Come Along On A Florida Cattle Drive

In Rancher's Son, fourth-generation cattleman Ty Parker looks into his childless future and wonders what will become of the ranch he’s worked so hard to preserve.  His answer might be a five-year-old boy abandoned on DCF’s doorstep, but only if the rancher convinces a jaded social worker that he’s good father material on a two-week cattle drive through Florida’s version of the Old West.

Wait a minute.  “Florida’s version of the Old West?”  Did I hear that correctly?  Why yes, yes you did.  While Florida is better known for its orange groves and theme parks, as a setting for a cattle drive, it’s more fitting than a lot of people might guess.

Cattle ranching has been a staple of Florida’s economy for a long, long time.  We should blame Ponce de Leon for that.  He brought seven head of Andalusian cows with him on his second visit in 1521.  And, despite the mosquitoes and the floods and the heat, people have been ranching here ever since. 

Did you know that today Florida is the third-largest beef-producing state east of the Mississippi?  Or that 1.1 million head of cattle graze its pastures?  We use term “Florida Cracker” when we’re talking about someone who was born and raised in the state.  The nickname harkens back to the days when cowboys would snap long, braided whips over the heads of the cattle they were herding.  “Crack!”

 

In 2006, over 500 riders took part in the Great Florida Cattle Drive, taking more than 500 head of cattle on a mid-winter drive through the middle of the state.  That drive became the inspiration for my December release, Rancher’s Son. 

 

Of course, a story about a cattle drive wouldn't be very romantic by itself.  For this romance, I needed a heroine.  And there stood Sarah Magarity, the social worker who'd appeared in two of my earlier books (The Daddy Catch and Rodeo Daughter).  She was just waiting to find the man of her dreams. 

Not that Ty Parker looked like Sarah’s ideal hero.  Especially not when the cowboy flatly denied fathering the five-year-old she’d taken under her wing.  And since Ty bailed on the last two foster children she’d placed in his care, Sarah has no choice but to go along on Ty’s mid-winter round-up while they wait for the results of a paternity test. 

 

Over the next two weeks, Ty and Sarah grow closer while they face stampedes and angry rattlesnakes, but will their new love survive the truth about the boy they both want for their own?

Sarah And Ty Drop In For A Visit

      Down here in sunny Florida, fall is (barely) in the air. No, we haven’t turned off the air conditioner. At our house, it runs practically twenty-four/seven twelve months a year. But the temperatures outside have dropped into the very pleasant mid-seventies, and the humidity isn’t quite as oppressive as it was in the middle of the summer.  With palm trees and evergreens dominating the landscape, the occasional flame tree provides a burst of bright red against all that green. 

 

Citrus ripens on the neighbor’s orange and grapefruit trees. The fruit promises a taste of sunshine when the temperatures drop lower.  

      Which they’ll do for, maybe, a day or two.  

      In January or February.   

      In the midst of all this fall-ish Florida weather the Chinese Ting that grows outside my office window has produced a bumper crop of berries.  Flocks of robins and butterbutts that have escaped colder, northern temperatures are drawn to the tree.  The birds cover the ground and roost in the wooded lot behind my house. 

      All these visitors remind me of the way I get the heroes and heroines for my books.  They drop in sometimes when I’m going about my business.  That’s how it was with heroine in Rancher’s Son, available later this month.  You’ve all met social worker Sarah Magarity before.  She played minor roles in The Daddy Catch and Rodeo Daughter.  But, when I sat down to draft the proposal for Rancher’s Son, Sarah practically took up residence in my visitor’s chair.    

      Over tea she told me about the cattle drive she’d sent two older foster kids on, and how a certain hunky cowboy had let her down when he abruptly returned the boys to DCF’s custody.  She showed me how passionate she was about improving the foster care system.  Unfortunately, her tendency to go out on a limb for the children in her care had not only broken her heart, but jeopardized her job.  So, she’d sworn to remain aloof, to keep her distance the way her boss insisted.  All her pent-up love went into raising orchids and plumeria instead. 

      The more she “talked” the more I thought Sarah deserved her own Happily Ever After.  But to give it to her, I needed a hero.  And I didn’t have one.

      I was at a loss until the Christmas Eve a five-year-old orphan landed on DCF’s doorstep with nothing but a birth certificate naming Ty Parker as his father.  Right away, I knew my hero had arrived on the scene. 

      Of course, a piece of paper didn’t prove anything in Ty’s book.  Any more than the protests of a self-righteous social worker.  A fourth-generation Florida rancher, this cowboy demanded paternity tests.  And as much as he insisted the child couldn’t be his, on the off-chance he was wrong, Ty refused to let the little boy go into foster care while they waited for the results. 

