Interview with Author Carolyn Brown and Giveaway

Please welcome author Carolyn Brown. Carolyn is celebrating her newest release, Cowboy Seeks Bride and has stopped by to answer a few questions.

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than sixty books published. She writes bestselling single title cowboy and country music mass market romances, as well as women's fiction. Born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma, Carolyn and her husband now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma. Look for The Cowboy's Christmas Baby in stores this October!

Places to find Carolyn:

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First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
I sold my first book(s)—I actually sold two books on the same day—fourteen years ago. That company bought six of my books before the line died. Only four were published and the other two which I'm sure would have been blockbustin' best sellers are gathering dust on a shelf somewhere or else that publisher has recycled them into toilet paper. Before the line died, I'd already sold a book to Avalon so I moved my nest over there and wrote 44 books for them before they sold to Amazon. And now all of those titles are being offered in paperback and Kindle formats which is something my readers just love. But, alas they couldn't keep me busy and I do tend to get into trouble if I get bored, so I submitted a cowboy romance to Sourcebooks and Deb Werksman and I began an editor/author/friend relationship about five years ago that has seen seventeen books published and several more on the way. Granny always said that if you love what you do you are a success. I love my life, my family, my kids, my grandkids, my job as a full time writer and my two tom cats, so I'm a success.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Well, from the time I was four years old. I can't remember too much before that except sitting on the porch and telling stories to my dolls and baby brother.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
I try so hard to be a plotter because that's organized and I really do want to be organized. But, alas, I never get the job done. With Cowboy Seeks Bride Husband and I drove from Ringgold, Texas to Dodge City, Kansas with him taking pictures at every single fifteen mile mark and me taking notes after notes. I was going to be a plotter this time but when I started writing the story, Dewar and Haley said the story was too stilted and I needed to loosen up and tell it like it happened even if she did fall backwards in a fresh pile of cow crap.

Where do your ideas come from?
Oh, honey, anything can spark an idea for a book or even a whole series. According to Dewar's father, he should have gotten married before all his brothers, sisters and friends and here he is trailing along at the end of the series. I wasn't sure what his story would be but then I saw an ad in the local newspaper that said: Seeking good woman for companion. Well, what if Dewar's mama and his sisters got so desperate that they were thinking about putting an ad in the newspaper that said, Cowboy Seeks Bride, if he didn't get down to business? A lot of my ideas come from what if: what if Dewar was going on an all guy trip with a bunch of cattle as a trial run for the Chisholm Trail reality television show and the person the television company sent to accompany them was a woman? What if she was a city girl and just to prove her daddy wrong she turned out to be an asset and Dewar liked her...a lot?

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Move `em out and watch where you step. The cattle drive has begun and a hell-of-a-lot can happen from Ringgold, Texas to Dodge City, Kansas.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
Of course I love romance. It's about love and emotions and that hasn't changed from Adam and Eve until today. The heart wants what it wants, no matter what. But I also enjoy mysteries: J. A. Jance, Sue Grafton, Randy Wayne White, Carl Hiaason. And I like a classic thrown in just for fun: The Great Gatsby, Gone With the Wind (which I've read many times), or maybe To Kill a Mockingbird.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
My all time favorite would probably be Gone With the Wind. I love Scarlett's sass and determination.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Probably the steamy scenes because after writing more than sixty books, there's not many new ways to describe a love scene.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
Joanne Kennedy, Grace Burrowes and LaVyrle Spencer. If any one of those couldn't make it, I'd like to have Leon Uris and Randy Wayne White waiting in the background.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Today I'm working on the final woman's fiction book in the series about Cadillac Texas. It began with The Blue Ribbon Jalapeno Society Jubilee which came out this past spring. Next is The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off that will see publication in April and the last one, which is what I'm working on now, is The Yellow Rose Barbecue Ball. After I finish this one I'm setting off on a new adventure with four more cowboys…two of whom my readers will meet in Cowboy Seeks Bride: Finn O'Donnell and Sawyer O'Donnell, who find themselves right smack in the middle of a family feud in Burnt Boot, Texas. The first book in that series will find its way to the bookshelves in October, 2014.


Thank you so much for letting me stop by here on my blog journey today. It's been a delight to sit and visit with all y'all. Now it's my turn to ask a question. What is it about a cowboy that you like? Is it his swagger, the hat, the boots or the way he tips his hat at the ladies?

He's Tough as Nails and Ready to Ride...

Rancher Dewar O'Donnell is just an old-fashioned cowboy at heart, and he can't wait to reenact the historic Chisholm Trail ride with his buddies. The trial-run cattle drive for a reality TV show sounds like a great time—until H.B. McKay pulls up in her slick red sports car...

She's Way Out of Her Element...

Haley McKay is a feisty, high-powered businesswoman with the power suit and stiletto heels to prove it. She's keen to research her company's hot new idea for a reality TV show—but mount up with a bunch of modern-day cowboys? Are they kidding?

It's too late to back out now, so Haley sets out to prove that it will take more than snakes, storms, and stampedes to make her back down.

Besides, sleeping under the stars with Dewar O'Donnell could prove mighty interesting...

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Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 Lucky person will win a copy of Just a Cowboy and His Baby

To Enter: 

• Please answer the question: What is it about a cowboy that you like? Is it his swagger, the hat, the boots or the way he tips his hat at the ladies?
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

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