My good friend, Vonnie Davis is here today!!

SOOO happy to host a visit from you today, Vonnie - you will always be the lady that introduced me to my agent! :)  Glad to see your writing is going well with another Wild Rose Press release. I downloaded "Those Violet Eyes" to my Kindle a couple of days ago and will get to it asap. Can't wait! Okay, over to you...

Rachel, thanks for having me here. Actually, I truly wish Calvin and I were physically with you—for many reasons. I’m writing this on Monday, and we haven’t had power for three days thanks to a severe wind storm. Half of our city is without power and temps are over a hundred degrees. We spend our days camping out in places with air conditioning and hope we can connect to their Wi-Fi. This whole experience makes one appreciative of what they have. But enough complaining. I’d rather talk about a Wild Rose Press series I’m excited about.

Rachel: As you know Dawn (she's our agent everyone!) has been keeping us updated - I'm glad to hear since you sent me this post, the power has finally come back on and you guys might be able to feel human again. I feel so, so sorry for you!

Honky Tonk Hearts

Lonely hearts seem to gravitate to the Lonesome Steer Honky Tonk.
Owner and bartender, Gus Rankin, has seen his share of the wandering souls cross his bar and dance floor over the years—he'd even like to think he helped a few find true love along the way.

I’m blessed to be part of the Honky Tonk Hearts series with my story, Those Violet Eyes, in which one pivotal scene must take place at the Lonesome Steer Honky Tonk. Writing for a series was a new experience. Working to keep my story within the parameters set forth by the editor of the series and writing something interesting proved quite a challenge. This is where an author’s creativity comes into play.

Personally, I think that’s the beauty of a series. We all start with the same basic premise and the same parameters, or guidelines. Yet each story in the series is vastly different.

So how did my creativity handle coming up with a story idea? Not very well, I’m afraid. I had a few lame ideas, but nothing revved my creative mental engines. Truthfully I’d given up on writing for the series and, for a few months, stopped thinking about it. Then one night Win Fairchild came to me: My hero on a Harley, all muscles and macho attitude, yet polite as can be. Oh, I loved him from the start. He told me what he wanted out of life now that he was a mass of war debris. He asked me to write his story.

Once I knew the premise of Those Violet Eyes and what things my hero was dealing with, I jumped into the writing. Suddenly Evie sauntered across my computer screen, full of attitude of her own. She turned to me and announced, “I’m not taking any guff from that man. I’m not in the mood.” All righty, then! Let the war between the sexes begin.

And so it did. No outline, no plans, no vision of the ending. Nope, not for me. I prefer getting to know my characters well enough that they tell me what’s going to happen. I love that journey of discovery—as if we were friends, sharing a bottle of wine, listening to some slow jazz and talking.

My hero’s life is in flux since the Humvee, in which he was riding, ran over an IED. Not only did he lose part of a leg and some of his hearing, he’s also dealing with the loss of three of his Marine friends, his brothers in arms. Now he’s trying to heal. For him, healing means helping others—something his momma taught him. So he’s intent on fixing up a rundown ranch and opening a place for amputee children to learn how to ride and care for horses. To earn some extra funds for his dream, he cooks at the Lonesome Steer for his uncle Gus four nights a week.

Evie Caldwell is trying to escape her life by working as a waitress at the honky tonk. Her life is dawn to midnight work, either on her brother’s ranch or at the bar. The first night Win cooks, management tells her to go back to the kitchen and introduce herself. 

Evie charged through the swinging door to the kitchen and skidded to a stop. It couldn’t be. Although his back was toward her, there was no mistaking the height and broad muscled shoulders. This mystery nephew of Gus’s was the guy who’d remarked on her eyes. Her stomach did a little twitchy dance, nerves no doubt.

She ran her suddenly damp palms over her short skirt and cleared her throat. “Excuse me. Win?”

No answer.

She took a couple steps closer and noticed he was washing vegetables under a spray of water. “Win?”

No reply.

Evie rolled her eyes and stepped behind him, tapping him on the back. The metal strainer clattered in the sink and a blur of motion barely registered before steely hands gripped her forearms. Oh my God! In a flurry of movement, he snatched her off the floor and backed her against the stainless steel counter. Cold wet hands viced her arms. Her eyes snapped wide and the air whooshed from her lungs when his body slammed into hers.

Win’s eyes were narrowed, his breathing rapid through a clenched jaw and a vein bulged in his forehead. “Don’t do that.”

The man was every inch the warrior, every hard tensed inch. He held her mid-air, so close they were nearly eyeball to eyeball. As his gaze traveled over her face and awareness evidently crept in as to the sex of his attacker, several inches of his frame hardened even more.

Evie swallowed. Oh, good Lord.

He glared and his nostrils flared.

“I…I’m sorry, Win. I called your name, but…but you didn’t answer. I was only trying to get your attention.” Her lips twitched at the humor in the situation—hadn’t Keira told her the man lost part of his hearing? Evidently she’d startled him. Poor soul. She felt a portion of herself return. A portion she’d hidden for so long; that light-hearted part of her soul that teased and cajoled. “Honest, I wasn’t trying to attack you.” She placed an open palm on his defined pecs and patted. “You’re safe with me, big guy.” Just to rattle him some more, she winked.

Win’s hazel eyes flashed for a second, then he slowly leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Well, you’re not safe with me.”

You can find me on the web at http://www.vonniedavis.com

My blog is http://www.vintagevonnie.blogspot.com

BUY LINKS FOR THOSE VIOLET EYES:

THE WILD ROSE PRESS: http://bit.ly/ThoseVioletEyes

AMAZON: http://amzn.to/TVEVonnieDavis

 Love, love, love it! Can't wait to get this one - and the way Win looks is enough to have me salivating, lol! Great post, lovely lady. Here's to lots of future sales. Okay, Vonnie is waiting to chat!

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