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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Why Did This Romance Author Switch to Cowboy Romance?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Falling for a Real Cowboy is the first book in the Vargas Ranch series, and promises to kick of a faith-filled cowboy romance series. via @chautonahavig

Historical fiction author, Karen Baney, recently branched into contemporary with The Air I Breathe and now with her new Vargas Ranch series.  Recently, Falling for a Real Cowboy released, and soon her Falling for a Shy Cowboy will release as well.  Listen in to how she came up with this series and why she branched out into cowboy romance.

Falling for a real cowboy

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Why Did This Romance Author Switch to Cowboy Romance?

Listening to Karen describe Falling for a Real Cowboy and how she came up with the Vargas Ranch family story, the brand, the family motto–it’s all amazing (and available on her website. Just sayin’).

This book features a failing romance writer showing up in Arizona to learn about ranch life so she can write cowboy romance and… finding a romance of her own.

Then we chatted about her upcoming release, Falling for a Shy Cowboy, and the characters in there. A shy cowboy with a speech impediment, a prodigal best friend’s sister, and that sister’s disabled boy.

I fully expect to have a battered heart by the time I finish these. Just sayin’.

Falling for a Real Cowboy by Karen BaneyFalling for a Real Cowboy by Karen Baney

She’s trying to resurrect her career. He’s sworn off women. Will this city-meets-country duo find love where they least expect it?

Dalton J. Vargas the fourth has sworn off love. Women are just a distraction that keep him from running his family’s multi-million-dollar guest ranch near Wickenburg, Arizona. After his father announces an early retirement, the full burden of the ranch rests on his shoulders. When a city-slicker romance author stays at the ranch, Dalton’s perfect world turns to chaos.

River Sloane’s last workplace romance novel flopped—big time. Now her publisher wants her to write a modern-day cowboy romance, which she has resisted for years. When her publisher sends her to a dude ranch in the middle of nowhere Arizona, she must learn about cowboys and ranching to get her career back on track. One hunky cowboy stirs her heart and unexpectedly becomes her muse.

Will she let herself fall in love with the real cowboy or will she return to the life she left behind? Will Dalton open his heart to a new, lasting love?

Find out more about Karen Baney on her WEBSITE and follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 587: A Chat with Four Authors
byChautona Havig

I love a good Christmas novella collection, and Lighting Up Christmas promises to be a fabulous one. Listen in as I chat with four Scrivenings authors about the collection and their books!

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

If you knew the craziness that was this recording! Those poor women! Meanwhile, we managed, and now, I don’t know about you, but I’m dying to get to it! :D

Lighting Up Christmas by Amy R. Anguish, Heather Greer, Mary Pat Johns, and Regina Rudd Merrick

Four Christmas lights. Four love stories. One season filled with faith, hope, and happily-ever-afters.

In Lighting Up Christmas, four heartwarming holiday romance novellas shine with cozy charm, clean romance, small-town warmth, and the gentle reminder that God can bring light to even the dimmest season.

In The Bright Side of Christmas by Amy R. Anguish, Holly Belle loves Christmas, holiday décor, and twinkling lights. Her new neighbor, Robert Bradshaw, prefers peace, quiet, and keeping her Christmas cheer firmly on her side of the duplex. But when Holly decides his grinchy heart needs a little holiday help, their battle over lights may lead to something brighter than either one expected.

In The Light of a Christmas Star by Heather Greer, Elena Bell is determined to make Tannenbaum’s Festival of Lights a success for the families depending on it. When rising Hollywood star Trenton Wills arrives at her B&B, he may be the answer to the town’s needs—and the beginning of Elena’s own Christmas romance. But Trenton has secrets that could dim more than the festival lights.

In ‘Twas the Light Before Christmas by Mary Pat Johns, Cooper Blackmon enters the region’s biggest Christmas lights competition determined to win. Mandy Alvarez needs the prize money to save her family’s beloved Christmas Village. As rivalry turns to friendship and friendship glows into something more, only one can claim the prize. But both may have far more to lose than money.

In Pitch Perfect Lights by Regina Rudd Merrick, Holly Shepherd is facing her family’s first Christmas after loss while trying to create joy for her young siblings. When author Paxton Hollis returns home and quietly helps revive her father’s beloved light display, Holly discovers that hope can still shine, even through grief.

A charming choice for readers who enjoy clean, faith-friendly romance wrapped in Christmas lights, small-town warmth, and happily-ever-after hope.

Read Lighting Up Christmas and discover four faith-filled holiday love stories that glow with joy, hope, and the true light of Christmas.

Visit Amy at her WEBSITE or on GoodReads and BookBub.

