Harlequin Western Romance Author, Tanya Michaels!

Welcome Tanya Michaels to the blog with her new release..

The Cowboy Upstairs

Single mom and aspiring perfectionist Becca Johnston is determined to be the next mayor of Cupid's Bow, Texas. She can't afford distractions like her new tenant, rugged rodeo champ Sawyer McCall. Having a good man around the house means so much to her young son, and Becca is definitely enjoying the handsome cowboy's attention. But she’s worked too hard to risk the election because of scandalous town gossip.

Sawyer only planned on staying in Cupid's Bow long enough to help with the upcoming centennial celebration, but with Becca and her son, he's finally found home. When she treats him like he's a dirty little secret, hiding him from voters and downplaying their relationship to her son, Sawyer is crushed. How can he convince her that love is the one thing she can't control?

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Award-winning author Tanya Michaels is a seven-time RITAⓇ finalist and the author of more than fifty romance novels and novellas. She is a frequent event speaker and a serious television addict (who is very bitter when her shows get cancelled!) She lives outside Atlanta with her very patient husband and her two smart-aleck teenagers who are a lot like their mom.

Jan Schliesman: Do you ever get lost in your own stories?

Tanya Michaels: When I’m working on a book, I stress about finding just the right words to convey what I mean. But sometimes there are opportunities to appreciate getting lost in the story later. My husband laughs at me because when I’m preparing a workshop and reading through the published book for instructional examples, I sometimes announce, “Hey, this is really good!” It’s a great feeling, to revisit the story once I’ve got some perspective and the deadline stress is behind me. And since I’m currently writing stories all set in the same town, sometimes I have to look for details in a previous book to make sure I’m describing a location consistently. Would it sound obnoxious if I admit that I get sucked in and end up reading longer than I intended because I’m enjoying the characters so dang much? :)

Jan: Do you struggle to find fresh ideas or do they come naturally?

Tanya: Because so many of the books I write are about hot Texas cowboys, I worry about finding fresh angles. I don’t want all of my books to sound the same! Luckily, once I get a handle on who the main characters are, they create their own stories. No two people fall in love exactly the same way :) And I definitely have more cowboy stories I want to tell…

Jan: What do you love most about your latest release?

Tanya: I love how my heroine, Becca, is unapologetically take-charge. And I love that Sawyer, the cowboy who rents a room from her, both appreciates her strong nature yet also occasionally pushes her outside of her comfort zone. I had fun writing their opposites-attract romance, and I wondered how readers would react to a heroine who can be bossy and headstrong. So far the reviews show that people are relating to her, which thrills me. I like writing about three-dimensional characters, not perfect characters. Where’s the fun in perfection??

Jan: What are you currently reading?

Tanya: Ever since Kresley Cole’s paranormal romance Wicked Abyss came out in April, I have been binge-reading anything with a “Beauty and the Beast” theme. I am just finishing Jax Garren’s Tales of the Underlight (three short books that make up one story: How Beauty Met the Beast, How Beauty Saved the Beast, and How Beauty Loved the Beast.) A dancer and a severely burned former Army Ranger work with a steam-punk society beneath the streets of Austin, Texas to take down a patriarchy that’s using mythological magic to control the world. My description doesn’t do the books justice, but somehow, the author perfectly blended whimsical elements with gritty reality. (Note: I would only recommend these books for adult readers.)

Jan: Do you believe in love at first sight?

Tanya: I think it exists but is incredibly rare. My husband and I had the opposite situation--we were friends for months before we fell in love and have been happily married nearly twenty years.

Jan: If you had the skills to be in any other profession, what would it be?

Tanya: I’d love to be a chef. Good food makes people happy, and that’s what I live for. It’s why I picked a job where I can add more happily ever afters into the world.

Jan: Name three things on your desk right now.
Tanya: The tiny room we call my “office” is really more of a closet filled with books. I don’t have a desk, but my laptop allows me to work from bed in my jammies. (Best. Job. Ever.) When I’m working, the three things always on the bed with me are my ergonomic keyboard, notes about my fictional town Cupid’s Bow, Texas, and my ever-so-slightly spoiled dog.

Jan: Best vacation you’ve ever taken?

Tanya:  I’ve been blessed because I have many options for answering this, from seeing Milan, Italy with my husband to a wonderful girls’ weekend at the beach with some of my dearest friends. But I’m going to say a trip to Orlando when my kids were in elementary school because we fit in both Disney World and Universal, with all its fun Harry Potter stuff, and I paid for it all with royalties from a book I’d published. My family puts up with a lot, living with a writer who hears voices in her head and can get cranky as deadline approaches. I loved taking them all on that vacation to say thank you.

Jan’s GOTTA ASK: My hubby works for Tombstone/DiGiorno. What do you like on your pizza?

Tanya’s GOTTA ANSWER:  Mushrooms, black olives and green olives. I am by no means a vegetarian, but I love a good veggie pizza!

Find TANYA MICHAELS:

Website, Facebook Twitter, Goodreads

UP NEXT: The Cowboy’s Texas Twins (another Cupid’s Bow story from Harlequin Western), Feb 2018.

PREVIOUS RELEASES: Falling for the Sheriff (Cupid’s Bow, Texas), Falling for the Rancher, (Cupid’s Bow, Texas), The Christmas Triplets (Cupid’s Bow, Texas)

THANKS SO MUCH, Tanya, for sharing your writing world with us! Tanya is giving away a collection of all 4 Cupid’s Bow romances to date. Both US and International readers are welcome. Answer this question in the comments section below:

Given my pairing of an organized woman and a cowboy who loves to create chaos and my appreciation for Beauty & the Beast tales, I obviously love a good opposites-attract romance. What’s your favorite opposites-attract romance novel or movie?

