Spotlight & Giveaway: Duke: Deputy Cowboy by Roz Denny Fox

Roz, Welcome and Thanks for blogging with us today!

Roz, Could you please introduce yourself to the readers here?

Roz: I'm Roz Fox who wrote my first six Harlequin Romance books as Roz Denny, then my next 40 plus books as Roz Denny Fox. Roz Denny was a combination of mine and my husband's first names.  When I began writing, I wrote in long hand and he input my books into the computer.  He got a big kick out of the fact when those first six books were shelved spine out, he got top billing.

What inspired you to write your first book?

Roz: I first gave my hand at trying to write a romance because my youngest daughter and her friends were consuming Harlequin and Silhouette stories.  I was a school secretary and put out the school newsletter.  The kids kept saying I should write a Harlequin book. About then a move with Denny's job meant I had some time on my hands, so I bought a ton of Harlequin books, joined an RWA chapter and took a college creative writing class where I met my first critique partners.  And I discovered writing a book wasn't as simple as I thought.

Which of your characters would you most/least like to invite to dinner?

Roz: Oh boy, a tough question.  My books are always about people I would love to have as neighbors or friends.  Maybe there are bits and pieces of people I've known at various times who have come to my home for dinner.  It's impossible to pick one over another.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or book?

Roz: I have been an avid reader as far back as I can remember.  Not so much a movie buff. As a teen I gravitated toward reading Westerns.  I loved Zane Grey, Max Brand, and later Elmer Kelton who I was lucky enough to exchange ideas with a bit when I lived for a while in Texas.
 
Please tell us about your new release "Duke: Deputy Cowboy".

Roz: My hero is a Hart cousin who was raised with his twin, Beau, on Thunder Ranch where when the series starts, Sarah Hart is the family matriarch.  Duke was a loner as a boy, and so is able to relate to Angie Barrington's son who is a shy, only child. Duke is a part time deputy for his cousin, Dinah Hart, and like all the men of Thunder Ranch, he spends a lot of his free time competing in rodeos.  It's unfortunate that Angie has an unhappy history with a rodeo cowboy, and she also runs an animal rescue ranch, some animals she's sure were abused by rodeo stock contractors.  It was fun fitting Duke into the dynamics of the strong, opinionated family, and in uncovering the strength of his love for Angie and her son.

3 words that best describe Duke and Angie's characters

Roz: hard-working, dedicated, grounded

What's Next? Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Roz: I recently finished a story for the Harlequin Heartwarming line.  It's untitled as yet and I'm not sure of when it will be out.  The line has two of my backlist books coming out in February The Western Dare, and The Boss Next door--both re-titled stories. I'm in the process of working on a new synopsis I'll send in for consideration.  I wish the ideas came as quickly to me as they did when I started my career.  Funny thing I'm always sure when I finish a book that I've already written all of the characters hammering at me to get their stories down on paper.  Then, luckily, I find another set in the recesses of my brain.

Giveaway: 1 lucky winner will win a copy of 'Duke: Deputy Cowboy and a Western-Style Christmas Ornament.

To enter giveaway please complete the Raflecopter form below and leave a comment for Roz.

 

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Roz Thanks for bringing Duke and Angie along to chat with us about Love, Live and Rodeo

What is your greatest accomplishment?

Duke: Working up the nerve to ask Angie for a date.
Angie: Deciding to leave Texas when I was pregnant and almost broke.
 
What trait is most important in a friend?
Duke: Loyalty
Angie: Trust
 
What do you most enjoy about your job?
Duke: Being a deputy is never boring, and it’s not all working at a desk.
Angie: I like making horse treats that are nutritious, but that horses love.
Part time at the school---I like the people I work with, and the kids.

Who do you most admire and why?

Duke: My cousin Ace, because he’s smart, easy-going, and accepts me as I am.
Angie: Sarah Hart, because she’s a strong woman and has held her family together through hard times and with a deep faith.
Name your biggest regret.
Duke: Probably that I never knew my mother.
Angie: That work sometimes has to come before spending time with my son.

What makes you angry or upset?

Duke: When my twin brother, Beau, nags at me to ride better in rodeos.
Angie: I get angry when people mistreat animals, or dump them like trash.
 
What trait would you like to change about yourself?
Duke: I worry too much about the family. I don’t like squabbles.
Angie: Oh my…a too short nose, a too wide mouth, a tendency to eat too much.

What is your most treasured possession?

Duke: I’d have to say my dog, Zorro
Angie:A silver cross on a thin chain that belonged to my grandmother.
 
What makes you happy?
Duke: Watching the sun rise on a clear day.
Angie: Seeing my son laugh.
 
Of what are you most afraid?
Duke: A concern that something bad may happen to someone in my family;
my younger cousin, Tuf Hart, is in the military, you know.
Angie: I worry most about my son’s safety. I know you have to give a child
space, but it’s hard not to be over-protective.





