Guess Author -- Vonnie Davis

Today I'm honored to have the lovely Vonnie Davis with me today. She's here to share with us a bit about her new release, Those Violet Eyes. Welcome Vonnie!

Be sure to leave a comment! Vonnie will giving away a copy of Those Violet Eyes to one lucky commenter!

Joanne, thanks for having me here today. Ladies, Joanne and I are both writers with The Wild Rose Press and are also represented by the same agent, Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. When I was setting up my blog tour for the release of Those Violet Eyes, she was one of the first to wave the welcome flag.

I’m a dreamer.

And darn proud of it.

Oh, make no mistake about it, I’m a realist, too. I was once a single mother with three children, holding down two jobs to keep hearth and home together. You can’t get more real than counting pennies to buy a gallon of milk or praying over your steering wheel that your old car will start one more time.

After my daughter got married, and I only had college tuition to pay for my two sons, I was able to quit the part-time job and go to college, too. Thank goodness for my employer’s college tuition reimbursement program. So, at the age of 45, I was able to achieve a long-held dream of mine: going to college.

But there was another dream, an older, wildly unachievable dream—or so I told myself. A dream that sprang to life the summer between the fourth and fifth grade. I wanted to be a writer.

Fifty-three years later that dream became a reality.

That’s a long time to dream, isn’t it?

Evie, my heroine in Those Violet Eyes, had a dream of going to college and becoming a music teacher. During her sophomore year, her momma was stricken with cancer. Evie dropped out of college to come home and care for her. Now, thanks to a promise she made to her momma on her deathbed, she’s trapped. She has no chance of attaining her dream.

Or does she?

Win, the man she’s fallen in love with, encourages her to pursue her dream. She takes all this as being pushy. Win, however, is a man who wants to see the woman he loves achieve her potential. He’ll do anything to see her happy, even if it means making her angry in the process…

He had no right. No right to reawaken a dream long ago snuffed out by the force of her family’s demands. She’d be lucky to move off the ranch into a place of her own, much less go back to college.

Her mare raced up a gentle hill toward high grass and shrubs. A pond came into view on the other side of the rise. She reined in her horse, slowing her to a walk. The mount stepped to the water’s edge and took a drink. After a minute, Evie urged her on. “Let’s walk around the pond, Molly Mae.”

Butterflies flitted from bush to bush.

Grosbeaks chirped pretty songs.

Gnats buzzed.

Evie fumed.

College was out of the question. As it was, her employment at the Lonesome Steer depended on how long Win kept on cooking there. Once Win quit, Gus’s need for a waitress would quickly decline. How would she pay rent and tuition then? She’d have to endure the pain and disappointment once more of having her dream snatched away. She could not, would not go through that again.

A movement caught her eye. Win sat on Blaze at the top of the rise, watching her. Waiting.

Damn him and his waiting. She hiked her chin and glared at him. He can wait until his hair turns gray. I’m not going to him.

Win evidently saw her determined features. He shook his head a couple times and clicked his tongue for Blaze to approach her. When his horse stopped beside hers, he glanced across the pond, watching the birds—or waiting. Damn him.

Well, she could wait, too.

She slipped a foot out of her stirrup and slung it across her saddle. Leather creaked. A bullfrog plopped into the water. Silent minutes clanged by, growing louder with each tick of some unseen clock.

“Never took you for a coward, kitten. Not with all that attitude you’ve got.” Win slid his gaze to her, his hazel eyes growing hard. “Or was that all bluster to hide a scared little girl.”

Before she thought it through, Evie slid off Molly Mae. “You come down here and say that to my face, Win Fairchild, you overbearing, pushy bastard. I’ll slap your ears so hard, they’ll make a jam sandwich. Two floppy ears jammed together, you no-brained idiot. What gives you the right to push at me like this?”

Win slipped off Blaze, all ease and grace. In a flurry of movement, he grabbed her arms and hauled her to him. “What do you want out of life, Evie? Do you want to rot away on the Double-Bar working for Dooley? Or do you want to go after your dreams?”

“Some dreams are just that—dreams.” Didn’t he understand?

BLURB:

Evie Caldwell hoards every penny for her escape from the servitude life created by a worthless brother and the endless work on a ranch that will never be hers. The last thing she wants is a muscled man with a macho Marine attitude complicating her life. But, oh, how that man can make her insides do a twitchy thing.

Wounded vet, Win Fairchild, returns to Texas to heal, find a piece of his soul and open a ranch for amputee children. Finding someone to love was not on his agenda. Nor was dealing with a wildcat, until she captures his heart with those violet eyes.

But now that he knows what he wants, can Win convince Evie to stay in Texas—and his bed?

