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Please help me welcome the talented LISA MONDELLO to the blog today:)
You can find our more about Lisa at http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com/
But come on back, grab a cup of coffee and visit with us!
Thanks for being here today, Lisa:)
Hello everyone! I
want to thank Jennifer for having me on her blog today! And as a thank you for visiting I will be
giving away an e-copy of HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING to one commenter. So don’t be shy. Leave a comment for a chance to win!
Today I want to take a moment to talk about research. It doesn’t matter what genre or sub-genre an
author writes, research will be involved.
How you get the details for a book is as individual as each author!
I know of an author who took up fencing in order to get into
the head of one of her characters for one of her historical books. Another author needed to learn about barrel
racing and thought the best way to do it would be to actually take lessons in
barrel racing to get the full feel of how to do it. As for myself, I have the benefit of being
married to a police officer. So any
story I write that features a cop I start with my husband. But I have heard of authors going through the
police academy to learn about the ins and outs of the law and what police
officers do.
We live in an age where information is right at our
fingertips. You don’t even have to be
writing a novel to learn something new on the Internet. Youtube is my best friend these days. If I want to learn something new, Youtube is
the first place I go. For my book HIS
HEART FOR THE TRUSTING, I needed to know about Native American customs at
Powwows. The Jiggled Dance was a
specific type of dance that was important to my story. Although I’d written HIS HEART FOR THE
TRUSTING over 10 years ago when Youtube was not available, Youtube gave me a
way to check my research when I went to release the eBook. It brought what I’d researched and written to
life!
HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING is book 2 in my Texas Hearts
series. Her Heart for the Asking is book
1 and is available for just 99 cents for Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.
Check out the excerpt for HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING below
and leave a comment for a chance to win!
My best,
Blurb for His Heart
for the Trusting
Ever since Mitch Broader set foot in Texas, he
dreamed of owning his own ranch. Now that he’s bought a share in the Double T
Ranch, he’s one step closer to the dream. Then his past greets him in the form
of a baby basket, complete with infant and birth certificate naming him as the
father. He can’t change diapers and work toward his dream at the same time.
When Sara Lightfoot, “Miss Hollywood” in
Mitch’s eyes, rescues him with her particular knack for handling his precocious
son, he hires her on the spot as a temporary nanny. No matter how much Sara’s
dark eyes and warm heart make this bachelor think of making their arrangement
permanent, she’s made it perfectly clear she has other plans that don’t include
him or his dreams.
Sara Lightfoot never thought she’d return to
her home on the reservation. Now she plans to reclaim the life she left by
going back to the reservation as a Native American storyteller, teaching the
Apache children stories of their culture. She didn’t expect Mitch Broader’s
sexy smile or job offer as a live-in nanny to derail those plans. After all
she’s been through to come home, can she open up her heart once again to love?
EXCERPT:
Still
dancing in circles, Midnight eyed Mitch, seemingly aware of his every
move. Mitch turned his back to the mare
and played with the bridle, as if ignoring the horse. Finally, Midnight stopped running and with
cautious steps, she moved forward, stopping every so often and taking a side
step, bobbing her head or giving a neigh, as if calling Mitch to pay attention. Eventually, she stepped up alongside him and
gave him a quick nudge with her nose.
Then another until she was settled alongside Mitch.
Ever so
softly, Mitch stroked her head and neck and front legs with long, easy
strokes. He smiled his pleasure and
crooned softly.
Without even
realizing how he'd done it, the bit was in Midnight's mouth and the bridle was
around the mare’s head. Mitch let the
reins fall and allowed Midnight to get use to the bit.
Such trust.
“That's
amazing,” Sara said quietly.
“Not
really,” Mitch said, glancing up at her as he kept his attention on the
mare.
She turned
to him. Mitch was looking at her, his
eyes filled with the same questions she’d seen in the kitchen.
Then he
said, “She still could bolt at any time.”
Sara gripped
the splintered rail. “But she
hasn't. She came to you when she could
have easily just kept running in circles.”
“Trust isn't
an easy thing for her. She still doesn't
know what to think.”
“She let you
put the bridle on her. You didn't have
to chase her. She came to you.”
“I have to
win her trust. And when I have it, I
can't abuse it or she'll never give it up again.”
Mitch
carefully took the bridle off Midnight and took a few steps away. Midnight followed like a stray dog.
“Does she
trust you now? Enough to ride her?”
Mitch shook
his head. “We still need a little time
together before she'll allow me put a saddle on her. Right now, she's letting me know her
boundaries.”
“She let you
put a bridle on her as if she didn't even know you were doing it.”
His face was
bright with a smile. “Oh, she knew. But she's still making up her mind. She wants to trust me. I can tell.
And maybe one day she will.”
“Mitch?”
He looked up
at her again from across the corral. He
was incredibly handsome. His dark hair
was the color of mica in the fading light, and his eyes had turned from blue to
a smoky gray. He stood tall, his weight
shifted to one hip as he held the reins of the bridle.
Such
strength.
Sara
remembered all too well how it had felt earlier to be in Mitch's arms. Her heart still raced with the memory.
“What if
she's never ready to trust you?”
Mitch's
expression grew serious, pulling her into his gaze. He took a few steps closer, his boots kicking
up dust from the ground as he walked. He
stopped a good ten feet from where she was standing and said, “I can wait as
long as it takes, Sara.”
