New Gay Romance from @JPBowie - #MMRomance #Cowboys #Horses

Vetting the Cowboy

By J.P. Bowie

Book 1 in the Hot in the Saddle series

Hot in the Saddle is a new series set in a dude ranch in California. It features some of the characters from my earlier cowboy series Ride ’em Cowboy plus a variety of new hot men who live and love the cowboy way.

When Mike Henry, the new veterinarian in town, meets cowboy Seth Archer, it could be good times ahead—but Mike’s ex isn’t about to let him go without a fight.

Seth Archer, working cowboy on a dude ranch in Northern California, is thrown for a loop when he meets Mike Henry, the new veterinarian in town. The five-foot-eight bespectacled Mike isn’t Seth’s type, but the blue eyes behind the glasses are something Seth can’t seem to get past or forget.

Mike’s on the run. Well, not exactly, but he left Seattle to get away from Victor Torrens, a dominating boyfriend who turned abusive when Mike told him he wouldn’t be his submissive. Mike hasn’t worked with horses before, but it’s not long before his natural love of animals—and cowboys—makes him decide to call the small town of Denton home.

Seth and Mike bond, but their love affair might just be doomed before it truly begins when Victor sends Alex Brand, a celebrity bodyguard, to strongarm Mike back to Seattle.

In order to protect Seth and his new friends from Alex’s big fists, Mike may be forced to make a decision he’ll regret for the rest of his life.

Excerpt

Seth brings in one of the horses he’s seen limping. Parker Jones, the co-owner of the Seven Plus Ranch tells him to call the local veterinarian…

“Where’s the doc, d’you suppose?” Seth asked.

“Give him another call,” Bob said.

“Right.” He punched in Walker’s number and was diverted to his receptionist, Trish. “Oh, hi. Just wondering how much longer the doc’s gonna be. This is Seth over at the Seven Plus.”

“He got delayed over at the Armitage place, Seth. He sent his new assistant, Doctor Henry instead. He should’ve been there by now. He must’ve got lost or something. He’s new to the area, only been here a couple of weeks or so. I’ll call him and see what’s going on.”

“Thanks. Let me know if there’s a problem.”

“Will do.” Trish hung up and almost as soon as she had, Seth heard a car pull up in the parking area near the stable.

He stepped outside and watched as a young man flung himself out of a Toyota Camry. Whoa, when did they start making vets like this one? Is he even old enough to be a vet? He had curly brown hair and was wearing a loose white shirt and skinny jeans. As he hurried toward the stable he kept pushing his black-framed glasses back up over the bridge of his nose. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, muttered something under his breath then headed back to the car. He pulled a bag from inside then practically ran toward the stable door.

“Sorry,” he yelled on seeing Seth. “I got completely turned around trying to get here. Guess I’m going to have to get a car with a GPS when I turn this rental back in.” He held out a hand. “Doctor Mike Henry, and you are?”

“Seth Archer.” Seth took the outstretched hand and shook it.

“Doctor Walker said to ask for Mr. Jones.”

“Parker, our boss. I’ll call him now you’re here.” He fisted his cell phone and called Parker. “Hey Boss, the vet’s here, only it’s not Doctor Walker, it’s a Doctor Henry.”

“Okay, Seth, I’ll be right there.”

The doctor’s blue eyes peered at Seth though his glasses. “Uh, you can call me Mike…less formal, really. So, where’s the patient?”

“That would be Bonney, right here,” Seth said indicating the brown mare.

“Oh…she’s a beauty.” Mike hesitated. “Uh, have to admit, I don’t know much about horses. This’ll be a first for me.” He pushed his glasses back in place as he stared at Bonney.

“Well, she’s as gentle as a lamb,” Seth remarked, wondering why Doc Walker had sent someone unfamiliar with horses. Parker isn’t gonna be pleased. He had to admit though that the guy was cute as a button. That curly hair, and those big blue eyes behind his glasses were a real turn on. Wonder if he’s gay…

“Okay. I see you have the front hoof covered. Is that where the problem is?”

“Yeah. Parker figures it’s an abscess.”

“Right, well if you could just lift her hoof so I can take a look.”

“Sure.” Bonney whinnied softly as Seth knelt and balanced her foreleg on his knee. He removed the pad covering her hoof and Mike knelt beside Seth to start his examination.

“Huh,” Mike murmured. “Mr. Jones is correct. That’s an abscess all right. Needs draining right away.” His glasses slipped down his nose as he peered at the inflammation and Seth had to smile as Mike pushed them back up with his forefinger.

“What?”

“Your glasses. Think they might need a little tightening.”

