Today's Special - - Katie Lane Blog Tour

About The Last Cowboy in Texas, book 7 in Katie Lane’s Deep in the Heart of Texas series

Country music princess Starlet Brubaker has a sweet tooth for moon pies and cowboys: both are yummy-and you can never have just one. Now Beckett Cates may not be a cowboy, but he certainly has the heart, soul-and body-to whet her appetite. He's a sexy ex-Marine with a touch hotter than the scorching Texas sun and arms strong enough to catch her when she lands into trouble.

Playing bodyguard to America's sweetheart isn't easy for Beckett. But falling for her sure is. Unfortunately, Starlet has a reputation for keeping a guy or two wrapped around her finger and Beckett refuses to be anybody's backup. So now it's up to Starlet to prove that she's put her cowboy-crazy days behind her. Otherwise, she'll be singing solo instead of living in harmony with the man who's loved her even before her fame and fortune.

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The Last Cowboy in Texas
By Katie Lane
Publisher: Forever - Hachette Book Group
Release Date: December 16, 2014

I enjoy second chance love stories and Katie Lane brings us one with plenty of humor, heart and a twist of mystery. Starlet Brubaker hails from humble beginnings and her heart is firmly attached to the man who showered her with kindness, enveloped her with (brotherly) affection and bolstered her confidence enough to pursue a career in music. Unfortunately, he's married to someone else but Starlet has a plan. That plan goes off the rails when she's rescued from a botched kidnapping by the youngest brother of her object of affection. The last time she saw Beckett Cates, he was a skinny, nerdy kid. My, how a few years - and the Marine Corps - have changed him! 

When Star is forced to leave the concert tour and seek refuge in her small hometown, it's Beckett who signs up for bodyguard duty...and a whole lot more. Going back to her roots reminds Star of the person she used to be before Nashville and her controlling manager took charge. As she slowly peels away the trappings of stardom will she recognize the love that has slowly grown between her and Beckett or will her obsession with another cause her to lose her chance at happiness while putting another's at risk as well.

This is my first book by Katie Lane and I enjoyed it. Lane does a great job of drawing fully dimensional characters with all their associated strengths and weaknesses. She shows particular adeptness with Starlet, a character that could have easily fallen into the "hated heroine" category. She walks a fine line with her but succeeds in revealing a conflicted, misguided woman who ultimately looks deep into her heart and does the right thing. I adored Beckett,  another character with a necessary journey of personal growth ahead of him before he is able to claim not only the woman he loves but his rightful place in his testosterone-laden family. Lane surrounds these two with a rich, multi-dimensional cast of secondary characters who bring small-town Texas life to light.

One drawback for me is that, as stated above, The Last Cowboy in Texas is the seventh book of a series, a fact that quickly became apparent as I started reading. While I enjoyed the story line, Lane's snappy dialogue and the intrigue woven throughout, there were many times when I felt like the new kid in school who doesn't share the combined history or inside jokes of the other students. The Last Cowboy in Texas is able to stand on its own but I think my enjoyment of this story would have been magnified ten-fold had I read the six previous books first, something I plan to do in the near future.

~PJ

About Katie Lane

Katie Lane is the USA Today bestselling author of the Deep in the Heart of Texas and Hunk for the Holiday series.  Katie lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and when she isn't writing, enjoys reading, going to the gym, golfing, traveling, or just snuggling next to her high school sweetheart and cairn terrier Roo.

Learn more about Katie Lane at:
www.katielanebooks.com
Facebook.com/katielaneauthor
Twitter, @ktlane3

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Today's Special - - Katie Lane

Today, we welcome contemporary author Katie Lane to The Romance Dish!  Katie's recent holiday romance, Hunk for the Holidays earned 4.5 stars from Andrea.  (read her review here)  Her newest book, Trouble in Texas looks to be just as much fun.  Andrea recently interviewed Katie about her books.  Take it away, Andrea and Katie!

Hi, Katie, and welcome to the Romance Dish! We’re happy to have you join us today. Congratulations on your newest releases, Hunk for the Holidays (September) and Trouble in Texas (out tomorrow!). Can you please tell us a little about each book? 

Trouble in Texas is about Miss Hattie’s Henhouse, an infamous house of ill repute.  Elizabeth Murphy is the straight-laced librarian who has inherited the henhouse, along with the three old women who still live there.  Brant Cates is an emotionally wounded cowboy who comes to Miss Hattie’s in search of his great-grandfather’s murderer.

Hunk for the Holidays is about Cassie McPherson, a workaholic who ends up hiring an escort for her family’s company holiday party.  Except the escort turns out to be more than Cassie bargains for, and she’ll soon discover a few surprises beneath the sizzling smile and sexy tuxedo.   

