Jacob “JT” Whitloch, Defending Her Heart by Laura Haley-McNeil @laurarmcneil #Cowboy, #Music World, #Western Romance

Jacob “JT” Whitloch, Defending Her Heart by Laura Haley-McNeil @laurarmcneil #Cowboy, #Music World, #Western Romance

I’d like to welcome JT Whitloch of Defending Her Heart by Laura Haley-McNeil

RW:   What's your story/back story? Why would someone come up with a story about you?

JTW:  Back story isn’t something I want to discuss. No one needs to know why I came to Crystal Creek. That secret should remain buried and would have, but then my entire past erupted and came to life in that petite bombshell who rocks the stage with her sultry voice and fathomless dark eyes.

RW:    Can you tell us about your heroine

JTW:  I can tell you she’s interrupting my life. She’s not who she pretends to be. The more I find out about her, the more I don’t like. The more I try to stay away from her, the more she interferes, stirs up memories and stirs up the past.

RW:    What problems do you have to face and overcome in your life?

JTW:  If I knew the answer to that, I’d have some peace in my life. That’s why I came to Crystal Creek—to find peace. What I wouldn’t give to have one night of restful sleep, but instead every time I close my eyes, the nightmares come full-blown.

RW:   Do you expect your heroine to help or is she the problem?

JTW:  She’s definitely the problem. She waltzes into town with more money than God, or at least more money than the Whitlochs have, and starts buying up the place. She wants the ranch, she wants the show horses. She’s putting down roots and she’s making it clear—she has no intention of leaving.

RW:    Where do you live?

JTW:  In the bunkhouse on the Crystal Creek Ranch. A far cry from my European estate, but I won’t stay in the place that turned my life upside down. Crystal Creek offers me peace and quiet. Or it did until she showed up.

RW:    During what time-period does your story take place?

A.                    Now.

RW:    How are you coping with the conflict in your life?

JTW:  If I could remember what happened that night, that would be a start, but it was a typical night at my estate—the parties, the beautiful women, the drinking. You can guess the rest. I must’ve blacked out or fallen asleep, but when I came to, the authorities were there pummeling me questions. I couldn’t answer them because I couldn’t remember. I still can’t remember.

RW:    City life or country life? E-Book or paperback? Zebras or elephants?

JTW:  I used to jet around the world to some of the most exotic place on the planet. My every whim was granted. I lived the life of luxury, until the night everything changed. Now the country offers more riches than all the money in the world.

Not that I have time to read, but I’d be happy to hold a dogeared paperback any day.

Zebras or elephants—that reminds me of the safaris my personal assistant used to schedule for me. The massive size and the intelligence of the elephants I’d see always appealed to me.

RW:    If you came with a warning label, what would it say?

JTW:  Stay away. You don’t want to be a part of my world. There’s no peace here. And if you get dragged into my nightmare, I can guarantee you you’ll never escape.

RW:    Party life or quiet dinner for two?

JTW:  A few years ago, it would’ve been the party life. It WAS the party life, now it’s dinner for one. I’ve already ruined the life of one innocent person. I’m not about to drag anyone else into my nightmare.

RW:    I'm always ready for (fill in the blank).

JTW:  I can’t say no to peace and quiet and solitude. Every chance I get, I’m on my horse and riding over the ranch. Colorado is a beautiful state and no place is more perfect than the Crystal Creek Ranch.

RW:    Those are all the questions I have for you. Thank you for speaking to me.

Laura Haley-McNeil

Bio

Laura Haley-McNeil is an award-winning author of romantic suspense and women’s fiction in novel length and in short stories. Her work has been featured in several women’s magazines. She has studied piano and ballet and has been a board member for two community orchestras. She and her husband reside in Colorado. When she isn’t writing, she jogs, bicycles and crochets.

DEFENDING HER HEART

Book 6 of the Crystal Creek Series

The Plot

JT Whitloch can’t close his eyes without seeing the body of the woman who drowned in his swimming pool two years ago. He doesn’t remember that night but blames himself for her death. He walks away from his affluent life and moves to Crystal Creek, but still he can’t find peace.

Then Gretchen Moore moves to town. She stirs up his desire and his past with a secret so deadly it could destroy her.

Gretchen wants nothing to do with JT. Because of him, someone wants her dead. The terror from his past forces them into an alliance that soon ignites their passion. Fighting these feelings leads them to the secret of the woman floating in JT’s swimming pool, but the knowledge doesn’t ease JT’s inner turmoil. Instead, it reveals an answer that could destroy him and Gretchen. His own destruction he could accept, but he’ll defend Gretchen to his death.

