RESEARCH IS FUN
My husband tells the story about going into a cubicle at work to see the ladies in accounting. We were dating at the time. The ladies asked him, point blank, if he was the model for all my romantic heroes and if he helped me research the love scenes. As he tells it, he blushed mightily and ducked out of the cube FAST!
That kind of exploration is fun. But investigating a book can open your eyes to other things too, which can be fun as well. For my recent release, KENTUCKY COWBOY, I learned about the Professional Bull Riders—
about bull ropes and suicide wraps, “rank” bulls like the famous and dangerous Bodacious, and courageous cowboys like Ty Murray and the Brazilian Adriano Moraes.
Researching meant my husband and I had to take many enjoyable field trips to see PBR events. That’s me riding a stuffed bull at a competition in Nashville. How do you like my form?
Bull riding is “America’s original extreme sport” and it’s no job for the faint of heart. Like my hero Judd Romeo, the cowboys are in it for the love of competition and the love of the sport.
Come to think of it, that’s why I write romance. It’s not because I enjoy deadlines and the editor’s edits. It’s certainly not because of the money. I write romance because that’s who I am—a writer. And I choose romance because I like happy endings. Too much in life is not happy and a good romance novel can take us away for a while and make us forget our problems.
KENTUCKY COWBOY is part of my series called Bluegrass Reunions:
They thought the boys they loved were out of their lives. They were wrong.
KENTUCKY COWBOY: She dumped him in high school because he was a risk-taker. Available in various electronic formats and in paperback in March 2009.
KENTUCKY WOMAN: She had his brother’s baby, but never forgot him. Available now in e-formats from Resplendence Publishing.
KENTUCKY FLAME: She had his baby and he left not knowing the truth. Available in May 2009.
I hope you join me in Kentucky—even if only through my books. And I hope you have fun when you research—no matter what kind of research you do!
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Please leave a comment or question for Jan to enter to win an ebook of KENTUCKY COWBOY (available formats: Adobe PDF, HTML, Microsoft Reader, Palm-Mobipocket, Rocketbook, Fictionbook, and Blackberry file formats). Entries accepted until midnight PST.
Please visit yesterday’s post to read the back cover blurb for KENTUCKY COWBOY and to check out Jan’s bio. To learn more about Jan and the rest of the books in her Bluegrass Reunions series, please visit her website.