SUMMER FESTIVAL: How to Plan the Perfect Girls Trip with Dani Collins

First, pick some of your oldest and bestest friends! I met Michelle (R) in kindergarten. We were friends all through elementary and high school. After we graduated, she got a job in Lake Louise, in the Canadian Rockies. She soon persuaded me to follow and, shortly after I arrived, her roommate, Atlyn (L), became my roommate because Michelle left to start university.

L to R: Atlyn, Dani, Michelle

We remained friends as we finished growing up, moved around, travelled, tried on different careers, married and had children. We always stayed in touch and saw each other at different times, but rarely managed to get all three of us in a room together. Our last visit was probably a decade ago, but we all lost our moms in recent years. This reminded us that time with loved ones is finite. Make gatherings like this a priority. Don’t miss the boat.

A person sat on a bench before a large lake, two trees framing the sides of the photo. On the lake is a boat, and hills are in the background.

We actually chose the Mother’s Day weekend to honor our moms, but it sure felt like the height of summer. Look how sun-kissed we are despite our diligent use of sunscreen.

Left to Right: Michelle and Dani

Atlyn offered to host in her beautiful home overlooking Okanagan Lake in wine country. She runs it as an Air BnB so it was guest ready. I highly recommend going back in time and making a friend who will choose to do this in their later years. This was truly one of my best vacations ever.

Left to Right: Dani and Atlyn

Every great getaway needs food. Check out this spread that Atlyn had waiting for us with her now famous sangria.

A charcuterie board, cheese, crudite, and glasses of wine on top of a lemon-printed table cloth

I love my morning yoga, so I made time for that.

Author Dani Collins ready to do yoga. Behind her, you can see a a beautiful lake and lots of trees.

Shopping is a must, obviously. We particularly enjoyed this gift shop at Mission Hill winery for its abundance of vintage glassware and other unique knickknacks.

Sets of beautiful glassware spread across two shelves. Immediately behind, it says "The Normandie popped and sparkled like Champagne, Marlene Dietrich, Movie Star"

Getting lost in wine country is mandatory.

Michelle and Dani, looking lost beneath an umbrella, with three glasses of wine before them.

But also stop to admire how beautiful it is.

In the foreground, rows for growing grapes go down a field. In the background, there is a lake and hills and a clear blue sky.

Raise a glass to those you miss and, most importantly, make new and wonderful memories with the loved ones who are still here.

Dani, Michelle, and Atlyn raise a glass of wine

Oh! And don’t forget to bring a book for your downtime. May I suggest my Western historical, The Prospector’s Only Prospect?

Ordering a bride was supposed to be easy…

After eight days in a cramped stagecoach, divorcée Marigold Davis already regrets her decision to come to Denver City to marry. She certainly didn’t realize she’d signed up for mosquitos, mud, and scores of rough men eyeing her like a hot meal on a cold day. But with her life in Kansas all but incinerated, Marigold needs a husband. Even if she’s not the bride that gold prospector Virgil Gardner is expecting…

Virgil Gardner has a reputation as a grumpy hard-ass, and he’s fine with it. He’s also no fool – this is not the woman he agreed to marry. It takes a tough-as-nails woman to survive the harshness of a Rocky Mountain gold claim, and this whiskey-eyed, gentle beauty is certainly not the type. Now it’s just a matter of how quickly she’ll quit, so he can find a wife who will stick. Someone who can care for the only thing he values even more than gold–his children.

But Marigold isn’t about to give in. Cramped in a one room shack. Berry picking turned into a bear escape. Or, cooking for an entire crew of bottomless pits. She’s got more grit than most. And just when Virgil starts to realize his replacement bride might be the treasure he’s been looking for, an unannounced guest arrives… to change everything.

Humor and romance collide in USA Today bestselling author Dani Collins’ all-new western series, starting with a mail order bride’s unexpected arrival in 1859 Colorado.

“Collins mines the setting for both danger and humor, providing the perfect backdrop to this sensuous romance. Readers won’t want to put this down.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review

Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author Dani Collins thrives on giving readers emotional, compelling, heart-soaring romance with laughter and heat thrown in, just like real life. Dani lives in Southern BC, Canada with her high school sweetheart husband. When she’s not writing—just kidding, she’s always writing. Her latest release is The Prospector’s Only Prospect, a Western Historical romance from Entangled Amara. Join Dani’s newsletter for exclusive excerpts and other behind the scenes gossip.