Please help me welcome the authors of a brand new anthology. They are sharing their favorite lines, what they enjoyed about collaborating on a project, and other fun tidbits!
Eight stand-alone Contemporary Western Romance novellas from Bestselling and Award Winning Authors. From firefighters, bronco busters, and wealthy ranchers to bad boys, we have them all for you! If you’ve ever wanted to fall in love with a sexy, alpha cowboy of today…now’s your chance.
Amazon Only Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Come-Love-Cowboy-Kathleen-Ball-ebook/dp/B01D5876UK/
Border Affair by Hebby Roman
When his partner’s daughter is kidnapped in México, a self-made millionaire must confront his feelings about their affair and the future of their relationship.
The idea for “Border Affair,” came from my longing to write about horses and to write a sequel to my book, “Border Heat,” which was honored to be named as a Los Angeles Times Book Festival selection.
“Border Affair” is one of eight contemporary western romances in the new anthology, “Come Love A Cowboy.” The most difficult thing about writing this anthology was the addition of a free Sample Book, where we each showcased a long excerpt from our book, along with a favorite recipe mentioned in the story. I’d never done this before, and it was interesting, trying to pick a good recipe and show the characters enjoying that food.
The most fun thing about being a part of this anthology is easy—it’s reading the other authors’ stories when they’re done—before anyone else gets to peek!
Blurb
Camila Villarreal has had a crush on Rusty Douglas since she was twelve years old. And no matter what she does she can’t stop caring for him.
Rusty, a self-made millionaire and a partner in her family’s ranch, is recovering from a messy divorce and facing a mid-life crisis. He’s not eager to become involved in a serious relationship.
Despite Rusty’s doubts, their mutual attraction blazes into a sizzling affair. But when Camila is kidnapped, Rusty is desperate to rescue her. Will he get her back unharmed? And if he does, can their affair develop into a lasting relationship?
Excerpt:
Camila burst out laughing and leaned over, resting her hands on the fence rails to keep her balance.
“What are you laughing at?” Rusty asked.
“Your citified ways,” she said.
“Oh, my, we are touchy. What should I call you?”
“My name would be great.”
“Okay, Rustee, how’s that?”
“Better,” he panted. He cracked the switch again and started turning in a faster circle, urging the gelding.
The sorrel picked up speed, but she wasn’t watching the horse anymore. She couldn’t drag her gaze from the way Rusty’s jeans fit.
Individual Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Border-Affair-Book-2-ebook/dp/B01DFRUVQW/
Hebby’ Social Media Links:
Website at: http://www.hebbyroman.com
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHebbyRoman
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/callofmuse/
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Hebby-Roman/e/B001KI1L0O/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1456359596&sr=1-2-ent
Luke’s Fate by Kathleen Ball
Blurb:
Meg O’Brien hoped never to lay eyes on the one man who broke her heart. To her dismay, Luke Kelly arrives at her ranch a much different and broken man. Can Meg ever forgive his callous treatment of her and help Luke become the man he used to be?
Excerpt:
“You’ve changed,” he said, his voice soft and low.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He hesitated. “You used to be easy to read. You wore your emotions on your sleeve. Now I don’t know what you think except you want me gone. I can understand why. I mean I left you just as we were starting something good, something I had hoped would be permanent.”
“Permanent?”
“You must have known how I felt about you. I was just waiting for you to grow up so I could start dating you.”
Tears filled her eyes. All this time she had thought he didn’t find her appealing. “You left without a word.”
“I know, and I’ll be forever sorry for hurting you.”
Tears trailed down her face, and she closed her eyes willing them to stop. “Why?” Her voice squeaked.
Luke shook his head. “I wish I could tell you but I can’t.”
Meg wiped away her tears. “Can’t or won’t?” She waved her hand at him. “You know, don’t, just don’t. The whole town thinks I drove you away. I’ve lived the last five years with people whispering behind my back. I don’t even bother going into town unless I have to. Now I’m foreman of this ranch, I’m perfectly content with my life. I do what I love, and people stay out of my way.”
Luke’s stare was intense. “Is that what you want? You want people to stay out of your way? Hell, Margaret Mary, I thought you’d gone on with your life. I expected to find you with a husband and babies. Even I got married.” His face shuttered as he turned away.
Married? No one had told her. Her mouth opened but there were no words. She folded her arms in front of her trying to keep from flying apart and her stomach threatened to rebel. What a fool she’d been, thinking all this time that something tragic had happened to him, thinking he’d be back for her if he could, and the whole time he’d been married.
Of course, he would have dated while he’d been gone, but marriage… Her thoughts had never strayed that far. How stupid, of course he’d be married. If imagining it would have been too much for her, the reality was shattering. Her body began to shake, and she clasped her hands together trying to still herself. After a few large swallows it worked, but the lump in her throat stayed.
Well, where the hell was his wife now? She should be here wiping her husband’s nose instead of leaving it to others. He had the gall to come here when he had a wife? Her stomach dropped. Was he planning to build a house on his land and live there, raising a family?
Everyone had told her to get on with her life but she refused to listen. Damn my stubborn hide!
Follow Kathleen on the Net:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kathleen-Ball-Western-Romance/121300767916947
Twitter: @kballauthor
Author Home: www.kathleenballromance.com
Author Bio:
Kathleen Ball writes contemporary and historical western romance with great emotion and memorable characters. Her books are award winners and have appeared on best-seller lists including: Amazon’s Best Sellers List, All Romance Ebooks, Bookstrand, Desert Breeze Publishing and Secret Cravings Publishing Best Sellers list. She is the recipient of eight Editor’s Choice Awards, and The Readers’ Choice Award for Ryelee’s Cowboy, and the winner of the Lear diamond award Best Historical Novel- Cinders’ Bride.
THREE FOR THE WIN by Keta Diablo
Blurb:
Hollis should have known better than to fall for a bone-melting man like Stede. He’s gone now and Eli is left to pick up the broken pieces of her life.
A few favorite lines from the story
Stede set his beer down on the nightstand and placed a finger over Hollis’ lips. “Let me tell you what I love about you.” His hand moved from her lips to the hair at the side of her head. “You’re hair is so blonde, it’s almost white…long, thick and sexy.” He kissed her eyes. “These amazing baby-blues?” His breath caressed her cheek; his lips hovering so close, an ache took flight between her thighs. “The first time I looked into them, ocean met sky for me. I thought I’d found Heaven.” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “That lush, full mouth called to me, begged me to kiss it.”
A fun fact
While this is a contemporary ‘cowboy’ story, one of the main characters is a mean, lean, bad-boy biker. I wondered how that would work in the story, and in the end I decided it worked out fine. It proves people from all walks of life can form a bond; become best friends.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors
There really weren’t any difficulties. A minor issue was wondering if we were all going to make the deadlines we’d set. Thankfully, everything worked out fine.
What was the best thing
Friendship and a respect for each other’s work. Half of the authors in Come Love A Cowboy have worked together before on boxed sets. Bringing 4 new authors into the fold was a welcome addition.
GRANT ME THE MOON by Caroline Clemmons
Blurb:
All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school history club students a local archeology dig. How could she know the excursion would involve a murder? Or that one of her students would be suspected as the killer? And she had no idea she would meet the man of her dreams.
Excerpt:
After they’d eaten, he drove under the speed limit on the way back to Post. Her company fascinated him and he wished he could prolong the evening. When they reached the edge of the Caprock above Post, he pulled over at a wide space on the shoulder and opened the sunroof.
“I love this spot. You can see the lights of our little town below and the stars above.”
She relaxed against the seat and head rest. “The almost full moon tonight obscures many of the stars. This is a beautiful vantage point, though. As if we’re divine and are hanging above the world. I could almost reach out and touch the moon.”
