Exciting news has been announced and I couldn’t wait to share it!
Western Heat, book one of the West Brothers series, has been shortlisted for the 2021 Wattys!
What are the Watty's? Read up here: https://www.wattpad.com/wattys/2021/ and then go here to check out all 249 other books that have been shortlisted with me! https://www.wattpad.com/list/1176318596
There are some amazing books on
this list, and I encourage you to read as many as you can. I’m listed with many of my fellow Wattpad Stars, some Paid Stories writers, and many more! These are the cream of the crop, folks. The best writers on Wattpad.
I am so utterly over the moon that Jake and Liz’s book has been recognized. Whether I end up with a coveted Paid Story Watty award will be announced on December 3rd.
Western Heat is part of the Paid Stories program, and the start of a “Cowboy” contemporary romance series I started a few years ago. The original name for the books was “How to Properly Cook Beef”, since the main hero, Jake, is a NYC chef who lands himself in a whole new world when he comes home to the cattle and horse ranch his estranged father owned. There he meets brothers he never knew he had, and a woman he never knew he needed.
You should read it, if you haven’t! I would love to hear what you think of the book!
Even if I don’t win, I’ll be celebrating the Watty’s when they’re announced. I know what it is like to win, as I did win in 2019 with Out of His League, in the Romance category. The elation, the validation that your writing was good enough to win an award is something incredible, and I wish that for every writer who has entered with their hopes high and their nerves frayed.
The West Brothers Series
Believe it or not, the first couple of chapters of this book were started in 2011 or 2012, I can’t quite remember, and I can tell you that I was directly influenced by the book Montana Sky by Nora Roberts. I love that book, and it was one of the first romances I read that made me sit up and realize how much I enjoyed the genre. So Nora, if you are reading this, your writing inspired me, and I am so thankful for that book.
Western Heat, written as a standalone, morphed into the series that is available now, on Wattpad. Western Connection is book two, and Western Flame is book three. I have a companion book, Named Western Spark that is a collection of short stories surrounding the West Brothers, their family and their lives. I add to it from time to time. The universe that these characters have created is immersive for me, a true fantasy of living and working on a ranch, and I love writing their stories.
I plan on bringing Protecting Jess into the fold at some point, it is my other western romance, but has a law enforcement vibe as well. The characters from Protecting Jess make cameos in the West Brothers series, so it is a natural fit. If I ever get to editing it, that is!
So stay tuned, and wish me luck!