Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Joanne Kennedy! Writes: I write light contemporary Western romance set in small Wyoming towns and on ranches like the ones that surround my home. My authentic working cowboys are challenged by women who are fish-out-of-water that absolutely refuse to get back in the bucket. My secondary characters range from cranky old men to schoolteachers to kids of all kinds. Happily ever after doesn’t come easy in my books, but the rougher the road, the better the story–and the more you discover about what really matters in life. About: I live in a secret hideout on the wild edge of Wyoming, an hour away from everything. Much as I love my mountain sanctuary, I’m glad I have a Facebook page (Joanne Kennedy Books) where I can meet readers and share photos of my hiking adventures with our three dogs. There are three cats, too; I have no idea how I ended up with that many pets, but they love starring in my books. I’m crazy in love with…

I love second-chance romances. Couples who fall in love only to lose each other have lots of time to stoke the fire as they search for a relationship as intense as their first love. By the time they get back together, the sparks really fly! That’s the case with Jess and Cade in Cowboy Summer, and you’ll find the same heat and passion in these classic novels by some of my favorite authors. I had to put them in alphabetical order (by last name), because I couldn’t choose a favorite! Kari Lynn Dell: Tangled in Texas Kari Lynn Dell’s books are wildly authentic because she’s the real deal—a ranch-raised cowgirl and true-life rodeo competitor. She’s a compelling writer as well, creating characters who are vivid and alive. In this story, physical therapist Tori’s latest client is her ex, bronc rider Delon Sanchez, who’s suffered an injury that may end more than his rodeo career. The chemistry between these two ranges from fiery disputes to touching love scenes, and like all her books, it’s full of heat and action as well as humor and emotional insight. If you want to get a taste of the true cowboy life, you need to…

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” That’s my favorite Mae West quote. But while Ms. West’s independent spirit is an inspiration to all of us, she doesn’t tell us how to live right, nor does she tell us what to do if we feel like we’re living all wrong. For me, as for a lot of women, the answer was to run away from home and build a new and better life in the West. Packing only what matters most, we find our way to Montana, Wyoming, or maybe Texas, leaving our troubles and our timid old selves behind. I call us Red Boot Women because nothing hollers independence like a pair of red cowboy boots. We buy them first with our scraped-up savings because they help us find our swagger and stomp up some confidence. In Cowboy Trouble, Libby Brown doesn’t have time to buy those boots. She’s too busy ditching her cheating fiancé, quitting her job, and moving 1500 miles from home with only what fits in the bed of a cherry-red pickup. Acting on a long-held dream, she buys a tumbledown ranch with a big red barn, takes a job…

HOW TO HANDLE A COWBOY is the first volume in my Cowboys of Decker Ranch series. I just finished the first draft of the second book in the series (HOW TO WRANGLE A COWBOY) and I can’t believe how much fun I’m having. It’s obvious that romance readers love to read series books, and writers love to write them. From Nora Roberts to J.R. Ward, from Debbie Macomber to E.L. James, authors are giving readers what they crave: books that allow them to really get to know a group of characters, so opening the next book is like joining old friends. Books that give readers a sense of place, and create towns they want to return to again and again. Books where favorite characters drop in for surprise appearances. I wrote six stand-alone books before I embarked on a series. Too many times, I’d read books that were second or third in a series and found myself confused, or felt left out of little treats that were clearly “in-jokes” for returning readers. I’d also read books where the author spent page after page of Book Two summarizing the first book in the series. I read one where nothing new happened…

A compelling and great writing draw us into a story—but what we stay for is the characters. Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy; Jane Eyre and Rochester—what’s a romance without great lovers who come alive on the page? Giving life to characters is the best part of writing. I love creating a small town of my own, peopled by characters who hopefully come alive for the reader. They’re certainly real to me! I spend a lot of time in my fictional universe, and my characters become like friends—or maybe more like family, because much as I love them, they sometimes drive me crazy. Demanding, difficult, and determined—they’re just like real people. Teague and Jodi have been with me a long time, waiting for their story to be told and gradually revealing who they are and what they want. By the time I actually sat down to write the book, they’d taken on so much personality that it was all I could do to keep them under control. It wasn’t easy to keep them out of bed, either. These two were definitely made for each other. The best part about having a new book released is knowing that my new characters are out…

What is it about cowboys? Readers these days love them—Linda Lael Miller’s McKettrick boys, Catherine Anderson’s Coulter brothers, and Carolyn Brown’s Honky Tonk cowboys, among others. I love them too—obviously. My September release, One Fine Cowboy, is my second contemporary cowboy romance, and there are more to come. So what’s the appeal of these rough-and-ready Westerners? Part of it’s the outfit. Worn jeans, slant-heeled boots, rugged, rakish hats—they all set off a man to perfection. Then there’s the body type. Whether it’s the tall, slim cowpoke slouching casually against a fence or the rugged, muscular type wrestling steers, the work a cowboy does makes for a perfect combination of muscle and sinew. Then there’s the fact that they work with animals. Whether they’re ranch hands, rodeo riders, or weekend wranglers, these men work with horses—and anyone who’s ever sat in a saddle knows you can’t just force horses to do what you want. Working with them requires a certain kind of sensitivity, a give-and-take that bodes well for the bedroom. But another part of their appeal is the old-fashioned simplicity of Western life, which translates into an old-fashioned morality that makes a cowboy the perfect romantic hero. Here in Wyoming,…

March 2010 On Sale: March 2, 2010 Featuring: Luke Rawlins; Libby Brown 416 pages ISBN: 1402236689 EAN: 9781402236686 Mass Market Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Romance Buy at Amazon.com Cowboy Trouble by Joanne Kennedy It’s her turn to rescue him…if they don’t both get killed first… Fleeing her latest love life disaster, big city journalist Libby Brown’s transition to rural living isn’t going exactly as planned. Her childhood dream has always been to own a chicken farm—but without the constant help of her charming, sexy, cowboy neighbor; she’d never have made it through her first Wyoming season. Handsome rancher Luke Rawlins is impressed by this sassy, independent city girl. But he yearns to do more than help Libby out with her ranch…he’s ready for love, and he wants to go the distance. When the two get embroiled in their tiny town’s one and only crime story, Libby discovers that their sizzling hot attraction is going to complicate her life in every way possible… Previous Picks

Cowboy Trouble started with a chicken, a cowboy, and an act of rebellion. I’ve worked in book selling all my life, but a few years ago I decided it was time to escape the rigors of retail and get a job where I could sit down once in a while. I decided to try medical transcription, which meant I was sitting in front of my computer for hours at a time, tapping away at the keys. The trouble was, what I was churning out was mind-numbingly dull. Doctor’s reports are hardly the stuff of literature, and the ones that are interesting are generally tragic. The typing was good. The sitting was great. But the work? Not for me. In a vague act of rebellion, I shut off the dictation one day and just started typing whatever came into my head. Here’s what came out: A chicken will never break your heart. Not that you can’t love a chicken. There are some people in this world who can love just about anything. But a chicken will never love you back. When you look deep into their beady little eyes, there’s not a lot of warmth there-just an avarice for worms and…