He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers “Should I grab it for you?”
She offered a whimsical smile. “Let’s leave it there so everyone can enjoy the moonlight.”
Fun fact about story:
There’s an actual archaeological site, the Garza Site, in the same county in which I set this story, but it is on private property and not open to the public. I’d always wanted to see the Garza Site, so I decided to create my own fictional site that’s better than the Garza Site. Writing fiction is wonderful.
Most difficult part of writing an anthology with other authors:
The hardest part of writing the anthology was keeping up with all the dates to do this or that. I felt as if I was always behind. Wait—I was always behind. I was the last one to complete her novella.
Fun part of writing an anthology with other authors:
The best part of writing in the anthology is that I had to stretch myself to write contemporary again after so many historical western romances the past couple of years. Doing so led to finding another comfortable niche for my creativity.
Contact links:
Website www.carolineclemmons.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CarolineClemmonsRomances
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/CarolinClemmons (no E in Caroline)
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/CaroClemmons
Blog http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com
Leaving Necessity by Margo Bonds Collins
Blurb:
Can they strike love again?
At nineteen, Clara Graves left Necessity, Texas, to try to heal her broken heart. She swore she would never come back, and she’s kept that promise. Until now. When she returns for her uncle’s funeral, she inherits a small oil company that may keep her tied to Necessity for a few days longer than she expected. But as soon as she can close or sell the business, she’s pointing her boots toward greener pastures.
To this day, Mitchell MacAllan regrets letting Clara go without a fight. But his whole life was in Necessity, and leaving town wasn’t in the cards. As the foreman of Aerio Oil and Gas, he works hard to keep the townspeople employed and maintain the business, despite a recent downturn in petroleum prices.
Now Mac has less than a week to convince Clara that she should give Aerio a chance, and maybe even forgive him in the meantime. Otherwise, she will once again be leaving Necessity—and taking his heart with her, this time for good.
Excerpt:
“Just to clarify: that means that Aerio Oil and Gas, LLC, belongs entirely to me?” Clara tried to keep her voice from squeaking, but she didn’t entirely succeed.
“We can discuss it in detail momentarily, but almost, yes,” the attorney replied. He raised an eyebrow at her, as if making certain she was ready for him to keep reading.
Almost? What did that mean?
Slumping back into her chair with a surprised whoosh, Clara nodded and waved her hand again, this time motioning Mr. Pritchard to keep reading.
An oil company? What had Uncle Gavin been thinking? When had he acquired an oil company? More to the point, why hadn’t he told Clara about it?
She listened with only half her attention as Mr. Pritchard finished out the reading of the will.
The rest of it was pretty simple. With the exception of a few mementos and monetary gifts left to people like the woman who had cleaned his house every week for as long as Clara could remember, Gavin Graves had left everything to Clara. Much of it was specified in the will—the house and all its contents other than those otherwise disposed by the will, an old Mustang he had restored years before, a new Dodge pickup truck, and several bank accounts—but the document also closed by noting that everything not otherwise mentioned went to Clara.
“Thank you all for coming,” Mr. Pritchard said, standing. “In the next few days, I will be contacting those of you to whom Mr. Graves bequeathed personal gifts.”
Clara kept her seat as several townspeople came to offer their condolences, some for the second or third time that day. A cynical part of her couldn’t help but wonder how many of them were more interested in getting a better look at her after ten years in order to add fuel to the gossip fire than their sincere expressions and kind words might otherwise suggest.
That’s not fair, Clara. She could almost hear her uncle’s kind voice chiding her.
With a sigh, she finally stood up. “Tell me more about this oil company, Mr. Pritchard?”
The attorney nodded. “Of course. But really, Mac will be able to tell you more.” He gestured behind her.
