Honky Tonk Hearts Guests by Lauri Robinson

www.laurirobinson.blogspot.com

In May I introduced you to a couple of author’s from The Wild Rose Press and their Honky Tonk Hearts Series. The books in this series are centered around the Lonesome Steer Honky Tonk located near Amarillo, Texas ran by Gus Rankin, and come in all heat levels. Books released in the Honky TonkHearts Series so far include: 

Honky Tonk Man by Sylvie Kaye

Nothing but Trouble by Jannine Gallant

Sing to Me, Cowboy by Lauri Robinson

Those Violet Eyes by Vonnie Davis

The Morning After by Brenda Whiteside

Lauri: Today I welcome Stacy Dawn and Brenda Whiteside to Cowboy Kisses and there will be prizes, so be sure to leave a comment! Thanks for being here, Ladies. Let's start with you each sharing a bit about yourselves.

Stacy: I live out in the country in Southern Ontario Canada and can see Lake Ontario from my office window (very inspiring).  I’m excited to be currently writing the round up stories for the Honky Tonk Hearts series about the main characters of the Lonesome Steer Honky Tonk.  I’ve been writing for many years and have over twenty published stories in both short and full lengths including my Noelle series about the eccentrically hilarious Christmas town.  You can find out more about my stories at www.stacydawn.com and I love hearing from readers and writers at stacy@stacydawn.com

Lauri: Wow, your view sounds very inspiring, Stacy. I’ve been to Canada a few times, and know how beautiful the countryside is.  

Now, we’ll hear from Brenda.

Brenda: Thanks so much for having me today, Lauri. I love the name of your blog – Cowboy Kisses! I grew up in Arizona so there were plenty of cowboys and dreams of their kisses.  I intended on becoming an artist and never took my love of writing seriously. Then one day, sometime after college, after marriage and after I had my son, I found more satisfaction filling a blank page with words than an empty canvas with color. After publishing several short stories, I turned to writing novels. My husband and I recently moved to prairie country in Arizona and are enjoying the wide-open spaces while tending fruit trees and veggie gardens. When I’m not at my laptop writing, I enjoy hiking, motorcycle riding and the company of good friends.

Visit Brenda at www.brendawhiteside.com.

Or on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/brendawhitesid2

Group blogs on the 9^th and 24^th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com

Personal blog http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/

Lauri: Thanks to you, Brenda, for joining us. I was in Arizona last summer. I left with a sunburn. :)  Let’s have both of you tell us about your books in the series, and your characters.

Stacy: My first story is currently in edits and involves Marshall Dekes, one of the bartenders at the Lonesome Steer.  The story is titled, Lonesome Cowboy: With a title under his belt, a purse in the bank and a ring in his pocket, Marshall Dekes returned for the woman he loved...only to find her at the alter saying 'I do' to another man.

Lauri: Oh, my. I’ll be downloading that one for sure!

Brenda, I know your story was just released, on the 4^th of July no less!

Brenda: Yes, it was. I had a big bang of my own with that release date! My novella is The Morning After. Abigail’s biological clock is ticking. Bobby Stockwood has been married a couple of times but never found true love. I think my blurb does a good job of summing up the story and the characters:

Can there really be love at first sight?

Abigail Martin doesn’t think so. Unless the sexy redheaded stranger she wakes up with the morning after her best friend’s wedding is telling the truth.

Bobby Stockwood fell cowboy-hat-over-boot-heels for the brown-haired beauty, and married her in an impromptu wedding ceremony.  Now he just has to convince his new bride that the morning after can be the first day of the rest of their lives.

But just when Abigail starts believing the fairy-tale is real, she finds out exactly who Bobby is, and the walls of make-believe start crumbling down.

Lauri:  There’s nothing like a good love at first sight story! I’m so anxious to find the time to read The Morning After!

Stacy and Brenda, tell us what you like best about your stories.

Stacy: I love that Lonesome Cowboy is a second chance story.  So many people have that love that they can’t forget or that goes wrong but never goes away.  This was my chance to give a happy ending to two of those people.

Brenda: The Morning After is fun! And full of misunderstandings, which is all part of the fun, for the reader anyway. Abigail doesn’t always see the humor.

Lauri: Second chances and misunderstandings, I’d say both stories have what readers look for. Give us some excerpts! (They can include a cowboy kiss if you’d like.)

Stacy: A cowboy kiss…

“Then we wouldn't have known the truth; we would have continued to believe the untruths, the falsehoods.  You never would have come back…and I wouldn't have ever gotten another chance to do this.”

His hand wove beneath her hair at her nape, pulling her forward until his lips sealed his words.  It was if the earth dropped from beneath her feet, the memory of his lips so pure, so vivid, so all consuming he suspended her in time, as if she had been in a drought and he was the water of life. Two years closed together and she almost cried out for the need she had suppressed for so long. 

The warm lips, slow and sweet at first, became strong and demanding, as if he too needed her to survive.  The realization was empowering and she clasped his shirtfront, unwilling to let even a breath of air come between them.

 

Brenda: A cowboy kiss the night before resulted in the morning after:

A moan.

The man rolled to his back, kicking off covers.

Abigail gasped. Her gentleman visitor wore only a bow tie and black socks.

She crept to the edge of the bed. His face was turned away, further hidden by red curls hanging down the nape of his neck and onto his cheek. A visual sweep of the attractive body brought a smile to her face when she paused on his more than ample endowments. A true redhead. An encounter of this magnitude should be easy to remember.

Abigail smiled in spite of her throbbing temples. Inching closer, she nudged his boots aside with her foot and leaned over to see his face. Mmm. He smelled good, like rich leather and fresh cut wood. As she bent to get a closer look, Kirby, her sixteen-pound Siamese cat, entered her room and announced his hunger.

The visitor stirred, grasped her arm, drawing her down across his hips.

He rose up on his elbows and looked at her. “So, Abby, you’re a morning person, are you?”

Abigail launched off the bed, trying not to come into contact with anymore of the warm body than she already had. Tripping over the boots, she ended up sprawled on the floor. “Who…” She gulped. “Who the hell are you?”

Lauri: Fabulous excerpts!  Please tell what/where you’ll be next promoting your book or other books you have coming out.

Stacy: Next up to release before Lonesome Cowboy is One Starlit night coming out this September.  Another hot cowboy…this time with a guitar LOL.  Then after Marshall’s story comes out, I will be working on the closing story to the series involving the Rankins, owners of the Lonesome Steer Honky Tonk. 

Thanks so much for having us today!  Again, readers can find me at www.stacydawn.com and most of my stories at www.thewildrosepress.com

Brenda: I’ve had quite a few blog stops already. All the books in the Honky Tonk Heart series are great reads, and we’ve all been making the rounds. Tomorrow I’m at Katherine Grey’s blog which is http://katherinegrey.blogspot.com. I’ve got some time coming up at The Romance Review and will have an interview at Coffee Time Romance and More in August. You can check out all my books on my web site, www.brendawhiteside.com.

Lauri: Thanks Brenda and Stacy, so much for being here today, and congrats on the awesome additions to this series. I’ll be hosting more Honky Tonk Hearts authors at Cowboy Kisses next month as well, August 7^th we’ll hear from Vonnie Davis and Sherri Thomas, and August 28^th Donna Michaels will be here.

Be sure to leave a comment to win an envelope full of Honky Tonk Hearts prizes!