#HorseBloggers: 5 Photos in One Day Challenge

I've been having a blast horsing around with the equestrian community from #HorseBloggers. They have really fun challenges for horse bloggers to get involved in. This month's challenge is about photography and the power of using a hashtag to promote blog posts. The challenge asks us to choose one day in February and take five photos from that day to reflect a typical day in our life using the hashtag #5photos1day. I decided what better day than Valentine's Day to complete the challenge. Here are my five photos from one day highlighting things I love. 

1. I love writing horse books.

My home office is my happy place! I definitely get the most writing done in my home office during my morning writing sessions.  My husband is my human alarm clock!  I wouldn’t be able to do it without him because I am not a morning person.  We get up every morning at 5:30 am and start our day by walking our dogs then return home and meditate for about 15 minutes. Taking in the beautiful Arizona landscape and then quieting my mind really prepares me for creativity!  Then I pour my first cup of coffee and settle into my office for my morning writing session.  My morning routine is when my creativity is most alive. 

---

2. I love my dog.

My favorite fuzzy companion keeps me company! Writing is a pretty solitary occupation and his voiceless presence paired with positive energy is perfect for generating creativity. Jagger is always there tail wagging and ready for a petting session when I need some extra inspiration.

---

3. I love to read.

No matter how many books are in my "to read" pile, I am always adding more. 

​Before I am an author, I am a reader.  I want my readers to feel transported when they read my books. I knew I wanted readers to feel like they were falling for the leading man as they turned the pages. Generating that kind of feeling was my goal – what I wanted to create for the readers of my story (and for myself as I wrote it) so it naturally became a romance novel where the horse characters are just as important as the leading human characters. I sure wouldn’t be able to resist reading about a handsome cowboy who knows his way around horses so I wrote about what I knew — horses and cowgirl culture.
 
I wanted to include a romantic relationship in my story that built on life lessons experienced in the horse world. Horses build character and require dedication. They are a big responsibility and teach us compassion as we often have to put their needs before our own. I am a better human because I’ve owned horses. 

---

4. I love my horse.

​When I’m not writing or reading, I’m riding my horse. When I feel Sissy’s stride beneath me, everything else fades away and I fully experience being in the NOW.  

I will own horses until I take my last breath. I love them that much. There is nothing more peaceful to me than the quiet bond between a woman and her horse. I am happiest when I am in the saddle. The inspiration for my writing comes from time spent at the barn and riding my Paint. My horse and I share a close bond. Sissy inspired the horse character Faith in my books.  

After my ride, I often have to scurry to capture the words on the only thing I can find when inspiration suddenly hits me ... torn out insides of my horse's feed bags. I scribble down my thoughts while perched on hay bales listening to the sounds of the horses rustling in their stalls.

---

5. I love my readers.

I was inspired to write a story that all horse lovers could appreciate no matter their discipline. I have found that my readers are just like me — horse crazy, book crazy, and crazy for handsome hunks that know a thing or two about horses.  

When I learned that In The Reins had broken into the Amazon top 100 (then the top 25 then the top 5), my heart grew a thousand times its size because I knew it meant that my writing was resonating with readers! 

I am so happy to have connected with the audience I wanted to identify with and write for! They are the  bookworms, the horse lovers, the cowgirls, the connoisseurs of cute cowboys! I couldn’t have done it without MY READERS.

---

AMAZON GIVEAWAY: Rope a Copy of Cowboy Away!

You fell in love with Cowboy McKennon Kelly in In the Reins. Now his journey continues. Here’s your chance to win a copy of Cowboy Away, the sequel to In the Reins. Reviews are coming in on this cowboy romance, and readers are saying they can't put the page turner down. This is your chance to get the paperback for free. All you need to do is gallop over to Amazon to enter!

---

Prize: Cowboy Away (In The Reins Series) (Volume 2)
Host name: Carly Kade Creative

• Winner: Randomly selected after Giveaway has ended on 2/20/2018

• Requirements for participation:
  • Resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia
  • 18+ years of age (or legal age)
  • Follow Author Carly Kade on Amazon

• Giveaway link:
  https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/c3de273e210bbc45

Enter to Win Cowboy Away Here

---

About #HorseBloggers from the Haynet Website

About #HorseBloggers:

Sharing your content is key through social media to make your voice heard. With hash tagging being the strong hold in social media, Haynet is the host of the Twitter channel #HorseBloggers encouraging fellow bloggers to find equestrian content easily together with it being a recognised social media hashtag with the equine industry. Using the #HorseBloggers hashtag will help drive more traffic and encourage sharing of your blog posts together with more likes and retweets.

About Haynet:

Haynet is a leading equestrian and countryside blogging directory, telling your stories from the stables to the fields. If you love living in the countryside, riding your horse, farming the fields or walking your dogs through the woods – then you will feel right at home here!

---

---

---

Available Now in Paperback & eBook