When I invited Janette Kenny to guest on the blog, I learned about this book and decided I had to go out and buy a copy.

Here's the blurb from the back cover:
Reid Barclay doesn’t have time for Christmas, not with trouble brewing at the Crown Seven Ranch. He’s got prize thoroughbreds to protect, and an long-ago wrong that he wants to make right. But the beautiful cook who’s taken over the ranch kitchen is a welcome distraction, even if Ellie Jo Cade burns everything from gingerbread to roast beef. Her sweet face and womanly figure are pure temptation…

Cornhusk angels…bright berry garlands…spun-sugar snow—everything about Christmas holds fond memories for Ellie Jo. She’s doing her best to make peace with an ornery wood-burning stove and make the old ranch house truly festive. All she wants is to believe in Reid…and the only-at-Christmas magic that makes hearts glow…

First, I want to start my review by saying how excited I am that this is the first in a new series. Janette has created an interesting place in the Wild West that I look forward to revisiting. Ellie Jo and Reid are characters that take hold of your heart and don't let go. I cared what was going to happen to them as they worked through their personal issues and fought the attraction between them. I laughed at the Ellie Jo's cooking attempts and cried during the climax of the book. Janette also created the perfect villain -- the man you just have to hate. Add in several well-developed secondary characters, a couple plot twists, and a holiday theme and we have a special book.

I highly recommend adding A Cowboy Christmas to your holiday library.

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Jen: We're happy to have Janette Kenny as our guest this weekend. Janette, will you please share a short bio with us?
Janette: For as long as award-winning, bestselling author Janette Kenny can remember, plots and characters have taken up residence in her head. But she didn't fully embrace her secret dream to write for a living until she was a busy cosmetologist making a name for herself in her own salon. Once the writing bug bit, the incurable passion consumed her to create stories and people them. She's climbed in the saddle and ridden the same trails as her western heroes and heroines, camped on the range, explored ghost towns in blizzards and stone jails in record heat waves, and visited too many stage stops between the Mississippi and the West Coast to count. She's slept in authentic log cabins listening to the lonesome howl of a coyote, and came frighteningly close to crossing paths with a grizzly bear high in the Rocky Mountains in Montana.

Jen: Tell us about A Cowboy Christmas and where it's available.
Janette: A Cowboy Christmas is the first book in my Lost Sons Trilogy and it’s available at all online and brick and mortar bookstores, discount stores and from Kensington Publishing. This is Reid’s story, the eldest of the orphan boys who met at the Guardian Angels Orphan Asylum.

Closer than brothers, bonded forever after growing up in an orphanage, three best friends set out to become cowboys, not knowing destiny will also make them heroes. But one fatal betrayal divides them, and now each man must face the West alone.

Reid Barclay has never celebrated Christmas—but this year, the rugged cowboy is going to change that, even though there’s trouble brewing at the Crown Seven Ranch. What with a herd of prize thoroughbreds to protect and a long-ago wrong that he wants to make right in time for the holidays, Reid’s in deep, but he’s not the type to give up. Or become distracted. Which is why he fights so hard to resist the beautiful cook who’s taken over the ranch kitchen. Not that Miss Ellie Jo Cade can cook—why, she burns everything from gingerbread to roast beef. But her sweet face and sensual womanliness are pure temptation…

Cornhusk angels…bright berry garlands…spun-sugar snow—everything about Christmas holds fond memories for Ellie Jo. A twist of fate gave her the chance to spend the holidays with her pa at the Crown Seven for what may be the last time and she’s doing her best to make peace with an ornery wood-burning stove and make the old ranch house truly festive. Reid and her father don’t see eye to eye, though, and she doesn’t know who to trust. Yet Ellie Jo’s heart tells her to believe in Reid…and the only-at-Christmas magic that heals lonely hearts…

Jen: At what age did you discover writing and when were you first published? Tell us your call story.
Janette: I’ve always dabbled in writing, from prose to fan fiction. I was first published in nonfiction – from anti-drug articles aimed at teens to Kansas history articles. But I really was bitten to write fiction when I delved into my family genealogy.

I was far from an overnight success with fiction! I’d been writing romance for seven years, but the last three years I’d seriously pursued publication. Naturally I’d racked up a thick stack of rejection letters from agents and a few publishers. I was of the mind I had to have an agent before I sold, and was told repeatedly that I had a good voice but western romance was a hard sell. So instead of giving up on that book and genre that I loved and believed in, I took a fellow authors advice and submitted my manuscript to Kensington Publishing. One month later, Hilary Sares called me on my birthday and said the words I’d dreamed of hearing: “I love your book and want to buy it.” She offered a two-book contract in Kensington’s debut program, and right before she left the company, I was offered another contract to write the Lost Sons trilogy.

