Spotlight & Giveaway: Texas Made by Eve Gaddy

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Eve Gaddy to HJ!

Hi Eve and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Texas Made!

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

Texas Made is the third book in the Texas True series set in Whiskey River, Texas. What happens when pure country—Marshall Walker and pure city—Jaclyn Carson fall in love? This is their story and how they solve a seemingly insurmountable problem. Marshall and his family breed the well known Walker Paints horses. His life is on the ranch. But when his sister’s gorgeous friend—who he hasn’t seen since she was in college—comes for an extended visit, he falls hard for Jaclyn–the CEO of her own makeup company. A company based in—you guessed it—the city. Jaclyn, who never imagined living in the country, falls just as hard for Marshall, and what started out as a fun fling develops into something much deeper.
 

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

The lipstick had tasted like apples.
“The bad news is it smudged.” Jaclyn wiped it off his lips and mouth with the damp cloth.
He took it from her to wipe her mouth. “It smudged on you too.” He wiped the smudges, thought, ‘what the hell’ and kissed her again, but lightly. Tossing the cloth down, he smiled and said, “The good news is, I’m available for further testing.”
And
“Well, well,” Damaris said, finishing saddling one of the horses. “No need to ask you if you had a good time last night.”
She grinned, probably looking like the Cheshire cat. “I did have a nice time, thank you very much.”
“Apparently, so did Marshall.”
Surely he hadn’t—“Did he tell you that?”
Damaris laughed out loud. “No, of course not. But I saw him sneaking into his room in his tux. Plus, as if I’d needed any more hints, he was whistling when he came down to the barn. He’s been whistling up a storm.”
“Whistling? What does that have to do with anything?”
“My brother whistles when he’s particularly happy. And I must say, I haven’t heard him do that in a long time.” She seemed to think about that and added, “Not since Rocky was born, anyway.”
Jaclyn had been feeling pretty special but being compared to a colt popped her bubble. Even if Rocky’s dam was Marshall’s prize mare, Snowdrop, they were still talking about horses. “Gee, thanks.”

What inspired this book?

Marshall had been in the previous two books and I was dying to find out his story. I asked myself what was the worst thing that could happen to a man whose life was in the country? To fall for a woman whose life is in the city, of course!

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

I was surprised about what happened when Marshall left Whiskey River for a year when he was younger. First, I hadn’t realized he did that and then I didn’t know what had happened during that time.
I get to know them by writing them. As I write they hopefully become clearer to me and then they start taking over. Which is my favorite part.:)

What was your favorite scene to write?

Marshall and Jaclyn’s first kiss

“Jaclyn? Are you here?”
“I’m in the kitchen.”
He walked in, turning right into the living room/kitchen area. She stood at the stove at the far end of the room, stirring some kind of concoction. Bottles and containers of liquids and powders lay all over the counters. There was a small table in the “dining room”—the part of the living room nearest the kitchen. More stuff lay on it. Along with more bottles there were tubes of some sort and a Bunsen burner with a glass beaker poised over it.
She wore an apron, not frilly but plain, white, and serious. Her hair was pulled back into an intricate braid. Sometimes he braided some of his horses’ manes but they were just plain old braids. Nothing fancy. Hers was very pretty but it had the effect of making him want to undo it and thrust his hands in her hair and kiss her until she came undone. Just like he hadn’t done when he’d had the chance yesterday.
Damn, Marshall, get a grip.
“What are you doing?”
She glanced at him and smiled. “Experimenting.”
“With?”
“Lipstick. I’ve added an ingredient that I think will make lips really soft but it needs further testing. I need help, though.” She gave him a considering glance.
“Can’t you test it on yourself?”
“Of course. But the problem is, I’m not sure it’s kiss proof.”
“Kiss proof?”
“Smudge proof, kiss proof.” She lifted a shoulder, picked up a small pot and dipped her finger in it before rubbing it on her mouth. Her lips glistened, a soft, tempting red. Mesmerized he stared at her mouth.
“What do you think?”
Think? He was supposed to think with her lips all moist and rosy and right there begging to be kissed?
Jaclyn stepped closer. “Want to help me with my experiment?”
“Help?” Apparently he could only repeat words. What was it about her that short-circuited his brain?
“In the interests of science, you know.” Taking another step, she put her arms around his neck and looked up at him. “Well?”
Oh, hell. Why not? She wasn’t nineteen anymore. She was plenty old enough to know what she was doing. And if he was honest with himself, he’d been wanting to kiss her from the moment he’d seen her again. He’d been struggling against the desire for days. Especially yesterday, when he took her riding. He bent his head and covered her mouth with his. She was right. Her lips were amazingly soft. Her mouth opened and she touched her tongue to his. He met hers with his, teasing, tempting hers to follow. She gave a tiny moan and melted against him, her arms tightening around his neck.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

