***Please welcome, Amber Leigh Williams who has come to share her research on cowboys! I say we should all whoop and holler... But I'm Texan and most folks aren't into all that noisemaking. ~Skhye

Ah, the western frontier! All those wide, open spaces – and I’m just referring to the landscape. But the story possibilities are endless! I love western romance. It all started with Nora Roberts’ Lawless and the perfect cowboy hero – Jake Redman. He hooked me from the hook of the back cover blurb – “Half-Apache, all man…” My love for the genre bloomed from there, helped along by a few favorites. I was introduced to contemporary cowboy heroes with the must-read erotic romance work of Wendi Darlin. I wasn’t the only reader bowled over by steamy reads like Cowboy Games and Hired Hands…. 

While researching my first foray into the western romance world, I realized what an utter newbie I was when I attended my first rodeo. A whole new world I never knew existed opened up before my eyes, loud, semi-crazy, and oh-so-pungent. I learned that the rodeo world, much like the ranching world, is an entire culture unto itself. I knew already that I would be aiming for contemporary and that my hero would be a bull-rider. In a way, it felt like taking a step back in time – to the rough and tumble days of Dirty Harry or Wyatt Earp. Neither sat on the back of a mean, bucking bull for eight seconds, but there was something in that arena that harkened back to those wide open possibilities of the American West.

My western trilogy – Blackest Heart (available now), Bluest Heart (available now), and Bet It On My Heart (March 3, 2010) – is based in the small western town of Wayback, Texas. Wayback was formed by the Yellow Rose imprint of The Wild Rose Press. It was a job trying to bring the unfamiliar world of rodeo to life on the page. I liked the idea of a pre-determined setting for my unraveling saga. And I had the immense pleasure of “researching” Wayback with the first stories published in the series by Rita Thedford (Hot Night at the Blue Bug Saloon) and Judith Rochelle (Shadow of the Hawk). These talented authors not only launched the new series with a bang – they set the bar very high for every Wayback story to follow.

I learned much from my time in Wayback. For one, I love ranch life almost as much as the Ridge family. In fact, I’m planning two more western sagas – one paranormal and another contemporary. It’s only right that I research ranching the same way I researched rodeos – by visiting a dude ranch! And you can be sure I’ll be back to give readers the skinny on that experience J Until then, visit The Wild Rose Press to check out Wayback and the dysfunctional Ridge family saga. You can learn more at my website and my personal blog, The Cozy Page.

Thank you, Skhye, for letting me share! And…it’s only fittin’ that I add a Yeehaw! Happy reading J



***Amber, you can yeehaw at this Texan's blog anytime! I LOVE rodeos. Always did. If you haven't been, you must go!

Yes, the American West is all about fighting for the right to breathe as you would through individualism. Throw in the rebellious enterpreneur personality of those venturing into the West to carve out a new existence, and you've got yourself a "yeehaw" version of PARADISE LOST.  Like anyone can tie down a tumbleweed... It's amazing the number of Texan literature majors taking RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION ENG LIT with me just didn't see that... LOL.

I love the cover of BLUEST HEART. Everybody run out and buy a copy of a Wayback story. They've got tons of rave reviews. I say start with Amber's titles. Thanks for sharing, Amber. ~Skhye