My debut novel, PRAIRIE BRIDE was set in a sod house on the Kansas prairies.  It was a Harlequin Historicals release in the year 2000.  But even before that – back in 1995 – I wrote a time-travel romance where a contemporary heroine gets caught in a lightning storm and is transported back to the Old West.  Not long after she arrives, she falls for the ruggedly handsome gunslinging sheriff, who quickly becomes her hero and protector against a band of dangerous outlaws.

I gave it the title JUNEBUG JESS.  It won some writing contests and garnered a few requests for the complete manuscript from publishers who read the proposal, but by the time I was shopping it around, time travels were no longer considered marketable, so it never sold. And hey, I was a newbie unpublished author, and it was tough to break in.  I didn’t give up, however.  I wrote five novels over a period of six years before I finally sold PRAIRIE BRIDE to Harlequin.

Now here we are, seventeen novels later, and authors have the option of publishing independently.  Last summer I had a short break while my agent was negotiating a new contract with my publisher, so I decided to dig JUNEBUG JESS out of my old rejection pile and take a look at it.  Would it still hold up?  Would the writing be atrocious?  To my utter delight, the plot line was fresh and fun, the characters were interesting, and the writing was… well, not too bad.

I could see that the prose needed some polish, so I began an intensive rewrite to bring it up to speed to match my voice today.  Also, cell phones and laptops were not part of daily life when I originally wrote it, so the technology needed an upgrade.  The heroine’s outfit was more than a little outdated, so all that had to be changed.

I gave it a sexier title, TAKEN BY THE COWBOY, and a splashy cover inspired by the Cowboys and Aliens movie poster (scroll down for a peek at it), and now I’m wildly happy to see it out there at last for readers to enjoy!  This one was a long time coming . 

Now here’s the good news and the fun part.

For those of you who are reading the blog today Feb 4 – the ebook edition of TAKEN BY THE COWBOY is on sale at Amazon for 99 cents for a limited time. Hurry and grab it for your Kindle and please share the link with your Facebook and Twitter friends!

Lastly – I’m going to give away a $25 gift card to Amazon or B&N (winner’s choice) to one commenter.  All you have to do is tell me the name of your favorite western romance novel of all time (or the top 3 if you can’t narrow it down).

HERO AND PROTECTOR

Former bounty hunter, expert gunslinger, and the toughest sheriff Dodge City has ever known, Truman Wade is a real man from the tip of his black Stetson right down to his spurs and leather boots. He’s never met his match in a gunfight, but he’s never met a gorgeous, gutsy woman from the twenty-first century either…

TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Newly single after a rocky breakup with her self-absorbed fiancé, newspaper columnist Jessica Delaney crashes her car in a lightning storm and soon finds herself dodging bullets in the Wild West. Before the night is out, she’s tossed in jail for a murder she didn’t commit, and if things don’t seem complicated enough, the impossibly handsome sheriff in charge of her arrest has danger written all over him – and a sexy swagger to die for. Jessica knows she needs to get home, but when Sheriff Wade’s enticing touch sets her passions on fire, she begins to wonder if fate has other plans for her, and soon she must choose between the life she longs for in the future… and the greatest love she’s ever known.

In past visits I’ve shared tidbits of history I discovered while researching such topics as orphan trains, medicinal herbs and Victorian houses. Today I want to chat about romance. First let me give you a peek at my story.

THE BEST OF ENEMIES

His family destroyed hers. But Matthew Cummings’s job offer—to care for his recuperating father—is impossible to decline.

Schoolteacher Abigail Wilson can swallow her pride for the sake of a summer paycheck that will help her sister. And when Abigail’s employment ends, old loyalties will separate the feuding families once more.

If there’s anyone in town stubborn enough to deal with Matthew’s cantankerous father, it’s Abigail. It’s just a business arrangement—and a temporary one, at that. Her good opinion shouldn’t matter a lick to Matt. Yet their different backgrounds belie a surprising kinship. Perhaps unexpected love will be their reward for the summer’s inconvenient match.

As the story unfolds, the hero and heroine struggle to reconcile loyalty to family with their growing romantic feelings for one
another. To see if they overcome the obstacles between them is one reason I love to read romance novels. Another reason is  romance novels guarantee a happy ending. Still, getting to the “happily ever after” isn’t easy. Bottom line, conflict is story. No conflict, no story.

So expect trouble.

Abby and Wade have plenty. The feud between the Wilsons and Cummings isn’t their only problem. Wade hurt Abby when they
were courting in high school. She’s not forgiven him. Ah, the heartache of young romance.

Anyone relate? I do.

