When a Cowboy Loves a Woman by Jennie Marts – Spotlight and Giveaway

March 26, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Jennie Marts who is celebrating the upcoming release of When a Cowboy Loves a Woman, the second book in her Creedence Horse Rescue series. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win 1 of 5 copies of A Cowboy State of Mind to celebrate this release.

They both know the pain of loss and how to protect their hearts…but fate has a way of stepping in…

When a kitchen fire forces young widow Elle Brooks to move in with her friend Bryn and her motley collection of rescue animals, she doesn’t foresee ending up in the muscled arms of handsome cowboy and veterinarian Brody Tate. But she can’t deny the feelings that being close to Brody are stirring in her. Spending time with the hunky cowboy and his adorable young daughter as they rehabilitate rescued horses reminds Elle of all she lost in a car crash years ago.

As a widower himself, Brody is devoted to being a good dad for his spirited daughter. He hasn’t let romance even enter his head. But now he’s met Elle. Spending time with her is shaking up the calm he’s worked so hard to achieve, and he can’t seem to get this woman off his mind.

Elle and Brody have both lost people they loved, but their mutual attraction and growing feelings are too strong to ignore. The hope of a future together is a beautiful possibility, but can these two wounded souls take a chance on each other and find the courage to love again?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Everything hurts, thought Elle Brooks as she sank lower in the bathtub. Her back and shoulders ached from carrying bales of hay and brushing the horses that morning at the Heaven Can Wait Horse Rescue, where she volunteered. Although she preferred the physical labor over the headache she got from spending the afternoon with her financial advisor, going over the trust and through her finances. Between his company and his considerable life insurance policy, her beloved Ryan had left her with a substantial amount of money. But she’d give it all away for one more day with him.

She pushed a bubbly pile of suds across the spacious garden bathtub as the final strains of one of her favorite Pink songs faded in her ears. Usually the pop star’s music could energize her, but tonight she felt more like a sinking stone than any kind of rock star. With a sigh, she pushed the drain release with her toe and pulled the earbuds from her ears.

That’s when she heard the sirens.

Hair raised on the nape of her neck, and a chill that had nothing to do with the cooling bathwater raced up her spine. She slammed her eyes shut against the onslaught of memories. It had been over a year since Ryan died, but the images of the ambulance’s throbbing lights and the mournful sounds of the sirens were as vivid as if it had happened the day before.

She caught the first whiff of smoke as she heard the fire trucks pull up in front of her house. Water sloshed over the side as she stumbled to get out of the tub. Grabbing a towel, she scarcely had time to run it over her body before she heard the slam of her front door and raised voices.

Reaching for her pajamas, she pulled on the cotton shorts and wrenched the tank top over her head.

Move, her brain screamed. Get out.

The fabric clung to her damp skin as she snatched up her short robe and raced out of the bathroom. From the landing, she could see a flurry of men in yellow coats dragging a gray hose across the Italian marble of her foyer toward her kitchen.

She choked on the acrid smoke filling the air. There were no blazing flames, but the smoke scorched her throat, and she blinked against the sting of it to her eyes.

An older fireman caught sight of her. “You need to get out of the house, ma’am.”

Panic gripped her as she wildly looked around at the chaos invading her home. Then her gaze caught and held on the familiar eyes of the tall cowboy who’d just stepped into view. He was dressed in jeans and boots and a black Stetson hat, and the sight of his broad shoulders filling the doorway somehow grounded her.

She didn’t really know him—she’d briefly met him a few weeks ago. But that one time had shown his ability to stay calm and steady in a crisis situation. His name was Brody—Doctor Brody Tate. He was her best friend Bryn’s veterinarian. But why was a veterinarian at a house fire?

A plume of dark smoke billowed out of the kitchen, and Elle caught the distinct sound of the crackle of flames. She coughed, then turned around and ran back down the hallway.

She heard the older fireman’s voice yelling, “Get her out of here, Tate,” followed by the sound of cowboy boots sprinting up the stairs as she raced to the closed door at the end of the hall.
She pushed through, ignoring the rush of emotions that normally flooded her when she opened the door to the room decorated in pink-and-white stripes. A hand-knit pink blanket lay in the seat of the rocking chair. Elle grabbed it and clutched it to her chest. If she could only save one thing, it had to be this.

She turned back to see Brody in the doorway. He didn’t say anything, just reached for her hand and led her quickly back down the hallway.

They reached the top of the stairs, and she froze again at the commotion below—the rush of the firefighters’ feet, the commanding tone of their voices as they shouted orders, the pulsing flash of red lights against the white walls of her entryway.

Brody pulled at her hand, but she couldn’t move. He turned back and must have seen the panic in her eyes. His tone was soft as he swept her up, cradling her to him as if she weighed nothing at all. “It’s all right, darlin’. I’ve got you.”

She buried her face in his chest, clinging to him, as he carried her down the stairs and out the front door. Elle lifted her head and gulped at the fresh air.

“Is there anyone else in the house? Any pets?”

She shook her head. “No. Only me.”

“You remember me? We met a couple of weeks ago at Bryn’s?”

“Yes, I remember. But what are you doing here?” And why was she clutching his neck like he was a life preserver? A handsome, tall cowboy life preserver.

***

Excerpted from When a Cowboy Loves a Woman by Jennie Marts. © 2021 by Jennie Marts. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”

She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.

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Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Bookshop, BAM, or Books2Read.

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A Cowboy State of Mind by Jennie Marts

June 24, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Jennie Marts who is celebrating the upcoming release of the first book in her Creedence Horse Rescue series, A Cowboy State of Mind. Enter to 1 of 2 sets of the Cowboys of Creedence series.

The town of Creedence, Colorado, gets involved in horse rescue in bestseller Jennie Marts’ brilliant new series

Zane Taylor has a gift for communicating with animals, particularly horses, but he’s at a loss when it comes to women. He’s a scarred and battered loner who has sworn off love—except he can’t seem to stay away from Bryn Callahan.

Bryn Callahan has a heart for strays, as evidenced by the assembly of abandoned animals that have found their way to her doorstep. But she is through trying to save damaged men. She vows to date only nice guys, which is a category that does not include Zane Taylor. Too bad he’s the one who sets her pulse racing every time she’s around him.

A chance encounter with a horse headed for slaughter brings Zane and Bryn together. Although starting a horse rescue ranch wasn’t in the plan, now Zane and Bryn have a chance to save not just the animals, but maybe each other…

Enjoy an Excerpt

The still-nameless dog jumped into the cab as Zane Taylor opened the door of his pickup, and he absently patted its head and rubbed behind its ears. The dog leaned into him and got that blissed-out look on its face, and Zane’s tension eased a little as it always did when he interacted with an animal. The late spring sun warmed Zane’s back, and as soon as he turned his attention away from the dog, he felt the weight of the decision he bore on his shoulders. His former boss, Maggie, had been nagging him to come back to his old job on her Montana ranch. She’d taken in a herd of wild stallions, and she needed him. He’d gotten by so far with vague replies, but it was time to give her an answer. Time to get back on the road and out of Creedence. Except the reason he was so fired up to leave was also the reason he wasn’t ready to walk away.

