Remember, you have to post to be in the running for one of the prizes!! And today, I’m playing at Ellora’s Cave. If you can’t make it to the chatter’s loop, I’ll be in a live chat room at 11:00 AM CST. Stop by and ask me anything you like. Email me for details!

All my “Texas” books take place in and around a little town called “Honkytonk.” Yes, it’s a fictitious town, but it’s a place I’m really familiar with. I lived in a small Texas town, taught school in another small Texas town, so I know what it’s like.

Honkytonk’s the kind of place where everyone knows your business. It’s hard to hide secrets, and once a man breaks his bond with another person, he’ll have to work like hell to regain his reputation. It’s the kind of town some men might move to if they desire to sink deep roots.

The heroes in Down in Texas all live on ranches outside of Honkytonk. In the next volume, Texas Men, the heroes live in or play inside the city limits.

In southwest Texas, the sun carves lines in a man or woman’s face no amount of sunscreen can protect you from. The critters can be lethal—rattlesnakes, cougars (rare these days), black bears, feral pigs (I could tell you a story or two about rednecks hunt them–but it would turn your hair white). Everything’s bigger in Texas, in case you’ve never heard, but it definitely applies to bugs. I’ve chased tarantulas, wolf spiders, six-inch centipedes and walking sticks out of the house. But scorpions have to be the freakiest—nothing kills them but a heavy shoe.

So you might wonder why a woman would like to live in a place like that? Where do you think real men live? 😉