ONE MORE DANCE, a new release, and a chance for prizes!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

How did you fare over the winter? Are you seeing signs of spring where you live?  Our record-breaking cold and snowy winter is (hopefully) a thing of the past, and we’re actually seeing bare ground!  Even the peacock is revving up for spring. He has been growing out his plumage and struts around the barnyard with his long, beautiful tail feathers raised in full display. Not quite so lovely is his ear-piercing mating call, which sounds like a woman screaming for help.  J

Page down for info on ONE MORE DANCE, a chance to win prizes, a favorite family recipe, and news of a good friend’s latest book release!

How badly can a relationship be broken before there’s just no chance to save it?

When veterinarian Kate Mathers drives past the scene of a terrible accident and sees two ambulances race away, she whispers a prayer for those involved, not realizing that it’s her husband’s car in flames down in the ditch, and that a woman in the car with him was killed—a complete stranger. And now Jared is in the ICU on the verge of death, and only a miracle can save him.

She’s at his bedside, trying to face his precarious situation and also deal with the fact that someone is targeting both her husband and her veterinary practice, and wondering how the most perfect, joyous marriage could have gone so wrong. Or did it?

If only they can have one more chance to talk and to forgive, and one more dance in each other’s arms…

ONE MORE DANCE  is a clean and wholesome, full-length contemporary romance mystery. It’s available right now for just $0.99  at all e-book retailers.
For more information or to buy, click on the BOOKS tab along the horizontal bar above this blog post.

 

Here is my question of the month…and your chance to win prizes in my drawing! 

After ONE MORE DANCE, there are four more books coming out in my Northern Pines during 2021, and they need covers! Which cover styles attract you the most?  A setting, such as charming little cottage in the woods, or the mountains, or the seashore, or do you prefer either a hero or heroine alone on the cover? Or…maybe both of them?

Leave an answer or a comment at the bottom of this blog post to be entered in drawings for a free e-copy of SNOWBOUND WITH THE COWBOY or a $10.00 Barnes & Noble gift card  (two separate winners.)  Good luck!

Here are the answers from last month’s winners, who can click CONTACT  to receive their prizes. Be sure to put “WS newsletter winner” in the subject line. Thanks!

Colleen C:    Favorite memories… waiting by the window and watching for my grandparents to arrive. When I saw them I was filled with such happiness. I would run to the door to open it for them and it was the best feeling on Earth to get a hug from them.
Food, we always have pumpkin pie from my grandma’s recipe and make M&M cookies together.
Happy Holidays!

Pat S:         My favorite memory of Christmas was the year the whole family got together and rented a cabin in Colorado Springs. The snow was perfect even if my skiing was not! My brother arranged a wagon ride to a huge tent in the snow that served grilled steak and fixings served while people performed music and we sat on hay bales at plank tables. We also went to hot springs that even had waterfalls, oh my, what a wonderful celebration!
We always start baking on Thanksgiving weekend while we decorate the tree and house. Christmas movies are playing (starting with White Christmas) and our hearts are happy. After all, we are celebrating the birth of Christ!

Here is my family recipe of the month. All of us love this, because it’s yummy and it works for those of us trying to follow a keto diet. If you skip blending in the whipped cream to make it a mousse instead of a pudding, it’s also low fat!

Keto Chocolate Pudding (or Mousse)

2 cups almond milk
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp Dutch process cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/3 cup Splenda (0r other granular sweetener)
1/2 cup almond milk
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup Lily sugar free chocolate chips
1 tsp real vanilla

Heat the first four ingredients in a saucepan until hot.

In a separate, small bowl, slowly stir the extra 1/2 cup cold almond milk into the cornstarch until smooth, then add to saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir for two more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the Lily chocolate chips and vanilla until smooth.

For pudding: Chill (or serve warm–yum!) and top with whipped cream sweetened with Splenda or a similar sweetener.
For mousse: chill pudding, then gently blend in real whipped cream sweetened with Splenda. Top with additional whipped cream.

