The Lazy Blogger

Here I am – the lazy blogger. Yes, I am guilty. I so appreciate everyone who visits my blogs and I apologize for not contributing more often. I am not one to sit on the internet much, as I am so busy with “life” and writing, but it is also my responsibility to keep up with all you wonderful readers and fans out there who want to hear more from me and who help keep me sitting down at the computer and typing “page 1.”

Speaking of “page 1,” that can be so intimidating for a writer, even one with 58 books under her belt. No, I’ve never run out of ideas, but sometimes, when I sit and look at my hundreds of resource books, and stare at my 4-drawer file cabinet literally stuffed with hand-written notes (all 4 drawers) – and when I stare at the shelf that holds copies of all 58 of my books plus numerous copies of foreign prints, I wonder when in God’s name I wrote all those stories. Each one is full of history and adventure and romance, and each story is different. Somehow I came up with all those ideas and all those characters, with stories that take place over a few weeks or months and some that take place over 20 to 40 years – some series books or trilogies that had to be linked to past stories – and how or when all those ideas came to me, I don’t even know.

Many of my most prolific writing years are just a big blank for me. I think it’s because – strangely enough – I did the biggest share of my writing in my absolute busiest years – and through some of the toughest times in my life. Believe it or not, the majority of my books were written during a 10-year period of a son on drugs and the horrors that go with that (I won’t even go there) – through brain surgery – surgery behind my heart – two broken wrists – a sister dying of cancer – a father dying of cancer – raising two very active boys – working full time – helping fix up 30 acres of very overgrown, neglected property we bought, including a house and two cottages that needed a total makeover – traveling west for research and hours and hours and hours of reading and taking notes.

When I started writing there were no personal computers. Amid all the “business” of life, I was writing my books on an old manual typewriter and using white-out to correct mistakes. For a while I used an electric typewriter, which I thought was an amazing instrument. Then I finally got my first computer. I think I’d written about ten books by then. For the first fifteen books I had no agent, and I didn’t make enough money to quit my job. Before I even sold anything I suffered about 100 rejections but kept submitting to other publishers until – finally – I sold that first book, which was Savage Destiny #1 – SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION.

And for all you newbies struggling for that first sale - do you want to know what sold that book? It was one scene that made the editor cry. Right editor – right scene – right time. Yes, it comes down to a lot of luck, but when I think about all I went through and wonder how I kept writing all those books and kept trying amid the chaos in my life and trying to squeeze 48 hours into 24 hours every day – well, I realize it comes down to one basic thing that all writers need if they want to sell …

LOVE YOUR GENRE– STUDY YOUR GENRE – STICK WITH YOUR GENRE – BUILD A NAME IN YOUR GENRE. I tried other genres – hated it. I tried contemporary – hated it. I tried vampires and mysteries and suspense and erotica and short, fun romances, steam punk – tried all of it. Hated it. And while I tried all that I sold NOTHING. I went ten years selling NOTHING! All because I was trying to write what I didn’t love. But when I went back to the Old West and American History, a story poured out of me and sold. That book is coming in July, PARADISE VALLEY, set against the backdrop of an unsettled Wyoming Territory and a good deal of the story taking place along the famed (and yes, it really existed) Outlaw Trail. I think you can already pre-order PARADISE VALLEY at Sourcebooks and at Amazon. It’s not the longest or deepest book I’ve written – and it doesn’t cover many years like a good share of my stories do – but it’s a great read and a touching love story, and I’m hoping to write a sequel to it because I love the two main characters and want to continue their story. When you finish the book you, too, will want to read more about Maggie and Sage and their new life together.

LOVE WHAT YOU WRITE – LOVE WHO YOU WRITE – LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. I have loved the American West since I was a little girl – I love the “wild west” history – love telling the truth about what happened with our Native Americans – love the grand and gorgeous landscape, the mountains, the forests, the plains, the “wide open spaces” that truly are something you have to see to appreciate how huge the country truly is. If you have ever watched the movie THE BIG COUNTRY, you’ll understand a little bit of what I’m talking about. In the movie a sea captain comes to Texas to marry a spoiled young woman raised by a wealthy rancher. Everyone considers him a greenhorn and throughout the movie they keep reminding him “It’s a big country,” fearing if he rides off alone he’ll get lost. Well, a true greenhorn certain can easily get lost in that “big country!” It’s a great movie to depict the rugged west. Rent it or buy it! And listen to the theme song – it’s wonderful! I often play it when I want to get into the western “mood.” Just listening to it makes me picture that “big country” – the wide open prairie and plains, the magnificent Rockies and Sierras. I can’t begin to explain how much I love everything about it. And what makes the writing even easier is having great characters. After all, just imagine the kind of independent, strong, brave, virtuous (and not so virtuous), determined kind of people with big dreams that it took to settle a land as rugged and wild an dangerous as America’s Old West. 

I am headed for a Romantic Times conference in Kansas City soon – HUGE conference, where I will meet hundreds of my readers. I can’t wait! Watch this site for a blog about the conference when I get home. And now that many of my older titles are again available through Amazon.com and Sourcebooks.com, as well as in print, I am selling books again – LOTS of books! I just contracted with France for SONG OF THE WOLF, after years of success in France with MONTANA WOMAN. Things are looking up, and my ten years of no sales are becoming a distant memory. I feel like a writer again, and now that I am sticking with what I truly love, I am already writing another western – this one set in Montana – a real western “romp” with a great hero and heroine. It’s called DESPERATE HEARTS, but sometimes titles get changed and this book isn’t even fully written yet, so hang on to your hats. Just letting you know that Rosanne Bittner is back at the computer writing yet another new book for you! Just thought I’d take time out for another blog before all of you think I’ve forgotten you. No, I haven’t. I’m just having too much fun immersing myself again in the “Old West!”

Past And Present … Some Thoughts On Both …

Sorry, but I’m a rather lazy blogger. It’s not that I don’t think about getting a new message out there. It’s on my mind every day. I’m grateful to all of you who visit my site often, probably hoping to see a new message, and I apologize for not “visiting” you more often.

I guess I wouldn’t really call myself lazy, because I am actually a very busy person, probably TOO busy! I think not getting around to blogging is really from being so busy that I have to set priorities. Since we returned from an extended vacation in Las Vegas a month ago, I have been inundated with family business matters that have taken up most of my days – catching up on all kinds of reports – getting things ready for tax time – catching up with my grandsons – proofreading two books (I got the proofs to the Kindle version of EAGLE’S SONG, Book #7 of my Savage Destiny Series, which will soon be available for your Kindles!) and also proofreading my new book, PARADISE VALLEY (July 2013) so it can go into production. And by the way, it’s already up on Amazon for pre-orders, so be sure to get your order in! On top of all that, I’m catching up on treasurer duties for two different organizations, and trying to get busy on a new book I’ve been trying to get started for months.

The days slip by too fast, and before I know it I’m worn out and realize I still haven’t blogged in a while. Sometimes all this social networking can make it difficult to get our daily work done, and even though I am 68 years old, I am far from retired!! I don’t think that will ever happen. I don’t look or feel my age and I sure don’t intend to ACT my age! Nor can I picture myself visiting a senior center every day playing cards and bingo. No thank you! That’s not me! Life goes by too fast and I still have too much to do.

So here I am, finally blogging, and not really saying much. Let’s see – what can I say that is enlightening and interesting? Well, I don’t know about enlightening, but my 12 year old grandson said something yesterday that made me feel good and “enlightened” me as to what’s going through his 12 year old mind. He said that as far as he can see, from talks he has with me and from books and movies and the old TV shows I “make” him watch when he stays at our house (he’s actually come to enjoy them), he thinks the “old days” were much better than today’s times. This from a kid who is immersed in today’s social media, video games, and all the other things thrown at kids today. He said it seems like “back then” people had more respect for each other, were kinder to each other, and dressed nicer.

Right on! I was so happy to hear him say that, because I love when young people see and understand those things. He even asked how and why things have changed so much. I told him I think it’s mainly that the “personal touch” has been removed from so many things. Neighbors don’t need their neighbors any more (or at least they think they don’t until there is a disaster); we don’t know our neighbors and we stand in line at the grocery store completely ignoring those waiting ahead of us and behind us. TV has opened us up to all that’s going on in the world, and sometimes it’s all overwhelmingly depressing and brings out our fears and makes us want to lock our doors and keep the “world” out. Entertainers strut on stage practically naked, sitcoms are about single parents and broken homes, prayer is gone from schools (and teachers can’t even hug a child any more), kids come home to no one there, and drugs are passed around like glasses of water. Fewer and fewer children are introduced to God and church. TV, movies and video games are about murder and mayhem, and nowadays a person of fame and/or power can do something sinful and against the law and then brush it all off with “I’m sorry for what I did.” Sorry? They got caught!! If they were truly sorry, they would have admitted their mistake in the first place before they were found out.

And so it goes. These things take away from personal relationships, take away from closeness with friends and neighbors, lend a hardness to feelings, bring out fears and feelings of self-defense. i.e. – “If I stay away from my neighbors … if I don’t talk to the stranger standing beside me … if I’m careful not to open myself up to anyone, I’ll be safer.”

Sitting in a McDonald’s this morning having breakfast with another of my grandsons, there was a young man in a booth nearby who was a bit scrubby, wore a hooded sweatshirt and was avidly typing away on a computer. My first thought? He could be a serial killer, or maybe some guy planning to kill a bunch of kids and conferring with a cohort via e-mail. Why did I immediately jump to that conclusion? Today’s news and all the terrible things happening caused me to distrust that young man, who was probably just some college kid working on a thesis. Who knows? It’s too bad that today we have to think the worst of those around us “just in case” they are a killer and we need to be “aware” so we can escape quickly if we need to. That’s sad.

I told my 12 year old grandson about when I was little and stayed with my grandma, she at first didn’t even have electricity – used a wood-burning stove to cook and had an ice box. He said that sounded like fun. Well, it WAS fun for a little kid. I didn’t think a thing about it. I loved my grandma and always had fun there. When she finally got electricity we’d sit in front of the radio and “listen” to stories, including the first GUNSMOKE programs before it went to TV. Yesterday I found a channel on my satellite radio (called Radio Classics) that plays those old programs. What memories! I was instantly 8 years old again. Where has all the time gone?

Well, apparently some of the things I’ve told my grandsons have sunk in and they have an appreciation for the “old days.” At the same time, I’m grateful for today’s times mainly because of the medical help we have now that we didn’t have then. Other than that, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t rather go back in time. But then I would not have the gift of social networking that helps me reach the world with news about my books, so I am grateful for that.

So here I am caught up in both past and present. I prefer not to think about the future because I’m not really sure how great it will be for my grandsons – and at my age you tend to just be grateful for each new day and not worry about ten years from now. I hope that all of you out there will do the same, because all we have is today. The past is gone, and there really is no tomorrow because when you get there it’s “today” again. Enjoy life and try to instill some of that old-time respect in your children and grandchildren – respect and love not only for others, but also for themselves. Teach them it’s okay to have feelings, to want to hug someone, and to search for their spiritual side. Teach them that if they don’t like some of the things going on in the world, there are things they can do to help change that … and that human nature makes us basically still yearn for love, still care about others and still be “good neighbors.”

I hope you wave to your neighbor tomorrow and maybe smile and say hello to the stranger standing in line with you at the grocery store. And I promise to try to blog more often after this!

Romancing the West Blog Hop!

WELCOME TO THE ROMANCING THE WEST BLOG TOUR

Why do we enjoy writing and reading about the West? What is it about cowboys that is just plain irresistible? Over thirty authors and bloggers tackle these and other questions by explaining why we love Romancing the West.

But that’s not all, as you enjoy some awesome blogs and find fantastic books, for every post you comment on with your email address, you will be entered for some amazing prizes.

***PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO QUALIFY***

Grand Prize: A swag pack which includes books (both ebooks and paper), Amazon gift card, custom made butterfly jewelry, book cards, magnets and much more all tucked away in a keepsake box. (Available to US residents only. Winner will be announced on February 26 at 10 PM EST)

And, as an added bonus, enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win my book Paradise Valley (due July 2, 2013)!

* * * * * Here's My Post on Cowboys! * * * * *

No matter how you look at it, cowboys have always been popular. You can barely count the number of western movies that have been produced over the last 50 years, the biggest share of them in the 1950’s and 60’s. Lately, remakes of famous old standards like TRUE GRIT and 3:10 TO YUMA, have done well. Then there are the famous “big screen” favorites like DANCES WITH WOLVES and HOW THE WEST WAS WON – and of course there are the unforgettable Clint Eastwood “shooters.” My favorites are THE GUNS OF JOSIE WALES, PALE RIDER and TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARAH. Then there is the name known world wide for his western films – John Wayne. Actually, my favorite John Wayne movie is THE SHOOTIST – his very last film. It’s so touching to know that was the last movie he made before he died from cancer, when in the movie he was an old gunfighter – also dying from cancer. In the movie he went out of this life in the way only an old gunfighter should go – he “went down shooting.” I, of course, cried my eyes out. 