Mike chuckled. “Oh yeah, I meant to go visit the optometrist before I left Seattle, just didn’t get to it with the rush to get here.” He grinned at Seth then bent his head to take another look at Bonney’s hoof. Seth gazed at Mike’s curly hair. It wasn’t brown as he’d first thought now he was this close, more a kind of chestnut maybe, and there were lighter colored wisps intermingled with the curls. Was that natural or did a hairdresser have something to do with the highlights? He studied the backs of Mike’s ears and the way his hair curled around them. He wondered what kind of shampoo Mike used, it smelled real nice…

“Doctor Henry?”

Parker’s voice from behind them made Mike and Seth jump at the same time. Their heads collided and Mike’s glasses flew off his face.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Seth gasped as Mike groped around in the straw.

“No worries,” Mike mumbled. “I got ’em.” He rammed them back on and stood up. After carefully lowering Bonney’s hoof to the floor Seth followed Mike out of the stall. Parker was staring at them with an amused smile on his face.

“Uh, Mr. Jones.” Mike wiped his hands off on his jeans then held one out in greeting. “Doctor Mike Henry. Sorry about that back there.”

“No problem, for me, anyway.” Parker laughed softly. “You guys might have bruised heads to deal with though.”

Mike touched his forehead. “It’s fine…glasses too. So, Mr. Jones…”

“Call me Parker.”

“Uh, yes…Parker. Your diagnosis is correct, and with your permission I’d like to get started on the treatment right away before the infection spreads.”

Vetting the Cowboy is available now!

https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/vetting-the-cowboy

Amazon Kindle Unlimited: https://tinyurl.com/qrxaw9e

Email: jpbowie@att.net

Website: www.jpbowie.com

Blog: http://wwwjpbowie.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jp.bowie.1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpbowie

My thanks to Lisabet for featuring my new series. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season!

The Relief of Not Giving Up On A Dream -- #horses #writing #dreams @CharmedOzarks

By Mary Caelsto (Guest Blogger)

I discovered fantasy novels the way any horse-crazy pre-teen probably would have, by finding a book with a horse and a cute guy on the cover at K-Mart. I was working, so I was at least thirteen. I purchased the book, fell in love with the characters, the world, and the author.

At the time I was reading romance novels, and I knew I wanted to be a writer. By the time I was in high school the “what do you want to be when you grow up?” question was answered with “writing romance novels and working on a horse farm.” I earned half a degree in equine science, realized that at $5 an hour, I was the highest paid stable hand in America most likely, and sadly, wages like that weren’t going to allow me to move out of my parent’s house. I got a “real” job.

I never gave up on the dream of writing books.

In 2002 I became published with an erotic paranormal romance novel. Most of my published work was romance, though I also started publishing non-fiction.

The road got pretty rocky here, with caring for my mother and making some drastic decisions, but last year, I decided to focus not just on horse books for grown up horse crazy girls like myself, but also…yes, fantasy. I came back to the world of the Musimagium I created and began writing books that combined my other two passions: fantasy world based magic and music.

I didn’t give up, and though the journey has been rocky at times with a lot of doubt and fear, I am so thankful I made it. When I look out across the pasture in the morning at my horses, I smile. I’m relieved. Because I’m here, and I didn’t give up. It is not as scary as I thought it would be. And I am so blessed to have people who support me.

Things are still pretty tough. I’m rebuilding after my mother’s death almost a year ago, dealing with my own health issues and figuring out just where I want to be and how I can take care of things. I juggle a full-time job with my work editing, website assistance, and other author-related work. And yet, relief is freedom. Relief is knowledge that you are supported by the universe, that there are reasons to things and determination is rewarded. Relief is knowing that you can do it and feeling the weight lift from your shoulders.

Relief is not giving up on your dreams.

Spins are Wild Blurb

Lora's in the middle of a messy divorce with her bull rider ex-husband. Just because she left the WBR circuit and is making a name for herself as a trainer, now his buckle bunny of a girlfriend thinks she can take half of Lora's farm, her two best horses, and even her truck and trailer in the divorce and do the same thing. Lora is tired of propping up Billy and it is long past time he learned to cowboy up and take responsibility for his own life. She's swearing off men for good. Until her best friend introduces her to an up and coming D-series barrel racer with plans of his own.

Note: This women's fiction story contains romantic elements and the romantic plot grows stronger as the series continues.

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/westernstar1

About the Author

Mary Kit Caelsto never grew out of the phase of being a "horse crazy girl". Though she's now over 40, she's finally fulfilling her dream of writing equestrian books for others who haven't grown out of being "horse crazy". She lives in the Ozarks with her four very spoiled and very opinionated horses, as well as a large flock of poultry and enough cats to qualify her as a crazy cat lady. Her husband, though not an equestrian himself, understands and supports all her equestrian dreams.