 

DUKE: DEPUTY COWBOY

Roz Denny Fox talks about writing her newest release - DUKE: DEPUTY COWBOY

There are a lot of things for a writer to take into consideration when writing a story within a continuity series.  If you write a single book using only characters in a setting that you’ve dreamed up, all of the information is your sole responsibility.  When you write in a continuity dealing with a family other writers also use, there’s more involved in establishing facts before anyone sits down to write.  The farther into the continuity your book lies, the more details that writer must keep track of.

For the Harts of Rodeo set mostly on a ranch in our version of a town called, Roundup, Montana, our editors supplied the continuity thread, the setting in general, and short character arcs on characters peopling each of our six books.  As well they gave us our main characters’ romantic interest.  Add to the general information, a ranch running on the edge of financial distress, and a matriarch who has sunk too much capital in a horse pinned with the hope of restoring the ranch fortune.  Oops, they tell us the gorgeous stallion gets stolen!

I wish you could all see the stack of emails six writers can create while brainstorming.  If I had to guess I’d say between three and four inches of paper, some pages marked up, some x’d out, some dog-eared as a special reminder there’s something on that page that impacts one of my characters.  Half way through that process ideas begin to blur.  I read and reread notes and went to bed talking to myself.  Someone set up a special loop for everyone to use.  Photos began to appear---suggestions for how the ranch looked, how the town looked, real-life people our characters might resemble.  For someone as tech challenged as me, panic set in.  The great thing about working with a really helpful group, those who were more tech savvy jumped in to help (me) who falls short in that department.  Little by little I began to form an overall picture of our town, our ranch, our characters including Midnight, the horse.  I’m only guessing it was the same for everyone else.  Ever circling around the planning stage are things that happen in our real lives.  Most are in phases of writing other books.  Visualize sick kids, vacations, and more difficult trials life throws at writers.  At long last the first story takes shape and all of us laugh and cry and write faster.  One by one we get to read the books in manuscript form.  They aren’t perfect.  There are revisions and last minute adjustments needed to seamlessly mesh with books already put to bed so to speak.

 

Now all six books are finished, including a prequel readers have probably already read.  Cathy’s book will be available in bookstores in July, C.J’s in August, Roz’s in September, Shelley’s in October, Marin’s in November, and with Linda’s in December we’ll all say good-bye to the Hart’s of Rodeo.  I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our editors, all of the other writers in the group who were a joy to work with, and thanks to friends of books like the host of this web site, lastly stacked with special thanks to readers.  I hope you enjoy every one of our books.

 

 

 

Duke & Angie talk about Life, Love and Romance

What is your greatest accomplishment?

Duke: Working up the nerve to ask Angie for a date.

Angie: Deciding to leave Texas when I was pregnant and almost broke.

What trait is most important in a friend?

Duke: Loyalty

Angie: Trust

What do you most enjoy about your job?

Duke:  Being a deputy is never boring, and it’s not all working at a desk.

Angie: I like making horse treats that are nutritious, but that horses love.

Part time at the school---I like the people I work with, and the kids.

Who do you most admire and why?

Duke:  My cousin Ace, because he’s smart, easy-going, and accepts me as I am.

Angie: Sarah Hart, because she’s a strong woman and has held her family  together through hard times and with a deep faith.

Duke

Name your biggest regret.

Duke:  Probably that I never knew my mother.

Angie: That work sometimes has to come before spending time with my son.

What makes you angry or upset?

Duke:  When my twin brother, Beau, nags at me to ride better in rodeos.

Angie: I get angry when people mistreat animals, or dump them like trash.

What trait would you like to change about yourself?

Duke:  I worry too much about the family.  I don’t like squabbles.

Angie: Oh my…a too short nose, a too wide mouth, a tendency to eat too much.

What is your most treasured possession?

Duke:  I’d have to say my dog, Zorro.

Angie

Angie:A silver cross on a thin chain that belonged to my grandmother.

What makes you happy?

Duke:  Watching the sun rise on a clear day.

Angie:  Seeing my son laugh.

  

Of what are you most afraid?

Duke:   A concern that something bad may happen to someone in my family;

my younger cousin, Tuf Hart, is in the military, you know.

Angie:  I worry most about my son’s safety.  I know you have to give a child

space, but it’s hard not to be over-protective.

If they made a movie of your life, what genre would it be? Drama, tragedy, comedy, adventure, romance, or a combination thereof.
Duke:   You didn’t mention Western.  I grew up loving every John Wayne spaghetti-western, which is why I’m nicknamed, Duke.
Angie: If I go way back I’d have to say part drama, part adventure, with a hope for romance.  (The last she says with a shy glance at Duke)