Mary Connealy ~ Interview + Giveaway!

*You can earn up to 4 entries in this giveaway. Read below for details*

Today author Mary Connealy is telling us about her new book, Deep Trouble (May 2011 -- Cowboy Christmas sequel). She has offered an autographed copy of her book to one lucky commenter. She will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer your questions! So if you have anything you want to ask her, you can leave a comment on this post to find out the answer!

Author's bio:

Mary Connealy writes fun and lively "romantic comedy with cowboys" for the inspirational market. She is the author of the successful Lassoed in Texas, Montana Marriages, and Sophie's Daughters series, and her novel Calico Canyon was nominated for a Christy Award. She lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her husband, Ivan, and has four grown daughters.

Welcome, Mary! Tell us about your salvation experience.
I made a public confession of faith at a Lowell Lundstrom concert when I was about sixteen. But I remember believing the truth about Jesus at a much younger age. I was raised in a wonderful Christian family. Eight brothers and sisters in a two bedroom farmhouse. No money but lots of love. I don’t really consider going forward at the concert to be my salvation experience—because I was already saved, but it was a great moment in my life.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
Wow, big disasters. Honestly, I’ve got a pretty good life. Lots of little annoyances but nothing big. I’m sure in the event of a tornado or earthquake or sudden death, I would be a pillar of strength and wisdom. (wow, it’s like I’m ASKING to be struck by lightning….forget I said that)

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
These are hard questions. Hmmmm….okay, I’ve started three times writing this now and each time I stop and think, “Nah, that’s not surprising.”

How’s this?--I’m shy. I spend most of my life typing. I get an occasional sweet and clueless person who asks what it’s like to be famous and I just shake my head. If indeed I qualify as famous--and I have serious doubts about that—a famous author spends almost all her time alone with her computer, having both sides of a conversation herself. Alone. So very, very alone. Taking back the stupid things she says (types) and trying again until she sounds cool. Not a normal life at all and certainly not exciting.

What is one book that you recently read and would recommend to your readers?
I am right in the middle of reading A Heart Revealed by Julie Lessman and I am so hooked. I’ve been staying up too late reading and it’s maddening. I can’t wait to see how it comes out. I love Julie’s work.

What is your favorite time of day to write?
I’m very low maintenance when it comes to writing. No set time. No set place. I can be distracted and then get right back to work. I do set goals and I mostly achieve them. I try to write 1000 words a day seven days a week and I mostly succeed. I’m doing major revisions on a finished manuscript right now and I’m loving the changes, loving the depth I’m finding in this story. But it’s not piling up the word count like I wish it was. The other day I got to a scene that I knew I needed to add, all new. As I started typing I just felt the surge of pleasure at creating something NEW rather than revising something old and I loved it. There is no part of writing that I do not love.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be?
When I was struggling to get my first book published, Petticoat Ranch, I did a lot of market research trying to figure out who I was like. There was no one doing what I was doing…which is probably why it took me so stinking long to get published! Then I read Lori Copeland’s Men of the Saddle series. A romantic western with humor…that was it. I started using her as my example. “Readers who enjoyed Lori Copeland’s Men of the Saddle Series are my target audience.”

I went to a writer’s gathering just after I’d gotten my cover art for Petticoat Ranch and I took a printed out picture of the cover with me and was showing it to anyone who couldn’t escape. Lori Copeland was there. So (boldly, for a shy girl) I went up to her and said, “Lori, I’ve been using your name to try and get myself published for a long time now.” Then I whipped out the cover and said, “And it worked!”

We ended up having a nice visit. Such a great, sweet lady.

Beyond that, there’s not a lot out there like my romantic comedy with cowboys.

I think of it as inspirational, suspenseful, historical western romantic comedy. I think I invented my own genre.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
I have contracts for six more romantic comedy with cowboys novels coming spread out over the next three years. So I’m keeping very busy and I’ll keep writing these as long as someone will keep publishing them. I’m still amazed I ever got one published. This is beyond the dearest desire of my heart that I never forget how blessed I am.