Yummy!

Finally, here is an excerpt,  cover and a link for my friend Lyn Cote’s newest book, AMY’S FOREVER LOVE,  which is out now. Don’t miss it!

Even though Amy Broussard is their aunt, her twin little girls call her “mom.” In the midst of a harsh winter, Amy is helping build her Habitat for Humanity home, just the security she’s always wanted for her girls. But one frigid evening on their way to the church potluck, she and her girls find two orphaned kittens. And there she meets the local veterinarian and surprises him by volunteering to adopt the kittens on the spot, fulfilling another promise to her girls. The vet’s basset hound Bummer in turn surprises everyone by instantly “adopting” the two golden tabbies too! From then on, like it or not, Amy and the vets’ lives intersect with the “help” of Bummer and the twins. Yet before love can bloom, both adults must work through a winter of heart-healing as family secrets and grudges are unraveled.

From a USA Today Bestselling author, a heartwarming story of love, faith and the power of forgiveness. And the joy of furry friends!

https://booksbylyncote.com/SWBS/books-by-lyn/amys-forever-love-clean-christian-romance

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Happy holidays!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

BEST WISHES TO YOU FOR A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!

It’s hard to believe that we’re already approaching mid-December. Like every other holiday this year, it will certainly be different—at least at our home. We usually have a houseful of family here to celebrate. Our daughter comes home early to help me cook and bake up a storm because we both love to cook! But this year, everyone is trying to be cautious and I’m not sure if any of the family will want to come.

And that makes me think fondly of years past.

Until last year, I’d always followed the Christmas traditions of my late Swedish mother, with a smorgasbord of Swedish foods on Christmas Eve—Christmas ham, Swedish meatballs, a potato casserole, platters of cold meats and cheeses, pickled herring, steamed veggies, lefse (which we love, though it’s Norwegian, not Swedish), cardamom buns, rice pudding with lemon sauce, and Swedish cookies like rosettes, pepparkakor, and lingonberry hearts. But NO lutefisk. Ever! I have such lovely memories of those Christmas Eve meals, but last year our kids voted for lasagna!

Please read to the end for the Christmas cookie recipe our family has been making since the 1970s!

Speaking of memories, my very favorite Christmas Eve was when our second son was born that very day. What a blessing!

Here are my questions for December:

  1. What is one of your favorite memories from holidays past?

2. Do you serve certain favorite foods during the holidays?

To answer these questions, just reply in the “Comments” section below.
From those who answer, three winners will be chosen. Their replies (with just a first name and last initial) will appear in my January newsletter, and each winner can select a free e-copy of one title in my 2020 Coupled by Christmas six-novella series. Two of the novellas, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS and A SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS, are shown above.

Here are the winners from last month:

Debra P. said:
I am blessed to live with my 82 year Mom who is home from a rehab center after seven weeks. My Dad lives six blocks away. He is in and out a few days a week. We will have both of them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We usually have an open house type day, but that will not be happening. I had planned on making some gifts, but my heart has not been in it this year. This year I will be focused more on the birth of the Lord, not the commercial, gift giving. I am struggling to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Natalya L. said:
How are you coping with the pandemic? With faith…trusting the Lord! What will you change this year? Nothing, I’m not going to let fear kill all the joy. Not one of us is guaranteed the next hour; why are we acting as if we will somehow live forever? We won’t. I respect genuine caution and take necessary precautions but I refuse to stay away from my loved ones, especially since we don’t know if they are going to be around for the next holidays.
What will you miss the most? I miss traveling. But we already have people walking around who are doing such ridiculous things that it’s just going to end up breaking all their hearts in the end…. And that’s the saddest part of all of this.

Colleen C. said:
Thinking of gift ideas for family is hard this year, no one really gave me any ideas. I feel like time is flying by… looking forward to decorating soon.

