JavaGirl Interviews the Authors of THE SONS OF DUSTY WALKER

GIVEAWAY – Randi Alexander – an ecopy of Chase and Seduction, Book 1 of the Hot Country Series, Jodi Redford – Cat Scratch Fever, Sable Hunter – One Man’s Treasure and Desiree Holt – Stark Naked

How did this project come about? Whose idea was it?

Jodi – Well, the way I recall it, Randi first mentioned the possibility of us writing an interconnected series at last year’s Romantic Times convention in New Orleans. So bear in mind, I might have imbibed a few too many Hurricanes and don’t have the details completely right. LOL. But anywho, the idea was to not only have all of these stories connected together, but also have a cover model who would essentially be the “face” of our heroes. As you probably noticed from our covers, Scott is actually more than a mere face. But I don’t think anyone is complaining. 😉 We actually brought up the idea to him in New Orleans and he was right on board with the concept. The rest is history. And a LOT of hard work on all of our parts. But the end result is everything I had hoped and dreamed it would be.

Sable – I race through life like one of those dachshunds at a wiener dog race, so I don’t remember exactly. Randi Alexander is usually the one on the ball who puts these projects together, so I’ll give her credit. All of us have been in several projects together, so we were no strangers to one another for sure. Creating a series of books, each with our own particular voices and ways of weaving stories, was just too good to pass up. We all create alpha heroes and write delicious sex – so what’s not to love?

 

Which came first, the cover model or the four look-alike brothers plotline?

Randi – Since we wanted to partner with Scott for this project, the four look-alike brother idea came after we had brought Scott into the picture…or in this case, book covers. During a brainstorming session with the four authors, we came up with the premise for the books, and it’s absolutely fascinating. The most awesome thing was that Scott had a belt buckle that showed up in each of the pictures. When we saw that buckle, we knew immediately what the “logo” for the books would be and we wrote it into the stories.

 

Have any of you have ever done this type of a connected series with other authors before?

Jodi – I haven’t. I have worked with these three wonderful ladies in our separate Red Hot authors group, but we do things a bit differently in there. That’s a collective group of several authors who write individual holiday-themed books. We market and release under the group umbrella together, but none of the stories have been interconnected as of yet. So this experience was brand new for me. I’m very fortunate in that I popped my cherry with three extremely talented authors who I consider great mentors and friends.

Randi – I never have until this series, but I would absolutely love to do it again. The four of us are already planning the next series, which will possibly be four sisters. Follow us online for more information on that project as it develops.

Sable – I am currently working on another project of this nature and I have another author who I occasionally co-author a book with – but this is my first that we had to have a BIBLE to keep our facts straight! HA! This was a challenge, I’ve never been a good BIBLE STUDENT!! But, it was fun and a challenge.

Desiree – I have done several connected series before, mostly with the same authors—Cerise Deland, Brenna Zinn and Samantha Cayto. Our connection was SEALs (although mine was also a cowboy! *wink) If you have experienced authors, and I have worked with the other three in our Red Hot Authors group and knew how totally professional they all are, so I was already aware of how well we could work together. It takes good coordination among the authors and back and forth to iron out the details but I think we did the brothers very easily. And we fed off each other’s ideas. It was a lot of fun putting this together.

 

How did Scott get involved? Has Scott ever been the cover model for an entire series before?

Scott – I got involved after being on covers for both Randi and Jodi in the past and also just making myself known across social media. Jodi approached me while at RT-NOLA and I liked the idea immediately. I have been a cover model for an entire series before. The always funny and crazy Liz Crowe had me on her “Love Brothers” series of 4 books last year in 2014. I am pretty sure those are the only two sets of 4 that I’ve done. I really enjoyed it too, as it gave me a chance to really try and portray four different characters for the books. All in one shoot. LOL I also gotta give credit to Shawn Monroe Photography for helping collab this and his artistic eye.

Randi – Scott, Jodi, and I were talking about how to combine efforts and promotional power last year at the RT convention in New Orleans. From there, we recruited Desiree and Sable, and the rest is cowboy romance history.

