Where Romance and Suspense Collide

Tag: Romantic Suspense

Fun with Research for Next Release

IMG_1099Saddle up for some Fun with Research on my Next Release!

If you’ve heard me talk about research in the past, you know I consider it a necessary evil for writing.

The problem started in high school. Yeah, I know, you don’t want to go there. Neither do I, but that’s where it started. Remember those dreaded research/term papers? You had to make outlines, notecards, quote
s, bibliographies, works cited pages and the list goes on. The two worst parts for me were the outlines (I still get nauseous thinking about outlining) and research for the notecards. I honestly didn’t mind reading the books for information, but having to make note cards to PROVE that I did was really annoying. It wasn’t so much I had to prove I did the research as the fact that I wasn’t going to use those cards to write the paper. Once I handed them in for the ‘pre-work’ grade, I doubt I looked at them again.

HOWEVER, over the past few years I’ve come to realize I can have fun with research. Hallelujah!

Nowadays my research is much more hands on. I wrote another post about this subject almost two years ago as a guest on Jessica Aspen’s Blog. I wanted to give you an update on my latest research experience – Guest Ranches.

My current WIP (work in progress) will be the first of the new Masters Men series, Master Security. It features Chance Dugan who was introduced in Her Master Match, and Marley Jasper, owner of the Jasper Ranch. (If you need to brush up on the Masters Men, feel free to click here for information on the first Masters Men Series.) I figured if I was going to feature a guest ranch in my book, I should probably know what running one entailed. Cue research.

Okay, so I had to do a little, very little, searching on Google to get started. It didn’t take many keystrokes to find a place to contact. I sent an email to the General Manager of C Lazy U Ranch. It wasn’t long before he responded and we arranged for a call. I sent him some questions ahead of time. His answers weMain Lodge at C Lazy U Ranchre very helpful, but he suggested I really needed to see things for myself and invited me to visit. My niece went with me so when I ran out of questions or forgot to take pictures she could pick up the slack.

So, we went to the ranch and it was amazing. The C Lazy U is a premier guest ranch in the U.S. located in Granby, Colorado. Our cabin was unbelievably comfortable and had fireplaces in both rooms. We went ho
rseback riding and snowshoeing. We joined others in the community area of the main building for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. All the meals were good, but the dinner was definitely outstanding. All of the employees were friendly and welcoming. There must be a requirement that the cowboys are good looking, because they would all look great on a book cover. Also, the female wrangler (that’s her in the picture at the top of the post) who led our trail ride grew up on a dairy farm. If you remember ChancRiding at the C Lazy U Ranche from his cameo appearance in Her Master Match, he grew up on a dairy farm, too. So, now I have a contact to find out more about how a small dairy farm works. Bonus!

The only issue was the C Lazy U is so much more than my heroine could handle as a family guest ranch. It turned out, that wasn’t a problem either, because David Craig, C Lazy U’s General Manager, also arranged for us to visit a nearby family-owned and run guest ranch, the Drowsy Water Ranch. C Lazy U is huge and open year round while Drowsy Water is open from June through mid-September. That is much more likely what my heroine would be able to deal with as a family-owned guest ranch. Even though Drowsy Water wasn’t open right now, Justin Fosha, one of the owners gave us a tour through the knee high snow as well as giving us a better feel of what a family-owned and run guest ranch would entail.

So, if you want to see what all this FUN RESEARCH results in late this spring, you’ll keep an eye out for the first installment of the Master Security series. While I don’t have a final title yet, the working title is WRANGLING DUGAN. If you’d like a little teaser, keep reading. If you like that title, or have a suggestion for a different one, leave a comment.

Chance waited in silence for Marley to continue.

“Early this morning someone broke into the main house.”

The pencil he’d been tapping snapped in two. He stared at her. “The main house as in the one you and your parents live in?”

She shrugged. “It’s just me. My parents moved to Arizona when dad sold the ranch to me. I guess Colorado wasn’t dry enough for them.”

Chance ignored her attempt to break the sudden tension. “They actually got inside? Your security system didn’t go off?”

“Oh, it went off. As soon as they stepped one foot in the kitchen, I pulled the trigger on my father’s old shotgun.”

“You shot them?” He knew his eyes were wide as saucers, but he hadn’t expected that.

“Maybe, I’m not sure if any of the buckshot hit him or not. I aimed at the door’s frame. It’s a ranch. Shotguns are the security system.”

