Introducing The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo

Howdy,

You all are readers—I know because you are reading this blog. As readers, you will likely agree with me that when you find an author you love, you want to search out and read all of their books. And when you find a miniseries that really grabs you, you want to read the books one after another. Well, I found one. And it’s called The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo.

I’ve always wanted to do a big family drama in American Romance—something with a western theme, of course. And one night (there may have been some wine involved) I sat down and tinkered away at the computer, coming up with an outline for a town, a ranch, and a big family whose members would find their happiness, one at a time, with the loves of their lives. But things didn’t get interesting until I emailed the outline to six amazing authors who truly created the world of the Codys.

Even after all these years of being an editor, it still delights me to see an author’s finished story. Going from an idea to a book is a long process. It’s fun to brainstorm ideas with authors, or work with them on sketches and small pieces of characters and places and situations. But actually reading the final finished books, and seeing how an author has developed her characters—emotionally, physically, mentally—impresses the hell out of me. Sometimes I think where the heck did she come up with that? Fantastic! And it all came out of one little germ of an idea.

From a small outline, six authors created six great stories. I’ve been reading the finished and polished manuscripts as they came in and they have made me laugh, and get a little teary at times, and most of all they have made me whoop with glee. Wow, guys. You have made this family tick, and taken these characters places I never would have imagined. A shout out to Johanna, who has worked with all six authors from proposal to finished manuscript. She has been an integral part of this miniseries, and is an all-around cool person and a fantastic editor. Way to go, Jo. You da woman!

Thanks, Rebecca, Marin, Cathy, Pamela, Trish, and Lynnette. It’s an honor to work with you all. Thanks for these stories—pick ‘em up, people! You’re going to love them. And who knows…we might end up back at the Cottonwood Ranch one day soon.

Kathleen Scheibling
Senior Editor
Harlequin American Romance

P.S. The pictures here are posters Johanna and I have up in our offices. When we embarked on this journey into the world of rodeo, I thought it would be fun to have some authentic inspiration. These posters are from the Cody, WY, rodeo. Mounted, framed, and hung with pride in our offices at Harlequin.

**Dear Readers don't forget to return tomorrow June 6th for the first One Day Only Social Media Blitz Contest when Rebecca Winters talks about her launch book in the series, Walker: The Rodeo Legend.