He shrugged the soreness from his shoulders. He’d had a good morning with Rebel, the headstrong black stallion he’d been working with for weeks now. Maybe the horse could feel the warmth in the air as well. Although it was Colorado, so they could still get a snowstorm or two before spring reluctantly slid into summer.

“Nice job today, horse whisperer,” Logan Rivers, his current boss, and friend, hollered from the corral where he was putting another horse through the paces.

Zane waved a hand in his direction, ignoring the comment, as he turned the engine over and pulled the door shut. He wasn’t fond of the nickname, even though Logan had been using it since they were in high school and working summers at Logan’s family’s ranch.

Zane could admit grudgingly that he did have a gift with horses, especially the dangerous or wild ones, somehow connecting with the animals better than he ever did with people.

The black-and-white border collie mix rested her head on Zane’s leg, and he stroked her neck as he drove toward Creedence, where no one was a stranger and everyone knew not just your business, but your cousin’s as well.

He lowered the windows and turned on the radio, contemplating the errands he needed to run after he grabbed a plate of biscuits and gravy at the diner. The thought made his mouth water. So did the thought of hopefully seeing a certain blond waitress who had been taking up way too many of his thoughts these last few months.

He slowed, his brow furrowing, as he recognized that same waitress’s car sitting empty on the side of the road. The car was an old nondescript blue sedan, but there was no mistaking the colorful bumper stickers stuck to the trunk. A bright blue one read “What if the hokey-pokey really is what it’s all about?” and the hot-pink one above the back taillight read “It was me. I let the dogs out.”

His heart rate quickened as his gaze went from the empty vehicle to a hundred yards up the road, where a woman walked along the side of the highway, her ponytail bouncing with each step and a light-colored dog keeping pace at her heels. Which was pretty impressive, in and of itself, since the dog had only three legs.

But then, everything about Bryn Callahan was kind of bouncy, and she was just as impressive as her dog. The woman was always upbeat and positive. Even now, with her car sitting busted on the side of the road, her steps still seemed to spring, and the bright sunlight glinted off her blond hair.

He drove past the abandoned car and onto the dirt shoulder as he slowed to a stop beside her. “Need a ride?”

She turned, her expression wary, then her face broke into a grin, and it was like the sun shining through the clouds after a rainstorm.

“Hey, Zane,” she said, the smile reaching all the way into her voice as she grasped the door handle. She looked steadily into his eyes, her gaze never wavering, never sliding sideways to stare at the three-inch, jagged scar starting at the corner of his eye and slicing down his cheek. Most people couldn’t keep their eyes off it, but Bryn acted as if it wasn’t there at all. “I sure do. I was supposed to start my shift at the diner ten minutes ago.”

She opened the door, and the dog bounded in, hitting the floorboards, then springing onto the seat to wiggle and sniff noses with the border collie. They could have powered a wind farm, the way their tails were wagging and their little butts were shaking.

“Hey, Lucky.” He leaned in as the dog leapt over the collie’s back and into Zane’s lap, where it proceeded to drench his face in fevered licks and puppy kisses. Lucky was like a hyper three-legged Tigger as he bounced from Zane’s lap back to the collie, over to Bryn, and back to Zane.
“Lucky, get off him,” Bryn scolded. She tried to push her way into the truck as she got her own slobbery reception from the collie.

Zane chuckled and grabbed her hand to help her into the cab. But his laugh stuck in his throat as heat shot down his spine and his mouth went dry. He swallowed and tried to focus on assisting her, instead of staring at the area of bare skin he glimpsed as the top of her dress buckled and gaped from her movement. It was just the side of her neck, but it was the exact spot he’d spent too much time thinking about kissing.

“Silly mutts.” She laughed as she tossed her backpack on the floor and plopped into the seat. Her hand was soft, but her grip was solid, and for a moment, he wondered what would happen if he didn’t let go. “Wow, what a greeting,” she said, as she released his hand to buckle herself in.
Zane’s eyes were drawn to her legs like bees to honey. The woman had great legs, already tan, and muscular and shapely from her work at the diner. Her white cross-trainers were scuffed with the red dirt from the road, and she had a smudge of dust across one ankle that Zane was severely tempted to reach down and brush away so he could let his fingers linger on her skin.

Bryn wore a pink waitress dress, the kind that zips up the front, with a white collar and a little breast pocket, and the fabric hugged her curvy figure in all the right spots. For just a moment, Zane imagined pulling down that zipper—with his teeth. His back started to sweat just thinking about it.

Simmer down, man. He took a deep breath, utilizing the stress-reducing exercise he’d learned in the military, and tried to think of something witty to say. He didn’t usually let himself get carried away with those kinds of fantasies. But he didn’t usually have Bryn in his truck, filling his cab with the sound of her easy laughter and the scent of her skin—traces of honeysuckle and vanilla and the smell of fresh sheets off the line on a warm summer day.

“That dog is serious about kissing. I haven’t had that much action in months.” He winked, then laughed with her, pulling his hand back to ruffle Lucky’s ears as the dog settled into the seat next to the collie. He tried to play it off like a joke, to settle his pounding heart, when what he really wanted to do was pull her into his lap and kiss her face and throat the way Lucky had done to him. Well, not exactly the same way.

Bryn snorted and scratched the ears of the collie, who was softly whining as she pressed into Bryn’s shoulder. “He’s just happy to see you. It’s been a while, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know.” It had, in fact, been months since he’d seen her.

“Well, Lucky has noticed you haven’t been around much.” She dropped her gaze and her voice as she focused on petting the dog. “We both have.”

Both?

“Are you saying you missed me?”

“I didn’t say missed. I said noticed.”

His shoulders slumped. Of course she hadn’t missed him.

She playfully nudged his elbow, and he felt the heat of her skin against his arm.

“Of course I missed you. You all but disappeared after the great Christmas pie bake-off in December.”

He chuckled as he shook his head. “I still can’t believe we made fifteen pies in four hours.”

“I still can’t believe you wore a frilly apron with a glittery cupcake on the front.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What other kind of cupcake is there? And I liked that glittery color. I’m thinking of having it added to the paint job on my truck.”

A laugh burst from her. “I dare you to.”

He let his voice drop and offered her what he hoped was a flirtatious grin. “I do enjoy a good dare.”

She chuckled, then lowered her gaze to the dog’s shoulder, where she scratched its fur. “So, why didn’t I hear from you? Was it something I said or did?”

