To Marry A Texas Cowboy Cover Reveal!

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Last week was crazy for me. I played What if…with a lot of you for June’s Game Day. I had a pin removed from my right index finger on Tuesday. The fourth book in my Wishing Texas Series, To Marry A Texas Cowboy, was due Wednesday, and then it was the Fourth of July weekend. Lesson learned? Consult my calendar more carefully when scheduling events and deadlines.

But I have a surprise for you, Today I received the final cover for the book!

Though I don’t have a release date yet, here’s the backcover copy for the book:

She lives by a set of rules. He aims to break each one.

When Zane Logan returns to Wishing, Texas, he’s shocked to learn that his grandmother has hired an assistant to manage her wedding planning business as she heals from surgery. With five marriages between his parents, just the thought of weddings breaks him out in hives. To look out for his grandmother’s financial interests, Zane takes charge. He doesn’t trust easily, especially when the assistant is prettier than a Texas spring day.

Childhood taught McKenna Stinson an important rule: never count on anyone but yourself. She dreams of working hard to have her own business. Stepping in for a successful wedding planner in a small town known for big weddings is the perfect opportunity…until her employer’s grandson announces he’s the new boss. He’s cynical about love and knows nothing about weddings—so why is she falling for him?

Even worse, Zane’s so hot McKenna has to make up two new rules: don’t date a man more attractive than you and never, ever, date a man you work with.

Being a mom to three sons has helped me create heroes. I learned early on males communicate differently. I wasn’t surprised to learn women use 20,000 words a day and men 7,000. In an interview Clint Eastwood said the first thing he did with a script was cut dialogue. Before I send a book off, I look for where my hero is too wordy. I also check for non “guy speak” dialogue. For example, men don’t use qualifiers. They don’t say “Would you like to…” or “What if we…” Nope. We women do that. Men simply cut to the chase. “Want to get pizza?”

From the book I just turned in, To Marry A Texas Cowboy:

Zane tried to tune out the women talking about how else Susannah would incorporate her color scheme. Who wanted to waste their New Year’s Eve at a wedding? Not him. Why did a bride have to ruin a perfectly good holiday and football night? From the color scheme, they chatted back and forth about whether they should eat or check out dresses first.

Ridiculous. It wouldn’t take him and his buddies a minute to decide. You hungry? No. Me neither. We’ll eat later. Done. Issue settled. But women made every discussion as hard as finding hair on a frog.

There are more ways men and women communicate differently, but I’ll leave those for another time. Today’s giveaway is a Warrior Not Worrier Cozy Sleeve and a copy of Home On The Ranch: Colorado Rescue. To be entered in the random drawing, leave a comment about the way men and women communicate differently or your thoughts on my cover or the backcover copy. Basically, just leave a comment and talk with me! 

 

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Julie Benson has written five novels for Harlequin American, and her Wishing, Texas series is available from Tule Publishing. Now that her three sons have left the nest in Dallas, when she isn't writing, Julie spends her time working on home improvement projects, rescuing dogs, and visiting Texas wineries with her husband. Visit her at www.juliebenson.net.

52 thoughts on “To Marry A Texas Cowboy Cover Reveal!”

  1. My boys (three sons and a husband, but this is more about the sons) seem to think nodding or a vague grunt are enough. The problem with the nod is I can’t see it if I’m not looking directly at them, and the problem with the grunt is it’s so mumbled, it could be an affirmative or a negative.

    • I laughed hard at this! I appreciate even more now the fact that I have two daughters. Lol

    • Denise, you’re so right about the nod. With a grunt, I always wondered was that a yes grunt or a no I don’t want anything to do with that grunt!

    • Thank you, Abigail! My cover artist, Lee Hyat if fabulous. She’s done all 4 of my Wishing Texas covers. Thanks for stopping by today. Stay safe.

