{"id":1517,"date":"2012-04-19T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T19:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/?p=1517"},"modified":"2012-04-19T08:21:16","modified_gmt":"2012-04-19T15:21:16","slug":"my-grandfather-sergio-leone-and-clint-eastwood-by-l-c-chase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/my-grandfather-sergio-leone-and-clint-eastwood-by-l-c-chase\/","title":{"rendered":"My Grandfather, Sergio Leone, and Clint Eastwood by L.C. Chase"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was my grandfather who first introduced me to the mysterious cowboy.<\/p>\n

When I was still young and small enough to ride the neighbors\u2019 Shetland ponies, my younger brother and I often spent weekends at my grandparents\u2019 house \u201cout in the country\u201d. They had forty acres nestled in amongst working ranches and dressage stables. It was there that I first learned to groom a horse, take care of tack, learned to ride and drive, and milk the cows. I was already head over heels for horses, but it was Sergio Leone\u2019s spaghetti westerns and Clint Eastwood\u2019s \u201cBlondie\u201d who made me fall in love with the cowboy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As far back as I can remember, on those weekends out in the country, after dinner and dessert, my grandfather and I would stay up late to watch old black and white westerns on TV. We watched all the classics: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly<\/em>, A Fist Full of Dollars, Once Upon a Time in the West<\/em>, and on. I loved Blondie, and Josey Wales, and the man with no name. Those characters, those men, were intimidating forces of nature who commanded attention and respect, and outlaw or not, somehow always managed to do the right thing. And I couldn\u2019t get enough.<\/p>\n

My grandfather always fell asleep during the movies, but he had this uncanny sense of knowing when the closing credits were about to roll. He would wake with a grunt and ask me how I liked the movie. I always teased him for sleeping through it, but of course, he was adamant that he\u2019d been watching the whole time.<\/p>\n

That iconic image of Blondie \u2014 a lone man surrounded by the muted tans of a desolate, one-horse town, face shielded from the sun under the brim of his Stetson, standing at ease in the middle of a deserted street as he faced off his challenger \u2014 that has always stuck with me. That one image speaks strength and mystery, and makes my blood pump hot and furious through every vein.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just what happened to Ray Ford the first time he saw Travis Morgan, in my first solo M\/M romance novel, Long Tall Drink<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n


\nThe Blurb<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fourth generation rancher, Ray Ford has lived a lie for nearly forty years. Having seen what can happen to an openly gay cowboy in small townAmerica, and not willing to risk Ford Creek\u2019s legendary reputation, he keeps that part of himself tightly locked down. Everything changes one Sunday morning when Ray, out of character, picks up a handsome hitchhiker looking for work. Hiring the enigmatic cowboy stretches the bounds of Ray\u2019s control and forces him to question just how much he\u2019s willing to risk for that one true love.<\/p>\n

Travis Morgan learned a hard lesson early in his life \u2013 love was conditional. Even though he\u2019s a world-class horse trainer in high-demand, he lives the life of a drifter, moving from ranch to ranch like the wind. He\u2019ll play when the opportunity arises, but he won\u2019t invest himself emotionally. But when he takes on the job training horses at Ford Creek Ranch, the stoic rancher with the sexy five o\u2019clock shadow just might change all that \u2013 if Travis can take the risk and stick around long enough to find out.<\/p>\n

Long Tall Drink is available at\u00a0Loose Id<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit my blog for current news and works in progress, as well as the\u00a0missing chapter from Long Tall Drink<\/a><\/p>\n

Find L.C. at her\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Goodreads<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google+<\/a><\/p>\n

The Excerpt<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A moving flash of gold light ahead, like a distress signal, pulled him from his thoughts. Focusing on the source of the signal, Ray made out the shape of a lone cowboy camouflaged in faded jeans and a tan jacket, walking along the cracked edge of rough road, a beat-up dust-colored duffel bag heaped over his shoulder. If the sun hadn\u2019t reflected off a buckle, Ray probably wouldn\u2019t have noticed the man until he was on him.<\/p>\n

Closing in on the wanderer, Ray realized the smooth, effortless gait couldn\u2019t really be called a walk, more like a swagger.<\/p>\n

