E.E. Burke's Best Of The West with The Culpepper Cowboys

Today for Best of the West, we have a real treat! An interview with two bestselling authors who've collaborated on a contemporary Western series featuring--in their own words--"hot, sexy cowboys."

Let's meet two of the Culpepper Cowboys, and then we'll interview the authors, Kirsten Osbourne and Merry Farmer.

KARLAN

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Karlan Culpepper has worked his entire adult life, and most of his youth, to build up the ranch he knew he would someday inherit. When his grandfather dies, and the terms of his inheritance include he and his three brothers marrying within six months, and at least one of them having a baby on the way within the year, things get trickier. Contacting Dr. Lachele Simpson, a professional matchmaker, seemed the only way to go! 

Hope, the oldest of the Quinlan Quadruplets needs nothing more than to get out from under her parents’ roof, and take her sisters with her. She feels stifled, and she wants more than anything to marry. After a long weekend of testing, the four sisters embark on a road trip that would change their lives. Hope quickly agrees to marry Karlan, one of the four brothers waiting for her and her sisters in Wyoming. Will they be able to make their marriage work? Or should they have waited to get to know one another a little better like all their siblings had? 

Here's an excerpt

    Of course, that led to thoughts about where kissing him silly could lead, and she started shaking.  By the time she was at Karlan’s side, she was shaking like a leaf, and having to force her breathing to stay calm.  Why was this so hard for her?

    Brother Anthony smiled at Hope.  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two people, Karlan and—” He looked over at his wife.  “Lovie?  What’s the bride’s name again?”

   “Oh, you should be able to remember that, dear! It’s Hope!  I hope you’ll get it right!” Lovanne giggled behind a white handkerchief.

    “That’s right.  Hope.  We’re gathered here to join Karlan and Hope in the state of holy matrimony.  Of course, they’ll still be in the state of Wyoming when they’re in the state of holy matrimony.  Why do they call matrimony a state?  Do you know, Lovie?”

    “No, but the bride is nervous, so you just keep going with the wedding, Tony!”

    “Yes, dear.”  He faced the couple again.  “Do you, Karlan, take this sweet woman to be your wife?”

    It was obvious to Hope he’d forgotten her name again.  Who was this man?  She couldn’t wait to go to a Sunday service if he was the one preaching.  He was going to be a lot more entertaining than Pastor Rick back home. Pastor Rick talked about hellfire and damnation for sixty percent of his sermons.  The other forty percent was spent picking apart the flaws of everyone in the congregation. 

    “I do.” Karlan smiled at her as he said the words.  He squeezed the hand he was holding as well.  She wondered if he could tell how nervous she was and was trying to help.

    “Do you, insert bride’s name here, take Karlan to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

    Karlan leaned toward the pastor.  “Her name is Hope.”

    “That’s what I said,” Brother Anthony retorted.

    “I do,” Hope replied, biting her lip to stifle her laughter. 

    “I don’t think you need to repeat anything after me, since you both said, ‘I do.’  So you’re man and wife now.  Kiss her, you fool!”

COOPER

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Faith Quinlan agreed to marry Cooper Culpepper as part of the deal she and her sisters signed to help the Culpepper boys fulfill the terms of their Granddaddy’s will so they could keep the family ranch. But what Cooper doesn’t know might hurt him. Faith is more than willing to help Cooper out—as he discovers, to his delight, on their wedding night—the trouble is, she thinks she’s not able.

But Faith has more than one secret. Her lifelike doll-making hobby is more than just a little fun, her baby dolls have become a nationwide phenomenon. When a reporter shows up to do a story about Faith, Cooper gets all the wrong ideas…and those wrong ideas could spell disaster for their brand-new marriage. Can Faith face her fears and tell Cooper the truth…before Cooper carts her off to the loony bin or jail?

    “Yes, I apologize for the delay,” Faith was saying to whoever was on the call. “It couldn’t be avoided. We…we had to relocate the entire operation because of…well, if I’m being honest, because we were about to be found out.”

    Cooper frowned and crossed the kitchen tile in his sock feet. He peeked around the corner into the den. Faith sat at the desk, a spreadsheet up on his computer, a photo of a baby in a pop-up window on the screen.

    “No, it’s nothing like that,” she laughed into the phone. “Everything is just fine now, and we’ll be back on schedule with the deliveries by the end of the month.”

    Deliveries? What was that all about.

    “So, I understand you’re looking for a baby boy?” Faith asked her caller. “Mmm hmm. Mmm hmm.” She wrote something down on the pad next to her. “Oh, that’s so sweet. I’m sure your daughter will love it. I’m so sorry for her loss, though.” She sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek.

    Cooper fought the urge to rush into the room, take her in his arms, and ask her what was wrong.

A second later, that instinct froze into prickles down his back.