    • Loved this blog Julie! You are so right when you say men speak differently than woman! My daddy points this out often! My daddy has 5 daughters and more granddaughters than grandsons so he can understand girltalk better than most men! Men don’t get hints so you better say it directly. Men do not use near as many adjectives as woman unless they’re great jokers and/or storytellers then they can compete with us ladies in the adjective department. My daddy is always pointing out adjectives we use and saying, “only a woman would use ‘wonderful'(or whatever flowery adjective) to describe that!” I love the cover to Colorado Rescue and would love the opportunity to read it!!

      • Stephanie, I forgot about women using more adjectives, but you daddy is so right! As an author, I have to be careful when describing people and things from a man’s point of view. It’s hard not to describe them as a woman would with lots of adjectives. I’m always asking myself what would a man notice about this?

        Thanks for stopping by today and stay safe!

  4. Congrats on your new book and cover!
    I’ve found that hinting to a man about something DOES NOT WORK. You have to tell them directly.. they have no concept when it comes to nudging them along.
    Ex: if I said “That trash is running over, like a Stopped up sink”
    That wouldn’t even phase him that the trash needs hauled out, shoot he would go look at the sink for the problem.
    So I have learned to just be direct and things run smoother.

    • That’s so true and too funny! Taking out the trash wouldn’t cross most mens minds! The exception might be my Daddy but he does have 5 daughters and more granddaughters than grandsons and is almost 83… maybe he learned along the way!!

      • Stephanie and Tonya, the guys around my house simply shove more trash in and pack it down! Then I come along and have a terrible time getting the trash bag out because it’s so full!

    • Tonya, your comment made me laugh. I have to come right out and ask, too. If I sorted laundry and left it on the bathroom floor, my husband would add laundry to the pile, but wouldn’t think to put it in the washer. If I ask him to put it in, he’ll gladly oblige!

  5. By the way he would have taken out the trash! If my dad catches one of us looking at the trashcan he opens the lid to see if it needs taken out. Thank you, he is quite the character and a great man!

    • Isn’t it funny how living with a house full of the opposite sex changes us in subtle ways? I certainly have a different perspective and have a much easier time creating heroes than heroines. Stephanie, your father definitely sounds like a uniquely wonderful man!

  6. Congratulations on the new book and cover. It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.

  7. I think my husband didn’t get that notice about men speaking less than women. I swear my husband adds more words than necessary when he is talking. And when he gets on the phone with his best friend they can talk for hours. And they talk at least once a day. I’m the quiet one in the family. Congratulations on your new book. I have really enjoyed the Wishing Texas books and look forward to reading this one too.

    • Janine, sounds like your husband is definitely the exception. He’s got to be one of the few men who actually talks to a friend on the phone for that long!

      I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the Wishing series. Because my oldest son and his friends inspired it, those books have a special place in my heart.

      Thanks for stopping by and take care!

      • I had no idea your oldest son and his friends inspired the series. Tell them thank you from me. And yes, my husband does like talking on the phone. He gets mad when someone sends a text. He is very old school in a lot of things he does.

  8. or in the case of mine for 40 years is that there is NO communication – I keep telling him I cannot read his old mind!! LOL!

    • Teresa, my husband often swears he told me something while I insist he never mentioned it. He tries to tell me I just forgot, but a few times it’s been something big that no way I would’ve forgotten–like his mother coming to visit!

      Thanks for stopping by today and stay safe!

  9. Husband always tells me to get to the point, don’t tell him the whole story! Well I always figure some of those details might be important=)

    • Patty, I get in trouble when my husband is telling a story because I keep interrupting saying he’s forgetting the details that make it funnier! Lol

      Thanks for stopping by today and take care!

  10. Nice cover, Julie, and great concept! A man who hates weddings running a wedding planning business. Seriously, what could go wrong?

    • Kathy, absolutely nothing goes wrong! Lol. Poor Zane doesn’t know which end is up! I love torturing my heroes. It’s way too much fun.

      Thanks for stopping by today and stay safe!

