Friday, February 22, 2013

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!


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***

59 comments:

  1. My favorite western movie is a tough choice:
    I love:
    Murphy's Romance with Sally Field and James Garner.
    McClintock with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.
    so many more! It is impossible to choose just one.
    I feel the same way about books, a good story is like candy! Hard to choose just one.
    bkg0605(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Murphy's Romance is a great movie! Oh, and boy do I get you on the candy/book analogy! *grin*

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    2. Murphy's Romance is one of my favorite movies! Corey Haim...sad. :-(

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  2. Any thing written by Linda Lael Miller is a fav read and the movie "McLintock!" (or really any of John Wayne's movies gets a vote)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, LLM has some great westerns. Elizabeth Lowell's from the 90's, too. And my dad made me a fan of John Wayne.

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  3. Colorado Trust Series is wonderful. Trust in the Lawe had me hooked and I could not put it down. I have ready many books by Stacey Joy Netzel and there has not been a one that I haven't loved. I enjoy the great escapes that she takes me on! Thanks Stacey!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank YOU, Sherry! :) I'm so glad you enjoyed the books!

      Delete
  4. Favorite western movie is the orginal True Grit and McLintock.
    skpetal at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. True Grit
    videoclimber(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the excerpt, Stacey. Sounds like my kind of book. Favorite western movie - Maverick. Fun movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Margery. :) And yeah, Maverick would have to be my all-time favorite western. They just don't make them like that, or the oldies, anymore.

      Delete
  7. I have several movies that I love! I love "The Quick and The Dead", "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and "True Grit." Such great movies. I fell in love with Lorelei James's contemporary Western series, "Rough Riders."

    Mel
    bournmelissa at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've heard Lorelei has some great books, Mel. Thanks!

      Delete
  8. Books, I will be listing a few authors names (Warning, Eclectic reader here that reads A LOT of books)

    Linda Lael Miller
    Lorelei James
    Carolyn Brown
    Books from the TimeSwept series, they were released from 1980's to early 1990's (various titles & authors)
    C R Moss
    Stacy Espino
    Zane Gray
    Lori Wilde
    Kimberly Raye (cowboy vampires)

    Movie,
    Would you count Old Yeller

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom

      Sorry I forgot

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    2. That's quite the list. I've heard of the cowboy vampires--I loved that idea!

      Can you believe I've never seen Old Yeller? I don't think I could watch it since I know what happens. :( But if you want to count it, that's fine by me. :)

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    3. It was the first one that came to my mind @ that moment! My daughters asked to watch that or 7 brides for 7 brothers ... Which is also a cowboy type of movie.

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    4. I don't remember having seen that movie, but there was a VERY short-lived TV series that I LOVED!!! My friend Delia over on NovelFriends is a huge 7Brides for 7Brothers fan. :) I hope you guys watch it and enjoy!

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  9. the quick and the dead is one of my favs - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. No surprises from me - I enjoyed watching True Grit :)
    Karina V

    ReplyDelete
  11. just read s good one by callie hutton emma's journey
    kathleenball @hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like 3:10 to Yuma
    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep. It always amazes me when someone can make me root for the bad guy. :)

      Delete
  13. I loved Dances With Wolves, Maverick and Tombstone.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't believe I forgot about Dances With Wolves. It's been so many years--I need to watch that again.

      Delete
  14. I love the True Grit movie. The newer one.
    Sue B

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forgot my email.
      katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com

      Delete
    2. Still have to see the newer one. All these 'votes' tells me to do it soon. :)

      Delete
  15. My favorite western read is LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry. I love the miniseries too.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  16. I love the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James

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  17. My favorite western book series is Texas Trilogy by Lorraine Heath. I simply love them!

    anasmith1919 at gmail dot com

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  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  19. Give me any movie like
    True Grit with John Wayne in it and I love it. I also love the Son of Pale Face with Bob Hope and Fancy Pants wit h Lucille Ball and Bob Hope.
    Z
    Seawitch reviews at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great choices, Z. I keep hoping someone will mention The Man From Snowy River. That ring a bell by chance?

      And Fancy Pants...is that the one where Lucille has blond hair?

      Delete
  20. I love the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James and the McKettricks series by Linda Lael Miller. I love the movies Tombstone, Last of the Dogmen and Rustler's Rhapsody. Thanks for the great giveaway!

    thompsonem3 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love all Lorraine Heath Westerns...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Another vote for Lorraine Heath. Going to do a search now...

      Delete
  22. True Grit. I loved the book as it started my love for Westerns. And the movies aren't bad either!

    ReplyDelete
  23. One of my favorite movies growing up was The Cowboy Way. Loved it! And my favorite book series is The Long Tall Texans by Diana Palmer. Love this series. I cant pick a favorite book tho! :D Thank you for the awesome hop and giveaway!!! :)
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing, Shadow. It's okay that you can't pick just one favorite. A whole bookshelf full is just fine. :)

      Delete
  24. Congratulations Mary Preston!

    You were chosen out of several hundred comments to win the grand prize. You will be getting an email shortly!

    Thanks, Stacy, for taking part!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sara, for hosting the blog hop! I just clicked the "Pick a Winner" on my own Rafflecopter, and today is Mary's lucky day! She won my gift card, too.

      Congratulations, Mary, and thanks to everyone for participating in the hop.

      Delete
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