I
was recently asked about the tag line I often use – “Nobody Does
It Like a Cowboy.” The person wanted to know what I meant by that.
For me, that line has all kinds of meaning besides the one that
“romance” conjures up. You know what I mean. And in my books,
nobody “does it” like a cowboy. (I am smiling.)
Actually,
by “cowboy,” I mean the rugged, western hero-type. My heroes
aren’t always “cowboys,” but they have that cowboy nature –
often long hours in the saddle, sleeping out under the stars a lot, a
wandering nature, men who take no sh--, good with fists and guns,
experienced with the elements of weather, animals and danger, know
how to deal with outlaws and hostiles, is good at tracking both men
and animals, knows all there is to know about horses and cattle, and
knows the western landscape. My men never get lost!
But
more than that, there is a cowboy spirit that is hard to explain. I
love writing about the “bad man with a good heart,” or men with a
bit of a wild nature, but who always respect a good woman and might
even be a bit bashful around a “good woman.” They might drink,
but my heroes are never mean alcoholics; they almost always smoke
because nearly all men did in the 1800’s; they love to gamble and
they love their horses and their women.
Let’s
face it. Women love brave, rugged men – men who are sometimes a bit
of a challenge and need s little “taming.” Of course, you can’t
totally “tame” a cowboy, but that’s okay, because he’s
usually there when his woman needs him. The cowboy nature means a man
who knows little fear and who will defend his woman to the death if
necessary. You don’t abuse a cowboy’s woman and get away with it.
Not in MY books! Nor do you abuse anyone else in his family! And my
cowboys might actually be outlaws, but I always give them cause, a
back-story that creates empathy for how they turned out – and I
always find a way to “redeem” them in the end. Usually, the
heroine has a hand in that.
Recently
a national news story featured a man who truly lives the “cowboy”
life on a ranch. He rode his horse to a Walmart and heard a woman
yelling that someone had just stolen her bike. True to his cowboy
nature, this young man rode the culprit down on his horse and lassoed
him, pulling him off the bike and tying him to a tree. He then called
911 and the police came and arrested him!
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