When she turned to look, though, all she caught was a bare glimpse of a dark-haired man in jeans and a cowboy hat as he shut the door behind him.
http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Necessity-Margo-Bond-Collins-ebook/dp/B01CIR37A2/
About the Author & Social Media Links
Margo Bond Collins is addicted to coffee (mmm…caffeine) and SF/F television, especially Supernatural (mmm…Winchesters). She writes paranormal and contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal mystery. She lives in Texas with her daughter and several spoiled pets. Although she teaches college-level English courses online, writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and the women who love (and sometimes fight) them.
You can learn more about her at http://www.MargoBondCollins.net and follow her on all the usual social media outlets (listed below).
For updates about publications, free fiction, and other goodies, be sure to subscribe to her newsletter: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/03A21E5E161401F0
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
BAD BOY,BIG HEART by Andrea Downing
Blurb:
New Yorker K.C. Daniels feels the strain of being her overbearing parents’ daughter. Chay Ridgway feels the strain of being his father’s sole support. As these two find their way in the world during three months in Wyoming, will it be a summer romance or a love that will last for years?
A few favorite lines from the story
“So? Empty guest cottage? Ridgway bunkhouse? Your place? My place? Truck? Field? Office?”
K.C. had to stop, she was laughing so much. “Chay Ridgway! What a mind! Is this all you think about?”
“Not quite all I think about. Sometimes I think about what a smart girl you are, and how lucky I am to have you. For a few seconds. And then I think…where can we do it today?”
A fun fact:
The first rodeo I ever attended was at Madison Square Garden when I was about six years old. Been hooked ever since…
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors
No comment!
What was the best thing
Working with authors I only knew by name and getting to know them better.
Desert Heat by Patti Sherry-Crews
Blurb:
Sometimes it seems like Angel Harper is going to spend the rest of her adult life making up for her youthful transgressions—like running away with a two-timing, irresponsible cowboy on the rodeo circuit.
Now she’s trying to make things right. It isn’t easy for a single mother trying to run a small hotel on her own. She’s always two steps ahead of financial ruin, but determined to prove to herself and the memory of her parents she can do it.
A chance encounter with handsome cowboy and firefighter, Boone Donovan, awakens a desire she’d rather bury. But he isn’t going to let her get away that easily. Angel has been twice burned by love, and it’s not only her own heart she has to protect now. She has a son to think about.
Can she trust Boone enough to let love into her life again?
Excerpt:
With a tight throat, Angel watched Boone walk around and inspect the horses one by one. “At least your horses look healthy. I can tell you take good care of them.”
He walked back over and stood in front of her. Too close. She stepped back. His eyes went to her chest. She looked down and saw to her horror her nipples were not only very visible beneath the thin t-shirt, but were standing at attention.
His eyes grew dark, and he swallowed hard. She could see a vein throbbing in his neck. Angel crossed her arms across her chest, feeling weak at the knees with this big hunk of a man standing before her.
Boone took a step closer, eyes now lifted to hers, lips parted. She could hear the breath coming hard out of his flared nostrils. He was so close, she could take in his scent. All man.
Her arms fell to her sides. She took a step closer so their faces were inches apart. A familiar thrumming moved through her body. Desire rearing its head.
“Mom! There are firemen in the yard! They said I can climb on the truck if that’s all right with you.”
Boone took a big step back. He practically jumped away from her.
Rory stood framed in the door, still in his pajamas, dark hair, sticking out all over his head. There was a dried patch of milk in the front of his top. On top of everything else she now looked like a negligent mother. He pushed his glasses back and looked at her.
“Yes, go on Rory, but then get dressed.”
Angel looked back at Boone, the look of lust in his eyes replaced by a blank expression. She was used to that. Men were interested in her until they heard she had a kid. Her anger which had been at a slow simmer, went up a few notches to boiling.
“Not so interested in getting to know me better now, are you? Kids have a way of taking the mystery out of a woman.”
“I don’t have a problem with kids. It’s husbands I have a problem with. Are you married?”
