A Conversation with Karen Rock, Author of A COWBOY TO KEEP (with a giveaway!)

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome, Karen! Thanks so much for visiting!

Hi, Becky! Thanks so much for having me on your blog today.

 

What 5 things should readers know about you?

I’d want them to know that I’m a huge reader, too, and read a book every week to two weeks. My favorite author is JoJo Moyes and if you haven’t read ME BEFORE YOU, please grab a copy today. It’s amazing. I’m also obsessed with cooking shows and my new favorite is THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF! Another thing to know about me is that I’m a huge softie when it comes to animals and especially my pets. I treat them like my children and can never understand when people say they don’t have feelings like we do. Growing up, I filled journals with short stories, poems and always knew I wanted to be a writer.  The last thing to know about me is that I love meeting new people and making friends. If you ever see me at a book signing, please stop by and say hi!

Sounds like a plan 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation!
Where did the inspiration for this book come from?

I’m a huge fan of westerns, especially ones with renegade heroes like Jack Cade. Those dark, conflicted cowboys tempt the good gal in all of us who hope to tame these strong, fierce men. I was also inspired by the idea that sometimes the person who most needs to forgive us for our past mistakes is ourselves. Both Jack and Dani have troubled pasts and their path to love requires them to confront, and forgive those mistakes before they can be ready for their happily-ever-after. I always want my characters to earn their happy endings and when Jack and Dani finally get there, it’s all the sweeter for the challenges they overcame.

Exactly! Sounds great!

How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?

I’ve been writing since I was a young teenager when my mother gave me a journal for Christmas. At first I thought it was a terrible present- who wanted a book with blank pages? Then, I began writing in it, first to vent but then to express myself. Eventually I began writing short stories and poems, but never made the leap to penning a full novel until my sister-in-law, Joanne Rock, a Harlequin Desire author, encouraged me to try. Eventually, we decided to co-author a YA romance series together. When I made the jump to writing adult romance, Joanne was right there and she’d stayed with me every step of the way. I would not have my career without her 🙂

Fantastic! I love the role your family has played in your writing 🙂
What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?

I’m currently working on FALLING FOR A COWBOY, the second book in my new series: THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN COWBOYS which begins this November with A COWBOY’S WAY. This series chronicles the lives and loves of two feuding ranch families: Jack’s family, the Cades, and their neighbors, The Lovelands. These tough, fierce, independent  cowboys work hard, player harder and love forever. FALLING FOR A COWBOY focuses on Jack Cade’s younger brother, Jared, a pro-football player who returns to the family ranch nursing a sports injury and discovers his best friend, world champion barrel-racer, Amberley James, has kept a huge secret from him. Due to a genetic condition, she’s now nearly blind and has given up on life, something Jared won’t accept, Growing up, they’d never let each other quit on a challenge and he won’t let that happen now. He has an ingenious plan to get her back in the saddle and competing again. What he doesn’t plan on are his new, romantic feelings for Amberley, feelings he suspects she’s starting to return.  If they’re not careful, they might lose their friendship; falling in love might be their greatest challenge of all if they dare to take the risk.

So much to look forward to—awesome!
What are you currently reading, and what are your thoughts about it so far?

I just finished MILK AND HONEY by Rupi Kaur, which is full of beautiful poems about love, relationships, breakups and self-discovery. There were so many great lines that I’d love to share. Here’s one of my favorites: “Love like it’s the only thing you know.” Wow. That just says it all for me.

Yep, that’s pretty perfect 🙂
If you had to “sell” your book in a single Tweet, what would you say?

I’ll share this line from Katie’s Clean Book Collection blog who kindly reviewed A COWBOY TO KEEP: “The underlying chemistry is undeniable and so swoony–the harder they try to deny themselves the pleasures of love, the more the flames ignite. It’s like trying to put out a grease fire with water.”

Love it! Thanks again for being here, Karen!

 

About the Author

In a quest to provide her ELA students with quality reading material, educator Karen Rock read everything out there and couldn’t wait to add her voice to the genre. In addition to her work as a Young Adult romance novelist, she’s now an author for Harlequin’s Heartwarming line and thrilled to pen stories that moms can share with their teenage daughters. She’s loved Harlequin books since she spent summers going through her grandmother’s Presents books that she passed along in paper grocery bags each year. As half of the writing duo J.K. Rock, Karen also pens young adult romance. When she’s not busy writing, Karen enjoys scouring estate sales for vintage books, cooking her grandmother’s family recipes, reinventing her gardens to suit her moods and occasionally rescuing local wildlife from neighborhood cats. She lives in the Adirondack Mountain region with her husband, her very appreciated beta-reader daughter, and two Cavalier King cocker spaniels, who have yet to understand the concept of “fetch” though they know a lot about love. For more information about Karen’s upcoming books, check out her website.

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