When Marshall learns there’s been a fire at the ranch and he wasn’t there to help.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Marshall asked.
“There’s been a fire.”
“A fire? At the ranch?” Of course it’s at the ranch, moron. “Never mind. Was anyone hurt? Where is it? Is it still burning? How bad was it?”
“None of our people are hurt.”
“Thank God for that.”
“Lightning struck the barn. The old one, not the new construction. The fire department is here and have it under control and are waiting to make sure it’s completely out.”
“Good. If the fire department is there it must have been burning for a while.” It would take time for the volunteer fire department to make it out to the ranch. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. Then it occurred to him she’d specifically said no people were hurt. “The horses? The dogs? The barn cats? Are they all right?”
She didn’t answer immediately so he continued firing questions at her. “Did the sprinkler system work?” They’d retrofitted the barn with sprinklers and other fire prevention equipment. It had been expensive as hell but well worth it. He’d known of too many barns that had burned to the ground—often with animals or people in them—because they had no fire prevention.
Ella hesitated before answering. “The sprinklers came on and helped keep the fire from getting worse until the fire department could get here. But the lightning really did a number on the front half of the building.”
“Who’s hurt?” he demanded. “Horses, dogs, cats or all of them?” By now he’d jumped out of bed and was scrambling to find his clothes and put them on. Jaclyn hadn’t asked but clearly knew from his side of the conversation what was going on because she’d begun getting dressed and tossing things in her bag.
“The dogs and cats are fine as far as we can tell. And most of the horses are all right. But…but Cappuchino is hurt.”
Cappuchino? His foundation stud? The backbone of their business. Not to mention, a horse he was very attached to. “How bad?”
“We don’t know yet. Damaris is with him. She was the only one he’d let near him but she had trouble getting him out of his box. We think that’s when he injured himself.”
Cappuchino really didn’t like anyone but Marshall messing with him. He tolerated Damaris but he adored Marshall. And in a fire his stallion would be even less inclined to behave. “Did someone call the vet?”
“Yes. He’s on his way.”
“Good. Are you sure the other horses are all right?”
“Yes, we got them all out safely.”
“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’m sorry, Marshall. We hoped we wouldn’t need to call you but—”
“Don’t apologize. I needed to know. Thanks.”
He ended the call and stuck the phone in his pocket. He stood there a moment simply looking at Jaclyn. He didn’t know what to say. She came to him and put her arms around his waist, hugging him. “I’m ready to go when you are.”
“Thanks. Cappuchino’s hurt.”
“Oh, no! I wondered who it was. How badly is he hurt?”
“They don’t know. He doesn’t—I’m the only one who can really handle him. He—he tolerates Damaris but…”
“Let’s go. The sooner you get back the sooner you’ll know how serious his injury is. None of the people were hurt? And what about the rest of the animals?”
“No. The people are fine. All the other animals are okay.”
“It’s going to be okay, Marshall.”
“I hope so.” God, what would he do if Cappuchino— He made himself stop thinking. Things were bad enough without him thinking the worst.

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

It’s not a departure. It’s in keeping with the other books in the series.

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

Nothing is impossible if you are willing to work at it and compromise.

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

I’ve started the next book in this series. I call it by the heroine’s name, Damaris, because it doesn’t have a title yet. Both the hero, Nate, and the heroine, Damaris, have been in several other books and I’m having a lot of fun writing their story. Damaris is a cowgirl—she’s co-owner of the Walker Paints with her brothers. Nate is an airplane pilot at Devil’s Rock airport. The two have been friends for a long time but that’s about to change.
After that are two more Texas True stories of the remaining Walker siblings. All three will be out in 2022.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An ebook copy of Texas Made & 3 Tule ebooks

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Excerpt from Texas Made:

Marshall Walker might drive a 4X4 Dodge Ram pickup truck but he’d fantasized about having a Corvette more times than he could count. In front of the cottage that was back behind the barn on the Walker ranch sat a fire-engine red beauty, in perfect condition, and he’d bet it ran like a fire on steroids. It sure didn’t belong to their new ranch manager, Ella Slade. She drove an older model pickup. Plus, she’d moved out of the cottage recently to live with his brother Chase at the big house until their own house was finished.
“Whose red Corvette is parked by the cottage?” Marshall asked his sister Damaris, who was grooming her mare, Cinnamon.
Damaris looked at him over the mare’s back. “Oh, that’s Jaclyn’s. I told you she was going to stay with us for a while, didn’t I?”
“No.” If she had, he hadn’t been paying attention. “Jaclyn who?”
Damaris looked exasperated. “Jaclyn Carson. You know, my friend from college.”
Jaclyn Carson? He hadn’t seen her in years, not since she was nineteen. She’d been a pretty girl, a model, Damaris had said. But she was his baby sister’s age. Which had made her too young and definitely off-limits. Then. “Jack’s staying here?”
“Jaclyn,” Damaris said, emphasizing the name, “is going to live with us until her condo is ready. The whole complex is being redone and she needs a place to stay.”
“For how long?”
“Until her place is finished.”
That was informative. “I thought she lived in Dallas?”
“She does. But she needs a change of scene and we decided she should come here. She can work from here when she needs to.”
“She makes lipstick or something,” he remembered. “Why can’t she stay at a hotel in Dallas?”
“Because she’s staying here, in the cottage behind the barn,” Damaris said impatiently. “And FYI she’s the owner and CEO of a very successful makeup company. It’s called Divinity.”
“I thought that was candy.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Damn, of course he remembered Jaclyn. She’d kissed him, once, when she was nineteen and he was twenty-four, which was also why there had only been one kiss. But that one kiss had been hotter than most of the ones he’d had before or after. And Marshall had kissed a lot of women.
“Here she comes now. Be nice,” Damaris said. “Jaclyn, you remember Marshall, don’t you?”
He kind of hoped she wasn’t as pretty as he remembered since he didn’t need the distraction. Then he turned around and saw her. She wasn’t pretty. She was absofreakinlutely gorgeous. Long, tousled blonde hair, clear green eyes set under dark brows and lashes, a perfect nose, and the most luscious, kissable lips he’d ever seen, painted as red as her Corvette. Holy shit, he was in trouble.
“Of course. Hello, Marshall. It’s good to see you again.” Her voice was sultry as summer, a smooth, silky contralto. She held out her hand and he took it. Her skin was soft but her handshake was firm.
She wasn’t nineteen anymore. This was a woman. A self-possessed, beautiful woman who could slay a man with a look—and knew it. She threw him off-balance. Women never rocked him like one look at Jaclyn Carson had done. He didn’t like it. He said, “Hi, Jack. Likewise.” Likewise? Had he really said likewise?
“Smooth as ever, I see.” She gave him a wintry smile and added, “Call me Jaclyn.”
She hadn’t liked the nickname at eighteen or nineteen and it didn’t seem as if she liked it any better now. Good. This woman had trouble with a capital T written all over her.
“Sure, Jaclyn,” he said, releasing her hand.
Damaris, who was a damn sight too observant, said, “We could use some help with Jaclyn’s stuff. If you’re not too busy.” The look in her eyes said he’d better not be.
Hell, he wasn’t scared of his little sister. Even if she did have ways to make him pay.
On second thought, he’d been on the receiving end of Damaris being pissed and it was definitely to be avoided.
How bad could it be? Since she’d be living with them, he’d have to be around Jaclyn so he might as well start now. Treat her like he did Damaris. That was the ticket.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. He didn’t, in any way, shape, or form, think of Jaclyn Carson the same way he did his sisters.

