That guy. The one who’s been doing his own thing for the first five books in the series. Not exactly exemplary behavior, you know? He’s the brother of two previous heroes, but he’s not precisely hero material himself.
That guy.
What would it take to redeem him? To turn him into a character readers will root for? A hero a worthy heroine will fall for?
This was my dilemma as I set up the sixth Saddle Springs Romance in previous stories, especially the pages of the fifth. Rodeo star Sawyer Delgado had wandered through previous tales, playing a larger role in some than in others. About the nicest thing you could say about him was he had a great family. Oh, and a lot of self-confidence, although if you were being negative, you’d call him egotistical and full of himself.
Let’s go with self-confident. Sounds better.
This is not a spoiler alert. If you’ve read the fifth book, The Cowboy’s Belated Discovery, you’ll remember how much you disliked Sawyer. You began to suspect some things about his early-in-the-tale tryst with a local waitress and, if you read the first chapter of the sixth book at the back of the fifth, your suspicions were confirmed.
Sawyer’s girlfriend became pregnant then ghosted out of his life, setting up their story in The Cowboy’s Reluctant Bride. Ah, the title. That might give away a clue or two about which direction the story will sway.
But why would you care what happens to Sawyer? He’s an arrogant jerk, and he deserves to be shunned. He deserves to suffer. He does not deserve to get the girl, especially if she’s a nice girl. But… is she?
Can people change? Sure, they can. We’ve all seen great examples of that in Real Life™. It can happen in stories, too, but in every case, there has to be a reason. There needs to be some sort of logic that you, dear reader, can follow. Something needs to happen to shake the person, real or imaginary, out of his or her rut.
My editor and I discussed the couples in the series a while back, and she said to me, “I know you’re going to turn Sawyer into a worthy hero, but I don’t see how. He’s a jerk, and I don’t like him.” And, yes, I grinned. Because when she edited the first chapter of his story, she said, “Okay, fine. You’re going to pull it off. I can see it now. But I still don’t want to like him.”
She’s editing the entire novel right now, and apparently he’s growing on her.
Sawyer’s catalyst is visible in the first chapter, which you can read here, so this isn’t a spoiler! He’s witnessed a horrific accident during a rodeo competition, and one of his best friends has been critically injured. Research tells me this kind of accident is extremely rare. I had to watch a lot of footage of saddle bronc competitions to get a feel for how I could make things go drastically wrong for this story. Poor me, right?!?
So, Sawyer is on the path to being a changed man at the beginning of his tale. We don’t know Anna Winter well. She’s been casually mentioned in several of the previous books, but she’s had much less screen time than Sawyer. She’s pregnant now with Sawyer’s baby. He’s now a good guy and wants to marry her, but there’s this title, The Cowboy’s Reluctant Bride, offering a clue to the story’s conflict.
What about Anna don’t we understand? Why does she resist his charms? Because, in typical Sawyer fashion, he’s pouring it on. Ah, that’s where the fun came in, because it took me a good couple of weeks into writing the story to see how the pieces fit together. This isn’t anything new. It’s how I work, no matter how much I’d prefer to know the details before I start working.
Or maybe I wouldn’t. Maybe the thrill of discovery is as much fun for the writer as it is for the reader.
And Sawyer Delgado, the character I loved to hate? Has become one of my favorite heroes. He’s real. He’s raw. And he’s one of the good guys.
You can pre-order The Cowboy’s Reluctant Bride now. This tale wraps up the Saddle Springs Romances while flinging the door wide open for another Montana Ranches Christian Romance series. More on that another time!
Witnessing a horrific rodeo accident causes cowboy Sawyer Delgado to re-examine everything… between nightmares. Back at his family’s Montana ranch, he seeks for meaning in his life and for the woman who ghosted him a few months earlier.
Anna Winter left Saddle Springs for good reason. She’s pregnant after a one-week stand with a popular local rodeo star. Now, as a new believer, she’s back to tell him (almost) everything and get his signature on the forms to give the baby up for adoption.
But when Sawyer counters with a plan to keep her and their child in his life, how can she give in? Because there are untold secrets that could change everything.
