Lonely Cowboy
I had written a collection of cowboy shifter stories, combining two of my passions, westerns, since I grew up in the west and understand the life here and also love of shape shifter stories. If you think of it, we are all shape shifters in our lives. We have our work persona, our face we show to friends and to family. Our hidden 'shadow' side we don't want anyone to see because we think it unacceptable. So that's been a theme running through all the stories, men who think they are unworthy of love.
In Lonely Cowboy I took a scarred ex-SEAL who was so traumatized by losing men on his team and being unable to stop it he's gone to the mountains to die. It doesn't help that he's also a wolf shifter, further pushing him away from help. But fortunately for him, I have a gentle art quilter who just moved into those same mountains and watching Tate helps Simon want to come back from the edge. When Tate is attacked by rogue shifters, Simon will do anything to save him, becoming again the hero and protector he truly is.
Please tell us about your other creative fields you are interested in.
As well as being a writer, I am an artist as well. There isn't much I haven't done from water colours to working with mosaics—my first project with those, I covered an entire outdoor table and then had to grout it in less than half an hour! I have been a fiber artist for years, felting, quilting, eco dyeing and regular dyeing, spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting. I'm fascinated by arts made by the hands. Not to mention I am a long term potter who just finished replacing all my regular dishes with my own handmade. That project took two years.
Why do you feel you can fully understand a character until you follow them through the story world?
I have lived many lives. I believe we all have. So being a writer is being a shape shifter, putting yourself into the heart of your characters and going from there. I think that hopefully our empathy is honed through life so we can feel for other people. That's what it's all about.
Why are your interests so wide in terms of reading and writing?
I have always been attracted to the different. Back when romance was very staid, I loved anything with a vampire. Or a hero who was paralyzed, or a heroine who is a gambler. I really love the different.
Why are two people finding a way to live together so important for your stories?
I think that romance is ultimately about healing wounds (because our characters have to have something preventing them from just running off with that hot guy or girl) and finding your way to a kind of unity, where you are comfortable enough with yourself that you can now take on someone else.
What is next for you with Totally Bound?
I have been considering a cowboy ménage story as well as finishing my Men of Station 57 series. And right now I'm actually working on a holiday story. Whatever it will be, it will be different!
You can purchase Lonely Cowboy from Totally Bound today!