Tag Archives: Anne McAllister

Tule Author Q&A: Anne McAllister was inspired by glitter!

Anne McAllister stopped by the Tule blog to discuss the first book in The Cowboy’s Code series, The Stardust Cowboy!

Where did you get the inspiration for The Stardust Cowboy?

Free Stardust Background Stock PhotoI was at a wedding and when the bride and groom left the church people threw glitter as they headed to the reception.  Later that evening, I saw glitter sparkling in the lights as people walked to their cars.  The memory stuck in my mind.  When I was creating my next book, in my mind’s eye, I saw a cowboy walking down a street at night, his boots kicking up glitter that sparkled like stardust.  I didn’t know yet that he was Riley, and I didn’t know the significance of the stardust. But then Jake appeared – and everything began to fall into place.

 

Can you share a fun fact about your hero and heroine, Riley and Dori, to help readers get to know them better?

Riley was not fun! He is quite possibly the most serious, stubborn, old-fashioned hero I’ve ever written.  I think it was because he was an idealist as a boy and young man, and then reality hit him between the eyes.  When other people were depending on him, he dug in and did what needed to be done.  I loved Riley because he was honorable and honest and hardworking and about as steady and down-to-earth as a guy could get. At the same time, because he was being Mr Responsible, it felt like he’d shut the door on his dreams. I loved him too much to let him do that, so I let Dori and Jake shake him up, undermine his resolve, upset his narrow, pretty much joyless life. Watching Riley deal with the curve balls life threw him once Dori and Jake were part of his life was a treat. Rattling Riley was the most fun I had in ages.  

When Dori got pregnant with Jake, his father, Chris, wasn’t willing to step up and be a real ‘hands-on’ dad.  At the time she thought that getting pregnant had been the worst mistake of her life. Eight years later, she thinks having Jake – being his mom — is the best thing that’s ever happened to her.  She’s like Riley in that she takes her responsibilities seriously. And while she may have given up realizing her own dreams, she still believes in them, if not for herself, then for her son. 

 

Your hero’s nephew, Jake, believes in a “stardust cowboy.” Can you explain what that is? 

It was Jake’s dad Chris who came up with the stardust cowboy, as a matter of fact.  When Jake was two, Chris wrote him a letter filled with grandiose notions about him riding in at midnight and sweeping a little boy up onto his horse and riding off in search of grand adventures, scattering stardust as he went.” Dori began telling Jake stories about a “stardust cowboy” – a cowboy who came into your life when you were least expecting it and offered you a chance to follow your dreams. The stardust cowboy becomes the symbol for hopes, adventures and dreams in Dori and Jake’s lives. Dori knows he was fiction; Jake is still willing, at age eight, to give the stardust cowboy a little more leeway in his life.

 

What was your favorite scene to write and why?  

There are a lot of scenes in that book that I loved writing in The Stardust Cowboy. It’s hard to pick one – and especially difficult to take one out of context.  I guess the one where Riley and Dori come face to face  the first time is one that I can share more easily than some others  because  you don’t need a lot of context for it to make sense.

 

SNIPPET:

Riley cleared his throat and straightened where he sat. “Reckon maybe someday Jake can realize those dreams,” he said, “whatever they are.”

Dori blinked. “What do you mean?”

Riley shifted, feeling awkward, wishing he’d figured out a better way to broach the subject. “I mean he’s Chris’s heir.”

“Chris’s heir?” She sounded doubtful. Then she smiled. “Does that mean he gets Chris’s guitar?”

“If he wants it.” Riley hadn’t even thought about that. “It’s at the ranch. I can send it. But that’s not what I mean. As Chris’s heir he’ll have resources so that someday, when he grows up and wants to go to college or do whatever he wants to do, he’ll have a stake to get him started.”

“Chris had money?”

“Not money. A ranch. Half a ranch.”

There was a moment’s stunned silence. Then Dori said, thunderstruck, “Jake owns half a ranch?”

Riley bounced to his feet and paced the length of the small living room. “It’s not all that much. Couple thousand acres down in the Big Horns. Simmental cattle. Not a huge herd. We get by. I do, anyway. It’s my life.” The only one he knew or was ever likely to know now. “But it sure ain’t—isn’t—for everyone. So yes, Jake owns half of it, but I’m willing to buy him out.”

“Buy him . . . out?” Dori echoed.

Riley nodded. “It only makes sense. You could put the money in the bank or invest one way or another. By the time he’s grown up, it’d be a pretty good stake for his dreams.”

“Half a ranch?” She looked staggered.

“It’s not the Ponderosa,” Riley said hastily. “Half the time we’re damned lucky to break even.”

“But you want to buy him out?” She looked at him suspiciously now.

“I’m not tryin’ to put anything over on you. I just figured it’d be better this way. It isn’t doin’ him any good ownin’ half of somethin’ he doesn’t even live near. He’d do better with the money. There’s a damn sight more sure things out there than ranchin’. Besides,” he added wryly, “lucky kid that he is, he’ll likely inherit the whole thing someday.”

“He will? Why?”

The weight of a dozen years of loneliness settled down on him. “I haven’t got anybody else to leave it to,” he said gruffly.

She looked surprised. “No . . . wife? No kids?”

“No.”

“You might have. Someday.”

“No.” He shut the door hard on that notion. “The place will be Jake’s. Trust me.”

He wasn’t sure that she was going to. She looked a little flabbergasted. He supposed he didn’t blame her. She couldn’t have been expecting any of this. He sat down again and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Look, Ms. Malone—”

“Dori,” she corrected promptly.

“Dori,” he repeated. He could think her name. Sort of. But it felt funny on his lips. Intimate, somehow. He resisted the feeling. He looked at her earnestly now. “It’s a good deal. You won’t have any money worries. Jake can go to college without gettin’ up to his eyeballs in debt. Or if he doesn’t want to go to college—like his dad—well, he’ll have money to get set up in what he does want to do. He won’t be tied down. Ranches tie you down.”

Still Dori didn’t say a word. She looked as if he’d just punched all the air out of her. “I . . . need to think about it,” she said at last, her voice a little faint.

“Think about it?” What the hell was there to think about? He was offering her thousands of dollars!

“It’s so . . . sudden. I need to . . . to think,” she mumbled.

Well, hell, maybe she did. Maybe she had learned not to be impetuous after her involvement with Chris. He could hardly blame her for that. So he’d just have to swallow his impatience and wait her out. He could do that. It wouldn’t make any difference in the end.

“Fine.” He got to his feet. “You think about it. Take your time. And—” he dug into his pocket and scribbled his phone number on the piece of paper tucked in it “—when you’re ready, you call me.”

Dori stood, too, and took the paper from him. She glanced at it, then set it on the coffee table. “Thank you, Mr.—”

“Riley,” he said quickly. If she was Dori, he sure as hell wasn’t going to be Mr. Stratton!

She smiled. “Riley.” The way she said his name made him feel as if she was tasting it. Tasting him.

Riley jerked off his hat and shoved a hand through his hair. What the hell was wrong with him? He felt heat flood his face. He jerked his gaze away and cleared his throat, then jammed the hat back on his head.

“It was a . . . pleasure to meet you,” he said, his voice ragged. His mother would have been proud. Then he realized that the circumstances of their meeting could hardly come under the heading of pleasure.

“I mean, not why I met you—” he felt his face burn hotter “—well, you know . . .”

She smiled slightly. “I know.”

The way she looked at him—with those big blue eyes, that soft, understanding smile—he wondered that Chris could ever pull himself away. He gave his head a sharp shake and moved toward the door.

He opened it, then stopped and turned back. “Jake’s a fine kid. A son Chris would be proud of.”

Dori Malone blinked, then she smiled a sad sort of smile. “Thank you.”

Riley touched the brim of his hat and went out the door.

There, it was done.

He’d rather have had it settled tonight, but a few days wouldn’t matter, he thought as he started his truck. It was a good offer. A fair one. Once she’d thought about it, talked it over with her parents or her boyfriend or whoever she trusted, she’d see just how good it was.

