Spotlight & Giveaway: A Cowgirl on His Doorstep by Anna J Stewart

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Anna J Stewart to HJ!

Hi Anna and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, A Cowgirl on His Doorstep!

 
Hi there and hello to everyone!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

This is the third book of the Blackwell Belles, a series of five books featuring five sisters who once performed as a trick riding group in rodeos. They were stars once upon a time, and their mother who trained them is about to be back in the spotlight herself. She wants all her girls there to help her celebrate, but there are a lot of fences to be mended among the siblings before that can happen.

Iris Blackwell is the reliable sister; the sister everyone turned to when they needed something, but didn’t necessarily notice outside of that. She’s happy being on her own, taking on renovation and remodeling projects for trailers, RVs, and anything else on wheels. Her latest job brings her to the Holloway Ranch where instant father Shane Holloway is adjusting to life as a rancher, being guardian to his niece and two nephews, as well as dealing with a cantankerous father grieving the son he’s lost.

The interaction between a determined free spirit and a man determined to make his family whole again is really at the heart of the story. A COWGIRL ON HIS DOORSTEP is about forgiveness, processing grief, and moving on knowing there’s always something better down the road.
 

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

“I grew up around horses and ranches. Heck, I’ve probably lived on more ranches than you’ve got here in Texas. I know how to stay out of the way. Trust me.” Iris’s smile brightened. “You’ll hardly know I’m here.” (famous last words)
…………………………….
Shane trailed behind a delighted looking Roxie on a leash and a trembling Titan tucked under his arm like a purse.
……………………………..
“These so-called strangers have made me feel more wanted in two weeks than you ever did in twenty years!” Iris hated the sob in her voice. Hated the weakness it showed, but she needed it all out. Now. Once and for all. And she needed Shane and his family to know, in case she didn’t get another chance to tell them, just how much they’d come to mean to her. “They welcomed me immediately and saw me for who I am. What I can do. As someone who’s valued
and respected. Cared for. Even lov—” She broke off, turned terrified eyes on Shane.

“You can say the word, Iris,” he said quietly and grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed. “Love only make things better.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I am a DIY video junkie. No shame in admitting that, but I am also a bit of a klutz when it comes to execution myself. Sometimes I have trouble deciding a character’s occupation, but with Iris Blackwell, I knew she was a DIY video blogger before I knew anything else about the story. Getting to write this kind of character gave me the chance to watch even more videos of how talented people are when it comes to making whatever they have into a home.
• This is the first time we’ve written a series with this big of a fracture in the family tree. Bringing in Big E (Elias Blackwell) and his sister Denny, both of whom played significant roles in the previous series, was one of the more entertaining aspects of the books. We love catching up with familiar characters.
• Research is always a bright side to writing a book. This time around (in addition to my DIY videos), I wanted tons of trick rodeo rider videos and really gained an appreciation to the talent and athleticism it requires to both be physically entertaining and controlling animals that tend to have a mind of their own.
• Back when we were plotting, we came up with the idea of motivating each of the sisters by having them agree to a reunion if they each got something they wanted. When the group split, the each left with something that had sentimental value to another. Figuring out what those items were and how to make the “deals” to get them back was a rewarding challenge.

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

For Shane, I think Iris’s indominable free spirit and caring nature definitely opens his eyes. He’s been so bogged down in trying to make this newly reformed family of his work that he’s forgotten the joy. Iris definitely brings that.

I think Iris falls for Shane when she sees how loving he is with his niece and nephews, and the idea he’s changed his entire life for them, so they can stay in the home their parents lived in. He has dreams he’s struggling to make happen, but he hasn’t quit. That’s super appealing to Iris. But it also brings complications as he’s a definite homebody with deep roots in his home while she’s always moving on to the next job.

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

Normally it’s the funny scenes that are my favorite, but in A COWGIRL ON HIS DOORSTEP, there’s a scene when Shane’s niece Ruby Rose and her brother get into a bit of a scuffle. No one gets hurt, obviously, but the bracelet Ruby Rose always wears, the bracelet she made with her mother, gets broken. Shane’s attempt to repair the bracelet and heal Ruby Rose’s broken heart is one of my favorite scenes in the book. It opens the floodgates of emotions the entire family has about loss, grief, and fear.

“RUBY ROSE?” Shane knocked a knuckle against his niece’s bedroomdoor and pushed it all the way open. “You ready for bed?”

“Yes.” She was sitting on the edge of her bed, wearing her favorite pink rabbit nightgown, looking out her bedroom window at the oldoak tree and its leaves rustling in the autumn wind. The night was so black that he could see the bedroom reflecting in the glass.

“Would you like me to read you a story?” It was a question he’d asked nearly every night since he’d moved back home. She had yet to say yes.

“No, thank you.”

