Up Close and Personal - by Lacy Williams

Lacy Williams here, excited to talk to you about my new release, Her Cowboy Deputy, the next book in the Wyoming Legacy series with Love Inspired Historical.

In this book, sheriff’s deputy Matty White gets caught in a flooded creek (there’s a bad storm!) and injured. He wakes up and finds himself in bed with a broken collarbone and stuck in a small soddy (also known as a dugout). And he’s not alone. Catherine Poole lives on the homestead with her grandfather and helps take care of Matty while he’s injured.

So I had a lot of fun researching this book and imagining Matty stuck in that little one-room house. (Especially because Matty is one of the more sociable of the White brothers!). I know many families lived in this kind of home while they built a more permanent home.

I’ve had a similar experience over the past week as my family has been on vacation. It’s been five of us in one hotel room for the last seven days. At night, I’ve been whacked, kicked, snuggled, and overheated. During the day, my four-year-old starts bouncing off the walls (I can’t imagine doing it during the winter when he’d be stuck inside all the time!).

So Matty and Catherine are stuck in this small dugout together. For weeks. It’s no wonder that they start getting on each others’ nerves—and then forming a friendship. I hope you’ll check out the book!

What about you? Let’s talk today. Do you have vacation memories or other memories about being up close and personal with your family or maybe even friends? Leave a comment!


About Her Cowboy Deputy

Stranded! 

Bear Creek sheriff’s deputy Matt White is used to being the rescuer, not the rescued. But now the hurt lawman’s marooned on Catherine Poole’s remote homestead. The little girl he’d known briefly as a child is all grown up—and tugging at his heart.

Isolated from the world around her, Catherine’s spent her whole life caring for her ailing grandfather. The last thing she needs is a cowboy stranded in her home. Let alone the memories he dredges up of a past she’s tried to put behind her. But can this deputy be her chance to finally move forward and find true happiness?


About the author

Grab one of Lacy’s books free at her website www.lacywilliams.net
USA Today bestselling author Lacy Williams works in a hostile environment (read: three kids age 5 and under). In spite of this, she has somehow managed to be a hybrid author since 2011, publishing 22 books & novellas. Lacy’s books have finaled in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards (2012, 2013, & 2014), the Golden Quill and the Booksellers Best Award. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America and Novelists Inc.

A summertime Christmas

Lacy Williams here today talking about my new novel, Her Convenient Cowboy. That’s right, I had a May release and a June release this year. Let’s just say there was a lot of writing going on last year. :):)

HCC is Davy’s story and takes place concurrently with Ricky’s story (A Cowboy for Christmas). So basically brother Ricky left town, abandoned the family and no one knows where he is. And it’s hitting Davy particularly hard. See, Davy and Ricky met up during their childhoods while they were both orphans and they’ve stuck together ever since. Until now.

Davy’s smarting from his brother’s absence and resigned to spending the winter isolated in the line shack at the edge of the family ranch, watching over the herd that will provide important funds for the family.

But when he arrives with a blizzard on his heels, he finds someone has already taken up residence in the line shack. A young widow who found herself abandoned in the wilderness. And she’s nine months pregnant.

Stuck together in a blizzard, Davy discovers that Rose has nowhere to go, no family to turn to. And she’s scared of just about everything he does.

The more he finds out about her, the more he likes her. But he’s made a commitment to his family to get these cattle through the winter…

Rose wants to trust the cowboy who has helped her from day one (when he really didn’t have to), but after the men in her life have taught her they can’t be trusted, she’s nervous.

And with a baby on the way, she has to be careful about the choices she makes. But the more she gets to know Davy, the more she falls.

Can Davy earn Rose’s trust before Christmas comes?

About the book

Do You Take This Cowboy?

A blizzard traps rancher Davy White in his family’s secluded cabin with Rose Evans…and she’s nine months pregnant! Help is miles away, and Davy must work to keep them both alive. As the storm rages outside, he comes to care for the vulnerable widow. Enough that he’s willing to offer her his name-against his family’s objections.

Rose will do anything for her baby, but she’s recently widowed. She doesn’t know if she can trust the feelings she has toward Davy. And she refuses to come between him and his family. But the more time they spend together, the less she can resist the comforting, caring cowboy.

Available at:

Amazon

iBooks

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Procrastination: my favorite friend

Hi, Craftie Readers! Lacy Williams here to chat about procrastination.

This is possibly on of my worst faults. If I know about a project in advance, I’ll mull it over. I’ll brainstorm. I’ll percolate.

But until the deadline looms, I procrastinate.

