WANTED: Workaholic
cowboy needs hardy woman to manage household and motley family.
“Girly” widows, with small children, who sell naughty lingerie
need not apply.
Overprotective big brother and ranch owner, Carter
Peters, draws the short straw at a contrived family meeting, to buy
his stepmom’s sixtieth birthday present. He never imagines while on
the present-buying quest he’ll get zapped with cupid’s arrow by a
feisty southern belle, single mom, and lingerie shop owner who is so
wrong for him and has off-limits written all over her. He has no time
for romance—he has a ranch to run and a father who, despite being
“retired,” can’t help micro-manage. Dad insists Carter’s
new-fangled ways won’t work.
Lynette Mercer wants nothing to do with the
tall, sexy, and slightly bashful cowboy who walks through her door.
Okay, maybe just a little. They could be
friends. After all, she’s vowed not to date until her four-year old
reaches the ripe age of thirty-six. She’s recovering from the death
of her husband in a marriage turned bad, and starting a new business.
With new friends and Carter’s family determined to
marry him off, neither stand a chance against cupid or a town full of
caring folks.
Good
morning, Lynette, Tell us a bit about yourself, starting with Where
are you from? A
small town near Atlanta, Georgia.
Tell us about The
Rancher Needs a Wife, Book two in the
Cowboys of Mineral Springs series. Well, I
declare. I just moved to Mineral Springs with my four-year-old
daughter. I’ve opened a lingerie shop, much needed in this small
Colorado ranching town. The local women are flocking through the
door—or will be soon. Men, not so much, until a tall,
broad-shouldered, Stetson carrying, and a bit bashful cowboy walks
through the door. That’s how I meet Carter. And as much as I do not
need a man, he is intriguing. Well, glory, the story goes on from
there, where we keep running into each other. His sister, four
brothers, friends, and step-mom are set on finding Carter a wife.
Y’all will have to stop in and see how this all turns out.
What did you think the first time you
saw Carter Peters? Mighty handsome, but like
a rainbow trout tossed out of the churning creek that runs into the
Roaring Fork River, when he walked into the too pink and frilly
forbidden territory. A lot nervous. A lot handsome. Man of few words
and itching to get away from my shop. But I lured him deeper into the
land of nightgowns and what-nots. I have to admit, I was intrigued
and set it up so he’d most likely invite me to lunch. Thank
goodness my Mama still lives in Georgia, or she’d have been
appalled by my brazen behavior. I couldn’t help the flutter in my
tummy and my need to get to know a real honest-to-goodness and
heavenly handsome rancher.
Un huh. So, what was your second
thought? Lordy, my second thought was to
hold on to my flaming cheeks and hope he skedaddled right on out of
my store. I had no time, nor inclination to get close to any man at
this juncture in my life. No siree, none at all. I have a daughter to
raise and a business to run and…
What do you like most about Carter? His
kindness. He’s a gentleman through and through. And a bit
mysterious. Quiet. Not giving much away about himself. And very
serious about his family and business.
How would you describe him?
I think I’ve done that already. Handsome. Charming in a shy way. A
man’s man who treats a woman like a precious stone. But he can get
carried away in that protective sort of way. Thinking he has to
always do for a woman. Like she can’t do it herself. Annoying, but
endearing.
How would Carter describe you?
Oh, lordy, I have no idea. I do know he looked me up and down when we
first met. I think he liked what he saw, since he blushed and
stammered and fiddled with the brim of his Stetson. But truthfully, I
think I scared him a wee bit. Especially when he found out I had a
four-year old.
What made you choose to sell what some
would call naughty
lingerie? Oh mercy me, I don’t sell
naughty lingerie. I sell beautiful, feminine, make-you-feel-good
lingerie. Every woman, whether she’s wraslin’ a cow or dressing
for her man needs to feel good, even when no one sees what’s
underneath. But, oh my, when that someone special’s eyes cloud over
when he sees you in that lime green chiffon…well, never mind the
details. You’ll have to wait and see. But back to the question…I
grew up working in the family grocery so I know retail. Groceries
aren’t all that exciting, but I always loved fabric and color and
design. I decided being a clothing designer wasn’t for me, despite
the fact I loved it. So, opening a lingerie store, whether selling
functional or extravagant wear, seemed the perfect match for me.
What is your biggest fear? Well,
truthfully, I have two big fears. Losing those I love. And losing
control of my life. By that I mean being controlled or over-protected
by someone else. Oh lordy, I just realized both my fears have to do
with loss.
How do you relax?
Relax? Single mom, business owner, new in town. Oh glory me, I
haven’t relaxed since I moved to town several months ago. But
spending time with my adorable baby girl,
Gaby, is my way of relaxing. And I do love a good party, although
being a single mom leaves little time for that. I soon discover the
folks in Mineral Springs seem to have a knack for throwing good
parties, and they always include the kids.
Who is your favorite fictional
character? Barbie. Sorry. Don’t laugh. But
she was my childhood inspiration that led me to go to design school.
Alas, life got in the way, but my love of fashion (and Barbie) led me
to where I am today, the owner of a lingerie shop. But I do love
design and, every once in a while, I tend to dabble. If you could see
my daughter’s bedroom, and her line-up of my old Barbie’s all
dressed in my hand-made designs. Now that I’ve met the Peters
family, I may get to
dabble in designing for real-life people.
What is the best piece of advice you
ever received? My Daddy and Mama, being good
southern parents, are full of advice. Here are some of their pearls
that I still take to heart. Daddy, always the practical one, used to
say “Never leave a mess for the customer to
see.” So I live by all the customer
services rules of going above and beyond for a customer. When I used
to have problems, Daddy would say, “Every
team has turn-overs, Sugar. What counts is how fast you get the ball
back.” He taught me to own my mistakes and
solve problems.
My Mama’s pearl of wisdom about handling
an ornery man was, “lemons were meant to
make lemonade—sweeten the pot, darlin’.”
Us southern women are bred to make a man happy. Although, unbeknownst
to the men, we do always keep the upper hand, even while we sweeten
the pot to make them forget their mad.
We thank you for speaking with us,
Lynette. It's now time to put Delsora under the spotlight. What
movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer?
Anything associated with romance, whether
books or movies. And pretty much any romance genre. I know way too
many authors now, either in person or having discovered them on
loops, which means more and more books. I do like to read different
genres than contemporary when I am writing my first draft. I guess
it’s because it gets me out of my own head and I can get lost in a
story unlike my own. I’m one who underlines great lines on my
Kindle. I always say I’ll go back to read those lines, but I read
so many books, I never do. But it makes me happy to underline and
reread a great line while I am in the story. It also helps me see
different ways of writing a scene or a character.
What event in your private life were you
able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the
novel? As with my first book in this series,
The Prince’s Son,
it is based on an area where my daughter lived, up in the mountains
of Colorado. I have a vision of where she lived when I write this
series, and I use different locations or events in the area to add
reality-based texture
to the story. The background of my cover for the second book, The
Rancher Needs a Wife, released on October
20, is a photo taken by my daughter. In fact, if you go to my
website, you will see lots of photos taken by her. And I have a blog
about book one up on my website (originally on Wild Women Authors in
April 2019) where you will see more photos taken by my daughter. The
organic cattle farm is based on one in the areas she lived in (near
Carbondale, CO) and there is a scene in the book about a cattle drive
down the main street that my daughter witnessed. I have a great photo
that she took of that cattle drive on my website, in a blog about
writing small town romance.
Tell us a bit about your publisher: how
did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit
to them? My books are self-published, under
the name Beach Plum Publishing, I have a great team with whom I work
closely, including two editors, a formatter, and a cover artist. I
will have a traditionally published book about a Vermont holiday,
which will be out next year.
What book[s] currently rest on your TBR
pile? This is an ever changing pile, as I
read a lot of books. On my TBR pile is the latest book by Susan
Vaughan, Hidden Obsession.
Primal Obsession
was the first book (and a stand-alone). An excellent romantic
thriller. I was on the edge of my chair throughout, and I absolutely
loved the romance. I’m almost finished with Jen Gilroy’s latest,
The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls,
and I can’t wait to see what happens, yet don’t want it to end.
Loved her first series, based in Vermont. Then I’m starting It
Started With Joy by Cindy Kirk. Right
now, most of the books on my pile are holiday books, as I will be
doing a blog in November about holiday reads – some authors I will
read are Donna Alward, RaeAnne Thayne, Jill Shavlis, Marianne Rice,
Roni Denholtz, and Amy Andrews (a new author to me), plus others not
yet discovered. One will be a new anthology Romancing
the Holidays by eleven authors I have
never read, from Australia, New Zealand, England and elsewhere. It
will be out in early November.
Lastly,
what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? As
mentioned above, I am working on the Vermont sweet romance. I hope to
also get out the next two books in the Cowboys of Mineral Springs
sometime in 2020. I have a Galway Cove novella series that I would
like to start editing and get out in the next year or two. So, lots
going on, but never enough time to do it all.
Delsora
brought along an excerpt:
She finished a dance with Rocky, a cowboy who had grown up on the ranch with Mitch Peters. He left her breathless as he twirled her around the floor in a lively two-step that she finally gotten the hang of. “My, oh my, you have some fancy foot-work.”
She finished a dance with Rocky, a cowboy who had grown up on the ranch with Mitch Peters. He left her breathless as he twirled her around the floor in a lively two-step that she finally gotten the hang of. “My, oh my, you have some fancy foot-work.”
The older man blushed. “Thank you, ma’am. I
‘preciate the dance.”
“I’m tuckered out.” She fanned her
face with her hand. “I’m going to duck out for a breath of air.
Thank you again, Rocky.”
She drifted through the wide doorway, regaining a bit of
energy once the cool air hit her warm body. She headed toward the
edge of the large yard leading to the ranch house. The music dimmed.
Dusk settled around her.
When she reached the green lawn, she turned and looked
back toward the barn. Soft light spilled from the open doors, picking
up the glint of pebbles scattered over the dirt drive. The thin line
of gray-blue sky outlined the surrounding mountain tops and blended
into midnight black above her head.
She arched her back and swept her hair up in one hand to
cool off her neck while she took in the breathtaking display of
twinkling stars. The full moon shoved its way free of a drifting
cloud to shine bright, casting shadows across the rugged landscape.
The crisp air and slight breeze brushed over her to dry
the perspiration after her exertion on the dance floor. A shiver
zipped through her, the night chill in contrast to the heated barn
full of moving bodies and pulsing music.
“You cold?”
Out of the shadows near the barn came the deep voice
she’d longed to hear all night. She turned toward the wide expanse of barn silhouetted
against the moonlight.
Carter sauntered from the shadows, removing his light-weight jacket. He stopped inches away, his presence sucking the air from her lungs, and draped his jacket around her shoulders. The scent of pine and leather and Carter wafted up to surround her.
Carter sauntered from the shadows, removing his light-weight jacket. He stopped inches away, his presence sucking the air from her lungs, and draped his jacket around her shoulders. The scent of pine and leather and Carter wafted up to surround her.
Oh, lordy. She
wanted to swoon.
The Rancher
Needs a Wife can be purchased at:
Amazon:
and Books2Read books2read.com/u/bxv56d
To
learn more about Delsora Lowe, go to:
Website:
www.delsoralowe.com
FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