Learn more on Heather’s WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

Learn more about Mary on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

You can learn more about Regina and her books on her Website and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

  • Apple
  • Castbox
  • Google Play
  • Libsyn
  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Amazon
  • YouTube
  • and more!
Episode 587: A Chat with Four Authors
Episode 587: A Chat with Four Authors
September 30, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 586: A Chat with Becca Kinzer
September 28, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 585: A Chat with Jenelle Hovde
September 26, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 583: A Chat with Elizabeth Goddard
September 21, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 582: A Chat with Terrie Todd
September 19, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 581: A Chat with Bethany Crigger
September 14, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 580: A Chat with R. T. Ward
September 12, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
September 9, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 578: A Chat with Carolyn Bourke
September 7, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 577: A Chat with Denise M. Colby
September 5, 2026
Chautona Havig
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Book clubs can be murder. Well, at Olemann's Books Book clubs can be murder. Well, at Olemann's Books. Twelve people signed up for twelve months of reading fun. No one told them that signing up was signing on for life-or-death stakes. Take a prompt, figure out a riddle, read a book, arrive at all meetings. Or die. WHAT???

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#BookClubFiction
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Book clubs can be murder. Well, at Olemann's Books Book clubs can be murder. Well, at Olemann's Books. Twelve people signed up for twelve months of reading fun. No one told them that signing up was signing on for life-or-death stakes. Take a prompt, figure out a riddle, read a book, arrive at all meetings. Or die. WHAT???

https://amzn.to/3TGmHhD
#BookClubFiction
#ChristFic
#ChristianMysteries
#KindleUnlimited
Book clubs can be murder. Well, at Olemann's Books Book clubs can be murder. Well, at Olemann's Books. Twelve people signed up for twelve months of reading fun. No one told them that signing up was signing on for life-or-death stakes. Take a prompt, figure out a riddle, read a book, arrive at all meetings. Or die. WHAT???

https://amzn.to/3TGmHhD
#BookClubFiction
#ChristFic
#ChristianMysteries
#KindleUnlimited
Picture it. You decide that this is the year for b Picture it. You decide that this is the year for book clubs. This is the year you're going to move off your "favorites shelf" explore new horizons (or at least a new author or two). It's gonna be great (why do I want to add, "they said"?). Maybe you're an introvert who knows that peopling for an hour or two is going to drain you, but for a good book? You've got this. You square your shoulders, open the bookstore door, inhale the vellichor (unless you're a Harper Brevig--then you're totally down for BIBLIOchor), and step into your new life--as a book club person. Oh, yeah.
You meet new people. Grab a snack. Sit down to find out what book you're going to read first and...
Discover that your life has been taken hostage. Because if you and your new book club friends don't solve a riddle, read the right book based on that riddle, and show up to every meeting? One or more of you won't be alive to attend the next.
WHAT???
It's basically @Chantelreadsallday 's Read Your Bookshelf Challenge in a book.
Dying to Read: their inciting incidents might be deadly. Available now in paperback and eBook (and on Kindle Unlimited!) The audiobook is coming soon! Don't miss more about the bookstore in the Booked for Love anthology releasing October 1!
https://amzn.to/3TGmHhD (#affiliatelink)
#BookishBook
#ChristFic
#ChristianMystery
#BookClub
Picture it. You decide that this is the year for b Picture it. You decide that this is the year for book clubs. This is the year you're going to move off your "favorites shelf" explore new horizons (or at least a new author or two). It's gonna be great (why do I want to add, "they said"?). Maybe you're an introvert who knows that peopling for an hour or two is going to drain you, but for a good book? You've got this. You square your shoulders, open the bookstore door, inhale the vellichor (unless you're a Harper Brevig--then you're totally down for BIBLIOchor), and step into your new life--as a book club person. Oh, yeah.
You meet new people. Grab a snack. Sit down to find out what book you're going to read first and...
Discover that your life has been taken hostage. Because if you and your new book club friends don't solve a riddle, read the right book based on that riddle, and show up to every meeting? One or more of you won't be alive to attend the next.
WHAT???
It's basically @Chantelreadsallday 's Read Your Bookshelf Challenge in a book.
Dying to Read: their inciting incidents might be deadly. Available now in paperback and eBook (and on Kindle Unlimited!) The audiobook is coming soon! Don't miss more about the bookstore in the Booked for Love anthology releasing October 1!
https://amzn.to/3TGmHhD (#affiliatelink)
#BookishBook
#ChristFic
#ChristianMystery
#BookClub
Picture it. You decide that this is the year for b Picture it. You decide that this is the year for book clubs. This is the year you're going to move off your "favorites shelf" explore new horizons (or at least a new author or two). It's gonna be great (why do I want to add, "they said"?). Maybe you're an introvert who knows that peopling for an hour or two is going to drain you, but for a good book? You've got this. You square your shoulders, open the bookstore door, inhale the vellichor (unless you're a Harper Brevig--then you're totally down for BIBLIOchor), and step into your new life--as a book club person. Oh, yeah.
You meet new people. Grab a snack. Sit down to find out what book you're going to read first and...
Discover that your life has been taken hostage. Because if you and your new book club friends don't solve a riddle, read the right book based on that riddle, and show up to every meeting? One or more of you won't be alive to attend the next.
WHAT???
It's basically @Chantelreadsallday 's Read Your Bookshelf Challenge in a book.
Dying to Read: their inciting incidents might be deadly. Available now in paperback and eBook (and on Kindle Unlimited!) The audiobook is coming soon! Don't miss more about the bookstore in the Booked for Love anthology releasing October 1!
https://amzn.to/3TGmHhD (#affiliatelink)
#BookishBook
#ChristFic
#ChristianMystery
#BookClub
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