Romance as Big as Texas by @JoanReeves #SmartGirlsReadRomance

Did you miss me yesterday on the 16th, my usual blogging date? I was physically tired from moving "stuff" from our house in the country to our new (to us) house in Houston.

I was so tired I couldn't think of anything about which to blog so I climbed into bed and watched a movie instead. As it turned out, the movie inspired this post I'm writing.

Darling Hubby and I watched Texas Rangers, a movie starring Dylan McDermott, James Van Der Beek, Ashton Kutcher, Alfred Molina, and others you'd probably recognize. 

Directed by Steve Miner, the story is about a group of Texas Rangers in the post-American Civil War era. 

The film is loosely based on Taming the Nueces Strip by George Durham who used his own experience of serving in Captain Leander McNelly's Texas Ranger group. 

Public Reception of the Movie

The film was panned by critics and was a box office bomb. In fact, a review said: "It is very much a film for boys, both young and old..."

Well, readers, I guess I'm a boy at heart because I loved the movie. In fact, I turned to my hubby and said, "I'm such a sucker for western movies like this."

What I meant was, I'm entranced by stories of heroism. People tackling the dirty, rotten, stinking jobs that others are too scared to do or don't want to do—the jobs that make life civilized for the rest of us. Texas Rangers did it. Police, firefighters, soldiers, sailers, marines, and airmen/women do it. And we take it all for granted.

Back a hundred years or more, books about brave men taming the west and other such topics were labeled Adventure Fiction, defined as a type of romance that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. 

Maybe that's the underlying reason why I like heroic movies like.

Hubby loves that I'm always open to watching Open Range starring Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, and Robert Duvall.

Other favorites are The Sacketts (we have the complete set of those in hardback) starring Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, and Glenn Ford; military movies like 13 Hours starring John Krasinski and Max Martini, and so many other films of the Adventure genre like The Last of the Mohicans.

Heaping Serving of Romance

I've never tried my hand at writing western historical romance. I like to leave that to authors like Caroline Clemmons who owns that genre. Check out one of her 2 new releases, Mail Order Gloria.

Instead, I write about Texans of today, the men and women who people many of my romance novels. After all, I married a Texan, and he's the epitome of the Texan male—strong mentally, emotionally, and physically; compassionate; loving; great sense of humor; and always willing to fight for what's right.

All of the heroes I write contain those characteristics, and if they weren't born in Texas, they end up there if the heroine is Texan.

Romance as Big as Texas

I think of the love story in the books I write as "big as Texas" because the heroine and hero persevere to get their  happily ever after. 

In Romeo and Judy Anne, high school principal Judy Anne Palmer wonders if a good girl can ever win? It doesn’t seem that way to her because she was always a good girl who never did anything impulsive or rebellious and look where it got her? Stuck in a life she hates!

Then boom! One night in Dallas she has a nuclear meltdown and goes off the rails when she meets him! Nothing's ever the same again.

Reviews

"Roman Carlisle is a wonderful hero, sophisticated, handsome, and charming. But what really engages the reader--aside from Roman's uber sexiness, ahem--is the warmth he exudes and his heartfelt pursuit of woman he wants but hasn't quite decided what that means.

"I can't recommend this story enough. The characterization is deep and the end as satisfying as the reader could hope for." —CRich, VINE VOICE

"I just adored Roman/Romeo. Perfect hero material, hot, rich and a lovely guy. He's definitely my favorite of Joan Reeves's heroes. Judy Anne is a likeable heroine with a difficult family situation that she tries hard to deal with. The start of this book sucked me straight in and kept me reading. Another great read!" —Loves Reading

Your 2¢

Now that I've told you why I like Adventure Fiction in books and movies, please leave a comment and tell me what kind of books and movies you like!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We'll have 2 of our kids and families this year. Last year, like many, we had zero loved ones gathered around a real table. I'm looking forward to the big day. Hope yours is full of joy. Happy Thanksgiving.

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LOVE, BETRAYAL, AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION--THE TRAITOR'S LEGACY SERIES!

I've long been fascinated with The American Revolution, the focus of my Traitor's Legacy Series. Before touching on the series, a shout-out for the .99 kindle sale on book 3, Traitor's Curse from 8-26 through 9-8. The sale extends to other online booksellers. While written to stand alone, these novels work better together. I'm happy to announce the upcoming box set.

Mix mystery, adventure, romance, and The American Revolution with a touch of paranormal and the result is THE TRAITOR'S LEGACY SERIES!

Releasing as a box set in mid-September! Published by The Wild Rose Press.

This exciting series is available in pre-order at Amazon in kindle at: https://www.amazon.com/Traitors-Legacy-Beth-Trissel-ebook/dp/B01L5PSE1K 

Bringing history to vibrant life (with the occasional ghost).

One main source of inspiration behind the series are ancestors who fought on both sides of the American Revolution, including a British general. My research into the Southern face of the war was partly inspired by my great-great-great grandfather, Sam Houston, uncle of the famous Sam, who kept a journal of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, 1781, used by historians.  I used colonial American ancestral names for the hero and heroine in Enemy of the King. And a sprinkling of other names throughout the series. 

 Book One: ENEMY OF THE KING

Enemy of the King, an award-winning historical romance novel with a paranormal element, is my version of The Patriot. A big fan of Daphne Du Maurier since my teens, I was influenced by her mystery/ghost story, Rebecca. 

