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Posts Tagged ‘Texas’
Friday, June 4th, 2010
 One of my favorite parts of going on vacation is planning which books I’ll take with me. These are my picks for our upcoming vacation to Wyoming. First up is Mary Jo Putney’s latest Regency-era historical romance, NEVER LESS THAN A LADY, which the author, a longtime friend, sent to me because I answered some medical question for her in its plot. Thanks, Mary Jo! I know it’s going to make that flight to Phoenix and on to Salt Lake City go fast! Then there’s Tricia Goyer’s WWII inspirational novel from Moody Press, ARMS OF DELIVERANCE, which I’ve had for awhile. The only reason I haven’t read it before this has been the number of books I’ve been review-blogging and the need to read other Christian western romances since that’s what I write. And lastly, a book I bought at last year’s ACFW conference, LOVE FINDS YOU IN POETRY, TEXAS, by Janice Hanna, my first read of the Summerside Press “Love Finds You” series. Three books seems about the right number for a week’s vacation; most of my reading is done in the air since I also take a laptop to keep up with email. Maybe by next vacation I’ll have an IPAD–but I’ll still have to take along one print book, at least, since the airlines won’t let you use electronics till they reach cruising altitude.
What books are you reading on vacation this summer? Write and tell me!
Blessings, Laurie
Tags: arms of Deliverance, IPAD, Janice Hanna, Love Finds You in Poetry, Mary Jo Putney, Moody Press, Summerside Press, Texas, travel, Tricia Goyer
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Thursday, May 27th, 2010
 It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve added anything but a book review to my blog. I feel like a diver that ’s coming up for air after a very lengthy submersion.
A couple of days ago I turned in my third book for Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historicals, a book that I had been referring to as THE WEDDING TREE, but the Powers That Be at my publisher have renamed it THE SHERIFF’S SWEETHEART. Sigh. This was out of a list of alternate titles I gave them, but I have to admit to you, my blog readers, that it’s not my favorite title. I was really invested in THE WEDDING TREE, since I’d been to San Saba County last April and visited the real “Wedding Oak,” but I understand what they’re doing at Steeple Hill–they’re trying to give the series titles a certain same rhythm based on the occupation of the hero. So the books in this series so far will be: MAIL ORDER COWBOY (Nov. ‘10), THE DOCTOR TAKES A WIFE (Jan.’11) and THE SHERIFF’S SWEETHEART (Apr.’11).
It’s been a long, hard sprint through a deadline I made short–I had a lot of the book done when it was contracted, so I figured it wouldn’t be hard to finish in the allotted time, but some early revisions and some medical problems definitely slowed me down during the middle writing. After a flareup of tendinitis, I spent many long hours and $$$ in the podiatrist’s office, treating the pain of aging nurse joints and getting fitted for orthotics. They’ve helped some, but a long night in the ER still has me reaching for the ibuprofen bottle. :/
Now we’re getting ready to take a much-deserved vacation in Wyoming to see Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Cody and Jackson Hole. I’ve sent off my computer with the techie to get some service, so hopefully it will stop locking up in Word and “sticking” on AOL, so that my typing doesn’t appear on the page until it suddenly appears in a rush. I felt like I was sending off my firstborn, seeing it go off in the techie’s arms…I’m getting ready to write the next book in the contract, another “Simpson Creek Brides” story, COURTING CARO. Oh, but they’ll change it from that, I’m sure. :/
Anyway, thanks for being patient about my absence. I hope to be blogging a lot more often now that I’m done with this deadline. I’ve missed it! I’d love comments–it gets lonely on here with the only comments being spam from online poker and drug companies….
Blessings, Laurie
Tags: ER nursing, podiatrists, Simpson Creek Brides, Steeple Hill Love Inspired historicals, Texas, THE SHERIFF'S SWEETHEART, writing life
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Monday, June 1st, 2009
 Today’s picture of this magnificent, wild stretch of the Rio Grande River in the Big Bend State Park has nothing to do with the blog today, I just thought it was scenic. It would be easy to swim across the river at this point, but on both sides of the river stretches the Chihuahua desert, so I’d imagine to survive the journey, one would have to have their transportation arranged on both sides.
But enough about our immigration problems! What are we reading these days? At any one time, I’ve got a number of books started, one in my purse, one at work, one at my bedside, and on CD, one in the car, one in the bathroom, one where I dress. Yeah, I can keep ‘em all straight. For research on my book, I’m reading THE GREAT INFLUENZA, about the 1918 flu epidemic. Sheesh, I never would get through this in print, unless I skipped ahead. After 4-5 CD’s, we still haven’t gotten to the flu epidemic and the author is going through the history of medicine, and more particularly, of the founding of the Johns Hopkins. What I suffer for my art! 
As for more pleasurable reading, I’m reading JD Robb’s SALVATION IN DEATH. Sigh. What every woman wouldn’t give for a Roarke in her life! I wanna be Eve Dallas when I grow up….
I’m also reading Candace Calvert’s CRITICAL CARE. Wonderful job capturing the character and souls of ER nurses, Candy. And kudos to Jill Eileen Smith, whose first book in the ”Wives of King David” series, MICHAL, I’m also reading. And then at work there’s Karen Harper’s book about Shakespeare’s “secret” wife, MISTRESS SHAKESPEARE.
What are you reading? Let’s make this blog more interactive–write and tell me!