  12. Men do not communicate with women. They think that you should be able to read their minds.

    • Charlene, when my boys were younger, they’d tell their father they needed something and he’d forget and never tell me what they needed or what was going on. I told them we had a new rule, if they needed something done or had an event, they were to tell me. That was the only way I’d hear about it. It became a running joke if someone “violated the policy.” To this day when they forget to tell me something we joke about them being a “policy violator.”

      Take care and stay safe. Thanks for stopping by to chat.

  14. Good morning, Julie. Great little preview. And you are so right that men are always trying to trim a few words off the conversation. Of course then don’t know or remember what you are talking about because they never heard it all in the first place :-)!

  15. A great post! Men definitely communicate differently. Less words and not complicated at all. I think us women think too deeply when around men. Haha!

    • Susan, you’re right. Some of the other research I read said women are trying to sort out our feelings and thoughts as we talk. Not only that, but we really do overthink things. Thanks for stopping by the corral and stay safe!

    • Laura, thanks for stopping by and welcome to the corral! We have the best readers ever as you can see from their comments. I can’t tell you how glad I am that last week is over!

  18. Enjoyed reading your article
    Yes, men talk and respond differently than women. My husband seemed to think I shouldn’t talk at all!

    • Joye, my guys think I talk too much as well. I guess that’s one reason why my heroes often tease my heroines about that issue! Thanks for stopping by the corral and stay safe.

  19. Welcome today. What a wonderful cover. This was a fun post. I am always amazed at the differences between men and women. I didnt really start paying attention until I started dating. Then I really noticed. And then when I got married, well, LOL, even more was noticed. For example: I would say to my husband “what are you thinking?” LOL I learned that, that is not a good question for a man. They have a cell in their brain that they can go to and literally think nothing at all. (oh how my womans brain would have that feature LOL) anyway, I have learned so much about the differences. One book that I still go to after all these years is “Men are Like Waffles and Women are Like Spaghetti” by Bill and Pam Farrel My husband and I had a chance to hear them talk at our church for married couples. Boy are they a kick. And so true what they say. My husband and Bill Farrel hit it off right away. It was fun to watch them talk. They signed a book for us and my husband and Bill kept in contact by email for many years.

    • Lori, I’m amazed too how men can be thinking about nothing at all! I’ll have to check out the Farrel’s book. It sounds interesting. Thanks for stopping by the corral today and for suggesting the book. I’m so glad you like the cover. Take care and stay safe.

  20. Oh, my. You are so right about men. Your example above is so spot on. Sometimes having a discussion is like pulling teeth. Maybe we do over think things, but we seem to take more into consideration when making decisions than men need or have to. I don’t know if we make it more complicated or if it really is.
    When thinking of weddings, of course their choices are easy, they get a tux. They often leave the decisions on style, color, etc. to the bride. It must be nice to have such a simple life. The wedding is seen as the bride’s big day. It is the time for her to have something very special which reflects at least a part of who she is. Times are changing, but for the most part, once married housekeeping, child care and decisions, as well as getting children to appointments and activities will fall more to her. Those of us who are lucky (and I am one) have husbands who are involved and share more of the load than was true in the past.
    I enjoyed the book in this series I read and will be getting the others. I look forward to this one. It will be fun seeing so much from the “guy’s side” of things.
    Stay safe and healthy.

    • Patricia, that’s one of the issues my hero and heroine have about weddings, he doesn’t see why they’re so complicated. She sees how many pitfalls can happen which affect the business.

      I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the series. That means a lot. Take care and stay safe!

    • Caryl, thank you. I’ve been so blessed with the covers Tule, an artist Lee Hyat, have given me for my books. Thanks for stopping by and take care.

  22. I love your book cover, it is Beautiful! And your book sounds intriguing and like a very good page turner!

  23. I would read your book Colorado Rescue because I was born in Colorado. Odd way to pick a book to read but hey I like the cover. And would hope the story was great too.

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