Spotlight & Giveaway: Cowboy Courage 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, Cowboy Courage!

 
Good morning to all y’all! It’s always a joy to stop by HJ to visit with everyone.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

After spending years traveling the world with the military, Rose O’Malley is ready for a change. Heading back to Texas to hold down the fort at her aunt’s bed-and-breakfast will give Rose just the break she needs. She may be able to speak seven languages, she can’t repair a leaky sink to save her life. When Madame Fate brings Hudson Baker, the very boy she had a crush on years before in a different part of the state, to fix the leak, Rose can’t help wondering if the boy she once crushed on as a kid could now be her saving grace.
Hud has always been a rock solid cowboy to his core. But the moment Rose steps back into his life, his world is turned upside down by meddling family, a rescued baby, and one highly mischievous cat. Now he’ll have to decide if it’s time to throw caution to the wind and do whatever it takes to convince Rose that by her side is exactly where he wants to stay.
Cowboy Courage also includes Wildflower Ranch–Shiloh’s story from Daisies in the Canyon–as a bonus.
 

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

*Hud Baker felt like a rodeo bull in a lingerie shop.

*Hud had learned a lot from his twin brother—like how to sweet talk a woman off the dance floor and into bed—but this was Rose, the little red-haired girl he’d fallen hard for when he was only fourteen years old.

*The old gal might be harmless, but she looked like she ate roadkill for breakfast.

*Rose couldn’t imagine a truck driver wanting to molest Aunt Luna. He’d have to be drunk or high, or legally blind to not see all those wrinkles and that hair style, and truckers could lose their license for drinking on the job or using drugs.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Having these characters in my head the whole time I was writing this story was quite an experience. At times they made me cry with them. At others, they had me giggling, and sometimes they even got into my dreams to tell me how to write the next chapter.
• I squealed out loud when I saw the cover with the red pickup truck. I love, love old trucks.
• Most sets of twins have one that is an extrovert and one that’s right the opposite. Hud is the later, always standing back in the shadows while his brother Tag is the outgoing one. But Rose doesn’t see him that way!
• There’s nothing quite like throwing a homeless girl and an abandoned baby into the mix to see what a cowboy is really like.

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

Rose was attracted to Hud way back in junior high school when she and her family lived near Daisy for a year. Back then he was kind and sweet to her, the new girl who didn’t quite fit in with all the other kids, and now that they’re grown, he hasn’t lost a bit of that big old cowboy heart of his.
Hud fell in love with Rose when they were barely teenagers. Her daring spirit appealed to him then and it still did all these years later when she was right back in his world, again.

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

They’d already gotten off to a bad start, but things were looking better for Rose when suddenly her crazy Aunt Luna comes on the scene. Here’s a little excerpt from that scene:

The woman had purple hair. Part of it had been braided into small ropes complete with multi-colored beads and hung over her shoulders to her waist. The back half was pulled up in a ponytail with a pink and orange paisley scarf tied around it. Rose might not have been shocked to see a teenager with hair like that, but this woman was at least eighty and had plenty of wrinkles to prove it.
Hud parked the truck and the woman stood up and waved. That was the first time Rose noticed the suitcase that her floral, flowing skirt had covered when she was sitting down.
“Think we should call the police?” Hud whispered.
“Is that you, Cactus Rose?” the old woman yelled out. “Molly told me you might be coming to visit. Come on up here and let me in the house. I’m tired. That last ride I hitched was with a truck driver and riding in his vehicle damn near broke my back.”
Rose waved. “Is that you, Aunt Luna?”
“In the flesh, darlin’.” She hollered across the yard.
Rose whipped her phone out of her hip pocket and hit the speed dial for her aunt. Thank God, Molly answered on the first ring.
“Aunt Molly, Aunt Luna is on the front porch,” Rose said.
“Good God Almighty!” Molly said. “Does she have her hair dyed some gawd-awful color?”
“Yep,” Rose said.
Molly sighed. “Give her a room. She never stays more than a week. She and Wilbur have a big fight about every five years, and she comes to my place for a week until they both cool off.”
“Wilbur?” Rose asked.
“That’s her common law husband. They’ve been together for years. He knows where to call when he gets tired of being a jackass. Soon as he calls, she’ll get on a bus and go back to Alabama.”
“I’d forgotten about her bein’ part of the family,” Rose said.
“Honey, she don’t keep in touch except to come see me when Wilbur makes her mad. Bye now,” Molly said and ended the call.
“You know that woman, then?” Hud asked.
“She’s my great-aunt that hardly ever comes around,” Rose said.
Luna had started down the sidewalk leading up to the porch. The wind blew her billowing skirt away from her tall, lanky frame. A red sweatshirt with Rudolph on the front showed beneath a long, black trench coat that billowed out to the sides.
Hud got out of the truck and rushed around to open the door for Rose. She opened her mouth to tell him to take her to the nearest recruiting office, but Luna was coming full force by then with her arms outstretched for a hug. There was nothing to do but get out and hug the woman.
Aunt Luna went right past her and grabbed Hud in a bear hug. “I haven’t seen Cactus Rose since she was just a little girl. I named her. Her mama, Echo, couldn’t decide on a name. I told her that I’d always wanted a child and since I couldn’t have one, I should get to name the first one in the new generation.”
“I dropped the Cactus part years ago. I just go by Rose now,” Rose told her.
“Too bad. It’s such a beautiful name,” Luna said. “I hope you’re not like your daddy. Never did like that man. He reminded me of Wilbur, and there’s times when I could shoot that sumbitch. Now come give me a hug and help get me settled into my room.”
“It was real nice to meet you, Miz Luna,” Hud tipped his hat toward her, “but you ladies need to get in out of the cold. Can I help with your baggage before I get going?”
“Naw, honey, we can get that suitcase,” Luna looped her arm in Rose’s. “Besides, us girls has got some catchin’ up to do.”
Rose glanced over her shoulder to see Hud practically jogging back to his truck. There went any possibility of Hud coming back around again. The old gal might be harmless, but she looked like she ate roadkill for breakfast. Rose hoped the sumbitch Wilbur decided to come take her home—wherever the hell that was—before a whole week ended.

