(The Fillies welcome Contemporary Western Romance Author, Marin Thomas. Linda Broday met her two months ago and invited her to guest blog. We’re mighty glad Marin said yes.)
For those of you who don’t know me well, I have a whacky sense of humor. It came as no surprise to hubby when I told him about the idea I came up with for my next Harlequin American Romance proposal. My odd sense of humor and love for country music resulted in The Cash Brothers series (six brothers all named after country and western legends by their eccentric mother whose lifelong search for her soul mate left each of her sons with a different father.)
Johnny Cash (The Cowboy Next Door)
Conway Twitty Cash (Twins Under the Christmas Tree)
Willie Nelson Cash (Her Secret Cowboy)
Buck Owens Cash (The Cowboy’s Destiny)
Merle Haggard Cash (True Blue Cowboy)
Porter Wagoner Cash (A Cowboy of her Own)
Anyone who writes about cowboys and ranchers usually has a fondness for country music and I’m no exception. My parents never listened to country music when I was young but the mother of one of my childhood friends did. During the summer while my friend’s mother was at work, we’d play her collection of country-music albums and hold our own karaoke contest in the living room. Little did I know then that I’d become a Harlequin author and name the heroes in my books after country and western legends. I’m thrilled that my readers have embraced The Cash Brothers and that the books are bringing back memories of days gone by when they or their parents listened to the songs by these country greats.
I’m often asked if I gave the characters any real-life traits from their namesakes and the answers is yes and no. If you do any research on these music legends you’ll discover that they all had their ups and downs through life and made their fair share of mistakes. In True Blue Cowboy I made a reference that Mack Cash had been bailed out of jail by his brothers a few times for fighting in bars. The real Merle Haggard Cash spent time in San Quentin but was later pardoned by Ronald Regan.
Last year when the series debuted with The Cowboy Next Door, I created a music poll for my readers and asked them to name their favorite Johnny Cash song. The honor went to Ring of Fire, which I made mention of in the actual book.
Marin is giving away to one lucky winner (Reader’s choice) a Kindle copy or signed paperback of the first two books in The Cash Brothers series, The Cowboy Next Door (July 2013) and Twins Under The Christmas Tree (October 2013). Do you have a favorite country and western song? Leave a comment on this blog to enter the giveaway!
You can find a list of The Cash Brothers books with links to “BUY” at marinthomas.com
Here’s where you’ll find Marin hanging out…
Happy Ever After…The Cowboy Way
The Cash Brothers FB page
Marin Thomas Author FB page
Twitter
Goodreads
Marin’s Blog
Pinterest
Marin’s Cowgirl Gossip
Newsletter
BIO
Marin was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin. She left the Midwest to attend college at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she played basketball for the Lady Wildcats and earned a B.A. in Radio-TV. Following graduation she married her college sweetheart in a five-minute ceremony at the historic Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. She and her husband have become recent empty-nesters and this past July moved back to Texas for the third time, where cowboys, pickups and country music provide plenty of inspiration for her western books.