Yeah, it was everything you did—everything that made me want and hope and wish for something more. “Nah. I was going to call you, but we got real busy at the ranch. Then I heard you started dating some rough-stock cowboy, and I didn’t want to overstep.”

“Is it overstepping to be my friend?”

He cocked his head, eyeing her. “Is that what you want me to be? Your friend?”

“Of course. I didn’t give you my number for you to not call me.”

Wrong question, dumbass. Should have asked her if all she wanted was to be his friend. He offered her a shrug. “I’m not much of a talker.”

“That’s perfect. Because I can talk up a blue streak, and I’m always on the lookout for a good listener.”

He chuckled. “I can do that. I can probably even throw in an occasional grunt of agreement just so you know I’m paying attention.”

She giggled softly, and the sound swirled in his chest, melting into him like molasses on a warm pancake. “That sounds great.”

***
Excerpted from Cowboy State of Mind by Jennie Marts. © 2020 by Jennie Marts. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author:Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page

Buy the book at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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2019 Casa Christmas Blog Tour – Guest Blog and Giveaway

November 27, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Casa authors who are letting us know their thoughts about Christmas. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a winter reading survival kit.

Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? To celebrate, we asked the authors of our 2019 Christmas titles to answer some fun, wintry and Christmas themed questions!

Fall in love this Christmas and be sure to read:

  • Longing for a Cowboy Christmas by Leigh Greenwood, Rosanne Bittner, Linda Broday, Margaret Brownley, Anna Schmidt, and Amy Sandas
  • Wish Upon a Cowboy by Jennie Marts
  • Cowboy Christmas Kiss by Kim Redford
  • Cowboy Christmas Homecoming by June Faver
  • A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase
  • Puppy Christmas by Lucy Gilmore
  • Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays by Terry Spear

 

Keep reading to get in the Christmas spirit and check out the books over at Romance Reads!

 

***

 

What’s the best part about writing a Christmas book?

Rosanne Bittner:        The best part about writing a Christmas story is that it takes me into that “miracle” mood that seems to be a part of the Christmas holiday. I always try to include some kind of little miracle in my stories. In last year’s anthology, Christmas In A Cowboy’s Arms, my story miracle was the healed awakening of an unconscious little girl. This year, in Longing for A Cowboy Christmas, my miracle surrounds the birth of a baby boy the mother wasn’t sure she could love.

Anna Schmidt:             For me the holidays are a magical time of sharing and giving and FORgiving. To be able to tell stories that convey those things is a gift in itself.

Jennie Marts:              Capturing all the magic of the Christmas season and giving it to both your characters and your readers as you create touches of that magic in the story.

June Faver:                   The absolutely best part of writing a Christmas book in Texas is that I’m wearing shorts, tank top and flip-flops while writing about slogging through the snow. It helps with the endless summer heat when my brain is hauling hay to cattle in the snow blanketed fields.

Kim Redford:               Magic! A larger-than-life theme that touches many lives always arises when I’m writing a Christmas book. In Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kiss, Fernando, the stolen bull, escapes and heads for home where an eight-year-old girl awaits him, hoping he’ll get there in time for Christmas. In A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas, troubleshooter Misty Reynolds arrives in time to help Trey Duval stop a brushfire, investigate a Christmas tree farm fire, and be dubbed his “Christmas Angel.”

Lucy Gilmore:              One of the best (and sneakiest) things for an author to do is put their own family traditions into the book. We all have our unique ways of celebrating and enjoying the holidays, many of which are passed down from generation to generation. By writing a Christmas book, I can share some of those traditions with the world, and you don’t even know I’m doing it!

Margaret Brownley: I always seem to be writing a Christmas book during the searing heat of summer. To get in the right mood, I try to imagine a reader curled up in front of a blazing fire, hot chocolate in hand and smiling as she reads my story. The image usually puts me in the Christmas spirit.  On the few occasions it fails to work, I stick my feet in a bucket of ice water.

Samantha Chase:       There is something about writing a Christmas book that just gives me joy from the first word to the last. I think it’s because everyone always seems happier during the holidays and that gets to be portrayed in the book. The plot doesn’t have to be quite so angsty – everything is lighter and sweeter and always ends with a Merry Christmas!

Terry Spear:                 I always end up having to write them during the hot Texas summers, so when I write a Christmas book, I look for Christmas recipes, make up pictures of wolves and snow, and cool myself down.

 

What is something you can’t live without during the holiday season?

Amy Sandas:                Cozy socks. I’m not much for slippers, but my feet are always cold so I love to warm them up with thick, super-soft socks.

Anna Schmidt:             Traditions from my childhood—my family was very into giving to others especially those who might not be blessed with family at that time of year so I love finding ways to shop and wrap and give to others.

Jennie Marts:              We have a tradition of our family going to the Candlelight Service at church on Christmas Eve then coming back to my house for homemade lasagna and my Christmas Butter Bundt cake. I wouldn’t want to miss any of this special night.

Lucy Gilmore:              My heated ice scraper for the car. Seriously. It snows a ton where I live, and we don’t have a garage, so having a quick, easy, and warm way to get the ice off the windows is like holiday magic.

Margaret Brownley: I couldn’t live without knowing the true meaning of Christmas and what we are celebrating. This keeps me from becoming overwhelmed by the commercial part and focused on the things that truly count.

Samantha Chase:       My decorations. We have a TON of Disney decorations we’ve collected over the years and I always look forward to taking them out and putting them all over the house.

Rosanne Bittner:        Something I can’t live without in the Christmas season is, of course, having my 3 grandsons over on Christmas Eve. They love my apple pie!

Terry Spear:                 Decorating for the holidays–a Christmas tree. I feel I’m in my own Christmas story, my home is now a holiday scene. It’s warm and the Christmas lights make it cheery and special mementos handed down from our family or that I’ve picked up in special places or from friends and family are brought out and cherished all over again.

 

What’s your favorite holiday or winter tradition?

Jennie Marts:              My two sons and I have a fun tradition of inviting the grandma’s over to our house on December 23rd to make all the Christmas cookies. We used to have the great grandmothers participate and those were great memories, and even though my sons are grown, we still do this tradition.

Linda Broday:               The candlelight service on Christmas Eve puts joy and thankfulness in my heart and I look forward to it each year. There’s something very moving about sitting in a church lit only by candles, singing Christmas hymns. The service brings such a sense of peace.

Lucy Gilmore:              I hate, hate, hate being cold, so winter can be a tough time for me. I’d stay inside all day, every day if I could. However, I also have two very large, very active Akitas who adore everything about the snow, so that’s not really a choice. One of my favorite traditions is taking the two of them to a nearby hiking spot as soon as we get fresh snow (which, to be fair, is most days). The cold matters a lot less the moment I see them prancing around and throwing the snow to each other. They’d probably love it if we moved to the Arctic year-round. (Sorry, dogs. That will never happen.)

Margaret Brownley: A favorite family tradition began by accident. When the children were small, I habitually bought Christmas presents throughout the year and hid them. The problem was, some presents were invariably forgotten until after Christmas.  One gloomy January, while organizing my closet, I found a set of cars I’d intended Santa to leave under the tree.  Not knowing how else to handle it, I entered the room where the boys were playing and announced, “Look what Santa left on the roof.”  This was a big hit and every year after that, Santa always left something on the roof.  The funny thing is that no one ever thought to ask what Mommy had been doing on the roof.

Terry Spear:                 Seeing the Nutcracker or some other play like that over the holidays.

 

What’s your favorite holiday memory?

Anna Schmidt:             Wrapping presents with my Dad—he always had us shop for him and then gathered us kids one night to wrap everything on his list for my Mom (usually 10-12 gifts). He wrote these wonderful cards to attach to each gift and there always was one small gift (usually jewelry) he hid in the tree.

Linda Broday:               What parent hasn’t worked hard on Christmas Eve putting toys together? I remember one Christmas when my husband and I tried for most of the night to assemble a bicycle for my oldest. We hunted and hunted for one important part and finally found it in the trunk of the car where it had fallen out of the box. Exhausted, we fell into bed and I still remember the warmth of his arms around me. We fell asleep whispering to each other. He passed away a few short years after that. But I can’t look at a bicycle without remembering that night.

Terry Spear:                 Having both kids and their spouses here for the holidays. That’s the best time ever.

 

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

Amy Sandas:                It’s gotta be a tie between Home Alone because it’s so nostalgic and fun for the whole family… or Die Hard (Yes, it is a Christmas movie!) which has become an annual tradition in our house.

Anna Schmidt:             The vintage version of A Christmas Carol w/ George C. Scott—he made the BEST Scrooge!!!

Jennie Marts:              The Santa Clause with Tim Allen. I love all three of them, and we watch at least one every year.

June Faver:                   I love, love, love Love, Actually. I can watch it over and over, and tear up every time. But, on the other hand, I also have to watch Die Hard. Is this why I write romantic suspense? Gotta have both.

Kim Redford:               It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) stars James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore. Frank Capra directed this film based on the short story, “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. Over the years, this magical tale of a man whose guardian angel shows him the true value of his life has become one of the most beloved holiday films. George Bailey (James Stewart) gave up his dreams to help his family and friends in his small home town and so always lived what he considered a small, unimportant life. When a financial disaster strikes, he turns suicidal until Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) arrives as his guardian angel to reveal all the lives George has touched in positive ways and how different the town of Bedford Falls would have been if he had not been born.

Linda Broday:               This is a little old-fashioned, but I always have to watch The Homecoming at least once. It was the first Walton’s episode about Christmas on Walton’s Mountain during the Depression. No matter how many times I watch it, I always get a lump in my throat at how little they had, yet they were a happy family, taking joy in just being alive and together. This has suspense when the father can’t get home and they fear he’s been killed in a bus accident. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without watching this.

Lucy Gilmore:              My go-to holiday movie every year is While You Were Sleeping. Granted, it’s not the most Christmas-y of Christmas movies, but I love everything about it. Never, in my wildest dreams, would I picture Bill Pullman as a romantic lead, but he absolutely sells it in this movie. Plus, the dinner scene with the family is SO MUCH like my own that I start giggling just thinking about.

Rosanne Bittner:        My favorite Christmas movie would have to be the original “Scrooge,” A Christmas Carol. But I also absolutely love the original Miracle on 34th Street.

Samantha Chase:       Um…The Christmas Cottage (based on my book!) of course!

Terry Spear:                 A Christmas Story. I loved how he wrote his Christmas wish list at school and he didn’t get the “A” he expected for such a brilliant piece of work. “You’ll shoot your eye out” comes to mind whenever I think of what he wanted for Christmas.

 

What’s your favorite holiday/winter song?

Anna Schmidt:             “The Christmas Song” or “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”

Jennie Marts:              “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Oh Holy Night” are probably my favorite Christmas carols. I love belting them out in church or when they come on the radio. When my second son was born, he had colic and I used to sing to him in the middle of the night, and I would often sing “O Come All Ye Faithful” because it was one of the few songs I knew all the words to.

June Faver:                   I have two favorite Christmas songs for totally different reasons. When I was in college I was a member of the Acapella Choir <alto> and one song we sang was so gorgeous with all the voices chiming in can still make me tear up: “Do You Hear What I Hear”

The other song is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. I think of all the people who are separated from loved ones at the holidays. That was why it was so important for me to write Cowboy Christmas Homecoming, to chronicle the return of a soldier to his home town and how he adjusts and settles in after the horrors of his deployment. It’s also a sequel in the Garrett family saga, so there are old friends to celebrate with him. And finally, it’s about an amazing heroine, based on a female firefighter friend of mine, who in effect, rescues the big strong and emotionally isolated hero. Love it.

Kim Redford:               “Pretty Paper” recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Willie Nelson. In downtown Fort Worth, Texas, a handicapped (pre artificial limbs) street peddler always had a smile on his face and a kind word on his lips when he sold pencils from a tin cup affixed to his back. At Christmas, he peddled paper and ribbons, calling out “pretty paper, pretty ribbons” to everyone who happened by. Willie Nelson lived in Fort Worth at the time and wrote this heartfelt song that is a lasting tribute.

Lucy Gilmore:              I love this question because my answer is always, always “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” I also hate this question because I can’t explain why I love it so much. I mean, it’s catchy and fun, but it’s also about a cartoon dog who takes down an enemy WWI pilot on Christmas Eve. What? I’ve decided there must be some deep childhood association with it that I can’t recall, but that leaves me with a happy feeling all the same.

Margaret Brownley: It’s not Christmas for me without seeing at least one production of The Nutcracker Suite. I love the music so much I wrote a story called The Nutcracker Bride.  I also wrote a story titled after another Christmas favorite: “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

One story I’ll never write is “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” This isn’t my favorite by any means, but it always makes me laugh. That’s because the first time I heard it, I had four grandchildren in the car, ages five to nine.  All at once they started singing it. It was the first time I’d heard the song and I honestly thought they’d made it up. I was shocked and that only added to the backseat giggles.

Samantha Chase:       “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey

Rosanne Bittner:        My favorite Christmas song is “White Christmas.”

Terry Spear:                 “Carol of the Bells” It’s like listening to angels’ music. It always makes me feel good.

 

What’s the best bookish holiday gift that’s not a book?

