Songs

Currently, some of my favorite songs are:

1.  I'll Pray for You--Jaron and the Long Road to Love (A little too vengeful for me, but I can appreciate the sentiment).
2. I'm In--Keith Urban (just a fun, upbeat song).
3. If You're Going Through Hell--Rodney Atkins (My hubbie's and my anthem from last spring).

There's more... I have to think about it.

Jami Update

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I took the summer off from writing and am just now getting back into the swing of things. My summer has been filled with the building of our new addition, a huge 4th of July barn dance, and lots of visits with family.

Not to mention, we're considering legal action against those involved in circulating misinformation revolving around identity theft my husband experienced from 1996 through 2002. It's only recently come to light how much damage these rumors have done to his character and how widespread they are, even to the extent of bogus criminal charges. So what to do? More on this later. Has anyone had similar experiences with identity theft, its consequences, and the options for recourse?

Also The Gift Horse is now available in print via Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I hope you'll take the time to pick up a copy.

Now for the updated pictures on the man cave.

I hope you're having a wonderful summer. I'll try to post more often. Stay turned for updates.

Spring Update

I'm pleased to say that The Gift Horse should be in print within the next month or so. I'll keep you posted.

I'm working on the final edits to Fourth and Goal. I hope to have it submitted soon.

I'll be at the Lori Foster's Get Together along with my good friend Allie K. Adams in June. I'll be signing my first two books. Please stop by and say hi if you're there.

On a personal note, my husbanda and I are busy planning an addition onto our home. He thinks it's going to be a "man cave." It's really my library, but he doesn't know that yet. ;)

Have a great spring.

New Book Trailer for The Gift Horse

Sit back and enjoy my new video for The Gift Horse, a mainstream contempory romance from Bookstrand and Book 3 of the Evergreen Dynasty Series.

Buy Link
Read Chapter One

The Gift Horse--Available Now from Bookstrand

As a long-time horsewoman and dressage rider, I’ve wanted to write a novel that revolved about dressage and horses. I pictured a romantic mystery, and I wanted it to be different. Killing horses for insurance had been done before. I needed something new.

I also wanted to cover a topic that had been bothering me for a long time. When money enters the picture, how far will a horse trainer go to win ribbons? Will she compromise what’s best for the horse? Will she choose the horse over money or achieving her goals?

When I conceived the idea of The Gift Horse, I wanted to make the horse a secondary character. Equestrian-related fiction often misses the boat on this. They don’t give the horses personalities or allow them to play a part in the book other than being a cardboard animal that appears in the background. My horse character needed as much personality as my human characters. So I turned to my own Hanoverian mare, Gailey, as my model, and believe me, she has a lot of character. Gailey’s sweet mare act will charm the pants off you if there’s a treat involved or if she’s looking to win you over. If she’s not, she puts on the alpha bitch-mare face and makes sure you understand that the princess is annoyed. Gabby is essentially my mare with a little more ambition. My mare wouldn’t buck, as it would be too much work. Gabby bucks with enthusiasm, which often sends her rider flying.

I loved writing about Gabbie, her quirks, her crush on the hero, and her opinions on horse shows, love, and ribbons. I even put a few scenes in the horse’s point of view.

The Gift Horse was released today in ebook format. You can read the first chapter here, and purchase the book here. I hope you’ll check it out. Please let me know what you think, as I’d love to write a sequel if there’s enough interest.

Animal Characters in Fiction

I blogged today at The Romance Studio on using animals as secondary characters and writing from an animal's POV.

Check it out: http://theromancestudio.blogspot.com/

The Gift Horse--Available February 17

I now have a release date for The Gift Horse. It's February 17. Click here to pre-order. To read the first chapter, go to The Gift Horse.

Here's a blurb:

Never look a Gift Horse in the mouth?

CARSON REYNOLDS would dispute that statement. After all, it was a gift horse that got him into this mess in the first place. Carson has never backed down from a challenge, but he’s never faced a challenge like this one. It’s the project nobody wants. It’s doomed to fail from Day One because of lack of money, lack of planning, and no lack of a difficult, interfering sister. Carson’s mission is to transform a run-down horse farm into THE premium horse training facility in the Pacific Northwest and transform the disorganized resident horse trainer with a penchant for self-sabotage into a confident, professional equestrian of international caliber. Unfortunately, City Boy Carson doesn’t know one end of a horse from the other, and the large creatures scare the heck out of him. His situation is compounded by a love-sick, 1500-pound mare with a crush on him , his growing attraction to the grungy horse trainer, a disruptive sister who insists the trainer be fired, and a demanding father who has lost faith in his son’s abilities.

Tired of running from herself for six years, SAMANTHA MACINTYRE has returned to the scene of a horrific barn fire allegedly caused by her carelessness. She accepts the head trainer position at that run-down facility with the hope of defeating her demons, proving her innocence, and earning a permanent position at the new equestrian center. With lofty aspirations, but no money and no horse, Sam will do anything to ride the talented, though difficult, horse Carson received as a birthday gift from his family. But first, she must pass the test: compete the horse for one season, impress Carson, and best his sister’s preferred trainer.

As Sam gets closer to the truth regarding the cause of that long-ago fire, small mishaps begin to escalate into larger, more serious, accidents. Carson’s horse knows the real perpetrator, if only those dimwitted humans would listen. With no where else to turn, Sam confides in Carson and together they delve into the actual cause of the fire. With the help of an opinionated equine, they face a surprising reality--that love is more important than ambition, money, or blue ribbons.

I SOLD--Two More Books!!!

I sold two more books last week.

My equestrian romance, The Gift Horse, is book two of the Reynolds family saga. If you read Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?, you might remember Carson the tight-ass brother. This is his story. Truthfully, my favorite book I've written to date. It stars an opinionated Hanoverian mare named Gabbie, who behaves suspiciously like my Hanoverian mare, Gailey. You can read a blurb about that book on my website.

My other book which I sold to Siren is still in the planning stages--more about it later.

I am also planning to work on another book this fall, hopefully, one of my football series books, so stay tuned. I love football and have been writing football related books for years. Now, it appears that there is finally a market for them.