I’m thrilled this month to share FALLING FOR A COWBOY with
our Heartwarming community, Book Two in my new ROCKY MOUNTAIN COWBOYS. Each
book in the series focuses on a member of either the Cade or the Lovelands,
neighboring ranching families who’ve been feuding for over a hundred years
after a scandalous and unsolved kidnapping, murder and priceless jewel theft each blames the other for causing. Talk about drama! And I haven't even mentioned that the widow (Joy Cade) and widower (Boyd Loveland) of each clan might (just don't tell their adult children!) have begun a secret and forbidden romance...
This book focuses on Jared Cade, a cowboy/pro NFL player
blessed with good-looks, athletic ability and enough charm to break hearts
wherever he goes. He’s returned home during the off-season to rehab a sports
injury and reconnect with his best friend, Amberley James, who’s determined to
shut him out after a genetic condition causes her to lose her sight and her
barrel racing career. Well. Too bad. He’s not taking no for an answer. He’s got
an ingenious plan to get Amberley back in the saddle, competing again. He’s won’t let her fail if only she’ll trust him… although trust is not all he wants
from her… Watching her push through her physical challenges and inspire
children at the equine therapy program arouses powerful and unsettling romantic
feelings for Amberley, feelings he suspects she might return. The best things
in life don’t come easily, he learns when it comes to Amberley. He’s determined
to win her heart and become part of the dreams he’s determined to make come
true.
Who is your favorite character, and why?
I adore Jared (what lady with a pulse wouldn’t?) but
Amberley… she’s beyond inspiring. Everyone loves a comeback story and Amberley
embodies that determination to never give up. She’s a gifted barrel-racer who’s
crushed to discover a genetic condition is making her legally blind. At first,
she wants to hide from the world … disappear… because she’s always been taught
that to count, you have to win, something she believes she can never do again.
Yet when she begins helping challenged children in an equine therapy program,
she learns what true champions are… these small, wounded warriors inspire her
to accept Jared’s risky offer to get back in the saddle again and compete… not
necessarily for a trophy but for something even more valuable… her pride and ability
to set an example for others to never let challenges hold you back from chasing
your dreams.
Tell us one thing you learned during research.
I learned a lot about barrel racing. Not only did I need to
understand how champions master a course, but I also had to then translate it
into how a legally blind rider would navigate it… on a horse galloping at 40-50
mph… yikes. Thankfully my hard work paid off and my agent, who used to
represent barrel racers, gave me one of her rare compliments when she said how
authentic the racing scenes felt. Phew!
In looking at the cover, if you could add a caption, what
would it say?
“The odds might be against them, but Jared would bet on
Amberley every time.”
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE?
My favorite scenes are ones where characters have a
breakthrough in the way they think and feel that forever changes their lives.
In this scene, Jared convinces a reluctant Amberley to return to the saddle to
race again using walkie-talkies to guide her. After all her setbacks, seeing her push
through this incredible, life-changing moment made me smile through tears as I
wrote it.
“Turn him around. The barrel’s right there,” Jared said,
steely, his voice coming through the walkie-talkie affixed to her saddle full
up of no-backdown.
It prodded up Amberley’s chin.
Right. Jared dared her to prove herself a quitter because he
predicted she wouldn’t. No one knew her better than Jared, even herself.
She guided Harley around the barrel, then rose in the
saddle, giving him his head several paces later. In an instant, he took the bit
and kicked into a trot that rapidly carried them across the empty space toward
the second barrel.
His silver mane flew behind his lifted head, his pace, his
bearing oozing confidence. Excitement. He knew this course as well as she did.
Centering herself in the saddle, she counted his strides and prepared herself
for the second barrel.
“Almost on it,” she heard Jared say, “Rate Harley!”
Without warning, yellow burst before her, quicker than she’d
expected. Alarmed, she tried gathering Harley, but he strode a length too far,
their rhythm out of sync. When he caught sight of the fence, he balked, then
jerked to a stop so abruptly her teeth bit her tongue.
She leaned down and stroked his quivering neck. “It’s okay,
Harley,” she murmured over the thumping, the banging of her heart.
“It’s okay.”
What a miserable mess. A failure.
“You quitting?” Jared’s holler was so loud she could hear it
through the walkie-talkie and in the clear, warm air.
“Nope.”
“That’s my girl.”
Locking her jaw, she brought Harley around.
“Barrel’s a hand’s length away,” Jared said. “Position him
for the last one, now.”