Kim Redford:               Throw a Holiday Book Exchange Party! You provide the comfy location in your home with tasty treats, delicious drinks, and cute little gifts like bookmarks. Your friends bring books they’ve read, loved, and want to exchange. What could be better for the holidays than reading books, talking books, and sharing books?

Linda Broday:               I love buying those collections of tea for all my author friends. Also, a variety of popcorn works nicely as well as warm booties or throws.

Lucy Gilmore:              My family excels at giving me bookish gifts that aren’t books, mostly because they know that books are my life and they can’t possibly keep track of everything I’ve read. My favorites are the alcohol-themed ones. I’ve gotten Writer’s Tears whiskey, Harlequin Romance wine, the Tequila Mockingbird cocktail book, and various literary wine stoppers. Books + booze = a win!

Samantha Chase:       Oh, there are so many, but something that I’ve seen that I love, are Christmas ornaments that are made from pages of a favorite book or even miniatures of a beloved book cover!

Terry Spear:                 A friend sent me a waterproof writing pad I could use when I have those miraculous scene ideas in the shower. lol

 

Do you have a go-to stocking stuffer?

Amy Sandas:                I always put gift cards to Barnes & Noble in my kids’ stockings. Then we go to the store together to pick out new books.

Rosanne Bittner:        This isn’t my favorite stocking-stuffer, but rather, it’s my GRANDSONS’ favorite stocking stuffer – MONEY! They are all in their teens, so no more toys and candy canes! They want that green stuff so they can buy gasoline. All 3 of them are now driving!

Terry Spear:                 Candy. Unfortunately, I don’t have a fireplace, the only thing I regretted about not having in the house I bought. I worried that Santa would be able to come when I don’t have one. I love decorating a mantle. It’s part of Christmas. Plus, they’re great if your electricity goes out in winter. But the advantage is that I can stuff all kinds of chocolate treats in stockings. No heat to melt them!

 

If you could travel anywhere this winter, where would you go?

Anna Schmidt:             Denmark…mostly because my next book is set there.

Jennie Marts:              My dream trip would be to go somewhere warm to a gorgeous beach and stay in one of those luxury bungalows out over the water and spend the days swimming, snorkeling, and reading.

June Faver:                   I’ve spent a lot of time at the Texas coast, so I am quite familiar with the term “Snow Birds.” These are people who live up north and become “Winter Texans.” Anyplace from Corpus Christi to South Padre Island, where there is a beautiful beach and gentle waves. I also love Mexican coastal areas. My freckles need sunshine and I need waves frizzling out over my bare feet as I walk along, looking for sand dollars.

Rosanne Bittner:        Hubby and I have been going to Nevada every winter for about 20 years now. We stay 2-3 months. We always stayed in our condo in Vegas, but we’ve sold that and this year we will go to Laughlin, NV, which is right on the beautiful Colorado River across from Arizona. My vacations are ALWAYS somewhere in America’s Great West. It’s what I love and almost the only thing I write about!

Terry Spear:                 Scotland. I love Scotland. I’ve traveled there in September and October, but I wouldn’t mind going there any time of the year. But I’d love to just stay there for a month and soak up the Scottish beauty and write.

 

What’s your go-to treat to take to the pot-luck holiday party?

Amy Sandas:                Sugared pecans! Such a simple snack but so, so yummy…especially when warm from the oven. We’re lucky if we make it to the party with half a batch left.

Anna Schmidt:             I make a dynamite chili, but if something less ‘entrée’ is called for, then how about a chocolate cheesecake???

Jennie Marts:              I like to take a crock-pot full of meatballs. The recipe is so easy: Mix an 18 oz jar of grape jelly with an 18 oz jar of BBQ sauce in the bottom of your crock pot (Sweet Baby Rays is my favorite). Then dump in a big bag of frozen meatballs and stir it up. Let cook on high for 2 or 3 hours and enjoy! So good and so easy!

Kim Redford:               Cowboy Cookies! Now these fun cookies are real, downhome Texas with a twist—that’s Texas whiskey. Quick and easy, too. Grab a Texas Tea Cake recipe (sugar cookie), throw all the ingredients into a bowl, mix well, add whiskey to taste, spoon the batter onto a cookie sheet, and bake just right. They’re sure to be a hit at any holiday party. If you want my personal recipe for Cowboy Cookies, it’s in my new release Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kiss.

Margaret Brownley: I don’t know that you can call this a treat, but I always volunteer to bring the paper goods. Hey, someone has to do it, right?

Rosanne Bittner:        My “go-to” treat for holiday parties is my special home-made apple pie that I make from real peeled apples.

June Faver:                   There are usually plenty of desserts, so I take my broccoli casserole. Not the usual broccoli casserole where rice is the main ingredient. Blah! This is a recipe my kids loved and demanded growing up. Now they make it for people they love. Sharing recipe because we’re such close friends. Easy to double.

Broccoli Casserole

1 large bunch (4 cups) cooked, fresh broccoli spears, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 2-oz. jar sliced pimentos
1 4-oz. can sliced mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 ounce carton sour cream
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix mushroom soup and sour cream well. Add broccoli, celery and pimentos. Mix well. Turn into a 1-1/2 quart casserole, sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter. Bake for 25-30 minutes until heated through and cheese is bubbly. Serves 4.

What’s your go-to drink in the winter?

Amy Sandas:                I love egg nog with a bit of rum or homemade Irish cream, but I also made a batch of hot-buttered rum one year. Sooo rich!

Anna Schmidt:             Winter/spring/summer/fall = COFFEE

June Faver:                   I seem to always be watching my weight, but I cannot resist getting a carton of egg nog in the winter. It’s so rich and flavorful. I know it loves me as much as I love it. It’s like a hug in a cup.

Linda Broday:               Without a doubt, it’s hot apple cider. When I still at home, my dad would load us all up each October and we’d head for the mountains that was a day’s drive from where we lived. They’d be fruit stands set up all along the highway and we’d stop. Before the day was done, we’d have a carload of apples. My daddy would make the best apple cider and mom, her apple cake. The house would fill with the fragrance of apples and I’d lie in bed, taking deep breaths, feeling so loved. I did it with my kids and my heart returns to that treasured time when I smell apples.

Lucy Gilmore:              I have a weirdly specific answer to this: maple tea from the Metropolitan Tea Company. A friend brought a box back to me after a trip to Canada a few years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s warm and a little bit sweet and makes even the darkest winter days seem cozy.

Rosanne Bittner:        My “go-to” drink in winter is Eggnog. I have to be careful not to drink too much of it because it’s so fattening, as are most holiday treats!

Terry Spear:                 Peppermint mocha, though I have to admit Starbucks now has it year-round, yay! So I get to feel like it’s Christmas any time I want to get one during the year.

