What perfect timing for a foal to make an appearance. Days after Waiting For Yes released, Orion's last foal decided it was time to join our lives. After staying up all night with her Mommy, waiting for her to decide to give over and give birth, she graced us just as the sun began to lighten the sky, shortly before Seven AM.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Labels: Arabians , Musings , Waiting For Yes

Well, it's that time again -- I have a new release available!

Waiting For Yes, is available in both print and electronic formats, through The Wild Rose Press, and can be ordered through any bookstore.

Here's the fun stuff:


Waiting For Yes

Gabrielle Warrenton gave up everything to pursue her dream of a first-class Egyptian Arabian breeding farm. Her future lies in her new stallion’s success. Though she possesses an exceptional eye for horseflesh, she lacks the training knowledge, and Bahadur Mamoon has a date with the nation’s most affluent show in three weeks. Nothing that would present a problem given his previous credentials. Only, the sellers disguised one critical fact—he’s crazy.

Jake Lindsey-Sullivan was once part of an exceptional Arabian training team. Under his mother’s guidance, he developed an instinctual talent, but she was the star, the cornerstone of his life. Until she met a premature death. Grief-stricken and plagued by guilt, Jake abandoned the world of horses. Now an over-the-road truck driver, he evades the memories.

When a snowstorm throws two Arabian professionals into close-quarters, they discover an engulfing passion. But will Mamoon rip open emotional scars, or forever seal them shut?

Excerpt:

In slow motion, he leaned forward. One thick palm framed the side of her face. His eyes searched hers, emotion flickering behind their sky blue depths. Sorrow, regret, and affection stared back at her as his thumb caressed her cheek. “Be safe, Gabrielle,” he whispered.

She closed her eyes against a storm of sorrow. Instinct filtered through her hope, and in the halfsecond of time that passed before his other hand came up to join the first, she knew. This wasn’t a temporary goodbye. Jake intended on driving away forever. A sob bubbled in the back of her throat, threatening to strangle her.

Before it tore free, Jake’s mouth settled against hers. He nudged her lips apart, inviting himself inside. Softly, slowly, he explored. Roused her awareness until the reality of his departure gave way to striking tenderness. She responded to the familiar feeling he awakened, her body tightening with an anxious surge of energy.

He held her in place, seemingly content to kiss her until time stood still. In the quiet, she caught the hard fall of his breath. Beneath her fingertips, his heart hammered fierce. His mouth took on a more demanding quality as he slid one hand into her hair and curled his fingers against her scalp.

A sound of pleasure vibrated in his throat, and Jake drew the kiss to a lingering close. He touched his forehead to hers, then sucked in a deep breath. “Win for me, sugar.”

Before she could gather her senses and respond, the passenger’s door slammed shut. Panic flooded her. He couldn’t walk away. That kiss alone said things she’d longed to hear. He cared for her. She loved him. He couldn’t just turn his back on all that.

Jamming her hand against the handle, she shoved open the door and jumped out. “Jake!”



To find out whether Jake turns his back or not, buy the book!

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Labels: Arabians , Contemporary Romance , My Books , Waiting For Yes , Wild Rose Press

I'm so excited to share my new book trailer for Waiting for Yes! Thanks to the ladies over at Long and Short Reviews, this was put together faster than my usual procrastinating approach on it. (By the way, great set of folks to work with for advertising opportunities, fellow writers!)

But before I show it off, I want to talk about creating this particular trailer. With my other ones, I've been able to go into stock photo sites and find what I needed. But when I'm trying to promote a book about the Straight Egyptian Arabian, going into a generic site isn't exactly helpful. Yes, there are beautiful stock photos there... and of Arabians... but there's a "distance" that I didn't particularly want -- in so much as these horses are strangers to me, and this book is very intimate to me.

I did use a few of my own horses in it, and am excited to have a chance to show them off, but that still left me with a lot of holes to fill. And I'd much rather give credit to people I know in the industry as opposed to total strangers/unknown equines.

So, I reached out to some fellow breeders I know, and asked for some help. In the resulting trailer, 3/4 of the horses exhibited here are horses I "know" -- they aren't just models. These people are folks who have a passion for the breed, and spend their time in the trenches doing everything they can to share their passion with others. They are some of the best horsepeople I've had the pleasure of meeting, and some of them are good friends.

I'm proud to have the opportunity to promote their special equine friends.

So, with much ado --



If you'd like a closer look at the horses within, please check out the Meet The Horses page on my website, where you can see who's who. For those of you who are active in the world of Arabians, or horses period, if you want further information on any of the showcased horses, website information is available here, and if not, I'm happy to network you appropriately.

Waiting For Yes will be available April 20, 2011.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Labels: Arabians , Book Trailer , Contemporary Romance , My Books , Waiting For Yes

There are three things I love most about writing, in this order:

1. Sale Announcement Day
2. Release Day
3. Release Date Day

After almost a year I received a release date for Waiting For Yes!