Book’s back cover blurb:

Gabe Lasley and Shannon Dysart are an unlikely pair. He’s an aimless wanderer who wants nothing other than to be left alone. She’s a fearless female determined to find a city of gold. When they are forced together the mayhem begins. As they set out to find the treasure, trouble is hot on their trail. Will the dream of gold color every decision Shannon makes? Will Gabe fail yet another helpless female in his life?

What research did you have to do for this book?
I may have researched this book more than any other I’ve ever written. It begins at Mesa Verde and ends in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

I do a huge amount of research online but I just wasn’t finding enough for the Grand Canyon portion of the book. I ended up with three books that I cross referenced constantly. The main one was The Man Who Walked Through Time by Colin Fletcher. He’s the first man who hiked the entire length of the Grand Canyon. The thing about his book that was so invaluable was his personal impressions. He wrote about the stones, the mist, the barren stretches, the difficulty of finding a trail. Reading that book gave me a lot of freedom because I realized Fletcher wasn’t a scientist, he was just a man telling how the canyon touched him. I realized my story could be less than exact if I just let my characters have honest reactions to what they were seeing.

Then I had a book of trail maps and a book of pictures that included scripture. I first read the whole Fletcher book, underlining bits and pieces that were buried in it that contained details I couldn’t find anywhere else. That book was battered by the time I was done! Then I’d cross reference his words to the trail pictures to help me figure out where he was down there. Then I’d study pictures. I spend major time flipping pages. I also have a friend, Sandra Leesmith, who lives near the Grand Canyon, or at least near enough that she’s been there many times. I asked her a lot of questions and she’d tell me little tidbits about the place. Including she told me about a man who had only recently admitted he had a ‘secret’ trail down into the canyon. Access to the bottom of the canyon is very limited and the ways down are well documented. And now, here’s this guy with a secret way down. I just loved that and decided everything that is ‘known’ about the canyon may not be everything. Wow, I’ve talked to long about this.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

 Hmmmmm I don’t really like doing this, picking characters. If you’ll notice, most of my books are faceless. That’s a very deliberate choice on my part, and I’ll add here that once in a while we do have faces and that is fine, I’m nothing if not flexible!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I like supplying the image myself, mentally, of the characters. Still, I’m trying. I think Gabe is a young Sam Elliot. He’s got the bushy moustache. And is, of course, tall dark and handsome.

For Shannon I’m going to go with Sigrid Thornton, the heroine in The Man from Snowy River.

