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Author Override is the place where authors take the reins and take you on a journey into their world. Some may allow you into their private writing dens. Others may take you along with them on research trips or interviews. Whatever the case may be, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride because here youโ€™ll get an in-depth look into an authorโ€™s musings.

My very wonderful friend Beth Williamson (who also writes as Emma Lang) and I got to talking, and we realized both of our next releases feature a to-die-for hero by the name of Matthew. Both books are westerns, although hers is historic and mine is contemporary.
It was too good a chance to miss. So weโ€™ve arranged a little โ€œOde to Matthewโ€โ€”five lovely little tidbits proving these cowboys are very good at a lot of things. We hope youโ€™ll enjoy taking a ride with our boys! (The full list of places to visit to read tidbits is listed at my blog.)
In this post weโ€™re going for Cowboys Are Hard All Overโ€ฆ
~~**~~
Matthew
Circle Eight, Book 1

By Emma Lang

A man learns to hold what is hisโ€ฆ

It is a vast spread in the eastern wilds of the newly independent Republic of Texas, the ranch their parents fought for โ€ฆ and died for. To the eight Graham siblings, no matter how much hard work or hard love it takes, life is unthinkable without familyโ€ฆ

In the wake of his parentsโ€™ murder, Matthew Graham must take the reins at the Circle Eight. He also needs to find a wife in just thirty days, or risk losing it all. Plain but practical, Hannah Foley seems the perfect bride for him . . . until after the wedding night.

Their marriage may make all the sense in the world, but neither one anticipates the jealousies that will result, the treacherous danger theyโ€™re walking into, or the wildfire of attraction that will sweep over them, changing their lives forever.

~~**~~

Enjoy a snippet from MATTHEW:

She walked through the darkened house with a familiarity she didnโ€™t have a week earlier. It was beginning to feel like home to her. She navigated her way into the kitchen and found a bucket.

โ€œWhat are you doing?โ€ Matthewโ€™s quiet question didnโ€™t startle her this time.

โ€œKeeping a promise.โ€

He sat at the table and watched her. Perhaps it was a dream because she wanted him there. The house was so quiet, every move she made seemed to echo. She filled the bucket with warm water, then submerged the nightdress, soaped it up, then rinsed it thoroughly. As she squeezed out the water, Matt made a strange noise.

Hannah peered at him through the darkened room and realized he was shirtless. Her stomach flipped and her body throbbed once, hard and fast. He watched her and groaned over what he saw. What did that mean?

She set the nightdress aside and cleaned the small area on the sheets that had been soiled. The soap was slippery in her hands as she worked. She also kept glancing at her husband out of the corner of her eye. Each movement he made drove her to wonder exactly what he was doing.

After rinsing off the sheet, she picked up the bucket and both clean items. โ€œIโ€™ll be right back. I need to hang these on the line so theyโ€™ll be dry by morning.โ€

He simply nodded, a hazy figure in the gloom. She hurried outside and dumped the bucket, then hung up the nightdress and sheet on the line with shaking hands. The moon was bright, illuminating everything for her.

Something was going to happen; she just didnโ€™t know what it was. Hannah stepped back inside and waited for her eyes to adjust. Matt sat where sheโ€™d left him in the chair. Her heart thumped as she approached him, anticipation making her mouth dry and her body tingle.

He wore only a pair of drawers, his hand down the front of them, moving up and down. She stared, fascinated by what she saw.

~~**~~
Buy links: Book releases January 31, 2012
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | B-A-M | Chapters | IndieBound | Powellโ€™s
Emma Lang/Beth Williamson: Website | Blog | Twitter

~~**~~
Rocky Mountain Desire
Six Pack Ranch, Book 3

By Vivian Arend

Nothing comes easy. Youโ€™ve gotta work for it.

Matt Coleman always figured at this point in his life, heโ€™d be settled down with a family. Since his ex split for the big city, though, no way will he give anyone else the chance to drop-kick his heart. Physical pleasure? Hell, yeah, heโ€™ll takeโ€”and giveโ€”with gusto, but nothing more.