“If I had a man around here do you think things would be in such a state? I’m trying to do this all on my own, which is why I don’t appreciate you stealing business away from me. You know that, right? The contract you signed with Star was formally mine,” she spat out.
“Hey, first off I didn’t steal your business away from you. I didn’t go out looking for it. Clint came to me. And yes, Clint told me who you were after you left. Then when I was left holding two bowls of ice cream last night, I guessed you had it all figured out by then. I wanted to talk to you. To clear the air.”
“There’s no clearing the stench out of this air,” she said, instantly regretting her choice of words, because the un-mucked stalls reeked of urine and manure.
“I’m going to call the fire inspector and make sure he comes out here next week.”
“You spiteful…You’d do that to me because I stood you up?”
“I’m going to call him, because I’m worried about your horses. If there’s a fire, you’re in danger of losing more than a contract. Tomorrow when I get off my shift I’m coming back out here and bringing this place up to code. The brush needs to be cleared away from all sides of the stable, and these cobwebs are a fire hazard.
He gestured overhead. “You don’t have cages around those bare bulbs. You have extension cords running all over the place not to mention all the other things scattered around that would make clearing the horses out in an emergency a problem. And when we pulled in there was a low branch over the drive we weren’t sure the engine could clear. You’re a disaster waiting to happen.”
With that he pushed past her, brushing against her as he walked by.
“You don’t have to do that!” she called after him.
“Gonna do it anyway,” he said walking away, his back to her.
“I don’t want you…”
Without a glance back he waved to her.
Contact info:
http://pattisherrycrews16.wix.com/author-blog
www.facebook.com/Patti-Sherry-Crews-Author
www.pinterest.com/patsherrycrews
https://twitter.com/CherieGrinnell
The Shape of Destiny by Julie A. D’Arcy
Blurb:
Cole is a shape shifter on the run from the man who murdered his parents. Shannon is a well-educated owner of a ranch who refuses to acknowledge her Indian heritage and their beliefs. When danger threatens and Cole’s secret is revealed, can Shannon find it in her heart to believe in the unbelievable and change their destiny?
Excerpt:
Cole awoke to the sound of a loud crack. His eyes fluttered open and stared into the barrel of a gun. He should have recognized the sound of a rifle being cocked. His first thought…Granger has finally found me.
This wasn’t a man’s voice at all, but a woman’s. “What are you doing here? Who are you?”
He climbed to his feet, knowing instinctively she wouldn’t shoot. He could read people and knew she wasn’t the type to take the life of another human being. An animal he wasn’t sure about. He laughed inwardly and glanced to where his sister had slept. Gone. He frowned and forced himself not to look around for her. Mia knew to hide at the first sign of danger.
Cole had to get the woman out of the barn. “I was just passing through.” He bent to pick up his backpack. “I’ll leave now. I needed somewhere to crash for the night, that’s all.” The rifle followed his movement as he bent to retrieve the shirt he’d used as a pillow.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Why is that?”
He straightened and looked at her then, really looked at her. She was quite beautiful in an unusual sort of way. Dark eyes, almost black, her skin a shade darker than most, and high cheekbones. If it wasn’t for the long pale blonde hair he would have sworn she was Native American. Maybe she had some of their blood in her gene pool. And he wanted her; he’d been a long time without a woman. He ignored the lust in his gut and headed for the door.
Her voice quavered. “Stop or I’ll shoot. I swear I will.”
He stopped but didn’t turn. “I don’t think so.”
He sensed her falter as she lowered the rifle. A head shorter than him, she came to stand beside him. “I just want to know what’s going on here.”
“Nothing is going on. I was hiking across country. I needed somewhere to sleep and spied the lights in the distance.” He shrugged. “Thought there was no harm in sleeping in your barn. I’d be gone before anyone found me. Guess I was wrong.”
