Hunky Cowboys

Wildflower Junction welcomes Harlequin SuperRomance author Mary Sullivan!  Mary’s debut novel NO ORDINARY COWBOY blazes into bookstores this month.

A few years ago Mary picked up LaVyrle Spencer’s Morning Glory and became hooked on romance. Mary discovered Harlequin Superromance and knew she wanted to write these heartfelt stories of love, family, perseverance and happy endings, about very human heroes and heroines graced with backbone, strength of character and hope.

She loves that moment when, even though it looks like these characters will never be able to make their love work, they then, against impossible odds, do.

Y’all can visit Mary’s website at www.marysullivanbooks.com

Hi! I’m Mary Sullivan and I’m so happy to be here today blogging on Petticoats & Pistols!

In preparing for today’s blog, I wondered what historical readers would want to know about writing a contemporary cowboy story, especially from someone who has never met a cowboy, has never been on a ranch and has never ridden a horse! So, I took a look back through the research I started when I decided to write cowboy romances.

I learned so much about modern cowboys, and wondered how much they had changed over the years and how they had stayed the same. The one constant I discovered was the cowboy’s character.

Cowboys are tough. They trail cattle through hard terrain, often in foul weather. They have to think like a cow in order to find the cows, calves and renegade bulls that need to be reunited with their herds. These days, they use pickup trucks and dirt bikes and handheld radios and ‘Japanese quarter horses’—ATVs—as well as horses. Cowboys have to be nearly as tough as the animals they tend.

They work long hard days. I remember a saying from years ago that ‘a woman’s work is never done’. Being a feminist, did I ever resent that the first time I heard it! Now, though, I would apply it to a cowboy’s or a rancher’s or a farmer’s work, male or female.

 I found out that some cowboys are poets, as versatile with words as they are with their hands.

I learned that there are times when cowboys are called on to be heroes, most often in the small unnoticed deeds that daily life requires of them.

There truly does seem to be a Code of the West, first developed in the cowboy culture that started in the nineteenth century, when too few written laws forced cowboys to create laws of their own—about fair play and loyalty and respecting a person’s right to privacy.

This code still survives today in rules that are tacit yet understood universally throughout the culture.

Two items in the code caught my interest.

Take pride in your work. Nobody wants to re-do the job you should have done correctly the first time around. In the past, the price paid for the offense of shoddy work was ostracism, which must have been devastating in a world that was hard to survive even with others watching your back.

Live each day with courage. I really like this one.

The hero in my Superromance NO ORDINARY COWBOY, Hank Shelter, lives each day with courage. Every month of the year, he brings young children who are recovering from the ravages of cancer to his ranch and treats them to a few weeks of fun and Hank’s particular brand of tender loving care.

I’ll leave you to read the book to discover why this takes so much courage on Hank’s part. Suffice it to say that Hank overcame a lot to do this. He teaches my heroine, Amy, everything she will ever need to know about living a courageous life.

There are two more points in the Cowboy Code that tickle my fancy.

He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals. There’s something touching about a big, tough guy who treats children, the elderly and animals tenderly and with respect.

He must respect women.

I found this delightful quotation on the Internet: “If [American men] fell grievously short [in the matter of certain manners], in another they maintained without any exception the character of gentlemen.

The men, one and all, showed the utmost attention and politeness to our sex. Old or young, rich or poor, well or ill-dressed, every woman was treated with respect and kindness…” A Lady’s Journey Round the World, Ida Pfeiffer, 1855

I like this, too.

I’m thinking of modern-day cowboy, Ty Murray, on Dancing with the Stars and the way he always held and touched Chelsie Hightower with a gentleman’s respect.

Hank Shelter is a gentle man and a gentleman, two absolutely gorgeous character traits. He’s also a hell of a cowboy.

To celebrate the June release of my first novel, I’m giving away a copy of my Superromance, NO ORDINARY COWBOY, to one lucky person who leaves a comment. It’s so great to ‘meet’ everyone here!

Available Now at Amazon!

            Some might think that the idyllic life of a cowboy on the range doesn’t lend itself to suspenseful mysteries. I beg to differ and so would many of the writers of Harlequin Intrigues. The truth is the cowboy is one of the tried and true heroes that women readers of the genre can’t get enough of.

            I’ve had cowboy heroes almost as long as I’ve been writing Intrigues, and that is fifteen years and forty books ago. My first westerns were the four books in the popular Family Ties series. Since then I’ve written many stand-alone novels staring the alpha cowboy and several multi-book series.

            There are several reasons why I think cowboys are naturals as suspense heroes. They tend to be independent thinkers who follow their own instincts. They don’t necessarily follow anyone else’s rules, but they have a strong value system. They are never afraid to buck the system since they’re not really part of the system. They are very protective of their lands and the people they love. They’ll stand up for what’s right no matter the cost. And, of course, they are incredibly sexy in those jeans, boots and Stetsons.

             I used all of those qualities in the heroes for my recent series, The Four Brothers of Colts Run Cross.  The series was originally intended to be only four books, then expanded to five. Now, due to popular request, there will be a sixth.

            The series is about a close-knit and very wealthy Texas family that not only owned one of largest ranches in Texas,  but owned an oil company as well. I thought of it as similar to the Ewings on the old TV show Dallas, except with scruples. Each brother has his own story, but there is also a mystery running through the first four books. I’ve found that Intrigue readers in general not only like large families but enjoy the idea of returning to the family setting, in this case Jack’s Bluff Ranch, in succeeding books. And each book involved the family in ways that were integral to the story.  The fifth book was about the daughter who was estranged from her husband, a star player for the Dallas Cowboys.  Their two sons are abducted a few days before Christmas so it’s a very emotional story that definitely affects the whole family. Yet, amazingly, there is also humor, thanks to the Home Alone style antics of the boys.

            And finally there is the current series, Special Ops, Texas. This is the most exciting series I’ve worked on in ages. The heroes are all former Navy SEALs, guys who have left the service for one reason or another and are having difficulty adjusting to life not on the edge.

            In Cowboy Commando, the first that is just out, Cutter Martin returns to the family ranch but doesn’t think ranching will cut it for him in his restless state. But when an old lover drops into his life with a wild story about her best friend being killed by a cop and her fear for the friend’s young daughter, he finds he has plenty of danger in store. The book is hot! So is the cover! Well, you can see that for yourself. Hmm. Maybe that’s another reason cowboys make such great heroes.

            If you  have any questions about writing contemporary western series or writing for Harlequin Intrigue, I’ll do my best to answer them. Or if you have any comments about cowboys as heroes, we can chat about that, too.   I’ll be giving away a copy of COWBOY COMMANDO & MIRACLE AT COLTS RUN CROSS this weekend!

            One of my favorite comments was overheard at a beauty shop the other day. “Cowboys are for women what blondes are for men. When you see one, you just have to take a second look.”

            Care to second that?

To learn more about Joanne and her books, visit her website:

www.joannawayne.com

   << Click to Order from Amazon

Hi, everyone,

First, let me say how happy I am to be invited to be a guest at Petticoats and Pistols.

Having grown up in West Texas and having lived in three western states, I’m a true lover of the West. I’m from the cowboy culture, to be sure. My dad was a small cattle rancher and most of my family does something to this day related to ranching and agriculture. That’s why I enjoy setting my stories in a western locale. It’s what I know.

Even though my books are classified as contemporary mainstream romance, they have also become classified as “westerns.” I’m still not sure how that happened, but there you go.

In fact, most my stories are relationship stories. They could occur in any setting, but they seem to be a little more interesting set against a backdrop of cowboy life. After all, what red-blooded American woman doesn’t love a cowboy? I also try to throw in a little Western or Texas history, though not enough for the books to be called “historical” or for someone to scream at me about accuracy.  

In LONE STAR WOMAN, all of the players are cowboys and cowgirls to whom working outdoors with animals every day is a way of life and it’s a lifestyle they love. A big part of the character of the protagonist, Jude Strayhorn, comes from her love of the land and her family’s long ranching history. I based the setting and took the history from the old-time ranches that sprang up in Texas during the late nineteenth century, when the Eastern demand for beef fostered an entire industry and a culture.

During my research for that book, I delved into how “cowboys” came to be in the first place. Because before the Civil War, there really weren’t any cowboys as we’ve come to know them. What there was was Mexican vaqueros who knew how to ride the wildest of horses and rope the wild cattle descended from those the Spanish left behind. It’s no coincidence that much of the cowboy jargon descends from the Spanish, i.e., rodeo, remuda, lariat, reata, concho, etc., etc. Then there were Southern farm boys displaced by the Civil War who came to Texas without much other than the courtly manners of the Southern gentlemen. When those two factions met, “cowboys” emerged. And they’re still here, I’m happy to say.

