Spotlight & Giveaway: Home of the Heart 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, Home of the Heart!

 
A big hello and happy holidays from southern Oklahoma.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Blake Dawson and his two cousins bought a ranch with a bad reputation, but hey, his own reputation kind of matched so maybe he and the ranch together could make a three-hundred-and-eighty degree turn around in both property and cowboy’s reputations.
That is until the neighbors entered his life–a grandmother with dementia, and a knock down gorgeous woman named Allie who was, of all things, a carpenter. Blake hired her to fix up his rundown house, and soon, she was repairing his heart as well as his house.
 

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

From Home of the Heart:
*Lord, have mercy! Crazy cowboys who bought a bad luck ranch were definitely not supposed to be that sexy.
*The apple never falls far from the tree, and you are going to fall for that sexy cowboy who wants to get into your pants.”
“You just stay away from this ranch. It don’t bring nothing but heartache and pain to anyone who comes around it because no one ever stays. It should be called Hard Luck not Lucky Penny.”
From Buttercup Farms:
*“All I’m taking home is worn-down-at-the-heel boots and a nervous stomach at the idea of settling down.”
*Don’t give up hope. Miracles happen during this season.
*Ranchin’ is in our blood, and we just can’t get away from it.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Home of the Heart is a reissue of Wild Cowboy Ways, and Buttercup Farms, the novella in the back of the book is the last story in the Ryan Brother’s Series. It’s Lucas’s story and is set right at
• Christmas time making this a great book for the holidays.
• Both stories in this book are set in the winter, so readers can curl up with a cup of hot tea, or chocolate, and be right in the season with the characters.
• Comfort food is a way of life in the south. If we’re sad we eat. If we’re happy, we eat. And such are the characters in both stories in this book.

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

Blake is first attracted to Allie because of her spunk, and yet her kindness toward her grandmother who is suffering from dementia.
Allie knows it’s not a good idea to be attracted to Blake. Cowboys come and go so fast over at the Lucky Penny Ranch that the neighbors don’t often even have time to get to know them–but he’s so so sexy!

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

From Home of the Heart: This is where a memory of the past haunts Allie.

When Mr. George started singing “You Can’t Make a Heart Love Somebody,” tears came out of nowhere and streamed down her (Allie’s) face her face. She crawled off the ladder, pulled the mask off, threw it on the floor with the broken wallboard, removed a glove, and
brushed the tears away with her bare hand.
The lyrics reminded her of what Riley said when he finally admitted that he was having an affair. He said it was all her fault because she wouldn’t stay at home and be a wife, especially since she couldn’t be a mother. When she hadn’t gotten pregnant in those two years, he said he’d go to the doctor for a checkup. He came home with the news it wasn’t him so she didn’t need to go. And like the lyrics of the song said, she couldn’t make him love her.
She hadn’t cried that day so why were the tears flowing now? She slid down the wall, bowed her head, and listened to the next song—“Today My World Slipped Away.”
The song fit that day when Riley told Allie all about his new love, Greta. Riley said they had looked at each other across the top of that new Ford Mustang he had just sold her and he was smitten. She was the most beautiful, feminine woman in the whole world, and he had found his soul mate. Of course, it did help that she was a trust fund baby and he would be cashing in on that dividend check that came every month.
Why did she have to face off with all those mem- ories that day? She wiped the tears again, leaving streaks of dust and grime on her cheeks like war paint. Her father’s words came back again telling her to finish tearing out the old so she would be ready for the shiny new. Until that moment she hadn’t realized how tightly she’d held on to the past, to the anger and the pain, but it had to go.
From Buttercup Farms:
This is the scene when Theron, the super smart little boy with social anxiety issues begins to open up to Lucas.
Theron was already in the barn, telling Katie and Winnie all about his day, when Lucas got a text from Vada: Have tears in my eyes. I’ve never seen him play like a child or laugh that much. I will treasure this video forever. Thank you, Lucas.
Lucas pretended to need something from the tack room so that Theron wouldn’t see his emotional state. He wiped his wet cheeks, gathered up two bottles of water and a couple of protein bars and carried them out to where Theron was sitting facing Winnie and Katie. He handed a bottle and a bar to Theron and then headed out to bring in the alpacas. He wanted more than just nine more days with Vada and Theron. Falling in love with Vada would be so easy.

Readers should read this book….

Because it’s two stories that will bring home the miracles of the holidays to the readers.