 

 

Here are my newest releases–in the six novella series “Couple for Christmas”

CHRISTMAS IN PARIS released December 4.

Christmas in Paris—a dream come true. Holly had planned every moment of their perfect, romantic honeymoon on an Excel spreadsheet.

To her utter shock, she found herself jilted just before her wedding. When she heard her fiancé had eloped with someone else that very morning and had absconded with her savings, it took her minutes to realize she’d escaped a very close call. And just a few more to decide she was not missing the trip of a lifetime that she’d paid for herself.
But when she steps out of her tiny Paris hotel and bumbles into the path of a man jogging by…

 

 

 

 

A SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS

Lucy Davis has fourteen days to settle her late aunt’s estate in Scotland, then she needs to be on her return flight to Chicago. As her Aunt Maura’s only remaining relative, she figures it won’t be difficult–she’d never met the woman who just died at eighty-nine, but assumes the most challenging aspects will probably be rehoming a pet cat or two, and taking a few things to a donation bin.

She doesn’t expect to find Maura still owned a charming B&B, complete with a collection of quirky guests who have no intention of moving out…plus one tall, mysterious man who just might be the man of her dreams….

HERE ARE FOUR GREAT PROMOTIONS THIS MONTH—WITH LOTS OF PRIZES TO WIN!

Inspirational Romance Holiday Extravaganza – Dec. 7-16
Click here to enter!

Click to Enter

Click to Enter

The Gift of Reading Giveaway ?? WIN A NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB ?? – Dec. 4-10
From LitRing. Rewards one lucky reader with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and two others each with a $25 Amazon gift card, just for following authors on BookBub! Go here now to see which authors are participating and claim all your entries for the big prize.

 

“Clean Christmas Shorts” Promotion – Nov. 27-Dec. 25
This is a place to find lots of wonderful Christmas novellas. Come check it out!

 

Clean Christmas Romance 25 Days of Christmas Facebook Event! – Dec. 20
Click on this link to join the group and find out more.
I’ll be there chatting with readers on December 20th from 5-6 pm central time, and giving away prizes. Be sure to stop by then!

 

 

OUR FAMILY’S FAVORITE CUT-OUT COOKIE RECIPE SINCE THE LATE 1970s!

photo:cookies

This is a favorite because the dough is so easy to work with—which means much less trouble when making Christmas cookies with little ones. It can be rolled out over and over again, as you use up the “scraps” for the next batch.

I keep this dough in my freezer for when grandkids come, so we can roll out cookies for whatever season it is. The floor has a definite sugar crunch by the time we are done, but the kids have a ball.
And what they come up with always involves lots and lots of decoration—as you can see in the photo!  🙂

ROLLED COOKIES—ROXANNE RUSTAND

CREAM:
2 cups Crisco-type shortening
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

MIX DRY INGREDIENTS, THEN ADD TO CREAMED MIXTURE:
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 cups flour

Roll out (thin)  and cut your cookies, then bake at 350° 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Note:  This is a copy of my December newsletter. If you would like to be on the mailing list so you don’t miss any of my newsletters, just look over to the top right for a quick and easy way to sign up.  In each issue, there are chances to win free books by simply answering one–or all–of the monthly questions listed in the newsletter (and this blog post) and you’ll be entered in the drawing!  I’ll also include links to any current promotional events where you can win all sorts of prizes!

God bless,

Roxanne

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Happy Thanksgiving…and a chance for prizes!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Best wishes to you all for a safe and happy holiday season!

How have you and yours been faring? I hope that you are doing well and that we can all get past this difficult time. I look forward to 2021 with great anticipation!

Did you receive my newsletter? It was sent out Wednesday, November 18th.  If you haven’t subscribed, it’s so easy.  Just look for the Subscribe button in the upper right corner of this website. I will always include a family favorite recipe, and also offer monthly prizes. In case you don’t wish to subscribe but would like to have a chance at those prizes  🙂  I am pasting a copy of it right here:

 

Goodness—Thanksgiving is nearly here! I adore our big family dinners at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. because we usually have twenty to twenty-five people here.  I love to cook. And I love having everyone all together. It may seem silly, but just looking out our dining room window to a driveway filled with cars warms my heart.

