Carolyn Brown - Red’s Hot Cowboy + Contest

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Enter to win one of two copies of Red’s Hot Cowboy!

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From the Desk of Carolyn Brown!

Good mornin’ everyone!

It’s great to make a stop here on my blog tour for Red’s Hot Cowboy, the new cowboy romance book in the Spikes & Spurs series that hit the bookshelves this month.

Following on the coat tails of Love Drunk Cowboy which came out in May, Red’s Hot Cowboy is Pearl and Wil’s story. Wil is Rye’s best friend and Pearl was a child hood friend of Austin’s who y’all met in Love Drunk Cowboy. It was inevitable that they’d meet eventually after Pearl left her spike heels behind and started running the old vintage motel her Aunt bequeathed to her. But fate stepped in and they met a lot quicker than they might have at a holiday party or a Sunday dinner.

Isn’t that the way things often happen? Life gets in the way of the best laid plans. And talking about life, Pearl’s aunt’s favorite saying was: Life is faith, hope and chaos. Lean real heavy on that chaos and you’ve got Red’s Hot Cowboy!

Someone asked me if art imitates life, if any of my characters are based on people I really know and if I draw specific scenes from things that have really happened.

Answer: Yes, yes, and yes, ma’am!

Art is life. Without life in a picture, it’s flat and doesn’t appeal to the eye. Add light, whether it’s from the moon, the stars or the bright sunlight and the picture comes to life. Same with characters. Breathe some life into them and the reader begins to identify with them, to see quirks and mannerisms that make them three dimensional. Pearl has a temper and she’s pretty aggravated that Wil made a comment about her not being able to hold her liquor.

Despite what experts said, some small people could definitely hold their liquor better than big people. Aunt Katy said it had to do with the boobs. It all went in there before it hit the brain so Pearl could hold a hell of a lot more than it looked like she could.

“It is not a challenge. It is a fact. Don’t push it and you won’t get embarrassed.”

Wil chuckled. “It’s not a fact until it’s proven. You want to prove it?”

“Any time, cowboy!”

Does that give Pearl to life for you? Does it remind you of someone you know?

I get fan letters every week asking me if I knew Aunt So-and-so or if I’d met their cousin, Somebody, because one of my characters was that person all over again. And I’m so grateful that they know someone so real who reminds them of one of my characters. So yes, art imitates life!

Do I or have I ever based characters on people I really know or have known? Just like the front of the book says, they are all fictional. However, there was that swagger in a cowboy’s walk at McDonald’s out in the Texas panhandle that I used for Wil’s strut in Red’s Hot Cowboy. There was the way Maddie opened up her house for everyone on holidays like my momma did. And the way that Grandpa O’Malley wore overalls like my step dad used to. It’s adding those little bits of light that breathe life into a character and make him real.

There is no end to real things that become scenes or the idea for scenes in books. For instance, Wil is a proud cowboy who doesn’t like owing anyone. Even though his arrest is a case of mistaken identity, he wants to repay Pearl for taking the time to drive forty miles to give him an alibi and then giving him a ride home. How does a cowboy do that when she flat out refuses to go to dinner with him? Then I remembered one of the nicest things Husband (that’d be the man I’ve been married to too many years to count on my fingers and toes) ever did for me was clean the house while I got one more chapter written. So Wil helped clean rooms at the motel!

“You clean?” She asked.

“I have a house. Cleaning rooms couldn’t be that much different. You scrub the bathroom, vacuum the floor and do some dusting.”

“Why?”

“Because my house gets dirty.”

“No why are you here?”

“I don’t like to owe people. You won’t let me take you to dinner so I’m here to help clean rooms.”

She blinked three times and he didn’t disappear but surely she’d heard him wrong. Men did not offer to clean. In her experience it took an act of God to get them to pick up their dirty socks and actually put them inside the hamper instead of tossing them at it. And forget about them ever offering to scrub a bathroom. There was no way Wil had just offered to scrub bathrooms. Not with his looks and sex appeal. It wasn’t possible.

“So?” He asked impatiently.

“I’m thinking. Don’t rush me.”

“You really ought to hire some help. If you had a cleaning lady you could be catching a nap after that horrible night you just had.”

“I don’t need your advice but I will take your help.” What do you think? Does art imitate life? Does a hot cowboy romance remind you of someone you know or would like to know? Based on the two short excerpts, are you beginning to know Wil and Pearl? Would you like to get to know them better?

RED’S HOT COWBOY BY CAROLYN BROWN – IN STORES AUGUST 2011

He wasn’t looking for trouble…

But when the cops are knocking on your door, trouble’s definitely found you. And this is where Wil Marshal finds himself after checking into the Longhorn Inn. It could be all a big mistake, but Wil’s not getting much sleep. Then the motel owner—who is drop dead gorgeous and feisty to boot—saves him from an even worse night behind bars. Now he owes her one, bit time… But trouble comes in all shapes and sizes…

Pearl never wanted that run-down motel, but her aunt didn’t leave her much choice. And then this steaming hot cowboy shows up looking for a place to rest. Next thing she knows, she wants to offer him more than just room service. But if he calls her Red one more time, he won’t be the only one accused of murder…

Sparks are definitely flying and before long, the Do Not Disturb sign might be swinging from the door…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Carolyn Brown has published fifty two books in the past fourteen years. They have been translated into nine languages; fourteen have been republished in large print and two will be reissued in manga format. Born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma, Carolyn and her husband now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma. Carolyn’s next book, Darn Good Cowboy Christmas will be in stores in October 2011, followed by One Hot Cowboy Wedding in April 2012. For more information, please visit www.carolynlbrown.com.

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