Breaking News!

HOWDY, PARDNERS!

Rodeo round up time for THE CODYS:FIRST FAMILY OF RODEO SERIES has come to an end for this 2010 season.

It’s been full of thrills and chills. We lucky ladies who were asked to write for this miniseries have lived through the heartaches and triumphs of a remarkable Wyoming family who made the rodeo into an art form.

Between the six of us, we authors are so gratified by the response from our readers. It’s clear from all your feedback that the rodeo is a great and loved part of our national heritage and always will be. I know I speak for everyone when I say we’re sad it’s over. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read the whole series, I’ve listed the titles here:

June 2010 Walker: The Rodeo Legend by Rebecca Winters
July 2010 Dexter: Honorable Cowboy by Marin Thomas
August 2010 Dusty: Wild Cowboy by Cathy McDavid
September 2010 Mark: Secret Cowboy by Pamela Britton
October 2010 Elly: Cowgirl Bride by Trish Milburn
November 2010 Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy by Lynette Kent

For those of you who can’t get to the rodeo right now, you have the option of watching bull riding on television. I thought for a final farewell, I’d give you some quotes from some NON-FICTION rodeo champs who have drawn my attention to the bulls themselves.

Oklahoman J.W. Hart, veteran of 13 seasons as a pro rider in the PBR puts it this way: “The machine doesn't simulate the action of a bull. That's probably the very beginner stages of it, but once you get to this level, the machine doesn't move ahead. It doesn't roll. It doesn't back up. It stays in one place. So it's pretty easy to match moves. Bulls develop bucking patterns but don't always stick to them. So it's unwise to shift in anticipation of what a bull will do. All it is is a dance contest, really. I mean you're just dancing with him the whole time. He's the one leading the dance, and you've just got to match the moves.”

Adriano Moraes, a native Brazilian who won his record third PBR wor
ld title last season, is one of the bigger riders on the PBR tour at 5-10, 185 pounds. He has bulging muscles in his left arm — the arm he uses to hold the rope. He has added these thoughts: “Our riding arms are always a little bigger, a little stronger. Bull riders are strong, but no rider overpowers a bull. You don’t move before the bull moves because he's liable to go the other way. Then you're screwed because the bull leads, and you just follow. You're talking about animals that weigh 2,000 pounds. You bring me the strongest guy in the world, and he's not strong enough to ride on strength. It's why most of the bull riders you see look more like gymnasts than they do like a bodybuilder. Gymnasts don't work through their moves with brute strength. They work through them with finesse and correct form and correct timing. It's the same thing here."

Lastly, Canter, another champion, says: “When the chute opens, you have to rely on skills that have become second nature. Things are happening so fast, there's no time to ponder each move, but moves must be made in rhythmic harmony with the bull. Nothing is going through my head. I've just got to stay on. That's it! You know, it ain't but eight seconds, but it seems like it’s fifty!"

Interesting info from the horse’s mouth so to speak, don’t you think?

Well, that’s it for now, pardners. But y’all come back to view the latest exciting titles coming out from all our Harlequin American Romance authors in 2011, ya hear?

Rebecca Winters

I See My Books As Movies

While I write my books, I see them as movies and hear the music. In WALKER: THE RODEO LEGEND, I saw my wounded vet suffering in the hospital before returning to Wyoming. When he did arrive, he hung out in Markton, Wyoming, at an old motel for a few days, and ate a meal or two at a dive before contacting his older brother Jesse at the CODY ranch to let him know he was back. I think of these as my mood pieces.

Those two segments of my film didn’t make it into my final, polished creation and ended up on the cutting room floor. Neither did my title, RODEO WARRIOR. (Tears) I think maybe they were my favorite segments because, to me, they caught the flavor of this particular western, and summed up the feelings of this all American hero rodeo cowboy who’s been carrying around baggage for a long, long time.

I told you I hear the music as well as visualize the movie in my head. My first scene showed Walker lying in his hospital bed recovering from his IED wounds. His nurse, who has already fallen under his spell, comes in to take his vitals and flirt with this former rodeo hero, hoping he’ll bite, but no such luck. He’s so morose, she wants to cheer him up and turns on the radio to a country western station. Below is the song being sung by a female vocalist. (I wrote the words) When the song is over, he mutters, “That’s a flattering opinion you have of me.”

Hey rodeo fans, can you hear me? Better hold your sweetheart tight.
There’s an exciting new bulldogger coming into town tonight.
He’s hot out of the box, and he’s hot with the women,
He’ll mess with your gal, consider that a given.
Tall, dark and sexy, handsome as sin,
He’s the rodeo warrior lover who’s about to gallop in.
If you don’t want a broken heart before daylight,
Keep your gal out of sight and locked up tight.
Better put her in the barn and throw away the key,
Don’t let him near her, or believe you me,
He’ll take her for a horseback ride, And rob you blind,
Before he throws a steer, and leaves your gal behind.
He’s a charmer, he’s a talker, he’s a no-strings guy,
He’s the rodeo warrior lover, in town on the fly.

The other segment that didn’t make it into my movie shows Walker at the local dive. He’s just come into Markton. Since he doesn’t want company, he tells the waitress to find him a table away from everyone. “Right back here, cowboy,” she says before turning on the old juke box, picking the song that suits him to a T. For her understanding, he leaves her a fat tip at the end of the meal. Below is the song (again written by me)

Hey, Wanda? Bring the blue plate special, I’m eating alone tonight.

Put me in the corner, away from the light.
If anyone should ask for me, you know what to say, all I want’s the blue plate special, everyone else just stay away.
Don’t come any closer, don’t sit down with me, don’t tangle with me, honey, just leave me be.
I want the blue plate special, without the company.
Other gals have tried, much braver than you, save yourself the trouble, I’ll give you a clue. I want the blue plate special, I don’t want you.
You don’t want to be around me, you don’t know who I am, you think you have the answers, but honey, I don’t give a damn. I want the blue plate special, did you hear me? Scram!
Hey, Wanda? If anyone should ask for me, you know what to say. All I want’s the blue plate special, everyone else just stay away.

Hope you enjoyed this little insight into Walker’s psyche before he rejoined his family and met the love of his life. Read the whole Cody series and thrill to the challenges and joys of this first family of Rodeo.

Rebecca Winters