Title: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story
Author: Ree Drummond
(C)2011
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0-0619-9716-7
352 pp.
A little background for those of you reading this. I am not a blog follower. I'm barely good at checking on facebook statuses of my friends, so to follow another person's blog regularly is just not going to happen.
Except that I find myself checking in on Ree and her crazy ranch life every so often - a lot more often than I had ever planned. It all started when I was doing research for my own novel. I remembered a good friend (thank you, LouAnn!) telling me about www.thepioneerwoman.com. That would be Ree's blog. I did a little searching, reading, and sent links to my co-authoring friend, Steph.
Since then, Steph sends me links and we have been learning some great things about ranching and working cattle that will make our own novels more realistic.
As you can see in the quick stats listed next to the book, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels is the title of Ms. Drummond's book. It's the story of how she met and fell in love with her husband, who she refers to as Marlboro Man. (I have since found his name and was quite surprised by it.)
Literary? The great American novel?
No.
Ms. Drummond is not a novelist. She's a mother, a cook, a wife...and a blogger. She takes beautiful pictures of her surroundings. She is witty and comical in her blog, but her journalism skills are not out-of-this-world. Her publisher and editors COULD have made a number of changes. They MIGHT have asked her to cut or add different parts of the story, but then it wouldn't be quite the same.
Black Heels to Tractor Wheels has the same comical charm that the Pioneer Woman blog holds for its readers. Honestly, I haven't laughed so much in ages. I can see some things from her perspective. I consider myself a city girl too. What a change it would be to live in such an isolated area, even if it is only an hour from her home town. Yet, growing up in the urban/rural community of Monroe, (plenty of farms around, but within 30 miles of a couple metropolitan areas) helped me understand some of the work involved when running a ranch.
Reading her blog, you can see how important her family (extended family included) is to her. Reading her book shows you why. Falling in love is never predictable. (She says that on the very first page.) Each couple has their own unique story. This is just one that I enjoyed having the chance to read.
Pick it up at a book store, the library, or borrow it from a friend. You probably know someone who has it. And when you're done, you'll probably want to know what happened next. The great thing is...you can find out. Just read her blog. www.pioneerwoman.com
Happy Reading!
