Midnight Ride (Midnight Cowboys #1) by Cat Johnson

Happiness is, picking up this book and reading until the wee hours of the morning.

Twenty-four year old ranch hand, Tyler Jenkins was all about having a good time with the ladies. He never thought about settling down like his brother and sister were doing.  He lived for the moment. While most of his friends and acquaintances thought he was just a playboy, the fact is, no one really ever caught his attention long enough for him to take notice. At least, not until the night he makes a wrong move at a bar with an attached young thing who ends up having the bouncer as her fiance.

Thirty-six year old widow, Janie Smithwick could never have imagined the tornado about to come through her life if she even could have dreamed about it. Hiding on the bed of her truck, the handsome, disheveled cowboy is a tall drink of cold water, but boy is he a young thing. Once Tyler sets his mind to something, he won't be swayed and Janie is the woman he has been waiting for. Convincing her that their age difference means nothing though is a tough road to take when Janie has excuse after excuse why she shouldn't open her heart and mind up to him.

When Tyler discovers Janie no longer has ranch hands and is doing it all on her own, he offers to help out with the ulterior motive of getting closer to the beauty widowed too soon. Tyler quickly gets under Janie's skin and soon he becomes the reason for her to wake up in the morning, but that niggling voice in the back of her mind keeps telling her that it will never work because as soon as he finds someone younger and prettier, Tyler will be gone. Convincing her otherwise is a job Tyler gladly takes on, and showing those around him as well as Janie that he is much more the the young player he's proven to be in the past is quite the journey.

Midnight Ride by Cat Johnson is brilliant! I took to this tale from the very first. Tyler Jenkins is so my kind of hero, honorable, persistent and easy to come to terms with his past. Yes, Janie deserved to be smacked in the head a few times, but it's only because she had never had anything such as this happen to her since she married the older man after college. Content in her married life better never knowledgeable of the passion she so easily shares with Tyler, it's easy to see why she would hesitate. Her hesitation only makes Tyler's determination more worthwhile. Midnight Ride is easily one of my top picks this year and Cat Johnson just needs to keep cranking them out so I can gobble them all up.

~KIMBERLY~

KIMMIE'S BIRTHDAY MONTH OF GIVEAWAYS ~DAY 17~ CAT JOHNSON'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!!!

I  adore Cat Johnson for so many reasons... She is so much fun to be around, she is gorgeous, she's tiny but trouble and she is super talented. I will never forget the first time Cat came over to Casa de Rocha, it was for a book club event/bachelorette party and did we have the best time ever. Today is her birthday and I am hoping she is having the most awesome time ever at AAD in Savannah, because she deserves it. Cat is also a most generous lady and always takes her of her readers. For instance, Cat is giving away an EArc of BULL (Red,Hot & Blue), which will not be out until October 29th. Thank you so much Cat!!! I can't wait to see her next week so she and I can celebrate our birthdays together! So good luck to you all and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAT!!!

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SPOTLIGHT ON CAT JOHNSON & REVIEW OF ~ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY (Oklahoma Nights 1) by CAT JOHNSON~

Hi Cat!!! Thanks so much for joining us down at Book Obsessed Chicks. I know you are a super busy lady and really appreciate you taking the time out for me….

Hi, Kim and hello to all your readers! And you know I always have time for the Book Obsessed Chicks. Love you guys!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I'm lucky enough to be able to write full-time from my home in NY, while wearing my pajamas. It's a pretty good deal! 

So how did you come up with this idea for Oklahoma Nights 1- ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY? 

That's actually a funny story. I found an email in my spam folder that looked not so spammy. It turned out it was from the managing editor of Kensington. She'd read one of the free reads on my site, liked my voice and wanted me to submit a proposal to them. Something cowboy or military. This was right before Christmas 2011, when I was already in the midst of another WiP for my other pub, but I worked my butt off, brainstormed the plot, setting and characters, wrote three chapters and a synopsis, and got it to her by the time they returned from their holiday break the week after New Years.

