Cowboy Lovin' Day 18: Crystal-Rain Love

Today I welcome another fellow Wayback, TX series author whose Guardian Cowboy novella I can't wait to read....

"Creating A Cowboy"

I’ve always loved cowboys, especially the ones found among the pages of romance novels. Give me a Joan Johnston or Linda Warren book and I’m in my own little nirvana. However, despite my love for the genre I never thought I could write one. What did I really know about cowboys?

But then I came across the Wayback, Texas series and it drew me in so much I was compelled to add a story to the collection. So what’s a girl do when her knowledge of cowboys comes down to “Damn, guys look good in Stetsons, tight jeans, and boots”?

I read, of course, submerging myself deeper in cowboy romance novels than I ever had before. I recalled every television show or movie I’d ever watched featuring cowboys, whether it be Bonanza or Elvis Presley’s Charro.

I went to the rodeo (and man, was I disappointed to see there wasn’t one single hawt cowboy there…but the marines there were pretty enticing. Just sayin’…) and consequently discovered I loved the sport.

I made a soundtrack to keep me focused while writing. Tim McGraw was a must, along with Travis Tritt and a little Reba.

Then I created my character. I gave him the rough yet tender nature of the cowboy found in romance novels combined with the skill and ferocity of the cowboys I’d seen in the rodeo. I threw in a little humor by giving him a wacky, Elvis-obsessed mother. To make him real, I gave him the task of overcoming a personal failure he struggled with every day… and then I gave him his perfect match: A strong-willed woman who could save him as he saved her.

Guardian Cowboy is my first foray into cowboy-themed romance and I can’t wait to share Wayback’s newest cowboy with you on February 24th!

After a failed bodyguarding assignment, the last thing Presley West wants is to save a damsel in distress, but the spunky woman he finds standing on the side of the interstate in the pouring rain brings out his protective instincts.

Amber Barlow ran from the clutches of a demon, and into the arms of an angel. But the closer she gets to her guardian cowboy, the more her fear grows, because a southern gentleman like Presley could never want a woman with a past as soiled as hers.

EXCERPT:

Amber narrowed her eyes on the man, unease coating her stomach with nausea. Had she been picked up by a psycho after all?

“Look, darlin'. You're pretty much ass-out in the rain, and at the wrong time of night to be out looking for someplace to stay. I have a spare room with some warm blankets, a hot shower you can use to clean up, and food if you're hungry.”

“And let me guess. Nobody can hear me if I scream?”

Presley laughed, a twinkle lighting his dark eyes. “My mother would hear you scream, and trust me, if I did anything to scare you like that she'd skin my hide long before you could get off a shot. Come on.” He removed his seatbelt and stepped out of the truck, slamming the door shut before running around to open hers.

He stood there at the side of the truck, one hand on the open door, his gaze on the gun pointed at his chest. His eyes warmed with compassion. “I don't know who spooked you, honey, but I promise I won't lay one finger on you.”

Amber breathed deep, trying to sort through the tangle of decisions crowding her mind.

Should she trust him and enter his home, or just shoot him and flee in his truck?

Thanks, Crystal-Rain! I'll definitely be first in line to get a copy of Guardian Cowboy when it launches.

Readers, stay tuned tomorrow for Week 2 giveaway winners and another cowboy round robin. Also you still have time to enter both Marguerite Arotin's giveaway for a Victoria Secret Gift Card and Anna Kathryn Lanier's giveaway for Salvation Bride and a TWRP Gift Card...