Cochrane author Alyssa Palmer is part of the Women of Stampede group that has recently released a series of seven romance, Calgary Stampede related novels in celebration of the Greatest Show on Earth taking place July 6 to 15. Palmer said she knew she was destined to be an author from a very young age. "I've always written. I was that kid in school who was always writing stories and always had my nose in a book," Palmer said. "Five or six years years ago I started to take writing a bit more seriously and joined a local writing group in Calgary. I joined the Calgary Association of the Romance Writers of America and they are very career focused and a group advanced romance writers that have really helped me get started and pushed me to start getting my books published. At this point and a dozen books later, I probably write a couple books a year." "Most of the other authors (from the Women of Stampede) group are also part of the (Calgary Association of the) Romance Writers of America group. Two of the other authors (Katie O'Connor and Shelley Kassian) were the masterminds behind the whole stampede related novels and it's kind of taken off from there." Palmer's latest story is titled Betting on Second Chances. The story is about a girl named Olivia Tate, who doesn’t want anyone knowing about her secret passion, especially her parents, who have always had their own strict ideas about her future and career. Not even her best friend knows how much she wants to chuck it all in and become a touring musician. She’s never played guitar for an audience, but it’s not entirely stage fright holding her back. Her parents have done everything for her, and she doesn’t want to disappoint them. But the need can’t be denied, and when she meets a familiar biker guy during the rush of Stampede, a guy with similar passions to her own, she knows it’s only a matter of time. Will Fraser has never expected happily ever after. Being in foster care had taken that out of him right quick, and his few attempts at relationships…the less said the better. But when he sees his old high school crush at a Stampede pancake breakfast, all those feelings flood back and he realizes how much he wants that chance. "Obviously my book is about second chances. My hero and heroine knew each other in high school and had a chance to date and something happened where they couldn't go on that date," Palmer said. "They both had that regret of not being able to do so and when they run into each other 10 or so years later, they decide to take that leap ... both characters are very insecure. The story really highlights that second chance at love." Palmer is hopeful that people who are interested in romance novels or just the Calgary Stampede in general, will decide to read her story. "If someone likes cowboys or stampede, a lot of these books would be up your alley. If you're a romance reader, these novels would definitely interest the reader," Palmer said. "They're all present day and there's such a great mix. Another story (The Half Mile of Baby Blue) is about chuckwagon racing and Trick of the Heart is all about trick riders ... there's a little bit of something for almost everybody." The entire seven book series is available at Chapters and Indigo stores in Calgary and surrounding areas, as well as online at www.chapters.ca, Kobo and Amazon.
