The Cowboy’s Claim: Author Sinclair Jayne’s finale to her Coyote Cowboys of Montana series

Hi Tuligans and Marietta fans,

I am so fired up that The Cowboy’s Claim—the fifth and last book in The Coyote Cowboys of Montana series will release on June 18th. I first roughed out the idea four years ago just as the pandemic started. I had two ideas—Special Forces soldiers peeling off to Marietta, Montana to do a good deed or make amends for a fallen friend, and the second idea was rodeo cowboy cousins who play a bride game during the Copper Mountain Rodeo to help their granddad. I brainstormed with my friend, Rusty Keller, March, 2020 at an Oregon beach just as the world started shuttering. It was such a weird and scary time that Tule suggested running with the fun, sexy rather mad cap idea of the Montana Rodeo Brides. I have to admit that series was fun, but organizing all the details and scenes and continuity was challenging because all three books happen simultaneously during the Copper Mountain Rodeo.  

But I couldn’t let go of my Coyote Cowboys. It took a few years to write the series, and I have loved this group of heroes—their fierce loyalty to each other and determination to honor their friend even as the task they face is the last thing they want to do. 

In The Cowboy’s Claim Calhoun Miller is tasked with solving a mystery in Marietta—something his fallen friend, Jace McBride, saw happen as a child. Calhoun arrives in Marietta, with little information, but he thrives on challenge. A sexy, anonymous hook up at Grey’s Saloon and the Graff Hotel is meant to blow off some steam before he starts his investigation. Instead, it leads him in a direction he never anticipated.

Sinclair Jayne's The Cowboy's Word book cover with cowboy leaning on fence.I was a little nervous writing this story because while it is utterly a romance, it also contains a central mystery. I have never written a mystery though I love to read them. I had been layering in little pieces of the mystery in each book—just a bread crumb in The Cowboy’s Word, a few more in Marry Me Please, Cowboy, The Cowboy’s Christmas Homecoming and The Cowboy Charm. But with the final book, I had to solve the sucker. And because I have a tendency to give in to impulse and inspiration, I make a lot of changes as I write. I knew it would be easy to derail the narrative. I think my very focused heroine, traveling doctor, Jory Quinn, who has always defied expectations, helped keep me organized and grounded.

Giving Jory and Calhoun a HEA in the most improbable circumstances, gave me such joy that I often had to get up from my desk and hop and dance around the last quarter of the book. Everything was coming together and yeah, bragging here, it felt more effortless than I had imagined it would.

I hope you get a chance to read The Cowboy’s Claim. I enjoyed writing the series so much that I took one of the characters who appears in the beginning of each book, Wolf Conte, and gave him a backstory and his own vow to Jace that will bring him to Last Stand Texas, another Tule town, this Christmas. Keep an eye out for Christmas with the Texas Cowboy coming this October!

For a fun GIVEAWAY, a question I have as I’ve been mulling ideas for future series—do you have a favorite hook or a fantasy profession—cowboy, soldier, doctor, entrepreneur, athlete, royal, celebrity, tycoon, vampire, shifter? Is there a job or profession you’ve always fantasized about? Comment below and we’ll pick one winner to receive a fun prize pack of goodies!

Thanks for your time and happy reading as we slide into summer.

Sinclair Jayne.


About the Author.

Sinclair Sawhney is a former journalist and middle school teacher who holds a BA in Political Science and K-8 teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine and a MS in Education with an emphasis in teaching writing from the University of Washington. She has worked as Senior Editor with Tule Publishing for over seven years. Writing as Sinclair Jayne she’s published fifteen short contemporary romances with Tule Publishing with another four books being released in 2021. Married for over twenty-four years, she has two children, and when she isn’t writing or editing, she and her husband, Deepak, are hosting wine tastings of their pinot noir and pinot noir rose at their vineyard Roshni, which is a Hindi word for light-filled, located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Shaandaar!


Celebrate Father’s Day with these Recommended Reads from Tule

Happy Father’s Day to all the great father-figures out there. Check out some of our recommended reads with these great book dads!