Readers should read this book….

because it will prove that true love never dies. There will definitely be obstacles to overcome and tests to endure to see if it’s real, but once it’s given life, it can endure whatever gets thrown at it.

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

I’m working on a novella titled The Perfect Christmas which will tell the story of Dixie (from Cowboy Courage) and Landon (from upcoming Cowboy Strong). My schedule for future releases looks like this:
March 3: Reissue of My Give A Damn’s Busted
May 26: The Banty House
June 30: Cowboy Strong
Sept/Oct: Anthology of Christmas stories
August 4: Miss Janie’s Girls
Oct. 27: Reissue of Honky Tonk Christmas w/ bonus Carolyn Brown novella

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I will give away a signed copy of Cowboy Courage.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What is it about a cowboy that makes your heart throw in an extra beat?

 
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Excerpt from Cowboy Courage:

Hud had just finished unloading bags of feed and stacking them in the barn on the Canyon Creek ranch when he remembered that he still hadn’t bought a present for his sister’s birthday. They were having a get together the next evening, and he knew better than to show up without a present in his hands. It was a couple of hours before the shop at the Rose Garden closed, so he rushed to the house, took a quick shower and got dressed. This time he didn’t bother to put on his Sunday best like he had earlier that day when he wanted to impress Rose, but pulled on a pair of worn jeans, a T-shirt from a Blake Shelton concert, and his work boots. He wasn’t superstitious, but he’d gone to the shop all dressed up that morning and look what that got him. Maybe if he was just plain old Hud, he wouldn’t step in anymore buckets of water.
He hopped in his truck and made it into town in record time. He pulled into a parking space right beside Rose’s bright red vehicle, picked up his cowboy hat from the passenger seat and settled it on his head, and then headed inside. The little bell above the door into the shop rang, but the place seemed to be empty.
“Hello?” he called out.
No answer.
He was more than a little disappointed that Rose wasn’t behind the counter. Evidently, she and Luna were somewhere else in the house, so he looked around for several minutes. Emily always had a scented candle burning in her house, so maybe that would be the perfect gift. He stopped and smelled several, but couldn’t decide which one to buy, so he moved on down to a collection of small crystal vases. In the spring when the roses Justin had planted for her were blooming, she might like a pretty vase to put them in.
“No,” he shook his head and went back to the candles. “Emily loves putting flowers in quart jars. She’s just not a crystal person.”
He started to reach for a couple of vanilla scented candles, heard footsteps out in the foyer and turned too quickly. The whole glass display wobbled slightly. He grabbed the shelf and steadied it, heaved a sigh of relief that he hadn’t broken anything, and turned to face the door just as Rose entered the shop.
“You came back?” she sounded surprised.
“I forgot to buy Emily a present,” he stammered. “She likes candles so I thought…”
“This is a lovely gift. I’ll be glad to put it in a gift bag, and get it all ready to give to her,” Rose said.
“Is your aunt still here? Is she staying a while?” he asked.
Rose was ringing up his purchases when a loud siren went off right outside. He fished his phone from his hip pocket and hit a speed dial number, listened for a minute, and said, “I’ll have to come back tomorrow morning. I’m a volunteer fireman and we’ve got a house ablaze between here and Sunset.”
“I’ll put them under the counter for you,” she nodded.
“Thanks,” he said over his shoulder as he rushed outside.
He drove ninety miles an hour to the site of the fire and wondered the whole time if every time he walked into Rose’s shop there would be a disaster. When he reached the site of the fire, he braked so hard that he left black streaks on the pavement. Smoke poured out of the windows of the old two-story house, and the blaze was already licking the dead grass around the place. The fire truck from Bowie and the volunteer firemen were from Sunset were just getting to the place, but neither had beaten him by much. The firemen had just gotten the hoses hooked to the red fire hydrant on the corner.
“Anyone in there?” Hud yelled as he ran toward the truck.
“Don’t think so,” one of the other firemen answered. “It’s an old abandoned place. Hasn’t been lived in since I was a kid.”
A movement in Hud’s peripheral vision made him jerk his head around in time to a movement in one of the windows. He pointed toward the place, and hollered over his shoulder, “I think I saw someone in there. I’m going in to see”