Jen: Are there any other writers, published or not, in your family?
Janette: I have a cousin who’s a poet. My mom wrote poetry as well as fiction, and she had a distant cousin who published celebrity biographies. On my dad’s side, I had an uncle who wrote sports articles for our local newspaper.

Jen: How do you approach your writing? Do you plot or go with the flow?
Janette: I’ve never been able to do extensive plotting before beginning a story. I get the general premise for a story, and once I get to know my characters and what’s driving them, I start writing. I write everyday and do a quick edit of the previous day’s work before starting fresh, which also helps with continuity and keeps my mind on the pulse of the story.

Jen: Have you noticed your writer's voice has changed over the years due to your experience? If so, how?
Janette: I haven’t noticed it so much, but one of my editor’s recently remarked that my voice was stronger.

Jen: What kind of research did you do for this book?
Janette: About as much as I typically do though I had to dig deeper into how Christmas was celebrated in that era. Though larger towns and cities were embracing the Victorian holiday traditions, it was a hit and miss in the Old West with some areas doing a fair amount of celebrating to those who’d never bothered. Though I knew my area in Wyoming very well, I’d never been there in the winter, so I needed to research the season too.

Jen: Do you feel as if the characters live with you as you write? Do they haunt your dreams?
Janette: They do and I think about them at the oddest times. But when they come to mind with the problems, fears, and dreams, then I know that I’ve done my job and know my characters well. As odd as it may sound, I’ve often posed a plot problem before going to sleep and found the solution by morning.

Jen: If you could travel back in time for one year, what time and place would you choose? And if you could only take 3 things with you, what would they be?
Janette: The Victorian era is definitely my favorite era, but as to place, it’d be a tie between the Lake District of England or the American West. What to take? A good pair of walking shoes, my Alpha smart (which has run a year on one set of batteries), and a bottle of aspirin!

Jen: What did you do to celebrate your first book?
Janette: I bought silver dolphin earrings and a matching charm, and went out for dinner. Gosh, I can’t even remember where now. That’s why I always buy a piece of jewelry for each book sale.

Jen: What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?
Janette: “Thank you for persevering past any rejection slips, and writing your books. They are most appreciated!”

Jen: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Janette: That’s a difficult question because I’ve read so widely over the years and have so many favorite authors. I’ve added fairly new ones to my favorites, such as Jennie Lucas, Larissa Ione and Allison Brennan. A few of my standard auto buys are: Amanda Quick, Sandra Marton, Linda Howard, Lisa Kleypas, Jane Porter, Linda Lael Miller. Really there are so many authors that I love that I can’t list them all. I just finished reading Heartbreak Hotel by Jill Marie Landis

Jen: What's next for you?
Janette: Two books with back-to-back deadlines. First, I have to finish the third western historical in the Lost Sons trilogy-- Trey’s story. It’s due the first of Jan. And then I have to write my fourth novel for Harlequin Presents and turn that in Feb 1.

Jen: Where can you be found on the web?
Janette: My Website— www.jankenny.com, Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills, the group blog I belong to-- www.jauntyquills.com and Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/janette.kenny, MySpace, http://www.myspace.com/jankenny, and Twitter, http://twitter.com/janettekenny though I’m sporadic about updates on those public sites and I’ve yet to learn how to tweet.

Jen: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Janette: What quality makes an author an auto-buy for you? If you’re a pick-and-chose reader, what makes you buy a novel and especially a new author? Reviews? Word of mouth? Reading a few pages of the novel?

Jen: Readers, we're giving away an autographed copy of A Cowboy Christmas to a random commenter. To enter the drawing, first leave a comment or question for Janette. Then you must either leave your email address in your comment or send a message to contests.bookblog@gmail.com. A winner will be chosen on Thursday, November 5.

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Review by Caffey (http://caffeys-reads.blogspot.com/)

Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues by Jacquie Rogers is one funny and romantic contemporary western romance book! A rodeo clown crew who performs for the audiences at rodeos is made up of a mule Socrates, a descent-ed skunk Guinevere, a Australian Shepard Dog Perseus, a half Collie and Half Bloodhound dog Beauty, and even a porcupine named Mrs. Pretty Bottom along with their boss, clown, and rodeo cowboy, Brody. With adventures, romance and comedy, Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues is a creative and unique romance read with a 'pick me up feel good read'!