Damn it, Marshall Walker looked every bit as mouthwateringly tempting as he had years ago, when she was in college. The least he could do was have a potbelly, but no, he was every inch a lean, hardworking, sexy-as-sin cowboy.
His dark wavy hair was medium length, a little shaggy, like he needed a haircut. He had the same gray eyes, which she assumed still darkened or lightened with his mood. Perfectly sculptured features. Strong and manly. He hadn’t shaved, which only seemed to accent his good looks. Odd, since she preferred men to be clean-shaven. Which nowadays was pretty damn hard to find.
He was still single and, according to Damaris, there wasn’t a girlfriend in the picture either. Did that give her ideas? Yes, of course it did. She’d had ideas about Marshall since her college days, whenever she went home with Damaris.
Here she was again, trying out country life. Lord knows she wasn’t cut out for it. Her idea of hard work was an all-day board meeting or reading through results of human testing on new products. Trying to decide whether to expand the makeup business or start a new product line, and if so, where. Those were all hard work.
Shoveling out horse shit was nowhere on her list. She liked horses. Horse shit, not so much. She had liked riding when she was younger and had visited Damaris. But she hadn’t been on a horse since. Of course, Damaris had said they’d soon change that. She’d brought a pair of boots with her, but they weren’t cowboy boots. Maybe she’d go into town and check out the Kelly Boots store. She loved footwear and Kelly Boots were famous for a reason.
As for all the other tasks running a horse farm involved, Jaclyn wouldn’t have a clue where to start. Which was just fine with her. She wasn’t interested in the ranch. Only the rancher. Marshall Walker, who she’d had a crush on since she was eighteen years old, and Damaris had taken her down to the corral to watch Marshall putting one of the horses through his paces. She’d thought he looked amazing on the horse’s back. Then he’d dismounted and walked over to meet her.
She’d been dumbstruck. He was everything she’d imagined wanting in a man. He was definitely a man and not a boy, which only made him more desirable in her mind. And he looked at her in exactly the same way he did his sister.
Marshall hadn’t known she was alive. Not until the following summer when she’d kissed him. He’d kissed her back and totally blown her mind. But then he’d let go of her, muttered something about ‘too young’ and had made sure he wasn’t alone with her for the rest of her visit.
She hadn’t spent the intervening years mooning over the man, but she admitted to thinking about him from time to time and wondering if she’d respond the same way now as she had then. Well, she had her answer. Hell, yes.
Marshall, Jaclyn decided, was a damn sight too sure of himself. Wouldn’t it be fun to befuddle him as he’d done to her? Wouldn’t it be even more satisfying to discover just what kind of lover Marshall Walker would be?
But what if she actually fell for him? Fell, as in want to be with forever? That would be a disaster even if he felt the same way. Even more so if he felt the same. Because Marshall was firmly country and she was firmly city and never was that twain going to meet.
There were other men around Whiskey River. Men, she was certain, she wouldn’t be in danger of actually falling for. Or here was a thought. What did she need with a man? Beyond the obvious of course. She’d done without before. In fact, had been doing so ever since her last boyfriend had broken up with her.
Jaclyn hadn’t brought a lot of stuff with her. But then, not a lot would fit in her car. She had her computer, a printer, a suitcase with clothes, another suitcase with cosmetics, some that she usually wore and some experimental, a box with the ingredients for a new lipstick and new eye shadow she was experimenting with, and a file folder box full of what she deemed essential papers. Of course, she had everything on the computer but she liked having a paper copy for backup as well.
She knew she’d have to make a few trips to Dallas to take care of things in person, but most of her business could be done via video conferencing. At least until her condo was ready, but she didn’t know how long that would be. Her COO, Rachel Moore, was in Dallas, handling the day-to-day operations, and she reported to Jaclyn frequently. Besides being her COO, Rachel was one of her best friends and she trusted her implicitly. All in all, Jaclyn thought she should have plenty of time to relax and have fun with Damaris.
Jaclyn was a bit of a workaholic. Okay, make that a lot. Which Damaris knew and was one reason her friend had talked her into coming to Whiskey River. And maybe her friend was right and it was time she took a break and had some fun.
With Marshall? She’d have to see. She knew one thing though. He was entirely too tempting for her peace of mind.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

When pure country meets pure city…

Rancher Marshall Walker isn’t looking for a woman—not permanently, anyway. He’s plenty busy raising beautiful Walker paint horses that are in high demand across Texas. But when his sister’s gorgeous friend arrives for an extended visit, he’s not opposed to exploring what could happen. He knows his heart is safe—Jaclyn Carson is a city girl, and he’s country through and through.

Jaclyn isn’t looking for a man, either. Owner and CEO of her own makeup company, she doesn’t have any desire to relax or slow down. With her condo under extensive renovations, she takes up her friend’s offer to stay at her family’s Texas ranch. Jaclyn’s more than a little curious to catch a glimpse of her not-so-secret college crush, and Marshall is hotter than ever. And his proposition—a steamy but very temporary affair—sounds like a fantasy come true.

What happens when two opposites fall in love? Can they meet in the middle or will they go their separate ways, even if it means breaking their hearts?

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Meet the Author:

Eve Gaddy is the award winning, national bestselling author of forty novels. Her books have sold over a million copies and been published in many countries and several languages. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, romantic mystery, and a bit of paranormal romance as well.

Eve’s books have won and been nominated for awards from Romantic Times, Golden Quill, Bookseller’s Best, Holt Medallion, Daphne Du Maurier and many more. Eve was awarded the 2008 Romantic Times Career Achievement award for Series Storyteller of the year, and was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Innovative Series romance. She loves her family, books, electronics, the mountains, and East Texas in the spring and fall. She also loves a happy ending. That’s why she writes romance.
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