 

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Wish Upon a Cowboy by Jennie Marts – Spotlight and Giveaway

November 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Jennie Marts who is celebrating the upcoming release of Wish Upon a Cowboy, the fourth book in her Cowboys of Creedence series. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a set of Cowboys of Creedence books 1-3.

Hot on the ice and tall in the saddle…
Rancher and hockey coach Logan Rivers’ attempts to hire a housekeeper are hindered by women more interested in marriage than meal-planning. So when snarky Harper Evans arrives with zero romantic interest in him, he couldn’t be happier. But as he gets to know her, he finds himself hungering for more than her cooking.

Down-on-her-luck single mom Harper Evans came to Colorado with one goal: to find her son and bring him home. Temporary work for a local rancher seems perfect, but to keep the job she has to deny her feelings for the hot cowboy who’s heating up her kitchen.

Logan’s secret learning disability has caused a financial mistake that could cost him everything. With the holidays approaching and a storm closing in, he and Harper have to save his ranch and fight for her son. But can Harper trust the cowboy who is offering her both a home—and his heart?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Logan walked back to stand next to her, their shoulders not quite touching as they looked at the tree together.

“I love the star on top,” she told him. “Some people like to put an angel on the tree, but I’ve always preferred the star.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I think of the star as a promise of something amazing ahead. Like the star the wise men follow in the Christmas story. They don’t question it, they don’t second-guess it, they just believe. And it led them to everything they would ever need. They didn’t have to earn it or even deserve it. They just had to follow the star, and the promise would be fulfilled.” The lights on the tree blurred and transformed to tiny twinkling stars as she blinked back the tears filling her eyes.

“Sorry. I love the Christmas star the most, but I think stars in general are amazing. They’re so far away, and we shouldn’t even be able to see them, but we can. I think each one is like a little miracle, and maybe they shine so brightly because they hold so many of our wishes.”

She shook her head. “Gosh, that sounded so dorky. I sometimes think sappy stuff like this, but I don’t often say it out loud. I didn’t mean to get all gushy.”

“It’s not gushy at all.” Logan gazed up at the star. “We always put the star on last, but I don’t know that I’ve ever really thought about what it represents. But I like what you said, that the star is a promise of something amazing ahead.”

They were standing shoulder to shoulder and not looking at each other, but she still felt as though they were seeing each other. As though here in the glow of a hundred tiny, sparkling lights, they were each giving the other a small piece of themselves, holding it out to see if the other would take it and cherish it, or refuse it with scorn.

“I guess I’ve always thought stars represented whatever it was that you wanted,” he said. “Like your deepest desire. You know, you reach for the stars like you’re going for something you really want.” The back of his hand grazed hers, and his pinkie finger twined around hers. “We’ve always used the stars to guide us. The night sky was the original GPS. If you’re ever lost or can’t find your way, you can use the stars to lead you home.”

His words were doing nothing to quell the emotion building in her throat. She’d always loved the Christmas star, loved what it represented, but she didn’t think she’d ever said her feelings about it out loud. Or maybe she had.
Her son loved everything to do with space and the stars. She’d hoped to get him a telescope for Christmas this year. He loved to learn about the stars and the planets. One morning at breakfast, he’d told her he wanted to be an astronaut, to fly into space and be among the stars.

Harper remembered smiling and asking him why—and having her heart shatter into a million pieces when he said it was so he could be with his dad.

Thinking about Michael and Floyd and all she’d lost had pain piercing her heart. She missed them both so much. So much that she couldn’t see the right path to take or the correct choices she was supposed to make. She needed a star right now—needed something to guide her, to lead her to her deepest desire. She felt more lost than she’d ever been.
She stared into the lights of the tree and prayed for guidance and wisdom and for something to give her hope to hold on to. The ache in her chest felt as if it might turn her inside out and swallow her whole.

She started to tighten her hand into a fist and realized her fingers were now completely entwined with Logan’s. A surge of warmth had flowed through her a few seconds ago when his pinkie had gently looped around hers, but when had she taken his hand? And why was she squeezing it now as if he were the lifeline she’d been looking to cling to?

A sob threatened her throat, and she let go of his hand. She didn’t want to cling to anyone. She’d been down that road before, hanging on to other people, holding to the idea that they would save her. But there was no one to save her now. Not Michael, not her grandmother, and not the tall cowboy standing next to her.

The only one who could save her, and her boy, was her. The only one she could truly count on to come through for her was herself.

***
Excerpted from Wish Upon a Cowboy by Jennie Marts. © 2019 by Jennie Marts. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author:Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”

She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, IndieBound, or BAM.

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It Started with a Cowboy by Jennie Marts – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 26, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Jennie Marts who is celebrating the upcoming release of It Started with a Cowboy, the third book in the Cowboys of Creedence series. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a copy of You Had Me at Cowboy, the second book in the series.

What will this cowboy risk for love?

Colt James is back home on the family ranch, and he’s done taking risks. A car accident ruined his shot at a professional hockey career and messed up his love life, and he’s not taking a chance on anything that seems too good to be true. Especially not on Chloe Bishop, his nephew’s irresistibly charming teacher and the one woman he can’t stop thinking about.

Chloe Bishop liked her life the way it was—orderly, structured and safe. Life goes from managed to messy when Colt talks her into helping him coach a hockey team of rowdy eight-year-olds. Being this close to the cowboy she’s crushing on is dangerous territory. But when a real enemy threatens Chloe, Colt will do anything to protect her. Even if it means risking himself—and his heart.

Cowboys of Creedence series:

Caught Up in a Cowboy (Book 1)
You Had Me at Cowboy (Book 2)
It Started With a Cowboy (Book 3)

Enjoy an Excerpt:

He passed her the towel, then turned his back. He should leave, he knew he should, but he couldn’t get his feet to move.

He heard the splash of water as she stood and stepped out of the tub. His eyes cut to the big mirror on the wall just in time to catch a quick glimpse of her wet, glistening body before she wrapped the towel around herself.

“You can turn around now,” she said, her voice timid and soft.

He slowly pivoted until he faced her again. It felt like something was happening here, and he didn’t want to ruin this chance. He opened his mouth to say something, anything. I like you. You’re beautiful. You have a great smile. I think you’re funny. Maybe best not to mention her sense of humor while she was standing practically naked in front of him.

Before Colt could think of the best thing to say to dazzle her with his wit and charm, his eyes fell on the top half of her arm and the row of purple bruises there. “Holy shit.” He crossed the bathroom and gingerly lifted her arm to examine the marks. Flares of rage sparked through him, and he wanted to kill Rank Johnson. “I will never let that bastard put his hands on you again,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I’m okay. They don’t hurt that bad. And it could have been worse. Much worse.”

She was right. Rank was as mean as they came, and she was lucky he hadn’t done worse to her or the kids. “He shouldn’t have touched you at all.”

“I know,” she whispered.

