Showing posts with label Beyond the Dream Catcher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beyond the Dream Catcher. Show all posts

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Spotlight Sunday with Rita Hestand!


Do I believe in ghosts?
Well, yes and no.  I've  seen a real orb before, that moved on it's own, had it's own light and there was nothing in front of it like a flashlight and nothing behind it.  It was just there. That I have seen with my own eyes and my aunt and grandmother saw it too. But to see a ghost, I've never seen one.  However, at night when I'm in bed, I have felt someone pull my toe before, several times on different nights.  Do I believe in ghosts. I'm not sure.  I believe in unexplainable things, yes. I have seen an orb, yes. But not the walking around, looking like  a person kind of ghosts, no.

What would you find under my bed?
A little bit of everything, from shoes I've tossed, to stuff I drop and don't pick up.  A plastic box of books, curtain rods, maybe even a dirty sock. Things I can't find anywhere else.  You really don't want to go there, and oh yeah, probably an inch of dust.
Morning person or a night person? 
I'm not sure about that one.  Because I can get up pretty easily in the morning and get gong with a cup of coffee.  But I can also stay up late and work till the wee hours without too much stress.
So I'm not sure which one I come under.  Maybe a little of both and depending on the day.

What do I do to unwind and relax?
There are several things.  When I have been writing a while and get tired I play a game called Math Match and try to beat the computer.  I watch a lot of old movies. I have a ton of favorites too, anything from musical like an old Gene Kelly and Judy Garland movie, to a western with John Wayne. Sometimes I go seek my grandkids out and play a board game with them or just hang out with them, they are always full of ideas. 
New York or LA?
Wow that's a hard one, let me tell you why.  I like New York for all the sites and things you can do there, like seeing the statue of Liberty, Going to Radio Music Hall, taking in a Broadway show, looking down from the Empire State Building.  In LA, I would hang out in Hollywood, at the movie lots if they'd let me.  Go to all the places they go, see their homes. Either one would be a lot of fun.  But I guess New York would be my choice because of the volumes of things you can do there.  

What makes me happy?
My goodness what a question.  Well, a mockingbird singing his heart out to me, even wrote a poem about the mockingbird.  Watching my favorite movies on TV. See my grandkids accomplish something and smile about it.   Like graduating from high school, or competing in dance competitions, or just learning to do something well, like learning to drive a car. Paying a bill off. Finishing a book  and selling it.  Eating a good meal, like catfish and red beans. Doesn't take much to make me happy.

If I could apologize to someone, who would it be?
My mother for all the hard times we had, the arguments we have had and the misunderstandings we have had all through her life. But she's gone now and that won't happen, although I tried.

When do I write, DAY/NIGHT, and how long?
Well, that is varied from day to day. Sometimes I get up and begin writing with my cup of coffe, other days I stay up late and work into the night.  How long, well, that could depend too. If I am hot on a book, I can write for hours.  If I'm just beginning only a short while usually.  If I get stumped abouat something, I like to sleep on it.  Usually the reason I can't work any longer is I'm tired and need to rest.  Sometimes I might write most of the day.  Sometimes I barely write anything.  

If I were to write a series what would it be about?
I have written a series, The Travers Brothers, a contemporary romance series about 4 brothers on the 4 Bar None Ranch.  All single, all about to find the woman of their dreams. There was Deke who thought he'd teach his brothers they needed to marry and settle down to ranching life. And Rusty the one that was obligated to repay an old debt for his family, and Clint, the rodeo bull rider who nearly lost the only woman he ever loved, and Jake, the one who was meant for better things than ranching, but  would his family understand where his heart lay? See the Travers Brothers series at Smashwords.com, Amazon.com and Barnes And Noble.com




What's my favorite meal:
Two really, grilled steak and baked potato.  And fried catfish and red beans.  Either one of these is tops with me.  Give me a big thick rib eye steak grilled to perfection and tender you can cut it with a fork, or fried catfish with red beans, and I'm in heaven.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Show & Tell Saturday with Rita Hestand!



In the editing process right now, my second book coming out with Decadent Publishing is a civil war story. Maggie is the "Black Widow" spy for the north. She lives in northern Arkansas during the brunt of the war and plays a vital key to the victories there by the Union Army.  But Maggie has a story of her own, and it has little to do with the war. She's half mullato and half white, a runaway slave from Louisiana that seeks shelter in the mountains of Arkansas.  At sixteen she escaped the horrid plantation owner and fled for higher ground. But there is a price to pay for that freedom, and Maggie becomes one of the most famous in the Union Army. Everyone knows about the venom of the "Black Widow". At eighteen she meets Jesse Coleman, a confederate spy who has been ordered to bring her in.

Neither of these two unsuspecting people planned on falling in love so quickly, or so hard. But it happened. Jesse found Maggie irresistible and despite his orders, he couldn't stop the flames of desire. Even after making love to her thoroughly, he knew he had to bring her in, especially when she escaped to warn the Union Army. When she returned, Jesse took her captive. He knew she'd never forgive him, and it broke his heart to turn her in, because he was sure he loved her.

When the war was over, Maggie's troubles weren't. The prison guards had sworn to find her and kill her.  Making good on  their promise, Maggie left the fort, her daughter with her, and headed for Jesse's place in Texas.  Jesse helped get her in this mess, he would help get her out. He owed her. And she was collecting. Even though her heart melted from his touches, she had a new set of rules for Jesse and he would respect them. 

But could Maggie live with her own Love Rules?

This magnificent couple comes together to fight for survival, with a burning desire and a love that cannot be denied. 
 
I hope you will stop by and check this one out. It's coming soon from Decadent Publishing.
What's next, a spring off of Beyond the Dream Catcher, Lee's story, which is still in the works. A new contemporary series and many more books.  I hope you'll stop off at Decadent often and check my books out as I'll be writing up a storm.

Rita Hestand

Friday, December 10, 2010

Just the Facts Friday with Rita Hestand!


1. I have attended school in several different states including, Texas, Kentucky, Oregon, North Carolina, New Mexico, Arizona, and Canada. In Canada I had to learn the words to God Save the Queen as we sung it every morning. I had to learn to play baseball and learn art which I was never any good at.

2. I love to watch movies, westerns, comedy, romance, and even horror. I like to stay up late and watch horror movies with my grandkids, we love the Halloween collection with Michael Myers.

3. I am addicted to chocolate and cokes, and treat myself often, that why I'm rounder than I am taller.

4. My daughters think I'm a Democrat because I happen to like JFK and Jimmy Carter. But actually, when I vote, I vote for the man himself or the woman if there is one. Because I don't think that either party knows all the answers and so I try to find out what they believe in mostly.

5. I am the world's worst about clutter. My desk is always cluttered, and I prefer everyone to leave it that way so I can find what I’m looking for. Although it isn't neat, it is a place I know where everything is. And the minute someone goes and moves things I get upset because I can't find what I’m looking for. So please….let me be a clutterer. LOL

6. I can't swim. Never could. Took lessons when I was a kid, but the guy teaching said…"Swim to me." Like I knew how? I sink, I am afraid of anything deeper than the bathtub. And I will sink. Even though I can float. Even though I like a pool to play in, even though I mock the movements of swimming, I can't swim.

7. I wear very little jewelry, although I love jewelry on most people, I've never had a lot, so I don't wear it. I'm allergic to some metals and turn green when I wear some, so I don't indulge. Of course, a nice diamond or two would be nice.

8. I can write almost any time of day, or night. If I'm editing, I might stay up all night to get it done. If I’m hot on a manuscript I might stay up all night. I might get up in the middle of the night if something comes to me during that time. Have done it. Wrote a short story in the middle of the night because it came to me in a dream, the result was "The Red Jacket".

Rita Hestand