      Taking a young boy on Ty’s cattle drive made perfectly good sense to someone who’d grown up on a ranch.  But not to a city girl like Sarah.  She insisted on accompanying the boy.  To watch out for his safety, and see for herself if Ty Parker was daddy material.

      Clearly, Ty and Sarah both needed each other as much as they needed the little boy who’d been dumped in their laps.  That’s where my job—and a cattle drive through Florida’s version of the Old West—came in.  The result was Rancher’s Son, a book I hope you’ll enjoy when it’s released, just in time for the holidays, on November 27th.

 

 

      Don’t forget—we give away copies of recent Harlequin American releases by drawing the names of people who comment out of a proverbial hat each month.  So leave a comment to be included in the drawing. 

 

     Oh, and another surprise—the printer sent a double order of bookmarks for Rancher’s Son!  Would you like one?  Or a dozen?  (LOL)  If so, send me an email (leigh@leighduncan.com). Include your snail mail addy in the email—not here on this loop—and I’ll drop a signed bookmark in the mail to you.    

     

Spreading the Word

A flurry of activity kicks off the day a new book is released.  Especially when that new book is a Harlequin American Romance, like my June release, Rodeo Daughter.  By the time the book is available, I’ve spent more than a year writing and revising it with the help of my fabulous editor, Laura Barth, and  keeping my fingers crossed that the Art Department comes through with another terrific cover (for my first three books, they’ve hit three home runs).  Despite the efforts of so many people who come together to make each book perfect for our readers, Harlequin American Romances are only available in book stores for a short time.  So, I try to make the most of it. 

Long before the actual release date, I send out review copies and start bending the arms of my good friends, hoping they’ll let me kidnap their blog for a day.  But the fun really gets under way at the first book signing.  Here, I’m very lucky because Kaori Suzuki-Fischer, RWA’s 2011 Bookseller of the Year, is the New Business Manager at “my” Barnes & Noble, and she loves nothing better than filling the store with romance authors and their readers.  This time, the phenomenal Roxanne St. Claire (Barefoot in the Sand), Rachel Hauk (The Wedding Dress) and I teamed up to do exactly that. 

That’s me.

That’s Roxanne on the left, Rachel on the right.

Did you notice the bags of caramel corn I gave away to anyone who stopped at my table?

A family reunion in St. Augustine meant a chance to share Rodeo Daughter with some of my cousins and the only aunt I have left on my dad’s side of the family.  That’s Aunt Doris, off to the left.  She’s a great fan of the Oakridge Boys, and there are stories I could tell you about that, but they’ll have to wait for another day. 

From St. Augustine, hubby and I trekked up to Tallahassee where our son and his lovely bride make their home.  This time the trip, which normally takes about three hours, took quite a bit longer because I insisted we stop at every Wal-Mart and Target along the way so I could drop in and sign books.   Another book signing, this time at Books A Million, closed out the trip before we headed for home. 

Once we were back, I spent several days dropping in at book stores, Wal-Mart and Target department stores (pretty much wherever Rodeo Daughter was on sale in Central Florida).  But since I was on my home turf, so to speak, I found these drive-by book signings a tad on the expensive side. 

One problem with writing full time is that, strange as it might seem, I don’t get out much.  When I do, I tend to take advantage of it.  A blue ray player, a new phone system, books by authors I’d been wanting to read, fishing gear and several full shopping carts later, I decided that drive-by book signings, as much fun as they are to do, might not be the healthiest choice I can make for my pocket book. 

Now that July is upon us and four more terrific Harlequin American Romances are available, my promotional efforts for Rodeo Daughter are winding down.  As with all Harlequin releases, Rodeo Daughter will always be available as an e-book.  If you’d like an autographed book mark, just email me at leigh@leighduncan.com, and I’ll drop one in the mail to you (N. America addresses only, please).  In the meantime, I’ll be hard at work on my next book for Harlequin American Romance and looking forward to the release of Rancher’s Son in November. 

An RT Top Pick

A couple of weeks ago, when my good friend Elle Saint James returned from the awesome RT Convention, she brought with her several copies of RT Book Reviews.  Looking over this leading review source for all things romance, Elle and I oh’d and ah’d over her publisher’s full-page spread featuring a book in her latest series along with the writings of another good friend.  Then, we set the magazine aside and got to work.  She was writing the tenth book in a series.  I was working on a proposal for my next Harlequin American. 

At lunch that day, I picked up the May issue of RT Book Reviews again and flipped through it.  Hmmm, I noted.  Historical Reviews for June releases.  Then it hit me, this was the issue that would list my June release, Rodeo Daughter.  I paged to the Series Romance section and... I confess.  I squealed! 

Rodeo Daughter had received a coveted 4 1/2 star review!    

“Turn the page,” said Elle.  “See if it’s a Top Pick.” 

I did and it was!  Much shouting and jubilation followed!

“Readers better hold on to the tissue box during Duncan’s heart-wrenching look at modern custody issues,” wrote reviewer Pat Cooper.  The heroine of Rodeo Daughter, Amanda Markette, rode her way to a gold buckle in Las Vegas before walking away from the professional rodeo circuit to earn a degree in family law.  After spending years performing in one arena after another, Amanda longed to put down roots.  She swore that, if and when she ever married, home and family would be her number one priority.

 His career is lead prosecutor Mitch Goodwin’s number one priority.  He stands on the brink of achieving all he’s ever wanted when the DA plans to name Mitch as his successor.  But the last person Mitch expects to represent his ex-wife in a custody suit for his adorably head-strong daughter is none other than Amanda Markette, the girl he fell head-over-heels for one summer at rodeo camp.  When a playground mishap forces Mitch and Amanda to spend time together, they walk an ethical tightrope as old feelings come to the surface again.  

I hope you’ll take a chance on Rodeo Daughter when it hits store shelves in a few weeks.  If you do, I’d love to hear from you. 

Cue the Marching Band

You’d think that I’d be used to it by now. After all, Rodeo Daughter is my third book for Harlequin American Romance. Yet, I can’t deny it. When I open the front door and see a box from Harlequin on the porch, I get goose bumps. Truly. Goosebumps. I only wish I'd known the books were on their way. I'd have hired a marching band to accompany the UPS man on his way up the sidewalk.

Opening the box, pulling that first copy of a book—my book!—from it. Well, that makes my tummy all a-flutter. What’s the first thing I do? Yes, I know. I should start contacting reviewers and sending them advance copies--that's why I get these books ahead of time, after all.

But for a few minutes, I can't resist. I fan the pages and inhale deeply. There’s nothing like the smell of a freshly printed book. Especially when you’ve poured your heart and soul into it, the way I did with Rodeo Daughter.

I guess that’s because Amanda and Mitch’s story included so many aspects of my own life. No, I’m not a lawyer. Or the divorced single parent of a four-year-old. But growing up on Florida’s east coast, I looked forward every year to the big Silver Spurs Rodeo in nearby Kissimmee. I spent the intervening months mucking stalls at a local riding stable. Each weekend, I plodded down dusty trails on horses that wouldn’t know what to do in a barrel race. But at night, I dreamed of becoming a rodeo star.

Rodeo Daughter is the closest I’ve come to achieving that dream. The heroine of this book, Amanda Markette, rode her way to a gold buckle in Las Vegas before walking away from the professional rodeo circuit to earn a degree in family law. After spending years performing in one arena after another, Amanda longed to put down roots. She swore that, if and when she ever married, home and family would be her number one priority.

His career is lead prosecutor Mitch Goodwin’s number one priority. He stands on the brink of achieving all he’s ever wanted when the DA plans to name Mitch as his successor. But the last person Mitch expects to represent his ex-wife in a custody suit for his adorably head-strong daughter is none other than Amanda Markette, the girl he fell head-over-heels for one summer at rodeo camp. And when a playground mishap forces Mitch and Amanda to spend time together they walk an ethical tightrope as old feelings come to the surface again.

I hope you enjoy reading Amanda and Mitch’s story as much as I loved writing it. Rodeo Daughter is slated for release in early June.

A Cover Story

Ah, firsts...They play an important role in our lives, don’t they? From the moment the stick turns (pink? blue?), the newly expectant wait anxiously for that first stir of life. We wonder if that first word will be “Ma-Ma” or “Da-Da.” Parents watch with camera in hand for their child’s first step. Grandparents fly in to watch their grandchildren head off for their first day of school, the first prom, the first graduation.

In Rodeo Daughter, my June Harlequin American Romance, four-year-old Hailey’s first horseback ride becomes a pivotal moment in the blossoming romance between former rodeo star, Amanda Markette and Mitch Goodwin, a stern prosecuting attorney who—thanks to a playground accident—struggles to regain custody of his daughter while earning Amanda’s love.

What child doesn’t love that first chance to ride a horse. I’m tipping my cowboy hat to Harlequin’s Art Department for capturing that excitement for the cover of Rodeo Daughter.

Recently, I ran across this picture of one of my firsts—my first horseback ride.

Yes, that’s me riding Biscuit. What a thrill! I just knew I was going to grow up to be a rodeo star like Amanda in Rodeo Daughter. I didn’t, but from that moment through my late teens, my sister and I spent most weekends at the local riding stables where we groomed horses in exchange for rides. And just a couple of years ago, when we wanted to celebrate a significant milestone, sis and I went on an all-day trail ride.

How about you? Have you ever been horseback riding? Was it a pivotal moment in your life?