I chose to cover all my bases and made the hero both a cowboy and a soldier, and to do that I set the book at Oklahoma State University where there is both a rodeo team and a military sciences department and ROTC program. More importantly, I knew some students at OSU who answered my questions. The rest is history! They offered me a three-book contract about a week later. The editor came up with the title, One Night with a Cowboy, and I came up with the series title, Oklahoma Nights.

Can you tell us a bit about this book? 

The heroine, Becca, an English professor at Vassar College in New York, loses her job and her boyfriend in the same day. The only position in her field is at OSU, but a born and bred, and sometimes a bit snooty New Yorker, Becca has no intention of applying to a school in Oklahoma. Her meddling sister, Emma, takes care of that by applying for the job for her sister. When the call comes for the interview, Becca drags Emma with her to Oklahoma. The girls take in a rodeo and meet the hero, Tuck, who knocks Becca right off her high horse with a night of hotter than hell sex the likes of which she'd never seen with her boring geek of an ex-boyfriend back in NY. Their one night stand becomes much more once Becca takes the job in Oklahoma and they, of course, run into each other again.

What kind of research did you have to undergo for this great read?

I already had a pretty good handle on the bull riding details from writing my Studs in Spurs professional bull rider series for Samhain, but I did have to research the Stillwater, OK area for the setting. It was that research that led me to the real restaurant that I wrote into the book, which led to the infamous fried bologna sandwich sex scene. Joseph's Fine Foods in Drumright may never be the same!

I also really delved deep into the conditions for the Army in Afghanistan where Tuck (who's also a soldier, remember) gets deployed. 

Do you know anyone like Becca?

Are you asking because you know this answer?! Hmm? LOL Anyway, yeah, I'll admit it, I'm a lot like Becca in many ways. Not the least of which is my appreciation of cowboys and men in uniform.

Tucker is an all-around talented man (cowboy). Did you have someone in mind when you were writing his character?

Not really, sad to say. If Tucker did exist in real life, I'd be doing some 'research' right now. He kind of grew as the plot grew. A soldier not physically wounded but definitely broken when his wife cheated on him while he was deployed. A year after the divorce, he sees Becca and decides maybe it's time to move on. 

What’s next for you?

Writing wise, I just last week finished Book 3 in the Oklahoma Nights series, Three Weeks with a Bull Rider, and sent it off to Kensington. I took a day to pack for the RT Booklovers Convention and then, a couple of days ago, I started the next Studs in Spurs book for Samhain.

As far as new releases, I'm looking forward to being in two multi-author anthologies through Kensington this summer. He's the One releases June 25th, In a Cowboy's Bed releases July 30th, and then September 24th Oklahoma Nights Book 2 comes out! Readers can always see what's out and what's coming soon, and where I'll be around the country or the web at www.CatJohnson.net.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

Hobbies?

Reading. No surprise there, huh?

Fave Color?

I keep gravitating toward Army Green. Go figure!

Fave Drink?

Red wine

Sport?

Is man watching a sport?

Fave Food? (Besides Bologna) LOL

Grilled Rib Eye Steak, black on the outside, and bloody in the middle.

Fave Movie?

Moonstruck

Fave TV Show?

Big Bang Theory

Thanks Cat!!!! 

Thank you for having me, Kim! And before I leave, here's a peek at Oklahoma Nights Book 2.

Two Times as Hot (Oklahoma Nights, Book 2)

One Good Girl…

After her sister snags a hot Oklahoma cowboy, Emma Hart figures it’s her turn to saddle up. And with two country boys pursuing her at once, she’s in for a wild ride…

Two Sexy Guys...

Lieutenant Colonel Logan Hunt can’t deny the heat between him and Emma is fierce. But Logan isn’t looking for anything serious…just a chance to blow off some steam. So why is he crazy jealous when he sees pro bull rider Jace Mills trying to charm Emma into bed?