Interested in winning an ARC of The Cowboy’s Reluctant Bride? I’m offering one reader a copy (e-book only, worldwide). If you’d like to put your name in the hat, please comment before Friday, March 13. Winner will be announced in the Sunday Edition. The ARC will be sent when it’s ready, probably early April.
“Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.”
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
I would love to win a copy ,but I will preordered it if I don’t win I have all the other Boole in this series and have love them all.
That should be books 🙁
I love reading how you turn those bad guys into great heroes!!
Ooh, the more I hear about Sawyer’s story the more keen I am to read it! I have pre-ordered it, of course, but wouldn’t say no to an early glimpse of it! :-)
I’m so excited to read this gory, but sad to see the end of the series! I’ve really enjoyed it!
I would love to read your book. Thank you.
Thanks for the chance to win! I enjoy reading about characters that aren’t likeable having a change of heart and seeing how they grow.
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying this series :)
Aw thanks! Sawyer was a worthy project :)
Thank you so much for the pre-order!
I’m glad you’ll be sad. Wait, that sounds terrible! But you’ll see… there will be more. And that sounds sneaky… :D
Thanks for your interest :)
I hope you enjoy Sawyer and Anna’s story!
Awww! I love a great redemption story! This one sounds so intriguing! I’d love to win a copy!
I love redemption myself :)
As I have loved all your books, I can hardly wait to read this one early!!
Thank you for the chance to win a copy.
The setting for their ranch sounds beautiful.
Thank you!
It is! Western Montana is gorgeous… I say as one who believes the Canadian Rockies needed a place to overflow to. ;)
I love it when an author redeems a character from a previous book. I think it shows how God redeems us.
So much yes.
Oh, wow! This sounds soooo good!! I love the bad boy turned good trope!!! I’ve always had a soft spot for those bad boys you love to hate!
I hope you enjoy Sawyer’s story!
I love that you’re showing the hero’s road of redemption won’t be easy. And that “his girl” has her issues as a new believer. Change and trust in our real life journeys with Christ take time and struggle, and I appreciate seeing that truth reflected in characters’ stories! (I can SO relate! 😊)
Thank you for the chance. Blessings
I hope the story does the situation justice :)
Thank you!
Ohhh! I’m so intrigued right now!!!
You know how to capture readers attention ❤️
Excellent!!! #rubshandstogetheringlee
Love a redeemed character.
Me, too!
I’m looking forward to this book as well as the new series. Whenever I see a bad guy in the series I figure they will get redeemed at some point! I always look forward to how that happens
Yay! I hope Sawyer comes through :)
I’m all for the cocky kid being redeemed by way of a good dose of growing up. I keep waiting for the Success-turned-failure to be redeemed the same way. Seems like people equate success with being mature. Hmm, probably already been done. I usually find out how good my ideas are when I see them done by other people :)
Now that’s an interesting thought!
This series is new to me! Thanks for the chance to win this book!
Val—Sounds like a great book–and Sawyer sounds interesting. I love bad boys redeemed. :)
I haven’t yet read any of the books in this series, but this one sounds awesome! Thank you for the chance to win a copy! 😊
Oooh! This is a great time to jump in! You’ve got about six weeks to read the first five books before this story releases :)
Yay, thank you!
With Sawyer’s story set to release in about six weeks, this is the perfect time to get started in the Saddle Springs romances :)
I would love to win! Sounds like a great story!
You’re entered :)
Sounds like a great read!
I hope you enjoy it :)
You are a new-to-me author and this book has a great premise. I love when bad boys turn out to be hero material! Do I have to read the previous books before reading this one?
Hi Sheila. I think it stands on its own fairly well. On the other hand, it’s the sixth book in the series, and you’ll know the “inside” stuff if you read them all in order. Sawyer’s brothers’ stories are in books one and three (The Cowboy’s Christmas Reunion and The Cowboy’s Romantic Dreamer). Happy reading :)
I just got your newsletter today about the contest. I would love to read this story!
Thanks for coming here, Lisa!
Sounds like an interesting series. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!
Thank YOU, Vickie!
This series sounds so good. I am going to go check it out!
I hope you enjoy it, Lori!
Wow, his story sounds so good. It’ll definitely go into my TBR pile.
Thanks, Priscila! I hope you enjoy it.