The cowboy turned around and hooked his thumb to the sky. Long legs planted shoulder-width apart staked his ground. The collar of the well-worn ranch jacket was flipped up, shielding against the chill spring breeze that danced across the plains from the East.<\/p>\n

Even though dark sunglasses and a cowboy hat that sat low on the brow worked together to hide most of his face, it was his presence alone that seemed to command attention.<\/p>\n

Ray wasn\u2019t one for picking up hitchhikers\u2014not that there were many, if any, on this deserted stretch of US-310, especially in the early hours of a Sunday morning\u2014but something about the man on the side of the road compelled him.<\/p>\n

Before he\u2019d thought it through, his foot had moved from the gas pedal to the brake. As if on its own accord, the truck pulled off the two-lane highway, steel-belted tires growling over rumble strips, and came to a stop fifty yards beyond where the cowboy stood. Dust billowed into a small tornado in the wake of the vehicle\u2019s draft, obscuring the man from view. Ray watched in his rearview mirror as the cowboy stepped out of the swirling cloud like a rising phoenix\u2014or the hero in an action movie emerging in slow motion unscathed from a fireball.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, would you look at that,\u201d Ray mumbled. \u201cThere\u2019s a long, tall drink of sexy if I ever did see one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lean legs ate up the pavement with an unhurried stride only a truly confident man could master. Now that the cowboy was facing the bright morning sun, the concealing Stetson and sunglasses couldn\u2019t hide the slightly crooked nose, strong square jaw, cleft chin, and lips worthy of exploration.<\/p>\n

An odd niggle of anticipation teased the edges of Ray\u2019s consciousness.<\/p>\n

He turned off the radio and pressed a button on his armrest to lower the passenger-side window as the cowboy reached the truck. The hitcher removed his sunglasses and leaned in. Intelligent, deep green eyes flecked with bronze, a hint of mischief sparked in their shadows, gazed back at Ray.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere you headed, cowboy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBridger.\u201d Just one word and the deep, resonant voice sent an unexpected spike of heat through Ray\u2019s nervous system.<\/p>\n

The words escaped before his brain caught up. \u201cYou\u2019re in luck. Hop in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cowboy flashed a magazine-cover smile that revealed impossibly white teeth and inclined his head. \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

He opened the door, tossed his duffel on the backseat, and climbed gracefully into the cab. A rush of cold air followed him in and swirled around Ray\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n

The quad cab of the fire-engine-red Dodge Ram 3500 shrank to the size of a Mini Cooper as the man settled into the leather bucket seat beside him. Ray watched as his passenger hit the button to close the window and buckled himself in. He was tall, solid, and exuded a kinetic energy that could knock a bottle off the fence at a hundred paces.<\/p>\n

The cowboy turned to face him, and time stretched out in weighted silence. A glint in the man\u2019s eye held Ray captive, as though he were on the verge of sharing a great secret\u2014a secret Ray suddenly wanted to know. Needed to know.<\/p>\n

A crooked grin spread across the ruggedly handsome face. \u201cName\u2019s Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The skin at the back of Ray\u2019s neck warmed. He nodded. \u201cRay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Time continued to saunter on without them as they sat facing each other, immobile, truck idling smoothly. Travis broke the time glitch by tapping his forefinger to the brim of his hat, his intense gaze not leaving Ray\u2019s. In that deep, whiskey voice, he drawled, \u201cS\u2019a pleasure, Ray.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * *<\/p>\n

Long Tall Drink is available at\u00a0Loose Id<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit my blog for current news and works in progress, as well as the\u00a0missing chapter from Long Tall Drink<\/a><\/p>\n

Find L.C. at her\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Goodreads<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google+<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was my grandfather who first introduced me to the mysterious cowboy. When I was still young and small enough to ride the neighbors\u2019 Shetland ponies, my younger brother and I often spent weekends at my grandparents\u2019 house \u201cout in the country\u201d. They had forty acres nestled in amongst working ranches and dressage stables. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[52,63],"tags":[254,266,264,265],"class_list":["post-1517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-event","category-guest-posting","tag-backlist-strikes-back","tag-cowboys","tag-l-c-chase","tag-loose-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pzLgx-ot","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}