A warm welcome to author Nicki Bennett joining us today to talk about new release “The Cattle Baron’s Bogus Boyfriend” a book in  Dreamspinner Press’ Dreamspun Desire Collection. Nicki also brougt along a wonderful giveaway for our readers !

Welcome Nicki 🙂

The Cattle Baron’s Bogus Boyfriend is, among other things, a Cinderella story (though I’ll talk about tropes in a separate blog post), and without her ball, Cinderella would be just another girl cleaning a fireplace. Though Jonah Hollis, the story’s protagonist, would strongly protest being compared to Cinderella, the ball he’s invited to attend is a very real event.

Now in its forty-third year, the Cattle Baron’s Ball is the largest single-night fundraiser for the American Cancer Society in the world, and it has raised over $68 million dollars for cancer research since its inception in 1974. The event features top country entertainers (this year’s performers are Toby Keith and Dwight Yoakum), dining, dancing, live and silent auctions, raffles, and a bevy of associated parties and social events.

Though the concept has since been adopted by a number of other cities, the Dallas ball is the original, and the event is a highlight of the North Texas social season. Local D Magazine even published an etiquette guide several years ago, with helpful hints such as “Don’t complain if your party clothes are ruined” and “Don’t get drunk and showcase your new breasts while sitting in the laps of party guests.” (Seriously!)

The bit about ruined party clothes, at least, was a legitimate warning because until 2013, the event was hosted at a variety of North Texas-area ranches. Then the 2012 event at Southfork Ranch—fictional home of the Ewing dynasty from the television series Dallas—was rendered disastrous by torrential rains that mired cars, trucks, and attendees’ footwear in the mud and forced the headliner, Blake Shelton, to perform an acoustic set because lightning made playing electrified instruments unsafe. By 2014 the event was moved to the indoor (and centrally located) venue of Gilley’s in Dallas, a 92,000-square-foot entertainment facility able to accommodate up to 6,500 people, and guests no longer have to worry about wearing rubber galoshes in place of their exotic Western boots.

Though the Cattle Baron’s Ball bills itself as a “boots and jeans” affair, as Jonah’s friend Sammy says, there are boots, and then there are boots. For female guests in particular, it’s a chance to see and be seen, and photo galleries of previous years’ events on display at the CBB website portray plenty of glitz and glamour to go along with those boots. It’s no wonder Jonah is worried about making a good impression as his boss’s “date.”

Blurb:

It might be a sham to his boss, but it’s all too real to him.

Administrative assistant Jonah Hollis has nurtured a hopeless crush on his boss, millionaire cattle rancher Lincoln Courtwright, ever since he started working for him. But hope is kindled when Linc and beautiful rodeo star Melissa Cutler break up just weeks before the biggest event of the Dallas social season, the Cattle Baron’s Ball, and Linc asks Jonah to accompany him in her place.

Is it all a ploy to make Melissa jealous? Can Jonah fit into Linc’s world? It takes some encouragement from his roommates and his best friend, Caylee, for Jonah to agree. Before long, Jonah dares to believe Linc might just feel something for him… until interfering family and a series of misunderstandings threaten his fragile dream of happiness.

Buy links:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

“I can’t believe I said yes,” Jonah moaned to Wes hours later. It had sounded reasonable while Linc was persuading him, but he’d second-guessed himself all afternoon, imagining all the ways things could go horribly wrong. “I’m going to tell him tomorrow morning that I changed my mind.”

“Why on earth would you do that?” Wes stopped stirring the peanut sauce for the chicken satay skewers he’d given Aidan to grill and stared at Jonah. “The man you’ve been drooling over since you started to work for him finally asks you out for more than lunch, and you’re going to say no? What is wrong with you?”

“Because he isn’t asking me out—not like that, anyway. He has to have someone with him because Melissa is going to be there with someone else. He just doesn’t want it to look like he’s pining for her or anything.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Actually, yeah, I do.” No matter how embarrassing it was, Wes deserved to know the truth. “I heard him and Ford talking that day at the ranch.”

Wes smiled for a moment. “My tall, blond cowboy.” His expression sobered as he looked back at Jonah. “You know eavesdroppers never hear anything good.”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Melissa’s going to be there with another rancher, and if Linc doesn’t go or shows up alone, she’s going to make it seem like he’s still broken up over her. I’ll just be pretending to be his date.”

“Did Linc tell you that when he asked you to go?”

“No, but why else would he ask me? Even if he used to date men back in college”—though the impression he’d gotten from Ford was more like one-time hookups—“he hasn’t asked me to anything but business meals. I can’t let myself imagine it’s anything more than that.” He wouldn’t admit it to anyone other than Wes, but he had to be honest. “I can’t risk falling in love with him.” So much for honesty, he thought. It’s already too late for that.

“The answer to that is to make him fall in love with you,” Wes said, wiping his hands on the towel tucked into his belt before coming around the table to hug Jonah. “Don’t be so down on yourself. If he could put up with dating someone as shallow as Melissa, you just have to show him what he’s been missing.”

As if it’s that easy, Jonah thought. “I’m sure she had some redeeming qualities.”

“Yeah, the size of her tits,” Wes retorted.

“And how am I supposed to compete with that?”

“You don’t have to. Your ass is better than hers. And if Linc is bi, I guarantee you he’s noticed.”

“Noticed what?” Aidan asked, coming inside with the platter of satay kabobs.

“Jonah’s ass,” Wes answered, moving the peanut sauce and rice with chickpeas onto the table.

“And such a fiiine ass it is too,” Sammy agreed as he joined the others in the kitchen. “Why are we talking about Jonah’s ass?”

“Because his boss asked him to the Cattle Baron’s Ball.”

Before Wes could add anything more, Sammy squealed in delight. “Oh, you lucky, lucky gay boy! The Cattle Baron’s Ball is the social event of the season in Dallas.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the social event of the country,” Jonah said, “because I’m not going.”

“That is just plain foolishness. You have to represent for all the rest of us,” Sammy insisted.

“Can you imagine me at a fancy charity event?”

“I can,” Aidan answered. “What’s the big deal? They’re just people like everyone else.”

“People with a lot more money than I’ll ever have.”

“What difference does that make?” Sammy demanded. “Besides, you’ll be looking so edible, they’ll all wish they were you.”

“Linc said it was just a boots-and-blue-jeans affair,” Jonah said uncertainly.

“There are boots, and then there are boots, if you know what I mean. You surely can’t show up in the jeans and ropers you wore to visit his ranch.”

Since that was exactly what Jonah had planned, it only reinforced his certainty that he needed to tell Linc he couldn’t go. His dismay must have shown on his face, because Sammy smiled.

“Never you mind, baby. I’ll take you shopping and get you fixed up right. Leave it to me, and you will be the beau of the ball.”

He knew Sammy meant to be reassuring, but the idea left Jonah terrified.

Growing up in Chicago, Nicki Bennett spent every Saturday at the central library, losing herself in the world of books. A voracious reader, she eventually found it difficult to find enough of the kind of stories she liked to read and decided to start writing them herself.

Visit Nicki at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011754789784&fref=ts

E-mail: nickibennett1@gmail.com

Buy links: eBook http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7686

Paperback http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7687&cPath=1583

Nicki brought along a copy of “The Cattle Baron’s Bogus Boyfriend” or a backlist title of choice to one Lucky commentor!

Good Luck !

( giveaway ends may 22nd)