Title: Give the Lady a Ride
Publisher: SkySail, an imprint of Port Yonder Press
Cover blurb: Patricia Talbert is a high-class social coordinator from New York.
Talon Carlson is a rugged bull rider from Texas.
He thinks she’s too polished.
She thinks he’s insane.
Opposites aren’t quick to attract when the lady who enters the cowboy’s world is on a mission to sell the ranch. But a box of letters changes her mission–letters of unshakable faith and a love deeper than anything she’s ever experienced.
Soon she finds his integrity appealing. Her spunk draws him in. He has the faith she craves; she may be the love he longs for. But faith and love aren’t achieved in a single weekend.
To buy time to explore the possibilities between them, she issues a challenge: “Teach me to ride bulls.”
From here on, they’re in for the ride of their lives.
1) How did this story come to you?
In the years 2003-2007, Country Music Television (CMT) had a couple of reality shows I couldn’t resist: “Cowboy U,” where city folks learned about ranch and rodeo work through hands-on experience, and a show whose title describes the content, “Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding.” Both shows took people out of their elements and dropped them into new situations with hilarious results. I couldn’t resist doing the same to a New York socialite. She endures some ribbing and practical jokes from the cowboys on the ranch, things similar to what I saw on “Cowboy U,” and learns how to ride bulls using techniques I saw on “Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding” as well as ideas derived from an interview with a former bull riding champion. Taking these two shows and creating a story line that ultimately centers around faith and love was so much fun, I often found myself giggling at my characters’ antics.
2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
Give the Lady a Ride got some of the nicest rejection letters imaginable. Agents and editors who took the time to read the submission were impressed with it. Of course, it received a few form letters too, but mostly I was encouraged by the notes I received. Because I didn’t follow the format of some publishers, Ride wasn’t eligible for them, and because it’s so short, it wasn’t eligible for others. When I wrote it, things like “word count” never crossed my mind, and the idea a book could be “too short” certainly never crossed my mind. I had a time trying to increase the word count and still maintain the integrity of the story. I actually succeeded in making the book longer, but, as one editor pointed out, the scenes I included delayed the attraction between my main characters. I cut the scenes, and landed back where I started from.
Fortunately, Chila Woychik liked my work even before she bought Port Yonder Press. I’m honored she’s including it in her second year of publications.
3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
First, I love to fish. I’m a fisherwoman from way back. Sometimes, when Dad had to work out of town, Mom would get me out of school and we’d head off to the river, or the lake, or a private pond we had access to and fish the afternoon away.
On our way to and from our favorite fishing hole, we’d have the CB radio going and would chat with whoever would break “1-9" for us. That’s the second thing some of my readers wouldn’t know about me. My nickname, "Peppermint," given to me because I’m a redhead, comes from my CB days. God took care of us then. The truckers we "met" on the airwaves were family men and kept close watch over us. We enjoyed chatting with them, and never came across anyone offensive.
Third, I decided to keep Peppermint as my screen handle when I learned the Christmas legend about peppermint canes and how they symbolize Jesus. I tagged the 777, God’s perfect number, along with it to signify Who I belong to.
I found out peppermints aren’t red and white everywhere. I had an on-line bridge partner from another country who could never understand what being a redhead had to do with peppermints. In her country, they’re green and white!
4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
My work in progress is The Cat Lady’s Secret, a story that is more “chick lit” than romance, although romance is definitely involved. The cat lady–Millie–is a personality I couldn’t resist. She walks everywhere she goes, and everywhere she goes she encounters people with needs and wishes–and all are met. But what will happen to the town’s benefactor if the journalist dogging her reveals her identity?
My dream is to finally finish Cat Lady this year, while promoting Ride and increasing my number of speaking engagements–and keeping my house clean, my husband happy, and my mother healthy.
5) Parting comments?
Faith is the theme in Give the Lady a Ride. Patricia had lost faith in herself, but needs to find faith in God. Talon has faith in God for his safety, but not for his dream of falling in love again. In my little story, I hope the readers will see that with faith, all things are possible. Even riding bulls.
6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
Readers wanting to know more about me can find me at 777 Peppermint Place. Readers interested in my writing tips will find me among the authors of my coop-blog, AuthorCulture. Anyone wanting to know just what a nut I am should friend me on Facebook. That’s where I go to play.
