Romancing the West Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to my stage coach layover for the tour.

My individual blog stop prize is a $15 gift card, winner's choice. 

Hopefully you'll pick up some of the wonderful books featured in the tour!

Grand Prize for the entire tour: A swag pack which includes books (both ebooks and paper), Amazon gift card, custom made butterfly jewelry, book cards, magnets and much more all tucked away in a keepsake box. (Available to US residents only. Winner will be announced on February 26 at 10 PM EST)

You've got 30 stops on the tour, but we've got a linky list at the bottom to make sure you have a smooth ride. And don't forget, every post you comment on with your email address listed will give you an entry into the drawing for the Grand Prize. So settle into your seat, have fun reading, and good luck!

My love of cowboys stems from thinking a man willing to put in a hard, honest days work is one of the sexiest things there is. Any cowboy hero I write will have a good heart and epitomize a man who works hard to earn the heroine's love. He may go about it the wrong way at the start, hit some bumps along the trail, but that's what makes life (and books) interesting, right?

Speaking of keeping things interesting, here's a short excerpt from the first book in my Colorado Trust Series.

“[Trust in the Lawe] is another keeper I'm adding to my library that's written by a wonderfully talented author who knows what readers want to read. Well done, Ms. Netzel!” Diana Coyle ~ Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK

Kendra Zelner has three brothers: Eight-year old Noah she's determined to protect, Joel who has no clue she exists, and Robert who wants her dead.

With reason to be distrustful of cops, she takes Noah and flees their Manhattan home for Joel’s ranch in Colorado. Under the pretense of needing a job, she plans to hide out until her twenty-fifth birthday, when she’ll inherit her trust fund and legally gain custody of Noah away from Robert’s greedy hands. Unfortunately, her brother’s sexy, infuriating ranch manager insists on demolishing her defenses and digging into her past.

Colton Lawe has good reason to suspect Joel’s beautiful, long-lost sister isn’t what she seems—the little liar stole from him! He silently vows to expose her secrets, but long hours together on the ranch fosters a closeness and fiery attraction neither of them expects. Can Kendra trust Colton with the full truth before Robert finds them?

~*~

In the darkened bedroom, Kendra sat straight up and strained her ears to pick up anything unusual. Any sound to explain why she suddenly found her eyes wide open in the middle of the night without having had the dream.

A glance at the clock brought her up short. It was only ten-thirty. In the absence of any other explanation, she began to imagine that Robert had found them. Her heart pounded so hard in the acute silence, she heard the thump of each beat.

Then she heard a sound that chilled the blood in her veins—the muted sounds of footsteps on the kitchen linoleum. They were too heavy to be Noah’s…

Noah!

She flew out of bed and peered into the hallway. All clear. Pressing against the wall, she scurried to the entryway between the living room and kitchen. A quick glance revealed the living room to be empty.

In the dim illumination from the light above the sink, she saw the kitchen was, too. Whispering across the floor in her bare feet, she grabbed a butcher knife and went to check on Noah.

She froze at the sight of a hulking shadow backing out of his room. If he hurt Noah…A blinding red wave of anger swept through her and she sprang forward, the knife raised high. “Leave him alone, you monster!”

The shadow’s arm rose to deflect her attack. He was definitely real, not a dream.

Flesh and blood after her brother. She had to stop him.

That single thought screamed inside her head. When his hand closed over her wrist, the one with the knife, the one thing she’d mastered in self-defense class flashed back.

She dropped the knife and seized his wrist with her free hand. Pure adrenalin gave her the strength to twist her back to his chest and plant her feet. Using his own weight and forward momentum against him, she bent at the waist and heaved him over her shoulder.

He landed flat on his back with a loud thump. The breath whooshed from his lungs. She heard a strangled gasp and squatted down, scrambling to locate the knife. The bite of the blade had her reaching with her other hand for the handle.

Ironically, a rush of temporary relief shook her knees even more.

She braced her free hand against the wall for support as she rose with the knife extended in front of her. Slightly crouched, she swept her hand back and forth along the wall until she located the light switch. One flip and she’d confront Robert face to face. Her heart clogged her throat, but she forced her fingers to move.

The hallway lit up. Kendra nearly dropped the knife again as her other hand flew to her mouth in astonished horror.

Colton?

He lay on the floor in front of her, squinting in the bright light. Then his gaze fixed on the nine-inch blade in her hand, and he scooted to sit against the wall.

What was he—her gaze narrowed before she spun around and hurried inside Noah’s room. Assured he was unharmed and still sleeping soundly, she returned to the hall to find Colton picking himself up off the floor.

Dizzying relief gave way to anger. He’d scared the living daylights out of her! “What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.

His green eyes narrowed. His attention dropped to the hand at her side and then, without a single word, he strode toward the kitchen. She rushed after him and he whirled to face her. She jerked the knife up in automatic warning. “Stay there. I asked you a question.”

His gaze caught hers and held. The challenging glitter in his eyes held her immobile as he took a deliberate step forward and slowly reached to close his hand over her fingers on the handle. Heat from his touch radiated up her arm and through her entire body. She tried to pull away and his gaze darkened in tandem with the tightening of his grip.

“Threaten me again, and you’d better be damn sure you succeed the first time.”

~*~

And good news! My publisher recently discounted TRUST IN THE LAWE so readers could give my Colorado Trust Series a try at a great price of just $5.99 $2.99! 

You can lasso your copy here: The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, BN, ARe

Now that you've got that taken care of, leave a comment (with your email!) telling me What's your favorite western movie or book?, then go ahead and use the Rafflecopter to enter to win the $15 gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Then head on out to the next layover! (Make sure to stop by NovelFriends where I'm talking about my other western, CHASIN' MASON.)
Thanks so much for coming by.

***PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT TO QUALIFY for prizes***