My first boyfriend dumped me. That hurt. Not that I was in love, but I liked him. I was fifteen. He was sixteen, tall, dark,  handsome and a driver. :-) We met at 4-H camp and dated that summer. He was the first boy I kissed. Unless you count the silly kiss that followed the spin of a milk bottle. Toward summer’s end we had plans to attend the county fair. He never showed up. Even then I had a creative imagination and visualized an accident or at the very least, car trouble. Surely he was hurt or stranded somewhere. I called his house. First dumb move. His mother answered and said he’d gone to the fair with friends. Friends? I’d been stood up. I’m sure he had a lot in common with Danny, John Travolta’s character in “Grease.” Danny dumped Sandy, Olivia Newton-John’s character, no doubt running from a summer romance that wouldn’t make him look cool to the guys in school. Sadly, I was not cool. I went from hurt to mad. What a coward he’d been not to tell me face to face. When school started, I never spoke to him again. Second dumb move. We were both pretty childish. But, the experience proved to me that Abby’s refusal to talk or eat with Wade could happen.

I dated a few more nice guys before I went steady in my junior year. That boy broke up with me. See a pattern here? He had the
guts to do it in person, probably because he wanted his class ring back. What a waste of angora and pillows of tape painted with different colors of nail polish to match my skirts and sweaters. Does anyone remember the creative ways to make a boy’s ring fit your finger?

I persevered in the romance department until I met my husband in college. I’m grateful I waited for Mr. Right and got my happily ever after. But wait, I’m ignoring poor Abby and Wade. The feud and heartache over the breakup wasn’t all that stood between them. They clashed over a student of Abby’s. Like most of us, they saw the situation from the bias of their past experiences. Thankfully, they matured and changed. Thanks to me.  Yes, romance isn’t easy. But, Wade and Abby got their happy ending.

Can anyone relate to romance woes? Have a breakup story to share? Are you grateful you broke up? Does it hurt still? No full names, please.

For a chance to win a signed copy of An Inconvenient Match, please leave a comment.

Visit Janet online at: www.janetdean.net, www.janetdean.blogspot.com and at her group blog www.seekerville.net

I trust that Santa brought you lots of goodies and that you had a safe and happy New Year’s.

Now that we have the holidays out of the way I’m proud and happy to share that our sixth anthology, BE MY TEXAS VALENTINE, with Phyliss Miranda, Jodi Thomas, DeWanna Pace, and myself hits bookstores this week. Already we’ve gotten some great reviews.

My story is called CUPID’S ARROW. Rue Ann Spencer, the daughter of a high-powered Texas senator, has come home from a ladies finishing school. She’s busy planning her wedding to Theodore Greeley, her father’s hand-picked groom for her. The last person she wants to run into is rancher Logan Cutter. But as the fickle hand of fate would have it, that’s exactly who she plows into as she’s leaving the dressmaker’s shop.

Logan Spencer never knew why Rue Ann suddenly up and left town. One minute they’re planning their life together and the next he’s left high and dry with no explanation. He thought he had her out of his system….until he finds her unexpectedly in his arms. Looking into her beautiful green eyes he knows he’ll never be content with anyone else, not even if he lives to be a hundred.

Two matchmaking spinster sisters, a stray dog that’s looking for someone to love, and a sudden storm that traps Rue Ann and Logan gives Cupid a little extra help and gets everyone sorted out and with the ones they’re supposed to be with.

I hope all four of these stories reminds you how special Valentine’s Day is when you’re with the one you love.

Now here’s a short excerpt:

Rue Ann Spencer stepped from Mrs. Fitzhugh’s Dress Shop where she was being fitted for her wedding gown into the blinding afternoon sunlight.

She quickly raised her hand to shield her eyes but it wasn’t soon enough to keep her from plowing into the solid wall of a man’s body.

His quick grasp kept her on her feet.

“Pardon me.  I didn’t see….”  She stared up into the liquid brown eyes of none other than Logan Cutter.  Her words trailed as she suddenly lost the ability to form coherent thought.  Her blood chilled.  Why did she have to run into the one person who still had the ability to drive a knife straight into her heart?

That’s why she’d stayed far away from Texas and Shiloh for three years.  She’d never forgive him for what he’d done.

“I heard you were back in town, Rue Ann.”  Logan’s deep growl indicated he wasn’t thrilled with the encounter either.  “And I also hear congratulations are in order on your upcoming nuptials.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cutter,” she replied stiffly.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a million things to do to prepare for my wedding. Valentine’s Day will be here-”

“In exactly two weeks and five days,” he finished for her.

Shocked that he knew to the day how long before she’d become someone else’s wife, she gathered her shredded composure and turned in the direction of Whipple’s Dry Goods.  Refusing to give Cutter the satisfaction of knowing how deeply he’d affected her, she moved on, keeping her gaze glued to the sidewalk, never once glancing back.

