What a shoot-from-the-hip guy.  I sure enjoyed riding the range with him.

And now what you’re all waiting for………..

CAROLYN

is the winner of CALEB’S PRICE!

I’m kicking up my heels for you, Carolyn. Someone will contact you for your mailing address so Mr. Troy can mail the book to you.

Mr. Troy thanks everyone who stopped by this weekend and hopes you never get tired of a good western.

Wasn’t Miss Ann fun and so full of interesting things? I certainly enjoyed her.

I put all the names in my ten gallon hat and shuffled them all around.

The winner is………………

JUDY B.

I’m dancing on my tippy toes for you, Judy B! Someone will contact you for your mailing particulars and Miss Ann will get to you on the next stage out.

Everyone come back tomorrow for Mr. Troy Smith. It’ll be fun!

Woo-Hoo! Bet all you ladies are itching to go to the shootin’ range. I sure am.

I put all the names in my brand spanking new Stetson and……..

VICKIE COUTURIER

won the hardback copy of A HAUNTED TWIST OF FATE!

I’m thrilled to death for you, Vickie! To claim your prize, send your mailing particulars to Miss Stacey at Staceycoverstone@gmail.com and she’ll get the book out on the next stage.

That’s it for now, we’ll see you next time, the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.

Ladies, it’s been a pleasure spending the day with you and talking about books and Valentine memories.

I put all the names in a hat and drew out two at random………

CLAUDIA GC

PATRICIA B.

Congratulations, ladies! I’m so happy for you. Please send your mailing address to Lbroday (at) windstream (dot) com and I’ll get the book in the mail.

I hope you started the year out right. Miss Kat thanks everyone who stopped by to chat today.

I put all the names in my brand new hat Santa brought me and……

MARY J

is the winner of the Kindle version of HOT RAIN.

Yay, Mary J! I’m dancin’ a jig for you. I know you’re tickled to death. Someone will contact you about your prize.

That’s it for now. Take care ladies.

Now that you got the scoop on what makes Kaki Warner tick, it’s time to draw her winners.

Ah put all the names in my brand new hat and………….

COLLEEN won the three set Blood Rose trilogy

DEBBIE MCLEAN gets the advance copy of COLORADO DAWN

I’m dancin’ a jig for you ladies! I know you’re thrilled beyond words. To claim your prize send your mailing particulars to Miss Kaki at kaki.warner@yahoo.com and she’ll get the books onto Santa’s sleigh.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? I only have to buy one gift this year and it’s for my ornery mule, Jasper. Thankfully, he’s not too particular. But he’ll throw a fit if I don’t get him something.

Now for the drawing……..

A PDF copy of the 2nd edition of Rocky Mountain Oasis goes to……

SHERRY ALLMAN

NA S.

Congratulations, ladies! I know you’ll enjoy it. Miss Lynnette will contact you about your prize.

Now, I’m gonna pour me some hot cider and hunker down in front of the fire.

I put all the names in my old floppy hat and………..

CHERYL C.

came up the winner of MAIL ORDER CHRISTMAS BRIDES.

Woo-Hoo! I’m tickled to death for you, Cheryl C! To claim your prize, please contact Miss Janet at www.janettronstad.com and give her your mailing particulars.

That’s it for now. See you next time, God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Don’t know when I’ve had such a fun day talking about cowboys and modeling underwear. That’s right up my alley. Hee-Hee!

The winner of BIG CITY COWBOY just happens to be………

CINDY WOOLARD

Yippee, Cindy! Old St. Nick is coming a little early for you. Someone will contact you for your mailing address. You don’t have to do a thing.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Janet Tronstad and another chance to win a book!

I’m thrilled to introduce my dear friend, Julie Benson, as she takes us behind the scenes of the “what-if” process that created her debut release from Harlequin American, BIG CITY COWBOY, coming out November 29.

Ideas for stories can come out of the blue when a writer least expects it. That’s what happened with my debut novel with Harlequin American, BIG CITY COWBOY.

My family attended a wedding inEstes Park,Colorado. (Thanks Angi and David for the invitation!) I’ve always loved horses, so we decided to go riding. The cowboy, Rory, helping my middle son with his horse, was the epitome of why women swoon when they think of cowboys. Dark hair and eyes, and classic western good looks, the man could stop traffic.

While he was helping my son, an older gentleman approached, and started talking to Rory about modeling. He politely accepted the man’s business card, but told him he wasn’t interest. Once the man left, Rory told my son that people asked him to model all the time, and they didn’t understand why a cowboy didn’t jump at the chance.

All I could think about, other than this cowboy’s good looks, was what a great story it would make if somthing forced this cowboy to agree to model. My mind was off and running. What would be important enough for Rory (yes, that’s my hero’s name) to leave Colorado, and everything he loved, for New York City and modeling, when these two things had to strike terror into the heart of any real cowboy?

The first thing that jumped to mind was to save the ranch. I set that aside, but kept thinking along the financial line. What if he needed money for something else, and the ranch was struggling, so the family had gone through their savings and couldn’t get a loan? That worked, but I still needed the bedrock reason Rory would model.

I have a dear friend, Judy Hoffman, who beat brain cancer. She went through experimental treatment in Portland, Oregon, and was one of a handful of patients going through treatment at the time. If I’m remembering correctly, she’s the only one who survived. Talk about a tough lady. I thought about that. A true cowboy would do literally anything to save his mom. I gave camera shy Rory a mom who was fighting brain cancer like Judy. Her only hope was experimental treatment. I raised the stakes by saying insurance refused to pay for the procedures, and she had to fly to Portland for treatment. Rory needed a lot of money and he needed it now, or his mom would die. Talk about motivation, and what woman wouldn’t love a man who put aside his pride to save his mother?

 Rory needed a strong, in charge, big city woman to go against. Elizabeth Harrington-Smyth barreled onto the stage, needing Rory to model jeans. He was perfect for her advertising campaign. She was out of time, and if he didn’t agree, the client would pull the account and she’d lose her job. After that, the rest of the story fell into place.

I have to add one more funny thing about coming up with this idea. After our horseback ride, I told my husband I wished I’d taken a picture of Rory. How I didn’t do that, still confounds me. My dear husband, Kevin smiled. When I’d told him how a cowboy being forced to model would make a great book, he’d taken a picture of the cowboy who inspired the story. Talk about a great husband who supports his wife’s writing career. He’s definitely a keeper.

Julie has agreed to give away a copy of Big City Cowboy to one commenter. So join in the conversation.