Feedback When You Need It

Having recently sent out my next manuscript for editorial review, I was happy to get positive feedback over these past few weeks on my published story Re-ride at the Rodeo, available as an e-book novella and included in the print anthology Return to Wayback.

First, 5 blue ribbons from C. Dionne at Romance Junkies! Reviewing all three stories in the anthology favorably, she wrote:

In RETURN TO WAYBACK the authors tackle some pretty heavy issues and they do it with such style and foresight that the reader begins to feel like they’ve connected with long lost friends.

This is a wonderful anthology which I’m sure fans of stories involving small towns and rodeos will fully appreciate.

And the reviewer specifically described Re-ride at the Rodeo as: Humorous and lovingly emotional…

Thanks Romance Junkies!

Then Linda Broday, western romance author of novels Redemption and Knight of the Texas Plains and contributor to the popular anthologies Give Me a Cowboy and Give Me a Texan wrote this about Re-ride at the Rodeo:

I just finished reading RE-RIDE AT THE RODEO and loved it…. your writing voice just blew me away… Great characters too! Wow, Clay Tanner was sexy as all get-out! You drew me onto the page and kept me there. I hated for the story to end—L. Broday

Thanks Linda!

I hope if you haven't had a chance, you'll pick up a copy and enjoy a little romance, western style:)!

My Special Valentine

Valentine's Day is a very special day in our home and in my heart because it is also my daughter's birthday. Fifteen years ago, after six frustrating years trying to get pregnant, I delivered a healthy baby girl into my husband's arms--well actually into the doctor's arms but he held her right after. She is, hands down, the best present her father and I ever received. As I always tell her, having her was like winning life's lottery. We couldn't be more blessed. So Happy Birthday, Katie!

The Big Finale

Well, it was some NFR this year. The ending was spectacular and very competitive. Congratulations to Bobby Mote, Lee Graves, Nick Sartain and Kollin VonAhn, Jesse Kruse, Trevor Brazile, Brittany Pozzi and J.W. Harris. And special congrats to Trevor Brazile for his seventh all around world championship and Josh Peek for his all around NFR championship. And extra special congrats to the average winners of my team, Bobby Mote and Tuf Cooper (who also placed second in tie-down roping behind his brother-in-law Trevor!)

How did my fantasy team do? Well it could have been worse but it sure could have been better.

After a terrific win in Round 8, my team only won $30,408 in round 9 and $38,978 in round 10. Not enough to come close in the Fantasy league where over $56K took the tenth round. Overall my team made only $452,000 when the fantasy team that won made close to $720,000! Nice payout coming to the "Mustache Riders" and I'm guessing that Cody DeMoss was one of their cowboys.

Overall, though, there were some standouts on my team. Bobby Mote won money in every round but the second round and came in first in round 9 and 10. He also won the average and was by far my biggest money-maker on the team winning over $135K at the NFR--like wow!

Next best were my team ropers Tryan and Jones because as a team, their winnings are doubled. They earned out, combined, over $105K. But a real standout and one of my favorite cowboys is Tuf Cooper, earning over $87K at the NFR. Actually, I think he came in even higher than that but I'm just reading what my worksheet said. In any event, it was a great NFR final and he kept his poise in the tenth round when he just had to make a time to win the average. He did, showing that young as he is, he's a cowboy with true grit! Looking forward to the next NFR!

Happy Holidays to all!

Wow-Spectacular Round 8

$70,355 is the amount my fantasy team won in Round 8 of the NFR--that's some spectacular rodeo! Less said about Round 7 the better. My team only won $21,243 that night with Bobby Mote (6), Tryan/Jones (5), Taos Muncy (6) and Mary Burger (3-tie) placing in the money, but not high enough to make a difference.

But round 8 was a whole other experience. Here are the details:

Bobby Mote placed 1st in Bare back riding to win $15343 in a tie
Tryan/Jones placed 1st in Team Roping with each winning $17139
Taos Muncy placed 2nd in Saddle Bronc winning $13546 and
Tuf Cooper placed a solid 4th in tie down roping to win $7188 for a total team win of $70,355!!!!!! Biggest win yet for my team. And if I understand it correctly, I could have actually won some money for this round on Pro Fanatasy Rodeo since their highest team score was around $62K for that round. Maybe next year I'll play for real. I'm just feeling my way this year, seeing if I know rodeo well enough to compete. Up until this round, I had my doubts. :)

On my team, Trevor Knowles continues to struggle in steer wrestling with another no time and J.W. Harris failed to ride in bull riding due to his wrist injury. Mary Burger came in at a respectable time, but the field was fast and she landed in 10th place.

Only two more nights left and the all important average (the cowboy/girl who has the best scores in their event over 10 rounds) provides so much money to the top spot ($44K) that it can be the determining factor for the world championship--not to mention a heck of paycheck. More on that later. Go Cowboys--and I mean the rodeo ones, not the football ones!:)

Round 6-NFR Fantasy or Nightmare?

Things are going from bad to worse with my fantasy team. Thank goodness for bareback rider Bobby Mote, who not only came in first, but is also on track to win the average (a $40K payoff to the rider with the best average after ten rounds) and my fav tie down roper Tuf Cooper who came in at a solid 4th with a 7.8 time. Here's how my team did in round 6--don't cringe.

Bareback riding: Bobby Mote-$17139

Steer Wrestling: Trevor Knowles-12th

Team Roping: Tryan/Jones-11th, no time

Saddle bronc: Taos Muncy-13th

Tie down roping: Tuf Cooper-4th-7,188

Barrel racing: Mary Burger-14th

Bull riding: J.W. Harris--no time

Total money: $ 24,327

Only two members of my team made it into the top six in the sixth round. But, tonight is another opportunity to do better. I'll be watching on ESPN360.com to see it live. How are your favorites doing?

Round 5-Fantasy Rodeo

Even with some wins, it wasn't enough to make it a good night. Bobby Mote tied for 1st, splitting the purse of the one and two spot to take home $15343. Trevor Knowles tied for 3rd taking home only $921. Tryan/Jones came in at the 12 spot, as did Mary Burger in barrel racing. Taos Muncy only camed in at spot 10 in a tie while Tuf came in at the 7 spot. $16264 is all my team got this week. Only five days left. I'm not doing so well!

Round 4 Fantasy NFR Team

Well it's round 4 and thank goodness for team roping or I'd have little to show for my fantasy team. So thank you Travis Tryan and Michael Jones for your fantastic roping ability.

Team members in the money last night were:

Travis Tryan and Michael Jones who combined in Team Roping to tie with Sartain and VonAhn for first so they split the first and second place winnings for a total of $30,686. Remind me when I play fantasy rodeo for real to carefully choose my team roping duo--those boys can win you some money! Taos Muncy came in second in Saddle Bronc earning $13536 and Bobby Mote came in 6th in Bareback riding for $2764. That's $46996 my team won in Round 4. Not bad but not enough to win a Fantasy Rodeo round.

By the way, Taos lost to Jesse Kruse who looked amazing on his saddle bronc and showed people why he is number 1 in the event. I would have chosen Jesse for my team since I think he'll win, but in the real fantasy rodeo you only have so much money to spend on your team and since Jesse was already at number 1, he came at a high price. So I went with my sentimental favorite, Taos Muncy who won in 2007 and then broke his leg in 2008. I love a comeback. Which is why I didn't pick my other favorite Saddle bronc rider, Cody Wright. He also looked awesome in Round 3--poetry in motion. But since he won last year, I thought I'd go with the "comeback." So far, Taos hasn't disappointed--winning round 1 and placing 2nd in round 4.

Looking forward to more rodeo tonight!