Adrenaline rushed through his veins and he got a lung full of smoke when he passed by the windows. If there was someone in the house, then he had no choice but to rear back and kick the door down, even if a billowing fire ball shot out of the opening. He heard a whimper and kicked the door twice before it caved, but at least all he got was a big ball of black smoke and no flames. Coughing steered him toward the left and he found a woman in a heap with her body wrapped around a baby. He threw the woman over his shoulder, tucked the baby under his arm like a football and ran outside like he was sprinting for the goal line at a football game.
One of the firemen must’ve called the Bowie ambulance because it came rearing up to the house with the sirens blaring. Hud didn’t even slow down until he made it to vehicle. He handed off the woman and screaming baby to the EMT, and then ran back toward the house.
When he passed the fire chief, the man reached out and grabbed his arm. “You’re not going back in there. Two guys have suited up and are already checking the place out. You follow the ambulance to the hospital and ask that crazy woman what in the hell she was doing in that place.”
“I can stay and help,” Hud offered.
“You’re not suited up, and we’re going to be questioned about that woman in the house, so go,” the chief growled. “Take notes.”
The hospital was a fifteen-minute drive, but he and the ambulance made it in ten. He snagged a parking place not far from the emergency room door and was right there when the EMTs rolled the mother and baby through the doors. The mother had an oxygen mask on. The baby was still screaming.
No one said anything so he followed them right back into a cubicle. The EMT holding the baby handed her off to Hud so he and the other guy could get the woman onto a bed. A nurse came in and checked vitals, and by the time the doctor arrived, the lady’s eyes were fluttering open.
“Where am I? Where’s my baby? Is she all right?” She tugged at the oxygen mask and tried to sit up, but fell back on the bed in a heap.
“Right here, ma’am.” Hud stepped forward with the child in his arms. “She appears to be fine, but you’ve sucked in a lot of smoke.”
The doctor pushed back the curtain and started his examination of the woman first and then he checked out the baby. “Baby can go home with daddy. Mama will have to stay over night for observation.”
“I don’t have insurance or a job,” the lady moaned. “I can’t stay.”
“Yes, you can. I’ll send in Robin. She can help you fill out paperwork to pay the bill since you’re unemployed, but you will stay at least one night.” The doctor left no room for argument.
Hud opened his mouth to say that he wasn’t the baby’s father, and that he’d never seen the woman before, but then he snapped it shut. The child had stopped crying and was looking right into his eyes, as if she was telling him that she was being quiet now—and so should he.
“Get a room ready for her,” the doctor said as he disappeared behind the curtain.
“Yes, sir.” The nurse followed him.
Both EMTs left right behind them.
“I need to ask you some questions,” Hud said. “Are you up for it?”
“My name is Dixie and the baby is Sally.” Tears mixed with smoke rolled down her cheeks, leaving long black streaks. “Please don’t put her in foster care. I’ll never get her back.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Dixie wiped her face, smearing the streaks into what looked like war paint. “We were just borrowing the house for the night, to get in out of the cold. We planned to be gone tomorrow. We didn’t set that fire, I promise. There was an old bunk bed in there. I put Sally in a wooden crate right beside me. I made sure she was asleep and then I shut my eyes. The next thing I remember is waking up here.” Dixie looked up at him with begging eyes. “I don’t know you, but please help me.”
“You’d trust me with your child?” Hud asked.
A fresh batch of tears began to roll down Dixie’s face. “It’s either that or lose her. The doctor thinks you’re her father.”
“Hey, I hear you’re the hero today.” His new sister-in-law pushed back the curtain. Nikki had just recently gone from nights to a day shift at the hospital. “Your brother is supposed to be the risk taker, not you. And what’s this beautiful baby’s name?” She reached over and touched the child’s forehead.
“Sally,” Dixie answered. “You know this man?”
“He’s my brother-in-law, and he saved your life,” Nikki said.
“She wants me to take this baby for a day or two and not call Human Services,” Hud whispered.
Nikki giggled. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Mr. Hero.”
“Only other choice I got is to call my mama down in Sweetwater,” Dixie said between coughing fits.
Hud handed her his cell phone and she made the call. “Mama, I got as far as Bowie, but me and the baby were in a house that caught on fire. Can you come get me?”
Hud couldn’t hear what was said on the other end, but it had to be bad news because her face fell, and even more tears left streaks down her dirty face. She didn’t say anything else but handed the phone back to him.
“Is she coming?” he asked.
Dixie shook her head.
“I know a place that might help you out,” Hud said. “I can take Sally there and they might even have a job for you when you get out of here.”
