Today I’d like to welcome another dear friend and Sourcebooks sister Jennie Marts to the blog. Today she’s talking about her new release YOU HAD ME AT COWBOY, the second book in her Cowboys of Creedence series.
“Readers will cherish the scorching sex, snappy dialogue, well-paced plot, and the appeal of the small Colorado town setting.” – Publishers Weekly
YOU HAD ME AT COWBOY
Mason James is the responsible one who stayed behind to run the ranch while his brother, Rock, took off to play professional hockey. Women have used him before to get to his brother—and Mason intends never to get burned again. But after he meets quirky Tessa Kane at his brother’s wedding, Mason discovers he’s ready to take a chance on love.
Tessa Kane is a reporter on the verge of losing a job she desperately needs—unless she’s clever enough to snag a story on the famous Rockford James. But when she falls for her subject’s brother, she’s caught between a rock and a hard-muscled cowboy. What will happen when Mason finds out who she really is?
SHARON: Welcome, Jennie!! Can you share a teaser from your book?
JENNIE: I’d love to!
“Comin’ in hot,” he warned as he tilted her face the slimmest degree, then leaned in and lightly grazed her lips with his.
She tasted like spearmint and vanilla and something else—something that made him feel the same way he did on a warm summer night when the air was perfect, the stars were out, and the sweetest peace would settle in his soul.
A quiet sound escaped her lips, a cross between a moan and a sigh, as he pressed another soft kiss against her lips.
And it was about the sexiest sound he’d ever heard.
Her hands tightened the grip she had on his shirt, and he couldn’t hold back a grin.
“You said to make it good,” he murmured against her lips.
“Is that all you got?” she whispered back, her voice husky and breathless.
Aw hell. Now all bets were off.
SHARON: Thank you for sharing that wonderful excerpt. How long did you take to write this book?
JENNIE: It usually takes me about 3-4 months to write a book. I wrote Hooked On Love (a 58,000 category romance) in exactly a month and it’s still one of my favorite books. I think I was just so immersed in the story and I loved it so much that it just poured out of me. The one I just turned in is just shy of 100,000 words and I wrote it in 3 and a half months.
SHARON: I feel like such a slacker!! Are you a plotter or a pantser?
JENNIE: I am a plantser. I do plot but then I fill in a lot of stuff as I fly by the seat of my pants.
SHARON: And you do that all in three and a half months. You’re amazing! What is the most challenging part of your writing process?
JENNIE: The most challenging part is the never-ending pages and pages of my to-do list. It’s trying to divide my time between the writing and keeping up with the marketing, my newsletter, my website, running promotions, setting up ads, and all the other pieces a writer is expected to do for their career. If all we had to do was write, this job would be a lot easier—not easy, it’s still like having really hard homework, every single day, but a lot easier. J
SHARON: I wish I could just write all day! Can you share your writing routine?
JENNIE: I work part-time two or three days a week at a bank, so I have pretty specific goals of getting 2500-3000 words written on my days off. I shoot for writing 10,000 words a week. I don’t always make it, but that’s the goal I shoot for. This year, we converted my adult son’s room into a home-office for me, so I write from my desk in a gorgeous pink room surrounded by all of my fun writerly things and every time I walk into my office and sit at my desk to work, it makes me happy. I do also love occasionally meeting other local writer friends at coffeeshops or Panera to spend a day writing and talking about the writing world.
SHARON: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
JENNIE: I turned in my 23rd book last night, so I now have 2 completed books that are in production, but aren’t yet published. And I have four WIP’s (works in progress): a couple of mysteries, a category romance, and a women’s fiction novel.
SHARON: Congratulations! Do you have any writing quirks?
JENNIE: Actually I do. I don’t always listen to music when I write, but when I need to block out noise or speed up my writing, I listen to instrumental bluegrass music. I can’t listen to music with lyrics, because I start trying to sing, or listen to the lyrics, but the combination of the instrumentals and the super-fast pace of the bluegrass with the picking banjos and quick fiddles, gives my fingers a fast rhythm that they try to catch up to. So I end up writing/typing much quicker when I’m listening to bluegrass, like the Orange Blossom Special or Dueling Banjos.
SHARON: What a great idea to listen to only instrumental music. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
JENNIE: I’m not sure I understand the question. Just kidding. Sort of. I am a hybrid author so when I’m not writing for my publisher, I’m working on an indie book, so I’m pretty much always writing. But my favorite past times are reading, playing volleyball, swimming, and hanging out with my family. And I do love to go to the movies.
SHARON: Apart from novel writing, do you do any other writing?
JENNIE: I primarily write novels, but I do have a non-fiction book published that is written for writers called Writing Sprints Journal: Track Your Writing, Manage Your Time, Increase Your Productivity. It teaches writers how to increase their writing productivity through timed writing sprints and offers a journal to track your sprinting, plotting, and daily to-do lists.
SHARON: I love your sprinting journal and buy one for each new book I start. What are you working on right now?
JENNIE: I just last night turned in the completed manuscript for the 4th book in the Cowboys of Creedence series. If you’re familiar with the series, this one is Logan River’s story (he is Quinn’s brother and readers first met him in Caught Up in a Cowboy, but will get to know him more in book three, It Started With a Cowboy. This one is a Christmas story of redemption and learning to trust again.
SHARON: What’s your favorite writing advice?
JENNIE: The advice I most frequently give to newer writers is to remember that writing is a marathon, not a sprint. The whole process of writing, editing, querying, publishing, marketing, etc, all takes a very long time.
SHARON: Yes it does! What book are you currently reading?
JENNIE: I’ve been working so hard on this book the last several weeks that I haven’t had time to read, but my birthday is Friday and I’ve asked for Lianne Moriarty’s new book, Nine Perfect Strangers, and plan to make my birthday treat include a few hours of curling up on the sofa in front of the tree with that book. She is one of my favorite authors.
SHARON: I love her too! Can you share the pitch for YOU HAD ME AT COWBOY?
JENNIE: YOU HAD ME AT COWBOY is the second Cowboys of Creedence book in my hockey-playing cowboy series, & I love this story sooo much! <3
Mason is the middle brother who lives in the shadow of his famous brother, Rock. He finally takes a chance on love with the curvy, clutzy woman he met at Rock’s prewedding party.
Tessa Kane is a reporter on the verge of losing a job she desperately needs—unless she’s clever enough to snag a story on the famous Rockford James. But when she falls for her subject’s brother, she’s caught between a rock and a hard-muscled cowboy.
Can’t wait for you to meet Mason & Tess!
SHARON: I can’t wait to read it either!! Congratulations on your newest release and on all of you success. I can’t wait to hear about your next cowboy book!
Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books include the contemporary western romances of the Cowboys of Creedence and the Hearts of Montana series, the cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Cotton Creek Romance series.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook atJennie Marts Books, or Twitter at @JennieMarts. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.comand sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.
You can find YOU HAD ME AT COWBOY here: Amazon | | Apple | | Audible
You can find Jennie here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads
