Maggie Blackbird

Today, I have award-winning author Seelie Kay in the interview chair. We’re discussing her upcoming release Broken Down Cowboy, a contemporary holiday romance.

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1.  Why do you write romance?

Seelie: I didn’t really get into romance books until law school. Between holding down two jobs, studying, and attending classes, I really needed an outlet for the stress. A friend had a large paper bag full of romance paperbacks that she passed around to other law students. I borrowed one and then another until I read every book she had. After that I was hooked. I like to claim that those books got me through law school. Fast forward to 2017, another stressful time in my life. I needed to find a way to escape reality for a bit. So I started writing my own romance tales. My first book got picked up by a publisher and 25 books later, I’m still writing.

2.  Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?

Seelie: I adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the edge. They can be a lawyer, a bad boy, a billionaire, a prince, or a secret agent. That hint of danger just hooks me! However, they have to be paired with strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even love. And brains over brawn, every time!

3.  Why did you write “Broken Down Cowboy?”

Seelie: This was my way of throwing down the gauntlet. There comes a time when you want to read more stories about people your age falling in love. Just because I’m in midlife does not mean I have become a dried-up old prune with a cold heart. I still adore men and I still enjoy romance. More importantly, I adore seasoned men. Men who remember rotary phones and record players and Van Halen. Since I have always had a fondness for cowboys, I created a story about two middle-aged people who, despite their differences, fall in love. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s romantic, it’s somewhat steamy, but in the end, they find what they didn’t even know they needed. Love. Obviously, I was not alone in wanting older romance. Look at the success of the TV series, The Golden Bachelor!  

4.  You have a tendency to write about lawyers. Is one of the characters in “Broken Down Cowboy” a lawyer?

Seelie: Actually, she’s a recovering lawyer, like me. Someone who switched careers after practicing law for many years. Her reasons for becoming a pastry chef and owner of a tea shop are very much in line with my own reasons for switching careers. I believe you can choose to be miserable or you can reach out for happiness. Sometimes, that involves changing your life in dramatic ways.

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Title: Broken Down Cowboy
Series: N/A
Author: Seelie Kay
Release Date: December 8, 2023
Publisher: Extasy Books
Genre: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Heat Level: Three flames
Price: e-Book $5.99, Print $8.99

When is it time to take a leap of faith? When the man holding the net is a sexy, middle-aged cowboy!

Blurb: Tea shop owner and pastry chef Bailey Willis is nonplussed when she finds a handsome Texan sprawled out on the floor of A Spot of Tea. Trevor Anderson, on the other hand, is instantly smitten. Some might call him a broken-down cowboy, but that doesn’t mean he lacks the ability to pursue a beautiful woman, even if she is a northerner and a Green Bay Packers fan! Unfortunately, Bailey has other things on her mind, like winning the Hales Corners, WI holiday bake-off. When Trevor provides a valuable assist, Bailey begins to regard him in a different light. Too bad he’s planning to head back to his ranch after the new year. Will Bailey agree to wear Trevor’s Texas-size ring? Will Trevor agree to settle in the frozen tundra, the site of one of the Dallas Cowboys’ most humiliating defeats? Hold on to your cowboy hats folks, this tale of romance is going to take you for a ride. Texas style!

Goodreads | Extasy Books

Trevor cocked an eyebrow, then tipped his hat and walked away. The woman was as ornery as an unmilked cow. It wasn’t as if he parked his car in a reserved spot. What the hell was she carping about? Quickly, he rushed into the building. He gazed at Bailey and grinned. “Some woman tried to take my parking space. I was halfway in when she pulled up and started yelling at me. Said it was her space and no motherfucking Texan was going to take it from her.” He mock-shivered. “I was lucky she didn’t have a gun. She was nuts.”

Before Bailey could respond, a white-haired woman dressed in a gray suit stomped through the doorway and hissed at Trevor. “You took my parking space, you…you asshole. I had to park on the lawn. If I get a ticket, I’m coming for you.” She lifted her foot and kicked him in the leg.

Trevor fell backward and grabbed the wall for support. Something wedged into his thigh and he began falling toward the floor. He heard Bailey scream, and he tried to throw himself away from the cart. Someone grabbed his arm and attempted to steady him, but he hit the cart, hard. “Dammit it to hell…” He finally righted himself and slowly turned to look at the disaster he had made of Bailey’s cake.

It wasn’t there. Was it on the floor? Trevor panicked.

Bailey sighed, and he turned to her. She held the cake box in her arms, her relief evident. “Sorry, I couldn’t help. I was protecting my cake.” She gazed at him. “Are you hurt?”

“And more importantly, do you want to press charges?”

Trevor looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened.

A deputy sheriff held the struggling woman by the arm. “I’m pretty sure that kick to the shin is assault, especially after that tumble you took.”

The woman sputtered, “You can’t arrest me, I’m a judge for the holiday baking contest.” She glared at Trevor. “And he deserved it. He took my parking place.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re lucky I left my thirty-two at home. Otherwise, I’d of shot your tires out.”

“That’s it.” The deputy spun the woman around and cuffed her. As he did, she kicked him. The lawman growled. “Now we can add assaulting an officer to your list of offenses.” He tapped the com on his shoulder. “Barnes, where the heck are you? I need some help. Get down to the back door.”

The woman stared at the deputy sheriff for a moment. Then she started wailing.

Trevor tried not to chuckle. Even he recognized crocodile tears.

“Oh, stop your bawling, ma’am,” the deputy snapped. “I know when I’m being manipulated.”

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Award-winning author Seelie Kay writes about lawyers in love.

Writing under a nom de plume, the former lawyer and journalist draws her stories from more than 30 years in the legal world. Seelie’s creative pen has resulted in more than twenty tales of contemporary, erotic, and paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.

Seelie resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, WI, where she enjoys opera, the Green Bay Packers, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.

She is also an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis.

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