Sable – Some of the other lucky authors knew Scott before, it wasn’t me. Although I can say that he graced our covers perfectly. He has a look and a body that just won’t quit and any author would be lucky to have him on their cover.

 

What did you love most about collaborating with three other authors?

Desiree – For me, it was getting to work with three other authors who have really established themselves in writing western romance. I love these ladies and exchanging ideas with authors who were in the same genre when you are all on the same page is a real plus.

Randi – The creativity of Sable, Jodi, and Desiree turned this project from a basic story line into a complex, interesting fusion of our writing styles and plotting skills. While we each went off to write our separate stories, they’re all linked so well, and so firmly grounded in the setting, that the books provide a seamless experience for our wonderful readers.

Jodi – For me it was the chance to work with three authors I admire tremendously. I learned so much from them during the entire process. As far as the actual construction of the series, plotting and fleshing out our characters was a ton of fun. One of the things that I really loved about putting this series together was the challenge of bringing the stories to life through four entirely different POVs and voices. Each of our heroes is dealing with a pretty huge life-altering situation, but aside from that, their experiences are all unique to themselves.

Sable – I enjoyed the comradery and the planning. We tended to encourage one another. We had a closed FB room where we could vent and giggle and act silly, and that was great.

 

What was the biggest challenge in collaborating with three other authors?

Sable – The biggest challenge was making sure we didn’t contradict one another or step on one another’s toes plot wise. Our books each have their separate love story and can be read as standalones. The family story is what goes from one to the other and makes the reader feel like they are part of the saga. Also, I’m longwinded – I can’t write a novella. So, they have to put up with my quirk. They tell me to write 35000 words and I write 70000 words, I think they expect it and I appreciate their leniency. My sex scenes are just too long! Can you have too much sex? Or cheese? Or Money? – – I’ll say no – ha!

Desiree – I’d say probably making sure we got all the crossover details the same, such as the prologue and epilogue which had to be basically the same in all four books.

Randi – Making sure little things we wanted to add to our books wouldn’t create conflict or confusion in the other three books. For instance, the involvement of the couple who cook and tend house at Dusty Walker’s big home on the lake. How much do they know about Dusty’s secrets? And the scrapbooks that were found in Dusty’s safe. How did they come to be in there? We spent a lot of time chatting and making suggestions…followed by making changes to our books. But the process was really fun and exciting. I’d do it again any day with these amazing authors.

Jodi – I’d say the biggest challenge was just getting the four stories to sync with each other. Timelines and certain bits of dialog and such. But once we started to get the books going and could get a real feel for the characters, it all started to flow pretty darn smooth.

 

I hear there will be some awesome promotional posters at RT? Can we get a sneak peek?

Sable – Yes, the poster is gorgeous. Scott looks like sex on a stick and the cowboy scene makes you want to saddle up and ride! I hope you all see it in person at RT.

Randi – we recruited Diane Carlisle to create the poster and our individual covers for this series. You’ll see the poster in mega-lifesize five feet wide by ten feet tall if you come to RT, but if you’re not there, watch for pictures of it! It’s Scott Nova, just about as big as we could get him!

Description:
Secrets and lies—the legacy of Dylan Walker’s existence. Ashamed of his status as a bastard son, Dylan found solace and a sense of identity as the lead bass guitarist for Truckstop Pickup. But with one phone call, his world is shaken to its core. Summoned to Kansas after the death of his father, Dylan discovers he has three brothers he knew nothing about. Reeling from that earth-shattering revelation, he figures life can’t throw him a bigger curveball. Until fate puts him face-to-face with the woman his heart refuses to forget…and her little boy. Who just happens to bear a striking resemblance to Dylan.

Never love a musician. That’s always been Zoe Chapman’s number one motto. Daughter of a legendary country star, she knew that truth better than anyone. Then she’d met Dylan. He’d stripped her of her defenses, and she’d fallen. Hard. Now he’s back in her world. A living, breathing, too-sinful-for-words personification of everything she’s ever wanted. And can never have. Only Dylan is dead set on becoming a permanent fixture in their son’s life. Determined to make her part of the package deal, he works at breaking down her walls again, and her resistance is slipping faster than her panties.

