Release Day Review, Interview, & Giveaways: Slow Hand by Victoria Vane!

Good morning, y'all. I'm happy to be taking part in the release day fun for Victoria Vane's new romance book, Slow Hand. She was sweet enough to answer a few of my questions today. This post will also have my review, and a giveaway too!

Title: Slow Hand
Series: Hot Cowboy Nights #1
Author: Victoria Vane
Format: egalley
Release date: November 3rd 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Description:

In rural Montana…
Wade Knowlton is a hardworking lawyer who’s torn between his small-town Montana law practice and a struggling family ranch. He’s on the brink of exhaustion from trying to save everybody and everything, when gorgeous Nicole Powell walks into his office. She’s a damsel in distress and the breath of fresh air he needs.

Even the lawyers wear boots…
Nicole Powell is a sassy Southern girl who has officially sworn off cowboys after a spate of bad seeds—until her father’s death sends her to Montana and into the arms of a man who seems too good to be true. Her instincts tell her to high tail it out of Montana, but she can't resist a cowboy with a slow hand…



Advanced Praise:

"Historical romance author Vane takes a detour into contemporary settings with this red-hot cowboy tale… Well-paced, scorching scenes and witty banter…" - Publishers Weekly

"SLOW HAND by Victoria Vane is delightful, funny, page turning steamy sexy, and the romance between Wade and Nikki make you wish you could pull Victoria's characters straight off the page and into real life…" - Unwrapping Romance

“For erotic passion and one-liners, the first book in Vane’s new series will satisfy... Vane’s latest gets a big yee-haw.” - RT Book Reviews

"With flirty dialogue, humorous moments, vivid imagery and sexy scenes, SLOW HAND goes into my favorites folder." - Guilty Indulgence


Buy it here:

Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | BAM | Apple | !ndigo

Interview:

What inspired you to write Slow Hand?

I really had never imagined myself ever writing a contemporary story as I didn’t think I had the right writing voice for it, but after two years of prodding by a good friend and beta reader, I decided to give it a try. She and I then spent several weeks brainstorming different ideas but one of these ever went anywhere. I was looking to the most popular contemporary romances for inspiration but the billionaire playboy heroes just didn’t do it for me. I then asked myself what kind of contemporary hero I related best to, and the answer was easy—cowboys. I’ve always loved them ever since I was a little girl.

I’d grown up on Westerns - The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, Gun Smoke, The Big Valley, Lonesome Dove and many others. I even read my grandfather’s Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour novels. They say to write what you know. I also know horses. Putting these two elements together was no great difficulty for me. I then took the same approach to my contemporary story as I had taken with all of my historicals—I researched. My research and the real people I met and talked to allowed me to bring my characters to real life. From that point, I just gave their “voices” free rein. And then magic happened… My story suddenly took off.

Was the romantic interest inspired by someone in your own life?

Yes! My very first girlhood crush was a cowboy. I even named my hero in SLOW HAND after him.

Can you please describe Slow Hand in five words for us?

Sexy, flirty, smokin’ hot fun!

What was your favorite scene to write?

I loved all the dialogue between Nikki and Wade. It was laced with innuendo from the start and progresses with their relationship from a slow burn to a smoking hot inferno!

Did you have to do any research for this novel? If so, what's something fun or interesting that you learned?

Yes. I’m a total research geek. Although I have owned horses most of my life, I knew nothing about cattle so I tried to educate myself on everything related to this series – from cattle ranching to rodeo. The most fun was hanging out with the real thing. I got to be good friends with a 4th generation cowboy, rancher and former rodeo bronc rider as well as some people who raise bucking bulls (which plays directly into my second book in this series, ROUGH RIDER).

That is so cool. I'm jealous! Now... Not counting characters from your own books, who's one fictional character that makes you swoon?

Jamie Faser from Outlander is my all time favorite romance hero. He has it all in spades!

That cover is absolutely gorgeous,and not to mention sexy. Can readers expect this book to be full of heat?

Yes M’am! It’s HOT! HOT! HOT! Although this is absolutely a romance first, the bedroom door is blown wide open (and the shower too!)

Can you tell us about any other books or products that you have in the works?

I have totally taken the plunge into contemporary romance with seven hot contemporary romances I have 4 novels coming from Sourcebooks (Slow Hand, Rough Rider, Straight Shooter and Silver Tongue) and 3 novellas from Kensington in a hot Las Vegas set series called Hotel Rodeo. Both publishers have left the option open to add more to these series if they do well. ☺

That's so exciting. I know I'll definitely be reading more of this series! Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what songs made up the soundtrack to Slow Hand?

Yes! I can’t write without music and always create a Pandora station for each of my books!

