About the Book

Book: Falling for a Real Cowboy

Author: Karen Baney

Genre: Contemporary Christian Cowboy Romance

Release Date: November 21, 2023

She’s trying to resurrect her career. He’s sworn off women. Will this city-meets-country duo find love where they least expect it?

Dalton J. Vargas the fourth has sworn off love. Women are just a distraction that keep him from running his family’s multi-million-dollar guest ranch near Wickenburg, Arizona. After his father announces an early retirement, the full burden of the ranch rests on his shoulders. When a city-slicker romance author stays at the ranch, Dalton’s perfect world turns to chaos.

River Sloane’s last workplace romance novel flopped—big time. Now her publisher wants her to write a modern-day cowboy romance, which she has resisted for years. When her publisher sends her to a dude ranch in the middle of nowhere Arizona, she must learn about cowboys and ranching to get her career back on track. One hunky cowboy stirs her heart and unexpectedly becomes her muse.

Will she let herself fall in love with the real cowboy or will she return to the life she left behind? Will Dalton open his heart to a new, lasting love?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Karen Baney is passionate about writing stories full of flawed characters. She enjoys weaving together stories of second chances, redemption, and overcoming personal trials. As a transplant to Arizona in the late 1990s, she loves researching the state’s history and finding ways to seamlessly incorporate real history and real settings into her novels. In addition to writing and speaking, Karen works as a Software Development Manager for a Christian ministry.

Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing. Karen and her husband, Jim, make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs, Bella and Daisy. Both Jim and Karen are active at Rock Point Church in Queen Creek, Arizona.

More from Karen

Inspiration Behind the Vargas Ranch Series Brand

How many books about ranches and cowboys have you read, whether historical or contemporary and you wondered about their brand?

Hardly anyone describes the brand. Me either. In my historical series, I don’t think I’ve mentioned the brand for my ranch that appears in eleven books!

Well, for the Vargas Ranch Series, the brand plays a central role in describing both the family and their faith. In many of my series, I start with a theme verse, and the Vargas Ranch Series is no exception. When I read these verses in my morning devotion time, I knew this would be the anchor for the series.

With regard to the works of man,

by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

—Psalms 17:4-5 ESV

Then the family motto formed based on the second verse: I do not deviate from the Lord’s plan.

Immediately, I latched onto the word “deviate” and how it might be represented in a brand: “dV8”. I sketched out the design, and then I had to back into how else the letters “d” and “V” might relate to the series.

Then next thing I knew, I was searching for Spanish last names beginning with a “V”. As soon as I saw Vargas, I knew it was the perfect name for my Arizonan ranching family. The idea to make all the men’s name begin with a “d” also took shape. I scanned through my running list of cowboy names and quickly settled on the five brothers’ names: Dalton, Dylan, Derin, Devon, and Drake.

Now, I could have probably stopped there, but I love developing a rich family history for series like this. So, I decided to set the founding of the ranch in 1952 with Dalton J. Vargas, Senior. His son, Junior, named his son, Dalton J. Vargas the third, and Diego Vargas. The third or “Tres”, is the father of the five sons in the series.

I’ve really enjoyed weaving the family’s “dV8” brand, family motto, and theme verses into the first book in the series. They will make an appearance in all five books. So, I’ll leave you with:

“I do not deviate from the Lord’s plan.”

Blessings, dear readers!

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, December 12

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 13 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 13

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 14

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 15 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 16

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 17 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 18

A Reader’s Brain, December 19 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, December 19

Texas Book-aholic, December 20

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 21 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, December 22

For the Love of Literature, December 23 (Author Interview)

Labor Not in Vain, December 24

Holly’s Book Corner, December 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 gift card and a signed paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/293d2/falling-for-a-real-cowboy-celebration-tour-giveaway

Interview with Karen

Do you have a favorite scene in your newest release?

One of my favorite scenes is what I fondly call River’s Manifesto. She’s a romance writer who was sent to an Arizona dude ranch so she could restart her career by writing cowboy romances. She’s not thrilled about it, but owes her publisher several books. As she sits in the dining hall at the Vargas Guest Ranch & Resort, she’s praying and brainstorming. Dalton Vargas, the oldest Vargas brother and Ranch Manager, becomes her muse. This is a little peek at the scene, which has also become my manifesto for my cowboy romance novels.

That. That was what readers wanted. A handsome, chivalrous, kind cowboy. The perfect picture of manliness and Americana. An icon that harkened back to a time where men were manly and family values meant something. Not the baffling world view screaming at them all day, every day, demoralizing their very soul—her very soul.

She quickly scrawled the words from her mind onto the tablet. This would be the theme to anchor her in the unfamiliar subgenre. If she accepted it, her new mission was to bring stories with strong family values to worn out women. Stories that boasted men as God designed them to be. Strong. Courageous. Yet, submitted to their Lord and Savior—exhibiting the love of Christ in their interactions with those around them. Family. Faith. Freedom in Christ.

What is the genre you write?

The Vargas Ranch Series, including Falling for a Real Cowboy, is the first of my contemporary Christian cowboy romances. I have several historical Christian western romance series and one contemporary suburban romance series. I set all of them in Arizona and I plan to stick with different settings of my favorite state.

What is one thing you hope readers will take away from your story?

The underlying theme is about God’s timing. We see His hand in both Dalton’s and River’s characters as they face some huge challenges and experience love after some heartbreaking bad relationships in their pasts. Through it all, they grow, and dreams come true, though not in their desired timing, but in God’s perfect timing. Sometimes it’s hard to wait on the Lord, but we will find peace when we do.

What do you plan to work on next?

The second book in the Vargas Ranch Series, Falling for a Shy Cowboy, released on 12/19. I’m currently working on the remaining books in the series and a prequel. I’m also considering either extending the series or writing a spin-off series about the two female Vargas cousins and a third woman whose background will rock the Vargas family to the core. Sound like fun? It does to me. 😊

If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go?

My two bucket list vacation spots are Ireland and Australia. My love of Ireland started when my parents gave me a coffee-table book with amazing pictures of Ireland as a teenager. I’ve even mapped out a vacation romance story with settings in Arizona and Ireland. May be a story in my future.

Why Australia? Way back when I was a teen, we still had VCRs and our family rented a series from the library that was set in Australia in a western-like town in the time of stagecoaches. LOVED that series, but no one in my family can remember what it was!