Please make welcome my friend and a sister Rose (The Wild Rose Press), Gini Rifkin! We're celebrating her new release, Cowboys, Cattle, and Cutthroats! The action is hot in the Tavern today! I'm serving Spicy Spurs shots (my own version), and Jalapeño Poppers. Get comfy and let's hear what Gini has to say...

MM: Welcome to The Tavern, Gini! So happy you could be here. Congratulations on your new release. Love the cover! Let's start with a basic question I like to ask my writer friends: Describe a typical writing day. Are you a morning, afternoon, or night-owl writer?

GR: All my days start in the barn feeding my rescued farm animals—what a great way to start any day (unless it’s 10 degrees below zero!:) After which I head for the computer to answer e-mails, write, and do research. Around noon it’s back to the barn for more chores. In the afternoons I check Facebook and blogs while trying to resist Netflix. The best time is the evening when all the critters are fed and ready for the night, then I give a big sigh of contentment, and let story ideas percolate in my head while watching TV.

MM: You are a special lady to take in those animals, Gini. Can you tell us about your current work-in-progress?

GR: I had so much fun returning to the Old West for Cowboys, Cattle, and Cutthroats, I decided to stay there. My new project goes even one step farther back to the mountain man era. An adventurous romance, it features trapper Kade McCauley and his partner Tucket, and of course another strong willed heroine, Belinda Dearborn. Even after many hardships, she remains kind and courageous, and a bit outrageous.

MM: Oh, how wonderful! I enjoy reading stories about the Old West. What inspired you to write this book/series?

GR: For about ten years, my husband and I spent our vacations doing Mountain Man re-enacting. It was a “time-travel” experience, especially at the Nationals were we would wake up in a valley of tipis and tents with an 1800’s rendezvous in full regalia and full swing. No cars, radios, cell phones etc. Just the smell of campfires and the sound of a fiddle playing—and maybe a canon or two going off!

MM: MM: I love this picture of you and your husband, Gini! Thanks for sharing it with us. What’s your favorite item on your writing desk?

GR: The cat(s).

MM: Fantastic! You’ve been given a golden ticket to time travel into the past. Whom would you meet and why?

GR: I would like to meet the person who created Beowulf. The unsolved mystery as to who wrote it and when, has fascinated me for many years. My book Iron Heart is my imagining as to how the ancient literary work came into being.

MM: Now that would be a fascinating story. Now for the fun questions, Gini. Do you prefer...

Champagne or Beer? Romantic champagne.

Southern drawl or Scottish burr? Scottish burr

Kilt or Leather pants? Kilt

First romance you read? The Wolf and the Dove

Print book or e-reader? Print, love the feel of the book in my hands.

Wishing you all the best with Cowboys, Cattle, and Cutthroats!

Backcover blurb for Cowboys, Cattle, and Cutthroats ~

Ochessa is heartbroken when she finds her brother fatally wounded. His dying words are about a childhood puzzle box, missing legal documents, and a drifter named Nicodemus Breedlove. Ochessa vows to find Will’s murderer—and the man Will described.

No stranger to trouble, Nic's only concerns are his Stetson, his mule Sadie, and a long awaited chance at retribution. After gaining Ochessa’s trust, and taking the job she offers, life gets more complicated.

Back on the ranch in Colorado, Ochessa works as hard as any man. Then Nick tempts her into playing even harder as a woman—both are overwhelmed by their growing love for one another.

Weathering a stampede, a gully washer, and a pack of outlaws, they locate the killer. As Nic’s quest for justice, and Ochessa’s vendetta for Will playout, bullets fly...

Not everybody’s gonna make it out alive.

A Sneak Preview from Cowboys, Cattle, and Cutthroats ~

“I hope you’re not expecting a letter of recommendation. To date I haven’t been terribly satisfied with your performance.”

He stepped closer. “Where I come from animals perform not men. And I didn’t realize satisfying you was part of my job description.”

If ever a man could satisfy her, Nic would be the one.

“An employer always expects satisfaction. Too bad we’ll never know if you were up to the task.” Her words had come out more of a challenge than the reprimand she intended.

The crooked smile for which she’d been waiting, slipped into place. “We could still find out. I’m generally not the kind of man to leave a job half done.”

“But I’m no longer your boss, and you’re not the hired help.”

“I’m still a man, and you’re still a woman. Do you like being a woman Ochessa?”

What kind of question was that? Did he think because she managed a ranch and knew how to handle a gun she lacked feelings? Beneath the leather beat a soft heart, too soft, she reminded herself.

“Like it or not,” he pressed, “you’re very good at it—without even trying. Perhaps that’s what makes you so dangerous.”

He uttered the last few words as if speaking to himself, and she wondered how she could possibly pose a threat to a man like Nic.

To purchase your copy of Cowboys, Cattle, and Cutthroats, stop by these places ~

AMAZON | BN |

About the Author ~

Gini Rifkin writes adventurous romance. Her settings include the American West, Medieval England, Victorian England, and contemporary fantasy. When not reading or writing, she has the privilege of caring for a menagerie of abandoned animals including ducks, geese, goats, rabbits, donkeys, and cats. She was born and raised in Illinois, and when struck by wanderlust, moved to Colorado to meet her husband Gary. They shared the journey for 30 years, spending vacations canoeing, doing Mountain Man reenacting, and traveling around this great country. Although Gary has passed on, he left her with the skills to soldier on alone, and a little bit of him lives on in every hero she creates. Her writing keeps her hungry to learn new things, and she considers family and friends her most treasured of gifts.

Website/Blog: http://ginirifkin.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2y0rrAZ

Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/2R53KA9