Western romance author Davalynn Spencer is partial to telling the cowboy’s story as well as the heroine’s. An ECPA and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author and winner of the Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Inspirational Western Fiction, she writes heart-tugging, cowboy romance set along the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. She is the wife and mother of professional rodeo bullfighters and an award-winning rodeo journalist and former crime-beat reporter. Davalynn makes her home in Colorado where she caters to Blue the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley.
Visit Davalynn Spencer online
The Cañon City Chronicles
A preacher, a rancher, and a Colorado Ranger find and fight for the courageous women who make life in the West worth the struggle. Read their three-generation story spanning nearly thirty years in the complete collection of The Cañon City Chronicles.
- ISBN: B0764LS41J
- Publisher: Wilson Creek Publishing
Interview with Davalynn Spencer
Davalynn Spencer writes cowboy love stories because she loves horses, the men who ride them, and believes “…people enjoy reading about the great American hero. A happy ending is guaranteed in the romance genre, and who doesn’t need a happy ending once in a while?”
Davalynn, The Cañon City Chronicles is a compilation of 3 re-edited, previously published novels. Why bother with a second edition?
When I wrote these three stories, each was released individually. However, I always envisioned them as a series because they are the ongoing, generational accounts of one family. I’m pleased to offer readers the convenience of having them all under one cover.
Which came first—the love of writing western romance, or love for the cowboy who lived the life?
I’d have to say love for the cowboy who lived the life came first, as my favorite phrase indicates: #lovingthecowboy. I covered the rodeo world as a journalist for several years, writing for the Prorodeo Sports News and traveling with my bullfighting husband. That gives a person an up-close-and-personal perspective.
What do you want readers to remember about cowboys long after they’ve closed your book?
Most of my published books deal with cowboys from the 1800s. However, in so many ways, that breed of man is the same today. They’re hard-working and honest and not afraid to stand up for what is right. They defend and care for what they love—whether it be their country, their horse, or a woman—and they recognize that God has given them everything they love about their wide-open lifestyle.
In The Cañon City Chronicles, do the main characters live in town, on a ranch, or a combination of the two?
The first book opens in the fledgling mine-supply town of Cañon City. So fledgling, in fact, that the hero lives in the livery stable. Book 2 is set on a ranch just outside of town, and Book 3 returns to Cañon City with visits to the ranch and elsewhere in the countryside.
Do rodeo events occur in this book, such as old-time bronc busting in the corral?
Not in this collection, but it’s definitely part of another book that hasn’t yet released.
I read that you have a dog named Blue, and cats named, Annie and Oakley. What names have you given horses, either real or fictional?
I have Cricket, Ginger, Rooster, Buck and others for horses’ names, and my work-in-progress has a blue roan named Rink with an interesting story about where that name came from.
As a former photo journalist, do you photograph more people or animals at rodeo events? Or do you leave your camera at home?
The perfect rodeo photo-op is a combination of both people and animals. When my husband was fighting bulls, I never took the camera from my eye until after the bull left the arena. Because of that habit, I caught a National Finals Rodeo shot that no other photographer had: a picture of one of the bullfighters jumping on and riding a big gray brahma crossbred before it ran through the out-gate.
Do you mention photography in your stories?
In two upcoming books, I mention photographs—one near the turn of the century and one modern-day story about a bullfighter.
What are you working on now?
My next release is Book 2 in a historical series, Front Range Brides. Close on its heels is a contemporary, The Bullfighters Bride, and another historical about the early movie industry in Cañon City, Colorado, A Change of Heart.
Any parting words?
Cowboys – you gotta’ love ’em.
_________________________________
Davalynn, The Cañon City Chronicles is a compilation of 3 re-edited, previously published novels. Why bother with a second edition?
When I wrote these three stories, each was released individually. However, I always envisioned them as a series because they are the ongoing, generational accounts of one family. I’m pleased to offer readers the convenience of having them all under one cover.
Which came first—the love of writing western romance, or love for the cowboy who lived the life?
I’d have to say love for the cowboy who lived the life came first, as my favorite phrase indicates: #lovingthecowboy. I covered the rodeo world as a journalist for several years, writing for the Prorodeo Sports News and traveling with my bullfighting husband. That gives a person an up-close-and-personal perspective.
What do you want readers to remember about cowboys long after they’ve closed your book?
Most of my published books deal with cowboys from the 1800s. However, in so many ways, that breed of man is the same today. They’re hard-working and honest and not afraid to stand up for what is right. They defend and care for what they love—whether it be their country, their horse, or a woman—and they recognize that God has given them everything they love about their wide-open lifestyle.
In The Cañon City Chronicles, do the main characters live in town, on a ranch, or a combination of the two?
The first book opens in the fledgling mine-supply town of Cañon City. So fledgling, in fact, that the hero lives in the livery stable. Book 2 is set on a ranch just outside of town, and Book 3 returns to Cañon City with visits to the ranch and elsewhere in the countryside.
Do rodeo events occur in this book, such as old-time bronc busting in the corral?
Not in this collection, but it’s definitely part of another book that hasn’t yet released.
I read that you have a dog named Blue, and cats named, Annie and Oakley. What names have you given horses, either real or fictional?
I have Cricket, Ginger, Rooster, Buck and others for horses’ names, and my work-in-progress has a blue roan named Rink with an interesting story about where that name came from.
As a former photo journalist, do you photograph more people or animals at rodeo events? Or do you leave your camera at home?
The perfect rodeo photo-op is a combination of both people and animals. When my husband was fighting bulls, I never took the camera from my eye until after the bull left the arena. Because of that habit, I caught a National Finals Rodeo shot that no other photographer had: a picture of one of the bullfighters jumping on and riding a big gray brahma crossbred before it ran through the out-gate.
Do you mention photography in your stories?
In two upcoming books, I mention photographs—one near the turn of the century and one modern-day story about a bullfighter.
What are you working on now?
My next release is Book 2 in a historical series, Front Range Brides. Close on its heels is a contemporary, The Bullfighters Bride, and another historical about the early movie industry in Cañon City, Colorado, A Change of Heart.
Any parting words?
Cowboys – you gotta’ love ’em.
_________________________________
Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are woven under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yields fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details. Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience. Discover more at www.anitamaedraper.com and www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/
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