My play list for Slow Hand was almost all country music (some George Strait, Big and Rich, a smattering of Carrie Underwood and lots of Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton.) Here are some of the songs:

Give it All We Got Tonight – George Strait
Rollin’ – Big and Rich
Wild West Show – Big and Rich
Got a Little Country – Blake Shelton
Cowboy Casanova – Carrie Underwood
In Love with The Girl – Luke Bryan
I Don’t Want this Night to End – Luke Bryan
Mine Would be You – Blake Shelton
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye – Luke Bryan

This playlist is fabulous. I love country music. One last question for you- what's your favorite thing about being a writer?

The freedom and independence. I have never played well with others. LOL!

Thank you so much for stopping by to talk with me today!

About the Author:

Victoria Vane is an award-winning author of smart and sexy romance. Her works range from historical to contemporary settings and include everything from wild comedic romps to emotionally compelling erotic romance. Her books have received more than twenty reviewer awards and nominations to include the 2014 RONE Award for Treacherous Temptations and Library Journal Best E-Book romance of 2012 for The Devil DeVere series.Look for her hot new contemporary cowboy series coming from Sourcebooks in Fall of 2014.
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ACCOLADES FOR VICTORIA VANE’S HISTORICAL ROMANCES::

2014 RONE Award Best historical post Medieval (Treacherous Temptations)
2014 RONE Finalist Best Historical post Medieval (The Sheik Retold)
2013 IRC Best Book Nomination (A Wild Night's Bride)
2013 LASR Best Book Nomination (The Sheik Retold)
2012 TRS Cupid and Psyche nomination (A Breach of Promise)
2012 TBR Pile Book of The Month (A Breach of Promise)
2012 LASR Book of the month (The Devil You Know)
2012 Library Journal Best E-book Romance (The Devil DeVere Series)
2012 TRR Best Book Nomination (The Devil You Know)
2012 Love Romance Café Best Book Nomination (The Devil You Know)
2012 RONE nominations (A Wild Night's Bride, The Virgin Huntress, The Devil You Know, The Devil's Match)

Review:

★★★★ ★

Four and a half stars.

Slow Hand is one of those books that draws you in from the first few pages and keeps a hold on you until you reach the end. Well, I suppose that's only part true. Technically speaking, this book first drew me in even before I cracked it open. Just look at that cover model. Absolutely gorgeous.

I really liked both main characters, which I think definitely helped fuel my connection with this book. Nicole may be a bit scattered sometimes, but I like how argumentative and stubborn she is, especially when she's paired with the (arguably) even more stubborn Wade. Oh, Wade. I thought he was excellently written. He had a nice mix of protectiveness, seduction, sweetness, and intelligence that I personally found addictive. I liked that he was kind of a blend of new and old cowboys- he is a lawyer, but he still helps out on the family ranch, even if he doesn't necessarily want to. I enjoyed watching their relationship grow. Their dialogue together was sassy, funny, and flirtatious, and their physical chemistry was out of this world. I appreciated that the sex scenes- and yes, there are quite a few steamy scenes- were dirty without being too crass or vulgar. It's a fine line and I think Vane toed it well.

I will say one thing about that though. I know that this book is a romance first and foremost. But these steamy scenes actually distracted me a bit from the nonromantic plot of it. It'd be a while of them together and then Nicole would say "but I need to prepare the funeral for my father" and I'd be like "OH YEAH, that is why she's in Montana! While this wasn't a huge deal for me (I'd rather have the steam to be honest), it did jerk me a bit while reading.

Another reason why I liked this book is because it's well described. Without sounding too much like a history lesson, there's quite a bit of knowledge about the "old west" and the gold rush sprinkled into this book. It's true that I've never worked on a ranch or owned a farm or even ridden a horse for more than a bit once at a Girl Scout camp, so take this with a grain of salt, but I felt like the ranching and rodeo aspects of this book felt true to life. (And if they aren't, I think there's props for Vane's writing skills, because I totally bought it.)

If you love contemporary romances starring smart and stubborn cowboys, than Slow Hand is a book that you shouldn't miss. If you're not a fan of insta-lust, then be warned that this book has some. I will definitely be continuing on with the next book in the series, Rough Rider that tells the story of Wade's veteran brother, Dirk. This is a book I'll need to buy a paperback of for my book boyfriend shelf, for sure.

Thank you to Victoria Vane & Sourcebooks Casablanca for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaways:

Giveaway #1: Two copies of Slow Hand (two winners, ends 11/7)
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Giveaway 2 – Victoria Vane’s Cowboy Seduction Kit

Giveaway #3: HISTORICAL ROMANCE Ebook of Choice from Victoria's Back List!
A list of her books can be found here.

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