On Cowboy Heroes ~ @AuthorKristina Knight & The Nevada Cowboys

Cowboys have been near and dear to my heart since I was a little girl. The only times I was allowed to skip bedtime were Saturday nights when, more often than not, my grandpa (we called him Big Daddy) would find an old spaghetti Western on television. It might start at 10 and not get over until midnight, I might yawn and snooze my way through Sunday School and Church the next morning, but I was always allowed to stay up and watch.

From John Wayne and Gary Cooper to the cowboy-types played by James Dean, I watched them all. Some I've found on DVD, some live only in my memory but they all hold a special place in my heart. As I got older I realized very few of them actually had a love story – sure, the cowboy would get the girl, but we never saw them falling in love. So when more modern Westerns started to come out, I was once again enthralled. I wanted to see the cowboy beat the bad guys but I always  wanted to see the love story.

Movies like 8 Seconds, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys and Wyatt Earp have been added to my favorite's list and have lengthened my favorite Cowboy Moments, too. But there are three movies – from the modern era – that take cowboys to a whole new level. At least for me.

Here are my top three cowboy movie moments:

#3: Please don't throw rotten tomatoes because in my top three is John Travolta in city-slicker-cowboy garb. It was the 80s, people! And you have to admit John Travolta was it in much of the early 80s. For me John's Urban Cowboy mode was ohsomuch better than his Saturday Night Fever mode. And I absolutely love when Bud finally tells Sissy he loves her. And I even found a clip for ya:

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#2: This one was hard for me to put in number two because Tom Selleck is just so…Tom. Quigley Down Under is probably one of my favorite cowboy movies, even though it takes place in the Australian Outback instead of the American West. But when Quigley finds Cora in town, when he says his name is Roy – not Quigley – I just melt a little. Every. Single. Time. Because he's had a hard road – he isn't Roy and he shouldn't want to be Roy…and yet because it will save both their lives, he accepts the name.

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#1: I love the movie Walk The Line, because nothing is sweeter to me than a real life love story – and Johnny and June Cash certainly had that. So, even though Johnny isn't technically a cowboy, I have to give him the top slot. Because he might not rope cattle or ride horses but he certainly had the attitude of a cowboy: he took care of business, he spoke his mind and he stood up for the people and things that he believed in. So, to honor him, here's my favorite clip from the movie:

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Kristina Knight's latest release, Connor, Nevada Cowboys Book 2, is available now in paperback or e-format:


Connor, Nevada Cowboys Book 2: Hot Las Vegas nights get even steamier for these three powerful, wealthy businessmen with cowboy roots and the strong, independent women who fall for them. What happens in Vegas certainly won’t stay there as these successful tycoons win at love.

Vegas Nightly publisher Connor Reeves is close to meeting a big-time career goal: making his magazine a state-wide must-read. The only problem? His biggest competition, a larger publisher based in Colorado seems to know his every move. Miranda Clayton is tired of society parties and shopping, but her tycoon father refuses to take her seriously. Her solution? Beat him at his own game by going to work for his top competitor, Connor Reeves. Connor isn’t fooled by Miranda’s act for a second. He knows exactly who she is; the question is what does the lady want?

Pre-order Connor today: Amazon  BN.com  iBooks  KOBO

Knight is a contemporary romance author, part-time TKD-kid wrangler, and full-time ThinMints enthusiast. You can find out more the book and Kristina on her website, and feel free to stalk follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

The Nevada Cowboys are Coming

Publishing is a weird thing. We write our books and send them off to our editors and a few rounds of edits later we send our little book babies out into the world. And they are out there. We don’t really have the opportunity to make changes or adjust little bits or bobs that maybe our readers caught but we didn’t.

That, I think, is as it should be. Because, I don’t know about you, but I could pick a book to death changing this comma or that incomplete sentence (used for emphasis, of course) or that spelling oops (seriously, how did we miss that oh-so-obvious misspelling?).

When I turn that final edit in, though, it’s like a release for me. That book is still mine, but it’s a signal to my writer brain (and heart) that it isn’t just mine now. It’s my editors and my readers and, yeah, even the haters.

But every now and then, authors get the chance to do something a little different. We get to re-release books. And that’s what I’ve been working on for the last month or so.

A couple of years ago I had a cowboy trilogy out: three brothers, their ranch outside Las Vegas, their stories. I loved that series but my publisher (Crimson Romance) was bought out by a bigger publisher (Simon & Schuster) and they allowed us (not just me, all the authors) to request rights back on our books at a certain time.

The time for my cowboys – it’s now! And I’m finding that digging back into their stories is so much fun. I’ve fallen in love with Gage and Connor and Jase all over again…and with Callie, Miranda and Sabrina, too. I’m so grateful to my editors Jess Verdi and Julie Sturgeon who helped me get these books ready for the world back in 2016 and I’m so glad I’ve had the chance to re-read their stories and clean up those last few typos (that I swear some word processing gremlins had to put in there because the three of us couldn’t have just missed them!) and develop new covers for them.
Today I’m sharing those new covers – and blurbs – with y’all! Book 1 of the trilogy releases this month, but you can order book one now and pre-order books two and three!

Here's a bit about the series: Hot Las Vegas nights get even steamier for these three powerful, wealthy businessmen with cowboy roots and the strong, independent women who fall for them. What happens in Vegas certainly won’t stay there as these successful tycoons win at love.


Gage, Nevada Cowboys Book 1: Hot shot property developer Gage Reeves is taking Vegas by storm – that is, until his brother makes him the face of desperate bachelors everywhere. Enter Callie Holliday, who is trying to get a new, upscale spa off the ground. Callie’s connections in Vegas run just as deep as Gage’s, but unlike Gage’s family past Callie’s is pristine. They make a deal: her business venture, his building but what starts off strictly professional turned decidedly personal. Will Gage and Callie risk their professional success for a shot at love?

Buy Gage today: Amazon  BN.com  iBooks  KOBO


Connor, Nevada Cowboys Book 2: Denver publishing heiress Miranda Clayton is tired of society parties and shopping, but her tycoon father refuses to take her seriously. Her solution? Beat him at his own game by going to work for his top competitor, Connor Reeves. Connor isn’t fooled by Miranda’s act for a second. He knows exactly who she is; the question is what does the lady want?

Pre-order Connor today: Amazon  BN.com  iBooks  KOBO

Jase, Nevada Cowboys Book 3: Twenty-something ice queen Sabrina York enjoys fame and fortune writing self-help books for a largely female audience—but she could do without her reputation as the Oldest Living (Supposed) Virgin in Vegas. Jase Reeves knows Sabrina’s not nearly as cold as she would like people to think. He didn’t intend to have a one-night stand with the Vegas Virgin, but now he can’t get her out of his head. Now Sabrina has one goal: stay away from the handsome gambler before he melts her career—and her heart.

Pre-order Jase today: Amazon  BN.com  iBooks  KOBO

Kristina Knight's latest release, Gage, Nevada Cowboys Book 1, is available now in paperback or e-format! 

Knight is a contemporary romance author, part-time TKD-kid wrangler, and full-time ThinMints enthusiast. You can find out more the book and Kristina on her website, and feel free to stalk follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.