She looked like a smart woman. She sure as hell was a pretty woman.

He didn’t know why he kept coming back to that.

Well, yes, he did. It was on account of that damned wedding. Weddings made him think about women. And wanting.

But he didn’t want Dori Malone.

 

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading The Big Burn by Timothy Egan about the largest ever forest fire in America which took place in 1910 in Washington, Idaho and Montana. The fire and its aftermath set the stage for the notion that our public lands were America’s national treasure and needed protection.  As we’re in August, which is generally ‘smoky season’ in Montana – and the big burn also occurred in August, it’s making me aware of the history of wildfires in America and of the birth of the US Forest Service for which I’m especially grateful as we have 80 acres of partially forested land that my husband just walked with a Forest Service ranger to get his advice.  Because I can’t just read one book at a time, I’m also reading My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for his Family’s Past by Ariel Sabar about the history of the Aramaic-speaking Kurdish Jews in Northern Iraq.  I knew nothing about these people, but I’m passionate about people learning about their history, so I’m enjoying it a lot – and learning a lot as well. AND… I just started reading The Rake’s Daughter by Anne Gracie.  Regencies are my ‘go-to’ books for entertainment and escapism because I don’t try to read them as an author but as a reader.  And I love Anne’s in particular because of her delightful sense of humor and wonderful characters.  So I’m eagerly dipping in and already smiling.

 

About the Author

Years ago someone told Anne McAllister that the recipe for happiness was a good man, a big old house, a bunch of kids and dogs, and a job you loved that allows you to read.  And write.  She totally agrees.
Now, one good man, one big old house (since traded for a slightly smaller house. Look, no attic!) a bunch of kids (and even more grandkids) and dogs (and one bionic cat) and seventy books, she’s still reading.  And writing.  And happier than ever.
Over thirty plus years Anne has written long and short contemporary romances, single titles and series, novellas and a time-travel for Harlequin Mills & Boon and for Tule Publishing. She’s had two RITA winning books and nine more RITA finalists as well as awards from Romantic Times and Midwest Fiction Writers. One of the joys of writing is that sometimes, when she can’t go back in person, she can go back in her mind and her heart and her books.

Tule Publishing August 2022 Releases

Read more about our new releases for August!

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the August releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month.

 

Cut to the Chase by Amy Kathryn Jones (American Heart)

Release Date: August 2, 2022

Matched, Book 3

She has one last shot at her fairy tale ending…

It’s time for fan favorite Cassie Monroe to sign on the dotted line and become the star of the hit reality show Matched, where a Panel of family and friends help determine the star’s happy ending. Except Cassie’s Panel member search has reached a dead end. Until her family-friend-turned-nemesis Dr. Nick Morgan, in an attempt to talk her out of doing the show, offers to drive her to L.A.

Things heat up when one wrong turn throws the entire trip off schedule. Cassie gets to know the Nick behind the smirk and snark and, to her dismay, discovers another side of him—a side she likes. Yes, he’s rational and rigid, but he has an alluring warmth, and he kisses like no man she’s ever known.

Nick and Cassie don’t check any of the others’ boxes, but these longtime haters are somehow falling in love. As the opt-out deadline nears, Cassie will only have a few days to decide if she should risk her new feelings on a relationship that won’t come with Matched’s famous guarantee.


A Forgotten Shadow by H L Marsay (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: August 4, 2022

Chief Inspector Shadow Mystery, Book 5

If the past comes knocking, will you dare to answer?

When Detective Chief Inspector John Shadow is called to Kirkdale Castle to investigate the death of a handsome racehorse trainer during a shooting party, he’s immersed in painful childhood memories. His father had been shot in the line of duty at Kirkdale, but his killer was never apprehended. Shadow suspects the two deaths may be linked and is determined to discover the truth, but dealing with the aristocracy is more complicated than he bargained for and the inhabitants of Kirkdale Castle are as unhelpful as ever.