“Thank you,” she muttered. “I’m willin’ to work.”
“You got this, Hud?” Nikki asked.
“I think so.” Hud’s thoughts swirled as he tried to figure out what to do with a baby. Lord only knew that he would definitely need help. Rose was closer to the hospital, just in case they had to keep Dixie longer than a day, so it would be easier for him to take the baby to see Dixie.
“Okay then,” Nikki grinned. “I’ll holler at you when I get off work to see if you need anything.”
“Her diaper bag…” Dixie started.
“I’ve got some formula samples I can share with him.” Nikki patted her arm. “You just get well.”
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
“We’re taking Dixie to her room now. I suggest you take the baby home and get her cleaned up and fed.” A nurse’s aide popped into the cubicle. “You can come back tonight to see her.”
With the baby in his arms, he followed Nikki down a hallway to the nursery. She pulled a tote bag out from under a cabinet and handed it to him. “This is what we give new mothers when they leave the hospital. It’ll do until you can get to the store to buy what you need and will give you an idea of what to buy.”
“Thanks.” He bent and kissed Nikki on the forehead.
“Drive carefully,” Nikki warned. “I’d give you a car seat but we’re fresh out. If you get caught without one, it’ll mean a big fine.
Obeying Nikki’s advice wasn’t difficult. Driving with one hand while trying to keep a squirming baby in his arms, wasn’t an easy task. Thank goodness it wasn’t but a mile or two to the Rose Garden B&B. He heaved a long sigh of relief when he parked in front of the place. He grabbed the tote bag, slung it over his shoulder and held Sally as close to his body as he could to keep her warm.
Aunt Luna met them at the door with Rose right behind her.
“What on earth?” Rose asked.
“Is that a baby?” Luna tiptoed so she could get a closer look.
“I need help,” Hud said bluntly.
“Holy crap on a cracker!” Luna said. “What happened? You and that child both smell like you walked through hell.”
Rose reached for the child and Hud handed her over. Immediately, Sally began to chew on her hands. “She’s hungry. I hope there’s a bottle in that bag on your shoulder.”
“Nikki gave it to me at the hospital.” He gave it to Luna. “Her mama is Dixie and she’s homeless and…” He went on to tell them the rest of what had happened.
“Poor darlin’s,” Luna crooned, “if I still had the carnival, I’d take them both in, but for now we’re goin’ to get this little darlin’ a bath and get all this nasty old smoke off her, then we’ll feed her, and comfort her until her mama can come get her.”
“Thank you.” Relieved, Hud started for the door.
“Where are you goin’, cowboy?” Rose narrowed her eyes at him. “This is your project, so you’ll be stayin’ right here until mama and baby are reunited. We don’t mind lending a helping hand, but you’ll be doin’ the same. While we get this baby bathed and cleaned up, you’re going to Walmart. There’s a notepad right there on the credenza. Write what I tell you. Start with diapers, number 1, not newborns.”
He followed instructions. “You mean I have to stay here at night, too?”
“Exactly. There’s five extra bedrooms upstairs. You can have your choice,” Rose told him. “Car seat and write down this formula.” She held up a sample bottle from the bag. “It comes in a can that looks like a coffee container, back in the baby department. Buy two cans. Then…” she eyed the baby carefully, “…six sets of clothes, size six months. Little soft things.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be very good at pickin’ all that kind of thing out,” he said.
“You’ll learn,” Rose said.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

Love gets a second chance in this charming cowboy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Family Journal.
After spending years traveling the world with the military, Rose O’Malley is ready for a change. Heading back to Texas to hold down the fort at her aunt’s bed-and-breakfast will give Rose just the break she needs. But while she may speak seven languages, she can’t repair a leaky sink to save her life. When Hudson Baker strides in like a hero and effortlessly figures out the fix, Rose can’t help wondering if the boy she once crushed on as a kid could now be her saving grace.
Hud has always been rock-solid and dependable-a quintessential cowboy to his core. But the moment Rose steps back into his life, his world is turned upside down by meddling family, a rescued baby, and one highly mischievous cat. Now he’ll have to decide if it’s time to throw caution to the wind and do whatever it takes to convince Rose that by her side is exactly where he wants to stay.
Includes the bonus novella Wildflower Ranch, a continuation of Daisies in the Canyon.
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

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. The Family Journal is her 100th published book. 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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