Her continued politeness concerned him. He kept waiting for the bombastic, energetic little girl he remembered from his last visit before the accident to emerge out of the cocoon she’d wrapped
herself in. He’d read countless online articles and websites about helping children cope with grief and the loss of their parents, but everything he’d tried hadn’t seemed to make a difference. He hadn’t pushed, deciding that waiting was the only way to really move forward. They’d maneuvered through their grief in their own time and some days were better than others. Except it had been almost a year, and apart from the bracelet incident, he hadn’t seen any more
progress, either with Ruby Rose or Eric.

“I have something for you.” He crouched beside her, pulled out the triple reinforced bracelet Iris had helped him construct. Well, she’d constructed it. He’d only picked out the beads. “Miss Iris and I tried to find as many beads from your original one as we could.” He dangled the elasticized bracelet from a finger. “We know it isn’t the one you made with your mama, but it can be a memory of that one. If you’d like to have it.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. She looked at the bracelet, then at him, then back at the beads.

“It’s stronger than your other one. And see this here?” He rotated the bracelet to show her the latch. “Iris said we can make it bigger when you need it to be. We just have to add a couple of loops. She showed me how.”

“It’s pretty,” Ruby whispered. She tucked a springy curl behind her ear before she held out her arm. “It looks too big.”

“Well, let’s see, shall we?” He gently snapped it on and tugged on the threads the way Iris had taught him. “There.” He took Ruby’s hand, turned it over so her name showed. “What do you think?”

“I like it.” Her smile was timid. “Thank you, Uncle Shane.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” He touched a hand to her head.

“That doesn’t mean you have to stop feeling sad. I know losing your bracelet hurt your feelings.”
She sighed and shrugged just as Eric did, Shane noticed. “And it’s okay to still be sad about your mom and dad. I am. I miss them a lot.” He cleared his throat. “Every single day.”

“You do?” Ruby looked surprised at this information.

“I do. Sometimes I’m so sad about it I just want to be by myself and be angry and wonder why it happened.”

“I do that,” she whispered.

“I know. But you know what else you can do when you feel sad? You can come talk to me about it. Or to PaPa.”

“Eric said not to bother you.” The confusion in her eyes clearly said she’d been trying to follow her older brother’s wishes. “He said we should be very strong and careful not to make you angry or upset in case you sent us away. But we don’t want to go anywhere, UncleShane. We like it here and don’t want to live anyplace else.”

“Of course, you don’t.” Shane got up and walked around to sit on the bed beside her. Where on earth had this come from?

Readers should read this book….

This book (as with most Heartwarmings) is all about family. Connections, complications, the good and the bad. It’s also about healing hearts and leaning on family when life gets complicated. If you’re looking for a book that illustrates how important finding where you belong is, then A COWGIRL ON HIS DOORSTEP is the book for you.

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

The Christmas Town authors are gearing up for their latest collection of sweet holiday romances. This year we’ve created A ROYAL IN CHRISTMAS TOWN which is filled with all kinds of fun and chaos that frequently surrounds the season. Throw in the Knotty Elves (matchmaking senior citizens) and an obnoxious parrot named Sugarplum and let the festivities begin!

Christmas Eve will bring the release of my fourth Hawaiian Reunions story, AN ISLAND CHRISTMAS ROMANCE, a friends to more than friends story that features Tehani Iokepa and her six-month old son. This is one of my favorite tropes to write–I’m a firm believer in the best person to fall in love with is someone you actually like and want as a friend.

What I’m writing now is the second in my upcoming McKenna Code series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Book 1, ARCTIC PURSUIT, will be out in late January. I’m calling this series FBI meets Blue Bloods (for fans of the shows). Super fun to write this group of four siblings who serve in various law enforcement agencies (with a few return characters from my Honor Bound series).
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: $10 Amazon Gift card for 1 winner along with digital copies of the first three Blackwell books written by Anna J Stewart (A Rancher’s Homecoming, Montana Dreams, and Wyoming Promise)
2 additional winners of digital copies of the first three Blackwell books written by Anna J Stewart (A Rancher’s Homecoming, Montana Dreams, and Wyoming Promise)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Part of the fun of writing the third book in the series meant that Halloween was one of my tropes! I love writing about the kids deciding on their costumes and all the fun that goes into it. My favorite costume from when I was a little (7 years old) was the handmade Princess Leia costume my mother made for me. It’s one of my all-time favorite childhood memories in fact,
What were some of your favorite costumes growing up (if you dressed up) or favorites that your own children have chosen/decided on? Let’s get into the (cutesy) spooky spirit!.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from A Cowgirl on His Doorstep:

“Is she staying, Uncle Shane?” Miles tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes as he looked up at him. Shane’s heart hopscotched over that familiar beat of grief when he looked down at
his younger nephew. The boys’ dark eyes—identical to those of Shane’s brother and their father—shimmered with confused curiosity and excitement.

“Looks that way.” Shane bit the inside of his cheek. In his thirty-four years he’d never been able to win an argument with his father.

His luck wasn’t going to change now. When Butch Holloway made up his mind about something there was very little—if anything—that would ever change it. And apparently putting a shiny new coat of paint on Cassidy was what he planned to do.