It seems like I've been waiting forever. The book was contracted before A Christmas To Believe In, but with that release having a firm scheduling day, and the business with Tor, my editor and I collectively agreed Waiting would be a bit delayed.

With much ado:

Waiting For Yes, releases April 20, 2011.

A winter snowstorm. A horse with a past.
A woman who has everything riding on the line.

While I've included the blurb, I know you've heard me say it before, but I want to say it again. My stallion, WDA Orion, is on the cover!

A brief bit about how he came to be a part of this story. First and foremost, let it be said that Orion never suffered the stuff Bahadur Mamoon goes through in the story. He was never, not right in the head, for any reason. In fact, Orion was an in-your-pocket kind of horse who would have been completely at home in my house, had he been housebroken. And had my old floorboards been able to support his weight.

But this romance is about an Egyptian Arabian, and in my eyes, Orion was one of the most beautiful examples of the Egyptian Arabian I know. So when I was writing this, I used the only life-picture I had. I didn't want to go with black, or bay, or bold chestnut... so thus a physical replica of Orion made it into the story. And then came the cover nail-biting... what kind of horse would end up on the cover, and how many Arabian lovers would freak out if it wasn't an Arabian at the least, let along Egyptian Arabian.

I had nightmares about "Oh, gosh, what if the artist puts a Polish up there?"

So I begged to use my own photo and released rights for use on it.

And I think I cried when the cover came back and everything was good to go. (Let me give a shout-out to the wonderful staff and artists at The Wild Rose Press, right here!)

So Orion has his day in infamy and is immortalized in some way. That makes me happy, especially in the light of his loss. And it means so much more to me that TWRP allowed the use of his portrait.

I also want to give a shout-out to Kevin Swalley, who taught me about big rigs and helped with Jake's driving scenes. Without him, my book would have stagnated at the idea phase.

Anyway -- more to come when Waiting For Yes gets closer to release!

~Claire

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Labels: Arabians , Contemporary Romance , My Books , Waiting For Yes , Wild Rose Press

**NOTE: This is a rant.**

The title is a little misleading, because I've always been a writer. But I did make a devoted shift in professional paths, from horse breeding to full time author. Do I still raise horses? Absolutely. I always will. It's the business of horses I want nothing to do with.

This shift has come gradually, and it all began when I had a stallion standing at stud. The very same gentleman I lost yesterday. Before I go further, I feel it's necessary to mention that 3/4 of the people I associate with, in the world of Arabians, are wonderful people. I'm on a couple list-serves with folks who are genuine and just good human beings. These folks (you know who you are) are obviously exempt from my rant.

It began with the species known as "Mare Owner". Now, I own mares, and I've bred to out of state stallions, in state stallions and dealt with the other subspecies called, "Stallion Owner." When I became the latter, I figured "What a snap. I'm a mare owner, this can't be as difficult as I've heard."

WRONG.

After a season and a half of wishy-washy commitments, spending money to ship out stallion packages with no return, and then dealing with Mare Owners who expect Stallion Owners to leap when Mare Owners don't abide by contractual agreements, or expect Stallion Owners to bend the rules for them, or simply cannot fathom that in the end, what I do with my horse is my choice, and if I want to take my horse off the market for a season, hmm. Guess what. I can. Particularly if the folks I have agreements with are on the same page, and agreements not made directly through me, that I've chosen to be ameneable to just because I'm a generally nice person, really don't pertain to my decisions.

(That is a terrible sentence, by the way)

What it boils down to is, if I want to shoot my stallion's breeding career in the foot by making him available under certain circumstances, certain times, or not available at all, it's my choice within bounds of contract agreements already signed. It is not the Mare Owner's. Period.

And as a Mare Owner I've experienced my own frustrations with Stallion Owners who either I didn't read the contract closely and got lectured, or just simply vanished off the face of the earth with the registry not even knowing how to contact them.

So I do sympathize, but really... in the end, the stallion belongs to me. And it was this seemingly obtuse perception that random people I didn't know from Adam could dictate what I would, or would not do with my own horse, pushed me into leaving the business.

Today, it was reconfirmed that indeed I made a good choice and I was not cut out to ever stand a stallion full time in a demanding market. Namely when word made it through the grapevine that my stallion had died and suddenly Mare Owners are in my email box.

Quick note to everyone whose emailed me:

a. I will not be addressing your emails 24 hours after his death. He's not a money-machine, he's my friend and I hurt. Have a little consideration. No one's breeding horses in November, except for the race track, and you aren't in that circuit.

b. Read your contract before you email me. If there are things to discuss, we'll do so. But be sure you read what you signed first. It's not my fault you made assumptions.

Everyone else who has no clue what I'm talking about:

Imagine your grandfather passing. And then, less than 24 hours after the fact, every extended family member starts phoning you asking which part of his estate he/she is entitled to.

Ugh. So glad I write. All I have to do is do what my agent tells me, do what my editor tells me, and produce creative content that keeps my readers entertained.

So much easier. So very much easier.

**End of Rant**

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Labels: Arabians , Musings

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Labels: Arabians , Musings