Book Tour, Excerpt, Interview & Giveaway: Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller

First up I have today's tour excerpt from Big Sky Mountain.  Make sure to check out the tour website for more excerpts, interviews, reviews, giveaways, guest posts and more fun.

Then he opened his collar halfway to his breastbone and sucked in a breath. “I tried to tell her,” he muttered. He knew it sounded lame, but the truth was the truth.

Although he and Slade shared a father, they had been at bloody-knuckled odds most of their lives. They’d made some progress toward getting along since the old man’s death and the upheaval that followed, but neither of them related to the other as a buddy, let alone a brother.

“Come on out to our place,” Slade said, surprising him. “You’d best lay low for a few hours. Give Brylee—and Walker—a little time to cool off.”

Hutch stiffened slightly, though he found the invitation oddly welcome. Home, being Whisper Creek Ranch, was a lonely outpost these days—which was probably why he’d talked himself into proposing to Brylee in the first place.

“I have to talk to Brylee,” he repeated.

“There’ll be time for that later on,” Slade reasoned.

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Enjoy this interview with Linda Lael Miller:

1.      Do you allow friends or family to read early drafts of your work?

Yes.  My cousin, Mary Ann, reads all my manuscripts as I’m writing them.  We’ve been close all our lives and have a lot of the same memories, but she’s pretty objective and bone practical.  I take her comments seriously.

2.      What sparked your interest in Tarot card reading?

I’m not sure, but it was probably the beauty of Tarot decks in general.  I read them from a sort of Joseph Campbell/mythological point of view, and I believe the images stimulate ideas and insights because they are all archetypes.  I don’t read the future, but I can get a pretty good take on an individual I’m reading for or for a character in a book.

3.      If you could go back and change anything about Big Sky Mountain, would you?

Well, there’s one thing I’d change—I got so wrapped up in the excitement of the story that I forgot to let the cat, Lucy-Maude, have her kittens.  Rest assured, in Big Sky world, those kitties are all thriving in loving homes.

4.      What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

See number 2.  I LOVE to read and also to listen to audio books—I’ve always got a couple of volumes going at once.  I can get lost in my craft room downstairs, and not just because it’s usually a mess.  Spending time with my horses, dog and cats are high priorities, too.

5.      How long does it take you to write a novel, from initial idea to finished manuscript?
Wow, that is a hard question.  I think the ideas for some of my books were sparked when I was a child, listening to all those great stories about cowboys and rodeos and horses, not to mention the ones my grandma told me about Jessie James sleeping in her family’s barn and the day the Dalton brothers tried to rob the bank in Coffeeville, Kansas.  I probably spend between three and six months on the actual writing process.

The “First Lady of the West,” #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller, brings you back to Parable, Montana-where love awaits in the second book of her new Big Sky Series!

With his rugged good looks, vast wealth and family name, hell-raiser Hutch Carmody is still the golden boy of Parable, Montana. But he’s done some growing up, making peace with his illegitimate half brother and inheriting half of Whisper Creek Ranch, which should have been all his. These days, Hutch knows there are some things money can’t buy: like the heart of loving, ladylike divorcé Kendra Shepherd.

Kendra’s quiet mansion reminds her of what she wants most – a devoted husband and the pitter-patter of little feet. She can’t get Hutch Carmody out of her mind. But a rough-and-tumble cowboy like Hutch, coming home for family dinner? Seems crazy! Then again, crazier dreams have become reality under the vast Montana sky.



Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than one hundred historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, the self-confessed barn goddess now lives in Spokane, Washington. Linda hit a career high in 2011 when all three of her Creed Cowboys books—A Creed in Stone Creek, Creed’s Honor and The Creed Legacy—debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.  To learn more about Linda, visit www.LindaLaelMiller.com.

Giveaway:
The publicist is offering one copy of Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller to one lucky reader.  Open to US/Canada, and mailed from the publicist.  Ends 8/13.  Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below.


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