My Favorite Mistake by Stella Holt

Legacy of the Maguires, Book 6

“An engaging story that was about family, overcoming the past hurts and fears, and giving love and relationships a chance.” – Eileen, Goodreads

Buy Now


Be My Baby by Dakota Harrison

With Love, From Kurrajong Crossing, Book 8

“I did love this story it is sensual, beautifully written and filled with emotion and I highly recommend it and I am thrilled that there will be more to come. Thank you Dakota Harrison for another keeper.” – Helen, Goodreads

Buy Now


A Homecoming Mantra by Sapna Srinivasan

The Sood Family, Book 4

“Srinivasan celebrates love and that’s something that every heart can get behind. Through the unpredictability and pain of life, the one constant is family. A Homecoming Mantra spotlights that message of familial unity with a sweetness that touches the soul.” – Isha, Goodreads

Buy Now


Marrying the Nanny by Dani Collins 

Raven’s Cove, Book 1

“…an emotional, heartwarming, complex story introducing the three Fraser half-brothers and their orphaned baby half-sister. It’s a story about grief, life’s sudden changes, mental health, child neglect, while also a reflection about love, affection, compassion, selflessness, and the absolute adorableness of a baby girl called Storm.” – Eileen, Goodreads

Buy now


Her Cowboy Baby Daddy by Jeannie Watt

Return to Keller Ranch, Book 2

“Jeannie has pulled me into the story once again. Jeannie has a way of drawing me in. I constantly want to turn the page to see what’s next.” – Jane, Goodreads

Buy now


The Perfect Summer Romance Releases for the Month! (Plus a Giveaway!)

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the May romance releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected and announced at the end of the month.

Check out our new romance releases for June!

Celebrating Fathers: An Anthology featuring Jamie K. Schmidt, Kelly Hunter, Anne McAllister, Justine Davis, Nicole Flockton, and Sapna Srinivasan
Release Date: June 3, 2024


The Cowboy’s Untamed Heart by Jamie K. Schmidt
Sweethearts of the Rodeo | Book 2
Release Date: June 4, 2024

 

The Wedding Crush by Mia Heintzelman
The Fortemani Family series | Book 2
Release Date: June 11, 2024

 

The Lady and the Thief by Kate Moore
The Duke’s Men | Book 1
Release Date: June 13, 2024

 

The Cowboy’s Claim by Sinclair Jayne
The Coyote Cowboys of Montana | Book 5
Release Date: June 18, 2024

 

The Maguire Family Anthology by Stella Holt
Legacy of the Maguires | Books 1-4
Release Date: June 20, 2024

 

Dark Knight’s Kiss by Leigh Ann Edwards
Witch and Demon Hunter | Book 3
Release Date: June 25, 2024

 

Adopting with the Doctor by Patricia W. Fischer
Marietta Medical | Book 4
Release Date: June 26, 2024

 

Last Dance with the Texas Bull Rider by Rebecca Crowley
The Stars of Texas | Book 3
Release Date: June 27, 2024

 

Summer Lovin: A Sweet Romance Anthology featuring stories by Barbara Dunlop, Jami Rogers, Jamie K. Schmidt, Sarah Fischer & Kelsey McKnight, Joan Kilby and Robyn Neeley
Release Date: June 28, 2024


How Barbara Ankrum found excitement for her new series and latest release! (Plus, a giveaway!)

Hi Tule friends! 

So happy to be back here on the Tule blog with a new book to talk about. This year, I’ve been head down writing this new four book series for you called The Hardestys of Montana. And oh, my, gosh. I have had so much fun writing it. For the first time in my long career, I’ll have all four books out in one year, which is a record for me. I’m not what I consider to be the fastest writer (understatement!) and after an annoying slab leak in my house and reconstruction, it’s been a challenge. But like always, all those challenges feed my stories and my characters’ arcs, and hopefully makes them relatable–which is really half the fun of writing these stories for you.

The Cowboy’s Bride, Book One in the series, (out now!) opens at a Dallas society wedding, naturally. Not the hero’s wedding, however. And ultimately, not the heroine/bride’s either. It’s more of a humiliating disaster for Isabella Stanford whose biggest mistake was not listening to that little voice that warned her that something was very wrong. But she’s always been the good girl, the one who never rocked the boat. Now look where it’s gotten her! Her only option now? Run. As fast and as far away as she can and start over.