How can readers get in contact with you?
Seekerville

Petticoats & Pistols

My Blog

My Website

~~~~~

**This giveaway is open to addresses in any country**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Deep Trouble!

TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win). The comment is mandatory. You will not be entered unless you leave a comment AND your email address.

*If you leave a comment you will be entered unless you specify that you do not want to be entered.

*Here are the ways to get entries:

(First entry) The mandatory comment saying you would like to be entered with your email address.

+1 Become one of my followers OR subscribe to my blog by email.

+2 Read and leave a comment on my review of Surrender the Night

**You can earn a total of 4 entries if you do all of the above entry options. Make sure to tell me in your entry comment on this post which of the things you did to get extra entries. (You can put them on one comment if you want to, you don’t have to separate each entry into its own comment or anything like that.)**

*The contest will run from today (May 6) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (May 12). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner either directly after choosing him/her or on Friday the 13th, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner.

Good luck! Thanks for visiting.

Wild West Giveaway Party!

Welcome! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do. :) I just adore Cowboys and the Wild West, and could think of no better time to feature them and their writers than during the week leading up to my 19th birthday(March 31)!

So, here you go, guys... Enjoy! :) (And be sure to read to the bottom to learn how to enter and get extra entries to increase your chances of winning!)


What is your favorite birthday memory?

Denise: Birthday’s weren’t a huge deal in my family, so I never had a birthday party . . . until husband surprised me on my 30th birthday. I thought I was going to a family Thanksgiving dinner, and all my closest friends and family were there for my party instead. :)


Linda: From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, I had been sick for a number of years with undiagnosed Crohn's Disease and was about fifteen pounds underweight. One February, my mother had come to visit for my birthday. She just stayed overnight, but on “the day,” she kept asking me what my husband had planned for me. I really didn't know. Over the years, our birthdays began going by relatively unnoticed for some reason. I wasn't sure whether he'd do anything for me or not.

He was late coming home, so I had hopes he was engaged in some last-minute shopping, although I couldn't imagine what he could get without spending quite a bit of time. But he came home, only twenty minutes later than usual, with several grocery bags bundled in his hands.

That day, my husband illustrated how well he knew me by buying every single snack I love—salty, savory, and sweet; cashews, snack crackers, Whoppers, Cheetohs, and more. Everything. Then he made the ultimate sacrifice: he promised to stay out of them!

I managed to gain a bit of weight over the next week or so.

Mary: I’ve never been real fond of my birthday. I was born in March, on the 20th and I was raised to always claim I was born on the first day of spring. The trouble with that is, March 20th is apt to be a disgusting day. I had so many birthdays ruined by cold and rain and snow and mud. Throw in it was supposed to be the first day of Spring and it was a big disappointment all around.

If you could invite one person you have never met to your birthday party who would it be?

Denise: I think I’d invite Jesus. It would be so cool just to sit and listen to him and to bask in his love.

Linda: My husband's mother. She passed away long before I met him, and I'd love to have known her. Stories about her abound in his family—stories of crafty childraising, fishing prowess, culinary delights. She just seems like someone I'd love to know and learn from.


Mary: I can’t believe how hard I’m thinking to answer this question. It’s really hard. The trouble with famous people I admire is, I’m afraid I’d hate them. I imagine most famous people are kind of strange in real life, like movie stars, don’t you? I’m going to go for Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. She’s got the best blog ever and it’s hugely successful. If she met me she’d mention me on her blog wouldn’t she? And then I’d sell a zillion books.


What is your favorite thing to eat on your birthday?
Denise: I’m not a big fan of cake, so we usually head to the best chocolate shop in the world, which happens to be in our area. They have fabulous chocolates and a dark chocolate and raspberry sundae that’s too die for. (They ship too! http://www.debrand.com/)


Linda: That differs from year to year. My birthday is February 11, and this year I craved Chinese food. Nobody seemed to pick up on my hint until weeks later. Meanwhile, I had terrific Mexican food at a place my husband chose, and a great traditional pot roast at a restaurant my mother favors.

Mary: I don’t like frosting on angel food cake. Right now I’m really hungry so instead of cake, I’m going with a really great steak. Perfectly grilled. A filet. Yum.


If, for your birthday wish, you could be a character in any movie, who would you be?
Denise: I’d choose one of the Jane Austen movies, if for no other reason than to talk in a beautiful English accent and wear those gorgeous gowns.