Buy link is: http://bit.ly/ThoseVioletEyes

My blog is: http://bit.ly/Vonnie

My website is http://www.vonniedavis.com/

This one is definitely on the top of my TBR pile, Vonnie! It sounds fantastic. In fact, I have to admit I'm quickly becoming a fan of yours. Thank you for being here with me today! 

And to the readers--don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the book!

Guest Author -- Rebecca J. Clark

Today I'm welcoming fellow Wild Rose Press author Rebecca J. Clark to my blog. I'm handing over my keyboard, so she can tell us a bit about her new release, DELIVER THE MOON. Welcome Rebecca!

Today’s movie stars aren’t really movie stars

by Rebecca J. Clark

In my new book, DELIVER THE MOON, my heroine compares the hero’s looks and brooding persona to movie stars of old, craggy-faced like Bogart or Mitchum.

That made me think—do today’s stars have the staying power of stars of old? Think of today’s stars: George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock. In 20-30 years, will we think of them the same way we think of actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Carey Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Jimmy Stewar?

Somehow, I don’t think so. To me, there’s no comparison. And it’s not because current-day actors aren’t fabulous actors. In fact, they’re probably better. If you watch many old movies, the acting is often pretty atrocious. The writing isn’t much better. But there is something about the movie stars. Maybe it’s the black and white film that just makes them “look” like movie stars. Maybe it’s because back then we didn’t really know much about their personal lives. They all had a mystique about them. We didn’t know much about their day-to-day lives. We didn’t know their political viewpoints. We didn’t know what causes they believed in. They were just these glamorous, larger-than-life personas, not real people.

Some of my favorite stars of old are Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly (who actually wasn’t a good actor in my opinion, but was so damn charming), Rock Hudson, Humphrey Bogart (who really wasn’t all that attractive, but there was something about him). Favorite female stars are/were Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyk and Doris Day.

I wonder if these stars would all be stars if they were around today (I know Doris Day is still around, but you know what I mean). Some of them, maybe.

What do you think? Do you think the stars of old would be stars if their careers were in present day? Who are your favorite stars from the olden days?

DELIVER THE MOON is available now:

Available at The Wild Rose Press

Amazon

Where you can find Rebecca on the web:

http://rebeccajclark.com

https://www.facebook.com/#!/rebeccajclark.author

Thanks for being with today, Rebecca!

Six Sentence Sunday

Welcome to another Six Sentence Sunday! This week I've decided to keep with the father theme. This week's snippet comes once again from The Playboy's Baby. This is from chapter six.

Emma showed him how to do everything from warming bottles to changing diapers and made him do it all. He’d fumbled through most of it, once again completely out of his element. For a big man, he was surprisingly gentle.

Annie seemed to adore him, had been caught between smiling at his goofy faces and fussing at the new person in charge of her care. Constantly looking to Emma for reassurance, she refused to eat much lunch, and nap time became a battle of wills. Dillon conked out before Annie, who, in the end, simply laid her head on his chest and went to sleep.

Thanks for stopping by to read! For more six's, be sure to visit the Six Sunday Website.

Six Sentence Sunday

Happy Sunday everybody! I've recently completed the edits for my upcoming release, The Playboy's Baby, so decided I'd take this week's six from that. It's due out the beginning of August. No cover yet, but here's the blurb:

They share a past—one neither of them can forget. 

When an accident leaves her guardian to her six month old niece, Emma Stanton must return to her small hometown of Hastings, Montana to find the one man she’s spent the last eight years trying to forget. Not only must she share the news of her sister’s tragic death, but she must also risk the only family she has left as she tells him he’s the baby’s father. Can she stick to her resolve and resist the playboy’s charms—again?       

            

All wealthy nightclub owner Dillon James wants is to be the father his daughter needs. He’s been used for his name and money one too many times in his life and has no desire to risk his heart to love again. Yet falling for Emma as they struggle to share the duties of raising a baby has Dillon thinking that perhaps it’s time he took a chance on love. 

But will Emma agree?

I had originally chosen something from the beginning, but then remembered today was Father's day. So, in honor of the day, I've decided this week's snippet should be the moment when Dillon first meets his daughter.

Annie leaned back in his arms and the two of them regarded each other. Dillon smiled. When she laid a chubby hand against his mouth, he opened his lips and pretended to eat her fingers, making, “nom nom nom” sounds, eliciting a hearty giggle. That heart-stopping grin spread across his mouth and awe illuminated his eyes.

Emma’s heart ached, tears burning behind her eyelids. Father and daughter together at last.

There's just something about a man holding a baby, isn't there? Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to go read all the other wonderful snippets at the Six Sunday website!