Title: Outlaw Cowboy
Author: Nicole Helm
Series: Big Sky Cowboys, #2
Pubdate: May 3rd, 2016
ISBN: 9781492621270
BIG SKY TROUBLE
Ever since his father’s accident, Caleb Shaw vowed he’d mend his wild ways, and he means to keep his word. He’s a changed man. A better man. And he knows he should want absolutely nothing to do with his crazy old life…or the maddening temptation that is Delia Rogers.
Because Delia? Is nothing but trouble.
Delia’s been stealing her sisters away from their violent father ever since she was old enough to fight back. But now with the police on her trail and all her bridges burned, there’s nowhere left to run but back into the arms of the one cowboy she knows she shouldn’t need. Caleb has always been too good for her, no matter how bad he claimed to be. Yet when close quarters turn into something more, Delia and Caleb are forced to decide what really matters: mending their reputations or healing their wary hearts…
What are your Top 5 must haves for writing?
As a mom of two young kids, the wife of a man with a very non-traditional work schedule, and just someone who isn’t very good at following a rigid schedule, writing for me happens whenever and wherever it needs to. I don’t have much of a ritual, or ‘must-haves’ for writing.
However, there are certain things that get me in the mood to write, or help me focus when I have such luxury.
First, I make a Spotify soundtrack for each book I’m working on. It helps set the mood, and then if I’m switching between edits on one book and writing another, as I am often doing, switching soundtracks helps me immediately get into the right headspace. In fact, if you have spotify, you can listen to OUTLAW COWBOY’s soundtrack here. It’s heavy on the Dierks Bentley, as so many of my soundtracks are.
Second, I always have a Pinterest board for each book. In the beginning, it usually helps orient me, helps me decide how I want the characters, houses, settings to look. As I’m writing, I often go back to the Pinterest board if I’m stuck, hoping it will spark an idea. I’ve actually written a lot of scenes that were inspired by happening upon a random pin. In fact, in OUTLAW COWBOY both Delia’s engraving on the bottom of her boot, and Rose’s engraving on her gun were inspired by Pins I found. If you’re interested in the OUTLAW COWBOY Pinterest board, you can find it here.
Third, well I mean I have to have my computer (that should probably have come first) to do all of these things. I never write by hand anymore. Sometimes I will plot on pen and paper (when desperate measures are needed), but everything I do is typed. First drafts, edits, what have you, I have become so computer oriented that I recently wrote a letter to my grandparents and it was nearly illegible as it had been FOREVER since I’d had to hand write anything. I can type much faster than I can handwrite, and I can dictate even faster than I type, which is how I’ve been writing books lately. So, Mr. Computer is most important in the must haves, that’s for sure.
Fourth, in the world of beverages, I am a caffeine queen. If it’s morning, I usually have a mug of coffee at my elbow, and if it’s afternoon, I’ll have a can of pop/soda/whatever you call it. Usually it’s a Coke, and it is what gets me through the afternoon.
Lastly, my deep dark probably not at all secret is that, although I like chocolate, it’s not my go to writing snack like it is for so many romance writers. I love fruity candy—Starburst, Skittles (greens picked out), Jolly Ranchers (no watermelon, please!), Nerds, Twizzlers, Now and Laters, it’s a sad day indeed if I’m out of my favorite candy. (There may be a mountain of Starburst wrappers at my elbow as I type because, even though it’s morning, mentioning candy necessitates eating it). I even had a candy bar at my wedding, as my love of candy is known far and wide. I can tell you far too much about the way different candies have changed their colors over the years (RIP lime Skittles, Lifesavers, and lemon Jolly Ranchers).
Also, a shout out to my bed, where I can curl up and happily work when my husband is on day shift and my kids are at school. A truly important must-have runner up.
Nicole Helm writes down-to-earth contemporary romance specializing in people who don’t live close enough to neighbors for them to be a problem. When she’s not writing, she spends her time dreaming about someday owning a barn. She lives with her husband and two young sons in O’Fallon, Missouri.
Visit Nicole’s website for more down-to-earth contemporary romance!
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Ma67gF
Apple: http://apple.co/1owf0Wp
Chapters: http://bit.ly/1PQLUHm
Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1q1j2XN
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Yc5aoG