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

I have just finished the first rough draft of Meadow Falls, a women’s fiction book set out in the panhandle of Texas in the middle of peanut country.
My schedule for the next few months looks like this:
A Chance Inheritance (plus The Third Wish); Jan. 10
The Devine Doughnut Shop: Feb. 14
The Lucky Shamrock: July 4.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I will give away a $25 Amazon gift card.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Home of the Heart is a reissue of Wild Cowboy Ways with a new title and a new cover, and a few tweaks to update it. Do you ever read or buy reissues?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Home of the Heart:

Allie hated two things: cleaning and cooking. But ev- ery third week it was her turn to clean the big two-story house known as Audrey’s Place.
Back during the Depression, Audrey’s had been a rather notorious not-exactly-legal brothel. Miz Audrey, the lady who owned the place, had seen an opportunity where everyone else around Dry Creek saw defeat. She’d hired six girls at a time when everyone needed jobs. She was one of the few folks who hung on to her land, her business, and came out on the other side of the Depression with more money than she knew what to do with. Her girls, too. The hundred-year-old house had withstood tornadoes, winds, and all the other crazy weird weather that Texas could throw at it.
But Allie wasn’t appreciating her family home’s rich history as she trudged through each of the six bed- rooms on the second floor to vacuum, dust, and tidy

up. She would far rather be the one creating mess. Give her the glorious smells of wood shavings, plaster dust, or varnish during a home remodel and she’d be much happier than breathing in pine-scented cleaners.
She paused on the bottom step, made sure that Granny was arguing with the characters of Golden Girls on the television in the living room, before she toted the bucket of cleaning supplies up the stairs. Allie had put in the new railing the previous spring and still liked to run her hand over the new wood, taking a mo- ment to admire the intricate spindles she’d turned on her lathe. Her father had given her the tools, the knowl- edge, and the love for carpentry. Some days she missed him even more than others, like when she opened the bathroom door and there was the lovely vanity they’d worked on together the year before he died.
She was about to return downstairs, when her phone buzzed in the side pocket of her cargo pants. She pulled it out and without even checking the caller ID she an- swered, “Hello.”
“Alora Raine Logan,” her mother said.
“Why are you double-naming me? I couldn’t possi- bly get into trouble while cleaning the house!”
“You let your grandmother get away from you.” Katy’s voice was so shrill it hurt Allie’s ears.
“Impossible, Mama. The doors are locked with those new baby guards that she can’t open. Besides, not fifteen minutes ago, I checked on her. She was sit- ting on the sofa watching Golden Girls.”
Granny had shaken her fist at the television with a string of cuss words. Even in her moments of confu- sion, she never lost her spirit.

“Well, she’s at the Lucky Penny now,” Katy said.
A gust of cold wind hit her in the face when Allie reached the foyer. The door was thrown wide open, and Lizzy’s yellow boots were gone from the lineup beside the hall tree.
“You’re right. She’s gone! But why the Lucky Penny?” Allie was already cramming her feet down into a pair of boots.
“She must’ve heard us talking about a new cowboy buying that place. I can’t leave the store so you’ll have to go get her,” Katy said. “It’s going to rain so take a vehicle. I hope she at least put on a jacket or else she’ll catch pneumonia, frail as she is.”
“Lizzy’s rubber boots are missing from the foyer and I dressed her in jeans and a sweatshirt this morn- ing.” Allie stuck her free arm into a stained mustard- colored work coat.
“Thank goodness she’s at least got something on her feet. Last time she went over there, she was wearing nothing but a nightgown when I went to get her. There she sat on the porch flirting with someone in her head because the only living thing on the whole ranch was an old gray tom cat,” Katy said.
Allie picked up her van keys from the foyer table and headed out the door. “I’m on the way, Mama. She’s probably sitting on the porch like last time. I don’t think anyone has moved in yet.”
“Lizzy said that Herman Hudson came in for a load of feed this morning and that at least one cowboy moved in on Saturday,” Katy said.
“How’d you find out where she is?” Allie asked. “The crazy cowboy who bought the place called the

feed store. The number was on the bottom of one of those calendars we used to give out at Christmas. Lizzy answered and then called me.”
“I’ll call you when I’ve got her back in the house.” Allie jogged out to her work van and hopped inside. She shivered as she shoved the key into the ignition. They’d had a mild winter up until now, but January was going to make up for it for sure if this was a taste of what was to come. She didn’t give the engine time to warm up but shoved the truck into gear, hit the gas, and headed down the lane toward the road where she made a right-hand turn. The steering wheel was as cold as icicles, but in her hurry she’d left her gloves on the foyer table. Half a mile farther she made another right and whipped into the winding lane at the Lucky Penny.
Had she gone by foot, Allie would have walked a few hundred yards, crawled over or under a broken- down barbed wire fence, and gone another hundred yards to the old house. That’s most likely the way that Granny had gone, and it took less than ten minutes to get there. Allie came to a screeching halt outside the house and with a carpenter’s eye saw how much more dilapidated it had gotten since she was last on the ranch.
How long had it been? At least eight years because she’d been divorced more than seven, and the last time she’d been there was back when she and Riley, like all the other kids in that day and age, parked there to make out. Looking back, the smartest thing she did when she and Riley split ways was take her maiden name back.
A big yellow dog met her halfway across the yard. His head was down and his tail wagging, which meant

