Author: EM Bannock
Series: N/A
Pages: 312
Date Published: 2018
Publisher: Createspace
Format: Kindle
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Ten years after the death of her husband and young son, Marie Trousdale decides to move
from Los Angeles, California to a small rural Oregon town and hires Wil Townsend, a
local contractor, to build her dream home on property she inherited from her deceased husband.
Although they couldn’t be more different in every way possible the two fall in love. Things get complicated when Marie changes occupations. When she is put in danger, Wil must decide if his love is stronger than the differences that separate him from Marie.
So you see, my knowledge of finding love in a digital age could be summed up in four words. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
What I do know a lot about is living in a rural area. So I thought I’d share a little of what my normal mornings are like here on what we like to call The Lazy Ass Ranch.
My day begins at 4:30 AM. My subtle turn over in bed is enough of a signal to Miss Kitty that I’m awake. She responds by jumping on the bed and dancing around my head. She follows me into the bathroom making sure that with every step she is in the way. I change into my sweat pants and sweat shirt and start my day.
By this time the dog is up and giving me what is known as the PP Shake. I grab a coat and take her out. She’s a real baby and won’t go unless I’m standing on the porch watching her and giving her encouragement. Back inside she gets a dog biscuit for her effort. The cat seems to think she should be rewarded as well and ends up with a few cat treats.
If it’s winter, I check the wood stove. Most likely there are only hot coals left. We heat our house with wood so it’s important to keep the fire going in the cold months. I stoke it up with some kindling and then throw a few logs on to get a blazing fire going again. In the summer, I’m relieved of this duty.
Next it’s time to get the Mr. Coffee ready for when my husband gets up. I hate the stuff myself. I’m an herb tea drinker. Now I can go downstairs to my own meditation room and spend some time in quite reflection. Back up stairs, I catch up on national news and catch the local weather. Time to get hubby up. Once I know he won’t fall back asleep I suit up for my outside chores.
In winter this means, Carhartt insulated pants and jacket, scarf, knit hat, heavy duty winter boots, and two pair of gloves; one pair of insulated leather gloves for feeding the horses and a pair of mittens to keep my hands from freezing the rest of the time. It’s common in winter to go for weeks hovering around the 0o mark. So it’s never a pleasant task at that time of year.
I put the dog’s jacket on her. It’s so cute. It’s yellow and black and makes Jenna look like a 40 pound bumble bee. I grab my flashlight and the bear spray (even in winter there could be cougars) and we head out.
We brave whatever nature has thrown at us that night; snow, rain, hurricane force winds, or any combination of the three. Sometimes it’s dead still, crisp cold, and the snow sparkles like diamonds as I crunch my way to the barn. When there are no clouds the starts twinkle so bright they look unreal. You can see the Milky Way blazing across the sky. When the moon if full you don’t even need a flashlight to find your way.
The horses are always happy to see me and give me a good greeting. While I’m feeding them the dog is on bunny patrol. Once in a while one will appear and give her a merry chase.
The rest of my day is pretty normal; cleaning house, laundry, cooking, phone calls to my sister, Zumba at the Rec Center. One day a week I volunteer at our elementary school. It’s a K-5 school and this year we have 14 students. I’m also a substitute teacher there. I can sub for the teacher, any of the two Para Educators, and/or the lunchroom cook.
Grocery shopping is an all day affair. The closest town is Cody. There are usually a million other things I have to do when I’m in town so by the time I get home, I’m pooped. Time to feed the cat, dog, horses, and in the afternoon, feed the chickens. Get dinner cooked, and enjoy the evening with my husband.
When do I write you might ask. Well, believe it or not, I have days where except for feeding critters, I can do whatever I want.
I don’t miss City life. It’s a little more inconvenient living in an unincorporated area. There is no Domino’s delivery. You are dependent on yourself for your survival. . . and your happiness and well being. We love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.
This is the kind of life my characters, Marie and Wil want to live. They love it, too.
So thanks for letting me give you a little peek into my life, simple though it is. And thanks again Andra. I hope I’ve interested a few new readers. I welcome your comments and questions.
from Los Angeles, California to a small rural Oregon town and hires Wil Townsend, a
local contractor, to build her dream home on property she inherited from her deceased husband.
Although they couldn’t be more different in every way possible the two fall in love. Things get complicated when Marie changes occupations. When she is put in danger, Wil must decide if his love is stronger than the differences that separate him from Marie.
~Guest Post~
Welcome all and thank you Andra for having me on your blog. I was originally asked to comment on Modern Romance - How to Find Love in a Digital Age. Well, little darlings, my husband and I have been married for 41 years. I only recently gave up my flip phone because it died. I live in a rural area of Wyoming known as Clark, population 500 maybe, where we don’t even get cell phone service. We use the cell phone when we are in town (45 miles away) to call home and make sure nothing was left off the grocery list.So you see, my knowledge of finding love in a digital age could be summed up in four words. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
What I do know a lot about is living in a rural area. So I thought I’d share a little of what my normal mornings are like here on what we like to call The Lazy Ass Ranch.
My day begins at 4:30 AM. My subtle turn over in bed is enough of a signal to Miss Kitty that I’m awake. She responds by jumping on the bed and dancing around my head. She follows me into the bathroom making sure that with every step she is in the way. I change into my sweat pants and sweat shirt and start my day.
By this time the dog is up and giving me what is known as the PP Shake. I grab a coat and take her out. She’s a real baby and won’t go unless I’m standing on the porch watching her and giving her encouragement. Back inside she gets a dog biscuit for her effort. The cat seems to think she should be rewarded as well and ends up with a few cat treats.
If it’s winter, I check the wood stove. Most likely there are only hot coals left. We heat our house with wood so it’s important to keep the fire going in the cold months. I stoke it up with some kindling and then throw a few logs on to get a blazing fire going again. In the summer, I’m relieved of this duty.
Next it’s time to get the Mr. Coffee ready for when my husband gets up. I hate the stuff myself. I’m an herb tea drinker. Now I can go downstairs to my own meditation room and spend some time in quite reflection. Back up stairs, I catch up on national news and catch the local weather. Time to get hubby up. Once I know he won’t fall back asleep I suit up for my outside chores.
In winter this means, Carhartt insulated pants and jacket, scarf, knit hat, heavy duty winter boots, and two pair of gloves; one pair of insulated leather gloves for feeding the horses and a pair of mittens to keep my hands from freezing the rest of the time. It’s common in winter to go for weeks hovering around the 0o mark. So it’s never a pleasant task at that time of year.
I put the dog’s jacket on her. It’s so cute. It’s yellow and black and makes Jenna look like a 40 pound bumble bee. I grab my flashlight and the bear spray (even in winter there could be cougars) and we head out.
We brave whatever nature has thrown at us that night; snow, rain, hurricane force winds, or any combination of the three. Sometimes it’s dead still, crisp cold, and the snow sparkles like diamonds as I crunch my way to the barn. When there are no clouds the starts twinkle so bright they look unreal. You can see the Milky Way blazing across the sky. When the moon if full you don’t even need a flashlight to find your way.
The horses are always happy to see me and give me a good greeting. While I’m feeding them the dog is on bunny patrol. Once in a while one will appear and give her a merry chase.
The rest of my day is pretty normal; cleaning house, laundry, cooking, phone calls to my sister, Zumba at the Rec Center. One day a week I volunteer at our elementary school. It’s a K-5 school and this year we have 14 students. I’m also a substitute teacher there. I can sub for the teacher, any of the two Para Educators, and/or the lunchroom cook.
Grocery shopping is an all day affair. The closest town is Cody. There are usually a million other things I have to do when I’m in town so by the time I get home, I’m pooped. Time to feed the cat, dog, horses, and in the afternoon, feed the chickens. Get dinner cooked, and enjoy the evening with my husband.
When do I write you might ask. Well, believe it or not, I have days where except for feeding critters, I can do whatever I want.
I don’t miss City life. It’s a little more inconvenient living in an unincorporated area. There is no Domino’s delivery. You are dependent on yourself for your survival. . . and your happiness and well being. We love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.
This is the kind of life my characters, Marie and Wil want to live. They love it, too.
So thanks for letting me give you a little peek into my life, simple though it is. And thanks again Andra. I hope I’ve interested a few new readers. I welcome your comments and questions.
~Try an Excerpt!~
From the description she was given by the hotel desk clerk, she figured she wouldn’t have much trouble finding the guy—grungy black cowboy hat, well-worn cowboy boots, scruffy beard, jean jacket, and Levi’s, sitting at the corner table. She was right. He wasn’t hard to spot. It was Monday night, and there were only a handful of people in the place. There he was, sitting at his regular corner table, with his back to the wall, his chair up on two legs, and his feet propped up and crossed on the chair next to him. There was a glass of beer and a half-empty pitcher in front of him. She wondered how many pitchers he had drained before this one. The desk clerk said he had a lot of funny habits. The clerk said the guy always sat with his back to the wall, so no one could get the jump on him. He probably watched too many John Wayne movies.
~Meet EM Bannock!~
EM Bannock will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteGreat book! And yes, accurate picture of life in Clark :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting, Andra. I hope I've given everyone a taste of my life and hope they are ready to read more about rural life in my book Totally Devoted. Thanks to everyone who visited. See you at the next stop.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and I appreciate the excerpt and the great giveaway as well. Love the tours, I get to find books and share with my sisters the ones I know they would enjoy reading and they both love to read. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteA great Guest Post thank you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the book and the tour and Thank you so much for the guest post and Giveaway!
ReplyDeleteBook kept me on the edge. Good read!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the post. Thx for the chance!!
ReplyDeleteReally good book. I highly recommend it
ReplyDelete