Trembling, Rue Ann opened the door of the dry goods store and hurried inside.  Thankfully, Mr. Whipple had his hands full with the spinster Barlow sisters.

Rue Ann headed for a dark corner and, there sagging against a shelf of men’s hats, she blinked back sudden tears and gave herself a stern talking to.

She would not shed one more tear on that man. Logan Cutter wasn’t worth it.

*********
This is going to be our last anthology for a while. We’ve decided to work on our own individual projects.

Do you have a favorite Valentine memory you’d like to share? I’m giving away a copy of the book to two people who leave a comment.

Click on the cover to order from Amazon.

I love to dress up in black sequins and high heels, and am fortunate that my husband is a knockout in a tuxedo. One of my favorite New Year’s parties was in Beverly Hills. I was invited to a function that was the height of elegance and even had celebrities in attendance. I remember seeing Hugh O’Brien, who used to be Wyatt Earp on TV, a really gorgeous guy back then, and Faye Dunaway, who was class personified.

For me New Year’s Eve is champagne and romance, and being a romance writer, why wouldn’t I adore it?

This year, besides going out on the town, I’ll be celebrating the re-release of one of my all time favorite books–HOT RAIN. The hero, Jake Dawson, would look gorgeous in a tux–or better yet, nothing at all. Allie Parker is blond and sexy, and the chemistry between them burns. Jake’s an undercover agent working to catch a gang of drug smugglers. Unfortunately, Allie Parker believes he’s one of the thugs who have taken her prison and stashed her on the yacht they are taking to Mexico.

Jake has a helluva time keeping Allie safe and at the same time playing the roll of her captor. There’s a lot of humor in this one, which is why my readers chose it back when it first came out as their all-time favorite.

The book has been out of print for nearly ten years, so I’m hoping readers who haven’t had a chance to read it will give it a try. It’s got a fabulous new cover and will be out in e-book format for the first time ever.

I hope you’ll try HOT RAIN and that you enjoy. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Very best wishes,

Kat

Kat’s giving away a kindle copy of HOT RAIN to one lucky commenter!

In the meantime, you can whet your appetite for it by reading an excerpt at http://katbooks.com/Hot%20Rain.htm#Excerpt

or  check out this video:

Buy links:

Barnes & Noble:

paperback: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-rain-kat-martin/1103286731?ean=9781420123975&itm=1&usri=hot+rain

Nook/ebook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-rain-kat-martin/1103286731?ean=2940013802155&itm=1&usri=hot+rain

Amazon:

paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Rain-Kat-Martin/dp/1420123971/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323810718&sr=8-2

kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Rain-ebook/dp/B006IT1YOI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323810718&sr=8-3

Indiebound:

paperback: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781420123975

If you could live in the Old West, whereabouts would you choose and what would your occupation be?

Wow.  That’s a hard one.  Although I love the beauty and wildlife of the mountains, it would be hard trying to eek out an existence there with the short growing seasons, killer winters, isolation, and no malls or internet.  And as much as I love mountains, I’d rather LOOK at them, than LIVE in them.  Same with oceans.  The flatlands are good because you can see a cloud coming for days and get ready for it, but all that flatness might get a little boring after a while.  Plus, tornadoes give me a bad case of the heebie jeebies.  The South is out because even though the people are a hoot, I don’t like cockroaches and humidity and being sweaty for no good reason.  And I’ve already been through my share of hurricanes, thank you very much.  So I guess I’d like to be where I am right now—on a hilltop looking at mountains and valleys, watching cockroach-free wildlife wander by, no humidity, lots of sunshine, and tapping away on my computer.  I already had a bear on my deck a few months ago—that’s as close to nature as I need to be.  It’s a great life.

What intrigues you the most about writing westerns?

The code.  Honor, integrity, pride, independence, self-sufficiency, pitching in when needed, and of course, guys in tight jeans.  There was no moral ambiguity back then.  Just right and wrong.  I feel of late we’ve lost sight of those basics.  Baggy jeans hanging off a city-slicker’s tattooed butt just doesn’t do it for me.  But a fine-looking man on a fine-looking horse, well…  Plus, there were fewer politicians back then to mess up everything, which is always appealing.

What interesting places have you visited while doing research for your stories?

I’ve pretty much covered the West, so I don’t have to go anywhere to envision it.  All I have to do is remember it.  But I’ve traveled a lot on the cyber highway and have come across many interesting facts—some of which might even be true.  Plus I’m a great people-watcher and brain-picker.  If you’re a doctor, nurse, psychologist, historian, horse trainer, rancher, botanist, bird watcher, hiker, camper, outdoor survivalist, wildlife biologist, or anyone with a kind face—I’ll be on you like a hen on a June bug.  Everyone I meet has something to offer.