John Shadow is a man of contradictions. A solitary figure who notices the smallest detail about other people, but endeavours to avoid their company. A lover of good food, but whose fridge is almost always empty. Though he would prefer to work alone, he is assisted by his eager partner Sergeant Jimmy Chang.

Can the men work together through the web of deceit and corruption to find the killer, clear an innocent man’s name, and solve the mystery clouding Shadow’s past?


Tastes So Sweet by Kelly Cain (American Heart)

Release Date: August 9, 2022

The Everheart Brothers of Texas, Book 3

Forbidden fruit has never tasted better…

After losing her parents in high school, Ryan Landry grew up fast, solely focusing on supporting her younger twin sisters. With the twins now preparing for college, the financial stakes are raised so Ryan enters a restaurant manager of the year contest. Her chances for the grand prize are strong—after all, she’s the executive manager of Everheart Bar and Fine Dining, which is as famous for its exemplary service as it is for its mouth-watering food.

The only thing standing in her way? The restaurant’s Michelin star patriarch chef. Ryan meets his near-impossible challenges, except this creates another obstacle—increased temptation with her best friend and pastry chef Weston Everheart. She’s fought to keep Weston in the friend zone, because romantic fraternization means immediate firing, and she needs her job and the prize money more than ever.

But when she realizes Weston has also been in love with her for years, it becomes impossible to maintain business as usual. Will Ryan play it safe or finally listen to her heart?


Won’t Back Down by Shelli Stevens (American Heart)

Release Date: August 11, 2022

Bro Code, Book 3

Thou shalt not fall for the girl thy cousin wants…

James Watson is at a breaking point. The last year has put him on rocky grounds with his friends, and now he just bombed the bar exam. He pins the blame on one person: Tori Brown. She’s not only his sister’s best friend, but an undeniably sexy goddess who chaos seems to follow.

Tori is tired of men seeing her as nothing more than a conquest. She’s particularly tired of James Watson, her friend’s hot older brother and the man who can’t give her a break. Now that Tori’s finally landed the human resources job she’s been working toward, she knows she won’t have time to think about him anymore. Until it becomes clear that the up-and-coming lawyer at her new workplace is none other than James.

Beyond working at the same firm, James’s desire is kept in check by the bro code rule: Don’t date the girl your cousin likes—especially when he’s the attorney who invited you to join the firm. With the lines between lust and hate getting blurry, can they help but be crossed?


Secrets in Cypress Bayou by Susan Sands (Southern Born)

Release Date: August 16, 2022

Louisiana, Book 2

Some secrets are buried deep…

When newly minted attorney Carly Bertrand returns to Cypress Bayou, Louisiana, to be close to her family, her first priority is finding a job. She’s shocked to get an offer from her childhood crush, Tanner Carmichael, whose town roots are as deep as hers. Carly accepts, confident she can help Tanner get his new law practice up and running, and keep her attraction to him under lock and key. She’s no longer a starry-eyed teen admiring from afar.

Their first client is a woman searching for her birth mother who mysteriously disappeared decades ago without a trace. Carly and Tanner take the case and soon find themselves drowning in a swampy patch of secrets, political corruption, and danger. And the further they dig, the more it looks like Tanner’s powerful, narcissistic father is involved.

As they work to unravel the mystery, Carly’s old feelings resurface and Tanner can’t believe the shy girl next door has become such a brilliant, beautiful, and determined woman. Should they risk everything for the truth, including their hearts, or settle for safety?


The Last Casterglass by Kate Hewitt (Holiday)

Release Date: August 18, 2022

Keeping Up with the Penryns, Book 4

He dreams of saving his ancestral home. She longs to escape hers.

Persephone is the youngest Penryn, and she’s always felt like an afterthought. As her siblings ventured out one by one, she was left behind, learning to rely on herself. Now that they’ve all returned and are on a mission to save their home, she’s reluctantly falling in with their plans and keeping her distance, especially when an Oxford-educated intern arrives wanting to learn how to save one’s ancestral home.

