Spotlight & Giveaway: A Cowboy Country Christmas by Jennie Marts

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jennie Marts to HJ!

Hi Jennie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, A Cowboy Country Christmas: Creedence Horse Rescue Bk 6!

 
Hi there! Thanks so much for having me today! I’m so excited to be here to talk about my new book, A Cowboy Country Christmas! I love this one so much!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

This is a grumpy/sunshine story…wait, make that Grinchy/sunshine story because Holt Callahan hates Christmas. He used to love it, until he got dumped for the second time on Christmas eve, the last time with a ring in his pocket. But this Christmas, a huge black horse with sleigh bells around his neck brings him back to the love of his life, who of course is dressed as an elf and in the midst of so much holiday cheer, she could be at the North Pole.
Lainey McBride came to town to help run the Christmas festival on her grandpa’s ranch after he broke his hip and got stuck in a rehab facility. The last thing she expected was to see Holt, the boy…make that man…and what a man…she used to love. They both think the other one abandoned them that last Christmas they were together, but they’re putting their past aside to focus on the festival and making it a huge success.
And in the midst of all that, Christmas magic might just heal two broken hearts and give these two a second chance at finding the best Christmas presents ever…each other.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Here’s a few:

“ You think I’d just show up with an eight-foot Douglas Fir and a box of tinsel without checking with someone first?”
*
Although… he thought as an idea came to him. “How about we work out a trade?”
She cocked an eyebrow and shot out her hip. “What kind of trade? Because I’m not into any of that kinky stuff.”
He barked out a laugh as she dropped her head into her hands. “Good to know. Disappointing, but still good to know.”
*
She was worried about her heart getting ripped out. He hadn’t even been sure that he still had a heart—not until he saw her walk out onto her porch last week—then it suddenly exploded in his chest, and for the first time in years, it felt like it started beating again.
*
It’s kind of naughty, but this line from the book made me laugh….

“We don’t have to be there until noon,” he said, reaching for the buttons of her flannel shirt. “So, we’ve got plenty of time for me to unwrap you as my Christmas gift. And the good thing about me being a grinch is that I’ve got something that’ll grow three sizes.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• For one thing, I spent way too much time watching fainting goats videos! But readers will absolutely fall in love with Esme, the fainting goat who gets rescued in this book.
• There is a scene where Holt and Lainey have to make Christmas cookies, and the cookies I picked were mostly the ones that I make with my family every year.
• I didn’t start drinking coffee until my late forties, and I typically just drink coffee with a splash of creamer, so I always find it fun to put in funny things about coffee and creamer in my books. Here’s a little snippet that made me laugh about coffee creamer….

“You still take it with milk and enough sugar to cause a cavity?” Holt asked as he poured coffee into a red Christmas cup.
She laughed. “Ha. No. I can’t drink, or eat, like I did as a teenager. But it’s nice that you remembered.”
He remembered everything.
She glanced toward the refrigerator. “But I do love a little flavored creamer. Any chance you’ve got some of that?”
He nodded. “Sure. I’ve got peppermint mocha, pumpkin spice, gingerbread, and sugar cookie,” he said, naming every ridiculous Christmassy creamer he could remember Bryn offering him the week before at the diner.
Lainey’s eyes widened. “You do?”
He chuckled. “Hell no. Of course I don’t. But I have some sugar and some milk that may not be expired.”
She shook her head. “Half a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of questionably fresh milk. Although if a chunk comes out of the carton, I’m going to have to pass.”

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Holt and Lainie met when they were ten years old and Lainie came riding up to his ranch on this big black horse. He thinks he fell in love with her then because he loved her spirit, her friendliness, her zest for life. They were best friends first before they fell in love.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

This book is so chockful of funny, heartwarming AND steamy scenes—it’s hard to pick just one. The ugly Christmas sweater scene was fun and I think the live nativity scene is one of the most fun scenes I’ve ever written. This book has a fainting goat in it, so you know that’s going to cause some fun. But there is also a lot of Christmas magic and memories. And making a little girl’s Christmas dream come true.
There is an adorable dog that Holt finds under the porch of the bunkhouse and against his better judgement, he feeds it and gives it a blanket. Eventually, it finds its way into Holt’s house and both his and Lainie’s hearts. There was a scene I had a lot of fun writing when Holt and Lainie are talking about naming the dog….

