Release Blitz: Hot Cowboy Nights by Carolyn Brown (Exclusive Interview + TWO Excerpts + Review + Giveaway)

June 1, 2016September 30, 2018 Deanna | OkieDreams

Hot Cowboy Nights

Lucky Penny Ranch #2

by Carolyn Brown

On Sale: May 31, 2016

Formats: Mass Market & eBook

Price: $7.99 USD

Book Summary

Let’s give ‘em something to talk about…

If gossip is the lifeblood of a small town, then Lizzy Logan has been its beating heart. After being dumped by her fiancé for another woman, she could have decided to crawl under a rock. But no, she’d rather really set tongues wagging by “moving on” with one of the hottest cowboys in Texas, who happens to live next door at the Lucky Penny Ranch. Those busybodies don’t have to know it’s actually all pretend. And just because Lizzy has no aim to tame her wild, blue-eyed neighbor doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the ride of her life.

Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling-down type. But what harm could there be in agreeing to be Lizzy’s pretend boyfriend? They’ll put on a show for a few weeks and be done. Yet the more he gets to know Lizzy-really know her-the harder it is for him to keep his hands off of her in private. Soon this rough-and-ready cowboy is hoping to heal Lizzy’s bruised heart and turn their fake affair into a true romance…

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Interview with Carolyn Brown

Author of Hot Cowboy Nights & Wild Cowboy Ways

1.) I love a good cowboy romance. Why do cowboys appeal to you as an author? Why do you think they appeal to readers?

If I don’t love what I write then my readers won’t love what I write. They have to feel the emotion that I do when I tell the story. It’s been said that we should write what we know and I live in the part of the country where cowboys are the norm not the unusual. And besides all that, cowboys love their women, they are sexy and they really love their mama! They are more interested in making their woman happy than themselves, they are kind, sweet and soft hearted beneath a really tough exterior that would whip anyone’s ass that was unkind to their woman. And I did mention that they love their mamas, didn’t I?

2.) Why do you think Toby Dawson was the perfect hero for Lizzy Logan in Hot Cowboy Nights?

Lizzy needs someone to get her past the humiliation of Mitch breaking up with her on the phone, and to rebuild her sassy nature. Toby Dawson is just the cowboy for the job even if he does think he’s not interested in anything but a quick fling.
3.) Why the Lucky Penny Ranch? What appealed to you about setting this series on this ranch?

Nothing is perfect in life and the Dawson cowboys are aware of the reputation that the ranch has for being unlucky despite it’s name. When Mr. B, my husband, and I were out traveling through Throckmorton County, where acre after acre has been taken over by mesquite trees, I felt sorry for any old cowboy who tried to reclaim that land. From that the Lucky Penny series went from idea to reality. Three cowboys who pool their money to buy a ranch that’s never been profitable, who are all playboys with no intentions of settling down, and three sassy sisters who come into their lives at just the right time.

4.) Who is your favorite character in the Lucky Penny Ranch series? Why do you think that is?

I love all my characters in this series: all of the Dawson cowboys and the Logan sisters. And Deke, their friend, who does get his story told in Wicked Cowboy Charm (book #4 to be published in March, 2017) but I really love Irene, the Logan sisters’ grandmother. She’ll tell you up front that she’s got a “forgetting disease” but she’s full of sass and she’s independent and I hope that all her granddaughters grow up to be just like her.

5.) Do you have a favorite scene in or memory about Hot Cowboy Nights you can share with us?

I love the tornado scene. Spring in Texas and Oklahoma means tornado season and Lizzy and Toby got a front seat when one went through Dry Creek.

A little excerpt:

“Lizzy, Lizzy, are y’all okay? Is Toby with you? Did he make it to the store in time to get underground?” The barbed wire went up as Allie’s voice came down through the vent and filled the room.

“Allie! We’re fine,” Lizzy yelled. “What’s on the hatch door?”

“Half of your back room,” Allie said. “Tell Toby that the tornado didn’t touch down on the Lucky Penny. Looks like your place is all that got hit here in town. Mama and her customers are fine and Audrey’s Place lost a few shingles in the wind but it’s still standing.”

“The rest of my store?” Lizzy asked.