Set in a town called Gasmer in Idaho, the hero in Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues, Brody Alexander, is a rodeo cowboy on the mend from a recent rodeo injury. Having a past of numerous broken bones and injuries that he had endured through the years from his profession, he continues to work as a Rodeo Clown as he heals. Brody and his hired hand Luke are assisting their neighbor Judy when Rita returns home for a visit to help her mom through a surgery. While home again, Rita is facing many memories of a difficult past of memories of her dad, that creep up on her more and more and she's determined to return back to a city with a more modern living and her career in a business field. She's also engaged to a man named David, who also requires Rita's attention and time. Rita also has her hopes up high to set up a home for children in Gasmer while she is visiting, so that children had a home to stay where they had the support of their own town, community and friends.

Brody's mule Socrates is a leader of the rodeo crew of animals and guides his crew as a team to lead Brody into a romance. Each chapter starts with the mule's thoughts and ideas on putting plans into place to put Brody and Rita together. With a whole bunch of laughter throughout the book from their antics, there is never a dull moment! Topping that with a romance of Brody and Rita, who also bring laughter and comedy into the story with their romance, there is another tender romance and story about Rita's mom Judy that was so fitting and important in this book. Brody too has a past that no one knows of and never wants to be known, but things start to crumble little by little that is making him face this all. Brody's love for the outdoors, his animals, his ranch and his career as a rodeo rider is one that he wants to remain in, while Rita wants to run from. Also fitting was a single character Phyllis that I can envision in a future book with the things she did for her community and the children. Here's hoping her story will be told some day too.

Even with the great elements of the animals in this book, there is an outstandingly written romance of Brody and Rita that is a huge part within this book. Being an emotionally involved story and romance many feelings will be felt for both Rita and Brody as they are surrounded by and continue to endure issues from their past as well as growth in their relationship. This all makes for a very moving romance. When together, Brody and Rita's romance was very intense throughout the book. The tension of the romance was also growing and building as they slowly let down the resistances that were keeping them from being together. With Rita's facing her past with her dad, previous rejection and jealousy of Brody, their love grows as they both faces the truth as well as understanding of what their future holds for them. There was no way to give this book, Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues anything lower than an A. It had so much in this book that the reader will be thinking about this book, scenes and characters for days and weeks to come after reading it. Again, a beautiful romance!

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Here's the back cover blurb:

GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUDE

Shoveling sulfur and brimstone could really get a girl down. When her dad offered freedom from the fiery depths in exchange for one simple soul-snatching, Lucy Firr jumped at the chance. With her considerable powers of seduction, she threw herself at rancher Jed Caine. Yet instead of taking her to bed, he made her muck out the pigsty.

It would take the patience of a saint to resist the likes of Lucy Firr—and Lord knew Jed was no saint. The temptress fired his blood like no woman he'd ever met. Why she'd suddenly latched on to him, he had no idea. But the safest place for her—and her virtue—was out in the barn.

Lucy could see the heat in Jed's gaze. But it was the tenderness of his touch and his hard-won smile that undid her. She was supposed to steal his soul, yet here he was…capturing her heart.

I had read Laura's earlier straight historical (meaning non-paranormal) westerns, Charming Jo and Here Comes The Bride, but hesitant to pick up this first book in a new series. To me, paranormal and western just don't really seem to go hand in hand. So, I'd just passed over these books. Then I received Laura's newsletter in my inbox and I decided to contact her to come guest on our blog. It hit me that she'd be promoting the release of book 2 in the series and should probably read book 1. So, I got my hands on a copy and decided to review it for her.

All that said, here's my review:
I actually liked this book. It took me a while to get past the fact that Lucy was the devil's child, but this was my own hangup and not really the fault of the book. I will say that I liked the character of Jed more than Lucy...but Lucy did grow on me as the story went along. A couple of the minor, secondary characters were annoying but not so much that they ruin the story. So, a original plot and some interesting characters and you've got a pretty good book.

Laura is going to be our guest at Book Talk with J & J starting on Monday, Dec 1 to promote her new book, Dancing with the Devil, which is the sequel to The Devil's Daughter. I'll be giving away my copy of The Devil's Daughter and Laura will be giving away a special prize (to be announced with her interview).

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Norman Dale was simply not the charming father he’d presented in his letters. What other surprises did he have in store for her? Did he imagine her so besotted she wouldn’t mind?

No matter. She’d signed that register pure and simple. He’d made her his wife, and she’d willingly taken him on as her husband. For better or worse.

“Set yourself down. I’ll go get Silly and the rest of the kids,” he announced with slitted lips. He raised his brows at the blonde woman and she nodded, leaving them in private.

“The rest of what kids?” Minda’s skin prickled nervously. Deciding to obey him for the first and only time, she sat down.

