch just had a post about the “Vook,” a video book form, which embeds original video clips within a browser-based version of a digital book.

This is all very exciting in the fast-changing publishing world. But, can the feel and smell and permanence of a “real” book ever be replaced?

Moira Allen, editor of Writing-World.com e-zine sums it up very well, in my opinion: “To be permanent, something must be physical.  That, I think, is why we writers (and readers) are still drawn to “real” books — by which I mean a construct of paper and ink that can be held in the hand.  It’s not just that many of us still prefer to curl up on the sofa, or a deck chair, or by the fire, or even in the pool, with a “real” book.  It’s partly the knowledge that even when we put that book down, it lives on.  It will endure.  It can be handed on, perhaps to a friend or relative, perhaps via a used book store, or even a library sale.”

She ends by writing: “Perhaps this is the ultimate answer to the apparently endless debate over ink vs. electrons, and the possibly silly question, “which will win?” Perhaps, in fact, it’s not a competition and never was.  Perhaps, instead, it is a remarkable partnership.  The printed page gives our words endurance; the electronic page gives them wings.  Why would we want one to triumph over the other, when, as authors, we gain so much from having both?”

How many of you read books electronically?

A Home in Montana

This is my brother and his wife’s beautiful acreage near Kalispell, Montana. The Mission Mountain view from the floor-to-ceiling living room windows is breathtaking. Forty-plus acres allow serene country living with no neighbors close enough to peek in the windows. The property includes a 3,400+ sq. ft. 5 bedroom, 3 bath ranch home with guest house, large pole barn and newer 40′ x 100′ shop. Perfect for a retirement refuge, a horse ranch, or future real estate development.

Circumstances necessitate that they sell this property as soon as possible, so they are highly motivated, and they are willing to be creative with finances.

More photos on the web listing http://www.homeinmontana.com/html/279031.htmlContact me if you know of anyone who might be interested and I will connect you with the sellers.

Images from Big Sky Country

I’ve written before about the palpable feeling of “home” when I return to my home state of Montana. It was no different this time, as I traveled the circumference of the large state on my book tour and visited places I had not been to in many years.

From the mountains…

Apgar, Glacier Park

To the prairie:

Big Sky Country between Miles City and Billings

A little bit of both:

Big Timber area

And eastern Montana is NOT flat:

Coulees & rolling hills between Circle & Jordan

Windmills, a common sight in Montana

Old-time Montana ranching preserved at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch, Deer Lodge:

Grant-Kohrs Ranch

The way they used to farm

Lady Blacksmith at Grant-Kohrs Ranch

A Cattle-herding Pig

Squeaky the pig

Bonney, Texas. I recently came across a cute video about Squeaky, the pig, who thinks she’s a dog. She is very good at herding cattle and is protective of her owner if a bull or cow comes after him. Squeaky Video

Birdie Askins Johnston, an “Old-time” Cowgirl

An "old-time" Trick Rider

In Billings, MT, I had the great pleasure to meet Birdie Askins Johnson, daughter of Montana bronc rider Bob Askins and a well-known trick rider in her own right. She is a delightful lady, and like many of the “old-time” cowgirls, began riding as soon as she could sit on the back of a horse on her own–about three years of age, she says.

Birdie’s first trick riding performance was in Ekalaka MT when she was 15, and she followed this career throughout the 1940s and ’50s. Then she spent 30 years with a wardrobe and makeup trailer in Tucson, AZ, catering to movie stars on location. She worked with many well-known actors and singers, such as Burt Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Keifer Sutherland and Kathy Matea.

I took some “poetic license” in my novel, Cowgirl Dreams, and included Birdie in the story when Nettie begins to rodeo. In reality, Birdie wouldn’t be riding for another 20 or so years.

Birdie is her real name, she says. Her dad, on the rodeo circuit when she was born, wired home, “Name her Birdie,” after her maternal grandmother Bertha, nicknamed “Birdie.”

This is one of the rewards of my Montana book tour, a memory I will cherish for many years.

Montana Book Tour

The road is long, the stops are far between, but the destinations are rewarding.

I began my “reality” book tour of Montana May 29 with a trip to Spokane, where my sister-in-law (hereafter known as “Louise”) gave me a lovely book party. Auntie’s Books in Spokane was the next stop and then Thelma and Louise were off to “Big Sky Country.”

First came the mountains of western Montana, Flathead Lake, and the spectacular lakes and sights of Glacier Park. The Going to the Sun Highway is still snowbound, so we drove up to Apgar and then back around the outside of the park, where mountains gave way to prairie and grain fields.  Small towns sprouted with grain elevators every 20 or so miles as we followed Highway 2 or “The Hi-Line” as Montanans know it, named for the northernmost railroad line in the region. At Havre, “Louise” abandoned Thelma, boarded the train and headed back to Spokane.