Winner Takes All…

Logan knows he and Emma could have something special—and not just because she’s smokin’ hot.   Now he has to find a way to prove that even a no-strings-attached guy like him can stick around for the long haul…

 “Cat Johnson knows cowboys and the Oklahoma Nights series is a must read for fans of western romance.” ~ Lorelei James, NY Times Best Selling author 

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REVIEW OF CAT JOHNSON'S ~ ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY~

College Professor from New York, Becca Hart is not having a good day. All at once her life turns upside down between work and her personal life that all she would like to do is cry when she loses her job and her boyfriend. When her older sister, Emma suggests that she apply for a teaching position at OSU in Oklahoma  Becca thinks Emma is off her rocker. What would a city girl do in Oklahoma? Unbeknownst to Becca, Emma sends in Becca's resume to OSU and receives a phone call requesting an in person interview for an associate position. Well of course Becca can't pass that up since she had not even reached that level at Vassar, so she and her sister, hop a plane and head to Oklahoma.

Their first evening there, they attend the local rodeo where they are spotted by two handsome cowboys the minute they walk in. Bull rider, Tucker Jenkins has been without a woman for way too long. An Army Staff Sergeant, Tucker returns from a deployment to find his wife with another man. After a divorce, Tucker swears off relationships, but a hot fling with a gorgeous New Yorker might be just the thing he needs.  So as the title suggests, Becca has her one night with her cowboy and does it turn out to be one sizzling trip between the sheets and then some, but Becca expects nothing more as she is returning to New York the next morning. Tucker admits to himself that he's never had a night like that in his life, but in the morning when Becca walks out the door, he is sure whatever they shared was over.

Weeks later after Becca has moved to Oklahoma, having accepted the position at OSU, she cannot get her mind off her cowboy. Guess what? Tucker has been having the same malady and when he appears at Becca's welcome mixer on the OSU campus, Becca is shocked when she finds that her cowboy is also military and a coach at the University.  When they both realize that spark is still there, they wonder if being friends with benefits is the route to take. Becca having just gotten out of her relationship in New York, and Tucker being divorced makes the two reticent to admit that they are indeed falling for one another. Will the country boy and the city girl come to terms with their feelings? Will all they ever be is friends between the sheets? Pick up Cat Johnson's One Night With A Cowboy today to find out.

I enjoyed this book so much. From the title, ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY, I expected it to be a straight forward Western Romance but quickly found out it is much more. Cat Johnson is a goddess at writing sizzling sex scenes that make the heartbeat accelerate along with a great love story. Her characters are real and have great senses of humor that make the reader want to come back for more. Now I only have to wait until September for the next installment of the Oklahoma Nights Series? UGH, I don't think that's going to be possible!

~KIMBERLY~

5 Stars (Hook Line and Sinker)

4 Orgasms Read (Awesome!!!)

MY YEAR-END RANT 2012 by KIMBERLY ROCHA

This is the time of year where I get all weepy and reminisce about that has happened. 2012 has been a year of great joy and opportunity and some let downs for me. Although so much good has come from 2012, I am not sorry to see it go.

I am extremely thankful for my children, Gabrielle, Jason, and Daniel, for they are a constant source of happiness for me. My friends, new and old are what keep me going. My cousin Chanel, who always is there to listen, I LOVE YOU. My ever-present Book Obsessed Chicks, Denise, Francesca, Holly, Terry, Penny, Jennifer, Nina, Margaret, Katie, and Sara, I thank you for your help and support this crazy year. My newest ladies in the mix, Lisa, Jenn, Taryn, Heather and Maria, I am so happy to have met you and consider you my closest of friends.

I want to thank all the fabulous authors who have come to book club and those we have had the great pleasure to meet in 2012. We began the year with dinner with Lorelei James, who I ADORE, and met a chica I consider to be a best friend, Francesca Bensi there, so it was double the pleasure. Thanks to Sylvia Day, Stephanie Julian, Judi Fennell, Donna Grant, Sarah MacLean, Diana Cosby, Maya Banks, Melinda Leigh, Rayna Vause, Cat Johnson, CH Admirand, Tara Nina, Mari Carr, Jayne Rylon, Bianca D’Arc, Hope Tarr, Maya Rodale, Tarah Scott, Gabrielle Bisset and Caridad Pineiro for joining in Book Obsessed Chicks good times like the Beach BBQ and the Christmas Party.

