About the Book

Book: Falling for a Real Cowboy

Author: Karen Baney

Genre: Contemporary Christian Cowboy Romance

Release Date: November 21, 2023

She’s trying to resurrect her career. He’s sworn off women. Will this city-meets-country duo find love where they least expect it?

Dalton J. Vargas the fourth has sworn off love. Women are just a distraction that keep him from running his family’s multi-million-dollar guest ranch near Wickenburg, Arizona. After his father announces an early retirement, the full burden of the ranch rests on his shoulders. When a city-slicker romance author stays at the ranch, Dalton’s perfect world turns to chaos.

River Sloane’s last workplace romance novel flopped—big time. Now her publisher wants her to write a modern-day cowboy romance, which she has resisted for years. When her publisher sends her to a dude ranch in the middle of nowhere Arizona, she must learn about cowboys and ranching to get her career back on track. One hunky cowboy stirs her heart and unexpectedly becomes her muse.

Will she let herself fall in love with the real cowboy or will she return to the life she left behind? Will Dalton open his heart to a new, lasting love? Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Karen Baney is passionate about writing stories full of flawed characters. She enjoys weaving together stories of second chances, redemption, and overcoming personal trials. As a transplant to Arizona in the late 1990s, she loves researching the state’s history and finding ways to seamlessly incorporate real history and real settings into her novels. In addition to writing and speaking, Karen works as a Software Development Manager for a Christian ministry.

Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing. Karen and her husband, Jim, make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs, Bella and Daisy. Both Jim and Karen are active at Rock Point Church in Queen Creek, Arizona.

More from Karen

Inspiration Behind the Vargas Ranch Series Brand

How many books about ranches and cowboys have you read, whether historical or contemporary and you wondered about their brand?

Hardly anyone describes the brand. Me either. In my historical series, I don’t think I’ve mentioned the brand for my ranch that appears in eleven books!

Well, for the Vargas Ranch Series, the brand plays a central role in describing both the family and their faith. In many of my series, I start with a theme verse, and the Vargas Ranch Series is no exception. When I read these verses in my morning devotion time, I knew this would be the anchor for the series.

With regard to the works of man,

by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

—Psalms 17:4-5 ESV

Then the family motto formed based on the second verse: I do not deviate from the Lord’s plan.

Immediately, I latched onto the word “deviate” and how it might be represented in a brand: “dV8”. I sketched out the design, and then I had to back into how else the letters “d” and “V” might relate to the series.

Then next thing I knew, I was searching for Spanish last names beginning with a “V”. As soon as I saw Vargas, I knew it was the perfect name for my Arizonan ranching family. The idea to make all the men’s name begin with a “d” also took shape. I scanned through my running list of cowboy names and quickly settled on the five brothers’ names: Dalton, Dylan, Derin, Devon, and Drake.

Now, I could have probably stopped there, but I love developing a rich family history for series like this. So, I decided to set the founding of the ranch in 1952 with Dalton J. Vargas, Senior. His son, Junior, named his son, Dalton J. Vargas the third, and Diego Vargas. The third or “Tres”, is the father of the five sons in the series.

I’ve really enjoyed weaving the family’s “dV8” brand, family motto, and theme verses into the first book in the series. They will make an appearance in all five books. So, I’ll leave you with:

“I do not deviate from the Lord’s plan.”

Blessings, dear readers!

Interview with Karen

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

I like to schedule time to brainstorm stories. I’ll think about themes, topics, tropes, or settings that intrigue me. Then I open a notebook and jot down whatever comes to mind. I’ll set it aside for a few days before coming back to it. I’ve always been a person who likes to mull things over at almost a subconscious level or when I’m not actively engaged in working on something else. That’s usually when the ideas form and then I write more details. Ideas spark other ideas, and before I know it, I’ve got a multi-book series sketched out.

Another vast source of inspiration is Arizona history. I love reading about how the territory became a state and the history of many small towns throughout the state. I also enjoy visiting different small towns, and those visits inspire both contemporary and historical story ideas.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?

Just how many dude ranches there are in Arizona! I found a lot of wonderful information about real life Arizona dude ranches (aka guest ranches). There are at least two in Wickenburg, the closest city to my fictional Vargas Ranch. One of those dude ranches and one near Mohave, Arizona, provided some of the inspiration behind Vargas Guest Ranch &  Resort. It’s amazing what many entrepreneurial ranch families are doing to keep their ranches profitable. I borrowed their ideas and added a few of my own to my Vargas family.

What’s your favorite part about being a writer? Research? First Draft? Editing?

Ideation and character development are my favorite parts of planning. I love thinking about different ways to stress out my characters so they grow.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

In junior high, I loved to sketch fashion designs. For years, I drew whenever I had a minute. I thought I’d be a fashion designer (except I hated sewing!). Then my parents bought me a small oil painting kit, and I fell in love with landscape painting. I worked really hard, including the summer after my senior year, to build a portfolio of work. They had accepted me at a fine arts school in Philadelphia where I studied classic painting, sculpture, and much more. After a year, I realized I wasn’t quite good enough to make a living as an oil painter, so I moved home. Eventually, I went into programming. Never saw that coming!

But the call of creative arts never left me. I studied photography and have been an avid landscape and macro photographer for decades. So, it should have been no surprise when I started writing novels in 2010. 😊

Over the last few years, I’ve worked on my graphic design skills and now design all of my book covers and advertising. I usually design the covers before I start writing which gets me more excited about writing the stories.

 What project are you working on now and how do we find your books?

My primary focus is finishing up the Vargas Ranch Series. Thanks so much for featuring book 1 today, Falling for a Real Cowboy. The second book, Falling for a Shy Cowboy, releases 12/19. Right now, I’m planning three additional books in the series to wrap up the Vargas son’s stories: Falling for a Bossy Cowboy, Falling for a Smart Cowboy, and a Christmas story Falling for a Grumpy Cowboy. I have rough outlines for the two female Vargas cousins in the series as well. And I’m dabbling with a prequel.

For my fans looking for the next book in the Steadfast Love Series, I’ve been working on the second book, too.

For the latest news about my books, you can sign up for my newsletter. Or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (now X), Goodreads, BookBub, or stop by my website: http://www.karenbaney.com.

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, December 12

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 13 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 13

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 14

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 15 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 16

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 17 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 18

A Reader’s Brain, December 19 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, December 19

Texas Book-aholic, December 20

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 21 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, December 22

For the Love of Literature, December 23 (Author Interview)

Labor Not in Vain, December 24

Holly’s Book Corner, December 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 gift card and a signed paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/293d2/falling-for-a-real-cowboy-celebration-tour-giveaway