An Excerpt:

Chapter One

JT Whitloch sensed the woman the moment he set foot inside the auction stables. Through the scent of anxiety-ridden horses and a mass of humanity floated the fragrance of delicacy and wealth. A wave of disappointment dropped over him. He’d been twenty-three years old when he’d walked away from that life two years ago. He thought he’d suppressed his urges for women—at least that kind of woman. The desire pumping through him was a quick reminder—he’d failed.

The brim of the woman’s cowgirl hat cast a shadow over her I’m-a-celebrity sunglasses. Two words popped into his mind—elegant and stunning—as elegant and stunning as the Arabian stallion they both eyed.

Behind her glamorous exterior he sensed something else—cool strength and determination. She may be used to winning but if she planned to bid on the stallion, she’d learn she was no match for Rose Whitloch, JT’s stepmother. What Rose wanted, Rose got, and she wanted to add this horse to her Crystal Creek ranch stable.

The stud’s whinny rang in JT’s ears. It was a refined timbre practiced to receive immediate attention. And it demanded freedom.

That was what JT wanted—freedom from these urges pouring through him and freedom from the past.

The past didn’t let go.

Contact Laura At:

Website & Blog:  http://laurahaleymcneil.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LauraHaleyMcNeil

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/laurarmcneil

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Laura-Haley-McNeil/e/B008S3WD10/

Book Links:

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Defending-Heart-Crystal-Creek-Book-ebook/dp/B079QVZDFH/

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/defending-her-heart

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/defending-her-heart-laura-haley-mcneil/1127951550;jsessionid=99CC144C2F1E272328398980D4E60247.prodny_store02-atgap11?ean=2940155417736

Apple

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/defending-her-heart/id1347905885?mt=11

Welcome Barbara White Daille

Happy Independence Day. Please remember: freedom isn't free. Thank a vet.

I’d like to welcome Barbara White Daille to my blog this week. 

I’d like to welcome Barbara White Daille to my blog this week. If you checked us out on Monday, you’ll see the questions have changed and the excerpt is longer. I apologize. I used the wrong file.

RW:        What is the best thing about being a writer?

BWD:     Telling the stories of all the people who run around inside my head, and then having the stories connect with readers.

RW:        Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader?

BWD:     In Rancher at Risk I wanted to write about a woman like any other woman, who just happens to be deaf. After the book came out, I was thrilled to receive a letter from a reader who said she has many deaf family members and that I “got it right” when it came to Lianne.

RW:        After you’ve written your book and it’s been published, do you ever read it?

BWD:     Yes, I read all my books after publication. I want to make sure I’m growing as a writer. And of course, as I love all my characters and settings, I like to revisit them. It always feels like going home.

RW:        Who are your favorite characters among the books you’ve written?

BWB:     This is such a tough question, because as I always say, it’s like asking a mom which is her favorite child. The truth is, I love them all! 

That said, I will admit my most challenging characters have turned out to be among my favorites, and those include Lianne from Rancher at Risk, a deaf woman struggling to find her place in both the deaf and hearing worlds.

Another is Sam, the hero from A Rancher’s Pride, who learns he has a deaf four-year old daughter he has no way to communicate with. (These are my only two books with deaf characters and, coincidentally, the four-year-old child is Lianne’s niece.)

Finally, I would have to say Jason, from Cowboy in Charge, broke my heart. Not only does he have to make amends for abandoning his wife and unborn child, he has to find it in his heart to accept another man’s child as his own.

RW:        What makes a good book?

BWB:     For me, it’s a story that introduces you to characters you grow to love as much as you do your family and friends. It’s also a story that welcomes you into a world you want to visit again and again.

RW:        Where do you hope to be five years from now?

BWB:     Still writing! I have many more stories to tell and other genres of books I’d like to write, but I would hope that in five years I’ll still be writing romance and sharing home and family stories with quirky characters and a little bit of humor.

RW:        Tell us about your latest book. What motivated the story? Where did the idea come from?

BWB:     That would be Cowboy in Charge. The heroine appears as the sister of another character in a previous book in the Hitching Post Hotel series. The idea came because I was intrigued by the thought of a couple who had terrible odds to overcome before they could reunite. What motivated me to write the story was I knew they had been married to and divorced from each other, and he had walked away from her when she was pregnant. It was a very difficult book to write, because they were both at fault in the past, and yet I wanted to make them sympathetic. I hope readers will find I did them both justice!

RW:        Bubble baths or steamy showers? Ocean or mountains? Puppies or kittens? Chocolate or caramel?