Lainey sucked in a breath as she reached to pet the dog’s side. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you keep her? She’s obviously already attached to you.”
“She just likes me because I feed her. But look at her. She’s too friendly not to be someone’s pet.” After getting over her initial skittishness of the night before, the dog had been cuddly and affectionate, either following after them if they walked around the bunkhouse or rolling over for belly rubs if she was sitting next to them. “Some family is probably missing her.”
“Maybe.”
“I need to at least call the Humane Society and the sheriff’s office to see if someone’s looking for her.”
“Okay, but if no one claims her, then she’s for sure your dog. And you should totally name her something Christmas-themed, since this is the time of year when you found her. How about Holly? Or Mistletoe? Or how about Carol?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “What a great idea. Then I can always be reminded of this holiday I’m such a huge fan of. And also, if I were keeping her, there’s no way in hell I’d name my dog Carol. Or Mistletoe. Unless you want me to just turn in my man card right now.”
Her eyes went dreamy as she stroked a finger along his sizable bicep. “As if. And no, I’m quite partial to your man parts. I mean your manly parts. Wait, I mean your manliness.” She dropped her head into her hands. “Pretend I did not say that.”
“Too late. You already said you loved my man parts.”
“I said partial to…and anyway, we were talking about the dog. And thinking of ideas of what to name her.”
“You were thinking of what to name her. But I’d rather go back to talking about what you love about my—”
She held up her hand to cut him off. “What about Jingle or Snickerdoodle for a name?”
“For my man parts? I don’t think they’d take too kindly to being called Snickerdoodle, but Jingle Balls does have a certain holiday ring to it.”
She let out one of her hearty laughs, the kind that came from her belly and snuck out as a surprise. The kind that made his manly heart melt like butter on a hot biscuit. “We are not going to start talking about your Christmas balls again,” she said, still laughing. “How about Eggnog or Snowy? For the dog.”
He grimaced. “How about not?”
He was acting grumpy, but he was really having fun with her. Too much fun. She was so easy to be with, and not just to be with, but to be himself with. He was only this comfortable with a few select people. Although his comfortableness with her was also interspersed with moments of fluttering heartbeats and a racing pulse whenever their hands touched, or her shoulder brushed his, or if he caught a whiff of her delicious scent. Her nearness could send jittery nerves spiraling through his stomach that made him feel like a love-crazed teenager, which probably shaved several points off that man card they were just discussing.
She tapped her fingers to her lips. “Okay, I’ll stop with the too cutesy. But I really still like the idea of a Christmas name. Just give me a second. I know I can think of a good one. Hmm. I suppose Cindy Lou Who is out?”
He shrugged. “Not if I can shorten it and just call her Lou.”

Readers should read this book….

…because it is full of funny, heartwarming, and sometimes super-steamy scenes. This is one of my favorite books and it is so full of Christmas magic and fun…and did I mention the fainting goat? Lainey and Holt are such a great couple and have so much fun banter. Holt hates Christmas, yet he finds so many ways to make Lainey’s Christmas dreams come true. This book will make you laugh, cry, and swoon. It’s a perfect present to give yourself for Christmas!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m currently working on the next book in the Lassiter Ranch series. Ford, Dodge, and Chevy Lassiter were named after the trucks that their deadbeat dads drove away from them in. Now, these three abandoned cowboys, born in heartbreak and bonded by brotherhood, are brought together by the fierce love of the grandparents who took them in and the ranch that’s the only home they’ve ever known…
Love at First Cowboy is Ford’s story…
Tall and curvy, Elizabeth ‘Bitsy’ Cole, who is anything but bitsy, has spent her adult life wishing for change but is afraid to take risks. Then a crazy hot weekend with a cowboy finally gives her the courage to make some big changes in her life. She quits the family business to start her own accounting firm and buys a rundown farmhouse in the mountains with a yard for her dog, finally leaving her dinky apartment in the city that’s never quite felt like home.
So what happens when the handy-man she hires to help fix up the farmhouse turns out to be the same cowboy she spent that steamy weekend with? She thinks he was only with her out of pity and as a favor to the groom, but the looks he’s giving her now makes her wonder if there might be a chance for something more. If she has the courage to find out…