Only this year, it will seem so different. One son and his family will celebrate at home in Wisconsin. Our other two adult kids and their families are just an hour away, but we’ve all wondered if we dare get together…and we’ve now decided against it. Maybe this will be a Zoom holiday…which makes me feel sad. Yet, surviving this pandemic to be around to enjoy holidays for years to come is far more important.

November has had bright note for me, though.  After a lot of hard work, two more of my six sweet (clean & wholesome) “Coupled by Christmas” novellas are out this month: A LONDON CHRISTMAS and AN IRISH CHRISTMAS BLESSING. The final one, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS, will be released December 2nd. All just $.99 each, and to check them out, CLICK HERE. I’ve based them on travels with my daughter or my husband, and writing them has almost been like reliving those trips. Happy memories!

The Coupled by Christmas novellas will be available at Amazon and all major online retailers at just 99 cents each until December 31st, 2020. Here are the release dates:

October 8th — The Mistletoe Puppy
October 15th — A Montana Christmas
October 29th — An Irish Christmas
November 4th — A London Christmas
November 18th — A Scottish Christmas
December 2nd — Christmas in Paris

Keep reading for an easy holiday recipe that has been a family favorite for thirty years!

Now, I have this month’s question. Three responses will be featured in next month’s newsletter, and will receive an e-copy of one of the six 2020 novellas. How are you coping with the pandemic, now that the holidays are just around the corner? What will you change this year? What will you miss the most?

To submit an answer, CLICK HERE to go to my blog.

Here are three responses from last month’s newsletter:

Bobbie M: If I could go anywhere I would love to spend some time in Monterey, California. My late husband and I took a couple special vacations there and I’d like to relive the memories even though he’s gone. (He would be with me in spirit.) And someday maybe Italy to see the amazing architecture.

Irene M: If I could go anywhere it would be Egypt to see my grandchildren. I can only see them once per year and there is no traveling at this time, so I would like to see them.

Dianne K: I’ve always dreamed of going to Antarctica and ancient Egypt. Christmas in Antarctica, wow, that would be my first white Christmas and be rather spectacular!

Finally, I would like to leave you with a family favorite…

HOLIDAY BLONDIES

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Prep 9×13 pan with Pam or baking spray

½ cup melted butter (no substitute for real, salted butter!)
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp REAL vanilla
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup holiday M&Ms
½ cup white chocolate chips
1 cup toasted coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffier.
Combine flour, salt and baking powder, and stir into creamed mixture (don’t over mix.)
Stir in holiday M&Ms (saving ½ cup to sprinkle on top), and pecans if desired.

Bake approximately 30 minutes. Watch carefully! They should be somewhat moist in the center of the pan and will set up more while cooling. Best if nice and chewy, not overbaked and dry.
A favorite in our family for thirty years!

Roxanne

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If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? ….Roxanne Rustand

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

I’m so thrilled! The Mistletoe Puppy, released last week, is the first of my six-novella Christmas series titled “Coupled by Christmas.”  And now the second, A Montana Christmas, is out this week!   If you’d like to learn more about either, just click on the covers or  CLICK HERE.

I loved to travel until the pandemic hit, and was able to do hands-on research for each of these novellas.  I’d never even dreamed of traveling outside the USA until my husband started earning trips and travel vouchers during the final years of his career.  Oh, how I wish I could go back to each of the locations again! It probably won’t happen, now that he has retired.  But I can still reminisce!   And I can “re-visit” those places when I sit down to write a book and immerse myself in locations that I love.

