Tempting the Cowboy by Elizabeth Otto -- Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Elizabeth will be awarding a $25 gift card to either Amazon or B&N and a boutique river stone bracelet to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Elizabeth stopped by to answer a few of our questions.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I love romance, plain and simple. I really enjoy the challenge of bringing two people together and working out their kinks and problems, while they fall in love with each other. Maybe because I feel like I’m falling a little bit, too, each time. It gives me that “new-guy” breathless feeling without going through the work of training him in real life. My leading lady gets that job.

What research (or world-building – for fantasy/paranormal/Sci-fi) is required?

I write both paranormal and contemporary romance, and both require some degree of research. My paranormals have complicated worlds and character backgrounds, so I’m always digging into the latest scientific research, or looking for lost pearls of history, to bring into those worlds. For my contemporaries, I really love researching new states and towns because I’m a travel-junkie at heart.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

That letting go of pain is essential, no matter how long it takes you to do so. You can’t really move forward until you’ve let go of what holds you from your past.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I, uh, never wash my coffee mug. Is that weird? It’s seen me so through many hours and words that it would be like washing the luck off it or something.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

Both. I plot an outline—not a very in depth one, but just enough that I know what the main structure of the story is going to be. Then I pants my way through the rest. I love being surprised by what comes out of my brain! Sometimes my characters go all willy-nilly and it turns out great. Other times, I have to rein them in and go crazy with the delete button.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

A container of Chobani apple cinnamon yogurt. And a pair of flip flops. LOL

Anything new coming up from you? What?

Hopefully! I have a couple of book proposals in front of publishers right now, and hope to get signed to new contracts soon. In the meantime, the second and third Paint River Ranch books will be out in January and April, 2014.

Do you have a question for our readers?

I get asked frequently how I feel about trends in books, like erotic romance and New Adult trends. I’m curious, what trends do you think are on their way out?

After personal tragedy and taking a job on a quiet Montana dude ranch, ex-cop Rylan Frederickson finds herself surrounded by unbelievably sexy cowboys. Too bad the one she’s attracted to is her boss...and the single dad of a four-year-old. It doesn’t matter anyway; there’s simply no more room in her heart.

Letting a new woman into their lives is the last thing Cole Haywood wants for himself and his daughter, Birdie. But as Rylan’s presence at Paint River Ranch breathes new life into his family he can’t ignore his growing attraction.

When the sparks between them turn into fireworks in bed, Rylan’s torn between the family she’s lost and the one she may have found. Now she must decide if something that feels this good is worth the risk.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Rylan’s fingers followed Cole’s shoulders to the curve of his neck, up, until the bare skin heated under her tender caress. Her fingers found his hair. “Are you coming on to me, Mr. Haywood?”

He bristled a little at the title but shoved it aside as hard as he could. There wouldn’t be any “Mr. Haywood” bullshit. Not right now. His lips dipped behind her left ear. He let a little stream of breath wash over her flesh, making her tremble, before he pressed his mouth to her skin.

“That would be deliciously, wickedly inappropriate, don’t you think?” He nuzzled the soft column of her throat, his hands going another inch higher toward her hips.

“Oh, yes.” Her breathy words were more of a moan. Tonight, he wasn’t her boss. He never wanted to be her boss again—hell, he’d quit if it meant one no-strings night with Rylan, to be her lover and get it out of his system. A tremor went through him at the promise of that, a deep realization flagging him.

“Say my name.” She’d never said it, and he couldn’t go another moment without hearing it. Cole licked the sensitive skin just below her ear before capturing her lobe between his lips as his fingers squeezed her thighs. She jumped a little before sinking into his touch.

Her smoky voice shook. “Mr. Haywood.”

“Is that how you really think of me?” Cole held back a growl at the formality, his fingers digging a little harder into the delectable flesh of her thighs. He nipped her ear just enough to make her gasp. Rylan turned her head and broke free, her hands palming his cheeks and positioning his mouth in line with hers. Their breath mingled, hot and sweet.

“That’s how I should think of you.”

His fingers slid under the bunched skirt, over bare flesh to grip the bones of her hips. Her legs quivered, her eyes going heavy with desire.

“But is it?”

Without hesitation, she shook her head. Cole brought his lips to hers, tasted her with a quick slide of his lips from one corner of her mouth to the other. She shuddered, leaned in just as he pulled away.

“Say it. I want to hear your sexy voice say my name.”

Her eyelids fell halfway, her lips parted just enough to show him the small tip of her tongue as she wet them.

“Cole.”

Fucking. Christ. His cock squeezed and throbbed with fury. Cole nudged her legs wide with his hip and settled between her thighs as he pulled her hips down to his pelvis. Her bottom slid to the edge of the stool, her center joining him in a soft, hot caress against every inch of his aching, demanding erection. Her hands assumed a vise grip on his face, her lips grinding against his with a fire he needed more of. Wanted more of. Right damn now.

“Say it again,” he demanded. She slanted her head to take his mouth fully, the dance of her tongue creating amazing friction against his. God, his head was swimming, and it was so, so good.

“Cole.” The gravel in her voice nailed him. “I’ll say it all night if you want me to.”

About the Author:

Elizabeth Otto grew up in a Wisconsin town the size of a postage stamp, where riding your horse to the grocery store, and skinny dipping after school were perfectly acceptable. No surprise that she writes about small communities and country boys. She's the author of paranormal, and hot, emotional, contemporary romance, and has no guilt over frequently making her readers cry. When not writing, she works full-time as an Emergency Medical Technician for a rural ambulance service. Elizabeth lives with her very own country boy and their three children in, shockingly, a small Midwestern town.

Connect with Elizabeth:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/EAOtto
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ElizabethOttoAuthor
Blog: elizabethottowrites.blogspot.com
Buy the book at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.