Hope Meridan is working long hours to hold on to her new quilt shop, going it alone since her sister/business partner ran off. Sex? Right, like sheโ€™s got the time. Not that she doesnโ€™t have the occasional dirty fantasy about Matt. Fat chance heโ€™d dream of knocking boots with herโ€”the younger sister of the woman who dumped him. Nope, sheโ€™ll just have to settle for the F-word.

Friends would be far easier if there wasnโ€™t something combustible going on between them. And when casual interest starts to grow into something more, their tenuous bond strengthens in the heat of desire. But it may not survive the hurricane-force arrival of the last person either of them ever wanted to see againโ€ฆ

Warning: Small-town rivals, men in pursuit and family meddlingโ€”in good and bad ways. Look for a cowboy who knows how to rope, ride and rein in a hell of a lot more than eight seconds of sheer bliss.

~~**~~

Enjoy a snippet from ROCKY MOUNTAIN DESIRE:

Matt closed his eyes for a second, his throat moving as he swallowed hard. Where their bodies touched, his erection had expanded in girth, the hardness very clear as he pressed into her belly, as if refusing to hide. โ€œYouโ€™re killing me.โ€

โ€œYup, and doing myself in as well.โ€

โ€œWhy arenโ€™t we going to my trailer and getting ourselves over this crazy lust between us?โ€

โ€œBecauseโ€ฆโ€ She had no idea anymore why.

He grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the countertop of the island, batted her legs apart and stepped between her thighs. Instant full-torso contact dragged a gasp from her as he returned to kissing her, his hands delicately cupping her cheeks as he worked his way across her lips methodically, thoroughly.

Hope widened her legs, clutched his shoulders and held on tight. Wrapping her legs around his hips increased the pressure on all the sensitive spots that were achingโ€”againโ€”for him to do more than simply kiss her.

He pulled away from her mouth and dropped a series of kisses along her jaw, moving up to play with the dangling lobe of her ear. His chin whiskers scratched, and she turned her head, letting him tease her further, scraping his teeth along her neck.

She had the top buttons of his shirt undone before she realized what she was doing.

He bit lightly and rocked his hips, and she shuddered. โ€œOh yeah.โ€

His lips were warm against her skin, his voice deep and low as he whispered. โ€œIโ€™m thinking we needโ€”โ€

The door swung open behind them, the glow from the living room hitting them like a spotlight.

~~**~~

Buy links: (ebook releases March 13, 2012)
Rocky Mountain Desire: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Vivian Arend: Website | Blog | Twitter
Ms. Arend is giving one of you the opportunity to win either book 1 or 2 in her Six Pack Ranch series.
To enter:
1. Be a follower
2. Fill out the form below

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17 Comments

  1. WOW!! *fans self* What HOT excerpts! I can’t wait to get both of these books. I’ve always liked the name Matthew. Now, I like it even more. Thanks for the giveaway.

    e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

  2. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Vivian’s Rocky Mountain series, loved Heat and Haven as novellas, LOVE them even more in their longer expanded version. And Rocky Mountain Desire WOWZA! Loved it too!

    I need to check out Beth Williamson’s books she is a new author for me.

    ps I didn’t enter the contest, just showing love to all of you =)

  3. Omigosh, I can’t believe I’ve never heard about this author before now! I love and adore cowboys! Those excerpts have me ready to ride into the sunset with both of them anytime they are ready ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Thank you so much for the giveaway chance! These books are on my wishlist, and I’m on my way to make put the others on my wishlist too!

    Gena Robertson
    [email protected]

  4. If I’m lucky I’ll be requesting the first book – I always like to start a series at the beginning!

    sallans d at yahoo dot com

  5. First, I LOVE THESE LADIES!!!! I have read Beth Williamsons, Malloy Family Series, and her Devils on Horseback Series, except for Gidion, which is on my TBR list as soon as I get the paperback. And Vivian’s Six Pack Ranch series, the original version so far as I am waiting for the the third book in that sereis to come out so I can read the newer versions back to back. So excited to hear Rocky Mountain Angel was sold and their stories will continue. Recently stared reading Granite Lake Wolves, cannot wait to get more into those delicious books! These are just two more on my hit list that probably wont be on my TBR list for any amount of time…they are that good at what the do!!

    Thanks for the contest!!
    rainie72(at)gmail(dot)com