I continued on to Wolf Point and Circle, where I stayed with fellow Women Writing the West member, Wanda Rosseland, and was royally treated to that wonderful old-fashioned western farm hospitality. A pot roast, fresh wild asparagus, made-from-scratch biscuits, and two pies made this weary traveler very satisfied.

Next stop was Jordan, my “hometown”where I graduated from high school. What a wonderful reception and enthusiastic “reunion” with classmates and people I hadn’t seen for about 30 years. I was afraid I wouldn’t recognize anybody, but it’s surprising how the memories come flooding back. I had a great time seeing my old “stomping grounds.” The high school, which educated about 150 students when I graduated in a class of 38, now has 42 students, and the dormitory where I lived for four years has been closed for 20+ years.

I discovered before posting this, that I can’t download photos from my camera card to this laptop, so I’ll have to share them with you at a later time.

Tonight I’m in Miles City, Cowboy Capital of Montana and home of the famous Bucking Horse Sale and rodeo, and I turn the corner, headed back west on I90 to Billings, Bozeman, Helena, Deer Lodge and Missoula.

Stay tuned for more from the life of a traveling author–on the road from Montana.

Spring Has Sprung!

The tulips are done and the rhodies, azaleas, and lilacs are in bloom!

Spring is probably the best time of year in the Pacific Northwest because it comes early. When I lived in Montana, winter seemed to last forever and spring was slow in making an appearance. I hear Montana and North Dakota have recently had more snow.

So here are some photos to give you hope! Spring is on the way, honest!

I love this peach-colored azalea. It literally glows on those cloudy, rainy days. I almost don’t need the sun with this bush outside my window. (Well, maybe that’s not quite accurate!)

Cowgirl Life Interview, Part II

Today I’m talking with Danielle Hayes, the other half of the Cowgirl Life Radio and TV duo. Her blog is Haute Cowgirl.

On becoming business partners:

Kadi and I worked on another project together and I was instantly drawn to her fabulous personality. We became instant friends and  I knew I could trust her. Trust is a HUGE thing with me and business. When the idea to further develop my company she was the first person I thought of to have on this adventure with me.

The idea for a radio and a TV show:

We had worked on another radio show together and knew we had really great chemistry on air together. So we talked long and hard about developing a show that was different from the typical “wahm mom” show and with how Haute Cowgirl was growing, we realized that we had the perfect niche that needed to be filled. With Cowgirl TV, we thought it would be fun to showcase a view into a cowgirl’s life and the fabulous events that occur within the western lifestyle.

Goals with the programs:

Just like Kadi stated, Connect, educate and inspire. I want people outside the western lifestyle to really develop an appreciation of our lifestyle. I want to help other cowgirls find an online community because there is strength in numbers. And I want to inspire women to really pursue their dreams and passions. Both Kadi and I believe with all our hearts in what we are doing (even though we can get a bit silly or wild) I have so much passion for the western lifestyle and ag community and I want our sites to be a place for like-minded people to speak about what they are passionate about.

Do you live on a ranch? Were you raised on a ranch?

I grew up on a farm in Great Falls, Montana where I swore I would leave the country life as soon as I could. I went away to college, traveled extensively around the USA, then found myself missing a simpler way of life.

When I met my husband who was very active in many areas of horses and agriculture I found myself brought back to my roots so to speak. Now we live on a ranch in Washington where my husband trains cutting horses.

Do you participate in rodeos or other equestrian events?

I grew up riding dressage and three day eventing. Now that I am married to a cutter, I am honing my skills atop cutting horses. I ride everyday and can’t imagine my life without our horses in it. It’s not just the horses that get you addicted, it’s the whole lifestyle. I love the people involved–they are truly our extended family. And of course the energy at events is amazing and inspiring. I love the fact that tradition remains at so many of these events.

Do you have a background in the fashion industry or just an avid interest?

I have always been a “fashionista” I worked for several smaller designers and photographers as a stylist before I was married. It was when we moved to Texas for my husband to apprentice with a bigger trainer that the idea of highlighting western fashion born. I started mostly just to give me something to do while my husband was on the road but its turned into something so much bigger and keeps growing what seems like daily.

What else would you like people to know about you?

I want people to first and foremost remember I am a mom. My son is my top priority and he is here with me every step of the way. So yeah, you may hear toddler moments at times on air. But if anyone can understand that family comes first, it’s those who appreciate the western lifestyle. Also we have an obligation to preserve this lifestyle, its something that should not be lost in the hustle and bustle of daily life. But all of us in the western lifestyle need to use all this new technology to get the word out that our community is strong.