TV got into the act during the popularity of the mini-series with LONESOME DOVE and CENTENNIAL. And of course few people are unfamiliar with the numerous TV half-hour and hour-long westerns like HAVE GUN/WILL TRAVEL and GUNSMOKE, the most famous of them all. I sure hated to read about the passing of James Arness, but he will live on forever in the form of Marshal Matt Dillon.

As far as books, few authors helped keep the genre alive like Will Henry and Louis L’Amour did. Dee Brown did a fabulous job of enlightening readers to the truth about the gradual demise of the American Indian way of life in his book BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.

There is something about the American western frontier that fascinates, something about those pioneers that makes us proud and makes us want to keep the “right to bear arms.” We are even fascinated and in a strange way “proud” of our infamous outlaws, like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy. Even more fascinating is that there was a very fine line back then between outlaw and lawman. There were those who couldn’t say which Wyatt Earp and his brothers were … good? Or bad? How many books have you read, or movies have you watched, in which the “bad guy” was really good at heart?

Ah, yes, the American cowboy … restless, wild, roving, hard-drinking, ready for a fist fight, quick with a gun, tough, brave, rough looking yet handsome – even those who weren’t all that good looking were handsome in their own way when they wore those great hats and smoked that cheroot and stood their ground. I think the western hero has remained popular because we all identify with some part of their personality … perhaps we all daydream that we could be that rugged, that brave, that quick with a gun, that much in charge of our lives and ultimately that “free” to be whoever we want to be … that much “in control” of our own destinies and “unchained” from rules and responsibilities.

I truly believe there is a little bit of “cowboy” in all of us … and so I will keep writing books about men like that and the equally brave and tough women it took to keep up with them … or tame them … whichever they were brave enough to try. I love the American West, the American cowboy, and the American dreams they represented. It was an era when there were still frontiers to conquer, still places where man had never stepped, still gold and silver and oil to be found, still free land as long as you were willing to homestead that land, still endless horizons with no skyscrapers or smokestacks to mar the landscape. It’s the “cowboy” in Americans that makes them dare to try new ventures, dare to leave the familiar and take a new job or start their own business or move to a completely new area of the country. There is a little bit of “cowboy” in our armed forces, in that devil-may-care attitude of our veterans who fought world wars, in those who dared travel into space, in a boxer, a football player, a race car driver, even a reckless investor who risks it all on a hunch. It’s the American spirit, and a whole lot of that spirit can be identified as the “cowboy” in us. If you have a dream, if there is something you want to try but have put it off, if you want to stand up for yourself but are afraid to, if you have a good idea but haven’t put it out there into the real world, you need to “cowboy up!” Think like a cowboy, and you might be surprised where it can take you! I hope to keep that kind of spirit alive in my writing … and even though I’m told western history isn’t popular right now, I intend to “cowboy up” and keep writing what I love, because what goes around, comes around. Cowboys have always been a favorite, and although that genre isn’t the most popular right now, it will come back, and I’ll be ready!
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The Good Ole’ “Diva” Days!

In May I am heading for another Romantic Times Convention, this time in Kansas City, Missouri – and the entire conference is geared around the “Divas” of the 80’s – 80’s romance writers, that is. Last year I was given an award as one of those Divas at their conference in Chicago. But this year the entire era of romance writing will be highlighted, and a whole HOST of big-name authors from that time period will be at the conference – old friends I haven’t seen in years. I can’t wait to get together with a lot of them!

It was in the 80’s that romance blazed its way into publishing history and exploded onto bookshelves by the millions. Oh, how I miss those days! The most popular stories were historicals – especially westerns and stories involving Native Americans … everything I loved writing about! I still do, but alas, popular genres change and new readers come into the picture … and old dogs like me have to re-invent themselves. Actually, I never quite did that, because unlike many others from that era, I didn’t change genres, which led to lower numbers and lower sales for several years. But now I am seeing a come-back, and thanks to the social media of the internet, I am finding a host of new readers who have never read Rosanne Bittner and many of whom aren’t familiar with the good old historical romances of the 80’s. They are finding out what they were missing!!

I think younger people are thirsty for true LOVE STORIES – stories in which sex actually has meaning and isn’t gratuitous or just for selfish, momentary pleasure. And I think the reason the old sweeping romances were so popular is because they took the reader away to another place and time, and the stories brought forth all the things (especially women) look for – a real hero; a strong, brave heroine with whom the reader could identify; true romance (of which we see so little today); stories about independence and the ability to explore and brave new frontiers; exciting time periods when countries were growing and changing; and something I really miss today … nice, fat, 400-500 page novels in which the reader could get lost for days … truly memorable stories that stayed in the minds and hearts of readers for months, even years. To this day my readers still talk about my characters in my very first Savage Destiny series as though they only recently read the books – and they are 30 years old!! Just think about it. Some stories last forever, like Gone With the Wind. Why? Because they were big books involving memorable characters and were sweeping historical romances. There is so little of that today on the book shelves, and I think readers are hungry for them.

I love writing about “TRUE” love, especially the kind it took to stay together through the incredible challenges of settling America’s frontiers. I could go on for pages and pages about the hardships our pioneers endured, but you can find all of that in my books. I am just so thrilled that the R.T. convention will bring attention to that kind of writing … TRUE ROMANCE at its best, and the authors who made it happen! I make a toast to all of them, and to the hope that the sweeping romantic stories of the 80’s will make it back to today’s bookshelves!

Meantime, I’ll be promoting my own new western romance, Paradise Valley (July 2013) at the conference and mixing and meeting and mingling with the Divas of the 80’s! What fun!

The American Dream…Built By Our Pioneers

Just completed a 1900 mile trip in two days! My husband and I are at our condo in Las Vegas and as always, it’s beautiful here – warm and sunny. I never get tired of looking at the surrounding Sierra Mountains, nor at the mountain that is only about ½ mile outside our window. It’s called Sunrise Mountain, and when you live around mountains long enough, you begin to recognize certain ones. No matter where we go in Vegas (and believe me, this is a HUGE valley), I can spot Sunrise Mountain.

Savage Destiny Series Giveaway!

   

To celebrate the re-release of my Savage Destiny Series in Kindle Version, I'm participating in a series of Buy the Book Book Tours from January 21, 2013 thru April 8, 2013. And, along with the tour, I'll be giving away the entire Savage Destiny Series listed above.

Schedule for Sweet Prairie Passion:

JANUARY 21
My Devotional Thoughts
Melissa Keir- Sexy Between the Covers
Passionate Encounters
Author Jinni James

JANUARY 22
Ella Quinn Author
It's All About The Romance
M.J. Schiller

JANUARY 23
Real World on Writing
Have Novel, Will Edit

JANUARY 24
Romance Writer Sara Walter Ellwood
HBS Author's Spotlight
Janna Shay's Fair Play

JANUARY 25
Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews
Just One More Chapter

JANUARY 26
Regina May Ross's Blog
Not Now...Mommy's Reading
Mochas Mysteries and More

JANUARY 27
Cathie Dunn writes
From the Pen of Mae Clair

JANUARY 28
Sarah Balance
The Brook Syers Blog
Socrates Book Review Blog

Please visit me on my Book Tours!!!

Giveaway Details:
One (1) complete set of the Savage Destiny Series ~ Kindle version. Drawing for the Giveaway will be held on April 9, 2013, and the winner will be announced on April 9, 2013.
 
To be eligible to enter the Giveaway, use the Rafflecopter Form below!

 

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Traveling Conversations

When I finished this blog I decided it consisted of a “traveling” conversation. That’s what I call a lot of rambling on about nothing … which leads into topics not even planned … and that’s what happened here, so here goes.

You're Never Too Old!

I’ve been bad – haven’t posted a new blog for quite a while. Just too much going on, what with a fund-raising fashion show I recently took part in, decorating for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now lots of shopping to do and presents to wrap and parties to go to, and end-of-year reports to do for our family business and getting ready to visit our condo in Las Vegas and on and on …

Now Comes E-Books!

There was a time when I moaned and groaned about the changes in publishing to e-books. I hated the internet (sorry, but I still don’t like “visiting” on-line – I don’t often post to Facebook or Twitter) – hated the idea of reading a book on a screen rather than holding it in my hand – didn’t understand blogging and all that “stuff.”

Well, here I am with a Facebook Personal and Fan page – a Blog – I’m on Twitter – I have a web site – and of course e-mail. My last hold-out … e-books and a Kindle reader. 

October 6, 2012

As I sit here at my desk unable to sleep because in a few hours I’ll be hosting a memorial for my mother, many things go through my mind about life in general and all the things each of us goes through from childhood through high school and young love, marriage, our own children, then grandchildren and the inevitable experience of caring for our own parents as they once had to care for us. THE LION KING’S “Circle of Life” song is so fitting, for we are all part of that circle. My favorite picture of my mom and dad is when they were first married. My mom was only seventeen, and she’s looking at my dad as though he walked on water … such adoration in her eyes. Now they are together again … and young again.