She's convinced three of the best things in the world are the smell of a sun warmed horse, the smell of leather tack, and making sure to hug her horses every single day.

Picture of the author and “SuperDuck” taken 3/2019. 

Hair color varies depending on mood.

Website: http://marykitcaelsto.com Visit and sign up for free stories!

Patreon: https://patreon.com/marykitcaelsto Patreons receive free stories. Support starts at $1/month.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/charmedozarks

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Felix Gallops In (#lesfic #horses #romance @IamCheyenneBlue)

By Cheyenne Blue (Guest Blogger)

Like so many girls, I was a horsy kid. Model ponies, pony stories, racing around pretending I was Jill from the Jill books, or Callie from Follyfoot, and living for my weekly one hour ride at a local riding stables.

When I was thirteen, I was old enough to work at that same stables. No money, but I would work from 7am to about 4pm, just for the pleasure of being around horses and the chance of a free ride at the back of a string of beginners. I did it for the joy of it. For frosty mornings, bringing ponies in from the field, muddy legs and rugs astray, breath huffing in the winter air. For the pleasure of grooming my favourite horse in a dusty stable, hard muscles under my brush, horse hair floating in the air. When the horse would turn its head and lip at the buttons on my shirt, all soft whiskery muzzle and molasses breath. Sometimes, he’d pull those same buttons off, leaving me to sew my shirt together with the waxed thread used to repair saddlery. There was never a safety pin when you really needed one.

And the freedom. Incredible amounts of freedom. If you’ve felt the anticipation of a gallop, of keeping an excited horse reined in as you jog down to the corner, and you know that once you turn the corner and the long stretch of green opens up in front of you, you will ease the reins and the horse will take off like a rocket, and there will be mud and turf and the wind in your face, movement and laughter and the wild and free feeling of the gallop.

Horses taught me hard work too. Long hours of physical, smelly, sweaty work. Menial jobs: pulling ragwort from a paddock, mucking out stables, leading a beginner around and around a schooling ring. The joys of an outdoor life, the harshness of weather. That it’s better to use a body in a physical way than let it soften. And of course, horses taught me about facing fear and that you can do things you never thought possible.

I haven’t ridden for years now. Moving around, work, other interests meant it was pushed to one side and eventually faded. But sometimes, I still dream of horses. I dream I’m galloping, or just spending quiet time with a horse, scratching them under the mane, the gentle shuffle of hooves in straw, that warm and rich smell.

Writing my latest lesbian romance, Fenced-In Felix, brought a lot of that remembered pleasure back. Talking the language of horse, the terminology, and writing my main character Felix, her horses and lifestyle, was a wonderful experience. Felix lives in outback Australia where horses are primarily working animals. But as in so many places around the world, rural workers and horses share a close bond.

I hope you take a moment to check out Fenced-In Felix and spend some time with Felicity (“Felix”) and Josie and their lives in outback Australia. Felix is not just about horses though. It’s an Aussie romance set in outback Queensland, and as well horses, there are kangaroos, snakes, goannas, and dogs. It’s a story of friendship, trust, rural living, horse riding, hard work, moving on versus staying put, racehorses, mauve pants, campfires, billy tea and damper and, at the heart, whether love and trust go hand in hand.

Felix is the third book in the “Girl Meets Girl” series—standalone novels with interconnecting characters. You don’t need to have read the others in the series to enjoy this. I hope you’ll give it a red hot go.

By the way, I'm giving away a free copy to one person who leaves a comment. Tell me how you feel about horses... and be sure to include your email address in the comment text, so I can find you if you win!

Blurb

Felix Jameson is working hard to get her outback hospitality business off the ground. Building cabins, leading trail rides and enticing tourists means she hasn’t much time for distractions—and that includes romance. But when she meets Josie, a drifter who picks up casual work as she goes, Felix is intrigued and attracted.  Josie asks Felix to board her horse, Flame, and Felix is delighted. Not only can she use the extra money, but it means she will see a lot more of Josie. Felix finds Josie fits in well into her life, and for the solitary Felix there’s finally the possibility of romance. But there’s something suspicious about Flame, who bears an uncanny resemblance to a valuable stolen racehorse. Felix knows she is falling hard for Josie, but is Josie all she seems, or is she mixed up in shady dealings?

Excerpt

I had two horses to do to Josie’s one, so she finished first. She came over and rested her arms on the edge of Smoke’s stall.

“You’ve got plenty of space here. You could have half a dozen more horses.”

I bent to brush dust from Smoke’s foreleg. “Barn space, yes, but the land is poor. It barely supports the six I have now.”

“How many have you had in the past?”

“Nine was the maximum, back in the days when I took youngsters for breaking. But that was during the good years, when we had proper wet seasons.”

