Jewel
Cade wants two things--One is Heath Loveland
The Rocky Mountain
cowgirl has her heart set on becoming range boss of the Cade ranch. But first
she has to accompany the son of her family's longtime enemy--and her off-limits
secret crush--on a cattle drive across Colorado. Discovering Heath shares her
attraction only makes for a rockier road. Because Jewel has a sneaking
suspicion that if she drops her guard, the cowboy might ride off with her
heart.
They say
opposites attract... and Heath Loveland and Jewel Cade, newly related step-siblings,
certainly prove this is true in my latest installment to my Rocky Mountain
Cowboys series, WINNING THE COWBOY’S HEART, Book Five! When I first began
planning the series, I started with creating each member of both the Cade and
Loveland families. Jewel, I envisioned, would be a bold, fierce, sassy cowgirl
with a tender side she hides in order to seem as tough as the five older, cowboy
brothers her father favored. Heath Loveland, on the other hand, would be a
sensitive, country-music singing cowboy who’s played the role of family peacekeeper
for so long he’s forgotten how to stand up for what he really wants ahead of others.
What was
the inspiration behind the story?
Now I
never intended them to be each other’s love interest. In fact, I had another
cowboy in mind for Jewel... one just as tough as she. Yet the deeper I got into
mapping out each story, the more I kept coming back to Heath Loveland for
Jewel- as crazy as it sounds given their families have despised each other for over
a hundred years. Also, I didn’t see Jewel falling for a “nice guy” so to
speak... but after writing Book One, Christmas at Cade Ranch, and getting to
see Jewel interact with her family, I realized she didn’t need someone as tough
as her... she needed someone who could help her get in touch with her softer
side... someone who’d show her she was just as loveable when she let down her
guard and embraced all sides of herself—something only sensitive Heath, with
his music and his patient, listening, could do.
What was
the hardest thing about writing this story?
I always
intended on Heath learning to stop being a people-pleaser and putting everyone
else first. Jewel stood out as the one
character who’d show him that standing up for what he wanted wouldn’t make him
selfish- it’d make him honest and authentic. To put those two main characters
in a romance together, though, meant giving not writing each of them separate books
as intended to make the total books for the series a nice, even ten... nope... my
inner voice told me I have to be content with nine books because Heath and
Jewel belonged together. Kind of like peanut butter and jelly. One’s salty, the
other sweet... I’ll let you decide which is which 😉
The proof,
they say, is in the pudding. When I went to write WINNING THE COWBOY’S HEART, the
story just flew from my fingertips. There are moments in an author’s process
where it seems like we’re simply taking dictation- that’s how loudly and
clearly the characters are speaking through us. Jewel and Heath had such strong
points of view, their stories, and particularly their interactions and
dialogue, wrote themselves. Sometimes I’d wake up, chuckling, with some
back-forth between exchange between them happening in my dreams. Good think I
always keep a notepad beside my bed and all of those moments ended up in the
book and no matter how many times I reread them, they still make me laugh.
What is
your favorite scene?
Here’s one
of those scenes that woke me up laughing. It’s a scene in Chapter One where
Heath thinks he’s coming to his new step-sister’s rescue when he sees her
struggling to change a tire on her six-wheel monster pick-up and learns she’s
no damsel in distress:
“Not bad for a Neanderthal,” Jewel drawled
behind him.
“Neanderthal?” When Heath turned, she’d already
fitted the spare into place and stretched a hand out for the wrench. He passed
it over, impressed as she secured the new wheel faster than he’d removed the
old.
“Yeah,” she grunted as she tightened the last
bolt. “Primitive man.”
“I’m not primitive.”
She sat back on her haunches and eyed her tire
change. “You practically clubbed me over the head to get the tire.”
“I’ve never raised a hand to a lady.”
Her gaze collided with his. “Don’t get your
panties in a twist. And I’m no lady. Or some damsel in distress. Play your hero
act with your fiancée.”
With that, she tossed the long wrench in her
truck bed, hopped behind her wheel and started up her powerful engine. It
throbbed, loud, in the night air. Before she left, she leaned out her window,
her expression smug. “And you’re welcome.”
“For what?” Shouldn’t she be thanking him?
“For protecting your fragile male ego. See you
in court!” She shifted into gear, then raced off, her tires kicking up gravel.
***
What else would you like
readers to know?
My current blog tour is continuing through this weekend with multiple places to
enter as many times as you like through Monday. If you want to enter for the
prize pictured below, visit my website! For more news about me, like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, and on Instagram to stay in the loop about upcoming releases and
contests. You can check out WINNING THE COWBOY’S HEART, on sale now, at Amazon,
Barnes and Nobles, eHarlequin and iTunes. Thanks so much for stopping by 😊 Wishing everyone a great weekend!
Love that scene! I'm really looking forward to reading this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Beth!
DeleteCongratulations on your release. I agree with Beth. The scene is terrific. Have fun on your blog tour!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Virginia :)
DeleteLove your series, Karen!
ReplyDeleteI could not have written it without you, Tara xo
DeleteJewel and Heath really do belong together. You did that beautifully. Tho Heath sure took a long time about it lol.
ReplyDeleteI love the opposite attracts romance, especially combined with a secret crush. Can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThis story has a lot of great conflicts and I really loved the scenes and characters.
ReplyDeleteI just started this story over the weekend and I'm loving it so far. Can't wait to finish it!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this, love your cowboy romances & the Cade's.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I love this scene. I can't wait to read this!
ReplyDeletefun excerpt!
ReplyDeleted
By the way, information from https://samedaypaper.org/blog/american-dream-essay will help you to write your American dream essay. It's important to know
ReplyDelete