Western romance author, C.H. Admirand, is visiting with us today with her hot new contemporary romance series, The Secret Life Of Cowboys: Dylan.
One of the misconceptions about authors is the idea that they just sit and write their stories with ease and get paid big bucks. Cushy job, eh? Ask any author about that and you'll liable to reduce them to tears—of laughter. Getting published is hard, no matter how good your story is. Once you're published then comes the deadlines, the edits from hell, whole chapters, perhaps even several chapters need to be rewritten, the editor doesn't like the ending, the middle, the beginning, or the character or his/her name. Yikes!
C.H. talks a bit about her journey and her life of ease.
Welcome, C.H., I'm so glad to have you visiting!
Thanks for inviting me to blog
today, Sia, it’s so wonderful to be here. It took me a bit of time to decide
what to talk about today because I think my characters are far more interesting
than I am. After attending Lora Leigh’s RAW in October, I know that readers do
like a glimpse into the life of the author.
For those that don’t know me,
I’ve been writing for the Library Market and Small Press for the last twelve years.
I was delighted to publish my first book, The
Marshal’s Destiny, in 2000, and devastated when I didn’t sell the second
book in my Irish Western Series. More than once, I tried to quit, but the
voices of characters demanding to have their stories told wouldn’t let me.
Nora Roberts is one of my heroes;
it was her article in The Writer’s Digest that kept me going, she said that
writers need the 3 Ds to succeed: Drive, Discipline, and Desire… To that I add
Determination. While I wrote, I attended workshops and conferences, honing my
craft—you cannot improve if you stop writing. But I also dug deep and kept my
Purcell ancestor’s motto where I could see it every day: Aut Vincam, Aut Periam–translation: I will either conquer or
perish! So I kept writing, submitting, receiving rejections, and six years
later, I not only sold my second book, but five more!
I met Deb Werksman by chance at
the NJRW Conference a few years ago after an unplanned trip to a ladies club
during RT Booklovers Convention in Houston and a lesson well-learned—that I’m
not the ladies club type—but helped me come up with the plotline for my hot
cowboy trilogy and deal with my embarrassment at the time. I was there
physically, but my mind was in the fictional town of Pleasure, Texas that my mind
had just created. It was a blast writing about the Garahan brothers: larger
than life, tall, dark, and gorgeous Texas cowboys.
This year had a really rocky
start: our three-month-old grandson was hospitalized with a respiratory virus,
but is finally home and recovering beautifully. The dog we adopted (after losing
our 12 year old family member, Ginger, the day after my December 15th deadline)
had fear/aggression issues and bit my husband and one of our sons. Although she
didn’t break the skin, combined with the reality that she was terrified of my
guys (they all wear black leather jackets and boots—and are not quiet), had us seeking help from a
professional dog trainer (a first for us after 28 years of raising dogs) to
evaluate the dog. She didn’t recommend having the dog around children, a red
flag for us with our new grandson, and stressed that although the situation
could be managed with her guidelines; the dog may not change and might always
be afraid of my guys. She felt the dog showed bite inhibition by not breaking
the skin, which is a good thing. We gave it a week, but the dog only grew more
aggressive and fearful. It broke my heart, but after consulting with the
trainer again, I called the shelter and they agreed that it would be best to
return the dog before the situation escalated.
So right now, I’m surfing the
internet for dogs in need of a good home when I should be working on the
revisions for my November book. It’s hard to explain why I can’t seem to focus
now that Ginger is gone, but at odd times, I hear her moving around the house
and racing down the stairs when I open the door to feed the birds…it’s all in
my head…or is it in my heart? I guess I won’t be able to concentrate until we
fill that empty void in our lives with a dog that wants to be a part of our
family.
I’m struggling, but optimistic
that we’ll find the right dog for our at times busy (aka loud) and other times
quite (aka tomblike) home. I need to get back in the groove because 2012 is
going to be beyond busy for me. Dylan
book two in The Secret Life of Cowboys, just released January 2nd, Jesse, book three, releases July 2nd,
and A Wedding in Purity, the first
book in my new Small Town USA series, releases in November. Then there are the
2nd and 3rd books in the Small Town series that are due in May and
September…good grief I’d better get my head on straight now!
Thanks for letting me ramble on
today, Sia.
- For animal lovers out there, how have you coped with the loss of a furry family member? How long did you wait before filling that empty void in your life?
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| Meet Jamison, aka Jamie January 14th |
As CH mentioned, she has a new furry baby. I asked for some pictures and she provided these. Isn't he a darling?
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DYLAN
BY C.H. ADMIRAND – IN STORES JANUARY 2012
There was nothing he couldn't tame...
Dylan Garahan might be an old hand at lassoing fillies, but one night at the Lucky Star club, and he ends up wrapping his rope around someone that even his formidable strength can’t tame. She’s wily and beautiful… and she’s his new boss. Dylan’s had his heart broken bfore, but even an honest cowpoke has to wrestle with temptation…
Until he got his lasso around her...
Ronnie DelVecchio might be fresh off the bus from New Jersey, but she’s a hard-edged businesswoman and has had her fill of men she can’t trust—although she might consider getting off her high horse for that big handsome rancher with a Texas drawl. Excerpt (on amazon)
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