She closed her eyes, pictured the final barrel, then gave
Harley his head. His legs flashed in a familiar gallop. At that speed, she
instantly knew their position and how long before the last turn. Her body
relaxed and rocked in time with Harley’s, the familiar rhythm returning at
last.
One, two, three…
She opened her eyes, and sure enough, the yellow loomed.
Instinctively, she eased back into her pocket the moment her thigh flashed by
the barrel, then rotated her body through a turn she felt more than she saw.
Harley responded to her cue and executed a tight turn.
They thundered back in the remembered direction of the
starting line.
In a second, they swept through and past the gate.
“Whoa! Hold up!” hollered Jared as they flashed by him and a
barking Petey.
Oh, but it felt too good to stop! Jared jogged beside her
and snagged Harley’s bridle just as she pulled him up. Her breath came in
short, hard pants, her pulse thundering against her eardrums. She’d done it.
She’d raced a course for the first time since losing her vision.
“What was my time?” she gasped.
“Wasn’t clocking you.”
“Will you next time?”
“So, you’re not quitting?”
“Never!” She laughed, exhilarated, pumped with enough
adrenaline to lift her right off this saddle and into the sky. “Let’s go
again.”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHFDObsnaOzb-RiLKKNFzFWNTzyCpMX567n8sdaSv5_DJRAeM0Ix6gETrd8qp22d7LFPUgWoFZ53rxKrdFsqOBCzLXooGOFkqsoE8J2ymvKQrM987zg-3uIZ4XfswpBByJQu9uoQGOsik/s320/Falling+for+a+Cowboy+banner.jpg)
I hope you’ll check out my FALLING FOR A COWBOY blog tour
and $50 Amazon gift card giveaway, 1/15-1/20. Read excerpts, reviews and
interviews and enter as many times as you like. Click on the image above for a
list of different blogs to enter each day! Alternately, visit my website at
http://www.karenrock.com where I’ll also list blog sites for each day of the
tour. Good luck and God Bless 😊
I hope this post makes it through. Blogger has been eating up my comments all over this week. I'll try again.
ReplyDeleteFantastic sit down, Karen! Congratulations on your newest release. I can see why that was one of your favorites scenes. Thanks for sharing! My caption for Jared might read: So, have you fallen yet?
Ooooohhhh! That's a good caption, Jill :) Hard not to fall for Jared
DeleteGreat story. Amberly personifies courage. And Jared knows what it takes to inspire her.
ReplyDeleteHe does know what it takes to inspire Amberley- that's the fun thing about writing a friends to love story is that you have such a strong foundation to build on- starting with how deeply they know each other :)
DeleteCongratulations. What a great story!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Liz :)
DeleteKaren, great sit down here! I loved your Christmas at Cade Ranch story so much I bought a couple as Christmas gifts. I've just started Falling for a Cowboy and I'm loving it, too. I can't imagine the research for a barrel jumper. That's such an unusual occupation. Great scent to share with us. Ok. I have to get back to your book now!
ReplyDeleteAwww! Thanks so much, Catherine :) I'm really enjoying this series and Falling for a Cowboy was a joy to write.
DeleteI knew the outcome of the scene and I was still anxious for Amberley. I saw barrel racing this past summer, and it was amazing to see how intense rider and horse are. Great story, Karen!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I lost count of how many barrel races I watched, but one thing that was common in every race was the intensity and ferociousness of the riders and their horses... a really great partnership that I tried to capture between Amberley and her beloved horse and best friend Harley :) So glad you liked the story!
DeleteI like the secret romance idea and good job on with the barrel racing scene.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Terry :) I love having a romance within a romance so to speak. As each adult child finds the love of their lives, their parents are discovering a second chance at love, too.
DeleteLove the Cades and all you have done with them.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Roz <3
DeleteWhat a great post. Congratulations on your release. I know you love the cover! See you at our FB party!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Virginia :) That's cover's a keeper, as my grandmother would say- lol. See you at our FB party!
DeleteWow! I loved your scene. I attempted barrel racing a couple of times when I was little. The thought of doing it blind is scary. I can't wait to read this book!
ReplyDeleteYou are brave to have even tried it LeAnne! It's pretty terrifying to go that fast on a horse, let alone in a confined space around barrels- with a screaming crowd. No pressure- lol. And to do it blind takes a special kind of courage and it's rooted in faith and a belief in yourself :) I love Amberley's character arc where she begins with a feeling of worthlessness after she loses her sight and her career to a feeling of strong self worth and faith in herself and what she can achieve if she tries rather than gives up.
Delete