“Word is this year could see some good rains.”

“Let’s hope. Can never rely on it though. I’ve seen the land go for years without real rain, and I’ve seen it under a metre of flood water.”

I straightened. Josie leant on the door, fiddling with the thong on her hat.

“I want to ask you something,” she said. “Not sure what you’ll say.”

“Oh?” I tried to appear open. In truth, I had no idea what she wanted.

“I like it in Worrindi. The pub’s a good place to be. Nice people.” Her mouth crooked up at one corner. The motion was fascinating. “Believe me, that is not always the case.” Her fingers worried at the thong on the hat. “Anyway, I thought I’d stay around. A while. Maybe a lot longer, if it works out. I told you I have a horse?”

I nodded, my gaze on the restless movement of her fingers.

“I’d like to have her near. I was given her. Otherwise there’s no way I’d have bought a horse, not with my lifestyle. But she’s mine, and I’d like to have her somewhere close. Her name’s Flame.”

Flame. It conjured up a picture of a delicate, feisty horse, quick as lightning with movements of fire. But as tempting as the picture was, I knew I had to say no.

“She sounds like a beaut horse. But honestly, Josie, I don’t think I can have her here. I just don’t have the grazing. Most likely, I’m going to have to buy hay before long, and that’s very expensive.”

“I’ll pay for her agistment—I didn’t mean for you to keep her for nothing. I’ve thought about what I can afford.” She named a figure that was generous.

The money was tempting. With the extra, I could finish up the second cabin.

I shook my head. “That’s a good offer, but it’s more than you’d pay at other places. But I still don’t think I could do it if I have to buy hay.”

“If it comes to that, how about I purchase the hay for her?”

I ducked down to Smoke’s forelegs again to give myself time to think. The dollars marching through my head beat a compelling rhythm, but before I fell on Josie’s neck shrieking “yes!” I had to give this more thought.

“I’m a thirty-minute drive from Worrindi. It would cost you to drive out here, and you may not be able to come that often. I’m sure there is somewhere closer to town where you could keep her. If you want, I’ll ask—”

“No.” She leant forwards, and her face took on a strange intensity. “I want her to be here with you. If you’ll take her, that is. She’s special. I don’t want to trust her to just anyone. I can pay, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It’s not. I trust you.” And I did. I wasn’t just saying the words. For all her nomadic ways, Josie seemed like someone I could rely on. Maybe I’d wake up one morning with a horse that didn’t belong to me and no way of contacting the owner and no money coming in—I’d heard of that happening to others—but I didn’t think so.

“I can give you a month up front. I’ll transfer it to your bank if you agree.”

It was a lot of money for someone earning minimum wage less board in a pub. Maybe she had money put aside.

“If you take her, I’ll know she’ll be well looked after. Cared for. So many places just throw a horse in a paddock and forget about it until the next bill’s due.” Her head ducked, and she glanced at me from under her hat. “And it would give me an excuse to come out here. To see you.”

It wasn’t fair of her to play the flirtation card with someone who was obviously interested.

I stood up again, with Smoke between us, and rested my hands on her withers. “Look, I’ll think about it, okay? I can’t give you an answer now. I need to think about grazing, hay, and things like that.” And about you wanting to see me again. “Will Flame be okay in with the others? I don’t think it will work if she has to be by herself.”

“I’m sure she will be. Thanks, Felix, for at least thinking about it.”

“I’ll let you know.”

She nodded, and with a quick smile, she walked off.

I watched her go, watched the sway of her backside under those mauve pants, and tried not to think about the fact that she wanted to spend time with me.

~~~

Fenced-In Felix is available now from Ylva Publishing and from 30 November 2016 from other retailers including:

Amazon.com: http://a.co/cBpsm5J

Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.eu/dHhEtrI

Amazon.com.au: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01MTNG6RR

Amazon.ca: http://a.co/aCm7AnX

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/682273

About Cheyenne Blue

Cheyenne Blue’s fiction has been included in over ninety erotic anthologies since 2000. She is the editor of Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire, a 2015 finalist for both the Lambda Literary Award and Golden Crown Literary Award, and of First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings.

Her collected lesbian short fiction is published as Blue Woman Stories, volumes 1-3, with more to come. The romantic Girl Meets Girl series, Never-Tied Nora, Not-So-Straight Sue and Fenced-In Felix are out now from Ylva Publishing.

Cheyenne has lived in the U.K., Ireland, the United States, and Switzerland, but now writes, runs, makes bread and cheese, and drinks wine in rural Queensland, Australia. Check out her blog at www.cheyenneblue.com and follow her on Twitter at @IamCheyenneBlue and on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/CheyenneBlue