BWD:     Bubble baths, because that’s where I get most of my best ideas and can take notes for them. Ocean, because I love the soothing sound of the surf. Puppies, but really, they’re both so cute! And chocolate—do I really need a reason?

RW:        What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels?

BWB:     I’m a romance writer, so I love them. However, I tend to write either closed-door love scenes or, more often, love scenes that focus less on physical descriptions and more on the characters’ shared history, current connections and conflict, and hopes and dreams.

RW:        What can we expect from you in the future?

BWB:     I’ll have two more books in the Hitching Post Hotel series. The next, The Cowboy’s Triple Surprise, tells the story of a woman determined never to marry a cowboy and a playboy cowboy who swears he’ll never be tied down. But nine months after their one-night stand, (you guessed it) three infants steal their hearts. I’ll also have a three-book series from Entangled Bliss beginning this Fall, and I’m having such fun writing about the three “bad-luck” Barnett sisters, who find the magic of the holiday season helping them find true love.

Cowboy in Charge

Timing is everything.

Single mom Layne Slater thought she’d seen the last of Jason McAndry when he chose the rodeo over her and their unborn son. Now Jason’s back in Cowboy Creek and just as handsome as ever. But Layne can’t give in to those feelings again. She has to protect her children—and her heart.

Jason wants to try to make up for the pain he caused when he left. The least he can do is help Layne while he’s home. Before long, Jason realizes he’s finally ready to be the husband, father and man his family deserves. But can Jason prove to Layne that this time, their love is forever?

Bio:

Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom.

Cowboy in Charge, the latest book in The Hitching Post Hotel series, is a brand-new release! Other books in the series will follow. A larger print reissue of A Rancher’s Pride, book one in Barbara’s popular Flagman’s Folly series, is now available exclusively from Harlequin, while the e-book version is available everywhere. And at the end of 2016, she begins a new sweet romance series for Entangled Bliss.

Excerpt

(A bit of setup: Layne is dealing with the flu, and prior to this scene, she passed out. Jason has just admitted he lied to her about how long she was unconscious.)

Her breath caught. “Why?”

“The baby was wailing and the boy looked scared to death and you sure didn’t seem in any shape for more bad news at that moment. The moment right before you ran off to toss your cookies. Remember that?”

“Yes,” she snapped. She appreciated that he had been there at the time, but she didn’t like having to feel grateful to him for anything. She didn’t want to feel anything for him at all. “Then, thank you for carrying me in and taking care of supper. But I’m fine now. You can go.”

He opened his arms wide, unknowingly allowing her a look at well-defined pecs and six-pack abs. He gestured around the room. “You’re on the verge of collapse, and you expect me to leave you by yourself with two kids? What kind of man would that make me?”

“As far as I recall, the same kind who walked out when I was pregnant with one of those kids.”

A muscle in his jaw worked hard, telling her he was having trouble holding back another response. The sight made her uneasy, not out of fear of him but from her memories of past fights. No matter how often they argued, he had almost always been better at hanging on to his anger than she had.

“You refused to talk to me,” he said finally, his tone harsh but even. “And you kicked me out. Have you got a recollection of that day, too?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “I remember it very well.”

“Great. Then remember this, too. I didn’t drop in only to say hello. I…I want to talk with you. But that can wait until you’re feeling better again. I’ll go. As soon as you call someone and they show up to stay with you.” He crossed his arms again. “Dammit, Layne, you always were the most stubborn…”

It was his turn to take a deep breath. She bit her lip to keep from responding.

“Look," he continued, “you could barely handle the baby when she started squirming. And you were hanging on to the kitchen table with one hand while you stood up to strap her into her seat. You want to risk a serious accident while you’re alone with the kids?”

She flushed. “Of course not.”

“Then—”

“I don’t have anyone to call.”

“The baby’s daddy—”

“He’s not in the picture,” she said shortly.

She could see him hesitate, as if her admission had thrown him. But he simply said, “What about your brother?”

“No. Cole’s the best man in a wedding, and tonight’s the rehearsal dinner. Everybody I know is involved one way or another in prepping for the wedding. Or they’re working.”

“Well, that settles it.” He returned to his seat across from her at the table and leaned forward until they were almost nose-to-nose. “You’ve got yourself an overnight guest.”

Buy Links:

Publisher:  http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=65377

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Charge-Hitching-Post-Hotel/dp/0373756283

BN:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cowboy-in-charge-barbara-white-daille/1123353803

Contact Barbara:

Author Website:  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

Author Blog:  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002J6B0QQ