* * *
Why didn’t she believe him? When she’d first found him sleeping on the hay a gamut of emotions ran through her body—fear, anger, and she had to admit, he was the most amazing looking man she’d ever seen. Most guys she knew were either old, scrawny, or had a gut the size of six watermelons. He pulled on his black t-shirt to cover his six-pack, and broad, muscled shoulders. She couldn’t help but finish her inspection by running her gaze down his stomach to where a line of dark hair disappeared past his belt buckle into his pants, and then lower to the thick thighs covered by his faded blue jeans. When she looked up again into his yellow-green eyes, his lips held a smirk, as if he knew her thoughts as she perused his body. What was he thinking? She didn’t want to know, but for some unknown reason she wanted him to stay. She glanced away, and that was when she saw her, a little girl in long white nightgown with curly black hair. She clung to the barn wall and Shannon realized then she had the rifle trained on the child.
The man whipped around and pushed the rifle down before Shannon could lower it. And then he glowered at her.
“I wouldn’t have pulled the trigger,” she said. “I didn’t know she was there.” She spoke to the child, her voice soft. “Don’t be afraid. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Offering her best smile, she added, “You startled me.”
She was a pretty little thing, with the same coloring as her father. She wondered about the story behind that. Why wasn’t the child in school? Had he kidnapped the girl from her mother and they were on the run? And where was her mother?
She turned her attention to the man again. “I presume the girl is with you?”
“Yes.”
She put his age at around twenty-six…twenty-seven, a little young to have a daughter this age.
“Mia, go behind the bales and get dressed, we’re leaving.”
The child picked up her backpack did as she was told.
Shannon remained silent wondering what to say or do next. A child was the last thing she expected to see in her barn. There was a story here, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to pursue it. Questions lingered on her lips but halted in her throat when she took in the thunderous look on the man’s face.
What influenced my story?
At a young age, my father encouraged me to watch western movies on the television as they were his favorite. Out of this grew (a glamorous but somewhat glorified view of the Old West.) I grew to love all the westerns staring John Wayne, who to me encompassed the ideal western hero.
As to why I chose a shape shifter, black Panther, for the hero of my novella? Fantasy and Paranormal are the usual genres I write. Also, when I was around twenty and driving out in the country I could have sworn I saw a black Panther run into the trees at the side of the road. The incident never left me.
When asked to write a novella for the Come Love a Cowboy anthology I have combined all these elements into my story hopefully to a satisfying conclusion.
Author Bio:
Julie A. D’Arcy – lives in Wangaratta, Australia with her partner Philip and her two cats, Jesse and Abby. Julie has been a writer for nineteen years and has been published for almost 17 years. Her first two novels Time of the Wolf and Silverdawn were first published in 1999 and the year 2002 and Shortlisted for several prestigious awards, including the PEARL and Sapphire, with Time of the Wolf winning the 1999 RIO (Reviewers International, Dorothy Parker Award) in the Fantasy category for Women’s Fiction. Both books were also runners up in the prestigious Australian, R*BY Award run by the Australian RWA. Julie began writing seriously in 1994, and has been published by ImaJinn Books, Mundania Press, Double Dragon Press, Eternal Press, Noble Romance Publishing LLC, Moongypsy Press, Secret Cravings Publishing and Sweet Cravings Publishing. Watch for Julie’s Tarlisian Sagas. Legacy of the Black Dragon, and Elven Magic, and the re-release of The Cross of Tarlis, Book 1 and 2 and The Realm of the Wolf. Her single titles include: Silverdawn, Night’s Eternal Promise, Whisper of Yesterday, Face of a Stranger, Whisper on the Wind and short story, The Siam Encounter. Julie’s hobbies include reading, gardening, oil painting, making fantasy pottery and greeting cards, creating video clips and book covers for other authors. She loves to hear from people who have read her books.
A gunman’s word is his bond, and a lady’s heart can shatter.
Author Alicia Dean 