“Our kids. Yours and mine.”

“Our kids? What in the world do you mean, Norman Dale? You wrote that you’ve got one daughter. Fourteen years old.” Minda’s voice rose and despite the heat, her shoulders tensed with a sudden chill as if a clump of snow had just fallen from the treetops. “What kids? What on earth are you saying, Norman Dale? Your letters didn’t say one single words about kids.”

He glared down at her. “You must’ve misread my brother.” The last two words slid from his tongue in slow deliberation.

His brother? For a moment, she sat helpless, hopeless, paralyzed against the back of the hard little chair. For a long moment, she had no air to speak.

“Your brother? Your brother? What do you mean?” she managed at last.

He leaned close to her again, like he had during their kiss, but at her ear he growled, low, “You promised to wed a Haynes today. Well, I’m the only one left. Your Norman Dale, my brother--” His fingers, calloused and hot, held her chin still so he could glare into her eyes, “--is dead.”

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Nicky Malloy is on the run and Tyler Calhoun is the bounty hunter hired to bring her to justice. Nicky's managed to evade the law for 3 years, but with Tyler on her trail she knows her time is limited. And as they travel to Wyoming and his reward, sparks fly and both Nicky and Tyler begin to believe that a happily ever after might be within their reach.

I picked up the ebook version of this book a while ago after seeing Beth Williamson promo this erotica western series. I'd been looking for more historical erotica and thought it sounded good. Besides, it's the first book in a series and we all know by now how much I love reading series. At any rate, this book sat on my ebook shelf for months and months. But then, recently I saw it waiting for me and decided to start reading. And I am glad I did.

I liked the characters of Nicky and Tyler. Nicky is haunted by the events that led her to go on the run and Tyler is jaded from his childhood and career path. But both were able to get past the obstacles and embrace life. I enjoyed the plot. I haven't run across many women fugitive stories and this one was well done. And now I'm anxious to pick up the next book in the series (which follows Nicky's rather large family), The Prize (Malloy Family, Book 2). I highly recommend if you like some spice in your historical western romance reading. And the whole series is available in ebook and print.

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Valerie and her young brother Brian are alone in the Montana wilderness when they come across Flaming Arrow. He is the chief of the Blackfoot Indians, recently released from prison and is looking for his people. He decides that Valerie is going to help him. Yet neither one was prepared for the love that grew against all odds.

Cassie Edwards is a master storyteller when it comes to western romances. She weaves Native American lore into her stories and is able to make the reader understand why a love between an Indian and a white woman was so special, yet fraught with danger. I loved this story and highly recommend it to anyone… especially those looking for an introduction to this sub-genre of romance.

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Colt saves Cassie’s life when her stagecoach is attacked by outlaws. Colt was just passing through the small town on his way to California, but ends up acting as a deputy when the sheriff is wounded by some bank robbers. And he can't seem to stay away from the sheriff's daughter even though he doesn't want the commitment of a relationship with Cassie.

Cassie is an independent young woman. In a post-Civil War time, she sticks out by acting more like a man than woman (wearing pants, shoots a rifle better than most, works the ranch). Yet she wants to fall in love and raise a family... but not with the man who is leaving town as soon as possible.

The characters were well drawn and there was enough tension in the romance to make it interesting without frustrating the reader. The plot was all about bringing Colt and Cassie together with little to distract from that. I enjoyed this story by Ana Leigh. It was my first read of one of her books and I'm a new fan. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

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"Christmas Gold" is a historical anthology with stories by Cheryl St. John, Elizabeth Lane and Mary Burton. Each is set post-Civil War in the western US (territories at the time, for the most part).

Cheryl St. John's contribution is "Colorado Wife". Rosalyne owns an restaurant in a small mining town. One day she finds some orphans sitting on her doorstep and she takes them in. But, she wants to make Sam take responsibility for them. They get trapped in a pretend engagement, but can it become a reality?

"Jubal's Gift" is Elizabeth Lane's story. Years after the way, Jubal is set on killing Thomas for deserting him in the war. But instead of finding him, Jubal finds Thomas' two kids and their aunt, Tess. Tess has always loved Jubal, who loved another, but thought he died in the war. She wants to love this man who has returned to her, but is she too late?

"Until Christmas" by Mary Burton finished this anthology. Laura wants to sell the mine and move away after her grandfather's death, but Roman doesn't want her to leave until he has a chance to win her heart.

All three authors in this anthology were new-to-me, and I enjoyed each story. I felt that "Until Christmas" was probably the weakest story, only because it didn't seem as well developed as the other two. But that said, it was still a good story.

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