Gotta Love a Cowboy!

Barbara White Daille

Thanks to Romancing the Genres for inviting me to chat with you about Western Romance. 

I grew up in a small city on the East Coast, where we never laid eyes on a cowboy except in the old movies my dad watched on television.  Then, what's a city girl like me doing spending most of her time with cowboys? 

Well, let's see...

I'm a reader like you.  If I'm going to write about any hero, he's got to be one I want to read about, too.  One I can fall for.  Because we all know we can't be romance readers without lusting after the hero of a story once in a while, if not with every book we read.  ;) 

Who better to love than a cowboy or rancher?  They work hard, hold high values, and know how to stay on a bull.  Of course, they're sexy.  And they're rough, tough heroes with heart.

Heart. 

That's important to me in all my story people.  Whether I'm reading or writing a book, my focus stays on the character.  No matter how compelling the plot, what keeps my attention is seeing how the characters are impacted by the story—and the impact they make on events themselves. 

A cowboy is as deep and complex as any character we love to read about, but because he's got that rough, tough exterior, we have to work harder to get to know him.  To learn where he draws the line on issues.  To find out what buttons must be pushed before he'll open up.  And best of all, to get closer and closer to the secrets he's keeping that, when finally told, will reveal to us who he truly is.

In other words, we get to the heart of him.

I'd like to introduce you to a couple of my favorite cowboys.  Both come from the tiny town of Flagman's Folly, New Mexico, where folks always want to...shall we say..."stay up-to-date" on everyone else's business and to "help" run their love lives, as well.

Sam Robertson, the hero of A RANCHER'S PRIDE, is a solitary man whose life is turned upside down when his ex-wife leaves him with a four-year-old he's never known existed.  Then he discovers his child is deaf and he has no way to communicate with her.  And then he learns the child's aunt wants to take his daughter away from him.

In my new release, HONORABLE RANCHER, Ben Sawyer has always loved Dana Wright from afar.  But she's the wife of his best friend, a soldier recently killed in combat.  Folks in town want to bestow an honor on their fallen hero.  An honor guaranteed to put Dana out of Ben's reach forever.

He thought of his best buddy often, recalling him as young and full of life.  As part of almost every memory he'd forged since the day he started school.

In all the years since then, nothing had ever come between Paul and Dana.  Ben had always honored that.  Now he had to make doubly sure not to cross the line.  "Today has to be hard for you," he said, keeping his voice low.

"Seeing Tess and Caleb so happy?  Why should that cause me any trouble?  I'm glad they're finally together."

She meant it, he knew, though her words sounded as brittle as the chipped ice in the banquet hall's champagne buckets.  In the moonlight, her eyes glittered.  Had she tried for a lighter tone to keep tears from overflowing?  Or to prove how comfortable she felt around him?

Why did she have to prove anything?  Why the heck couldn't she enjoy his company, the way she always used to?  If she'd just give him that, he'd feel satisfied.

Sure, he would.

She'd grown quiet again, and he gestured toward the fountain.  "What brought you out here?  Wanting to make a wish?"

She shook her head.  "No.  Those are for people who aren't willing to work hard to get what they want."

"I can't argue with you there."  Still, he felt tempted to toss a coin into the water for a wish of his own....

Sam and Ben face problems they’ve never before encountered.  They're plunged into situations that make them vulnerable and let us see into their hearts.  That's why I love these two cowboys.  If you happen to run across either of them, I hope you get to know and love them, too.  ;)

There you have just a few of the reasons I like being a Western writer.

And now, I hope you'll share with us what you like about cowboys—or about any other type of hero who has a place on your must-read list.

Barbara's Bio

Originally from the East Coast, award-winning author Barbara White Daille now lives with her husband in the warm, sunny Southwest, where they love the lizards in the front yard but could do without the scorpions in the bathroom.

From the time she was a toddler, Barbara found herself fascinated by those things her mom called "books."  Once she learned the words between the covers held the magic of storytelling, she wanted to see her words in print so she could weave that spell for others.

Barbara hopes you will enjoy reading her stories and will find your own storytelling magic in them!

You can find her at

her website:  www.barbarawhitedaille.com  and

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

and Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille