Cowboys and NaNoWriMo

By Andrea Renee Cox

Since the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is going on this month, my schedule is quite packed, especially with a couple of proofreading jobs squeezed in along with my regular tutoring students. Not that I’m complaining; I love staying busy and challenging myself. But being so busy does have its drawbacks, one of which is less time to read books from my to-be-read basket. So, during November, I’m reading a couple of novellas, that way I can still read a book for fun in the evenings but it won’t be so lengthy as to pull me away from my other obligations for a substantial amount of time.

One such shorter-length book, which I just finished, is A Cowboy for Katie. I was excited when I received an electronic galley copy through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review, because I love reading about cowboys. I like everything about cowboys. The hats, jeans, and boots. The hat-tipping, let ladies go through the door first, show respect to women kind of chivalry that is hard to come by these days. Ooh, I’m getting chills just thinking about it.

In A Cowboy for Katie, Katie Pearl is known as a crazy woman. With a threat on her lips and a gun on her hip—if it’s not in her hand—Katie Pearl will stop at nothing to protect her land from the squirrelly cowpokes trying to steal it from her by way of marriage. Treb Rayburn doesn’t know what he’s in for when he hires on to rebuild Katie Pearl’s house after a tornado destroyed it, killing her Pa. The only question is, will he have the gumption to love an unlovable crazy lady?

Don’t let this story’s small size fool you. Like its main character, Katie Pearl, it carries a whirlwind of spunk in a small package. I found myself chuckling many times through many of the chapters, thanks to Debra Clopton’s creative humor woven through the plot. The essence of cowboys was captured perfectly in Treb, and I couldn’t help but hope he could somehow find a way through Katie Pearl’s defenses. All in all, I discovered a new-to-me author I’ll be keeping my eye on.

Since I need to work on my word count for NaNoWriMo tonight, I’m keeping this fairly short. I hope you have a chance to read A Cowboy for Katie soon. I’m sure you’ll get a laugh or two out of it. Happy reading!

Readers, it’s your turn. What is your favorite type of character to read about? What qualities do you like about them? Do you see any similarities between them and the people you interact with in your daily life?

Thanks for stopping by today! I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below. And don’t forget to drop by next Monday for my latest article.

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