Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Hard Landing by Shirleen Davies

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Hard Landing by Shirleen Davies.  Please leave a comment or question for Shirleen to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can follow the rest of her tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  

What makes contemporary western romance popular today

 by Shirleen Davies

Great question. Romance books based on a contemporary theme cut to the heart of what all of face or have faced in our lives. Issues today are complex and couples encounter challenges they may not have faced during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Women today have many choices than our female ancestors. Career options are limitless, travel is common, and yet, most men and women still desire love, marriage, and a family. Weaving these into our complex lifestyles in challenging. Broken relationships, unplanned pregnancies, career decisions, educational desires—all of these are real-life situations that readers can relate to. Most have experienced at least one of them and could tell their own stories, which makes contemporary romance a popular genre.

As for ‘western romance,’ I believe there are certain expectations a reader has regarding the male protagonist that may not be present in standard contemporary romance books. The perception is of men who are innately strong in character, are honorable and stand up for what they believe is right, and stick to their convictions even if it would be easier to back away.

Some call it ‘the cowboy way,’ where a man’s word is his bond and he’ll do whatever he can to make the honorable decision. Essentially, the man you see is the man you get. None of this flapping in the breeze depending on what is considered acceptable in present day culture.

In contemporary western romance you have today’s strong women—those who make hard choices and don’t whine about the responsibility to do so—and strong men, who match these women. These men understand their roles, don’t let political correctness rule their decisions, and, IMHO, don’t “get in touch with their feminine side.” Why not? Because they already respect women and their choices. In return, they expect to be taken as they are and not changed.

I believe romance readers like the qualities of the characters in contemporary western romance and gravitate towards those strong, committed, and bit-hearted men and women.

Hard Landing

By Shirleen Davies

MacLarens of Fire Mountain, Book 2

Publisher: Avalanche Ranch Press, LLC.

Release Date: April 19, 2014

Genre: Contemporary Western Romance

Length: 94 Pages

ISBN:  123-0-000237-53-2

ASIN:  B00JTJQZ70

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Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo

About the book: 

Hard Landing, Book Two in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary Romance Series

In this passionate Contemporary Romance series, author Shirleen Davies introduces her readers to the modern day MacLarens.

Trey MacLaren is a confident, poised Navy pilot. He’s focused, loyal, ethical, and a natural leader. He is also on his way to what he hopes will be a lasting relationship and marriage with fellow pilot, Jesse Evans.

Jesse has always been driven. Her graduation from the Naval Academy and acceptance into the pilot training program are all she thought she wanted—until she discovered love with Trey MacLaren . . .

. . . Trey and Jesse’s lives are filled with fast flying, friends, and the demands of their military careers. Lives each has settled into with a passion. At least until the day Trey receives a letter that could change his and Jesse’s lives forever.

It’s been over two years since Trey has seen the woman in Pensacola. Her unexpected letter stuns him and pushes Jesse into a tailspin from which she might not pull back.

. . . Each must make a choice. Will the choice Trey makes cause him to lose Jesse forever? Will she follow her heart or her head as she fights for a chance to save the love she’s found? Will their independent decisions collide, forcing them to give up on a life together?

Hard Landing is the second book in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary novella series—heartwarming stories of difficult choices, loyalty, and lasting romance. Watch for book three, One More Day, Cameron and Lainey’s story, in the summer of 2014.

EXCERPT

“Coming,” he called, as the doorbell sounded once more. He reached the door and pulled it open, stunned into silence by who stood outside.

“Hello, Trey.” Jesse stood tall and looked him in the eyes.

He recovered quickly. “Jesse.” He looked beyond her, but saw no one else. “What are you doing here?”

Her courage diminished as she realized he might not even allow her inside.

“Reb and Paul came over to watch the ballgame. It was loud, crazy, lots of testosterone, so I thought…” her voice trailed off.

“What? You’d come over here for old times’ sake?”

She looked behind him. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might have invited someone over. “I’m sorry. This probably wasn’t a good idea—stopping by without calling.” She turned to leave.

“Why did you come over? You generally have a plan for everything. This seems pretty spontaneous.”

Jesse stopped, knowing he’d guessed right. She did have a plan but had lost her nerve as soon as he’d opened the door. Her heart had jumped into her throat at the sight of Trey. His deep gray t-shirt was drawn taut across his chest and tucked into tight fitting jeans. His dark hair was a little mussed, and the dark stubble on his face reminded her of the first time she’d met him, in the gym at the Academy. Her breath had caught then also, at the sight of the muscular, incredibly handsome, and somewhat dangerous looking midshipman.

Tonight it was by sheer will that she’d gotten out the first two words of a greeting.

She took a couple of steps toward him. “I guess I didn’t think it through.” She licked her lips, fortifying herself before looking into eyes that were set, hard. “The guys said you were here with Trevor. I’d been wanting to speak to you, to try to explain.” She paused again, already sensing she’d made a huge mistake. “I guess I just wanted to see you.”

 AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Shirleen Davies writes romance--historical, contemporary, and romantic suspense. She grew up in Southern California, attended Oregon State University, and has degrees from San Diego State University and the University of Maryland. During the day she provides consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses. But her real passion is writing emotionally charged stories of flawed people who find redemption through love and acceptance. She now lives with her husband in a beautiful town in northern Arizona.

Shirleen began her new series, MacLarens of Fire Mountain, with Tougher than the Rest, the story of the oldest brother, Niall MacLaren. Other books in the series include, Faster than the Rest, Harder than the Rest, Stronger than the Rest, and Deadlier than the Rest. Book six, Wilder than the Rest, is due for release in early summer, 2014. 

Her contemporary romance series, MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary, opened with book one, Second Summer. Book two, Hard Landing, released in April 2014, and Book three, One More day, is scheduled to release in midsummer, 2014.

Shirleen loves to hear from her readers.

Write to her at: shirleen@shirleendavies.com
Visit her website: http://www.shirleendavies.com
Comment on her blog: http://www.shirleendavies.com/blog.html
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