Please join me in welcoming NYT and USA Today Bestselling author, B.J. Daniels. This year, B.J. will see her 75th book published!
It took only one impulsive moment on an empty two-lane highway to cost her everything.
A man's responsible for his own prosperity—especially if he's Cooper Barnett, the most determined cowboy in the West. No one knows what he sacrificed to claim a piece of Beartooth, Montana, for himself and his beautiful fiancĂ©e, Livie. No one knows what he's willing to do for love…until a stranger's twisted vendetta threatens the happy ending they should've had long ago.
One fateful mistake isn't the only secret Livie Hamilton is keeping from her fiancĂ©. Victimized during a treacherous blizzard by a man she thought she could trust, she's pregnant…but unsure who the father is. With an unknown blackmailer threatening to expose her, she must confess to Cooper and trust he'll still protect her. But when the truth falls into place, she may lose the only man she's ever loved—or worse.
Series: The Montana Hamiltons (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 384 page
Publisher: HQN Books (February 24, 2015)
Praise for B.J. Daniels
"Fans of Western romantic suspense will relish Daniels' tale of
clandestine love played out in a small town on the Great Plains."
-Booklist on Unforgiven
"An explosive tale of love, trust and the twisted ties among an embattled family." -RT Book Reviews on Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch
"If you like the TV show and book series Longmire, only with a tiny bit more romance, this is definitely the book for you. The characters are solid and immediately relatable, and the suspense keeps the story rolling at a steady clip." --RT Book Reviews
"B.J. Daniels will absolutely move to the top of your list of must-read authors." -Fresh Fiction on Mercy
Don't miss Lone Rider (Aug.) & Lucky Shot (Nov.) coming out this year!
Q&A with B.J. Daniels"An explosive tale of love, trust and the twisted ties among an embattled family." -RT Book Reviews on Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch
"If you like the TV show and book series Longmire, only with a tiny bit more romance, this is definitely the book for you. The characters are solid and immediately relatable, and the suspense keeps the story rolling at a steady clip." --RT Book Reviews
"B.J. Daniels will absolutely move to the top of your list of must-read authors." -Fresh Fiction on Mercy
Don't miss Lone Rider (Aug.) & Lucky Shot (Nov.) coming out this year!
1. WILD HORSES is part of
your Beartooth, Montana series and the first book featuring the six Hamilton
sisters as the main characters. Have you wanted to write about the Hamilton
sisters for a while now or was this a new idea?
I
mentioned the Hamilton sisters in earlier books. They were the young women that
local men wanted to date, but were reluctant given that the sisters’ father is
Senator Buckmaster Hamilton. Not to mention that the young women themselves
are…particular when it comes to their men.
2. What is the significance of
the title, WILD HORSES?
I
like to believe there is some wild horse in each of us. With the Hamilton
sisters, who were raised with the run of the huge ranch, they are definitely
free spirits. That’s why I knew it would take a special man to get any of them
to settle down.
3. The family structure of the
Hamiltons has all the classic elements of a fairytale (i.e. mother dies young
and father remarries a difficult woman). Do you often find yourself revisiting
classic fairytale themes in your books?
Not
purposely, but I think those themes are so universal that all writers tend to
find them in their work. Also, I don’t think that everyone is built to be a
stepmother. Angelina Broadwater Hamilton definitely wasn’t.
4. Will Sarah Hamilton (their
biological mother’s) story be explored at all?
The
over-arcing mystery in all six books has to do with Sarah, the biological
mother who’s been gone for the past twenty-two years. I’m fascinated with her
character. She keeps surprising me, which is always good. So, yes, Sarah is in
all six books.
5. Each sister has her own solid
identity. Did you create a character sketch of each sister or was it a spur of
the moment decision?
Because
I am one of those writes-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of writer, I get to know
my characters as they show up on the page. It is great fun because the sisters
are all different.
6. Livie Hamilton is the most
headstrong of her sisters. Was there a particular reason why Livie Hamilton’s
story “spoke to you” first before her other sisters?
The
only reason Livie’s story is first is that I saw her driving along a narrow
two-lane in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a blizzard. I’ve done that
before so I know how scary it can be. You can’t see a dozen yards in front of
your vehicle. You often can’t tell where the road is. And if there is no other
vehicles around, that often means that the road has been closed to all but
emergency traffic. That means if you go off the road, no one will be coming
along to help you. I’ve also made rash spur-of-the-moment decisions that I have
regretted. Haven’t we all. But this decision is about to cost her everything.
7. Cooper Barnett is the resident
horse whisperer and a determined cowboy – what made you choose horse handling
as Cooper’s profession?
I
believe men who are good with horses are also good with gentling women.
Livie needs to be gentled. She’s headstrong. She doesn’t think she needs a man.
But she wants Cooper, who is equally headstrong and independent to a fault.
Obviously, they are going to have to work some things out before they can
really get together.
8. What is the dynamic between the Hamilton
sisters and their father, Senator Buckmaster Hamilton?