Enter Will Hardesty, the handsome ex-NFL player, limo driver who rescues her and agrees to a cross-country road trip—for a fee, of course. He is dealing with his own loss as well—the awful injury that prematurely ended his career and, simultaneously, his marriage. He is not, however, prepared for what’s about to happen on this adventure with Isabella, or the detour they end up taking to his family’s Montana ranch in Montana that he left long ago. And neither one of them imagines finding love again in the most unexpected way.

Here’s a snippet:

She had a hard time imagining how shortsighted that woman must have been to have let a man like Will go. But then, here she was, talking about love as if it were a binary thing that one could take or leave. It wasn’t. Love, she’d discovered, was fluid and complicated and had a will of its own. Love chose you, not the other way around. And for all of her bluster and denial about never stepping foot in that emotion again, she could feel it—against her will—eddying up inside her as she lay beside him, feeling protective of him, ready to fight all the trolls who thought they knew him better than he did himself and would dare call him out. 

The feeling took a different shape than it had for Theo, or any man for that matter, and had a different vibration even that settled in her chest whenever he was near. And before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and kissed him.

The first touch of her lips to his surprised him, and her for that matter. She hadn’t intended to kiss him then, or at all tonight. But there he was, looking all tousled and telling her things he probably never shared and she just … just … kissed him. 

And oh! He tasted sweet, just as she’d known he would. Like a craving for her favorite gelato or, to tell the truth, freedom, she’d craved another one of his kisses all day. She began to pull away, to apologize for the uninvited kiss, but his answer was to close the gap between them with another kiss, this one better than hers. This one—if she’d been standing—would have buckled her knees. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, until she was beneath him. She savored the weight of him, all the hard muscled strength of him holding her.

She forgot to think as his mouth moved over hers, his fingers buried in her hair, his breath coming hard and fast against her cheek.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss, touching his forehead to hers, eyes slammed shut. “I haven’t stopped thinking about kissing you all day,” he whispered. 

“Neither have I,” she said, stroking the back of his neck, feeling the heat there.

“I told you that you wouldn’t have to worry about…”

“Does this feel like I’m worried?” She curled her fingers into his hair.

He smiled and kissed her again. “No.”

The Hardestys of Montana series follows four siblings in the Hardesty family, Will, his single-mom twin sister, Shay, the baby and fixer of the family, Cami, and Liam, the one holding things all together on the ranch. Book 2 Cowboy Don’t Go is already up for presale! 

I hope you’ll love this series as much as I do. 

GIVEAWAY: I’m giving away (2) two eBook copies of The Cowboy’s Bride to two lucky commentors. Just tell me if you’d ever visit a Montana guest ranch and what would be your favorite part of that trip? Winners will be chosen on June 1st. Please check back to see if you’ve won!


About the Author.

Barbara Ankrum has a thing for the West and has written both historical and contemporary romances, all set in that magical place. Twice nominated for RWA’s RITA Award, her bestselling books are emotional, sexy rides with a touch of humor. Barbara’s married and raised two children in Southern California, which, in her mind, makes her a native Westerner.


10 Years in the Making: How Megan Crane’s Love of Marietta Led to Cowboy Point

Ten years ago I went on a spectacular writing retreat on Flathead Lake in Montana and dreamed up a town called Marietta with a few friends I bet you’ve heard of. Later that year, my book TEMPT ME, COWBOY was not only the first book ever published by Tule—it was the very first book set in Marietta, Montana. 

Since then I’ve written a bunch of quirky novellas and books set in and around Marietta, or having some connection to Marietta, as I (mostly) followed a bunch of cousins from the extended Grey family through their sometimes deliciously tortured journeys toward happy ever afters. I’ve gone on more Montana writing retreats—including one that took us on a road trip across the west to Deadwood, South Dakota, for an epic rodeo. I dipped in and out of Marietta over the years, and have a lot of pretty deep feelings about the place. To me, it feels like a place I lived in once and had to move away from.

Last fall, I got to revisit Marietta for the first time in years. I wrote TEMPT ME PLEASE COWBOY and got deeply nostalgic for cowboys, Montana, and beautiful Paradise Valley. Another road trip  up from Jackson Hole, through the Tetons and Yellowstone and on to Livingston, sealed the deal. I was nostalgic for big skies, soaring mountains, and cowboys who feel a little like both.

I wanted to come back to what feels so much like home to me.

That’s how Cowboy Point was born.

Cowboy Point is a tiny community on the other side of Copper Mountain, a good ten mile drive—in good weather—into Marietta. 

