About the Book

Book: Falling for a Shy Cowboy (Vargas Ranch Book 2)

Author: Karen Baney

Genre: Contemporary Christian Cowboy Romance

Release date: December 19, 2023

She’s a single mom with a disabled son. He’s been in love with her since high school. Will this shy cowboy finally win her heart?

Dylan Vargas is too shy for his own good. While he and his best friend Adan work with the horses on his family’s ranch near Wickenburg, Arizona, Adan signs him up for an online dating service. Dylan begrudgingly looks through the profiles. One face stands out above the others—that of his childhood crush. There’s only one impossible problem—she is Adan’s little sister.

Brisa Franco moves home to Wickenburg after a tragic car accident left her four-year-old son disabled. As she starts a new job in her hometown, she never expects to help her brother’s best friend in his quest to overcome a speech impediment.

Will Dylan steal her heart as she helps him learn how to release his anxiety? Will Brisa learn to trust him and let go of her deeply engrained fears from her past relationship?

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, 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

You’ve Got Mail?

As an author, sometimes you write something so identifiable to readers that you (the author) completely miss the obvious. Yeah, I did that in Falling for a Shy Cowboy.

Since Dylan Vargas, our hero, deals with a speech impediment, I thought a great way to help him connect with his one true love would be through a dating app—one where he keeps avoiding meeting in person. His best friend, Adan, signed him up for the dating app with a profile picture that obscures part of his face. When Dylan looked through the app, he finds Adan’s sister Brisa on the app. Imagine his excitement that his long-term crush was available!

So, Dylan responds to Brisa’s profile as Wrangler92. He’s much more comfortable pouring out his heart through messages in the dating app than fighting with his speech impediment in person. She’s keeping a few secrets of her own through their interactions on the app, creating tension.

And viola! The You’ve-Got-Mail “trope” successfully applied.

If only I had realized that’s what I’d done. It wasn’t until one reviewer wrote, “Who doesn’t like a little You’ve Got Mail in a cowboy romance?”

This is where I face-palmed, laughed out loud, and finally realized my shy cowboy and his one true love are clearly written like the old Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks movie You’ve Got Mail.

Anyway, I will be forever grateful to Jerah A. for pointing out the obvious connection. I hope you enjoy my take on a shy cowboy who woos a single mom a la You’ve Got Mail style.

Interview with Karen

Gina, thanks so much for hosting me today!

How do you create your main characters?

I usually start with a high-level map of the series including the setting and the unifying theme for the series. Then I pick how one main character from each book relates to other, often family members. For the Vargas Ranch Series, I developed the guest ranch & resort, then chose five brothers and started mapping each of their characters. Since the unifying theme is their family motto, and I chose to tie their ranch brand to the motto, I wanted all their names to start with a “D”. After I fleshed out a few details about each brother, their relationships with each other, and their role in the family ranch, I thought through what type of woman would pique their interest and I developed the women characters. All that happens before the outline for any book in the series. Each character influences the outline of their story, so the outline comes next. For me, I rarely change the characters and more often change an outline or plot to better fit the character than the other way around.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

The entire writing process for me is like fitting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. When the story is just there then nothing is too hard. Unfortunately, some stories need wrestled to the ground to come to life. Book 5 in the Vargas Ranch Series was that way. I literally wrote it in 300 – 500 word fits and spurts. Whereas, Book 6 begged me to write it (usually 1500 – 3000 words at a time).

So, what’s the most difficult part of writing a book?

Each book takes on a life of its own no matter how many methods I use to create it.

What does your family think of your writing?

My husband is super supportive and my biggest encourager. When I get bogged down with marketing or am struggling to get a book on “paper” (seriously, it all goes in the computer), he reminds me to “just write”. He knows how cathartic writing is for me.

My dad has read a few of my early books and enjoyed them. He’s extremely proud of my work. And he thinks my mom would have loved all of them if I had written any before she passed.

I also have one aunt who devours my books and makes sure they make the rounds to my mom’s siblings.

My sister acts as a sounding board sometimes and likes listening to me talk about what I’m working on. I’m encouraging her to turn some of her fantasy and angel/demon short stories into novels. Even though we like very different genres, she’s got talent too.

Do you base your characters on real people?

Yes and no. Most of my characters are not based on anyone specific. But some of their attributes are based on real people. Like Catalina Vargas, Dylan’s mother. Her “I’ve-never-met-a-stranger” approach to people came from memories of a few wonderful church ladies in my life. I also like to throw in some real-life situations that I’ve experienced. Occasionally, someone crosses my path and inspires a scene or an idea that ends up in one of my novels. But don’t worry, I never use anything from someone else’s life without dramatically altering the situation. 😊

Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

Stay tuned for several more books in the Vargas Ranch Series. I’ve officially announced the series through seven books. I’m also working on a prequel to the series that answers part of the question of where the family motto came from.

I’m so in love with the Vargases that I’m considering a spin-off series following many of the minor characters introduced throughout this series. And I also jotted down some early thoughts about a Vargas Origins historical series (1930s – 1990s). I’m not sure if or when these might come to fruition. If it sounds like something readers want to read, then it may happen sooner.

For the latest info about my books, readers can visit my website: www.karenbaney.com. If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll always get the most current news on what I’m writing, promotions, and things that inspire me, my characters, or my novels.

Blog Stops

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 25

Stories By Gina, October 26 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 26

Devoted To Hope, October 27

For the Love of Literature, October 28 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, October 28

She Lives To Read, October 29

Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 30 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 31

Labor Not in Vain, November 1

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, November 2 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, November 3

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, November 4 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 5

Artistic Nobody, November 6 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, November 7

Giveaway

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

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

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5477/