How to Marry a Cowboy
is the final story in Cowboys & Brides series that started last year in
June with Billion Dollar Cowboy. I’ve
had such a fun time with all these wealthy cowboys running around in my head for
more than a year but it’s one of those tales that did not start out that way.
You see, these cowboys showed up in my virtual world with
their hats in hand, their boots all polished up and lookin’ all sexy. They had
a request: would I write a book about each of them. And I said, “No!” Okay, I
might have said, “Hell, no!”
I’ve been told my whole life that one can not write about
that which one does not know or have a clue about. And believe me, I’ve never
been rich so there was no way I could write about the rich and famous. But Colton
persuaded me when he said that he wasn’t a billion dollar cowboy, he was a
plain old cowboy with a billion dollars. I began to rethink my stand and agreed
that if they’d let me choose the sassy women for the books, I might tell their
stories.
And here we are, today—literally today since How to Marry a
Cowboy hit the shelves this morning—with a big launch party for the last book
in the series! So pop the corks off the champagne
or blend up some margaritas
and daiquiris. Be sure to get a cupcake from the counter. I know they’re ugly as sin on
Sunday morning but Lily and Gabby, the twins in the book, made them for this
launch party and they think they area beautiful. Pull up your lawn chairs for the concert the twins are going to
put on for us. And yes, you can put on your drooling bib when Mason enters the
room…FYI, those little fans on the counter, the ones with a picture of the book
cover on the front and an excerpt on the back are to be used in case of hot
flashes.
Speaking of an excerpt...this is the way the book starts out: “Gabby, come quick! Hot damn, Daddy
done got us a new mama!”
The sound of a little girl’s
running feet pounded through her head like a longhorn cattle stampede, and her
eyes snapped open to see two little blond girls with tangled hair flying out to
the sides of their heads as they jumped up and down on the wooden porch, giving
Annie Rose the mother of all headaches. The bright morning sun rising above the
trees out there on the horizon stung so bad that she frowned and quickly shut
them, hoping it was all a bizarre nightmare.
The faint smell of a ranch that
wafted to her nose on the morning breeze was one of her favorite scents in the
world, but even that wasn’t comforting under the circumstances. She felt the
rumbling purr of a big yellow cat who had apparently curled up in the curve of
her body sometime during the night. Sudden fear, not of the cat, but because
she’d slept past daylight, put her into flight mode, and she pushed the cat to
the side and sat up.
The porch posts tilted off to
the left, and the little girls went fuzzy. She shut her eyes again and muttered
to herself, “Where am I? I’ve got to find an airport or a bus station.”
“More important, who are you?”
a deep man’s voice asked, half-gentle, half-suspicious, and Annie Rose opened
her eyes again to look into the concerned green eyes of the handsomest man
she’d ever seen in her waking moments.
She glanced down at the torn
and dirty bridal gown and the suitcase sitting off to one side of the swing,
and it all flashed through her mind like a dying woman’s last visions—the
terror that gripped her so hard that it nauseated her, the drive across the
northern part of Texas, and the last time she checked her rearview to be sure
she wasn’t being followed. Looking up to see the tree coming right at her, the
impact when her left front bumper hit and bark flew, then the long, greasy slide
into the muddy water. It was all there in vivid color, right along with Nicky
standing across the room from her with a telephone to his ear.
Maybe if she faked amnesia it
would buy her a couple of hours. That’s all she needed to get cleaned up and
get out of here. People did get amnesia. She’d seen it a few times when she was
working as a nurse. What she’d dealt with lasted only a day or two, but she’d
read case files where it had gone on for much longer. If she could buy herself
time to change and catch a ride, that would work out perfectly.
“I’m not sure about anything.”
She raised her head to look at him and blinked against the light-headedness.
One of the girls sat down
beside her on the swing. “It’s okay. We’ll take care of you. I am Gabby, and
this is Lily, and you are our new mama. Daddy married you last night.”
“I don’t think I married your
daddy, honey,” she said.