But there’s another secret Zoe’s hiding. And it could end up pushing Dylan away from her forever.

Description:
When rodeo bronc rider Jackson Walker’s father passes away, he’s shocked to find he’s not the only son of Dusty Walker. His dad had three other families at compass points around the country. When a stipulation in Dusty’s will requires him to live in his dad’s house and work at his company for one week, Jackson heads to Red Creek, Kansas to get it over with, so he can get the hell back to his regularly scheduled life.

Computer engineer Rori Hughes needs to solidify her position in Dusty’s company, but the only one of his four sons available is Jackson, and Rori has a mighty low opinion of rodeo cowboys. Finding inconsistencies in the computer files, Rori and Jackson work together to solve the mystery, but their constant contact fires a red-hot desire that burns wild between them.

Spending their days at Dusty’s opulent lakeside home, and their nights together making love, they both ignore the warning signs that point to their attraction becoming more than merely sexual. Jackson’s time in Red Creek is coming to an end, but can he follow his original plan and leave town, breaking away from smart, beautiful, sexy Rori?

Description:
To say Killian Walker was shocked when he discovered that not only was his father not married to his mother, but he had three half-brothers in the same situation. Facing each other for the first time at the reading of Dusty Walker’s will, the atmosphere could best be described as hostile. The terms of the will didn’t help matters. Spending a week in Red Creek, Kansas in Dusty’s house and Dusty’s business was just not on his agenda of things to do. But if he wanted the money to start his own ranch, he’d have to grit his teeth and man up.

Lexie Choate had big dreams about success in the world of art. Her teachers at Savannah School of Art praised her talent and told her she was a shoo-in to win the prize of a gallery show of her own. The last thing she expected was for the man who stole her heart to also steal the prize from her. She ran back to Red Creek, to heal her broken heart and recover from her disappointment. As the owner of Heart Starter, the popular coffee shop in town, she was busy building a new life for herself, while she continued to paint in secret. Hope never dies.

When Killian walked into Heart Starter the chemistry between the two of them was instant and explosive, but neither of them was looking for anything long term. She wanted to get back into the world of art. He was planning to build his ranch and not in Nowhere, Kansas. One week, they agreed. One week to enjoy each other, then goodbye. Funny thing, though, just when you think you’ve got everything planned out, life has a fanny way of turning your life upside down.

Description:
A loner by choice and a renegade by nature.

Rogue is living up to his name. He’s lived life on his own terms, doing everything from team-roping in college, Texas Hold ‘em champion to founding his own company, Lone Wolf Oil.

Everything he’s accomplished has been in spite of Dusty Walker, a man who sired four sons by four women – none of them his wife. Rogue might be following in his father’s footsteps, but he is nothing like his father.

And he never will be if he can help it.

When he flies to Kansas for the reading of Dusty’s will, three brothers and a quarter interest in a half-billion dollar business aren’t all he finds…Rogue feels like he’s been hit by a tornado after he walks into a room and finds a woman in his bed. Not just any woman, either…

The last time he saw Kit Ross, she was racing off in her truck leaving him naked and hard by the side of the road. Of course, he deserved it; he’d hurt her. To say she wasn’t happy to see him was an understatement. And when he wins her ranch with a good poker hand, the game is on.

It’s not just poker that’s being played. They can’t keep their hands off one another. Rogue doesn’t know if he has room in his life for family and love. He doesn’t know if he can be trusted with people’s hearts and happiness. What if he’s more like Dusty Walker than he ever knew?

The Sons of Dusty Walker. Four brothers – one tainted legacy and a wild, wild ride.

 

GIVEAWAY

Leave a question or comment about the series for one or all of the authors for a chance to win the following:

Randi Alexander – an ecopy of Chase and Seduction, Book 1 of the Hot Country Series

Jodi Redford – Cat Scratch Fever

Sable Hunter – One Man’s Treasure

Desiree Holt – Stark Naked