Our Virginia home place, circa 1816, and other early homes left deep impressions on me. I’ve long harbored suspicions that those who’ve gone before us are not always entirely gone.  Most of all, I’m a Southern Virginia author, and it shows.

1780 South Carolina, spies and intrigue, a vindictive ghost, the battle of King’s Mountain, Patriots and Tories, pounding adventure, pulsing romance…ENEMY OF THE KING. 

“I thoroughly enjoyed reading Enemy of the King. Not only are the characters memorable and the setting beautifully described, but the action is riveting and the romance between Meri and Jeremiah is tender. I highly recommend Enemy of the King to anyone who loves a well crafted historical romance.” ~Poinsettia Long and Short Reviews

*Publisher’s Weekly BHB Reader’s Choice Best Books of 2009 
*2010 Best Romance Novel List at Buzzle!

“An amazing and vibrant look into the American Revolution…this sexy historical is a must read!” ~Coffee Time Romance And More

Mystery, intrigue, spies, a coded letter, and stirring romance fill the pages of Traitor’s Legacy.

Story Description of Traitor's Legacy (Sequel to Enemy of the King): 

1781. On opposite sides of the War of Independence, British Captain Jacob Vaughan and Claire Monroe find themselves thrust together by chance and expediency.

Captain Vaughan comes to a stately North Carolina manor to catch a spy. Instead, he finds himself in bedlam: the head of the household is an old man ravaged by madness, the one sane male of the family is the very man he is hunting, and the household is overseen by his beguiling sister Claire.

Torn between duty, love, and allegiances, yearning desperately for peace, will Captain Vaughan and Claire Monroe forge a peace of their own against the vagaries of war and the betrayal of false friends?

Historical Romance Novel TRAITOR'S CURSE (SEQUEL TO TRAITOR'S LEGACY in the Traitor's Legacy Series)

Ghostly, Gothic, historical romance novel, Traitor's Curse, the sequel to Traitor's Legacy, and the third novel in the series, came out in print and eBook autumn 2015 from The Wild Rose Press.

Set in historic Halifax, NC, on the heels of the American Revolution, Traitor's Curse builds on the central theme in Traitor's Legacy. Both novels center around the hidden treasure collected by a band of Patriots to bribe a Loyalist into revealing the whereabouts of the infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold, the man they badly wanted to hang. Although America's most wanted ultimately fled to England, the treasure remained in Halifax where the haunting mystery in Traitor's Curse unfolds.

While the historical aspects of that era are authentically depicted in the story, intriguing paranormal elements are also interwoven; among them, a ghost. Other possibilities for his presence in the home are suggested, so choose as you will. It's kind of a mind game, but significant clues are given for the discerning reader. Bear in mind that the author believes in ghosts and cursed treasure.~

"The supernatural interventions mixed with foreshadowing are well done and believable, whether or not the reader doubts the ghostly possibilities and curses, they work well in the story … and do keep the reader turning the pages. The rapidly developing love story carries with it some inner turmoil in matters of belief and trust, but the gripping external conflicts are laced with danger and evil intent. The story draws the readers into the midst of the fray. And keeps them there.

I readily recommend this novel, “Traitor’s Curse” to anyone who wants to settle into a captivating read created by Beth Trissel, as she weaves her knowledge of the South, herbs and history into this enjoyable love story." ~Marion Spicer

"A wonderfully spun novel that will keep a reader engaged till the end." ~Stephanie Lodes for InD'tale
Won Creme de la Cover monthly contest
Nominated for Reader's Choice at The Romance Review

***Traitor's Curse is .99 in Kindle from August 26 through September 8. The sale extends to other major online booksellers.

Bound for the Hills

For me, writing a series has been interesting in that it doesn't always begin with my knowing there will be one. Bound for the Hills is a good example. I knew there would be three Taggert books only when I wrote Echoes from the Past. When I wrote the first Arizona Historical Romance, I had no idea there'd even be two. Each grew out of secondary characters whose story interested me.

At just over 110,000 words, this book ended up considerably longer than I had in mind also, but that's the way writing goes. The story is where Cole Taggert finds his own love and nearly loses his life. It will not be the last of the Arizona historicals but the next will be next fall probably and follows a secondary character from this book-- of course ;).

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Blurb for Bound for the Hills:

Needing new inspiration, answers to a mystery, and healing from the death of her father, English professor, Wilhelmina Butler heads for the high country of Arizona and a small log cabin. In the Mazatzals, Willy hopes to write the great American novel, something she can be proud of unlike the very successful dime novels she has been publishing under a pseudonym. The lake cabin will give her all she could dream and a lot more.

Asked by his worried sister-in-law, Holly, to check on her college friend, Cole Taggert assumes her friend is a naive idiot to head into the wilderness with little idea how to survive its dangers. Then he sees her swimming in the lake, and Willy’s life isn’t the only one about to get redirected.

Bound for the Hills travels from the Mazatzals to Tucson and explores not only the land but the human heart. It brings together the Taggert brothers as they face a deadly enemy, and their women work to build the kind of life where their children can grow up safer than their fathers did.

Spicy with some violence and strong language, Bound for the Hills is the seventh Arizona historical, a love story for the third Taggert brother.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/SzytwKPgJ9o

Available at Amazon on sale until April 1: http://www.amazon.com/Bound-For-The-Hills-Historicals-ebook/dp/B01D7L0IL4
All other sites: https://www.draft2digital.com/book/157077
Paperback when CreateSpace gets it ready later this week