Romance Author Hotspot

Guess who? It’s Camryn Rhys with us today! Yay! And she’s talking about what Cowboys and Chefs have in common! 

For the last year, I’ve been writing what I call “Western Foodie Romances”. I’m not sure anyone else writes them, but I certainly haven’t seen any. I’ve had several people ask me: what exactly do cowboys and chefs have in common?

As heroes, cowboys and chefs are so similar. Both tend to be independent and self-motivated. They are the ultimate alpha males. They like order, they want things done a certain way, and they’re often nomadic—going where the best work is.

But in a lot of ways they’re very different. Chefs tend to be innovative and forward-thinking. Cowboys tend to be tied to history and don’t dig change too much.

Writing Western Foodie romance, I have to find the intersection between these two. How does food interact with the cowboy culture? Do cowboys care what they eat? Are all cowboys/girls the same? How does the West tolerate and/or embrace new trends? These are things that Western Foodie Romance naturally tends toward.

And, of course, the hotness quotient. Because let’s face it, whether it’s a chef’s hat or a cowboy hat, it’s just covering up the hottie underneath.

In honor of the hot cowboys in my Freewill series, I’m having a Cowboys & Cocktails release party on my blog and giving away a lot of great prizes. Every comment on every blog tour post counts. So if you want to comment here, I’ve got a question for you: What makes a chef hot to you? What makes a cowboy hot? Which do you prefer?

BLURB:

Kyle Harris lands a job as the new chef at the Misbegotten Gaines Ranch just in time for the launch of their new Singles’ Trail Ride. When his new boss, the alluring Jamie Gaines, mistakenly believes him to be married, he goes along with the ruse to keep his job. But things start to heat up between them and Kyle has to choose between losing his job and letting Jamie get away.

Excerpt:

When a guy says he’s gonna work on a dude ranch, he kinda expects it to be run by…well, dudes. Instead, the only two people Kyle Harris could see when he pulled up to the Misbegotten Gaines Dude Ranch were women. And they were hot with a capital H-O-T.

Hot enough that it got a little toastier in his car, and in his formerly roomy boxers under his jeans. Kyle had big plans for spending long days at his new job out on the dusty trail with men he could consider his brothers. Guys always looked tight in those John Wayne movies his mom used to watch. He had a feeling the wild would do that to a guy.

But being in the Wyoming wilderness with two gorgeous women would not lead to any camaraderie among the men. Nor would it lead to silent nights around the campfire eating beans from a can and drinking coffee from a tin cup while the coyotes yowled against the midnight sky.

Okay, so maybe he paid a little more attention during those movies than he’d like to admit. But still. The kind of backside(s) he could see promised a lot of things, and none of them peaceful. Maybe he wouldn’t have to extend his sex hiatus after all.

Check Out Camryn’s other new release! 

Blurb:

Sacha Camomescro, an Empath demon with an airship, is rescuing refugees from Victorian Europe’s war on magic when she meets a man unlike any other. Javier Vargas is a lone alpha werewolf, his pack nearly decimated by assassins, his appetite for justice superseded only by his desire for her.

But Sacha’s gift is also her curse. While reading minds is helpful in eluding the assassins sent by Europe for Progress, it cripples her ability to trust men, and enjoy sex, for she can always see the fantasies men have when they’re with her. But Javier has a single-minded focus when it comes to his pursuit, and he wants her.

Just when it seems she can trust him, Sacha’s crew starts getting picked off mid-flight, and it seems there’s a rabid animal at fault. Javier and his lone remaining pack member fall under suspicion, and in the hysteria, Sacha begins to lose control of her mission. Blindsided by passion, she must decide if she can trust the one man who wants her just as she is.

We’re blogging with DL Jackson today! 

Here’s a typical and recent scenario. Bear with me, I’m typing this exactly the way my brain works.

So, we were driving down the road the other day and I told my husband about the latest contract for a Decadent 1NightStand story called My Boogie Woogie Bugle Guy. Out of the blue, he says to me. “Will you make your next hero in your next porn bald?” (he calls it porn, I’ve ceased trying to convince him it isn’t. I secretly think he likes to brag to his buddies that’s what I write. Meh. Whatever.)

Anyway, the moment he asked, I choked and about swallowed my gum. I kid you not. This request was a complete shock. I never would have expected that. You see, he refuses to read my work. His excuse—he’d have to have an opinion, and he swears that will just get him into trouble, much like answering the question, “Do these jeans make my ass look fat?”  

Now, I’m just about game for anything, and to be honest, I’ve written dark haired heroes. I’ve written blonds. I even have a red head, but nowhere in any of my stories do I have a bald hero, and it’s not for the lack of liking them. I’m one of those women that think bald is sexy. And some men do it really well. I say if you’re thinning—shave it. Whoo hoo, party time! Pair it with a stash and goatee—meow. It’s that bad ass, bad boy look that I can’t resist. 

Back to where my inspiration comes from.

Since my husband is bald, and I firmly believe this request is linked to that fact he doesn’t have hair, I wonder if perhaps I can get him to read a story if I do write a sexy bald hero. But I do need some inspiration and he’s certainly not doing it for me at the moment. 

He’s sitting over in his chair, jeans unbuttoned, watching hunting shows and grunting at the bucks. Yes, grunting. You heard me. He’s got his can of Cheese Whiz, which he battled with my teenage son over, coming out on top only after he threatened the deadly “drill”. (don’t ask) He’s liberally spraying goo on garlic flavored crackers and flicking the channels every time a commercial comes on, stopping only to watch somebody replace a toilet on one of those home improvement shows. Every now and then he passes gas and blames the cat, who gives him the most indignant look; as though he knows he was thrown under the bus.

Somebody get me a bucket of ice water. Whoo hoo. Hot man in the house.

In all fairness, I have to admit, I’m not exactly looking like seductive material. A bit frumpy actually. I have on my fuzzy slippers, ragged tee-shirt and flannel pants, and they’re not anything anyone would see on the runway at a Victoria’s Secret show.

Maybe he’s bored and needs a little adventure, and asking for a story with a bald hero is his way of saying so. Hmmm. Maybe we’re both stuck in a rut and need a little fun after 22 years of marriage. Ah yes, now I’m inspired. I’m feeling a 1NS story coming on, aren’t you? And when you see a bald hero, you’ll know it was my husband’s request. I’m thinking a story about Gunny and his wife. The same Gunny from Cinderella Wore Combat Boots.

What say you?

 Now, I think I was supposed to talk about my erotic shorts for the Edge Series, but as you can tell, I get easily distracted. At least you now know what I mean when I say life inspires me.

BLURB:

Game on.

Another lamb for the feast. Not likely. Jezebel knows that taking a bite out of the virgin bait the demon slayers have tossed into the club, is a bad idea. But there’s also more than one way to skin a proverbial cat, or in this instance, pop a slayer’s cherry before she causes any problems. There’s nothing in the succubus rule book that says Jezebel has to play fair.  After all, she need only suggest. What the slayer does with the nudge is up to her.

Check mate.

One lucky winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card and choice of one of my Edge stories in the Carnality series.