Do you normally start with storyline or with character or with some combination of the two?

I think of a place I’d like to write about—then the time period—then the kind of people who might live there then.  It’s the old “what if” scenario.  What if there was this beautiful ranch in a mountain valley in New Mexico, and this guy and his brothers lived there…three really hot, lonely brothers…hmmm.  Then I start posing questions:  What haunts him?  What does he fear?  What does he want more than anything in the world and how can I keep him from getting it until he’s earned his “happily-ever-after”?  It sort of snowballs from there.

Please tell us about your current projects.  (Brief overview including any tidbits about your inspiration or interesting behind-the-scenes notes you care to share)

I just finished the third Runaway Brides book, BRIDE OF THE HIGH COUNTRY, which comes out next June, so I’m taking a short break.  Instead of writing, I’ll be promoting the newly released mass market editions of the Blood Rose Trilogy (PIECES OF SKY, OPEN COUNTRY, and CHASING THE SUN), as well as the trade release of COLORADO DAWN, which comes out on January 3^rd.  These brides books have been a lot of fun—four women who head West to start new lives and get more than they bargained for when they’re stranded in a dying Colorado mining town.  Fun stuff.  Meanwhile, I’ll be busy with a huge giveaway on my blog (www.kakiwarner.wordpress.com).  Throughout the month of December, I’m giving away twenty three-book mass market sets of the Blood Rose Trilogy, plus fifteen early copies of Colorado Dawn.  Be sure to drop by.

As for current projects…there are always ideas bouncing around in my head…a Christmas Novella, a tie-in to the grooms of the bride series, a re-visit to the Wilkins ranch…lots of things I’d like to do.  So we’ll see.

What was the inspiration behind Colorado Dawn?

Maddie (the heroine) had already appeared in HEARTBREAK CREEK, the first brides book, so I pretty much knew what she was about.  But since she’s an English photographer and somewhat unconventional, I decided to pair her with a duty-bound, titled Scottish soldier who is so involved running around doing military things he doesn’t realize his wife has given up on him until he returned to find her gone.  Then the chase is on.  Ah…a Scotsman in the West.  Two of my favorite things.  My grandfather was Scottish and I still hear his brogue in my memory.  He always seemed a boisterous, bigger-than-life character, so I suppose in many ways Angus Wallace came about because of him.

What would your readers be most surprised to learn about you?

That I’ve been married for forty-five years (and to the same man, no less—give me a freaking medal), and I sold the first book I wrote the same year I went on Medicare.  How’s that for being a late bloomer baby bloomer?  Plus, put me up in front of a crowd and watch the hives pop out.  I’m pathetic.  But I’ve learned to cover my pathological shyness with inappropriate remarks and out-of-control giggling, so at least onlookers aren’t bored.

Since you told me to ask–Why don’t you write sex scenes in your stories?

(You weren’t supposed to tell).  But since you did…actually I do write sex scenes, just not graphic ones.  I figure most of my readers already have  an idea of what goes where, so I don’t need to spell it out in detail.  There are manuals that do that a lot better than I could.  Admittedly, sex is a vital and necessary part of the human condition, but I think overly graphic sex scenes desensitize readers and often trivialize what should be a moving, romantic, physical and spiritual joining.  (I know.  I’m a hopeless romantic).  So I focus on the romance of it, not the mechanics.  I don’t want readers flipping through my books to get to the spicy parts, nor do I want them skimming over the sex scenes to get back to the story.   It’s a choice every writer has to make.  Sure, I’ve gotten dinged for my “fade to black” sex scenes (I use a lot of cuss words, so that should help some, right?).  But I’ve gotten many, many more e-mails and comments from readers who appreciate not having to suffer through yet another blow-by-blow (oops, did I say that?) account of two people getting it on.  Rent a movie.

Am I wrong, readers?  Is graphic better?  Or fade to black?  What do you prefer in your romances and why?

What were your favorite books as a child?

Favorite book? Where do I start. Every Christmas my parents gave me the current Newberry Prize winner and it was always a treasured gift. But the book I carried around
with me as a little kid was Petunia the Silly Goose. From there I went through Uncle Remus, The Secret Garden, any horse book, the Nancy Drew mysteries, Thomas Costain’s books. I even read
bad poetry. In fact, one Christmas I delighted my entire family and guests (I was seven) with a surprise reading of “The Old Bastard Is Dead”which was snatched out of my hands before I could finish (I didn’t know what a bastard was back then. Maybe that was my first step toward romances…you think?)

Thanks for coming by today and letting me spout off.  And in the spirit of the season, I’m giving away a three-book set of the mass market editions of the Blood Rose Trilogy and an advance copy of COLORADO DAWN to two lucky commenters. Ho Ho Ho!