Ann B. Harrison took some time to chat about her second Hansen Brothers book, The Convenient Cowboy.
How was writing Nate different from writing Jethro (your hero from Book 1)?
Writing Nate was very different because he had to change dramatically over the book, more than any other character I’ve written. He had to let go of what he thought he wanted and embrace change, even though it went against everything he stood for. Something he really wasn’t happy with. Eventually he accepted it was what he needed to do but I won’t tell you what happens in the end.
What is a Hansen Family tradition that you haven’t written about?
Camping. When the boys were younger, they’d disappear out bush with the bare basics and go rogue.
Joy’s tough, but what do you imagine is the one thing (besides her son) that always makes her melt?
Nate. The way he is with her little man. Some people take to step children, some don’t. Nate does it so well she’s constantly shell shocked she got so lucky marrying him. The way he accepts she had a love before she met him and doesn’t want her to forget him. I had my editor in tears because of this.
Is Nate’s playboy reputation deserved or is he the victim of small town gossip?
Oh no, it’s deserved! He broke many hearts with his three date rule. It almost put Joy off but she was desperate.
What are you currently reading?
I have a few books on the go right now. David Baldacci’s Road to Mercy, Jodi Picoult’s A Spark of Light and Michelle Obama’s Becoming.
After moving to the lush green wine region of Australia’s Hunter Valley, Ann has the perfect surrounding to let her imagination to run wild. She alternates her time between writing western romances, women’s fiction romantic and playing in her garden. Two kinds of hero make Ann to a mass of nerves. The hot cowboy with a slow sexy drawl (she used to live out in the desert and enjoyed every minute) and a man in a kilt (Imagine Jamie Fraser) She can’t wait to visit Scotland where she can get her fill of the tartan clad hotties for, um research purposes, of course.
In the meantime, her dear husband puts up with her talking to her characters and getting lost in worlds only she can imagine as she battles to bring stories to the page for everyone to enjoy.
Sounds like my kind of story.