“Her dog’s really nice,” Miles said in that not-so-innocent way he’d perfected over the past few weeks. “His name’s Cosmo. He likes me.”

“All dogs like you,” Eric said as he came over. “How long is she gonna be here for?”

Too long. Shane sighed. “Not sure. Guess we’ll find out.” He plastered on an overenthusiastic smile. “At least she’ll keep your grandpa out of trouble for a while.” And maybe out of Shane’s hair.

There. He’d found a silver lining in this unexpected arrival after all.

“I’ve got some things to tend to in the stable. Why don’t you two round up your sister, and when I’m done we’ll head into town for some shopping. Maybe grab dinner there? Sound okay?”
“Can we have pizza?” Miles asked.

“You always want pizza,” Eric grumbled.

“So?”

“We’ll see what everyone else wants,” Shane promised, giving silent thanks that Destry’s, the main eatery in town, offered a wide variety of menu choices. “I’ll just be a little while.”

“We can help!” Miles started to race toward him, but Eric grabbed his arm. “If it’s to do with the horses or cleaning up the stables, Dad always said—”

Eric shushed his little brother in a way that sent Shane catapulting back to his own childhood. To when Wayne would step in when needed, like big brothers were meant to do.

“I know you can help,” Shane assured his nephews. “And thank you for doing your chores this morning. But what I have to do is mainly office work. Go clean up and we’ll head out in a bit.” He
walked away before he could see the disappointment he knew was there, in the pained expressions both boys wore more often than not.

Shane situated his hat back on his head. His long-ago broken-in boots crunched in the gravel and dirt leading around the house toward the main stable. The building, originally built more than three decades before, was spacious and, save for a handful of horses, used mainly for storage and as Shane’s office. He’d turned one of the paddocks into a workspace almost the day he’d returned to the ranch last year.

The Holloway Ranch had indeed been a family business for generations. It was never meant to be Shane’s, however. Being second born, three years behind his brother Wayne, meant the
Holloway legacy was already firmly in place by the time Shane came along. It had taken Shane a good long while to understand that this was a good thing.

There hadn’t been a day that he and his father hadn’t butted heads. His mother used to say one was always bound to set the other off. More than likely because they were too similar in
temperament. She’d been right, about setting each other off at least.

His mother had been the perfect foil between them until she’d passed when Shane was seventeen, and then Wayne had stepped into the role.

Instead of feeding into Shane’s long-held belief he had a responsibility to the family business, Wayne had encouraged Shane to pave his own path, away from the ranch. To find his true calling and not feel beholden.

Shane was a problem solver. A fixer of sorts. It had taken him the last ten years to embrace that and build a reputation as a go-to when ranches, farms and other agricultural businesses found themselves in dire straits. He traveled around the country to consult and work, not with the intention of shutting things down, but with the purpose of finding the solution that would preserve the business in question.

Professionally, his success rate was stellar, his reputation gold.

Personally?

He hung his hat up on the hook by the sliding door, scrubbed his hands down his whisker-roughened face. Personally he was barely holding on by his fingertips

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Could his instant family be her forever home?

Cowboy Shane Holloway tackles every challenge with rugged determination. But managing his father’s struggling ranch while raising his brother’s three orphaned children is running his wounded heart ragged. When trick-rider-turned-renovator Iris Blackwell shows up to work on his father’s ancient trailer, he discovers two important things—she’s as warm and bright as a Texas sunset, and she’s an unwanted distraction. Until her fun-loving spirit and genuine care start to heal his little family. Can their love entice the vagabond cowgirl and her rescued border collie, Cosmo, to stay?

Be sure to read the entire series:
A Cowgirl Never Forgets by Melinda Curtis
A Cowgirl Finds Home by Carol Ross
A Cowgirl on His Doorstep by Anna J Stewart
A Cowgirl’s Thanksgiving Kiss by Amy Vastine
A Cowgirl’s Christmas Reunion by Cari Lynn Webb
Book Links: Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Anna J Stewart is the USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty sweet to spicy romances. Currently writing for Harlequin’s Heartwarming and romantic suspense lines, she also writes the award-winning Circle of the Red Series for Arc Manor. In addition to being a Maggie and Holt Medallion winner, her books have also finaled in the Daphne, the National Readers’ Choice, and she’s even had one of her books optioned as a TV movie. No matter the story, Anna’s books are always about family—the ones we’re born to and the ones we create. With four more titles scheduled to release in 2024, 2025 will bring BURIED, the third book in the Red Lily romantic thriller series, the launch of her McKenna Code romantic suspense series, and her foray into self-publishing with Blood Brothers, a new romantic suspense series focusing on brotherhood, love, and revenge.

When she’s not writing or working with her editing clients, she’s usually cooking, baking, binge-watching her newest TV addiction, or re-watching her all-time favorite shows, Supernatural and all things Star Trek. Any spare time she has left is spent wrangling two monstrous and attitude prone cats named Rosie and Sherlock.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |