Guest Blogger - Vonnie Davis

Anna Kathryn, thanks for having me here today. You’re so sweet to open your blog to a fellow Rose. I’m here today to talk about cowboys. Yee-haw!!!

My husband and I were being interviewed last week for our local newspaper. The reporter was focusing on the angle of a local husband and wife writing team. Not that we work together on the same book, but we do read, critique and cheer each other through the rough spots of our writing projects. Our talents are different: Calvin painstakingly paints sentences with vivid colors and I brush stroke emotions.

 The reporter and I were talking about alpha males. He asked me WHY a cowboy since Storm’s Interlude is set on a ranch in the hill country of Texas. I replied that for me, when one mentions an alpha male, a cowboy gallops across my mental sky, hat riding low over his eyes, muscles bunched, worn jeans and leather chaps hugging his thighs like a pair of lover’s hands.

The reporter blinked at me a couple of times.

He just didn’t get it.

But we ladies do.

There’s just something about a guy on a horse. I don’t care what age he is.

Cowboys exude a rugged potency, a strong sense of self, a history of hard work and an understated sense of sensuality. He seems to command our attention. Our eyes are drawn to him. We wonder what stories he could tell. What would it feel like to have him come charging to our rescue? Would he stand by us through thick or thin?

I grew up watching Westerns on TV. There was no canned laughter to tell us when something was funny, as if we’re too dumb to judge that for ourselves. What those Westerns did have was a sense of history, a spirit of adventure and a code of honor. Gene Autry put that code into words.

The hero in Storm’s Interlude is a rancher, born and bred. Storm Masterson is an alpha male with a soft spot for his family. His twin sister has leukemia, and her cancer is eating him as much as it is her. His nephew, an energetic three-year old, is the light of his life during this dark time. Enter one blue-eyed, determined nurse who turns his orderly world into one gigantic sexual knot.

 I’d like to share an excerpt:

The sun gentled the Texas sky awake with her show of pinks and oranges intermingled with the dark grays of dawn, promising another hot day. Storm was talking to Red Pelton, his foreman, and three ranch hands, Ben, Eduardo and Randy, giving them orders for various projects.

Suddenly the crew’s heads collectively swiveled to the left. Low whistles and snide remarks warmed the air already heating up for the day. Even Pistol panted louder than normal.

Storm narrowed his eyes. Rachel was jogging down the driveway wearing a tight red midriff top and black running shorts that should have been declared illegal. Damned if he could figure how a woman so short could have legs so long.

“Gentlemen, the woman you’re gawkin’ at is Sunny’s new nurse. I’ll expect you to keep your distance. She’s here to take care of my sister.” Their lewd responses did nothing to improve his mood.

Nor did hearing Jackson give a wolf whistle. Storm’s narrowed eyes ricocheted off Rachel to his best friend. Minutes earlier, he’d seen Jackson stumble out of the house, grimacing at the sunlight and holding a hand over each ear, probably in an attempt to keep them from falling off his hungover head. Now Jackson’s arms were extended across the roof of the cruiser, and he sported a mile-wide grin as he ogled Rachel, obviously enjoying the view.

Storm turned his irritated attentions back on his men. “Stop drooling over Rachel and get the hell to work. You’re burnin’ daylight.” At their raised eyebrows, he barked, “Go on, now. I’m in no mood to be fooled with today.”

Storm headed for Jackson and shot a dark look down the long driveway. He had tossed and turned most of the night thinking of Nurse Rachel and that lush body of hers. Those eyes, those lips, and that long silky, curly hair had haunted him in his sleep. Strange part of it all was she wasn’t his normal type. He usually preferred tall, slender women; women more likely to do his bidding.

Rachel, the spirited little minx. He snorted. Imagine that spitfire shaking her fist under his nose, warning him to stay away. This was his ranch, by damn, and he’d do what he pleased. He’d never met a woman that both irritated and intrigued him from the instant he set eyes on her—until Rachel. He didn’t like it one bit.

Jackson turned at Storm’s approach. “Who the hell is that?”

“Sunny’s new nurse.” He stood next to his best friend.

“Damn. Makes a man want to get sick just so she can nurse him. She’s one fine lookin’ woman.” Jackson’s eyes narrowed. “What’s got a burr under your saddle? You’ve got that look.”

“What look? How’s your head? Figured you’d still be in the den, sleeping it off.”

Storm’s Interlude received a 5-Star review from Single Title Reviews. Here’s part of what the reviewer had to say:

Loved every morsel of this story. Each chapter brought a smile to my face, the chemistry between Storm and Rachel is a barn burner. A compassionate story that takes a difficult subject and brings hope to a family struggling to figure out what will happen next. When they begin to live day to day, the love of each person in this story brings a warmness to every page. A wonderful book.

BUY LINKS:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/pkkcLq
Barnes and Noble (Nook version only): http://bit.ly/pb9DQd
The Wild Rose Press: http://bit.ly/rcCIMa

I blog at Vintage Vonnie — http://www.vintagevonnie.blogspot.com
My website is – http://www.vonniedavis.com