            You can always tell a real cowboy. He probably won’t own a ranch, though he might own a cow or two. He’ll probably own a dog, a horse or two or ten and he’ll drive a pickup truck. If you’re female, he won’t let you lift anything heavy, he’ll always open doors. He won’t expect you to pay for dinner and would be insulted by the idea of “going Dutch,” even if he has to spend his last dime. He won’t have much to say and when he does, he’ll always call you ma’am. Now he might be a misfit of the tallest order, he might be a scalawag and a rascal, but he’ll always be charming to the ladies and he’ll always be an independent cuss whose mind isn’t easily changed. Willie Nelson said it all in “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.” He also said it again in “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.”

Pam here:  Come on in, and let’s talk cowboys!  Have you read the Anna Jeffrey books?  Remember those beautiful covers?  What is it about relationship stories that appeals to you?   And are you as curious as I am about how Jeffrey got her name?  LOL.

Jeffrey will be giving away a copy of LONE STAR WOMAN and an ARC of her July release, written as Dixie Cash–CURING THE BLUES WITH A NEW PAIR OF SHOES.  Is that a fun title or what?

To learn more about Jeffrey and her books, written as Sadie Callahan and Dixie Cash, visit the websites:

www.annajeffrey.com  and www.dixie-cash.com

Click on Cover to order from Amazon 

I’m so excited to be here at Petticoats and Pistols.  For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Jeannie Watt and I write Nevada ranch stories for Harlequin Superromance. Like most western ranching states, Nevada has its own unique culture. 

The cowboys here are buckaroos.  Buckaroos inhabit an area known as the ION—southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, and northern Nevada.  They wear short chaps called chinks, flat top or short brimmed hats, vests, silver conchos and big silk scarves known as wild rags.  They favor high cantle saddles with slick forks and bucking rolls, highly ornate silver bits and, rawhide reins, romals and reatas.  If they ride a snaffle bit horse, they may use horsehair ropes called mecates instead of regular reins.  A northern Nevada working cowboy may not sport all of these trappings, but it would be rare to see a cowboy in the area without at least one or two buckaroo accoutrements.   Now, do you think I could find a photo of any of my neighbors in their buckaroo gear?  Of course not.  But if you’re interested in seeing photos of the ION and buckaroos, I suggest you check out David R. Stoecklein’s western photo portfolio.  It’s excellent.  http://www.stoeckleinphotography.com/portfolios/  

Distances are vast in Nevada.  My school district encompasses over 9,000 square miles and has five rural combined class schools in addition to the traditional schools in the larger town where I teach.  I live in a small ranching community of 250 people, but drive 40 miles a day to work.  My doctor is 200 miles away.  The fuel prices have been a killer lately, especially since I live off the grid—not by choice, mind you, but rather because the local power company wants half a million dollars (literally) to run power to my house.  I just haven’t been able to squeeze that out of the grocery money, lol. When fuel prices jump, so does the cost of operating my house.  But I just have to show you one of my views—the reason I put up with living off the grid.   This is my driveway.

The federal government owns eighty-four percent of Nevada, so there are a lot of wide-open spaces.  There are really only three honest to goodness cities in Nevada—Reno, Carson City and Las Vegas.  The north and the south.  The rest of the state is considered rural—which is amazing when you consider the fact that Nevada is the seventh largest state in the union.   The rural people tend to be acquainted with one another, even if they live hundreds of miles apart.  The isolation and great distances lead to an amazing sense of community—which is the lead in for my book…

In my story, A COWBOY’S REDEMPTION, set in a fictional community south of Elko, the hero desperately needs isolation.  He’s just gotten out of jail and is licking his wounds while rebuilding his grandfather’s homestead.  Enter the heroine, who wants access across his property so that her family can subdivide a half section of ground for a housing development.  Needless to say, the hero is not in favor.   The heroine expected that reaction, but she doesn’t understand the cause of the deep hatred the hero holds for her family.  He isn’t talking, and she isn’t giving up until she gets to the bottom of things.  Ultimately the hero has to chose between vindication and shattering the heroine’s world—a tough choice since somewhere along the line he fell in love with her.

I’m giving away three books today, plus one of my braided horsehair bracelets.  Just stop by and introduce yourself, let me know if you’ve ever visited Nevada and I’ll put you in the random drawing for the books and bracelet. 

And to wrap things up, here’s a photo of my friend Tim getting ready to brand.  

To learn more about Jeannie and her books, visit her website:

www.jeanniewatts.com

   <—Click On Cover to Order From Amazon!