Today's guest is brand new to our blog, so please give Lucy Naylor Kubash a warm W-E-L-C-O-M-E.
So glad you could join us, Lucy, please tell us something about your book, Chance's Return...
Well, Pam, the story goes something like this... Once upon a time a little girl loved horses, westerns…and cowboys. The fascination started when she and her dad watched Saturday afternoon movies with heroes like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and the Lone Ranger. In those days, a lot of westerns filled the airwaves on TV, and as she grew older, the girl graduated to Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and the Virginian, where cowboy heroes and their horses were larger than life. Eventually, the girl grew up and read romance novels with—you guessed it—cowboy heroes, buying into the whole cowboy myth that has been a big part of American entertainment. Writing her own cowboy hero story just seemed a logical next step. And so, she did.
I’m pleased to announce Chance’s Return, a contemporary western romance set near the Grand Tetons, was released on April 16 by The Wild Rose Press. It’s the first book in a trilogy, The North Star Legacy, after the McCord family’s ranch, the North Star. The books are full of family drama, people learning to live with and rise above past mistakes and tragedies, and of course, romance. I’m hoping readers will want to learn about my cowboy hero, the McCord family, and the woman who changes their lives.
Here is the blurb for Chance’s Return...
Widowed single mom Casey Girard hopes time in Wyoming will help her recover from a tragic loss. Working as a cook at the North Star ranch for the summer offers an opportunity to start life over near the beautiful Grand Teton Mountains.
Ex-rodeo champ and prodigal son of the North Star, Chance McCord returns to face a family still divided by their own painful past. To overcome the estrangement, he needs to find a way to face his own haunting memories.
When Chance and Casey meet, the attraction is undeniable and blooms like the blue lupine in the valley. But can they learn to put their pasts to rest and trust one another so love can grow?
And an Excerpt...
Clutching their packages, they sprinted to the café two doors down and hurried inside. Casey glanced about the bustling Hitching Post. A lot of other folks had the same idea.
Dishes clattered and voices were raised as the overwhelmed servers filled orders for the mob of tourists that, with the advent of the storm, had descended on them.
Casey didn’t see a single empty table or booth.
“Room only at the counter, honey.” A harried server jerked her head towards the lunch counter.
Casey saw the two empty seats, one on either side of a tall, broad-shouldered man. His hat and faded denim jacket said cowboy, and he looked intimidating, even with his back turned.
She was reluctant to ask him to move over, but being on her own had forced her to fend for herself and do things she never thought she’d have to do. With only a second’s hesitation, Casey marched up to the counter and smiled. “Could you please move down one? All the other seats are taken.”
For a minute, she didn’t think he’d heard. He remained hunched over the full-to-the-brim mug of coffee that sat steaming on the counter in front of him. He hadn’t made it to the café in time to avoid the downpour. Rain darkened the faded denim jacket, and his battered, equally wet, black cowboy hat tilted low over his forehead, shadowing his face. He seemed totally withdrawn from the bustle of the café around him.
Casey cleared her throat to speak again and found herself looking into eyes the same color as the moody sky above the mountains. With the chary gaze of a lone wolf, the man stared from beneath the hat brim. He needed a shave, and his dark hair curled just above the collar of his jacket. In one glance, he took her all in, from her pink running shoes and skinny jeans to her green-and-white college sweatshirt. His gaze lifted and dwelled on her face. She shifted from one foot to the other. A crazy rush of warmth flooded her from her toes to the roots of her ponytailed hair.
“Hey, can we sit down?” Jamie asked. “I’m really hungry.”
The fact he’d eaten lunch only a few hours ago didn’t seem to matter. Lately, Jamie was hungry all the time.
The boy’s remark did the trick.
A smile crinkled the man’s tanned face. “Sure enough, partner.” He stood just long enough to hoist himself over to the next stool.
Jamie scrambled up beside him.
The man pulled the brim of the boy’s hat down over his wavy blond hair.
Scrunching his nose, Jamie tipped his head back and gave the stranger the once-over. “You a cowboy, mister?”
Casey poked her son. “Jamie, hush. Don’t ask a bunch of questions now.” In three weeks’ time, Jamie had also lost a lot of his bashfulness. Simply too many people lived at the North Star ranch, and too much happened for him to remain shy for long. But no doubt this guy wouldn’t appreciate a kid’s questions. When it came to cowboys, Jamie was an avid fan, and anybody who dressed like one became instant hero material. In spite of his friendly gesture, this particular cowboy didn’t look interested in being a little boy’s hero.
“It’s okay, ma’am. I don’t mind.” He winked at her.
That sort of masculine wink could do strange things to one’s equilibrium. Casey snatched the plastic-covered menu and stared at it, although, unlike Jamie, she wasn’t a bit hungry.
Wonderful, Lucy! Tell us a little more about yourself...
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