Hello all, and thanks to Beth Trissel for hosting me on The Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers. I’m a fellow member of the Virginia Romance Writers with Beth, and like her, my first love is writing and reading historical romance. However, just for fun, I dabbled in the contemporary genre and now have a western novella that released with The Wild Rose Press on Sept 22, 2010.
The hero of my story HER RODEO MAN is not the conventional cocky, bull riding cowboy, but a wily bullfighter, a rodeo clown with fast feet to go along with all that wit and charm. I remember my first PBR (Pro Bull Riders) event. It was held at the Richmond Coliseum. Wanting a good view of the action, my husband and I purchased prime seats just three rows away from the sand covered arena.
Bad decision.
The first bull came out of the chute, hopping and bucking and trying to shake off that denim-wearing flea on his back. His momentum carried him across the arena. He slowed just as he reached our section of the grandstands and began to spin. Snot flew from his nose. One long string of goo smacked into me.
My shirt got an instant decoration – ribbon de slime. Ewww. Needless to say, I never saw whether that bull rider finished his ride or not.
I cleaned up as best I could and focused back on the bull riding, determined not to let a little snot ruin my fun. I wasn’t disappointed. The riders demonstrated their well-honed athleticism, clinging to the backs of those bucking bulls like deer ticks on a hound.
But it was the bullfighters who held my attention. Once dislodged, the riders high-tailed it to the safety of the rails. It was the colorful bullfighters charging into danger that had me glued to my seat. One ran straight at a thousand pounds of beef, rapped the animal on his honker, and took off running. What? Are you nuts? Of course the maddened bull took off after his taunter. The bullfighter stayed just a few steps ahead of the horned freight train, zig-zagging and doing quick-footed reversals. It was a fascinating ballet of man vs animal. Despite being slimed, I thoroughly enjoyed my evening and felt compelled to write about the brave men who play with bulls for a living.
Here’s a blurb for HER RODEO MAN:
Rose McAllister needs a place to hide, somewhere her abusive ex-boyfriend can’t find her. A nursing position at the trauma center in a tiny rodeo town seems the perfect solution. Until she meets Bass Newcomb. The rodeo clown’s wit and charm quickly threatens her plan to remain secluded.
A third generation bullfighter, Bass Newcomb refuses to let anything come between him and his beloved profession—especially an undiagnosed ailment he is trying desperately to keep hidden from those around him. So when a pretty new nurse treats him at the trauma center, he decides to get close enough to make sure she doesn’t accidentally mention his illness to the wrong person. He’s not ready to hang up his rodeo sneakers just yet. But what starts out as a game of cat and mouse soon turns into a battle of hearts as Bass finds himself becoming her rodeo man.
To learn more about HER RODEO MAN or any of my other books, visit my website at www.donnadalton.net or go to my publisher’s website at www.thewildrosepress.com.
Happy Reading!