The scent of her skin surrounded him, and he was caught between wanting to wrap her in a blanket to protect her and wanting to pick her up and carry her to his bed. At this point, either option would work for him.

He lifted his hand, raising it to cup the side of her face. Tendrils of her hair tickled the back of his hand. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

She shook her head, just the slightest movement. Then she placed her hand on top of his and leaned her cheek into his palm. “I’m not. If it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be here with you now.”

This woman was going to flat–out kill him. He ached for her clear to the marrow of his bones. He leaned in, fully intent on capturing that pretty little mouth in a kiss, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He pulled back, shaking his head. “I like you, Chloe, but…”

Her face fell. Colt saw it and knew instantly that he’d blown it. Her shoulders shrank in, and she wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to cover the towel. “But not like that,” she finished for him. “I know. I get it.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think you do. I do like you, exactly like that. You’re all I’ve thought about for the past several months. And now you’re finally here, standing right in front of me, and I can’t do a damn thing.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked like she didn’t know if she should stay still or run—-like a dang deer caught in the headlights. A beautiful deer. He knew he was screwing this up. Of all the ways he’d imagined this moment would go, this hadn’t been one of them. He had to do something to save himself. As his dad used to say, it was time to fish or cut bait.

“Chloe, just listen. It’s not that I don’t want to…that I don’t want you. I do. And it’s killing me to say this, because I want you so bad, it freaking hurts. I want to kiss you and touch you. I want to take you to my bed and spend the whole day exploring every inch of your gorgeous body.” He let out a breath, his brows drawn together as if saying the words actually pained him. “But you’ve just been through this whole traumatic ordeal, and I want to give you time to heal. Someone hurt you, and I don’t want to be a jerk by not giving you the space you need. The last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable. And I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

Q
Chloe stood perfectly still, as if her feet were glued to the tile floor. A cool drop of water dripped from a tendril of her hair and trickled down the front of her neck and into the terry cloth of the towel. Her skin was so hot that she wouldn’t have been surprised if the drop had evaporated into steam.

She tried to take in everything Colt had just said. She wasn’t sure she’d heard it all over the rushing in her ears that sounded after he’d said he liked her exactly like that and had been thinking about her for months. Then why had he pulled away when she’d kissed him at the rink? Why hadn’t he kissed her back?

Oh, for flint’s sake, what the French toast was she doing wasting time analyzing what happened a few days ago? It didn’t matter now. What mattered were the crystal–blue intensity of Colt’s eyes and the passion behind his words. He’d said he wanted her, said he liked her.

His words touched her, and she could appreciate the sentiment, and the chivalry, behind them. But she wasn’t a victim. She wasn’t a poor, helpless woman who needed space. A flaming–hot cowboy had just told her that he wanted to take her to his bed and explore her body. That was what she needed. Not space, not coddling. Despite the chill of the wet towel, her body was on fire and she wanted him, needed him.

Something inside her snapped, the deep part of her that had been fantasizing about this moment. The part that had been dreaming this could come true. And she knew in her heart this was the moment she’d been waiting for—-her chance to risk something, to be daring and fearless. She’d never wanted anything as much as she wanted Colt James, and this was her chance to grab him. No guts, no glory.

I can do this. I just need to pretend to be someone else. Someone who is brave and daring.

Her eye caught the swish of Agatha’s tail from where she lay next to the vanity, and Chloe knew that was the answer. She needed to think like a cat. Cats were bold and didn’t care what other people thought. They took what they wanted; they were adventurous and playful. She wrenched up her inner feline, brought her to life, and steeled herself to play.

I am woman, hear me roar. Or at least meow very courageously.

She reached for the knot securing the towel around her chest as she raised her chin and offered him her most seductive stare. “I like you too. And I love that you don’t want to push me, that you want to give me space, but I don’t need space. I need you. And I want you to take advantage of me. Right now.” She inhaled a breath as she took a step back and released the towel, letting it drop to the floor.

About the Author:Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”

She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.

Website | Twitter | Facebook
Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Indiebound, or BAM.

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You Had Me at Cowboy by Jennie Marts – Spotlight and Giveaway

November 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Long and Short Reviews welcomes Jennie Marts who is celebrating the upcoming release of You Had Me at Cowboy. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a copy of the book.

This cowboy is falling hard.

Mason James is the responsible one who stayed behind to run the ranch while his brother, Rock, took off to play professional hockey. Women have used him before to get to his brother—and Mason intends never to get burned again. But after he meets quirky Tessa Kane at his brother’s wedding, Mason discovers he’s ready to take a chance on love.

Tessa Kane is a reporter on the verge of losing a job she desperately needs—unless she’s clever enough to snag a story on the famous Rockford James. But when she falls for her subject’s brother, she’s caught between a rock and a hard-muscled cowboy. What will happen when Mason finds out who she really is?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Tessa slipped into the back door of the lodge, clutching the clean shirt to her waist. She spied the ladies’ room door at the end of the hall and hurried toward it, but the door wouldn’t budge.

Dang it.

She waited a few seconds, then checked the other doors in the hallway. The first one was locked, but the second opened into an odd combination coat closet and storeroom, and she slipped inside. One half of the small room was carpeted and had a rod of hangers along part of the wall, while the other side was tiled and had a tall shelf that held assorted books and cleaning supplies.

The room didn’t have a lock, but it would work in a pinch, and she wouldn’t need long to change.

She quickly unbuttoned the stained silk blouse and let it fall to the floor, her mind preoccupied with how she was going to get into the party without Mick. This wasn’t how her day was supposed to go—especially the part about locking her keys in the car—but after a quick round of cussing, followed by a swift bout of self-pity, she’d rallied, giving herself the kind of pep talk she imagined Mimi would have offered.

This might not have been the original plan for the day, but she was improvising and moving on to plan B.

Shoving her arms into the sleeves, she noticed the shirt felt odd but didn’t realize what the problem was until she tried to pull the lapels together. What the heck?

She pulled at the sides again and felt the material stretch across her back.

No. I couldn’t have.

She looked closer at the shirt, and her shoulders fell.

I did. She’d grabbed the wrong white shirt from the dryer. Instead of removing her roomy, stretch-cotton shirt, she’d taken her grandmother’s blouse. Her petite five-foot-nothing grandmother.

Well, shit. She wanted to weep as she looked down and realized there was no way she was squeezing her ample chest into that blouse.

Plan B ruined by a double-D cup!

Dammit.

Please fit, she prayed as she tried again, squashing her chest and working to squeeze the small button into the opposite hole. She cursed the extra weight she’d put on, knowing this wasn’t the first time lately she’d tried to squeeze into apparel that was just a smidge too small.

She let out a tiny shriek as the door to the utility closet suddenly opened, then froze as she took in the ridiculously handsome cowboy who filled its frame. The hinges of his chiseled jaw must’ve been broken because his mouth dropped open, and his eyes went wide at the sight of her.