Linda: This may be cheating, but long ago, there was a series based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Little House on the Prairie. They also made a couple of movie-length episodes, or made-for-TV movies. I want to be Laura. I've always wanted to be Laura. I've considered myself an anachronism since I was a teenager. Really, give me my indoor plumbing and electricity, and send me back to the prairie. (I admit, I'm spoiled to modern conveniences!)


Mary: Carmen, these questions!!!!! Do you make them up after fifty cups of coffee or what??????? A character in a movie….I don’t want to be a heroic character because they inevitably have to fight for their lives. That would be unpleasant. I want to be a happy character, and who makes movies about them, huh? No one, that’s who. I’ll be Doris Day in The Thrill of it All, with James Garner as her obstetrician husband. Very sweet and funny.


What is your favorite thing about cowboys?
Denise: I think the biggest appeal is their ruggedness. They’re men’s men, tough, and masculine. Such a beautiful contrast to the feminine heroine.


Linda: Cowboys have a code I truly respect. I've heard it summed up in two words: “no excuses.” Get the job done. Don't shirk. Don't whine. Don't procrastinate.


Granted, this may be idealized. Many of the cowboys I know are one way on the job, and another way off. Cowboy wives may have more of an insight!


But this image impresses me. I wonder what would happen if everyone held to that creed.


Mary: I'm just never having more fun than when I have the cowboy lift the brim of his Stetson with his thumb and say, "This here, looks like shootin' trouble, little missy. You best get back and let me handle it."


I love their take charge ways. The life that makes them battle nature everyday…and win. The way they never say a paragraph when a sentence will do, and never say a sentence when a word will do and never say a word when a grunt will do. It's just a fun type to create.




RULES:
**USA addresses only, please**

The winner will receive autographed copies of each of these books:

Sharpshooter in Petticoats and the 3-in-1 "Lassoed in Texas Trilogy" by Mary Connealy

A Cowboy's Touch by Denise Hunter

and Give the Lady a Ride by Linda Yezak.

Don't those look great?!? :)

TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win). The comment is mandatory. You will not be entered unless you leave a comment AND your email address.

*If you leave a comment you will be entered unless you specify that you do not want to be entered.

*Here are the ways to get entries:


(First entry) The mandatory comment saying you would like to be entered with your email address.


+1 Become one of my followers OR subscribe to my blog by email.


+2 Read and leave a comment on my review of Love Amid the Ashes


+2 Post about this giveaway, or put up one of by special banners which can be found HERE. (More directions w/the banners)


+2 Ask one of the authors a unique question (or something you just REALLY want to know!)


+1 For each person you get to come and enter this giveaway who metions you by name (up to four). (Be sure they use your specific name so I know who to give the point to.)


**You can earn a total of 12 entries if you do all of the above entry options. Make sure to tell me in your entry comment on this post which of the things you did to get extra entries. (You can put them on one comment if you want to, you don’t have to separate each entry into its own comment or anything like that.)**


*The contest will run from today (March 25) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (March 31). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner either directly after choosing him/her or on Friday the 1st, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner.


Good luck! Thanks for visiting.

End-of-the-Year Celebration DAY 1!

*Sorry I'm late posting this! I had some last minute stuff to do. :/

Hello my awesome readers! I am so excited about this party! It is going to be epic. ;) If you don't know the details of how this party is going to work, then visit HERE. That should tell you all you want to know! Let the fun begin!!!

Today, I'm featuring authors Lisa Harris, Debby Mayne, and Mary Conneally! Great group, huh?? :D Let's get started!

What is one thing or area where God has been changing you in 2010? Do you have any scriptures to go along with/support that?

Lisa: This has been good but extremely busy year. I tend to be the kind of person who wants to do everything on my own, but this year, in particular, God has stretched me far from my comfort zone. But He has also continued to remind me that even in doing things “for Him” and my family, I need to rely on His strength and never my own.

Paul speaks of this often in his letters (I guess I’m not the only one who needs to be reminded) about how God’s Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26), and it is when we are week, that through Him we are made strong. (II Corinthians 12:9) In fact, it is through our weaknesses, that Christ’s power is made greater!

Debby: The Lord is always working on me and reminding me to keep my heart and mind focused on Him. My favorite scripture verse is Psalm 51:10 because it reminds me that I’m constantly bombarded with things that aren’t pleasing to Him and that I need to pray for perpetual cleansing.

Mary: One big change is, when I read scripture now, my focus is on souls. That sounds sort of funny, I guess, but I was reading the verse where Mary is told by the angel that she’s going to have a baby and she says some version of, “No way. I can’t. I’m a virgin.” The angel comforts her and ministers to her.

Then almost within the same page, Zachariah is told his wife is going to have a baby (John the Baptist) and Zachariah responds almost word for word as Mary did. “No way. We can’t. She’s too old.”

God strikes him dumb and he can’t speak until after the baby is born.

Now why did God act so differently to the two of them? Mary and Zachariah are people of faith, clearly large enough faith that God found them worthy for a huge but difficult and miraculous blessing. Why did Mary get ministered to and Zachariah get stricken?

It comes down to what was in their hearts…their souls. Reading that, as so often happens with the Bible, I felt like it spoke to me in a new way and since then I’ve tried to read the Bible with it in the forefront of my thoughts, that God’s focus, his priority, is our souls. His ministry to us is for the purpose of our souls. God doesn’t look at a terribly sick believer and think, “Poor guy is sick, I need to heal him.” God thinks, “His soul is well, he is my blessed, healthy and whole child.”

Tell one thing that God did for you this year just to show He loved you.

Lisa: This question made me smile. This morning I was working out in the gym and was reminded of how God has shown us His love while we are home on furlough. (We are back from Africa on home leave for four months right now.) Among many of the blessings, we are in a furnished house that has a room for each of our three children. Each child has a desk where they can do school. The house is big enough for us to invite people over, and it even has a gym in the neighborhood where I can fight off the unwanted pounds of all the yummy food. And while that last one might sound funny, I’ve been worried about gaining weight while I’m back. So that’s why I was struck this morning (again) how God cares for the small things that might not be important over all, but they are things that are important to me.

Debby: He has been with me through good and bad. I’ve had incredible blessings and deep sadness, but He’s always been there for me.

Mary: He made my car start one cold day when I needed it to desperately. I really felt like it was a miracle. The car key wouldn’t turn and it had been acting up for a long time, locking in the off position and we needed a new starter and just hadn’t gotten it done yet. And that day it wouldn’t turn. I tried multiple times and it was just stopped. And I was upset because I wasn’t sure how I was going to get home. I stopped and prayed and that key just turned. It was so perfect. So much in that very instant of prayer.


What is your favorite memory from 2010?

Lisa: On our way back to the States this past September--thanks to the airline who didn’t charge us for an extended layover--we were able to spend two weeks in Europe with our kids visiting several close friends we hadn’t seen in several years. We were able to spend time in Paris, Holland, Lyon, and London. Definitely memories I will keep with me for a long time.

Debby: My favorite memories are all centered on family. My husband and I are empty-nesters, so every time we have both of my adult daughters, son-in-law, and granddaughter with us, we’re very happy.


Mary: I’ve got a one year old granddaughter so my thoughts went to her first, but I’m not sure which moment to pick. She’s such a doll baby. So I think I’ll pick the moment I won the Carol Award. I won it for Cowboy Christmas at the American Christian Fiction Writer’s conference. Janette Oke gave a speech before hand and Carol Johnson, the lady who fought hard to publish Janette’s first book, Love Comes Softly, handed me my award. It was a sweet, sweet moment.


Do you have any New Year resolutions in mind?


Lisa: Spiritually, I want to read through the Bible. Personally, I spent this year losing weight, (part of my fit at forty goal J) so next year, I want to up my strength and endurance.

Debby: I plan to worry less and enjoy all God’s blessings more. For the first time in many years, I’m not compelled to go on a diet or work harder at anything. I don’t want to stop eating healthy food or slow down my production, but I want to enjoy life more.

Mary: I quit making New Years resolutions a long time ago. I never keep them and I figure if I can’t change myself I can at least KNOW myself. So why bother making promises to myself that I’m not going to keep, huh?


What is one goal you have set (or God has put on your heart) for 2011 apart from New Year resolutions?


Lisa: A friend and I recently began a non-profit to help meet the physical needs of those we work with in Africa. Along with some of the other projects we are already involved in, including micro-loans and orphan care, God has put on my heart to help empower women living in the village with some kind of handwork that they can sell and help provide better for their families. I’ll be spending the next few months researching what will work best where we live and hope to have something going by the end of 2011. You can visit http://www.theehcoproject.org/ to find out more about this project.


Debby: I would like to mentor other writers who have a strong desire to be published but aren’t sure what to do next.


Mary: Well, this is a little odd, but I’m going to maybe create a false identity for myself and start a second career writing romantic suspense. I’ve sold one book under a pseudonym that will be out next October and if things go as I hope it’ll be a whole parallel career path for me. I’m really interested to see if that works out. If readers want to read something by me alter ego.
~~~~~