He rubbed his temple again while he tried to come to terms with the image of her facing off with a would-be attacker in her kitchen with a shotgun.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Don’t forget to check out Sandra’s most recent release, A Chance Event – A Chain of Love novella.

A Chat with Tres Masters!

Let’s give a warm welcome to our guest for July 7th thru 13th, from Her Master Detective, and the youngest of the Masters triplets, Detective Tres Masters. He has taken a week off from the Braedon, Colorado Police Department to visit with you.

TresChat

Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to be here. Dos told me about a wonderful woman from the UK who stopped by to visit with him. I hope she’ll say hi to me as well. I also hope a few others of you will stop by too, or it’s going to be a long week.   I have to admit, I’m more worried about being cross-examined by readers than my brother, Ace. Maybe if I give you a little of my story, I’ll relax. I was involved in giving testimony in a particularly nasty court case when my life took a left turn. While I was on break from the trial, I ran into my brother Dos who was visiting. That’s when I met Izzy. After that chance meeting, my life turned into a nightmare where I found myself entangled in a web of lies and desire I never would have expected. I would like to ask your opinion about one thing. When we met, Izzy told me ‘wrinkles’ at the corner of my eyes were laugh-lines and she liked them, so I laugh a lot now. What do you think of my laugh-lines?

We have the next seven days, until July 13th to visit. I eagerly await hearing from you and can’t wait to see what questions you have for me. Being the youngest triplet, I’ve always been outgoing; let’s face it being third you have to try harder to get attention.

After that, you’ll be talking to our BIG brother, Ace. I will do my best to answer your questions, but don’t be surprised if I slip into interrogation or cross-examination mode. You can post your questions or comments on Sandra’s Facebook (Sandra S Kerns Facebook), Twitter (@SandraSKerns #MastersMen), or here on her blog sandrakerns.com.

 

The Butterfly has been released!

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 The Butterfly Connection was released today, 11/12/13!

Woohoo! Is that a lucky release date or what?

You can click the icons below if you want to order it now. Tomorrow afternoon, I want to give you time to read some of it, I will start posting clues to the code on the butterfly’s wings. Before we get too carried away with the contest, tell me what today’s consecutive date did for you.

Was it lucky or unlucky? Good or bad? Inspiring or scary? Come on, inquiring minds want to know. Besides, I’m sure someone somewhere is getting paid to do a study on this. Let’s give them some data.

 

 

   Smashwords  CreateSpace - An Amazon Company    Callaghan's Conundrum - Sandra S. Kerns

Sock Munkee Jr. is catching up before the next release!

Are you excited about the upcoming release, Sock?

Are you all caught up with the series? No? well, why not take this weekend to catch up so you know all the players who may appear in the next book. Not sure which books are in the series. Let’s see….

What was the first book in the Colorado Skies Series?

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That’s right, Sock! It was Dream Stalker. If you click on the picture of Sock Munkee Jr. holding a copy of Dream Stalker, you’ll see the YouTube video for it. Dream Stalker is available at these fine retailers:

SmashwordsCreateSpace - An Amazon CompanyDream Stalker - Sandra S. Kerns

Rose Cover

Okay, we’ve got the 1st book in the series. The 2nd is Rose of Steele.  This is a must read as at least one of the characters from Rose makes an appearance in The Butterfly Connection. No, I’m not going to tell you which one. You’ll have to figure that one out on your own. Of course, I have the handy links for you to purchase right here:      Smashwords        CreateSpace - An Amazon CompanyRose of Steele - Sandra S. Kerns

 

Okay, Sock, I gave you that one. Do you remember the 3rd book in the series?

009That’s right, Sock, it’s Callaghan’s Conundrum!  

I ‘ve heard you have a conundrum of your own. Can you tell us about it?

Oh, I see, you’re trying to figure out how to read all the stories before the new one comes out. Well, I see some late nights reading in front of the fireplace in your future. Just don’t tell your mom I said you could stay up that late. Here are the links to pick up Callaghan’s Conundrum.    Smashwords  CreateSpace - An Amazon Company    Callaghan's Conundrum - Sandra S. Kerns

 

 

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Don’t forget, you can pre-order The Butterfly Connection so you can start reading it before anyone else on November 12th! That way you’ll be ready for the contest I’ll be posting on release day. So be sure and check back for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Butterfly Connection and other prizes.

Until we post again,

Happy Reading everyone!

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