Cowboys & Horses on the Beach by Shannon Taylor Vannatter

I’ve long wanted to set a story on the beach. But my usual publisher only wants cowboys on a ranch romance from me. In 2020, I signed on as Acquisitions and Content Editor for Scrivenings Press. When my friend/the owner decided to publish novella collections, I got the opportunity to be in the first one. Candy Cane Wishes & Saltwater Dreams is a collection of five novellas, by different authors, set on five different beaches at Christmas.

Since I’m landlocked in Arkansas, I never got to see the ocean until I was in my thirties. On the way to see family in the San Antonio, Texas area, we stopped at Galveston. It was hurricane season. The water was brown and choppy. Seaweed tangled around my ankles, as I waded the shore, picking up shells. But I had the time of my life. That’s all I want from the ocean is the shells.

Fifteen years later, we visited Corpus Christi. It was prettier. The water was blue, but the only shells I found were tiny. My husband and son went out into the water and rode the waves. I watched for shark fins. After the visit to Corpus, I googled, Best Shelling in Texas and found Surfside Beach, near Galveston.

So when I finally got my chance to write a story set on the beach, I chose Surfside Beach. I planned for us to go there on the way to our next visit with family for fun and research. But life got in the way. Spring passed without our trip. Summer did too. I ended up relying on Google to get details and a feel for my setting.

During my research, I found Beach Bum Horse Rides, where you can rent a horse to ride on the beach. Since readers know me for writing cowboy romance, I knew I had to incorporate it into my story, Coastal Christmas Charade. My hero, Jace Wilder owns Romantic Beach Rides. In the opening scene, he’s testing a new mare while heroine, Lark Pendleton is walking her grandmother’s dog on the beach.

I had a lot of fun with that. Before their cute meet is over, the horse and the dog have relieved themselves in a most smelly way. I always see movies where the heroine adopts a cute little puppy or kitten. But there’s never mess to clean up or any potty training or litter boxes to be found. Okay, so it’s gross and not romantic. But it’s real.

With the romantic backdrop of Surfside Beach, I figure I can get away with a little bit of gross reality.

 

 

Candy Cane Wishes and Saltwater Dreams by Amy Anguish, Hope Toler Dougherty, Linda Fulkerson, Regina Rudd Merrick, and Shannon Taylor Vannatter

Mistletoe Make-believe by Amy Anguish – Charlie Hill’s family thinks his daughter Hailey needs a mom–to the point they won’t get off his back until he finds her one. Desperate to be free from their nagging, he asks a stranger to pretend she’s his girlfriend during the holidays. When romance author Samantha Arwine takes a working vacation to St. Simons Island over Christmas, she never dreamed she’d be involved in a real-life romance. Are the sparks between her and Charlie real? Or is her imagination over-acting … again?

A Hatteras Surprise by Hope Toler Dougherty – Ginny Stowe spent years tending a childhood hurt that dictated her college study and work. Can time with an island visitor with ties to her past heal lingering wounds and lead her toward a happy Christmas … and more? Ben Daniels intends to hire a new branch manager for a Hatteras Island bank, then hurry back to his promotion and Christmas in Charlotte. Spending time with a beautiful local, however, might force him to adjust his sails.

A Pennie for Your Thoughts by Linda Fulkerson – When the Lakeshore Homeowner’s Association threatens to condemn the cabin Pennie Vaughn inherited from her foster mother, her only hope of funding the needed repairs lies in winning a travel blog contest. Trouble is, Pennie never goes anywhere. Should she use the all-expenses paid Hawaiian vacation offered to her by her ex-fiancé? The trip that would have been their honeymoon?

Mr. Sandman by Regina Rudd Merrick – Events manager Taylor Fordham’s happily-ever-after was snatched from her, and she’s saying no to romance and Christmas. When she meets two new friends—the cute new chef at Pilot Oaks and a contributor on a sci-fi fan fiction website who enjoys debate—her resolve begins to waver. Just when she thinks she can loosen her grip on thoughts of love, a crisis pulls her back. There’s no way she’s going to risk her heart again.

Coastal Christmas Charade by Shannon Taylor Vannatter – Lark Pendleton is banking on a high-society wedding to make her grandparent’s inn at Surfside Beach, Texas the venue to attract buyers. Tasked with sprucing up the inn, she hires Jace Wilder, whose heart she once broke. When the bride and groom turn out to be Lark’s high school nemesis and ex-boyfriend, she and Jace embark on a pretend romance to save the wedding. But when real feelings emerge, can they overcome past hurts?

 

 

Award winning author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter writes contemporary Christian cowboy romance and has over a dozen published titles. A romance reader since her teens, she hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as she demonstrates that love doesn’t conquer all—Jesus does.

She gleans fodder for her fiction in rural Arkansas where she spent her teenage summers working the concession stand with her rodeo announcing dad and married a Texan who morphed into a pastor. Shannon is Scrivenings Press Acquisitions/Content Editor. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her husband and son, flea marketing, and doing craft projects.

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Follow my blog tour to enter the drawing for a copy of Candy Cane Wishes & Saltwater Dreams:

Sept 28^th – https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/shannon-taylor-vannatter-story-behind-the-story-part-1-of-1/

Oct 1^st – https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog/

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Oct 6th – https://pattishene.com/theover50writer

Oct 6th – https://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/blog/

Oct 8^th – https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog/

Oct 12^th – https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog/

Shannon will pick a winner from her blog tour comments and announce the winner on her blog on Oct 19^th.