   “I know that a baby can never truly be replaced, but I hope she’ll find some comfort in what I can come up with for her. Of course, it’s next to impossible to get the exact same features, but with these photos you’ve sent me, I’ll do my best.”

   Cooper swallowed hard. What did Faith mean, she couldn’t replace some woman’s baby exactly, but she would do her best? He inched back into the kitchen, twisting to press his back against the wall just on the other side of the doorway.

Let's meet Kirsten Osbourne

USA Today bestselling author Kirsten Osbourne knows how to write romance. Each book is an experience that transplants the reader, indulging them in decadence, intense emotion and sweeping love. Hailing from the state of Wisconsin, she has lived in Texas for over thirty years as a mother, writer, and wife. Married to the love of her life for more than fifteen years, she knows that true love exists and shares that vision with the world. She writes contemporary and historical romance as well and also ventures into the realm of paranormal romance. She invites you to join her in her world of fantasy, love, and make believe, no matter the location, where there is always a happily ever after at the end.

Where you'll find more about Kirsten:

Website: kirstenandmorganna.com  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kirsten.Os/    

Twitter: @authorkosbourne   

E.E. How did you come up with the idea for your book?  

Kirsten: I thought it would be fun to have my matchmaker from my At the Altar series branch out and introduce several vetted women to several vetted men.  I asked Merry to join me in writing them, because I knew I couldn’t add another series into my schedule by myself, and I like the way she writes. I also already knew we work well together.

E.E.: How often to you get lost in a story?  

Kirsten: Constantly.  I lose myself in the stories I’m reading and writing. I obsess about both.

E.E.: What’s the first book you remember reading?  

Kirsten: The Monster at the End of This Book.  I’ve had it memorized since I was four.  I read imaginary copies to children often.  I should record myself doing that and force the masses to watch. Don’t you think?

E.E.: What’s your favorite fairy tale? 

Kirsten: Hands down Beauty and the Beast. I love Belle, because she’s a reader like me. I love the Beast, because he’s so beastly, but really there’s a handsome prince inside.  I’m also a huge Cinderella fan. 

E.E.: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?  

Kirsten: Fairy Tale!  Give me a happily ever after with no violence along the way any day, and you’ll have a happy camper on your hands!

Today, Kirsten is giving away a copy of Wyoming Wedding and a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Just leave a comment and enter the raffle.

Here's Merry Farmer

Merry Farmer is a bestselling, award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have topped the Amazon and iBooks charts, and been named as finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.

Contact info: Website: http://merryfarmer.net

Twitter: @merryfarmer20

Facebook: www.facebook.com/merryfarmerauthor

Newsletter sign-up URL: http://eepurl.com/RQ-KX

E.E.: What has been the most challenging part of this unprecedented effort?

Merry: It’s always a challenge when you have two writers with different styles attempting to coordinate stories. Kirsten has a much different sense of humor than I do, for example. It’s been a fun challenge for me to write up to her level of comedy, because I usually write more emotionally intense stories about characters with deep, heartfelt emotional tangles to resolve. But Kirsten tells me I’ve done pretty good at putting my Culpepper heroes and heroines in silly positions.

E.E.: How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Merry: Kirsten had the basic plot of the series already in mind when she approached me. From that point, we decided that each of the girls would have crafty hobbies, and from that point we were each able to spin that into subplots and structure for each story. It’s been a heck of a lot of fun spinning out new ways to get these great people into all sorts of trouble with each other based on their skills and personalities…and also that pesky will!

E.E.: What turns you off like nothing else?

Merry: Ignorance. Willful ignorance. Not just not knowing things or lack of education (some of the wisest people I’ve known never finished school), but being presented with the truth and supporting facts and blatantly disregarding it to cling to preconceived notions. Ha! It’s probably my greatest weakness too, because I get way, way too disdainful when I’m faced with ignorance. But I claim it’s in my genes. I come from a long, long line of teachers and academics. It’s normal in my family to get a master’s degree or PhD.

E.E.: What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

Merry: These days I think it’s probably my gypsy soul. Some people want to buy a house and settle down as they get older, I just want to travel and move from place to place and NOT settle. In fact, Kirsten had better watch out! I might just show up on her doorstep someday unannounced! But I’ll bring cookies.

E.E.: What is your hero’s “kryptonite” – in other words, what will bring him instantly to his knees?

Merry: For my first book in this series, Rancher’s Remorse, Cooper’s weak spot is that he’s incredibly OCD about time. Everything has to be done on schedule, down to the minute. But he’s got a good reason for being that way. ;) For my second contribution to the series, book four, Teacher’s Troublemaker, Chris’s biggest downfall is that he’s spent his whole life trying to live up to his older brothers, but feels he’s never succeeded in their eyes. He needs to stop with the comparisons and just be proud of what he’s good at…which is something I think all of us can relate to!

This contemporary series has sisters heading off to be "matched up" in a marriage, sight unseen. Can you imagine doing that in this day and age?

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