Tag Archives: C.J. Carmichael

Starting a new project = Pinterest Time!

It's All About The Writing, ,

Lately, when I’m about to start a new project, I begin by creating a board on Pinterest and gathering images that I hope will inspire and guide me. Committing to a new story is serious business. Months of precious time, spanning several years, will be required for the project, so I want to make sure I’m choosing a story that will worth this big investment. Right now I’m working on a Pinterest board called Twisted Cedars. A few months ago I released the first of several mysteries I hope to write set in this fictional, coastal town in Oregon.

A lot happens in A Buried Tale, and while my readers discover the “whodunit” at the end of the story, there are also a lot of loose threads. Because murder is a messy business. And it leaves damage and mayhem in its wake.

Damage and mayhem that I will need to deal with in this new book, while, at the same time, introducing a new mystery.

So, as I mull over ideas for the next Twisted Cedars story, I find myself thinking about my characters and how they’ve been coping in the months since I wrote about them last. I feel myself about to sink back into the vortex of their world. But, as if afraid of the commitment, I hesitate. And pin another image to my Pinterest Board…

Road to Twisted Cedars

Say Hi to Duke and Angie

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What’s so great about September? It’s time for a new Harts of the Rodeo Book!

Duke: Deputy Cowboy by Roz Denny Fox is the third in the series and one you do not want to miss! To give you a taste for the story, here is an interview of the main characters:

Duke: Deputy Cowboy
Third book in Harts of Rodeo Series
Questions and Answers from Duke and Angie

1. What is your greatest accomplishment?

Duke: Working up the nerve to ask Angie for a date.

Angie: Deciding to leave Texas when I was pregnant and almost broke.

 

2. What trait is most important in a friend?

Duke: Loyalty

Angie: Trust

 

3. What do you most enjoy about your job?

Duke: Being a deputy is never boring, and it’s not all working at a desk.

Angie: I like making horse treats that are nutritious, but that horses love.

Part time at the school—I like the people I work with, and the kids.

 

4. Who do you most admire and why?

Duke: My cousin Ace, because he’s smart, easy-going, and accepts me as I am.

Angie: Sarah Hart, because she’s a strong woman and has held her family        together through hard times and with a deep faith.

 

5. Name your biggest regret.

Duke: Probably that I never knew my mother.

Angie: That work sometimes has to come before spending time with my son.

 

6.    What makes you angry or upset?

Duke: When my twin brother, Beau, nags at me to ride better in rodeos.

Angie: I get angry when people mistreat animals, or dump them like trash.

 

7. What trait would you like to change about yourself?

Duke: I worry too much about the family.  I don’t like squabbles.

Angie: Oh my…a too short nose, a too wide mouth, a tendency to eat too much.

 

8. What is your most treasured possession?

Duke: I’d have to say my dog, Zorro.

Angie: A silver cross on a thin chain that belonged to my grandmother.

 

9. What makes you happy?

Duke: Watching the sun rise on a clear day.

Angie: Seeing my son laugh.

 

 

10. Of what are you most afraid?

Duke:  A concern that something bad may happen to someone in my family;

my younger cousin, Tuf Hart, is in the military, you know.

Angie:  I worry most about my son’s safety.  I know you have to give a child

space, but it’s hard not to be over-protective.

 

11. If they made a movie of your life, what genre would it be?

Drama, tragedy, comedy, adventure, romance, or a combination thereof.

Duke:  You didn’t mention Western.  I grew up loving every John Wayne

spaghetti-western, which is why I’m nicknamed, Duke.

Angie:  If I go way back I’d have to say part drama, part adventure, with a

hope for romance.  (The last she says with a shy glance at Duke)

 

 

Say Hi to Colton and Leah…

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I’m so excited to announce that my contribution to the Harts of the Rodeo series is now available! To celebrate the launch of Colton: Rodeo Cowboy I decided to interview Leah and Colt so you could get a feel for these two awesome romantic leads. Here they are:

What is your greatest accomplishment?

Colt: Hell, there’ve been quite a few. Maybe qualifying for the world championships four years running. Then there was the year I took five all-arounds in just two months. No, wait, my greatest accomplishment has to be winning my Dodge Truck this spring at the National Circuit Finals. Have you seen my truck? It’s a real beauty.

Leah: My greatest accomplishment is helping Colt stuff his head inside his cowboy hat every morning.

What do you most enjoy about rodeo?

 Colt: Is there anything not to enjoy about rodeo?

Leah: What about rain, Colt?

Colt: You’re right, honey. Rain really sucks. You’re not too fond of it either, are you?

 Leah: Especially not flash floods. (She shudders)

If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

 Colt: Pained silence.

Leah: I’d regret my first marriage, but if I hadn’t married Jackson then I wouldn’t have my incredible kids Jill and Davey.

Colt: I regret not stepping up to my responsibilities right from the get-go. There are lost years that I will never get back.

What is your most treasured possession?

 Colt: If we’re talking things and not people, I’d have to say my truck.

 Leah: I’m pretty fond of Colt’s truck, too. Just kidding! Jill and Davey’s baby pictures beat out that hunk of metal any day.

 What do you dream of?

 Colt: Building Leah a house where we can raise our children and grow old together.

Leah: Growing old with Colt. Being with him every day, if possible.

If you could change one thing about your family what would it be?

 Colt: It would sure be nice if my older brother Ace could become my younger brother. I’d like to try ordering him around for a decade or two.

Leah: I wish my Mom and I had talked more, about the things in life that really matter. On the other hand, I probably wasn’t ready to listen to her until I’d grown up and had children of my own.

What was the most serendipitous moment of your life?

 Colt: When I walked into the Open Range Saloon this spring and saw the love of my life sitting right there on the bar stool.

 Leah: Yes. That was a good moment, all right.

(They Kiss…)