“Got a hole in the roof but I threw a trash can under it to catch the water. We can fix it soon as the rain stops. Blake and Deke are working on getting the lumber off the door. Sit tight. We’ll have you out soon. I’m going inside out of the rain,” Allie said.

Katy’s voice was the next one that came down the vent. “Allie said you were okay but I have to hear it for myself.”

“We’re fine, Mama,” Lizzy said.

“Good, then I’ll go on inside and help Allie mop up the floor where the roof leaked. Blake is hooking a chain up to his truck to drag part of a ceiling truss off the hatch,” Katy said. “Lord, this rain is cold. I’m going inside now that I know you are okay.”

“Well, shit!” Lizzy murmured.

“Cussin’ again?” Toby sat down on the same chair and patted his lap.

“Yes, I am.” She ignored his lap and sat down on the bottom step. With the adrenaline still rushing through her veins she sure didn’t need to feel his body that close to hers.

“Shhh, what if someone still has an ear to that vent?”

Something rattled across the pipe in the ceiling, and all kinds of splintered wood came down with the rain to splash in the puddle on the floor.

“I shouldn’t be cussin’ or complainin’. At least the feed truck doesn’t come until tomorrow and the back room had very little stock in it,” she said.

Toby grinned. “You are a good, positive woman, Lizzy.”

“I hope so,” she said. But Toby didn’t want a good, positive woman to settle down with. Hell, he didn’t want to settle with any woman, and she wanted what Allie had so that left a gap between them as wide as the Grand-damn-Canyon.

“Lizzy, I’ve been thinking…” He hesitated.

She looked up into his blue eyes. “About?”

The hatch popped open.

Light, rain, and voices filled the whole cellar.

“Come on up out of there and let’s get in out of this miserable rain. It’s trickling down my back and it’s cold as ice,” Deke hollered.

“Don’t forget to blow out the lamp. We’ll put a chunk of wood over the vent pipe so it won’t leak and you can get the cleanup done later,” Blake said.

Thirty more seconds! Why couldn’t they have waited another half a minute to raise the hatch? Then Toby might have finished his sentence. Now Lizzy would never know what he’d been thinking about.

As a born and bred Okie, I loved the tornado scene as well!

**Thank you, Carolyn, for taking the time to answer these question today and for sharing such a great excerpt from Hot Cowboy Nights with us!**

My Thoughts on…Hot Cowboy Nights

*ARC Provided by Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review*

I love small town romance stories. They are among my favorite types of books, which is exactly what drew me to the Lucky Penny Ranch series in the first place. When I read Wild Cowboy Ways, book one in the Lucky Penny Ranch series, I enjoyed the charm of the characters and the gossipy nature of the town, and I was curious to learn what happened to Lizzy Logan because I liked her character in the first book.

In Hot Cowboy Nights, Lizzy is doing her best to move on from the ex-fiancé who dumped her for another woman, so much so she’s taken to sleeping with bad boy, Toby Dawson, one of the owners of the Lucky Penny. But even though she enjoys being with Toby, Lizzy is well aware she needs more out of the relationship than he’s capable of giving to her, and yet, she still finds herself agreeing to pretend date him for a while. Suddenly, things between Toby and Lizzy get a lot more complicated…and all the more entertaining for me.

If you’re like me and you love charming small town romances with an amusing cast of gossipy-minded characters, pick up a copy of Hot Cowboy Nights by Carolyn Brown. It’s fun, entertaining, fast-paced, and a great way to spend a hot summer night.

Rating: 4 Stars

Book Excerpt

From Hot Cowboy Nights by Carolyn Brown:

Lizzy let herself into the house quietly and went straight to her room. She heard the rattle of glass as her mother unloaded the dishwasher, but Lizzy didn’t want to talk to or see anyone that night. Especially her mother. Mama would’ve immediately sniffed out the lie, and the house would have exploded if Lizzy had admitted that she’d been screwing around with Toby Dawson almost every day for three weeks.

It was nothing short of a miracle that they hadn’t gotten caught.