he wasn’t going to take a chunk out of her butt. But the sight of him did slow her down.
She held out a hand. “Hey, feller, what’s your name?” The dog nosed her hand in a friendly gesture, so she rubbed his ears. “You got my granny in that house, or
is she hiding in one of the barns this time?”
The first big raindrop hit her on the cheek and rolled down her neck. It was as cold as ice water, and more quickly followed before she made it to the porch. Shivers chased down her spine as the water hit her bra and kept moving to the waistband of her underpants.
She knocked on the door and waited.
“Walter, don’t open that door,” her granny called out loud and clear.
“Are you Walter?” she asked the dog, who’d followed her to the porch, just as the front door swung open.
“No, he’s Shooter. Are you Katy?”
Allie looked up into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen rimmed by dark lashes. Her gaze traveled to his wide shoulders, the Henley shirt stretched over bulging abs, and the big belt buckle with a bull rider on it. She had to force herself to look back up, only to find him smiling, his arms now crossed over his chest.
Lord, have mercy! Crazy cowboys who bought a bad luck ranch were definitely not supposed to be that sexy.
From Buttercup Farms:
Vada wasn’t hopeful when she awoke that Monday morning. She had learned not to tell Theron about any kind of outing—even a simple trip to the backyard—until a few minutes before the event. If she did, he fretted about it until he was a wreck when the time came. That morning she was surprised when he came out of his room and sat down at the table. He had his fidget toy in his hands, but he wasn’t playing with it.
“Cheerios?” she asked.
“Bacon, please, and eggs.” He kept his eyes on the table.
“Scrambled or fried?” Vada asked and then wished she could take the words back. Choices would not be a good thing that morning.
“Do horses eat scrambled or fried?” he asked.
“I think they eat hay or grass. I know they like carrots and apples,” she said.
“Scrambled then, and I will need an apple to take to the horse,” he said.
“What horse?” Vada almost dropped the whole carton of eggs she was taking from the refrigerator to the counter.
“The one we are going to see today. I looked horses up on the computer. I think I will like them,” Theron said. “They are supposed to help kids like me.”
Vada was both excited and shocked almost speechless. “How did you know about horses?”
“I heard you talking to Stevie and to someone about going to see a horse this morning at ten,” he answered, “so I did some research.”
“You’ve had therapists, Theron, and…” Vada stumbled over the words.
“I don’t like people. They scare me and the ones my age bore me. That’s not nice to say, but they do…” he paused, and Vada half expected him to go back to his room, but he went on, “and theyThe therapists you took me to, and the ones that came here want me talk about the way I feel. They want me to say more than I just feel alone and lonely.” He raised one thin shoulder and looked up at her.
Vada had almost forgotten how pretty his brown eyes were. “Well, I don’t expect Katie—that’s the horse’s name that you will meet today—will expect you to talk if you don’t want to.”
“Are there more animals where we are going?” Theron asked.
“I understand there’s a dog named Tex, a cat and some kittens in the barn, and alpacas.” Vada thought she was dreaming until she took bacon out of the microwave and a bit of the grease popped onto her finger. It burned bad enough that she knew she was wide awake.
“I will research those and see if they help kids like me,” Theron said.
Why didn’t I think of that before? Vada wondered. If any animal would help him, then he could have a cat or a dog.
Hope. Miracles. Magic. Tis the season for all of it, her grandmother whispered softly in her ear.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

A heartwarming novel of complicated families, new neighbors, and fresh hope from a New York Times bestselling author who writes “Southern comfort in a book.” —Sheila Roberts
Allie Logan has her hands full with a bad breakup, a struggling renovation business, a sister who won’t stop flaunting her engagement ring, and a grandmother who keeps wandering off at the most inopportune times. In fact, Granny Irene’s latest habit is sneaking out to the ranch next door, where’s she’s convinced a lost love awaits. But when Allie goes to collect her, she finds instead a new neighbor—six‑foot‑plus of tall, dark, and charming.
Blake Dawson is one more thing Allie can’t deal with right now. But since he’s hired her to help repair his rundown ranch, they’re suddenly spending an awful lot of time together. And as family secrets—past and present—start to come to light, Allie finds that opening her heart might just be the fresh start her life needs.
Includes the bonus novella Buttercup Farms, part of the Sunflower Ranch series—never before published!
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N |
 
 

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. She is the author of more than 100 novels and several novellas. She’s a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, Montlake Romance’s prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, and also a three-time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award. Brown has been published for more than 25 years, and her books have been translated 21 foreign languages.
When she’s not writing, she 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.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |