Davalynn Spencer and Free Books!

When Livvy Hartman’s old enemy rides to her rescue, she wonders if he might turn out to be much more than a new friend.

Before we visit today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the signed copies of Critical Condition, by Richard Mabry, is:

donvelma@ . . .

and the winner of the signed copy of Dynamo, by Eleanor Gustafson, is:

eileenmaryv@ . . .

Congratulations! I'll email you today to get your mailing addresses, and we'll get your books to you right away. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to participate in future book give-aways! Subscribers are entered a second time when they comment.

And now let's visit with Davalynn Spencer, author of Branding the Wrangler’s Heart (Heartsong Presents | Harlequin, May 2014).

When the handsome, dark-eyed cowboy sauntered into Davalynn Spencer’s life, the gate to adventure swung wide. So began her journey as a bullfighter’s wife and an award-winning national rodeo journalist.

Her passion for words has also taken her from the city crime beat of a mid-size daily newspaper to inspirational publication with David C. Cook, The Upper Room, Chicken Soup for the Soul and others. When she’s not writing western romance, she teaches at Pueblo Community College and writes a slice-of-life column for her local newspaper.

She and her handsome cowboy have three children and four grandchildren and make their home on Colorado’s Front Range with a Queensland heeler named Blue.

Davalynn, please tell us three random things we might not know about you.

-- I was on the Price is Right.

-- In high school, I sat in the front pew of a church one Sunday morning waiting for the pastor to call on me to sing. He never did. I was in the wrong church.

-- When my rodeo clown husband was injured by a bull and forbidden by the plastic surgeon to return to the arena, I dressed up in my husband’s clown clothes, painted my face, and worked with another clown to keep the comedy acts going between events. Didn’t fight bulls, though. Mama didn’t raise no fool.

Those are great personal facts, Davalynn! I love the wrong-church one in particular.

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of Branding the Wrangler's Heart.

Finally out of school and bored silly at her parent’s Denver parsonage, Livvy Hartman moves in with her widowed grandfather to help take care of him and cook for his ranch hands on the Bar–HB near Cañon City, Colorado.

 But the ranch foreman is none other than her childhood nemesis, Whit Hutton, who teased and tormented her when she and her family used to visit. Whit still has that arrogant glint in his eye, but the rest of him is certainly no boy.

Livvy and Whit strike a tenuous truce until her grandfather invites her on the roundup against Whit’s wishes. Livvy proves she can hold her own with a branding iron, and even survives a sudden Rocky Mountain lightning storm.

But when she rides out on her own hunting for a patch of columbines, Whit finds the woman he’s fallen in love with cornered by a lethal enemy. Can he make it to her in time?

What is it about Livvy that will make your readers care about her?

Livvy longs to be her own person and does not want Whit Hutton telling her what she can and cannot do. She grew up spending summers at her grandfather’s ranch, and is determined to prove that she’s just as good with cattle and horses as any man.

If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your lead roles?

Cowgirl model, Angie Meadors




and Eric Decker.





What is your greatest distraction when you’re trying to write? How do you overcome it?

Email. I check it too frequently for messages from various writer groups, my agent and editors, or comments on a Facebook post I’ve made. I try to keep it limited to mornings and spend the day aiming for my word count of 2,000 words minimum.

What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin. I enjoy reading well-written books, and this one certainly is. Plus it has a gripping plot and incredible characterization. It will leave you listening for God’s voice.

What are you working on now?

I have a long contemporary romance novel—with a cowboy, of course—that my agent is shopping, and I’m writing book four in the continuation of my Cañon City historical series. Branding the Wrangler’s Heart is book two, and book three, Romancing the Widow, will release in August.

Where else can readers find you online?

My website and blog: www.davalynnspencer.com
Facebook
Twitter: @davalynnspencer
Pinterest




CBD.com


Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?

Have you ever related to a character’s life and/or challenges so deeply, that you were encouraged to make changes in your own life? If so, how did the author of that character reach your heart?

Thanks, Davalynn, for visiting with us and telling us about your novel. Readers, Davalynn has offered to give a signed copy of her book to the winner of our drawing on Thursday, May 1. To enter, leave a comment below in answer to Davalynn's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Leave your email address, in case you win, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com.

Be sure to check out my interview with Beth White, below. Leave an appropriate comment at the bottom of the post to enter the drawing for a signed copy of the book.

Also, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post.

Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer HERE.