Distracting the Deputy

I'm so excited to share about my upcoming release with you!

Distracting the Deputy is a sweet contemporary romance full of small-town charm, quirky characters, and cowboys that releases June 22! It also has a loony goat named Ethel, derelict old buildings getting a facelift, and a swoon-worthy romance between a deputy and a woman with a hidden past.

I had such a grand time writing about Knox Strickland (our upstanding, salt-of-the-earth deputy) and Zadie Redmond, an outdoor adventure guide who teaches ballet and music lessons on the side.

Trouble is coming, but for whom?

When he’s not evading grabby-handed octogenarians, mentoring troubled teens, or rescuing rascally youngsters from disaster, Deputy Knox Strickland can be found upholding the law in the eastern Oregon region he patrols. He avoids making plans for tomorrow, focusing instead on doing his best today. Then one chance encounter with a beautiful woman in a wheat field turns his world upside down. Knox is left questioning what secrets she’s hiding, and how hard he’ll have to work to scale the fortress she’s built around her heart.

Zadie Redmond isn’t like most women. A life spent looking over her shoulder has destroyed the promising future she’d once envisioned. Her days are spent leading hunting and fishing adventures or teaching tiny ballerinas the proper way to plié. She fills her evenings with do-it-yourself projects while worrying about the day her past catches up with her. In an unexpected moment, the local deputy swoops into her world like a storybook hero and she knows nothing will ever be the same. Zadie will do anything to keep Knox safe from the danger lurking in the shadows, even if it destroys her chance at love.

Will Knox convince Zadie she can trust him with her secrets and her heart?

“You mean you willingly got in a car with Mrs. Dunigan?”

“Reluctantly is a better word. And I made Mrs. Finley promise she wouldn’t let Mrs. Dunigan sit in the front seat. The old flirt sat behind me and kept running her fingers across my neck and squeezing my shoulders the whole time I was driving. That woman is a menace. She’s lucky I don’t file a restraining order against her. The way she was touching me, freaking me out, it’s a good thing I didn’t run Mrs. Finley’s car into a snowbank.”

“Oh, you’d be dead if you did that. Mrs. Finley and her friends would clobber you to death with those fifty-pound handbags they carry, or, at the very least, pool their funds to hire a hit man to take you out for committing such an atrocious crime.”

The book includes a Reader’s Guide, perfect for book club discussions.

For a limited time, the eBook pre-order is available at the discounted price of just $2.99.

Purchase today on:

Amazon | B&N | Apple | Kobo

Add to Goodreads

Everyone who pre-orders the book can claim a special Bonus Bundle. Just go to this link, enter your info, and you'll receive an email with bonus content that includes a short story about Knox, a special Zadie-approved recipe, and some other fun goodies! Enjoy!

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, this hopeless romantic is out to make it happen, one story at a time. When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Rescuing the Rancher

by Shanna Hatfield

Later this month, I'll release the second sweet romance in my new Summer Creek series. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this story because the rancher in the book is a tough-as-nails woman named Jossy.

When I began developing Jossy's character, I drew a lot of inspiration from someone I've known since I was nine.

Miss Molly was always been full of sass and life and a go get 'em attitude. She can shoe a horse, fix a pickup, drive a tractor, dig a ditch, and then lovingly rock a baby to sleep.  When I think of a hardworking ranch woman, she always comes to mind.

I so admire women who can work like Miss Molly. I'd be dog tired by breakfast if I tried to keep up with her, and comatose by lunchtime. Women ranchers possess a stamina and drive that is hard to emulate let alone describe. 

So that's why, when I wrote about Jossy, I fashioned her determination, her vibrant zest for life, and her strength after Miss Molly. 

In Rescuing the Rancher, Jossy Jansen is a widow who is determined to remain single. 

Then a handsome attorney from Portland shows up in Summer Creek to help with the town's historic building project, and Jossy knows she's in trouble. Big trouble. Which is exactly why she goes out of her way to make sure Nathaniel Knight knows his presence is not wanted around the Lazy J Ranch. 

I thought it might be fun to share a few little snippets from the book with you today. I hope you enjoy meeting Jossy and Nate!

“Have you lost your mind? I’m the last person in the world you want to take with you to do girly stuff in Portland. Your mother and her society friends would leave me staked in the backyard like a feral beast and call animal control to pick me up.”

Her emotions felt like someone had poured them into Grammy’s big blender and set it on purée from the moment she’d first set eyes on the slick city dweller. 

Her hero has arrived

Even if she doesn’t realize it . . . yet

Widow Jossy Jansen intimidates people, mostly by accident. After all, her soon-to-be sister-in-law refers to her as a cowboy version of Wonder Woman. Jossy can’t help it if she’s strong, capable, and bursting with restless energy. Never one who needed a man to rescue her, Jossy struggles with her feelings for an unlikely knight dressed in Armani.

Life as a corporate attorney has left Nathaniel Knight overworked, stressed, and going soft. He hardly recognizes the person he’s become. When his father insists he help out the small community of Summer Creek, Nate dreads spending time so far from civilization. Then he tangles with a rancher far too stubborn for her own good and far too lovely for his.

Can Nate convince Jossy he’s more than just a city boy out of his element?

The book is available for pre-order for just $2.99 through July 29! Find out more on my website or order your copy today:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Apple | Kobo

 USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

Website | Facebook | Newsletter | BookBub | Pinterest | Goodreads

Building a New World

by Shanna Hatfield

Sometimes, when life is less than ideal, it's pretty neat to be able to forgot about reality for a little while and create my own world.

Which is exactly what I've been doing the past weeks as I crafted the setting for a whole new series I'm writing.

Summer Creek is the town and name of the series (and also name of the ranch in the first book in the series). It is a tiny community (population less than 500), and it has plenty of flaws, but it's home to the hero of the first book and a host of quirky, fun, fascinating characters.

Although the town isn't base on one specific town, I did draw inspiration for it from the town closest to our farm during my childhood years as well as a town located near us.

They both are small. They both have run-down historical buildings with great bones that make me always wonder "what if" each time I drive past them. They both have hung in there despite economic challenges. 

So they seemed perfect to blend together and add in a mixture of my own imaginative thoughts to create Summer Creek.

Summer Creek  is a place that needs a boost, but it's also a place of hope. A place to escape. A place where those who are lost can find themselves. 

Which is exactly what Emery Brighton, our heroine, does. 

She’s fresh out of jail . . .

   He’s fresh out of luck.

Spoiled heiress Emery Brighton indulges in one mimosa too many, attempts to steal a horse, and winds up in jail. A sentence of community service leaves her at the mercy of strangers on a remote ranch near a small town in Oregon. Adjusting to country life is hard enough, but she has no idea how to handle her growing affection for a surly cowboy and his adorable daughter.

Steady and dependable as the day is long, rancher Hudson Cole just wants to raise his little girl and be left alone. When his grandmother invites a lawbreaker dressed in Louis Vuitton to Summer Creek Ranch, Hud is convinced Grammy has lost her ever-loving mind. Determined to detest Emery, he instead finds himself doing the one thing he vowed would never happen again: falling in love.  

With one foot out the door, will love be enough to convince Emery to stay?

This sweet romance offers a funny, delightful happily ever after adventure in a quirky small town. Discover a meandering goat named Ethel, meddling matchmakers, and a community that feels like home in a story filled with heart, humor, and hope in Catching the Cowboy.

The book is available for preorders now at the special price of just $1.99 and releases June 9!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Newsletter | BookBub | Pinterest