The
sisters are very loving toward their father. He has given them free run of the
ranch – and anything they’ve ever asked for. He realizes that was probably a
mistake, but he only wants them to be happy. He feels bad that they’ve never
had a real mother since their biological mother died and their stepmother wants
little to do with them. But father and daughters are very close in these books.
He’s like all of us parents who look back and wish we had done a few things
differently.
9. The story centers around one small
mistake and what it costs the main character. What inspired this theme?
Rash
decisions can cost you. Especially if you get angry and take off to get caught
in a blizzard on a lonely road in the middle of nowhere.
I’ve
been on those roads, in those blizzards, and wished I hadn’t left home when I
did. But there is no turning back often because the road behind you is possibly
worse than the one you are on. You’re basically trapped because there are no
towns to pull off in and often no ranch houses or anything else for miles. Also
the snow is often deeper at the side of the road so you can’t even pull off and
wait out the storm.
You
just keep going and pray you don’t go in the ditch because you could be there
for a very long time and if it is really cold out, you might not make it before
someone comes along.
You
can see why I love writing about Montana and what I know.
10.You dedicated this book to your
father and his love for Montana. How did growing up there influence your
writing?
My
father was the major influence in my life. He always told me I could do
whatever I wanted to do when I grew up. He encouraged me always and got to see
me published before he died, something I am very thankful for.
But
he also gave me Montana. We moved here when I was five. He loved it and he
passed that love on to me. It will always be home.
11. Here’s a cover art question. Which
do you prefer: an illustration of a cowboy or the real thing?
As
long as the cover conveys the feeling of the book, I would be happy either way.
I have been very lucky to get some wonderful covers. The WILD HORSES cover is
beautiful and it has that feel of being away from it all.
12.Without giving away too much, what
is your favorite suspense scene in the book?
I
would have to say the opening. What is worse than going off the road in a
blizzard in the middle of nowhere, thinking you will freeze to death before
morning, and then you see headlights through the falling snow. Someone is
coming. But are they really going to save you?
13.Was this story inspired by any
films you’ve watched or books you’ve read?
I
don’t think so. As writers everything we see, hear, touch or smell – let alone
imagine – can end up in our books and we have no idea where it came from. But
my father loved old murder mystery movies and westerns so I’ve watched a lot of
them. And I love Hitchcock.
14. Who would play Livie and Cooper in
a movie?
I
have to admit I’m not up on the younger actors. So I’d have to leave that up to
my readers to decide. I watch a lot of old movies.
15.What is the steamiest romance scene
in the book?
Now
if I told you, I’d have to kill you. No, seriously, you’d want to flip to that
part of the book. Sorry, no spoilers.
16.How was the writing process
different for this book than for past books you’ve written?
They
all seem like they are going to be easy when I start a book. I’m excited and
hopeful. But there is always a point where I think I will never finish the
book. I swear it is like trying to walk through quicksand at times. I write and
write, but the book doesn’t seem to get longer. This one was tough because it’s
the first one. Once it is in print, there is no changing any of the setting,
characters, past events. So especially with the other sisters, you have to be
sure you didn’t say anything you will regret.
17. How do you deal with the pressure
of deadlines?
I
treat writing like a real job. Except without weekends. I write every day. It
keeps me in the story and makes it so much easier to pick up where I left off
the day before. I also write myself little notes when I can see the next scene
or two. Sometimes the deadlines get to me when a book is being difficult. But
I’m pretty good at meeting them. I think the latest I’ve ever been is two weeks
– and that’s after more than 70 books.
18. What is Flat Cowboy up to these
days?
Flat
cowboys are the bookmarks to my Cardwell Ranch series for Harlequin Intrigue.
One of the lovely editors at Harlequin saw a bookmark and thought I should have
a cowboy one like it. That started something. A reader began calling the
bookmarks Flat Cowboys and another reader began to take photographs of each
Flat Cowboy wherever she went. The first reader put up a site for other readers
to post where they’d been with their Flat Cowboys (The Adventures of Flat
Cowboy on Facebook)
So
yes it took off and it’s been a whole lot of fun!
19.When can we expect the next Montana
Hamiltons story to come out?
LONE
RIDER will be out the end of June followed by LUCKY SHOT the end of September.
The next three, still untitled, will be out the end of February, June and
September in 2016.
20. What are you working on next?
Right
now I am finishing up LUCKY SHOT. I am having great fun with the characters. As
I said, the over-arcing mystery deals with Sarah Hamilton, the biological
mother of the sisters who vanished from their lives twenty-two years ago. Is
she the loving mother she pretends to be? And where has she been the past
twenty-two years?
It
is all great fun.
A Reader's Opinion
Meet the Author
NYT and USA Today Bestselling author B.J. Daniels was born in
Texas but moved with her family to Montana at the age of five. Her first
home was a cabin in the Gallatin Canyon and later a lake house on
Hebgen Lake outside of West Yellowstone. Most of her books are set in Montana, a place she loves. She lives now in a unique part of the state with her husband and three Springer Spaniels.
When she isn't writing, she loves to play tennis, boat, camp, quilt and snowboard. There is nothing she enjoys more than curling up with a good book.