Giveaway! These great authors have generously offered these 3 books for one lucky winner!

 

Blood Ransom, autographed, by Lisa Harris

Portrait of Love, autographed, by Debby Mayne

Sharpshooter in Petticoats, autographed, by Mary Conneally

Rules:

For this party, only people with USA mailing addresses can enter. You must leave your email address in order to be entered so that I can contact you if you win.

Mandatory first entry: You must be a Google Friend Connect follower (in sidebar) of this blog, OR be an email subscriber (in sidebar) to this blog to enter this giveaway. Let me know in your comment to enter (with your email address) which you are.


Extra Entries:


+1 Post the link for this giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. (If you do both, that is +2)


+1 GFC follow or email subscribe to my other blog, Christian Book Giveaways.


+1 Put the buttons for one or both of my blogs on your blog. (You can get the HTML in my sidebar.) If you put both buttons up, that is +2.


+1 For every friend you get to come, enter this giveaway, and say that you sent them. (Make sure they use a name that I can connect with you. I want to make sure the extra points go to the right person!


+2 Post about this giveaway on your blog, telling which books will be given away.


+3 Leave a comment for at least one of the authors in this giveaway encouraging them with something you like about them personally, their writing, or one of their books.


I have one special way to gain extra entries, so pay close attention… For every day that the banner for this End-of-the-Year Celebration at the TOP of your blog (starting the 22nd) it will count as +1 entry towards the final blowout giveaway on the 30th and 31st. That means you can earn up to 10 more entries in the final giveaway!!! You can grab the banner’s HTML HERE.


This giveaway ends tomorrow (Thursday, December 23) at 6 p.m. CST. I will try to promptly contact the winner after that time. Winners will be announced in the next morning's post.

This Week's Winner's!

**I just want to say that I'm sorry. My mom surprised me with a trip to Florida for my birthday, so I got behind on my blogging. I'll be a little late posting the new giveaways. Thanks for your understanding.**

Carman

Winners:

Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris is:
Karenk!!

The Husband Tree by Mary Connealy is:
Sylvia M!!

An Honest Love by Kathy Fuller is:
pixie13!!

Mary Connealy ~ Interview + Giveaway!

Today author Mary Connealy is telling us about her new book, The Husband Tree. She has offered an autographed copy of her book to one lucky commenter. She will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer your questions! So if you have anything you want to ask her, you can include it in your comment for entering the contest. If you are only leaving a question in the comment and not entering the giveaway please say so.

Welcome, Mary! How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?

I've been writing for a long, long time, Carman, if you count all the years it took me to get published—I'd say about fifteen years. Black Hills Blessing, which releases in March is my 14th book, but it's a 3 in 1 collection of three shorter books that released in a book club.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in you books?
The romance is G and frankly I've created my own genre and no one is doing quite what I'm doing. Let's just go with that, shall we?

In your own words tell us a little about The Husband Tree.

Belle Tanner buries her third worthless husband and makes a vow over his shallow grave. She’s learned her lesson. No more men.

Silas Harden just lost his second ranch because of a woman. The first deserted him when times got tough. Now he’s had to quit the whole state of New Mexico to avoid a trumped-up shotgun wedding and the noose of matrimony. He’s learned his lesson. No more women.

Belle needs hired hands to move a cattle herd late in the season and there’s no one around but seemingly aimless Silas. She hires him reluctantly.

Silas signed on, glad for the work, though worried about a woman doing such a thing as hiring drovers, only to find out he’s the lone man going with five woman, including a baby still in diapers. After the cattle drive is over, he might as well shoot himself to speed up the process of being embarrassed to death.

