The Cowboy Series

Caitlin Crews

St. Martin’s Press

The Cowboy series by Caitlin Crews brings to life the ruggedness of the Everett brothers. A running theme throughout the book is how the brothers dealt with the ghost of their father.  The man was pure evil, and as they grew to adulthood, each Everett had to overcome the feeling of not wanting to turn into their father. Below is a synopsis of each of the books with the most recent last.

A True Cowboy Christmas highlights the oldest brother Gray Everett who strives to keep the cowboy ranch in the family and out of the hands of real-estate investors.  He wanted to avoid the darkness and suffering and learn to love, something his father never did. 

The heroine, Abby Douglas, who thought of herself as plain and was resigned to be a spinster.  For all purposes she is practical, easy going, and would quietly fight for what she believed in.  The reason she agreed to the marriage of convenience is her life-long crush on Gray.

Cold Heart, Warm Cowboy had the middle brother, Ty Everett, believing he was just like the grim reaper, Amos.  His father called him a drunk, and someone who had no brains and screwed up everything in his life including his marriage. As a rodeo rider he married the Rodeo Queen, Hannah Lee Monroe.  After falling off a bull he can’t remember anything including taking the vows, and that she had told him she was pregnant.  Hannah is not one to shy away from anything and her drive brought her back to Ty.  The rest of the story has each deciding if the marriage can work for themselves and their son.

The Last Real Cowboy has the youngest, Brady Everett. He was always laughed at by his father for graduating from college.  He never felt respected and always felt his opinion did not matter to his brothers. 

Amanda Kittridge is now twenty-two and wants to lead an independent life, out from under the wings of her four older brothers who are way to protective and smothering. She has had a crush on Brady and wants him to help her become a woman. Being best friends with her brother, Riley, he has always looked on her as just the kid sister until he sees her working in a bar with a tight T-shirt.  The banter between the two adds completely to the story.  Crews has outdone herself with this installment. 

Elise Cooper:  The father, Amos plays a major role in all the stories?

Caitlin Crews:  I wanted to write a series where a parent shaped the sons.  In writing strong men the father figure, or in this case, the lack of a father figure becomes important. Amos always got into the son’s heads, and was a dominant force, but not in a good way.  He approached each son differently, showing his meanness in different ways.

EC:  How would you compare and contrast each brother?

CC: Gray was responsible for the ranch. He was very old school, with everything being an uphill battle.  He is steadfast, and embodies the stereotype of a cowboy.

Ty is the middle child and tries to get everyone to get along. He is the mediator, easy-going, a charmer, and a showman.  

Brady is the youngest, the smart one who is very apprehensive and is used to always being dismissed, something he hates. 

These brothers are typical of family dynamics where they get on each other’s case, but when push comes to shove they will defend each other to the death. I like to compare them to the setting of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, tough and rooted.

EC:  How would you compare and contrast the heroines?

CC: Abby is such a wonderful person.  She thinks of herself as plain and homely who considered herself an ugly duckling.  She is not a screamer or fighter, but will quietly get her point across. She is not an ‘in your face kind of person.’

Hannah is a typical Rodeo Queen who are like real-life Disney Princesses.  I put in this book quote, “They are like prom queens but all the time.” Always pretty, always smiling, always looking perfect. She can be stubborn, righteous, and driven.  She speaks her mind and is very outspoken.

Amanda comes from an over-bearing family. She is naïve, and wants to be seen as a grown up.  She is spunky and very protective of Brady.  I think she has the heart of a lion. 

All the heroines are not fearful of the heroes.  They are women who know their cowboys, and open their hearts to feeling stuff.  They were the first to realize love.

EC:  At the heart of these cowboy books are siblings-do you have any?

CC:  I have an older brother and younger sister.  I am responsible for the Zoom call every week and gathering everyone together. 

EC:  There is a great quote in the book?

CC:  You must refer to this one, the future happens only if there is no surrender to the past. It can mean what people want it to mean.  In any relationship and life people need to move forward.  There will not be a future if someone is constantly relitigating the past.  In my opinion that would not be a way to live. For the brothers, the past was their father Amos who was bitter and awful.  They had to let him go, bury him, so that he does not haunt them. 

EC:  Next book?

CC:  The first trilogy involved the Everett brothers, while the second trilogy, a spin-off, will be about the Kittridge brothers.  It will delve into the relationship of Riley and Rae that were mentioned in the first three books.  They had a marriage that went wrong. The youngest brother, Connor, will be featured in a novella.  

THANK YOU!!

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