This brings me to my question of the month:  If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would that be, and why?  Just answer at the end of this blog.
Three replies will appear in my next Writerspace newsletter (and also here on my November blog post), and those three contributors will each be offered a free e-book.
No worries–I’ll include just a first name and last initial, unless a person wants to be completely anonymous.  I will ask first.

Speaking of travel, I had such fun writing this Coupled by Christmas series.  The novellas will be available at Amazon and all major online retailers at just 99 cents each through December, and can pre-ordered…so handy if you’re like me and tend to forget these things. Or most things!

If you’d like to learn more about any of them, or even order, just click on a title below. This week I learned how to create hyperlinks (which mean you can click on those titles to be taken somewhere ) and it’s so much fun! 

Here are the release dates for the six Coupled by Christmas novellas (all still $0.99 each): 
October 8th       – The Mistletoe Puppy
October 15th     – A Montana Christmas
October 29th     – An Irish Christmas 
November 4th   – A London Christmas
November 18th – A Scottish Christmas
December 2nd   – Christmas in Paris

 

By the way, the first novella on that  list, The Mistletoe Puppy, is actually part of another, loosely connected series with six Sweet (clean & wholesome) romance authors. Each story in this “Puppies for Christmas” series is a completely “stand alone” story and unconnected, but they have do have two things in common: Puppies and Christmas! Do you love puppies? The holiday season?  Just click the titles below, one by one, and you can learn more about the books. If you pre-order them, then you won’t miss one!
Oh, and the best part? They’re all 99 cents each!  It’s a great way to try authors you might not know. Here’s the line-up:

 

October 1st – Beneath Northern Lights by Lyn Cote
October 8th – The Mistletoe Puppy by Roxanne Rustand
October 15th – Christmas Redemption by Laura Scott
October 22nd – Puppy Love and Jingle Bells by Merrillee Whren
October 29th – Joy Comes to Bedford Falls by Susan Aylworth
November 5th – A Christmas Puppy to Cherish by Josie Riviera

Our fall colors are turning brilliant shades here in the Upper Midwest, and this week our temperatures will be dropping into the 30’s at night and 50’s during the day. I love sweater and jacket weather!  Our horses are all putting on their winter jammies (winter coats) now and our hummingbirds have gone south.  Signs of the season!  Wherever you are, I hope you are safe from the fires and hurricanes on our east and west coasts, and that you are enjoying a peaceful day.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you’ll come again!

Blessings,
Roxanne

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The Mistletoe Puppy A Holiday Novella

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

 

Can there ever be a second chance at love, after Brad Callahan has faced great loss, and Kate Larrsen has faced too many troubled relationships in the past? Can a lonely little girl and a sweet golden retriever puppy bring them together by Christmas?

Kate Larssen works as a nurse at a clinic in Mistletoe Falls, a charming small town in northern Minnesota. She also established and manages the area’s only no-kill animal rescue, a cause dear to her warm and loving heart. After a series of romantic disappointments, she’s no longer interested in risking another. She has far more important things to focus on. 

Brad Callahan is a former Minneapolis cop who recently moved north for his new job as a deputy. His wife died just before Christmas last year, and that grief is still too fresh to think about new relationships. He hopes Mistletoe Falls will be a place where Janie, his grieving six-year-old daughter, can grow up, and be part of a close-knit community. With few relatives left, he prays that this will happen.

Brad finds an abandoned golden retriever mix and her thirteen puppies and brings them to the animal shelter, where he meets Kate, the pretty manager.  Always ready to take in homeless or abused animals and to help anyone in need, Kate worries about Brad’s sad, motherless child, and invites them both for Thanksgiving dinner. Though neither has any interest in commitment, Kate and Brad’s friendship grows as she tries to help fill the void in Janie’s life. Can a litter of adorable puppies and a lonely little girl bring them together by Christmas?