2012 was a conference year for me. March began that fun with Liberty States Create Something Magical conference in NJ where Larissa Ione was subjected to some Book Obsessed rowdiness at our pajama party. Thank you Larissa for being so good about our not so normal crew!

Next conference was Lori Foster’s Reader Appreciation weekend where I finally met my amazing new friend and constant source of confidence in the form of author Linda McMaken. I love her and her amazing family and wish the best to them all, especially my sweetie, Samara, who is going to have a precious bundle of joy this year. Gayle Donnelly and Robyn MacKenzie rock my world on so many levels. I love these talented ladies more than they can imagine. They have been so good to me and I hope I can return all the good they do tenfold! 

I met so many awesome authors and readers who I now consider my most awesome friends now at Lori Foster’s weekend.

Cassandra Maguire, Michelle Boone, Paige Tyler, Wendi Zwaduk, Drea Beacraft, Jambrea Gaff, Margie Hager, Valerie Cozart, Barb Hill-Kidd and last but certainly not least, Joni Anderson, who makes me laugh. Thanks to this crew for a life altering experience… I look forward to the next one!

One event I had been anticipating all year was Lara Adrian’s first official LAMBCON, which took place in August in Boston. This event was so very special to me because if it were not for Lara Adrian, I probably would never have begun Book Obsessed Chicks book club or my blog. I certainly would not have gone to conferences and met so many stupendous people. Lara Adrian and her husband John are two of the best people I know and am so proud to call my friends. Lara is the classiest woman I know and her constant grace always has me in awe. She is also one of the hardest working ladies who always makes time for her readers. Helping with LAMBCON was a highlight for me. I met so many more people who share the same passion I do. Big Hugs to Lara, John, Debbie, Paula, Courtney, Carla, Gwen, Pat, Melissa, Angie, Kara, Lynn and Loren, who along with my Scarangella Posse, made that weekend so memorable.

The final conference was Lora Leigh’s RAW in Pittsburgh, PA. There, I was reunited with my absolute favorite ladies, Beth Williamson, Amanda McIntyre, Mary Wine, CH Admirand, Monica Burns, Stephanie Julian, Bianca D’Arc and Sahara Kelly. I became great friends with Sandy Dillon, Carrie Ann Ryan, and Dana Marie Bell. By the way, TEAM DAVE RULES… Hope I didn’t scare you too much Dave Admirand.

Lora Leigh’s RAW was like coming home to old friends and meeting new. I couldn’t wait to hug Donna Williamson, Beth’s awesome Mom and catch up with the rest. There wasn’t enough hours in the day to give everyone the time I wanted. I hope to be able to make up for that.

I want to thanks all the special people in my “Secret Group”, beginning with Chastity Bush, who is pretty much a sister to me. Lori, Cindi, Kim, Sandi,  Sonia, Pua, Gina, Nancy etc…. YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! Thanks for listening to my RANTS and bouts with insanity. Thank you to Beth Williamson for allowing me to help out with your Cowgirls etc…  Mary Wine for letting me get the inside on her Mistresses, Colleen for the fabulous Mavens and Amanda for allowing me to keep the Muses in line.

Thanks for all the mind-blowing book dedications and acknowledgments, Cat Johnson, Donna Grant, Larissa Ione, Amanda McIntyre, Gayle Donnelly, Robyn Mackenzie and Chastity Bush. It has been so exciting to be mentioned in your works of art.

Thanks to all who have helped in our charity endeavors for the American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer walk and Homes for Our Troops.

I hope to heaven I haven’t forgotten anyone. If I have, I am so sorry. It’s been a whirlwind adventure from start to finish. Sometimes words cannot express the depth at which I feel for all my friends and family have done. Thanks to every single person who has touched my life in some way in 2012. I don’t think I could have stayed sane if you all hadn’t had a part in it and I wish you all health, happiness and much success in 2013.

LOVE,

KIM