I'm . . . Quirky

As the newest ‘Girlfriend’, I thought in my first blog, I’d introduce myself. 

My name is Laura Drake, and I’m a bit – quirky. 

Not  ‘eccentric ‘– I don’t have the kind of money it takes to earn that title.

Not as in ‘odd ’ – I don’t hoard things, own 53 cats, or speak to people no one else can see (except for my characters, but all authors do that. Don’t they?)

It’s just that I’m not like most women I know.  

·         I’m a tomboy. Still. I started out that way, and never grew out of it. In general, I tend enjoy the company of men.  At a party, I’m much more likely to be watching the game with the guys than having a glass of Zin with the women.

·        

       I ride a motorcycle. I rode a hundred thousand miles on the back of my husband’s, propping a paperback on his back and reading on the boring stretches. For my fortieth birthday, I learned to ride my own. I have logged 100,000 miles on my two BMWs, Elvis and Sting.

·         I don’t watch TV. I didn’t own one until I got married. I once offered my kids $5,000 apiece to give up watching for a year. They turned me down in about three seconds.

·         I can be a bit obsessive. I get up at 3 am to write. Every day. Including weekends.

       I’m terminally organized. I can find anything I own, at any time, blindfolded. Well, I could, until I married The Chaos of the Universe.

 

·         I follow one sport – the PBR (Pro Bull Riding).  It’s the only thing I watch on TV. 

I tend to throw myself at life headfirst. I grew up in Detroit, and my sister and I packed everything we owned into our two Pintos, driving cross-country to move to Southern California, sight unseen. I skydived until my chute didn’t open, and I had to throw the reserve. I’ve been married three times. Third time must be a charm, because we just celebrated our 27^th wedding anniversary.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t recommend doing things this way. Leaping without looking adds lots of miles to a body (and a face!) It’s just that I don’t know any other way to be.

But there’s been an added benefit to most of the above – it makes for great characters, and plot fodder.

My heroines are flawed, but scrappy. My stories are set in the West – taken from my motorcycle seat memories. 

My passion for Professional Bull Riding spilled into my novels. My Sweet on a Cowboy series with Grand Central is set in that world, and I have a Women’s Fiction proposal out now about a woman bull fighter! Not the Spanish kind – the crazy guy who draw the bull away from a downed bull rider.

No telling what plots will hatch next, but they’ll most likely be a little – quirky.

Laura's debut, The Sweet Spot was selected as a RITA^®  finalist in both the Contemporary and Best First Book categories. Winners will be announced at Romance Writers of America^® national conference in San Antonio in July.