Daughter’s birthday? I’ve got time. Family event? It will get done. Book deadline? We’re good. I can juggle several projects and still get it done.

Until crunch time. When it’s cutting it close, that’s when I’m inspired and when most of my best work comes. That last week before the deadline is busy, intense, but also lights my fire. And then when I'm done, I give myself at least a day or two of well-deserved rest. Ha!

The hero of my December 2014 release, A Cowboy for Christmas, has a deadline looming… sort of. Ricky White has a secret, and he wants to tell the heroine before she finds out his part in the disaster that cost her a major life change. But when he starts falling for her, it’s already too late… This is the fifth book in my Wyoming Legacy series. Her Convenient Cowboy and Her Cowboy Deputy will be out in 2015.

What about you? Do you work well under pressure? Or do you hate deadlines? Leave a comment and let me know!


Fun note: I was over at Amazon today and saw A Cowboy for Christmas was on sale, discounted to $3.79. If you’d like to try this book, now is a good time to buy!

Book blurb:

After an accident leaves her injured, Daisy Richards stays secluded at her family's Wyoming ranch to avoid the town's gawking stares. Yet handsome cowboy newcomer Ricky White insists she can do anything she dreams—ride a horse, decorate a Christmas tree…even steal a man's heart. 

Once a reckless cad, Ricky is to blame for what happened to Daisy. Now reformed, he wants to make amends by setting things right for his boss's beautiful daughter in time for the holidays. But Daisy doesn't know Ricky's responsible for her predicament. When the truth is revealed, will he lose the greatest gift he's ever received—her trust?

More reviews about this book:

http://wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-cowboy-for-christmas.html

http://missbatesreadsromance.com/2014/12/30/review-lacy-williams-a-cowboy-for-christmas/

About Lacy:

USA Today bestselling author Lacy Williams grew up on a farm, which is where her love of cowboys was born. In reality, she's married to a right-brained banker (happily with three kiddos). She gets to express her love of western men by writing historical romance. Her books have finaled in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Awards (2012, 2013 & 2014), the Golden Quill and the Booksellers Best Award. If you’d like to try one of Lacy’s novellas for free, sign up for her newsletter at her website www.lacywilliams.net.

Cowboys

Lacy Williams here - What is it about cowboys that we can't get enough of?

“A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by.” –John Wayne

For me as a writer, part of it is the idea that these men (and some women!) battled the elements, tangled with ornery animals, and sometimes fought against wild animals. They must've been some of the hardest workers, fighting against those conditions for a little profit at the end of the season!

“Look at all the stars. You look up and you think, "God made all this and He remembered to make a little speck like me." It's kind of flattering, really.” –Tombstone

I grew up on my grandpa's farm and he often went birdwatching with me. Watching those little winged creatures amazed me. God created them, made them be able to defy gravity, provides food for them even in the winter... it's kind of amazing, really.

For the cowboys I write, seeing God's handiwork is also something that deepens their lives.

“First getting shot, then getting married. Bad habits.” – The Long Riders

And then, of course, my cowboys have to have someone who w
ill side with them against nature, against wild creatures and fight for love. She won't always understand him, but his loyalty, integrity and grit will win her over.

What about you? Do you love cowboys and cowboy books?

Here's a blurb on my latest Love Inspired Historical, Return of the Cowboy Doctor:

Two years shy of his medical degree, cowboy Maxwell White is out of money. So, he's back in Bear Creek, Wyoming, working part-time for the local physician. Though he is immediately drawn to the doctor's lovely, whip-smart daughter, she seems to be irritated by Maxwell's very existence. 
Hattie Powell can't quash her feelings for the town's new would-be doctor. But that's exactly why she must keep him at a distance. Hattie is closer than ever to fulfilling her lifelong wish of becoming a doctor. Now, the only thing standing in her way is the man of her dreams. 

And I'm thrilled to announce that I'm part of a collection called FIRST KISSES, available now. It's on sale for only 99 cents, for a limited time.

Leave a comment about why you like cowboys today and be entered to win a paperback copy of RETURN OF THE COWBOY DOCTOR. 

Tis the season...

Lacy Williams here.

Black Friday is just past. Stores have had Christmas items and decorations out for at least a month.

Traffic is getting a little crazy, and the grocery store is constantly packed.

But in all the chaos of the season, I'm finding joy. Having little children is a blessing. To be able to see things through their eyes, to know the joy of Christmas again when I myself have gotten a little cynical.

We decorated our tree over a week ago. Yes, we have the overload of ornament on the bottom branches (where they can reach!). And the littlest Miss has an obsession with the cord. Yikes!