A fast approaching winter.

The toughest lady rancher you’ve ever seen.

A cynical cowboy who has to convince five women he’s right for their ma. . .and then convince himself.

And one thousand head of the crankiest cattle who have ever been punched across the backbone of the Rockies.

What research did you have to do for this book?
The main research I do is location. The style and rhythm of the books is just wildly recognized 'Cowboy'. But I needed to find a rugged place to drive cattle, research the plants that grew there, the weather, the type of rivers and stones and the history of that place at that time. Was Montana a state or a territory? Was Helena in existence…since they drive the cattle there.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

I'd have Jane Seymour play Belle—in her Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman days. Beyond that, I'm stuck. I don't really like doing that, for the same reason I don't like having faces on my book covers. I think it messes with your imagination.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
The sequel to The Husband Tree, book #3 in the Montana Marriages series releases in May. After that is another series of romantic comedy with cowboys. That's the Sophie's Daughters series, the daughters of Sophie McClellen from Petticoat Ranch.

How can readers get in contact with you?
I love hearing from readers. My email address is mary@maryconnealy.com

And they can find me online at:
http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/ Seekerville

http://petticoatsandpistols.com/ Petticoats & Pistols

http://mconnealy.blogspot.com/ My Blog

http://www.maryconnealy.com/ My Website

What are you currently reading?
I just finished Erica Vetsch short sweet romance The Marriage Masquerade. She is so talented. I did NOT want that book to end. I just loved her characters.

What is your favorite birthday memory?
My birthday is in March, just like yours Carman. Honestly my childhood memories of my birthday are mostly snow and rain and cold. It just always worked out that way.

FAVORITES:

Cake flavor/kind?
Carrot Cake-I have a recipe so good, if I used it carefully I could vault straight into the governor's office.

Most treasured birthday gift?
My husband gave me a riding lawnmower once. I know, not romantic but man or man was I THRILLED. Seriously.

Disney Princess?
Let's go with Ariel in the Little Mermaid. I loved all those Disney movies. Belle from Beauty and the Beast—she's close to first, Jasmine—I loved Jasmine, Nala—well, she's a lion so that's working against her. But I loved the movie. Cinderella, Snow White—we watched all these movies a thousand times when my kids were little. Pocahontas, not so much. No on Mulan. Sleeping Beauty was lame. She slept through the whole movie, what's the point of that?

What is/was this book’s release date?
The Husband Tree released in January, so it's in bookstores now.

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***USA adresses only, please***

 

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Cowboy Christmas by Mary Connealy ~ 5/5 stars

Cowboy Christmas

Mary Connealy

Barbour Publishing

About the book:

Singer Annette Talbot used her voice to spread the gospel with a traveling missionary troupe. When the Latrells take over and want Annie to dress provocatively and give up singing her beloved hymns, Annie flees to Ranger Bluff, Wyoming, dreaming of reuniting with her father for Christmas. But trouble chases her—right off the edge of a cliff!

Elijah Walker’s heart turned as cold and barren as the high plains in December after his ex-fiancee betrayed him and caused his father’s death. But when he recues Annie out of a freezing river, Walker’s instincts tell him he must help a stranger in need.

Has Annie hidden the truth about wanted posters bearing her fact too long for anyone to believe her now?

Can Elijah, over come the painful past and learn to love again? Will there ever be peace in their hearts in time for Christmas?

My review:
Cowboy Christmas is another great book by Mary Connealy. Her fans are sure to enjoy this laugh-out-loud story that takes place at Christmastime. I loved the theme of being brave, and standing up for your faith. Although, Annette Talbot seemed to get in a lot of trouble trying to do just that. Then the wonderful Elijah Walker would have to come save her. Sigh. I love all of Mary Connealy’s books, and this is no exception. She always has a witty comment or funny turn-of-phrase that will make you laugh. The element of suspense in her books is also fun to read. A definite to-read.