Par for the course of her day, the button on her shirt picked that horribly inopportune moment to work free, and her shirt popped open like a can of biscuits.

“Oh dang. Sorry,” the cowboy muttered, his eyes widening further as his gaze dropped to the black lacy bra for just a moment before he turned his back and shimmied out of his suit jacket. He passed it back to her. “You all right there, miss?”

No, she was not all right. She was definitely not all right.

She wanted to cry and stamp her feet and run home to Mimi’s house to curl up on her grandmother’s outdated chintz sofa and stuff her face with marshmallow cookies.

But that wasn’t an option because Mimi’s cupboards were bare, and she may not have her house—or the chintz sofa—for much longer. Tess held back a sigh as she slid her arms into the sleeves of the jacket, careful not to mess up the red rose pinned to the lapel.

It was time to admit defeat. To give up on this stupid plan and try to come up with another way to raise the money. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of stress. Maybe she should rethink Mimi’s spiked lemonade-stand idea or see if she could get a job as a waitress.

“I’m fine. Mostly. Except that a bird pooped on my shirt, and the one I was trying to change into must have shrunk in the dryer.” She couldn’t believe she’d just blurted out the bird-turd fiasco, and she couldn’t bring herself to admit the added stupid mistake of grabbing the wrong blouse. “I just need a minute.”

“I’ll leave you to it then,” he answered, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips as he backed away from the door.
She pulled one side of the coat over the other, thankful the suit jacket covered her exposed chest.

Hmmm. She skimmed the satiny petals of the rose. Boutonnieres were typically reserved for the bridal party. This guy must be one of the groomsmen.

“Wait,” she called as the cute cowboy started to walk away.

Plan B had just turned into plan C.

About the Author: Jennie Marts is the USA Today bestselling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. She is living her own happily ever after with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies, in the mountains of Colorado.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, or IndieBound.

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Caught Up in a Cowboy by Jennie Marts – Spotlight and Giveaway

May 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Jennie Marts who is celebrating the recent release of her newest book Caught Up in a Cowboy, the first book in her new Cowboys of Creedence series. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a copy of the book.

This cowboy plays to win

Rockford James was raised as a tried-and-true cowboy in a town crazy about ice hockey. Rock is as hot on the ice as he is on a horse, and the NHL snapped him up. Now, injuries have permanently benched him. Body and pride wounded, he returns to his hometown ranch to find that a lot has changed. The one thing that hasn’t? His feelings for high school sweetheart and girl-next-door Quinn Rivers.

Quinn had no choice but to get over Rock after he left. Teenaged and heartbroken, she had a rebound one night stand that ended in single motherhood. Now that Rock’s back—and clamoring for a second chance—Quinn will do anything to avoid getting caught up in this oh-so-tempting cowboy…

Enjoy an Excerpt

Bits of gravel flew behind the tires of the convertible, and Rockford James swore as he turned onto the dirt road leading to the Triple J Ranch. Normally he enjoyed coming home for a visit, especially in the late spring when everything was turning green and the wildflowers were in bloom, but not this spring—not when he was coming home with both his pride and his body badly injured.

His spirits lifted and the corners of his mouth tugged up in a grin as he drew even with what appeared to be a pirate riding a child’s bicycle along the shoulder of the road. A gorgeous female pirate—one with long blond hair and great legs.
Legs he recognized.

Legs that belonged to the only woman who had ever stolen his heart.

Nine years ago, Quinn Rivers had given him her heart as well. Too bad he’d broken it. Not exactly broken—more like smashed, crushed, and shattered it into a million tiny pieces. According to her anyway.

He slowed the car, calling out as he drew alongside her. Her outfit consisted of a flimsy little top that bared her shoulders under a snug corset vest and a short, frilly striped skirt. She wore some kind of sheer white knee socks, and one of them had fallen and pooled loosely around her ankle.

“Ahoy there Matey—you lose your ship?”

Keeping her eyes focused on the road, she stuck out her hand and offered him a gesture unbecoming of a lady—pirate or otherwise. Then her feet stilled on the pedals as she must have registered his voice. “Ho-ly crap. You have got to be freaking kidding me.”

Bracing her feet on the ground, she turned her head, brown eyes flashing with anger. “And here I thought my day couldn’t get any worse. What the hell are you doing here, Rock?”

He stopped the car next to her, then draped his arm over the steering wheel, trying to appear cool. Even though his heart pounded against his chest from the fact that he was seeing her again. She had this way of getting under his skin—she was just so damn beautiful. Even wearing a pirate outfit.

“Hey now—is that any way to speak to an old friend?”

“I don’t know. I’ll let you know when I run into one.”

Ouch. He’d hoped she wasn’t still that bitter about their breakup. They’d been kids, barely out of high school. But they’d been together since they were fourteen, his conscience reminded him, and they’d made plans to spend their future together.
But that was before he got the full ride scholarship and the NHL started scouting him.

And he had tried.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, buddy.

Okay, he probably hadn’t tried hard enough. But he’d been young and dumb, and swept up in the fever and glory of finally having his dreams of pursuing a professional hockey career coming true.

With that glory, came attention and fame and lots of travel with the team where cute puck bunnies were ready and willing to show their favorite players a good time.

He hadn’t cheated on Quinn, but he came home less often and didn’t make the time for texts and calls. He’d gone to college first while she finished her senior year, and by the time he did come home the next summer, he’d felt like he’d outgrown their relationship, and her, and had suggested they take a mini-break.

Which turned into an actual break, of both their relationship and Quinn’s heart.

But it had been almost nine years since he’d left—they’d been kids, and that kind of stuff happened all the time. Since then, he didn’t make it home a lot, and had only run into her a handful of times. In fact, he probably hadn’t seen her in over a year.

But he’d thought of her. Often. And repeatedly wondered if he’d made the right choice by picking the fame and celebrity of the career and letting go of her.

Sometimes, those summer days spent with Quinn seemed like yesterday, but really so much had happened—in both of their lives—that it felt like a lifetime ago.

Surely she’d softened a little toward him in all that time. “Let me offer you a lift.” The dirt road they were on led to both of their family’s neighboring ranches.

“No thanks. I’d rather pedal this bike until the moon comes up than take a ride from you.”

Yep. Still mad, all right.

Nothing he could do if she wanted to keep the grudge fest going. Except he was tired of the grudge. Tired of them being enemies. She’d been the best friend he’d ever had. And right now he felt like he could use a friend.

His pride had already been wounded, what was one more hit? At least he could say he tried.

Although he didn’t want it to seem like he was trying too hard. He did still have a little pride left, dammit.

About the Author: Jennie Marts is the USA Today bestselling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, or IndieBound.

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