Guest Author: Lorelie Brown

My guest today is Lorelie Brown talking about her new release, Catch Me. I haven’t read this story yet, I read tons of westerns over the years then just stopped. However, I’ve recently got back into them and find this premise great.

Before getting to Lorelie’s post, I want to share a quote I found from Louis L’Amour, king of westerns:

''If you write a book about a bygone period that lies east of the Mississippi River, then it's a historical novel,'' he said in 1975. ''If it's west of the Mississippi, it's a western, a different category. There's no sense to it.''

Welcome Lorelie!

Hi everyone! Thanks for having me here and being willing to listen to my chatter. I promise I won’t take too long. And if you stick around through the end, there might just be something in it for you.

I like to pretend sometimes that I’m an intellectual. I write historicals because I like the juxtaposition of reality versus what can be imagined. The fine line between being true to life and yet maintaining the fantasy of the romance industry. It’s harder than it seems, as I’m sure we all know.

But then I keep talking. And eventually I show my hand.

I’m a shallow, shallow girl.

I like the clothes. More specifically? I like the mystique of a hard-edged, mean and rough man dressed up in layers and layers of “proper” dress.

Let me show you some examples:

He’s not wearing much, is he?

Wait, did someone just accuse me of pandering with hot pictures? Why yes, I am. (I want people to pay attention to me and buy my book. Why wouldn’t I pander? Bring on the hotness!)

So anyway, he’s not wearing much, right? Doesn’t in any way inhibit his hotness. That stomach alone...Wow. Bad (good?) things could happen to that flat tummy. But there’s not much mystery to this guy, now is there? He’s hot and a little broody.

Wait. More pandering. Those are accessories, Lorelie. Not clothes. Moving on.

This guy’s been up to something. He’s a little muddy and hopefully a little worn out. We’re starting to get some story to work with. He’s been working. Working hard even, it looks like. But he’s still not wearing much. Nothing’s really hidden. That tasty tank-top with the (artful) smears of mud don’t conceal those arms. In a way, that’s good. But it also is a bit of a metaphor. There’s not much to peel back on him, is there?

Doc Holiday, as portrayed by the once-hot Val Kilmer. Now there is an outfit we can work with. The vest and the long coat and the suspenders underneath. The white button-up shirt. Something intriguing about a man you have to undress, right?

My hero in CATCH ME wears a very similar outfit. Dean’s a bounty hunter and he’s tasked with bringing Maggie back to the tiny town she’s lived in all her life--and where she robbed a bank. Running around shirtless isn’t really a possibility (except that one time where Maggie watches Dean chop down a tree.) but that’s a good thing. Because Maggie is a girl who loves a puzzle. And she’ll figure Dean out if it’s the last thing she does.

Now, you could go buy a copy of CATCH ME. In all reality, I hope you do. Please, support my hot cowboy habit! But because I am such an awesome, nice, wonderful author (LOL. If you read that with a straight face, you’re more credible than I am) I’m going to give away one e-pub version copy today. In the comments, just tell me who would be your favorite man to undress. One lucky, random winner will win! (Because winners win. That’s what they do.)