Oliver Belhaven has come to Casterglass to prove to his uncle that he can make Pembury a financial success, so the only home Oliver has ever had isn’t sold. He is intrigued by the beautiful and mercurial Seph and senses a kindred spirit—alone even around family.

Oliver may be charming, but under her surly facade Seph is afraid to get close to anyone. Yet the longer Oliver works at Casterglass, the more invested he becomes—in Seph and in saving his home. But will achieving one dream mean that he has to let go of another? And can Seph finally learn to let go—and love?


Home Is Where the Body Is by Jody Holford (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: August 23, 2022

The Wannabe Sleuth, Book 1

The coastal Oregon town of Rainbow Falls might be sleepy, but it’s definitely not innocent…

When graphic designer and true crime fan Annie Abbott agrees to house sit her parents’ home for a year, she’s convinced that even though the small town has ten coffee shops, nothing exciting will happen. But that’s before a seemingly feral cat gives birth in her garage, prompting a call to the very handsome, very single town vet. It’s a dream meet-cute, but just as their romance blooms, Annie discovers the bloody body of her grumpy neighbor. And despite the fact that she passes out at the sight of blood, the police suspect her.

To clear her name, Annie will need to put her years of watching police procedurals and reading mysteries to good use. She’ll also need to rely on her new friends who have welcomed her to Rainbow Falls, but is one of them the killer?


The Stardust Cowboy by Anne McAllister (Montana Born)

Release Date: August 25, 2022

The Cowboy’s Code, Book 1

He is nobody’s hero…

Wyoming rancher Riley Stratton has nothing in common with his newly discovered young nephew Jake’s imaginary “stardust cowboy”—the one who makes dreams come true. Riley’s own dreams died so many years ago, he doesn’t even think about them anymore. Now he just works hard, doing his duty by the family ranch. He knows it’s only fair to buy out Jake’s half.

Trouble is, Jake has dreams too. After inheriting half a ranch, Jake’s boyish dreams of becoming a cowboy are alive and well. Which means Riley’s world is about to expand to include Jake’s fiercely determined, seriously tempting mother, Dori Malone, too. And much to Riley’s dismay, Dori stirs his dormant dreams to life.

But Riley doesn’t trust those dreams. He doesn’t trust Dori. He gave his heart once and won’t do it again. Some men are made for love. Others, like Riley, are made for duty. And some dreams not even Jake’s “stardust cowboy” can make come true. Or can they?


Better Left Behind by Melinda Di Lorenzo (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: August 30, 2022

Trinity Calhoun Mystery, Book 3

When no one is who they seem, the only person you can trust is yourself.

Detective Trinity Calhoun‘s closest friend was due back weeks ago from his undercover operation, and the last thing she wants to do is take a trip. Not even to attend a high-profile conference at a swanky hotel on a beautiful island with all expenses paid. But with her boss counting on her, Trinity sets aside her misgivings and goes.

Except from the moment she sets foot on the ferry, something feels…off. First comes a man who’s far too interested in her. Then Trinity swears she’s spotted her late-to-return friend. And someone—who could be an ally or a foe—is definitely planting breadcrumbs for her. Is a little girl missing or is that, too, a misdirect?

Quickly, Trinity realizes the danger is closing in. And she’s trapped. Hemmed in by a storm that’s cut off both digital and physical access to the mainland. Her survival depends on her ability to differentiate between clue and bait. Because someone wants to help—and someone wants her dead.

THE COWBOY STEALS A LADY: Release day blog post featuring Anne McAllister

Hi Everyone!  Hope that you’re all doing well and are finding a bit of life outside the house these days.  It’s been an interesting year, hasn’t it?  

One of the things I’ve reflected on this year is the jobs people do and how they have had to change the way they do them.  Mine has not been a big change. I still write exactly where I always have, and while I do my work as a genealogist and family historian online almost exclusively now, I haven’t had to adjust too much (though I do miss regular visits to courthouses, archives and libraries). 