I’m writing Dodge and Maisie’s story now, a cowboy and a librarian romance called Overdue for a Cowboy.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: The entire 6-book series of the Creedence Horse Rescue books in print (A Cowboy State of Mind, When a Cowboy Loves A Woman, How To Cowboy, Never Enough Cowboy, Every Bit a Cowboy, and A Cowboy Country Christmas)
US only.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the lights and the music and the sense of family, faith, and tradition. I’m also a Christmas baby, born a few days before, so the season is extra special for me! One of my favorite traditions of the season is making Christmas cookies on Christmas eve with the grandmas and my boys (who are grown men now but still help make the cookies). It started when the great grandma’s were around, but is still a loved tradition. After cookies, we go to the candlelight service then come back to our house for lasagna. So, of course, I had to put the candlelight service in this book. What is one of your favorite Christmas traditions?

 
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Excerpt from A Cowboy Country Christmas: Creedence Horse Rescue Bk 6:

It was a little after four, and Holt was just thinking maybe he’d call Lainey and see if she wanted to grab a pizza when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He smiled when he saw the call was from her and hoped she was going to invite him out as he tapped the screen and held the phone to his ear. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Oh, I’m so glad I got you,” she said, her voice sounding panicked and out of breath. “I need your help. It’s an emergency.”
“What kind of emergency?” he asked, already heading toward his truck. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in two minutes. What do you need? Are you hurt? Should I call an ambulance? Or the police?”
“No, I’m fine. I mean, I’m not hurt. It’s not that kind of an emergency. It’s a Christmas emergency.”
He stopped in his tracks. “What the hell is a Christmas emergency?”
“I just got a call from the church. And the whole Caldwell family all just came down with the flu.”
“Well, I feel awful bad for the Caldwell family, but I’m not sure how that affects me or constitutes an emergency in my book. Christmas or otherwise.”
“The Caldwell family was in charge of the live Nativity scene that’s supposed to happen tonight in front of the church. The family is huge, so they were filling the majority of the roles and now all we have left is one wise man. They heard I’ve been playing pinch hitter for some events in town, so they called me and asked me to take it over.”
“And you said no, of course, since you’ve got so much going on with trying to run your own.” He held back a groan because he already knew she’d agreed to do it.
“No, I said yes, of course, because who’s going to say no to the church. And besides that, it’s just for a few hours tonight and how hard can it be?”
“Famous last words. So, what do you need from me?”
“Besides their whole family playing the parts, they were also supplying all the animals. I think they’ve still got the camel, but now I need an entire Nativity cast and as many barnyard animals as we can muster. Which is where you come in.”
“I can help rustle up some animals, but I sure as hell hope you’re not planning on me to fill in as one of the other wise men.”
“No, I’ve got them covered. I need you to be Joseph.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

There’s no better time than Christmas to open your heart…

Holt Callahan used to love the holidays, but getting dumped on Christmas Eve would turn anyone into a Grinch. Now he hates Christmas and all the holly jolly shenanigans that go with it. When he moves back to his cousin’s ranch in Creedence, Colorado, the last thing he expects is to come face to face with the one who got away and all of her holiday cheer.

Lainey McBride is all about Christmas, and despite running her family’s ranch festivities while her grandfather is in rehab, she hasn’t lost her holiday spirit, no matter how many things don’t go according to plan. But the holidays have their own way of healing, and a Christmas in Creedence just might be the merry magic that brings these two broken hearts back together again.
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Meet the Author:

Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet who loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books range from western romance to cozy mysteries, but they all have the charm and appeal of quirky small-town life. She loves genre-mashups like adding romance to her Page Turners cozy mysteries and creating the hockey-playing cowboys in the Cowboys of Creedence. The same small-town community comes to life with more animal antics in her latest Creedence Horse Rescue series. Her sassy heroines and hunky heroes carry over in her heartwarming, feel good romances from Hallmark Publishing. And more fun abounds in Take the Honey and Run, the first book in her new Bee Keeping cozy mystery series.

Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, Twitter at @JennieMarts, and at jenniemartswriter on Instagram. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.
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