The Codys: First Family of Rodeo: westerns

Have you ever wondered how Harlequin romance novel covers come into being? Well, now you can get a glimpse via the new Love That Cowboy page on Harlequin's website. Here you can see some shots from the photo shoot for Merry Christmas, Cowboy, the sixth and final installment in our currently releasing Codys: First Family of Rodeo continuity series. As I looked through the photos, it was interesting to see how everything came together to make Lynnette's gorgeous cover.

And if you look at the next-to-last photo, next to the small shot of the cover, you'll see our fabulous editorial team at Harlequin American. To the very nice-looking cowboy's left are Johanna, Kathleen and Laura.

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I did a bit of searching online to see if we'd be fortunate to have any westerns coming out anytime in the near future and found out that Christmas day will see the release of the remake of True Grit by the Coen brothers. The original was a John Wayne film, but news accounts say the new version will be truer to the novel by Charles Portis and be told from the point of view of the 14-year-old heroine, Mattie Ross. I don't believe there's a trailer yet available. The new film has some big names in Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. The lead will be played by a young actress named Hailee Steinfeld.

My lifetime love of cowboy stories started very early. When I was growing up, we lived in a rural area where we only received three TV stations and sometimes we had to go outside to physically turn the antenna to get better reception. TV stations actually signed off at night after playing the national anthem. There was no TV channel where you could get westerns almost all the time, so my first exposure to them came on Saturday afternoons. I would curl up in the recliner and watch old movies starring actors such as John Wayne. I loved the whole idea of the white hat (good guy) versus the black hat (bad guy). Yes, it was simplistic and some would say formulaic, but I ate it up. I loved the western vistas, the horses, the cowboys, the triumph of the good guys. I was still too young to be annoyed by the fact that the Indians were not played by real Native Americans, something that thankfully has pretty much gone away with the emergence of many wonderful Native actors, or that they were often horrible caricatures that bore little resemblance to real Native peoples of the era.

As I got older, I'd get excited any time there was a western brought to the small or large screens. Unfortunately, they became less common. The heyday of the western was a bit before my time. Still, I can remember loving the TV show The Young Riders, about Pony Express riders, and the newer version of The Magnificent Seven starring Michael Biehn.

In 2005, TNT aired a mini-series called Into the West which told the stories of two 19th century families -- one of white settlers, one Native American. I loved it so much that I bought the DVDs and the soundtrack that was inspired by the mini-series. Not only did it have cowboys and beautiful western vistas, it starred many of my favorite Native actors like Irene Bedard, Gil Birmingham, Russell Means, Eric Schweig and Michael Spears. More recently, I really enjoyed the remake of 3:10 to Yuma with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Pretty much if a western is released, I'm going to see it.

When I began reading romance, it was no surprise that westerns were a favorite. Initially, it was just the historical westerns that reminded me of the western movies I'd always loved. But then I branched out into contemporary westerns too, tales of modern cowboys still ranching the gorgeous lands of the American West. I've also always enjoyed rodeos -- both live and on TV. I'd watch bull riders and cowboys atop bucking horses and get the same feeling I get when I watch Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel -- "These guys are crazy, but it sure is entertaining."

So when I was asked to take part in Harlequin American's first continuity, The Codys: First Family of Rodeo, I couldn't say yes fast enough. It was such an interesting experience to work with five other authors to create the Cody family, their ranch, the town in which they live, their relationships with each other and with the men and women with whom they'd eventually share their happily ever afters. I got to explore a setting -- the area around Cody, Wyoming, between Yellowstone National Park and the Big Horn Mountains -- that I've visited and absolutely love. If I wasn't so averse to cold weather, I'd love to live in Cody.

It's been a thrill to see the covers for the series as they've been created, to see the first book in the series hit store shelves. I'm eagerly anticipating seeing my October cover for Elly's book. I hear from my editor that it's great.

So, are you a fan of westerns, both historical and contemporary? If so, how were you introduced to the genre? Has it been a lifetime love? What's your favorite western movie?