To purchase on Kindle

Or other online bookstores,  click here

$0.99   through December 31, 2020

 

Merry Christmas,

Roxanne

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Fall Weather and Blueberry scones

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

I love to bake, and today’s cool, rainy weather seemed like a perfect time to make something warm and comforting, so I made a batch of blueberry scones. Coffee always tastes better in my Jane Austen mug. 🙂 I’ve probably read all of the sayings on it at least a hundred times, but they still make me smile.

 

 

 

BLUEBERRY SCONES
Blend and set aside:
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk*
Mix in a separate large bowl:
3 cups AP flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar

Add
1/2 cup COLD regular (salted) butter–not margarine!
Cut butter into flour until you have large crumbles.

Then add the liquid mixture:
Work the egg & buttermilk mixture in with a fork, and add
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries.
The mixture will seem very dry and crumbly. Try to press it together a bit ( it is not going to be a smooth cohesive dough at all!) Don’t overwork it.
Pat into the scone pan (you might not believe it at first, but yes–it will all fit!) or into a 9 inch round cake pan. The crumbly dough is hard to work with, but will result in a nice bumpy top.
Sprinkle heavily with sugar (coarse, large grain sparkling sugar if you have it is so pretty!) and bake 375 degrees for 20-25 min, let cool in pan.

*NOTES: I have only used the liquid buttermilk for this recipe, not the buttermilk powder plus water, so I’m not sure how the powder would work

I make these in a Nordic Ware scone pan that has dividers for each scone, so they come out perfectly.

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The Mistletoe Puppy, and a new holiday series

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Hi!

First of all, I need to confess.  I’ve been the biggest failure EVER when it comes to sending newsletters!  It’s been several years, now.  Since some folks on my mailing list might not remember why they signed up for my newsletters in the first place,  I’ll be sending a quick note to everyone on that list, asking if they’d like to receive newsletters going forward.  If you are new here and would like to sign up for my monthly newsletters, that’s easy.  Just go to the home page of my website and click the sign-up button in the upper right corner.  You’ll even receive a free cookbook and a free novel for doing so…and will also be entered in a drawing for a ruby, heart-shaped necklace, right along with my long-term subscribers!  The winner will be announced on this blog in mid-December.

As for my newsletters, I look forward to writing breezy notes about life in the country, news about writer friends, new releases, contests where you might win books or other prizes–like that ruby heart necklace in time for Christmas–and I’ll be adding family recipes, too. Did I mention that I love to cook?  🙂   As always, your email address won’t ever be shared.

It’s a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but I want to share news about my new Christmas novella series.

The Mistletoe Puppy is the first release in my “Coupled by Christmas” series, and it’s available for just 99 cents as an Amazon pre-order!  It will be released October 8th.

Here is an easy link to buy it on Amazon:  CLICK HERE

And for other retailers, CLICK HERE

The other five titles will be published between October and December of 2020. Here is the full list:
#1 The Mistletoe Puppy
#2 A Christmas in Montana
#3 An Irish Christmas Blessing
#4 A London Christmas
#5 A Scottish Christmas
#6 Christmas in Paris

 Can there ever be a second chance at love, after Brad Callahan has faced great loss, and Kate Larrson has faced too many troubled relationships in the past? Can a lonely little girl and a sweet golden retriever puppy bring them together by Christmas?

Kate Larssen works as a nurse at a clinic in Mistletoe Falls, a charming small town in northern Minnesota. She also established and manages the area’s only no-kill animal rescue, a cause dear to her warm and loving heart. After a series of romantic disappointments, she’s no longer interested in risking another. She has far more important things to focus on. 

Brad Callahan is a former Minneapolis cop who recently moved north for his new job as a deputy. His wife died just before Christmas last year, and that grief is still too fresh to think about new relationships. He hopes Mistletoe Falls will be a place where Janie, his grieving six-year-old daughter, can grow up, and be part of a close-knit community. With few relatives left, he prays that this will happen.

