BLB Ebook Tour

BLB eBook Tour – Guest Post with Sandy Sullivan

Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books!

Today we are going to be hearing from Sandy Sullivan, the author of “Gotta Love a Cowboy” pictured above. There is nothing better than a cowboy romance, and it’s even better if it’s an erotic cowboy story! Sandy Sullivan is touring some book blogs as part of the BLB eBook Tour. For a complete list of the stops on this tour, see the schedule HERE.

I’ve been reading some really interesting stories lately and I’m always curious where the author gets their inspiration from. Some pull stories from real life experiences, some model a character around a friend or relative. I generally think of myself a non-creative person, so the creation of a story fascinates me. I’ve asked Sandy to speak today on Inspiration. Here’s what she had to say!

Good morning and thanks for having me on your blog!

I hear some people have a fascination with where the inspiration for a story comes from.

Well, for me I can get a storyline from just about anywhere. I know you’ve probably heard that before, but it’s true. I’ll listen to a song, watch people in the airport, see people in a restaurant and my mind immediately goes into story mode. I can make up a whole plot from these scenarios and it’s fascinating to decide where they go from there.

What goes into writing a cowboy romance? For me most of the time I’ll get an idea for a hero and they usually turn into a cowboy. It’s a fascination I have. I have horses myself and since I live in Tennessee, I’m surrounded by cowboys although believe it or not, everyone here is not a cowboy, but I can sure make them into one if I want to. I write about things I know or things I can find out details fairly easily. I love watching rodeos on television or in person and it’s very easy for me to see the hunky man in tight Wranglers, a cowboy hat and pointed-toe boots as my next hero. Many times, I may not necessarily have a storyline in mind and all of the sudden; I’ve got a hot cowboy whispering in my ear. Sends goose bumps down my arms, let me tell you. Then, they’ll usually take a seat on the edge of my desk and won’t move until I at least write the beginnings of their story. Thus, having 8 stories in different levels of completion on my computer. Of course, it helps that my two favorite guys to use as inspiration are country music artists. It’s hard not to be inspired by Clay Walker with his dark eyes and wicked smile and then there is Chris Young. Unfortunately, he’s young enough to be my son, but he’s still so very nice to look at with his hazel eyes and dimples. What was I talking about again? Sorry, I kind of get lost in those two. LOL

So this week is CMA fest here in Tennessee and I’m in heaven. More cowboys than I know what to do with and I get to have my yearly up close and personal moment with my two guys. Today was the fan club party for Clay and I even got a kiss from him. Saturday is Chris’ party and it’ll be my first so we’ll see what happens.

I certainly see another cowboy story in my near future!

I’d like to thank Sandy for stopping by and sharing her thoughts with us! She can be found on her official website, her blog, her Facebook fan page, and Twitter.

Gotta Love a Cowboy can be purchased at: Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Remember that Gotta Love a Cowboy is not Sandy’s first novel. She has a whole list of books that will entertain you for a short while or a long while. Check out her blog or website for a list.

BLB eBook Tour Review- Gotta Love a Cowboy by Sandy Sullivan

By Barb Drozdowich

Gotta Love a Cowboy by Sandy Sullivan

Publisher: Secret Cravings Publisher

Source: I received a copy from the author to read and review

Release: March 2011

Ann Marie needs a horse trainer to ready her prized stallion to run for the money. When hunky horseman Travis Brooks answers her ad, she knows he’s the man for the job. But is she willing to let go of her husband’s memory and open up her heart to Travis?

Travis Brooks knows horses. But women? He can take ‘em or leave ‘em—mostly leave ‘em—especially since his divorce. Ann Marie pushes all his buttons and he’s not quite sure what to do with her.

Can a stubborn horseman and one feisty rancher find love in the heat of the
Texas Plains?

Ann Marie is a widow with a son, trying to run a horse ranch by herself. With her husband dead, Ann Marie has no one to break the most promising horse she has. In comes Travis Brooks – the man who could solve all her problems – but he claims he won’t work for a woman! Well, this comment certainly got Ann Marie’s dander up! This comment starts a chemistry laden relationship between Travis and Ann Marie. Travis is scarred by his marriage and vows never to marry again. Because he lost his young son, he doesn’t want to get close to Ann Marie’s son and risk becoming attached to another child. Since Ann Marie’s first marriage was a marriage of convenience more than a love match, she doesn’t want to rush into another marriage, but a hunky man in her bed she can certainly handle!

Gotta Love a Cowboy is a great read that has so many interesting elements to it. The relationship between Ann Marie and Travis sizzles along the pages! The chemistry between them simply sparks. Although Travis tries to treat Ann Marie like the little woman, she asserts her authority and he eventually treats her like an equal. The story of Travis’s son’s death is heartbreaking. On the flip side, his growing relationship with Ann Marie’s son is heartwarming.

The vandalism, the stolen stock and the accidents add an interesting mystery element. Although this story isn’t long, it captures the reader’s interest right from the start and keeps them reading all the way to the end. I have a bit of a cowboy fetish, and this story fulfilled my need for a hot little cowboy story!

Come back tomorrow and we’ll hear from the author, Sandy Sullivan, say a few words on the subject of Inspiration.

BLB eBook Tour – Guest post by Liz Crowe of Brewing Passions

By Barb Drozdowich

Welcome back to Sugarbeat’s Books! Today we are going to hear from Liz Crowe – the author of the Brewing Passions series that I reviewed yesterday. She is on tour to promote her books. For more stops on the tour and the chance to win a copy of one of her books, click HERE. All three of the books of Liz’s that I read were set in the beer industry and she is also part of that industry. I asked Liz where she gets her inspiration. Here’s what she had to say!

Brewing Up Some Inspiration

Why Beer? Why Not?
I’ll admit that five years ago in May I would probably not have darkened the door of a “beer bar”. My personal tastes went more towards bourbon, or red wine. But when I was approached by Matt and Trevor, the two gentlemen who founded Wolverine State Brewing Company that was my question…I’d spent several years making a very good living as successful Realtor, the years before living overseas following my spouse around to three different countries, dragging the spawn, waiting up at night a lot for him to come home from yet more travel (a whole ‘nother story I assure you).

So…why beer?

Craft beer is a hot commodity. Its market share grows annually, and while it’s nowhere near The Big Boys (macro-brewing is something like 90% of the market—those are the Budweisers, Millers and Coors none of which are owned by American companies anymore just as a useful aside). It possesses a “cool factor” that I found when doing my research, and one that was fairly short on females. Taking our company to the next level required professional marketing. I’m a professional market, never afraid to try something new (and fun). The Boys taught me all I needed to know about beer.

Why not indeed?

I am living proof that there is no better advocate than a convert. I spent hours (hours) with Matt, the prez (or “The Man” as I call him in my role as “The Wench”) who has brewed beer for years at home but takes time out to be a big shot VP at a finance company and with our new head brewer Oliver as they patiently taught me the Big Differences (between an ale and a lager) and the more subtle ones (why you can’t call it “bock beer” unless you used “bock yeast” to ferment it) and everything in between. Why, I have even brewed two, 10 barrel batches of my namesake beer for our Tap Room: The Wench’s Westside Wheat. A barrel of beer is 30 gallons so we are talking about no small amount of malty goodness.

As The Wench I blog, I talk, and give interviews and am in constant promotions and marketing mode. Writing is a passion that allows me to sink down into the warm blankets of my imagination and fire up some stories that feature this hot new industry and the slightly strange position that women have in it. Women were the FIRST brewers of beer. We kept the hearth and brewing beer was part of making food. Men, as they do, took over at some point, handed us a collective comso and told us to take a hike.

Men still make up the majority of beer drinkers although that is also changing. I am on the forefront of a movement to bring more women into the craft beer drinking fold by holding Women only events in my Tap Room, speaking at beer appreciation societies advocating for women in the biz and have just been asked to be on a national board: Women Executives in the Beverage Industry as the sole beer industry representative.

Yeah, it’s exhausting but I love taking my experiences and parlaying them into hot, steamy fiction. The “What if?” factor of my daily life working in and among men, who have learned that I’m no delicate blossom and cuss and talk to me like one of the boys, lends itself to some seriously hot mental scenes.

Enjoy The Brewing Passion series, and remember The Tap Room, the “choose your romance” interactive novella which is the Whole Story of Erin and her business partners, brewer and crazy complicated life will be released from Breathless Press in fall 2011 in print and ebook format!

Cheers and enjoy American Craft Beer Week (cool coincidence, no?)
Feel free to check the Wench’s blog too—she has quite the fan club and is always looking for ways to educate and titillate.