As you can tell by my review, I absolutely loved Hunk for the Holidays, which is a Christmas-themed romance. What was your favorite part about writing a Christmas story?  

I adore Christmas, the entire shopping-decorating-cookie-baking craziness.  So I loved putting all those elements into my story and making it one big festive holiday party!

The upcoming Trouble in Texas is the fourth book of your Deep in the Heart of Texas series. What can readers expect from the books in this series?   

A hot cowboy.  A strong heroine.  Zany townsfolk.  And, hopefully, a lot of laughs.

What prompted you to write a series set in the great state of Texas? 

I traveled there with my husband and fell in love with the friendly people.  So I brought them home with me:o)

Which comes first for you, the characters or the story?  

Always the characters.  They are the ones who tell me how the story is going to play out.

What do you find is your biggest challenge while writing?  

Sitting down and writing.  I can be easily distracted so it’s hard for me to get started every day.  But once I write that first sentence, I’m golden.

Which of your heroines is most like you and why?  

I’m a mixture of all my heroines.  Faith’s insecurities.  Hope’s bossiness.  Shirlene’s bluntness and wit.  Elizabeth’s love of books and solitude. 

What hobbies/activities do you like to do when you’re not writing?  

I love to read, play golf, and knit. Although my golfing and knitting leave something to be desired.  Lol!

What are a few of the books on your keeper shelves? 

Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer, Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss, and One Summer by Karen Robards.

Can you give us a hint about what is next for you after Trouble in Texas?  

Flirting with Texas comes out July 2013.  This is Beau’s story.  Beau is the younger brother to Brant (Trouble in Texas) and Billy (Catch Me a Cowboy.)  I teamed him up with Jenna Jay, Hope’s and Faith’s younger sister.  Beau is a lover and Jenna a fighter, so as soon as I started writing, I knew they were going to be a fun match. 

Quick Six Time!

Coffee or tea?  Tea

Early bird or night owl?  Early bird

Alpha or beta?  Alpha

Diamonds or pearls?  Both

Heels or flats?  Flats

Blond, brunette, or ginger hero?  Redhead

Thanks for answering all my questions, Katie! Now it’s your turn—is there a question you’d like to ask our readers?  

Absolutely.  Describe your favorite type of hero.

Review -- Hunk for the Holidays

Hunk for the Holidays

By Katie Lane

Publisher: Forever/Grand Central

Release Date: September 25, 2012

Cassie McPherson enjoys her high-level position at M&M Construction, her family’s business, but would rather be out on site with the crew instead of doing the bookkeeping behind a desk. That isn’t to say she doesn’t work hard; everyone knows she is a workaholic and rarely has any free time...and that includes no time for dating. For this reason, and to avoid the usual personal questions from her family, she hires an escort to go with her to the company Christmas party. When a sexy, hot guy in a tuxedo shows up at her work, Cassie naturally assumes he is her escort for the evening. What she doesn’t know is that he is the owner of M&M Construction’s biggest competitor. 

James Sutton is doing all he can to make Sutton Construction a viable construction company in Denver. He believes there is room for two successful companies in the area, which is why he is meeting with Big Al McPherson. Instead, James meets Al’s beautiful daughter, decked out in a slinky red mini-dress, who believes him to be...an escort. James is taken aback at first wondering why she would need an escort, but goes along with it because Cassie is bossy and full of sass and he finds himself intrigued by her. He charms everyone attending the party and Cassie can’t help but be attracted to him. He isn’t like any other escort she has hired. So, how far will she take their “date”? And what will she—along with her four protective brothers—think when she finds out who he really is? 

Hunk for the Holidays is my first book by Katie Lane and I loved it! Many of you know that I’m not a fan of the “secret identity”, but this one is written in such a way that it totally worked for me. James tries to tell Cassie who he is, but with all the hilarious antics that pop up—many of which are out of his control—it’s never the right time. Thankfully, it doesn’t get dragged out. 

Cassie is headstrong and aggressive, though not annoyingly so. Her behavior is perfectly understandable as she grew up with four brothers and had to fight for what she wanted. James is what I’d call an alpha gentleman—he likes to be in charge but is a complete gentleman while doing so. He isn’t perfect, however. A tragic event from his childhood causes him to not get too close to people so he won’t get hurt again. With Cassie, it just feels right to let her in. He is an utterly delicious hero—one of my favorites of 2012—and I enjoyed watching him melt Cassie’s heart. Woven into this story is a sweet secondary love story involving one of Cassie’s brothers and I enjoyed it, too. 

Hunk for the Holidays is a fun, sexy contemporary with plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes and tender moments. It’s the perfect book to get you in the mood for Christmas...and for romance! I highly recommend it!

 

~Andrea

Stock Up Saturday

If I Fall
By Kate Noble
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Release Date: April 3, 2012

If I Fall picks up right where Kate Noble’s previous book, Follow My Lead, leaves off (though you certainly do not have to have read Follow My Lead before reading this one) with Sarah Forrester suffering betrayal and humiliation at the hands of her fiancé, the Duke of Rayne. He fell in love with someone else and Sarah graciously let him go. However, she quickly became known as the “Girl Who Lost a Duke”. In order to save face and protect her heart, Sarah collaborates with Lady Phillippa Worth, the reigning leader of the ton, to create a new persona and soon becomes the Golden Lady—the woman every man wants and every woman wants to be.

Sarah’s childhood friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher has been at sea since he was sixteen. He returns to London to await new orders and is anxious to see the people he has always considered family—the Forresters. However, his dear friend Sarah is nothing like she used to be. Gone is the funny, sweet, endearing girl and in her place is someone cold, snobbish, and condescending. Jack must work hard if he’s to crack through Sarah’s façade. His hard work backfires and thrusts him into a dangerous situation that involves murder, top-secret information, and Sarah.

From the moment I closed the last page of Follow My Lead and witnessed Sarah Forrester’s heartbreak, I wanted her to have her own happily ever after. She certainly deserved it. She was a likable secondary character who became a loveable heroine in her own book. I completely understood why she put up a front and acted the way she did after The Event...why she felt the need to reinvent herself. And I simply adored how persistent Jack was to bring back the “old Sarah”.

Even when she was cold as ice to him, Jack had discovered that there was nothing that made him more awake than the presence of Sarah Forrester.

An uncomfortable realization, that.

During this process, Jack discovers something about himself that he didn’t realize and must come to terms with his own inner struggles. When he’s hit with news that he had dreaded hearing upon his return to London, he turns to the only person who understands him: Sarah. These two are so perfect for each other and I couldn’t have asked for a better hero for Sarah. Their story is filled with lovely prose, tender moments, and a very nice twist at the end. If I Fall is another terrific historical from the talented Kate Noble and if the excerpt in the back is any indication, we will soon be blessed with another. This one joins all of Ms. Noble’s
previous books on my keeper shelves and, like the others, is one I highly recommend!

~Andrea

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CATCH ME A COWBOY

By Katie Lane

Publisher:  Grand Central

Release Date:  March 27, 2012

For the last nine months, Shirlene Johnson used retail therapy to deal with the death of her husband.   But due to her shopping sprees and lack of financial management, Shirlene finds herself without any funds and evicted from her posh mansion.  Never thinking she would have to live in her childhood home – a dilapidated trailer, Shirlene faces the fact that this tiny trailer is her new home.  The memories of her alcoholic mother and her not-so-fun childhood seem to haunt her as soon as she pulls into the dusty driveway.   Shirlene finds her luck turns from bad to worse when she discovers four runaway children have taken up residence in her childhood home and the town’s biggest redneck jerk is living right next door.   Now, not only does she have to try to set things right with the bank and try to get her home back, but now she finders herself the caretaker of the four children while trying not to succumb to the rippling muscles and sexy smile of her neighbor, Billy “Bubba” Wilkes. 

Billy Wilkes came to Bramble to settle an old family score.  Believing the long ago death of a relative in the dusty streets of Bramble has cast a curse upon his family, Billy and his brothers are determined to cancel the curse once and for all and that begins with the demise of the town.   Befriending the town’s people and acting like the biggest redneck in Texas, Billy has gained the trust of pretty much everyone.   Except his new neighbor Shirlene.  Billy is usually on task and in character all the time, but he finds himself lost in Shirlene’s eyes (and her curvatious body).   Soon he realizes Shirlene has slipped behind his guard and found a spot in his heart.  But will she understand his motives once his secret is out?

Shirlene is a woman down on her luck but determined to do the right thing and to live her life on her terms.   She’s a “go get ‘em” kind of gal and I really like her spunk.  The sarcastic yet flirty repartee between Shirlene and Billy had me giggled frequently.  Billy’s one liners and pet names for Shirlene are just priceless.   While the sarcasm and humor is fabulous, the sweet, soft moments are just as great.

This is my first Katie Lane book, and I must say it won’t be my last.   This book is such a fun, light read.   If you need a giggle or two interspersed with some sizzling sexual tension, then this one is for you!

~ Buffie