Brad finds an abandoned golden retriever mix and her thirteen puppies and brings them to the animal shelter, where he meets Kate, the pretty manager.  Always ready to take in homeless or abused animals and to help anyone in need, Kate worries about Brad’s sad, motherless child, and invites them both for Thanksgiving dinner. Though neither has any interest in commitment, Kate and Brad’s friendship grows as she tries to help fill the void in Janie’s life. Can a litter of adorable puppies and a lonely little girl bring them together by Christmas?

Wishing you all my best,   Roxanne

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Showing horses and happy memories… Roxanne Rustand

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

My newest Love Inspired novel,  Falling for the Rancher, has just been released.  I was so happy to see it at Walmart a few days ago!

And it was even more fun to see the similarity between our mare Patsy and the horse on the cover. Though the photo of her is from the side and doesn’t show it, she even had the same blaze!  What do you think–is the similarity just wishful thinking on my part?

Ah, the memories…when I first saw this cover.  The years of growing up on the back of my horse when I was little, the years of showing horses (first, at the little local shows, then on to the bigger WSCA, Tri-State and quarter horse show circuits in the Upper Midwest throughout high school and college.  Happy days, whether I won or lost, for I was able to do what I loved more than anything.

I left college for a while to work for a horse trainer–Monte Forman, for any of you who were around “way back when” and might remember him–then I went back to finish a bachelor’s in dental hygiene and public health.  Later, I got a master’s in nutrition and became a registered dietitian, and after my husband and I married, we began raising horses.

An AQHA palomino yearling in her photo above, Patsy was an equine airhead,  but she did pretty well at halter in the quarter horse shows, and then later she became a good broodmare for us.

Falling for the Rancher touches on themes that mean a lot to me–overcoming heartache, forgiveness, and the deep importance of a forever family for children who have been orphaned or otherwise abandoned. I was adopted when I was three, and will forever be grateful for my wonderful adoptive family.

This novel is set in a fictitious small town in the beautiful St. Croix, Wisconsin area that I love, and the hero and heroine are both veterinarians–which meant I was able to incorporate lots of four-footed secondary characters!

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Starting fresh!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

The world we live in seems to be evolving at such a fast pace these days–it’s hard to keep up. Do you find that to be true as well? The proliferation of technology advances and social media  is mind boggling. And in the writing life–well, blink and you’ve missed so much.

I  just didn’t have the heart for writing during the year after my sweet mom passed away, and during that time so much was happening with Facebook, Twitter and the still-growing array of other social media. By the time I got back in the saddle writing-wise, I was hopelessly  behind and befuddled. I’d become newly aware of one thing and suddenly there were two more on the horizon!

In the meantime, the  publishing world was rocked by the explosion of e-books that were taking off….and the way writers and readers connect is evolving as well. I’ve been trying to catch up ever since. You probably have known about memes for ages.  I just learned about them–and what to do with them–couple weeks ago!  Here’s one of mine–it’s rather like a online business card.

My super-patient webpage designer guided me into the latest wave of web page design a few years ago, but already, styles and content have changed,  So, she and I have spent the last couple weeks talking about another revamp, then experimenting with ideas. And now, my website has been freshened up and revised. I would love to hear your comments and suggestions!

So…what do you think of technology today? Honestly, I never imagined seeing entire families eating out…but instead of conversing, each with the bright screen of a smart phone capturing their complete attention!

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I am sooo excited!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

20140413_081104New things are coming at www.roxannerustand.com!  After having this style of website and blog for several years, I have been working with my lovely webmistress, Karen McCullough, who surely deserves an award for her patience as I’ve been sorting through the ideas I’d like to try next.  This site will be down on Monday, while she implements those changes, and by Tuesday everything here should look completely different.

I can’t wait to see it, and hope you will stop by again to take a peek–and let me know what you think! Your feedback means a lot to me, and will help with the final tweaks!

I hope you are having a wonderful winter.  Here in Iowa it has been gray and cloudy and sometimes drizzly…but hey, it’s easier to enjoy an occasional dreary day than shovel snow!  🙂

Roxanne

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