Blessings, Laurie
Tags: Big Bend, books I'm reading, CRITICAL CARE, MICHAL, MISTRESS SHAKESPEARE, Rio Grande, Texas, THE GREAT INFLUENZA
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Friday, May 29th, 2009
 Simpson Creek, San Saba County, Texas As promised, I’m finally writing about our visit to the Simpson Creek/San Saba Texas area. We stayed in the little Hill Country town because Simpson Creek runs through it, and Simpson Creek is the imaginary–I thought–town that is home to my upcoming Simpson Creek Spinsters series from Steeple Hill Love Inspired, which begins next year with MARRYING MILLY in Nov. 2011 and will be followed by SOMEONE FOR SARAH (working title) and Lord willing, others.
Only it turns out Simpson Creek wasn’t a town only in my imagination. When we stopped to read a historical plaque near the creek itself, I learned that there actually had been a community there. How cool is that?
The creek itself is just as I pictured it–green and shaded and just deep enough to imagine a raiding party of mounted Comanche warriors splashing across it–which is something of a relief, since I’d feared it was only a trickle of a stream, or a dry creekbed except in the early spring. I believe it’s a tributary of the San Saba River, which is also quite beautiful.
Billing itself as the “Pecan Capital of the World,” San Saba is a classic little HIll Country town, with two parks, the Wedding Oak, and a couple of pecan shops. The owner of the Hill Country Inn couldn’t have been nicer, showing this ever-computer-incompetent author how to use his free internet.
You wouldn’t go there for the cuisine, to be honest, unless your taste runs to ma’n'pa restaurants or Dairy Queen, but a great buffet in nearby Lampasas made up for the lack. Hopefully my picture of the creek will load properly.
Blessings, Laurie
Tags: Lampasas, MARRYING MILLY, San Saba, Simpson Creek, Texas, travel
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Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
I haven’t been blogging lately, not only for the usual reasons of too much to do and too little time, but I’ve been dealing with some problems with the blog. Some of you saw my waaaaay-oversized picture of me standing by the Rio Grande and the Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend. That has now been right-sized and is much easier to look at.
Also, my webmistress, the wonderful Karen McCullough, was hit by a virus and had some difficulty with her own blog and warned me to watch mine. Thankfully, so far, I seem to have escaped that. And she’s loaded the latest version of Wordpress into my blog. This is my first blog using it. I’m very averse to change, as a rule, once I’ve learned how to do something, but so far, it’s going OK. I’ll consider this a totally successful effort if you can see the photo of a pronghorn antelope, taken between Marfa and Alpine, Texas, last month.
Tags: computer viruses, pronghorn antelopes, Texas, wildlife, Wordpress new version
Posted in Wordpress, computer viruses, wildlife | 1 Comment »
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
We’re back from Texas. I would have liked to post every day as I did from writing conferences, but most of the places didn’t have internet and I was with my husband, so I’ll write about it now. It’s nicer with pictures to accompany it, anyway.
Big Bend was magnificent, even if too hot for this woman to hike. The mornings required a jacket but by afternoon it was in the high 90’s as predicted. At least you could see a lot by driving. It was thrilling stand right by Santa Elena canyon with the Rio Grande running through it, for I’m convinced the artist must have used it for my cover of my upcoming August book, THE OUTLAW’S LADY. The vistas along the Rio Grande in the state park were really beautiful. The accomodations were less than fancy, but the people so nice it really made for that. The lady who ran the hotel registration at the Chisos Mining Company deserves special mention for her friendly helpfulness.
The adjoining towns of Terlingua and Study Butte (pronounced “Stoody” by the locals) could use a couple more good restaurants, but we didn’t starve and it was haute cuisine in comparison with our next stop… I tasted quail for the first time at a restaurant in Lajitas, but I’d be generous to say they included a whole ounce in my salad.
They really have a good sense of the weird in Terlingua, if the place called “Passing Wind” is anything to go by. And then there’s Kosmic Kathy’s Kowgirl Cafe–Biker’s Welcome,” but it was only open Thursday through Saturday, so we didn’t get to patronize it.
Next time I’ll tell you about Simpson Creek.
Blessings, Laurie
Tags: Big Bend, Chisos Mining Company motel, Kosmic Kathy's Kowgirl Cafe, Texas, THE OUTLAW'S LADY, travel
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Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
I’m slogging along in the middle of the book, but just wanted to take a minute out to say I’ll be reviewing books for Waterbrook/Multnomah and posting them on my blog. Seems like a sweet deal to get free advance review copies, eh? As well, I’ve been asked to provide a blurb for LOVE’S RESCUE, by Tammy Barley, to be published by Whitaker House. I’m really touched and flattered to be asked to do that!
I’ve also been working on planning our April trip to Texas. I think half the fun of a trip is in the anticipation. We’ll be landing in El Paso and driving on to Alpine, if all goes well. I’m excited because I’ve never been that far west in Texas. The next two days we’ll be spending in Texas’s magnificent Big Bend country. Accomodations there seem to be either $$$resort-priced or barebones basic. We’ve opted for something middle-of-the-road in the tiny town of Terlingua.
Then we’ll be going on to the San Saba area, which is the locale in which I set MARRYING MILLY and my current work-in-progress, SOMEONE FOR SARAH. Any onsite research I have done in my writing career seems to be after the fact rather than before, but these days I make up fictional towns, rather than trying to make a real one fit in with what I need. One time when I was in England I checked out Winslade, a town I’d used for a medieval Laurie Grant book, only to find out it was a post office address and nothing more. There was only a sign in the middle of the countryside.
After that it’ll be on to visit my aunt and cousins in the Austin area! And now, I’d better get back to my SARAH.
Blessings, Laurie
Tags: Big Bend, blogging, blurbing, LOVE'S RESCUE, San Saba, Tammy Barley, Terlingua, Texas, writing life
Posted in Big Bend, Texas, blogging, blurbing | 3 Comments »
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