Spotlight & Giveaway: Christmas with a Cowboy by Carolyn Brown

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Carolyn Brown to HJ!

Hi Carolyn and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Christmas with a Cowboy!

 
It’s a little early but Merry Christmas to all y’all!
 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

A year ago Maverick Callahan accompanied his grandmother to home home country, Ireland. The last night he was there he met Bridget, a bar tender. He never believed in love at first sight, but he did after that night. Months passed. His grandmother has fallen and injured her hip, and suddenly Bridget is back, by some miracle, to help take care of her, and she’s brought a baby with her.
 

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

She (Iris, Maverick’s grandmother) shot a dirty look his way and then smiled. “I have to be bossy with wild grandsons like the good lord gave me. But now, I can rest easy and heal now that you’re here. Bridget and I could’ve run this place just been fine if Buster hadn’t had to take a couple of months off.”

“Don’t be askin’ me a thing like that, Maverick,” Bridget answered. “After the way my past has gone, I don’t make plans past tomorrow.”

“I’m pretty brave, but I don’t argue with Granny,” he grinned. “I just hope that God don’t send a lightning bolt down between the church rafters to strike me dead. Who would have ever thought Maverick Callahan would be teaching Sunday school?”

“I’m Slade,” the last little boy said. “I’m ten years old, and I get to go to the next class next year when I’m eleven. I read our lesson about forgivin’ others, but I ain’t forgivin’ Bubba Joe Thorn for sayin’ that Elijah is slow. He’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut lessen he has something to say.”

What inspired this book?

I love writing holiday books. Among the hustle and bustle of all that pertains to Christmas, there’s also more love, kindness and happiness in that time of year. I love writing about the joy of family–put a baby in the mix and a couple of animals, and it’s always a fun book.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

I knew Maverick from the previous books in the Longhorn Canyon Series. He told me about not believing in love at first sight until he’d met Bridget. Then I found out what a small world it really was. His grandmother’s friend in Ireland turned out to be Bridget’s grandmother. So when Bridget needed a job and a home–well, what else could I do but bring them back together? Did they surprise me? Oh, yes, ma’am. They weren’t nearly as happy with me as I thought they would be. No, sir! They fought with me for weeks about the love between them.

What was your favorite scene to write?

This is the scene at church the first Sunday that Iris went back after getting hip surgery. It’s was my favorite because it’s the scene that made it clear that Bridget and Maverick were going to be spending time just with each other and the baby, Laela.

Iris turned to see who was talking to her. “Hello, Maudie. It’s good to be here.”
As she was turning back around, her hand slipped on the pew. Bridget grabbed for her. Using his free hand, Maverick tried to catch her, but they both failed. Iris was on the floor, her legs under the pew, her head in the aisle and her face an ashen color.
“Call an ambulance,” she groaned. “I think I might have messed up my hip, again.”
Several people already had their phones out poking in numbers. One brought a pillow and put it under her head. Iris’s neighbor, Alana, dropped down her knees right next to Iris and asked, “What happened?”
“I fell, Alana, right on my hip, and it hurts like holy hell, and I’m not even going to apologize for sayin’ that in church,” Iris said, bluntly.
“Do you have pain anywhere but your hip?” Alana asked.
“No, but it’s hurtin’ like a real bitch,” Iris said through clenched teeth. “I hear the sirens, so everybody needs to back up, so they can get to me.”
Bridget noticed a blood spot on Iris’s skirt, and knelt beside her. “I think you’ve busted loose one of the staples.”
“Feels like more than one,” Iris moaned.
The paramedics rushed in and everyone moved back to let them through. In minutes they had her on a gurney. As they were taking her out, she grabbed Bridget’s hand. “I want you to go with me in the ambulance.”
“Go on,” Maverick said. “Laela and I’ll be right behind you. It’s only three blocks to the hospital.”
Iris hung onto her hand the whole way to the ambulance, and took it again when they were inside. “I should’ve listened to my doctor. He wanted me to go to the six weeks of rehab, but I was stubborn. I wanted to be at home, and I thought of you in Ireland with no job and that baby to take care of, so I called and you were willing to help me. This hurts like a son of a bitch. But you have to promise me that you’ll stay at the ranch. Mav needs someone to help him out while I’m in the hospital.”

What was the most difficult scene to write?

This is the scene where Maverick realizes that Bridget has to have time to heal from all that’s happened to her in the past year. It was a very emotional scene for both of them.

Maverick could feel Bridget’s vulnerability in that moment. Her eyes were brim full of tears that she wouldn’t allow to flow down her cheeks, and her face was a study in absolute sadness. She’d had so much happen in such a short time, and now there was still yet another change. He’d like to have a second chance with her, but not at the expense of breaking her.
Are you ready to be a father? His grandpa’s voice was loud and clear in his head.
Maverick couldn’t answer the question. He liked holding Laela, but he could always give her back to Bridget when she got fussy or needed a diaper change. To take on that responsibility full time—he wasn’t so sure that he was ready for that. Why did life have to be so damned complicated, anyway.
Bridget opened the first box and pulled out gold garland. “Does this go up first or the lights?”
“Lights first,” Maverick opened a second box, “and then garland. Did you help your grandmother put up a tree?”
Bridget opened the box with the lights. “Every year, but we usually bought a real tree. It wasn’t very big, though. I kept a lot of the ornaments.”
“Where are they?” Maverick asked.
“A friend, Sean, let me store five boxes in his spare room until I get back to Ireland. Nana rented her place and we had to get everything out the day before we flew to Texas. I had no place to store the furniture so I sold or gave it all away. All I kept was pictures, ornaments and things that reminded me of Nana,” she answered.
Another thing that had been piled on top of all her other sorrows—Maverick was a big, tough cowboy, and when he thought of losing Paxton, and then Granny, and then the ranch and only having five boxes to pack his memories in, and then after all that, flying half way around the world to a new place—it’s a wonder she wasn’t crazy as a rabid raccoon. Maverick sure didn’t want to be her breaking point.

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

I’ve written cowboy holiday books for many years, and although this is maybe a more emotional book, it probably showcases my normal writing style.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

That everything happens for a reason, and patience is sometimes more than a virtue–it’s a necessity. You can’t rush love. You have to sit beside the Christmas tree and just wait for it to come sit beside you.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m currently working on a novella about the third sister, Bonnie, from Daisies in the Canyon. As soon as I finish it, I’ll be going full blast ahead on another women’s fiction.
My upcoming releases are:
The Family Journal, November 12 (my 100th novel)
Cowboy Courage, Jan. 28
Wildflower Ranch, a novella, Feb. 4
The Banty House, May 2020
Cowboy Strong, May 2020

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’ll giveaway a signed copy of Christmas with a Cowboy

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Excerpt from Christmas with a Cowboy:

Bridget knew that he loved his family, especially his grandmother. He hadn’t told her his life’s story, but that much she’d learned from the way he talked about his home state. In her heart, she knew he could be trusted, and sweet Jesus, but he was a sexy cowboy. What would it hurt to spend a little more time with him? She’d be checking out of the hotel and going home by noon. He’d said he would be leaving that afternoon to catch a plane in Dublin for Texas with his grandmother. Besides, she liked to listen to his deep Texas drawl.
“My scones are better and my jam is homemade,” she grinned.
“You’ve twisted my arm, but it was the coffee that sold me,” he smiled back at her.
She led the way up the stairs to the second floor and went to room 212. “I’m all the way to the end of the hall in 230,” he said, “but how could we live in the same hotel all this week and not even run into each other once?”
“I’m only here for one night. I usually work double shifts Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There’s no public transportation at two in the morning so I stay in Skibbereen until Sunday morning,” she said. “I’ve been on holiday with my friend, Desiree for the past two weeks,” she unlocked the door and turned on the light, “and this is my first night back at the job. She started a pot of coffee and got out a box of scones she’d bought the day before.
Maverick followed her lead and tossed his coat over on the bed and then followed her to the tiny kitchenette. He got down two plates and a couple of mugs. When he reached for the first scone their hands got tangled up together. Everything moved in slow motion, but somehow things went from his big hand over her small one, to a kiss, and then more kisses. Then she realized where the make out session could be headed and she took two steps back.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should be going”
“No, stay for coffee and a scone,” she blushed. “I’m just not that kind of girl. One night stands…” she stammered, “that’s not me.”
“It’s just that,” he left the scone in the box, “and sat down in one of the two small chairs. I feel like I’ve known you for months, not hours. I loved watching you laugh and interact with the customers at the pub. You must know everyone in County Cork. You’ve got a sparkle in your eye that draws a rough old cowboy like me like a bumble bee to a pretty flower. And sitting in the lobby, talking to you for hours—well, I just wish we would have met sooner.”
“Me, too,” Bridget giggled.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You look like a big bear sitting in that little chair,” she took her phone from her hip pocket and snapped a picture. “Why don’t you take the larger one and I’ll sit in the small one. I think it was meant for a child.”
He moved to the other chair and when she started for the small one, she got tangled up in his feet, and landed in his lap. His arms instinctively drew her close to steady her. When she got her bearings and looked up into his dark green eyes, she didn’t even fight with the pesky voice in her head telling her that another kiss was a bad idea. She just put a hand on each side of his face and drew his lips down to hers.
Just before dawn, Bridget awoke to find Maverick propped up on an elbow beside her, smiling into her eyes. She was glad that the sheet covered her because she was more than a little embarrassed at what she’d done. Guilt covered her like a heavy woolen blanket. She’d just done exactly what she’d vowed she would never, ever do—have a one night stand. He reached out to twirl a bit of her long hair in his fingers. “So soft. Like silk.”
“I have to be going.,” she said. “The first bus leaves in fifteen minutes, and Nana will be expecting me for church this morning, and God only knows that I’ll be needing to send up extra prayers for my sins this week.”
“Just Bridget, I will never forget this night.” He rolled over to the other side of the bed, picked up his phone and snapped a picture of her with the sunlight coming through the window to light up her red hair.
“Neither will I,” she scooted off the edge of the bed. Why, oh why, hadn’t fate given them more time? She wondered as she got dressed and rolled her suitcase toward the door. “We never did get around to scones and jam. I’ll just leave them for you. Safe travels back to your Texas.”
“If you’re ever in the panhandle of Texas, look me up,” he said.
“If you’d ever be back in Skibbereen, come see me at the Shamrock,” she told him as she waved goodbye and then closed the door.
The bus had just pulled up so she wrestled her suitcase inside and pulled it to the back seat. She glanced up at the spot where she thought her hotel window might be, but there wasn’t a cowboy looking down at the street. While other passengers boarded, Bridget stared at the big Christmas tree. This was the season of magic and miracles. She’d just spent a magical night, and she decided that she wasn’t going to let guilt cloud her memory. She thought about Maverick all the way to her own little village only a few miles away, but when she reached the house, her Nana was already fussing that they were going to be late for church if she didn’t hurry.
“My friend, Iris, just left. I was so hoping you’d be home in time to meet her,” Nana said.
“Sorry,” Bridget rushed back to her room and tossed her clothes on the bed, “I’ll only be a minute,” she called out as she hugged her shirt to her face, inhaling the remnants of Maverick’s shaving lotion. She folded it, laid it on the shelf in her closet, and got dressed. Maybe it would hold on to his scent for a few days if she didn’t wash it. She and Nana were just about to walk out the door to go to church when she realized one of her earrings was missing..

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

A rugged Texas cowboy gets into the Christmas spirit to prove himself to the woman he loves in this heartwarming fifth novel of the USA Today bestselling series.

Maverick Callahan lives up to his reputation as a freewheeling cowboy. But a year ago he fell head-over-heels for an extraordinary woman he met while on vacation, a woman he was convinced he’d never see again. So when she appears on his doorstep like a Christmas miracle, Maverick is determined not to waste his lucky break.

Bridget O’Malley’s world has flipped upside down. As the new guardian of her best friend’s baby, she hasn’t had a moment to think about the Texas rancher who broke her heart. He’s just as sexy as ever, but she knows better than anyone that he’s not the settling-down type. As the trees are trimmed and mistletoe hung, will some holiday magic help Bridget trust this carefree cowboy with her heart and her future?

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Meet the Author:

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly and #1 Amazon and #1 Washington Post bestselling author and a RITA finalist. Chistmas with a Cowboy is her 99th published book on the market. She’s a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, and the prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, and also a three-time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award.
Brown has been published for more than 20 years, and her books have been translated 19 foreign languages. They’ve also been published in both book club editions and large print, and many are available in audio format. She and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma, where everyone knows everyone else, as well as what they’re doing and when—and they read the local newspaper on Wednesday to see who got caught. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young.
When she’s not writing, Carolyn likes to plot new stories in her backyard with her tom cat, Boots Randolph Terminator Outlaw, who protects the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, locusts, and spiders. Visit her at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
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