Guest Post: Things I Learned When I Moved To The Country by Kimberly Lewis

Things I Learned When I Moved To The Country by Andi Ford

I was born and raised in New Jersey—never ventured outside of my city lifestyle until I absolutely had no other choice. So you can pretty much guess how shell-shocked I was when I moved from my city apartment to a ranch house in Texas. It’s literally like living on another planet. Being that this was a brand new experience for me, I’d like to share with you some things this city-girl learned upon moving to the country.

1. I used to think that the term “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” was just that—a term people used when they were crazy busy and didn’t have a moment to rest. Um, no, it’s not. I learned this one fine day when fried chicken was on the menu for dinner and instead of going to the store like normal people, we made a trip out to the chicken coup. Needless to say, I wasn’t very hungry that night.
2. Country air is not always so fresh. Sure most of the time the air is clean and occasionally carries the scent of wildflowers, but pass a cow farm and you’ll understand exactly what I mean.
3. Things move a lot slower in the country. I came from a city that was always on the go and here in Buford people seem to move at their own pace. There’s always work to do, but they seem to live by the rule of “it’ll get done when it’s done.” I must admit, though, that I kind of like this slower way of living. It makes you appreciate things a little more when you’re not rushing through life.
4. The word “yonder”. What is a “yonder” you may ask? Well, it’s a word people use when they are referring to a place that is a significant distance away from where you are. Most people would just say “over there” or “back there”, but here in the country it’s “over yonder” and “back yonder”. You get the idea.
5. And the last thing I learned upon moving to the country is that I absolutely love living here. To be honest with you, I never thought I’d love anything more than living in my city apartment, waking up to the hustle and bustle of the street below, and being in walking distance of every restaurant and store I needed to go to. But I absolutely love living out here in the middle of nowhere, waking up in the arms of the man I love, and spending our day’s side by side working on the ranch or curled up on the porch swing listening to the crickets chirp at night. It’s perfect here and I wouldn’t change this way of living for anything in the world.

Book Information

Release Date: August 7, 2012
Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Formats: Kindle/Paperback

Zane Synopsis

Kellan Anderson is in hillbilly hell – or at least that’s what it feels like. After enduring endless accounts of abuse from her now ex-boyfriend, Kellan makes a run for her life and finds herself in cowboy country. Leaving her fancy clothes and expensive lifestyle behind her, she trades in her high heels for cowboy boots and changes her name to Andi Ford. With her painful past threatening to catch up with her, hiding out in this small town seems easy enough – until one blonde hair, blue eyed cowboy steps in the picture.

Zane McKade has sworn off women, determining that they are all liars and cheats – including the new waitress at the local bar. After a rather unpleasant first encounter with the beautiful brunette, Zane’s radar is set to high as he believes this woman is not who she claims to be. When his intimidation methods fail to break through Andi’s barrier he decides to turn on the charm to get her to tell the truth. But Zane’s plan begins to backfire as the more time he spends charming Andi, the more he finds himself breaking his own rules and falling for her.

Zane Excerpt

Kellan saw the man coming her way and a nervous feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t noticed it when he rode up, but he was incredibly good looking. The man had to be a least six two, with long muscular legs leading up to narrow hips that angled into a very masculine upper body. He looked like an athlete. He looked…solid. And although his pale blue shirt was soaked with sweat, it somehow added to his overall appeal. He stopped at her table and glared at her. Only then did she realize that this man was not coming over for friendly chit-chat and her mood shifted.

“Is that your red sports car out there?” Zane asked, tilting his head and jerking his thumb towards the parking lot.

“Yes,” Kellan told him. What’s it to you? She stared up at him, waiting for him to continue. But when he just stared back, his deep blue eyes shooting daggers at her, she decided enough was enough. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Zane’s jaw flexed. “You could have four miles ago.”

“What?” She was utterly confused as to what mileage had to do with his apparent anger towards her.

“I don’t look familiar to you?” He stared at her, his eyebrows coming together in frustration.

She looked the man over from head to toe. “No, I’m sorry you don’t.”

Zane let out an exasperated sigh. “How about now?” He raised his arms above his head and waved them just like he had done when he was trying to flag her down.

He looked completely ridiculous and she fought back the urge to laugh at him. But the more she looked at him she realized that he did look strangely familiar. Oh my… He was the man on the side of the road next to the pickup truck just outside of town.

“Oh,” Kellan said. “Yes, I do remember you now. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you with your shirt on.” She loaded her voice with sarcasm and crossed her arms over her chest. If he was going to have an attitude with her, then she was going to give it right back.

Zane’s eyes narrowed. “Well, would you care to explain why you just blew past me like that?”

Kellan laughed, quietly as to not draw attention. “Why did I blow past you? Hmm, let me think. Um, maybe it has to do with the fact that you were partially naked and in the middle of nowhere.”

Well damn. He hadn’t thought about that. He’d been all riled up thinking that some guy just ignored him. Now, thinking about it from her perspective, he could see why she didn’t pull over to help him. As it was though, his built up anger from everything that had transpired today got the best of him and he continued with his rant.

“I was not half naked,” he said, his voice low as he briefly glancing around the room to see if anyone could hear them speaking.

“Look, cowboy.” She said the word as though it were an insult and not an affirmation of what he obviously was. “I’m sorry you’re having a bad day, but don’t come over here and take it out on me. I had a good reason for not stopping earlier and I’m not going to apologize for looking after my own safety. You could’ve been a murderer for all I knew.”

Zane knew that he should just man up and walk away, but he just couldn’t do that now after her snarky “cowboy” remark. Why’d she have to go and say it like that anyway?

“Look, princess,” he said with the same tone she had used. “This ain’t Hollywood. Take your sunglasses off. You’re inside and you look like a damn fool.”

Kellan’s jaw fell in disbelief.

Zane smiled, feeling triumphant that he got in the last word. He turned and started to walk away from her.

“Screw you, cowboy!” she yelled after him, saying the word exactly as she had before. “And that horse you rode in on.”
And—Whoops!—now everyone in the diner had turned to look at them.

Zane turned around to face her with amusement on his face. “Very original, princess.”


Author Bio

In November of 2011, author Kimberly Lewis stepped into the writing world with her first original western contemporary romance novel, When the Heart Falls.

Born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, this country girl at heart caught the creative bug at an early age, doing everything from drawing to writing short stories.

After the birth of her son, Kimberly found the inspiration to pick up a pen, or in this case a laptop, and began writing her first novel. Since then she has continued to write and credits her husband Rob and her wonderfully crazy family, who with their love and joking demeanor provide her with the ideas that inspire her novels.

In her spare time she enjoys reading, horseback riding, and spending time with her amazing family.

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Giveaway

For Readers: Readers should comment for a chance to win an eBook copy of Zane: The McKades of Texas.