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RITA Finalists - Contemporary Series Romance

CONGRATULATIONS RITA FINALISTS

CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE

 

A Bravo Homecoming by Christine Rimmer

Travis Bravo was sick of his meddling mother and her matchmaking ways. So what better way to stop her than to bring a fiancée home for the holidays? One catch—he wasn't even dating anyone. But that was where his rough-and-tumble oil-rig friend, Samantha Jaworski, came in.

An unpolished tomboy, Sam was game for anything for a good friend. But after her girlfriend-ready makeover, she fell easily into the role of Travis's loving partner—and into his arms. Would she be standing under his mistletoe…for keeps?

 

Donovan's Child by Christine Rimmer

Both times, it was a fall that nearly did him in…

The first time, it was a tumble down a mountain that threatened Donovan McRae's very survival. And though he had once been the Man Who Had Everything, at that point he thought he had nothing left to lose.

Until Abilene Bravo walked into his life—and he realized he was wrong. Because though he thought he'd lost his heart years ago, he found himself losing it again as he fell fast for the feisty woman who wouldn't take no for an answer.

 

Doukakis's Apprentice by Sarah Morgan

With her family business in crisis, Polly Prince does her best to keep calm and carry on. But hard work alone can't save her London company from a takeover by the infamously ruthless Damon Doukakis or her traitorous body from the lethal sensuality of her boss!

As his new apprentice, Polly accompanies Damon to Paris to negotiate the most challenging business deal of her life! Worse still, Polly must at all costs resist Damon in the most dangerously romantic city in the world.

 

How a Cowboy Stole Her Heart by Donna Alward

Clay Gregory's known Megan Briggs her whole life, and he's been plenty worried about her while she's been getting medical treatment. Now she's back home and hiding away on the family ranch.

Knowing the stubborn cowgirl won't accept his help willingly, he invites her to a family wedding to help him avoid his aunt's matchmaking!

He plans to remind Meg she's still the girl who can beat him in a horse race! But as she steps out in her curve-hugging red dress, her skills on a horse are suddenly the furthest thing from his mind.

I'll Catch You by Farrah Rochon

Cedric Reeves has just been sidelined, and the bad-boy pro footballer suddenly finds himself without an agent or a prayer of getting back in the game. What he needs is someone pulling for him-someone like gorgeous go-getter Payton Mosely.

A media-hounded celebrity like Cedric is just what the ambitious up-and-comer Payton needs to jump-start her career. That's why she's waging a no-holds-barred campaign to land the Saber running back as her first client. But how's the NFL sports agent supposed to keep things strictly professional when Cedric pursues her with a passion no sane woman can resist? Could this sexy bad boy be good for her after all?

 

A Mother's Homecoming by Tanya Michaels

Welcome Home, Stranger

For Pamela Jo Wilson, returning to her sleepy Mississippi hometown means coming face-to-face with her past. At seventeen, overwhelmed by the responsibilities of a new marriage and family, she fled Mimosa. But Nick Shepard wasn't the only one Pam left behind. Now, thirteen years later, she just hopes she can make things right with her ex-husband and the child she barely knows.

Nick's first instinct is to protect his daughter, but his little girl is hell-bent on meeting the woman who left her behind. With his own feelings for Pam being as powerful and all-consuming as ever, how can Nick know what he's feeling is real? And how can he trust Pam again? First she has to convince him she's through running. That she's come home—this time for good.

Rancher's Twins: Mom Needed by Barbara Hannay

Nanny Holly O'Mara has formed a close bond with her late cousin's little twins. When their estranged father, rough, rugged Australian cattleman Gray Kidman, arrives to take them home to the outback, Holly senses that he is out of his depth.

Holly soon falls for mysterious Gray. Seeing him light up his children's world makes her spirits leap and even begins to heal her own emotional bruises. Yet something is making Gray push her away. With her help, will he find the courage to love again?

The Texan's Bride by Linda Warren

Sheltered her entire life, Jessie Murdock has rarely gotten her way. Until her dying father makes a deal with Cadde Hardin. Cadde will get shares of Shilah Oil on one condition—marry Jessie. In love with him for years, Jessie doesn't hesitate to sign the papers. But she didn't sign up for a completely absent husband.

Now Jessie has a counter offer. She'll give Cadde controlling interest of the business if he'll give her a baby…the natural way. Only he has a few caveats of his own. When life refuses to follow their written plan, Jessie and Cadde have to decide which is more important: their unspoken love or the family business.

In honor of the Romance Writers of America® national conference, we're featuring the different nominees for their highest published honor, THE RITA®, by category each day. We hope some of the authors will be able to join us, but remember they're getting ready for their big night July 28th. We'll celebrate the winners here on the 29th along with our celebration drawings from their gracious donations.

JOIN THE RITA® CELEBRATION by leaving a comment for each category between July 11th and 28th (multiple comments = multiple entries). GLIAS will be drawing for winners on Sunday, July 29th and posting along with all the RITA® winners announced Saturday evening in Anaheim, California.

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. If an INTERNATIONAL name is drawn, mailing the book or supplying an electronic version will be the decision of the donator. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

JOIN US tomorrow as RITA® week continues with the best Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure category. Don’t forget to FOLLOW us on Twitter    #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook.   Cat