We put up our outside lights as well and it makes me smile when our son (two years old) asks daddy to drive around the neighborhood to see lights every time we come home after dark.

Sure, there's family stress and money is tight, but we get to talk about the birth of Jesus when the kids want to know what Christmas is all about. It's a bit like having a second childhood. And isn't that what it's all about? Jesus said that we need to have faith like a little child.

I hope that no matter your circumstances this holiday season, you'll find joy in the small things. What's your favorite thing about Christmas?

Lacy Williams grew up on a farm, which is where her love of cowboys was born. In reality, she's married to a right-brained banker (happily with three kiddos). She gets to express her love of western men by writing historical romance. Her books have finaled in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Awards (2012, 2013 & 2014), the Golden Quill and the Booksellers Best Award. JOIN LACY'S NEWSLETTER

Here's the blurb for her recent release RETURN OF THE COWBOY DOCTOR:
Two years shy of his medical degree, cowboy Maxwell White is out of money. So, he's back in Bear Creek, Wyoming, working part-time for the local physician. Though he is immediately drawn to the doctor's lovely, whip-smart daughter, she seems to be irritated by Maxwell's very existence.
Hattie Powell can't quash her feelings for the town's new would-be doctor. But that's exactly why she must keep him at a distance. Hattie is closer than ever to fulfilling her lifelong wish of becoming a doctor. Now, the only thing standing in her way is the man of her dreams.

"Williams delivers a smart, gentle, and uplifting fourth novel set in 1890s Wyoming (after Roping the Wrangler)...sweet, poetic Max is a lovable hero, and Hattie's desire to have both career and family will resonate strongly with readers." - Publisher's Weekly (Oct 28, 2013)

4.5 stars TOP PICK! "Hattie's story accurately depicts the kind of prejudice a female doctor would have faced in 1897. It is easy to have sympathy with the hero's character, and the mention of his brothers will leave the reader eager to hear their stories in future books." -RT Book Reviews (December)

 

Summer Fun with Lacy Williams

Howdy from Lacy Williams! It's warming up here in Oklahoma and I've been enjoying a lot of long-forgotten summer activities with my kids.

Earlier this week we made Strawberry Lemonade Ice Pops from a recipe we found on www.allrecipes.com (see below for recipe). They were easy and fun and messy--everything a popsicle should be.

We've also spent time in the backyard kiddie pool, splashing and sliding.

I think the most fun so far has been finding literally a hundred baby frogs in our backyard. If you've been paying attention to the news lately, you know that Oklahoma has been hit with some awful weather lately. We were blessed that all of it missed us and all our family that live here, but we've had a ton of rain, and apparently our backyard became a breeding ground for toads native to the area.

My 21-month-old was the first to spot one. At first I thought it was a big grasshopper, but on closer inspection we found it was a tiny frog. Then we found another and another--until we realized what had happened. They've all pretty much gone now (just a few left around), but for a few days they were all over the yard. It was so fun to see the kids shriek and hop around, imitating the frogs. They even held one in their hands (was really surprised the almost four year old girl did). What fun memories to make for the future!

In my August 2013 book, ROPING THE WRANGLER, the hero and heroine relive memories of their own childhood Christmases when they have to help three orphaned girls survive a Christmas storm.

Here's a blurb:

Schoolmarm Sarah Hansen longs for a family of her own. But horse trainer Oscar White is the last man she'd consider. Still, she can't help noticing the care he shows three motherless girls and the gentle way he helps Sarah overcome her fear of horses.

Too bossy by half—that's the Sarah that Oscar remembers from their teenage years. Yet as a former orphan, he finds the little Caldwell sisters—and their pretty teacher—getting under his skin. Could the tender heart Sarah's always hidden tame a once-reckless wrangler?

I will also have a freebie novella coming in July, available on all the major online retailers (Amazon, B&N, etc). Watch for COURTED BY A COWBOY if you'd like to try one of my stories for free.

Now I'd love to hear from you - what's your favorite summer ritual? A favorite thing to do with the kids or grandkids?



Recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Ice Pops from
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Strawberry-Lemonade-Ice-Pops/Detail.aspx
*1 (12 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate
*3 cups cold water
*1 (16 ounce) package frozen sliced strawberries

Directions:
In a large pitcher, stir together the lemonade concentrate and water. Place strawberries into the container of a blender, and puree until smooth. Pour in some of the lemonade if necessary to facilitate blending. Stir strawberry puree into the lemonade. Pour into molds, and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.