Diverse Reader is so happy to have Taylor Rylan here today talking to us about her cowboys and why she chose Wyoming. She has a wonderful giveaway available at the end so stick around.
The question
I get asked the most is two parts. Why cowboys and why Wyoming. The short
answer is why not? The long answer is…well, why not?
I grew up in
Oklahoma, and although I lived in the just outside the city, there were cowboys
around. Granted, not ones that rod on horses every day, all day, but those
weren’t far away. I’ve been on working ranches, been to more rodeos than I can
remember, and when I was younger, I had my own horse that I loved to spend time
with after school.
But why
Wyoming and not Oklahoma? The summer after I graduated high school, I spent time
in Wyoming on a working dude ranch. I fell in love. Not only with the area, but
with ranching in general. The scenery was breathtaking and although the
experience I had was nowhere near what actual ranchers went through on a daily
basis, it still gave me an appreciation of very hard work and what that
entailed. Would I go back? Absolutely. Do it again? You betcha. Will that ever
become a reality? I’m not sure, but I hope so.
Why not
Montana? I’ve never been there and it’s an unknown to me. Why not Colorado?
That’s coming later this summer. Do authors need to have visited where they set
scenes for their books? Of course not. For me, it’s just a familiar comfort and
it makes it easy for me to get lost in the story.
There is a
lot to see and do in the Midwest, and if you’re not afraid of the outdoors,
there’s even more. I love to hike and spend time outside. My three kids have
been hiking since they were little and it’s a love that they still have to this
day.
But why
cowboys? Well, if you’ve actually ever met one, a real one and not some poser
that likes to dress in all the cowboy gear and then ruin the image by getting
into his compact car, then you’d understand why cowboys. First, they have manners
and know how to say ma’am, sir, please, and thank you. Who doesn’t like to be
around polite people? And I’ll say it because it can’t be ignored. The jeans. I
mean, seriously. And rodeo season is a thing.
Yes, cattle
stink, so do horses. Livestock tends to do that for…reasons. And those cowboys will
smell to high heaven after a day spent working. But they work. They know what
hard work is but they also know how to kick back, relax, and have fun.
But the honest
answer is, I write about cowboys and Wyoming because that’s what I love. It’s
what I know and want to read.
About the Author
Author by day, wrangler of
insanely busy teenagers by afternoon because they’re determined to be in every
activity imaginable. Taylor likes to think she has multitasking down but in
reality, they tend to just go with it most days.
When she’s not busy writing
about cowboys, architects, sheriffs, firefighters, US Marshals, bears, tigers, wolves
or warlocks, she likes to read (who doesn't?). When time allows, she can be
found curled up with her Havanese, Oscar and occasionally her cat, Lucky who she’s
positive is an alien that was sent to spy on us.
She can be found on Amazon,
Book Bub, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Website:
Amazon author page:
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Giveaway
Enter to win your choice of either a $10.00 Amazon GC or
Signed paperback and swag from Taylor's Crooked Bend series.
Contest will end February 13th
Thanks
a Rafflecopter giveaway