Lily locked her arms around her
daddy’s waist. “Tell her, Daddy. Tell her that you had a wedding. You must
have, Daddy, she’s wearing the prettiest wedding dress ever, but Daddy, she
sure did get it messed up. That’s the big problem with dresses, you know, we
keep telling you all the time, Daddy. They ain’t jeans, and they don’t stay
clean. Come on, Daddy, help her remember. Where did you find her anyway? Why
did you leave her on the porch and not bring her in the house?”
The two little girls decide to make her a booklet, How to
Remember, that very day and since it worked so well that Annie Rose got her memory back, it led to more booklets throughout the story: How to
be a Rancher and How to be a Mommy and the final one, How to Marry a Cowboy,
but the girls didn’t make that one for her!
What would you like to find in a How to Marry a Cowboy
booklet…if someone where to write one for the market? I'll give away a Kindle or Nook copy of How to Marry a Cowboy to two lucky folks who comment today...so be sure to leave your email address!
TODAY I'm joining four other authors for a FB party...y'all come on over to the FB PAGE and join us. We'll be there all day and there's lots of prizes to be given away. A different author every half hour to talk to and every one of us is giving away a prize or two! I'm on the list for 9:30-10 and 11:30-12 in the morning. That's CST...hope to see you there!
TODAY I'm joining four other authors for a FB party...y'all come on over to the FB PAGE and join us. We'll be there all day and there's lots of prizes to be given away. A different author every half hour to talk to and every one of us is giving away a prize or two! I'm on the list for 9:30-10 and 11:30-12 in the morning. That's CST...hope to see you there!
Congratulations! Happy Launch Day Carolyn! This looks fabulous
ReplyDeleteThank you, Christy! I'm so excited about this book!
DeleteEvery single thing Carolyn writes is a gift to the reader!
ReplyDeleteBless your heart redmama for that comment! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
DeleteNot entering the contest, just wanted to say I hate to see the series end. It's been a wonderful series and can't wait to see what comes next, Carolyn. Congratulations on your launch day and giving Mason his not her story. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Miz Mason...this was such a fun series to write. Those wealthy cowboys taught me that the heart has no use for money. And there's more cowboys on the way...so don't take off your boots just yet!
DeleteHappy Release Day, Carolyn! I'll have a margarita, please!
ReplyDeleteComing right up, Miz Cheryl and HAPPY RELEASE DAY to you as well!
DeleteThanks, Carolyn! Exciting, isn't it?
DeleteWould you marry me would be a great start or finish to the booklet.
ReplyDeleteYes, ma'am, it would...and it might be in that booklet (shhh, no spoilers from me or Mason and Annie would be upset)
DeleteA GREAT BIG Congratulations to all the Casablanca authors who have releases hitting the shelves today. I'm honored to get to sit beside them on the book shelves!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Another awesome cowboy romance. Count me in! Loved the excerpt. :)
ReplyDeletelattebooks at hotmail dot com
Thank you, Susan. Mason and Annie Rose are so excited to be sitting on the shelves beside the other three cowboy books in the series!
DeleteCongratulations! Happy Release Day! Mmmm, cowboys.
ReplyDeleteTerri, thank you so much! It's been a hectic day with the FAB 5 FB page party and three stops on the blog tour but hey, it's sure been exciting!
ReplyDeleteHappy Release Day!!!! I sure would like to find a cowboy...
ReplyDeleteKathleen, I'm sure just the right one is out there waiting for you!
DeleteHappy release! Tips
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thank you bn100!
DeleteOkay folks, the drawing has been held...drum roll please...Susan P and red mama need to message me your email. I have Susan P's but need to know whether you want your book in Kindle or Nook. Red mama, I need your email address and whether you want Kindle or Nook!
ReplyDeleteRed mama, my email address is ccbrown66@att.net
ReplyDeleteIf you will send your choice to that address I'll get your book ordered!
Congrats on the new release, sounds like a sweet story!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new release, Carolyn!!! :) Keep them coming!
ReplyDelete