Already the rumors were hovering like buzzards waiting for roadkill. From day one the Lucky Penny couldn’t buy an ounce of good luck, and everything that happened on the ranch was fodder for the gossip mill. Half the folks in Dry Creek, Texas, were hoping that Blake and his family joined the long list of owners who failed at trying to make the Lucky Penny a profitable ranch. The other half was rooting for the three Dawsons—Blake, Toby, and their cousin, Jud, who would be joining them in the fall.

Lizzy pulled off her boots, kicked them somewhere close to the closet door, and changed into a faded nightshirt that she pulled from last week’s laundry still tossed in the rocking chair in the corner. Cleanliness was a virtue, according to the Good Book, but neatness was not mentioned. Unlike her sisters, Allie and Fiona, Lizzy must have been out chasing butterflies or playing with baby lambs when they passed out neatness be- cause she didn’t get a bit of it.

She fell back on the bed, legs dangling off the side and her head nowhere near a pillow. Staring at the ceiling with nothing but the small bedside lamp to light the room, she let the past run through her mind again for the hundredth time since Mitch had called to tell her he loved another woman. He and the preacher’s daughter had decided to become missionaries, and he would preach at the little church they’d gone to Mexico to build.

Her world had shattered. And then Toby had taken her in his arms at Blake and Allie’s wedding and she realized maybe all wasn’t over for her after all. He’d charmed her and made her feel alive again—like a woman to be desired. It hadn’t ended with the dance but they’d talked on the phone, exchanged text messages, and when he moved to town they were both primed and ready for a hot little affair. But that night when Allie told them she was having a girl, Lizzy knew it was time to end the secretive, wild nights.

Lizzy crawled under the covers and turned out the light.

So which was she? A sweet little preacher’s-wife type who would let her husband lead her around by his every whim, like she’d been with Mitch? Or a brazen hussy, like the loose women who’d founded Audrey’s Place, who took what she wanted from life and didn’t have any regrets?

She’d far rather be the latter if she had to choose. She’d come out of the Mitch experience a stronger woman than ever, and she’d been honest when she told Toby that it hadn’t made her shy away from guys in general. And it damn sure hadn’t made her feel sorry for herself. It had taught her to be brutally honest and not let anyone try to change her into something she wasn’t.

She picked up her phone to check for a sexy text message from Toby, but there was nothing. Nada. Nil. Zilch. Not a single missed message. Finally she wrote one to him: Changed my mind. See you tomorrow at six at Mama’s store.

With one thumb on the delete button and the other on the send button, she sat there in the darkness, her body telling her to send the message and her heart telling her that she was in for misery if she didn’t press delete.

Giveaway

Ten (10) mass market copies of HOT COWBOY NIGHTS by Carolyn Brown

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway here!

THE LUCKY PENNY RANCH SERIES

Wild Cowboy Ways, #1

SOMETIMES ALL LOVE NEEDS IS A LITTLE LUCK

Allie Logan isn’t the type to land a hot hunk of cowboy. Truth is, she’s given up on dating since shedding her no-good ex. But the new owner of the most ramshackle ranch in Texas might just change her mind about that. He’s six-foot-plus of tall, dark, and charming-the kind of guy who could make a girl throw caution to the wind . . . or the kind of guy who could break her heart.

Blake Dawson hopes he can make Lucky Penny Ranch finally live up to its name, but the property needs a ton of work. Allie and her carpentry skills are his best shot at getting things in order. Besides the fact that her brown eyes and dangerous curves have him roped and tied. Now Blake only needs to convince her that a wild cowboy can be tamed by love-and she’s just the one to do it . . .

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Read my review of Wild Cowboy Ways here

* * *

Hot Cowboy Nights, #2

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* * *

Merry Cowboy Christmas, #3

(September 2016)

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* * *

Wicked Cowboy Charm, #4

(January 2017)

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author and RITA® Finalist, Carolyn Brown, has published more than sixty books. Brown presently writes both women’s fiction and cowboy romance. She has also written historical single title, historical series, contemporary single title and contemporary series. She lives in southern Oklahoma with her husband, a former English teacher, who is not allowed to read her books until they are published. They have three children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. For a complete listing of her books (series in order) check out her website at www.carolynlbrown.com

Social Media Links: Author Website | Facebook