The community is a mix of old time miners’ families who found the copper barons down in the valley a bit too heavy handed for their tastes back in the 1850s, cowboys and ranchers who’ve worked the land in the Gallatin Range’s more remote valleys for generations, the usual mountain types who are drawn to far off places, and the artists and other hermit-minded fancier folk that are everywhere in Montana these days.

Cowboy Point has no stoplights but it does boast one elementary school while the older kids are bussed into Marietta, weather permitting. There’s one small but feisty library, a feed store, and the General Store with its selection of conveniences on one side, a diner of sorts in the middle, and a bar on the other side over the creek. Not long ago, some folks opened up a pizza and ice cream sort of place across the road, and sometimes there’s live, local music to go along with the family-friendly atmosphere. There’s even the old Cowboy Point Lodge, the Jewel of the Rockies in its days, that has fallen into disrepair since the Stark Boys (now dead or in their 70s) spent their entire lives arguing over who should get to run it. 

Most people either have deep roots here, like the Starks, and therefore a tangled family history to work out. Some have that and a grudge, like the Careys and the Lisles, who have been feuding since day one. Newcomers—meaning anyone who turned up after the early 1900s—might have fewer feuds and less ancient tangles, but one thing they all share is a deep sense of pride and place.

You have to want to live in Cowboy Point. It’s a lot easier to slide on down the mountain into Paradise Valley and live in places with fewer memories and a whole lot more services.

But once the high mountain air gets a hold of you, not to mention the spectacular views across one of the most beautiful places in all of Montana, you might find it hard to call anywhere else home.

That’s true for Harlan Carey, the oldest of the Carey brothers. He’s spent his whole life on his family’s ranch, was born on the land and intends to die on it—but not without doing his part to continue the family legacy.

Meaning: he needs a wife.

But he’s an overly practical man, so he figures that instead of dating around with time he doesn’t have, he’ll place an ad in the paper for the exact wife he wants, just like cowboys did for years when the west was still wild:

Cowboy looking for wife to work the land, help with the business, and raise the next generation. Must be practical, reasonable, and honest.

When Kendall Darlington answers this ad, Harlan has himself a mail-order bride. He figures that the fact she’s so pretty is a distraction, but once they get used to each other, they’ll figure out how to have the sort of practical relationship he wants.

Except more time with Kendall only means more ways to want her, and that’s before her messy past comes calling…

There are five books planned in the Careys of Cowboy Point series, all of which you can read about here, and no shortage of other fine folks in the area, so here’s hoping we get to spend a lot of time there together: https://megancrane.com/series/the-careys-of-cowboy-point/

The first in the series, THE COWBOY’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE, comes out May 9 and I can’t wait to introduce you to Cowboy Point! 

I hope you’ll love it there as much as I do!


About the Author.

Megan Crane headshotUSA Today bestselling, multi-award-nominated, and critically-acclaimed author Megan Crane has written more than 145 books, and shows no sign of slowing down. She publishes romance as Megan Crane and M.M. Crane with an exciting backlist of women’s fiction, rom-coms, chick lit, and young adult novels. She’s also won a large and loyal fanbase as Caitlin Crews with Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Dare, Harlequin Historical, and contemporary cowboy books. And for paranormal fun, Megan partners with Nicole Helm to publish as Hazel Beck for her witchy rom-com novels.

Megan has a Masters and Ph.D. in English Literature, has taught creative writing classes in places like UCLA Extension’s prestigious Writers’ Program, and is always available to give workshops (or her opinion). She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her comic book artist husband, though, at any given time, she is likely to either be huddled in a coffee shop somewhere or off traveling the world. Preferably both.


Chasing Bull Riders became essential for Anne McAllister’s THE EIGHT SECOND WEDDING

Hi Everyone,

I’m just delighted to be here on Tule’s blog today to tell you a bit about my latest release, The Eight Second WeddingI loved writing this book because of the characters, Chan Richardson and Madeleine Decker, who made showing up at the keyboard every morning pretty enjoyable most days, and also because doing research for the book was so much fun.

It was one of those “opposites attract” stories which allowed me to use a fair share of my husband’s academic years to provide Madeleine, a New York City based PhD candidate, with her world of higher education on the one hand, and made me find a bull rider who was happy to share his rough-and-tumble peripatetic life with Chan. 

It also gave me a chance to do a riff on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice providing the  reason that Chan and Madeleine’s lives crossed in the first place: 

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that, when it comes to their children’s happiness, mothers know best. And when the mothers come equipped with a PhD in genetics in one case, and a PhD and years of experience in anthropological fieldwork in the other, the truth has considerable clout.”

Madeleine’s mother Antonia, the anthropologist, and her best friend, Julia, the geneticist who married a Wyoming rancher, had determined back in graduate school that one of Madeleine’s children should marry one of Julia’s.  Thus – in their estimation at least – they would have perfect grandchildren. 

The trouble was Antonia had only one child, Madeleine,  while Julia had four boys: Channing, Gardner, Mark and Trevor.  It wasn’t a problem, Julia said. It just meant Madeleine could have her pick.

By the time Madeleine was old enough to pick, though, there was only one Richardson left unmarried: the oldest and least suitable, rodeo bull rider, Chan. 

So, I had my character and I had my set-up and I had my years of living in academia, courtesy of Professor McAllister.  I just needed a bull rider.  

So I found one.  It wasn’t difficult. I called him up. He answered the phone.  Sure, he said. He’d be glad to help.  We talked a bit in general, and I promised to have a series of questions ready the next time we talked.  We couldn’t do it then because he was on his way to a doctor’s appointment. 

No matter, I thought. I’ll get the questions ready and get to work on the part of the book that wasn’t specifically full of bull riding detail.  A couple of weeks later, I called back. Went to voice mail which was full. I tried the land line. He was in Texas, his wife said, working on a movie.  Right, I said. I’ll call back.

A few days later, I did. Voice mail again.  Still full.  I called the landline.  Grandpa answered the phone.  My bull rider consultant was somewhere in the Midwest teaching a bull riding school.  Thanks, I said, and went back to writing the book.

A week after that there were fewer things that I could write without knowing what I was doing.  I called again, talked to Grandma.  Would you believe he was in Argentina?  Time was getting short.  He would be home on Tuesday, Grandma said.

I called back on Wednesday. Let the man get his bags unpacked, I thought.  But he wasn’t there on Wednesday. He was in Hollywood, a younger man told me. “Can I help you?” he said.

And I said, “Do you ride bulls?”

Well, it turned out he did.  And he wasn’t in Argentina or Texas or Hollywood or anywhere else.  So that afternoon he and I and my list of questions spent a lot of time together. Chan and I breathed a sigh of relief.  My new best friend was a great source of information and inspiration.  He not only answered questions, he provided suggestions and details I hadn’t even known I needed.  

Best of all, when we finished, he said, “Call me if you need anything else.”  So a few days later, I did.  One of the things I needed was a schedule. Chan and Madeleine decided the only thing their mothers understood was data.  If they spent time together, went down the road from rodeo to rodeo together and, two months later, were still as incompatible as they were sure that they were, their mothers would have to stop interfering in their lives.

But, which rodeos? Where? When? Why those rodeos?  

“I’ll make you a list,” he said.   

So he did. And one night at midnight the phone rang.  He was stranded in an airport due to fog, but he’d figured out the schedule, so he’d give it to me then.  And yes, he could have — if I’d answered the phone.  Even so, it was an entertaining voice mail to listen to in the morning.

Later that day when fog had permitted him to get home, he not only gave me Chan and Madeleine’s schedule for the summer, he provided the idea for Antonia and Julia’s middle- of-the-night-for-one-or-the-other of them international calls as they tried to keep up with Chan and Madeleine.

Meeting people who do far different things than I do has always been one of the great joys of writing books.  I love visiting their worlds vicariously or in person.  This time was no different.  My bull rider resource for The Eight Second Wedding still makes me smile.  Best of all, he made Chan Richardson’s world real. 

I think he had a good time being an “expert resource,” too.  He was eager to do it again, and even invited me to bull riding school!     

I hope you’ll look out for The Eight Second Wedding and will join Chan and Madeleine going down the road!


About the Author.

Years ago someone told Anne McAllister that the recipe for happiness was a good man, a big old house, a bunch of kids and dogs, and a job you loved that allows you to read.  And write.  She totally agrees.

Now, one good man, one big old house (since traded for a slightly smaller house. Look, no attic!) a bunch of kids (and even more grandkids) and dogs (and one bionic cat) and seventy books, she’s still reading.  And writing.  And happier than ever.

Over thirty plus years Anne has written long and short contemporary romances, single titles and series, novellas and a time-travel for Harlequin Mills & Boon and for Tule Publishing. She’s had two RITA winning books and nine more RITA finalists as well as awards from Romantic Times and Midwest Fiction Writers. One of the joys of writing is that sometimes, when she can’t go back in person, she can go back in her mind and her heart and her books.


Unveiling Tule’s Romance Releases of the Month! (Plus a Giveaway!)

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the May romance releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected and announced at the end of the month.

 

 

 

Check out our new romance releases for May!

Happy Mother’s Day: A Bundle of Contemporary Small Town Romances
Featuring Stories By: C.J. Carmichael, Nan Reinhardt, Sinclair Jayne, E. Elizabeth Watson, Kris Bock and H L Marsay

The Eight Second Wedding by Anne McAllister
Cowboy, Come Home | Book 4

The Cowboy’s Mail-Order Bride by Megan Crane
The Careys of Cowboy Point | Book 1

When the Earl Desired Me by Lydia Lloyd
The Rake Chronicles | Book 3

Bayou Redemption by Susan Sands
Louisiana | Book 4

Enchanted by the Highlander by Gerri Russell
Guardians of the Isles | Book 6

Sworn to Honor by Charlee James
Sworn Navy SEALs | Book 2
The Cowboy’s Bride by Barbara Ankrum
The Hardestys of Montana | Book 1


April Showers Bring Amazing New Releases at Tule! (Plus, Enter our Monthly Giveaway!)

Read more about our new releases for April!

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the April releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected and announced at the end of the month.

All’s Fair with Love and Cowboys by Kristine Lynn
Release Date: April 2, 2024

Small Town Romance in the Spring (Anthology) by Melissa McClone, Kate Hewitt, Jane Porter, Charlee James and Shannon Stults
Release Date: April 3, 2024

Once Upon a Summer Night by Kyra Jacobs
Release Date: April 4, 2024

A Chain of Pearls by Raemi A. Ray
Release Date: April 9, 2024

Danger in the Outback by Nicole Flockton
Release Date: April 11, 2024

Make You Mine by Nan Reinhardt
Release Date: April 16, 2024

Outback Heat (Anthology) by Amy Andrews
Release Date: April 17, 2024

Unbreak My Heart by Dakota Harrison
Release Date: April 18, 2024

Highland Dark Magic by Leigh Ann Edwards
Release Date: April 23, 2024

Bethany Meets Her Match by Lisa Lin
Release Date: April 24, 2024

Texas Reckless Cowboy by Rebecca Crowley
Release Date: April 25, 2024

Until Depths Do Us Part by K.B. Jackson
Release Date: April 30, 2024


“Write What You’re Dealing With” – A Message from Tule Author Sinclair Jayne on Her Recent Release (Plus a GIVEAWAY!)

Writing The Cowboy Charm was cathartic for me. What I didn’t expect was that it would be so much fun. I had had a couple of tough years struggling with the combination that I think so many of us go through at some point—balancing taking care of my mom’s declining health with launching my kids who were both in college but not far from my mind, while still trying to build my career and emotionally support my husband whose career was in a market flux. I was at a writing retreat—planning out book two in my Coyote Cowboys of Montana series (having written books one and three and starting to think about book four) and my friend Jane Porter said ‘write what you’re dealing with—make it work for you.’

So I did. I didn’t want The Cowboy Charm to be dark. I wanted it to be realistic and explore a valley in life, and yet focus on walking up the next hill. There will inevitably be times when we are grieving the loss of a loved one, a job, a friend, the future or opportunity we thought we’d have, and yet, if we keep going forward, acknowledging the loss or disappointment, we will find a shaft of light and a door opening.

When an author has a slightly heavier theme or a hero or heroine who is struggling, it’s important to find the light and laughter, and so Ryder Lea was born. I love my soldier/cowboy. He could be bitter or angry or shut down, but he’s not at all. He’s mister all in, hand raised, I got this. Usually in a group, that’s me, so in a way I was putting pieces of myself in a hero—not something I feel like I’ve done before. And yet he’s so much more—physical, eager, loyal and goal oriented. Totally ‘a dish’—something my grandma used to say, although I am not sure what meal he would be—lasagna comes to mind (because I love it and it’s tasty). 

The story is set—of course—in my favorite town of Marietta, Montana. In January. Brrrrrr, but Ryder brings the heat and sunlight and ‘can do’ attitude. Funny secret about that (shshshsh). I chose his last name—Lea—because it’s the last name of my niece, Reeva’s husband, John. Before I met John, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law kept saying he was a ‘can do guy.’ That’s all they’d say about him. Over and over, and other people who met him in the family said the same thing. Nothing else. And my husband and I just thought that was hilarious—like all the Sawhney’s were brainwashed (or non verbal).  We just had so much fun playing with that concept, and of course our daughter—16 at the time John and Reeva were getting married in a ginormous slap down Indian wedding (featured in my Misguided Masala Matchmaker series) joined in on the fun.

But, just like John (I can think of dozens of fabulous adjectives for), Ryder is so much more than ‘can-do,’ and he and Edison, my heroine, complement each other. He warms and heals her, and she in turn boosts him up as she sees all of his goodness and possibility. I loved the challenge of taking two characters who’d had some tragedies in their lives, but were determined to keep living, meet in improbable circumstances in the dead middle of winter, and yet find such joy and hope and of course an HEA that even made me cry a little. 

Hope you enjoy! Interested in more? Find me at https://sinclairjayne.com and sign up for my newsletter! Also, as a thank you for reading this, one lucky person picked from the comments on this post, will win a signed print copy of The Cowboy Charm and some Marietta and Sinclair Jayne swag!


About the Author.

Sinclair Sawhney is a former journalist and middle school teacher who holds a BA in Political Science and K-8 teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine and a MS in Education with an emphasis in teaching writing from the University of Washington. She has worked as Senior Editor with Tule Publishing for over seven years. Writing as Sinclair Jayne she’s published fifteen short contemporary romances with Tule Publishing with another four books being released in 2021. Married for over twenty-four years, she has two children, and when she isn’t writing or editing, she and her husband, Deepak, are hosting wine tastings of their pinot noir and pinot noir rose at their vineyard Roshni, which is a Hindi word for light-filled, located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Shaandaar!


THE RANCHER’S LOST BRIDE: Release Day Blog Post from Author Roxanne Snopek! (Plus a Galentine’s Shout Out!)

Celebrating the Love of Friends

It’s that time of year again when we celebrate love in all its forms. Yesterday, Tule celebrated “Galentine’s” Day, when we spotlight the love between gal-pals. I suspect that you, like me, have women friends who are as necessary as air, who make you laugh, who hold you when you cry, who cheer your triumphs and commiserate with you when you’re down. (Or maybe kick you in the pants, if that’s required!)

In my latest release, The Rancher’s Lost Bride, the friendship between three main female characters is pivotal to the storyline. Leila, our heroine, relies heavily on the advice of her friends Kendall, who starred in book one of the series (The Cowboy’s Lost Family), and Diana, a vital secondary character in all four books. Both women have stakes in Leila’s search for her birth family and it takes the three of them to figure out the most important clues.

I have so many great women friends who lift me up when I’m down, who remind me of what’s loveable about me when I can’t remember a single thing, who challenge me to be my best self, who look after me, who celebrate me… Some of you are right here, right now, reading this, so I say… THANK YOU (and I’m taking a huge risk by naming names) to: Connie, Dianne, Ruth, Julie, Cindy, Lynn, Robin, Paula, Stephanie, Lee, Pauline, Charlene, Diane, Teresa, Jami, Andrea, Leigh Ann, Denise, Mia, Jane, Shari, Kate, Riet, Megan, Janet, Kim, Beverley, Della, Heather, Ronda… I sent you all virtual chocolate and flowers from my heart to yours!

Thank you for being YOU!
– Roxanne

About the Author.

Born under a Scorpio moon, raised in a little house on the prairie, USA Today Bestselling Author Roxanne Snopek said “as you wish” to her Alpha Farm Boy and followed him to the mountain air and ocean breezes of British Columbia. There, while healing creatures great and small and raising three warrior-princesses, they found their real-life happily-ever-after. After also establishing a successful freelance and non-fiction career, Roxanne began writing what she most loved to read: romance. Her small-town stories quickly became fan favorites; print editions of her latest series were recently launched in France.