Others are not so lucky.  Shane Nichols, the hero of The Cowboy Steals a Lady, as a rodeo roughstock rider would have had his world changed quite a lot. He’s lucky I wrote the book before Covid-19 entered the picture. If he thought he was going stir crazy as a result of the freak injury that was keeping him from competing (he was helping out a friend with a truck and a trailer and ended up getting his thumb sewn back on!), he would definitely have been swinging from the rafters (even with his healing thumb) during this past year!  

Shane’s impulsiveness combined with his innate goodheartedness was the starting point for his story.  Only this time he isn’t helping a friend with a truck and trailer.  His rodeo buddy, Cash Callahan, even more of a rolling stone than Shane, is bemoaning his former girlfriend Milly’s impending wedding to a sane, safe, stable accountant (in other words, the opposite of Cash).  Cash insists he would do something about it, except he has drawn a great bronc to ride at a rodeo in Texas on Saturday.  

Shane, who sympathizes with his buddy’s predicament more than you or I probably would (or frankly than most of the rest of the world would!), decides to help Cash out.  He’ll talk to Milly, make her realize that Cash is really the man she loves, convince her to call off the wedding and wait for Cash.

Or he could just spirit her away for a day.  She can’t get married if she isn’t at the wedding, can she? 

See? Impulsive.  Good-hearted, but, um, seriously misguided.  He was such a fun hero to work with!  

And Poppy? The heroine he made off with?  Practical, determined, no-nonsense, Poppy is a woman with a long history of dealing with her father, the judge, who has bulldozed in his own way. She was a perfect match for Shane – even though she was the florist, not the bride!

I had such a good time with those two and their story.  After the angst of Shane’s older brother, Mace, and his wife, Jenny, in The Cowboy Finds A Family, I really wanted to write a book that made me smile while I was writing, one that even made me shake my head and laugh at times. Shane and Poppy gave me that.  I got up in the morning eager to spend the day with them.  

There were other perks, too.  I got to revisit the cabin where Mace had lived in his book. This time, though, It was up to the porch in snow.  I also got to go back to high school days and recall rivalries between local football teams.

It was at the football game that I met a new character who so charmed me that he’s going to get his own story soon.  I got to meet Poppy’s father who made me realize where Poppy got her grit and her resolve.  And I got to watch Shane’s impulsiveness and honor do battle more than once over the course of the book.  All in all, I had a good time.

Not to mention the chicken.  

I hope you’ll get a chance to meet the chicken.  Poppy does, too. And Shane?  Er, well, not so much.

 

Photos of florist, cabin, football game and chicken used with permission/Depositphotos.com

 

Years ago someone told Anne McAllister that the recipe for happiness was a good man, a big old house, a bunch of kids and dogs, and a job you loved that allows you to read.  And write.  She totally agrees.
Now, one good man, one big old house (since traded for a slightly smaller house. Look, no attic!) a bunch of kids (and even more grandkids) and dogs (and one bionic cat) and seventy books, she’s still reading.  And writing.  And happier than ever.
Over thirty plus years Anne has written long and short contemporary romances, single titles and series, novellas and a time-travel for Harlequin Mills & Boon and for Tule Publishing. She’s had two RITA winning books and nine more RITA finalists as well as awards from Romantic Times and Midwest Fiction Writers. One of the joys of writing is that sometimes, when she can’t go back in person, she can go back in her mind and her heart and her books.

Tule Royal Wedding, PLANNING A ROYAL WEDDING 4: THE BEST MAN AND BRIDESMAIDS

GIVEAWAY: We will be giving away a print copy of Anne McAllister’s The Best Man’s Bride. Comment in our post with what you’re looking forward to in Harry and Meghan’s upcoming wedding!
We will announce the winners in our weekly newsletter, so make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already!

 

PLANNING A ROYAL WEDDING 4: THE BEST MAN AND BRIDESMAIDS
Jessica Hart and Anne McAllister

 

There are so many big decisions to be made about a wedding: there’s the where and the when and the what sort of wedding it will be, but deciding who will be most closely involved in the bridal party is also crucial.

Bride, groom, bridesmaids and page boys (and grandparents!) On the balcony at Buckingham Palace, April 2011.

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